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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 9365405" data-attributes="member: 6801228">And thus why we abandoned the old-school paladin, and went with the better version of it in modern times. The version that isn't a default Tragic Figure "because doing good should be something that leads to tragedy and being a hard man making hard choices". To me, the point of playing a paladin is to be the big blue boyscout. To be the person who always does the right thing, who refuses to bend the knee to forces of harm or destruction. The idea of being in a situation where I have to decide "do I do the the right and good thing, or do I follow my oath" with a paladin is ludicrous, because if the oath is getting in the way of doing the right thing, it isn't a good oath. Now, I'm fine with someone like the Oath of the Crown Paladin or the Oath of Glory Paladin being more devoted to their oaths instead of doing good, or for evil paladins to stick by their oaths instead of doing the right thing, because those are slightly different concepts. But the traditional Devotion Paladin archetype should never be in a situation where they must be torn between their oath and the correct course of action. Now, this isn't to say they should never be challenged, but it isn't THAT hard to find solutions to these issues. "Do I lie and save these orphan children from death, or do I tell the truth and sentence them to death...." Neither! Why are these your only options?! How about "These four children are the newest acolytes of my order. I have taken responsibility for training them to be fine followers of Pelor. If they have previously done wrong, I shall endeavor to right the scales, as is my responsibility as their teacher." Is that a lie? Not if the paladin is honestly planning on taking in these orphans and becoming responsible for their training and teaching. Which isn't an easy thing to do, but it also isn't sentencing them to death. And presenting and thinking about it only in a black or black outlook, where both options are terrible... isn't what the paladin should be about.</blockquote>

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