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Message: <blockquote data-quote="D+1" data-source="post: 1934301" data-attributes="member: 13654">If anything, because too many DM's absolutely LIVE to whack paladins with the alignment stick at the earliest possible turn they are too often in a CONSTANT moral struggle.  It's as if constantly being in danger of falling at a minor misstep is thought to be inherent to the class.  Playing a paladin?  Surprise!  The DM is obligated to try to trip you up for any excuse he can drum up because playing a paladin PC is only ever about that PC falling from grace just as soon as the DM can blow something out of proportion.Paladins are not SUPPOSED to live in a binary state of shining, flawless goody-two-shoes-ness vs. Darth-Vader-was-a-bleeding-heart-weenie extremes.  They have ideals to live up to but that doesn't mean that it's not a STRUGGLE for many paladins.  In many ways it's the willingness to continue to struggle rather than accepting a lesser destiny that defines a paladin.  The PH says paladins consider themselves to have been called to the life they lead but doesn't say they all MUST be happy and cheerful about it, as well as unerringly good at it.See, on the one hand we have people who think that players choose paladins because they want the DM to try and knock them off their pedestal and call that roleplaying.  On the other hand we have those who think that all paladins are pure, never make mistakes, never doubt themselves, never fail to be all they can be and call that roleplaying.  The REAL roleplaying is everywhere in between.  While those are not UNviable views neither leaves a lot of room for a paladin to be an INTERESTING, individual character with FLAWS and that's silly IMO.  Paladins, like any other character, are allowed to be at least a little flexible in their alignment-related  behavior.  They don't need to FALL every time they go whoring, nor Atone for every lie, but because their alignment is a requirement of the class they do need to be watched more closely and don't have a "Get back to LG Free!" card like any other class would.  They can stray out of their alignment and code - but may need to Atone in order to go back if they've gone too far.</blockquote>

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