Executing Judgment On Paladins!

[SHARK]

Greetings!

It's good for Paladins to be on the "Razor's Edge!"

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[reapersaurus]

"Enlightened through experience?"--How so? What do you mean? In my mind, Paladins are not made in a vaccuum. Think of their abilities, their skills, their convictions. Paladins don't just wake up one day thinking, believing, and doing such things. They must be trained, disciplined, and instructed in such. A form of divine blessing and purpose may already be upon them, but that is divine potential, that must be realised and brought to fruition. I don't see paladins just doing all that by themselves, you know?

Well, I guess that answers my ignored questions, then.

 

[Voadam]

Greetings!

It's good for Paladins to be on the "Razor's Edge!"

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

In my ravenloft game I have gotten great plot and drama use out of a PC paladin's loss of powers but in general I don't like the loss of class powers in return for failing to follow a code, both as DM and as a player. There is a great potential for difference of opinion over what is required, what can get you stripped of your powers and resulting ill will between PC and DM.

I have played heroic decent true heros, but I have rarely considered playing a paladin in any edition precisely beacause of this issue.

In my campaign, the PC paladin was never sure whether he lost his powers because he was cut off from his goddess (all outside gods have no direct access to anything in my Ravenloft), had incurred sin when he was possessed by an evil necromancer who committed foul murders and acts in his body, or whether he had fallen short of the goddess' code through some personal act of tansgression and failing. Later he was contacted by a supernatural minion who appeared to be sent into the demiplane by his goddess to lead him back to the path of righteousness but there was always the possibility that it was a minion of evil using his desire for redemption to further some dark being's purposes. He stuck to what he believed his code needed and accepted the minion as an act of faith and quested against evil to redeem himself, right wrongs, and do his goddesses' will as best he could.

There were great scenes where he said to the rest of the party, "I can not ask you to endanger yourselves as well, but this quest against powerful undead and horrible evil is something I must do. I'm heading East to what may be certain death for me. You have been true companions and any who choose to go with me I will thank with all my heart, but even if none of you decide to go as well, this is a call to duty that I cannot ignore. It must be done now, no matter the dangers, no matter the costs."

While a stirring and sincere speech, it did not sit particularly well with the nonreligious elven wizard, or human bard and fighter.

 

[sword-dancer]

Hello SHARK

It is from this background and in this context that much of humanity and other good races must operate. From such a context, evil monstrous races are not even considered capable of concepts of morality. The vast majority of human philosophical and religious authority, as well as the masses of society, simply don't believe that monstrous evil races are moral free agents. Monstrous evil races, of whatever kind, are not considered to have any rights what so ever. There is no ACLU, nor is there any who scream that the evil races have rights. Such a notion is simply inconcievable to the vast majority of all human societies.

I think they have looked to long, to deep and to hard in the abyss.
To win, they aare on the way to lose more than a battle, they are on the way to become the enemy themselves.
That you fight evil didn`t make you good, the reasons, methods
declare if you are good or evil.