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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marius Delphus" data-source="post: 1565326" data-attributes="member: 447">"No" on suddenly making the paladin an ex-paladin, but a penalty of some sort may be merited. How does the paladin's *deity* feel about the dead man's attempted crime (and highly probable past crimes)? This should be the only guiding principle. Superman and Captain America tend to be my paladin role models, with the caveat that paladins have the option of using lethal force to right wrongs or punish wrongdoers. I view this as not a combat encounter (hardly!) but an execution for crimes committed. So if an execution "on the spot" is all right with the deity, considering what the criminal is -- more likely than not* -- guilty of, then the paladin deserves a small slap on the wrist to remind him that executions should not generally be carried out via surprise attack. Perhaps the deity feels the criminal should be given one last chance to repent; this doesn't commute the execution to some other sentence, but rather gives the criminal the opportunity to reflect on his misdeeds etc.  (* The modern "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard doesn't really feel right to me in D&D.) Or, perhaps the crime doesn't merit execution in the deity's eyes. In this case, the penalty should be stronger: perhaps merely withholding all paladin powers until an atonement quest is completed. I think that ought to be the maximum penalty, though, since the paladin was carrying out his mandate, to a certain extent... he just needs to be reminded to toe the line. Two more cp for the heap.</blockquote>

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