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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 3667381" data-attributes="member: 13966">Remember that Paladins are primarily agents of Good, and secondarily agents of Law.  They'll do what's best for Good whenever possible, and try to stick to their Lawful honor as much as possible while fulfilling that goal.But anyway, the thing is that the imp deceived them and the paladin had no idea their 'ally' was a fiend.  Once he learned the truth of that, he could not honorably work with the creature because his oaths do not permit it.The creature voided its agreement with the party by deceiving them as to its nature and being dishonorable in the dealing process.  The paladin's honor demands he avenge that slight to his honor, and undo his mistake of accidentally sort-of helping a fiend.  In the end he prevented any evil being done as a result of his mistake, so it should not have any effect on his Paladin status.Since he was unknowing when he made the deal, he is not at fault for agreeing to work loosely together.  He did not knowingly and willingly aid a fiend, and he did smite it after learning the truth, so no ill came of it.  Even Heironeous teaches prudence and optimal tactics in battle; the Archpaladin himself would not have allowed the battle to be lost just because an 'ally' turned out to be a fiend in disguise.  He just would've destroyed the deceitful fiend after the other foes were dispatched.That said, it should be pointed out that the paladin should have used his divinely-gifted ability to Detect Evil at will, and tried to discern if the group's invisible would-be ally was unworthy of his cooperation.  Now, if that ability failed, he would still be fine, but the Powers of Good did not give him that ability for nothing; he's expected to use it to aid his judgment in matters.Heck, he shouldn't have even made a deal with an invisible 'ally' to begin with, unless there was no time to argue that the invisible fellow must reveal himself before any proper, honest agreement could be made.  So I'm guessing he probably exercised poor judgment.That, itself, may warrant his powers being revoked for one day, to make it known that he failed in his duties somehow; the return of his powers the next day would at least make it obvious that his mistake was not of the seriousness that would cost him his divine sponsorship permanently.  It may help him realize his error in judgment.</blockquote>

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