[Intellectual challenge] Justify a paladin being a member of a thieves' guild

[ashockney]

Several really good examples in here:

1) Play with the role of a "theives' guild"
a) They are the resistance (ie, Robin Hood)
b) They are the law when there is no other law (ie, Batman)
c) They are perhaps a "good" agency that works for the government (ie, Alias)

2) Play with the role of a "paladin's code"
a) Your diety sends you on a mission
b) Lesser of evils and the paladin is indebted to the guild or guild's leader
c) The code is loosened by the cirucumstances presented in the DM's environment
d) The paladin will go "ex-paladin" in an effort to be "atoned" later
e) You are there undercover (ie, Donnie Brasco)

3) Play with the role of the Paladin in a guild
a) Brother of a member and there to protect them, only participates in certain missions
b) Acts as an detective/judge for the guild leader, completely trusted
c) Plays the role of diplomat to the rest of the world in an effort to reform both sides

What came to mind when I read the OP -

My brother and I grew up in different ways. He learned on the streets, I learned in the churches. We never saw eye to eye on many things, but we always supported each other. When the tyrants (Zhentil Keep) took control of our backwards town, and burned down the churches, my fellow clergy and I were forced to go underground. My brother provided us with shelter and safety in a time of great turmoil. He's kept me safe, and now we fight together to bring an end to the tyrant's reign. I know there are those that associate with my brother who do things they shouldn't, but I will turn a blind eye to their actions that I don't see. I will not ask questions when I do not want to know the answers. I will forgive and allow for those who are unlawful to atone. I am a force for good, among men and women who have led a misguided life. I will be their compass. We will perservere and secure order to our town.

Good gaming!

 

[I'm A Banana]

Sure, it's not perfect, but it doesn't require much fudging (if any) to fit the RAW.

Yar, it's a little fudge.

So far, I'm kind of a fan of the thieves' guild that specializes in stealing evil artifacts and magic items from those who know not what power they could unleash. That guild is doing an entirely good act, and in an entirely direct way. Seems on the up-and-up to me, I think...

 

[comrade raoul]

Here's another way: who says the paladin's code needs a robust theory of property rights?

I think you could have an interesting and defensible paladin who didn't take private property seriously, and whose thieves' guild was a kind of anarchist revolutionary organization. They could still be lawful--they might hold themselves to strict religious or ideological codes, or, more likely, take the idea of mutually respectful collective organization really seroiusly. But, on the other hand, they could still be a thieves' guild--they could still specialize in dramatic breaking-and-entering, for example, since that might be, under the circumstances, the best way for them to accomplish their goals. (They could very plausibly be forced underground.) Such a paladin would be fiercely idealistic, even utopian--an example of a character with a profound commitment to a set of beliefs that conflicts with her society.

Sign me up!

 

[Diremede]

It could be a church sponsored thieves guild, one that finds stolen relics and church property and rather than cause a big scene or have to go through the law only to have the relics or property disappear again, they steal it back. The Paladin could then be part of group that does these sorts of missions for the church, a holy crusade to reclaim the property of his god and church.