Another Paladin Thread: Throw Rocks!

[The Thayan Menace]

In our last game, our party slaughtered a company of orc soldiers and left one alive for questioning.

We managed to secure the survivor's cooperation without physical coercion, and he told us everything he knew about his ogre overlords. After ending the interrogation, I was prepared to cut him loose with a simple warning:

"Cross our paths in battle again, and you will die."

However ... before this could happen, our paladin drew her sword and demanded the prisoner's immediate execution. The orc then began blubbering and begging for mercy, citing his obligations to four wives and fourteen children. In short, he was absolutely pitiful.

Ignoring the orc's pleas and my argument for fair treatment of war captives, the paladin moved forward to dispatch him. I blocked her path and released the orc before she could reach him. He immediately started running away; I urged her to let him go.

She hesitated for a moment, gave me a dirty look, mounted her horse, and ran down the orc ... killing him in cold blood. He was unarmed.

Am I wrong to think that our paladin's actions were ethically inappropriate?

-Samir Asad (a.k.a. The Yarrowstaff)

 

[Xilo]

Yeah I'd have to say so. Even if the orc is evil, it was unarmed and at your mercy. If the paladin's order has sworn to kill every orc on the face of the planet then maybe not, but the lack of mercy and compassion should get the a smack on the wrist if nothing else.

 

[Ringan]

Between breaking a quasi-contract (orc talks, is shown mercy, similar to accepting a surrender), and killing someone unarmed and essentially harmless in cold blood I'd say that was pretty inappropriate.

Paladin loses extra points for not listening to some solid, rational and pertinent counsel offered by her fellow party member.

 

[pawsplay]

That sounds more LN and hardassed to me than LG and honorable. However, it's not an unquestionably evil act. Technically, it's a violation of the paladin code, but it's not the part that causes automatic losss of paladin abilities, that I can see.

EDIT: If I were the GM, I wouldn't punish the paladin for it immediately, but I would warn them that they are headed toward LN or N territory if they keep it up.

 

[Hussar]

I agree with Pawsplay here. Although, I disagree on the lawful aspect. This is chaotic through and through. Taking the law into your own hands and vigilanteism is chaotic, not lawful, as well as breaking agreements that the prisoner would be unharmed.

A loss of status? Perhaps not, but certainly a very stern talking to by the powers that be and perhaps a three or four day loss of abilities until Ms. Paladin does some penance.

 

[painandgreed]

Paladins kill evil. That's their job.

As a DM, I wouldn't have an issue with it unless she had made a deal with the orc of safety for information.

 

[Thanatos]

Did the paladin agree to the terms of the deal with the orc?
Was the orc evil in alignment?
The code states that paladin's punish those who harm or threaten innocents, did the orc do that previously?
Was it against the legitimate authorities laws to kill the orc?

If the paladin didn't agree to the terms of the deal, knew the orc was evil and had harmed, had a history of harming and/or threating innocents and was not protected by the any governing laws -- I don't see the paladin as having violated any portion of her code of conduct.

Evil Slain/Innocents Protected - Check.

But on the other hand, you can get something similiar that turned into a great story hour with a Succubus tempting a paladin, being discovered and then begging for forgiveness and wanting the opportunity to convert (Sepulchrave's story hour) -- placing the paladin in a moral dilemma. But, if it hadn't begged for atonement and made a good faith effot in changing its evil ways, then my previous opinion stands.

To those of more relaxed ethics, I could see this as chaotic or repugnant in action, but for paladins, much more tend to be black and white unless the DM goes to good lengths to bring moral play into the game.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Not paladiny at all. It's one thing to defeat evil, but another to murder in cold blood. She could have insisted that he be brought to justice. But this was wrong.

- Killing in cold blood, and someone unarmed at that.
- Breaking other party members' words.

And since we're not talking about a LG fighter here, but a paladin the repercussions be immediate: Loss of paladin abilities with the need to atone before they come back, if ever.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Am I wrong to think that our paladin's actions were ethically inappropriate?

There is reason to believe you are.

Alhandra, a paladin who fights evil without mercy and protects the innocent without hesitation, is lawful good.

 

[tonse]

As long as the paladin didn't promise the orc anything, I have absolutely no problem with this. Just because the orc was unarmed, doesn't mean he is not dangerous. Maybe not for the party, but as he said, he is raising 14 members of the next generations of slaughtering, pillaging, evilworshiping critters. No paladins should allow this to happen.
On a side note: In the generic D&D-World orcs aren't exactly soldiers but a race of psychos intent on slaughtering anybody else. When this is finished, they will happily kill other orcs. Absolutely irredeemable. So no, I don't buy the "Prisoner of War-Argument".