defining a looting Paladin

[Yawbug_Bug]

Okay if a paladin of hieronies goes into the hide out of a cult of fiend worshippers looking for the kiddnapped little girl. when it's all over the question is:::: Would he take the items that belonged to the cult members. the player says that would be looting and I say yes but no, it's Evil and you are using that stuff to futher our campaign against evil.
Is it looting or Not??

 

[Tsyr]

Well, I think there are two seperate issues here. 1) Is it looting and 2) Is it evil.

It's looting, no question.

However, is it evil? Not really. Depending on the religion the paladin serves, it might be a cultural no-no, but it's not evil.

 

[ced1106]

I don't think the problem is looting. Adventurers have been doing it for years. He'll have to use the money as his deity (you) see fit. Hieronies is the God of Valor. In what ways would spending money be "valorous"? (We're more familiar with spending religious money in a charitable way.)


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[Jasperak]

It is not evil, although the Paladin may or may not want to make the effort to return some of the items to where they belong if their origins can be determined. It might be chaotic if his culture does not allow anyone to raid the tombs of its enemies. I would give the Pally leeway and just make some small gestures to uphold his honor.

 

[F5]

If you need an argument to justify the looting try this:
If you came across an evil warlord who had a magic sceptre that was controlling the minds of his innocent subjects, the dutiful paladin would vanquish the warlord and take the sceptre. The sceptre is a dangerous resource that needs to be kept out of the hands of Evil. Now replace the scpetre with the horde of loot in your fiend-worshipping temple. It's a financial resource, instead of a magical one, but still potentially dangerous in the wrong hands.
It definitely comes down to a question of what he does with the loot afterwards. If he tracks down the original owners of the cult's ill-gotten wealth and returns it to them, that's undoubtably good. If he buys humself a new suit of armor to carry on the good fight more effectively that's probably OK, but is getting into questionable territory. If he buys himself a new summer home by the ocean, he's lookin' at an Atonement in the near future...

 

[Piratecat]

What if he uses the new summer home to fight the hordes of evil...?

Oh, fine. Actually, I agree completely!

 

[Kyramus]

Is looting evil? No.
Is looting a treasure hoard that has evil items in it evil? not necessarily.
Is looting a treasure hoard that has evil items in it that the paladin actually wants to use? definitely.

He has detect evil, use it.
He can donate most of the monetary treasure to a church or other deserving institution.
If an item has been stolen, you could have the church act as a lost and found.