Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Storm-Bringer" data-source="post: 4235787" data-attributes="member: 57832">Easy Peasy.Character serves in the Imperial Army for a few years, learning how to use a sword and fight the barbarians.  After the term of service, they return home, and being from a family of no small means, secures a place in the Senate.  After a year or two, the hidden corruption in the government is made manifest, as the outlier colonies rebel, the barbarians are at the gate, and the small kingdom is over-run.  Our PC fights their way through the streets, finds their family slaughtered by the orcs/goblins/whatever, and turns to deal with the rabble that has destroyed everything they held dear.  Nothing further binds them to this place, and even though our 1st level fighter never wanted to leave the city, nor do anything but serve the Lawful Good government by eventually leading the Senate, they are now forced to make their way in the larger world, and perhaps spreading the spark of justice that is left of his home to others who are in need of it.A Paladin is a particular expression of 'Lawful Good', not everyone who is Lawful Good rides into town on a white charger, pearly teeth gleaming, flashing their sword and shouting "I am here to kick evil and chew bubblegum, and I am all out of bubblegum!"  That isn't even an accurate description of all Paladins.I think the stumbling block is in trying to define 'law', 'chaos', 'good' and 'evil' as philosophical ideas within the D&D structure.  In fact, they are entirely real forces.  Every bit as much as electricity is for modern people.  There is still quite a bit of leeway, but 'law' is not some philosophical construct for farmers to discuss at the pub after a hard day in the fields.  It is a living force that informs a part of the universe.  A force that is marshaled by certain deities, and enforced through their mortal agents by investing them with a portion of deific power.  How that particular power is defined at any given table is something for that group to discuss.  It adds an extra dimension to the characters and the game that is lacking because, seemingly, the designers didn't want to think too hard about fantasy.I agree with the Professor.  Alignment is an extremely useful guide for character creation and expression.  The game is poorer without it.</blockquote>

Verification