D&D 3.x 3.5 paladins and wealth?

[Jdvn1]

This being the Rules Forum, Mouseferatu's comment is very important. 3.x does not require paladins to tithe in any way, shape, or form. And a good thing too, since magical gear is so significant a part of character power in the 3.x paradigm.

Good point. I'm not familiar with all the organizations in WotC books -- do any of them require tithing (or even non WotC organizations? It's a Rules Forum, not a WotC Rules Forum)? If so, then some Paladins must tithe.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Good point. I'm not familiar with all the organizations in WotC books -- do any of them require tithing (or even non WotC organizations? It's a Rules Forum, not a WotC Rules Forum)? If so, then some Paladins must tithe.

I'm not familiar with the various campaign settings, wherein some organizations might include tithing. I do believe that none of the Core Rules, nor the splatbooks, make any mention of it. So basically the rules do not touch upon the concept at all. Any requirements for a paladin to tithe would have to be campaign-specific.

Personally my paladin character donates to his Church (Pelor) as he is able, but not a significant portion of his wealth, as I don't want him to be underequipped for the challenges the party faces. The class is hardly powerful enough that it can afford to give up a significant portion of a PC's expected magic items.

 

[Bad Paper]

tithing

I am requiring the Holy Liberator in the party to tithe to his church (Kord). In return, he gets lots of perks (healing, lodging, women). As a fighter, he is already loaded with equipment (and winds up taking things he doesn't really need just to keep the treasure distribution fair). Bleeding off 10% of his wealth (2% of the five-member party's wealth) is just another tactic I use to keep them hungry. He is eager to tithe, because the Brawler treats him so well.

 

[werk]

Yeah, it's the old-gamer in me coming out, terribly sorry. Nothing about tithing anymore at all.

Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Not to go all housey on everyone in the rules forum, but for roleplaying flavor it would make sense to me to play tithing as seperate from the class, that is, if you wish to be a member of an organized church you must tithe. That's what keeps the church running. In my experience, that's wow chuches work, it's like dues for a club. Even if someone dies and the church gets 10million dollars, they still pass around the plate on sunday. I'd apply it to religions of all alignments. Cults and stuff would probably be a heavier tithe or a greater percentage of income, wealthy, established churches would be 'whatever you care to donate' or something like that.

 

[Shin Okada]

That's what keeps the church running.

That may be what keeps christian church running. Various religious organizations in fantasy RPG settings could be run by different ways (as various religious organizations in our real world). And now, by the core rule, we can play a paladin or a cleric which does not belong to certain organization, or has certain patron deity, at all.

So it depends totally on each settings (including home brewed ones).

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

I think the more important point is that the DM should consider the question of tithes and even religious vows in the big picture, and fit Paladins in as just one piece of the puzzle. The 3.5 Paladin Code is the loosest ever and the class' requirements are not necessarily any different than what you would expect for most LG Clerics.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I think the more important point is that the DM should consider the question of tithes and even religious vows in the big picture, and fit Paladins in as just one piece of the puzzle.

Well put. This is how I did it the last iteration of my campaign, when one of the players chose to play a paladin. I outlined how paladins, while respected by the Church, are not ordained priests, and therefore outside of the Church hierarchy. This meant that paladins were still respected by the clergy, but not bound by them, nor did they hold authority over them. Nor did they tithe. Some paladins choose to become ordained priests as well, however, at which point they are bound by the same rules as other members of the clergy. I basically decided to place paladins outside of the Church hierarchy as "chosen champions" of their god, but gave them the option of joining the clergy in truth if they so desired.

 

[focallength]

tithing is not necessarily campaign specific but character specific. A Paladin does not even need to worship a diety anymore. An ideal or set of beliefs is enough to be a paladin. And a Paladin can and in most cases would want to ammas wealth, perhaps building a castle or training an army or helping out the downtrodden, Wealth can be used in many positive ways, not just for self advancement, although a Pladin is interested in self advancement as well.

 

[MoonZar]

Anyway a LG paladin should give some of his wealth to his temple and community even if this not writted in the PHB.

This just doesn't make sense if a paladin don't give some ressource to help the people on the temple where he was trained.

 

[moritheil]

If you have someone running a paladin who doesn't care to amass wealth, show them Vow of Poverty.