D&D 5E Correct way to RP this Situation

Baldguy33

First Post
In my backstory (Paladin) I was in Training to worship bahamut. One day a Band of DragonBorn attacked our town took me as captive (and others) .

We did infact escape and I finished my training. Now I seek vengeance.


How would a Paladin react iif I met a Dragonborn on the street somewhere. Or what if one was injured and needed my help?

Ive never played a paly before is why I am asking.

Thanks
 

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Probably depends on which Oath you intend to take. Oath of Devotion would probably realize that it's "not all dragonborn" and not have any prejudices against the entire race. Oath of Vengeance though might actually have a wish to punish the entire dragonborn race (although you PC would certainly not be "Good" in alignment if that was true.) A Neutral pally would perhaps see all reptilian races as untrustworthy, but not act out directly against them unless provoked. An Evil pally of Vengeance might attack every dragonborn they see as part of their Oath.
 

Well, we're talking 5e, so there's a LOT of leeway here. The biggest clues are to be found in your deity choice.

Paladins are by the rules no longer bound to lawful good alignment. However, they are bound by a code of order for their philosophy or deity. Bahamut is typically portrayed as a good of the Greater Good, but one who also promotes the virtues of the Draconid peoples. This needs to be tempered through the type of paladin you plan to play when you hit the correct level, whether a paladin of devotion, or of Vengeance. (I think the Ancients paladin might be too incongruous for Bahamut). If you are taking the "vengeance" route and are playing a Vengeance Paladin, it still should be tempered by Bahamut's teachings, and each being, no matter race, should receive compassion if innocent.

But let's up the ante. You find one of the raiders from the original raid, lay dying by the wayside, if you don't intervene. A Paladin of Vengeance might slay him outright, giving him still more mercy than he gave his victims. He might even leave him there to die, as Just punishment to die just as his victims died bleeding out.

Were he a Neutral Paladin, he might even take the Dragonborn raider's water supplies and pour it on the ground in front of him, if he were similarly cruel to his victims before they died, though that knocks on the door of Evil and asks for a subscription to its newsletter...

If a Devotion Paladin came upon the dying dragonborn merc who helped raid his village, he might well heal the merc and find him shelter, but take him to a council for justice or ask guidance from his god on true justice, if civilization were not available.

Remember the final takeaway that a paladin fights evil, still - and standing in judgment of someone for their skin rather than their actions is still unjust and evil. It's just that their methods have more leeway than merely what lawful good will typically mete out.
 
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Depends on the setting to some extent, but given that dragonborn are one of the playable races, they're probably as prevalent in the average setting as any other major race.

Would your paladin have a problem with humans in general if a band of humans had attacked your town?
 

Just avoid playing any character background to a fault when considering views or actions that may disrupt the table. Otherwise, there is no right way. A one time event where your character exacts extreme vengeance may be fun to play, but it will get old if it disrupts play all the time. So really, it depends more on the intended role of Dragonborn in the game, especially if someone else is playing the race as a character.
 

Attacking dragonborn on sight would make you a racist serial murderer. Refusing to aid a wounded person based on racist prejudice is probably not consistent with most Pc dieties either.

My advice: Dont let the paladin label become an excuse for genocide. Stick to exacting vengeance from the actual individuals that hurt you.
 

Lawful neutral? Follow your code, even if you don't like it necessarily.
I see LN kinda like Judge Dredd, maybe you don't like it... But the law is the law.

Or even kind of like Omar from the Wire. 'Mans got to have a code'

Or maybe kind of like Leon the professional. 'No women, no kids'

But I could be off base.
 

She probably wouldn't attack random dragonborn, but I doubt she'd ever trust them (would be a good Flaw). She would probably go out of her way to bring evil dragonborn to justice, since they've strayed from the righteousness that is Bahamut.
 

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