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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ruemere" data-source="post: 1566138" data-attributes="member: 5515">Betting a remote chance of a criminal acting nice (and submitting oneself to justice) against a high probability of bringing further harm to a child... I don't buy it, sorry.When it comes to this choice, I'd still choose child's welfare.Lack of a decisive action can be very bad. Furthermore, the sword is not meant as a subduing weapon, therefore, were the paladin to strike to stun the offender, it could be argued that the hero was taking too many chances.As I said, all it takes to kill a helpless innocent child is one strong push. In other words, the criminal could have been considered both armed and dangerous.The criminal in question has taken steps to renew molesting the child. In other words he had to be in a striking distance from his prey. Also, the paladin was not secretive, merely, unnoticed - for all we know the molester might have heard him and was pretending not to notice the paladin in order to gain access to a hostage.Again, when faced with a choice between further edangering a child (by either warning the criminal or taking chances with a weapon unsuitable to subduing or by engaging a criminal in a wrestling hold [the paladin need not have to be a professional wrestler]) or risking accidental killing of innocent commoner, I would choose the latter. After all, the molester could be only wounded (and incapacitated) instead of being killed on spot.Hardly in this case. Paladin is a warrior, a killing machine dedicated to eradicating evil. If he refrains from doing his duty, it means that he grants evil a second opportunity to strike. And such an obvious evil at that.When a paladin makes a mistake, he is stripped of his powers. And because he stops being a paladin, he is judged as any normal person would be. However, as long as he retains his powers (see the conduct in PHB), he's the law.Also, I fail to see why this situation, being so obvious, would require the paladin to act in any other way. Hah, that's the paladin's ideal. However, that's were the life (not the real life, merely my campaign's) comes in. Paladins strive to attain higher ideals, but they are human, they have their flaws - they just strive much harder than anyone else. They make mistakes, but they make up for them. They also do not waste their time with scoundrels.Finally, returning to the situation, nothing the paladin did was final. The criminal can be brought back from the dead and properly tried.Turn the criminal over for what? A trial and execution, perhaps?If you consider a paladin to be a merely a divine pawn without any right to mete punishment, well, you're taking away everything from the class, both its role (a divine champion and judge) and its powers (by restricting them).Not good. Regards,Ruemere</blockquote>

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