Anyone had a paladin Fall and then dropped the PC?

[Richards]

In our AD&D 2E campain, my son's paladin fell (after repeated warnings). He became the master-at-arms at the PCs' keep, which was an NPC position. My son rolled up a replacement character.

Johnathan

 

[kaomera]

Only if the "fall" somehow occurred before my carefully-planned conversion to Blackguard and betrayal of the party.

Oh, and can I retroactively ask that players in the game I'm about to join not read this? Thanx.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Have you ever dropped a character because you didn't like where the game was taking him/her?

A couple of times. Once I tried to play a thri-kreen character in a serious campaign ... only none of the other players were serious. I was actually looking forward to RPing him in a serious campaign, but I had to switch him for a human cleric instead. (The one "healer" character was pathetic at it and also wouldn't heal the party, even though it didn't cost him actions, mana or what have you. He was a crusader.) This wasn't the fault of the DM, though.

 

[Greylock]

In 3.x, not a chance. I'd have the character commit seppuku. If, that is, the fall was completely my fault. If it was out of left field, DM decree? Me and the DM would be having a mighty long talk.

However, I did play a fallen paladin for a long time in 1st Edition. Youthful indiscretion on my part, the fall. Not really understanding the consequences of some actions. But I kept playing that character throughout the campaign, and had plenty of fun with him. Ended up with him having a bit of a Robin Hood flavor. Actually the longest lived, real time, character I've ever played.

 

[frankthedm]

Furthermore, if a DM was rude enough to strip my PC's powers without my agreement, there'd be no guarantee he wouldn't do it again in the future.

You agreed to it when you signed up for the paladin class.

Considering the extreme powerdown of falling, I have a hard time seeing an ex paladin pulling his weight in the party for the challenges a full character is expected to face. If he does not Atone, He will either run out of HP, have his mundane mount crumple at a crucial time or fail a crucial save soon enough. I should not have to drop my PC, one of my foes will do so soon enough.

 

[robberbaron]

Never had this problem with paladins, though I have grown tired of being a conductor on the DM's railroad when playing a paladin.

If I Fell though no fault of my own then I'd expect a way back or a sensible option (atonement or blackguard). If I did something stupid then I'd probably atone.

Depends a lot on how much I was enjoyng the game, really.

I have noticed that many people seem to play paladins as fighters with some cool abilities and excellent saves, rather than as paragons of virtue.

 

[Sound of Azure]

I have noticed that many people seem to play paladins as fighters with some cool abilities and excellent saves, rather than as paragons of virtue.

I've noticed that a bit myself. I've learnt to hammer out with the player exactly what is expected of a paladin in games I run, and I talk with prospective DMs about what they expect from paladins when I play such characters. Seems to do wonders for this kind of situation.

As to dropping a Paladin PC if he falls, it depends on the reason behind it. If it's an entirely arbitrary reason, that would be supremely annoying to me. The DM doesn't need to get permission from me or anything (that would be pretty nuts, too), but the reason for the fall has to at least make sense to me before I'll accept it.

Even then, if I was otherwise enjoying the game, I'd keep playing it. After having a few words with the DM after game about expectations, of course. And then, the long road to redemtion. If the situation becoms untenable/unfun later, I would change characters, but only after really trying to work with the DM on it.

One of my former players actually makes contingency plans for his paladins in case the DM he's playing under is a nutcase. "Why of course my paladin is taking Improved Sunder and ranks in the hide skill. It's a special order of stealthy paladins!"

 

[Aeric]

I've only had a paladin of mine fall once. It was totally my fault and it made perfect sense. I eventually earned it back, not by going on some arbitrary quest doled out by a cleric, but by legitimately changing my behavior and attitude in-character. I didn't see the fall as a loss of something but rather as important character development. It worked with the story.

Then again, that campaign was an unusual one. I've never played in anything so personal or engaging since then. That being said, if I was playing a paladin in one of the games I've been playing currently, I would either drop the character or try to phenagle my way into making him a blackguard.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I voted that I'd drop him if it was a DM set-up.

If the fall was because of my actions, I'd have had my reasons (i.e. wanted to play a fallen paladin) because I'm not dumb enough to accidentally have a paladin fall from grace.

If it was a DM set-up, I'd stop playing the character unless the DM has a really good reason for it. Chances are that I'd stop playing in that campaign altogether.


I had a situation that is kinda like this, but more or less turned upside down:
I was playing a LG fighter. He was all for the "law and order are best for everyone" thing, intended to make a career as a valiant defender of his country. He managed to get into the "special forces" - agents and guards that work for the king. They were supposed to guard him in some country estate for a couple of days, when suddenly lots of assassins (who disappeared upon death, of course) attacked, finally managed to kill the king (my guess is that that fight could have lasted a year or longer, going on until the king was dead), and then the survivors all disappeared. No chance to take any prisoners.

And then, we were, of course, blamed for the king's death. We were put on trial, and it was the most transparent framing since the invention of the glassless frame. Utterly ridiculous. We were sentenced to exile in some deathtrap dungeon.

After that happened, I told the DM that my character has lost all faith in the law and order he has previously worshipped, since he saw that it was all to easy to abuse the system. The whole thing (the trial, the jeering masses, the thrown vegetables and punches) also made him bitter and banned all goodness from his heart.

In short, I changed his alignment from LG to CN. I also played him accordingly.

The DM, of course, wasn't happy with that and called in unreasonable. He wouldn't see that the whole farce he put us through was even more unreasonable and that this was the only way I saw my character react to this incident.

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't care what was the reason for falling, whether it was railroaded to the fall or was it my purposeful decision.

I'd just decide based on whether the "new" paladin fits with the other PCs in the group or not.