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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 3671283" data-attributes="member: 3424">A single-classed paladin, a multi-classed knight/paladin and a multi-classed rogue/paladin walk into a <s>tavern</s> temple filled with evil cultists. Actually, only the paladin walks. The knight/paladin stands in the courtyard of the temple, challenging all the cultists within to come out and meet him in honorable combat. The rogue/paladin takes advantage of the distraction provided by the knight/paladin to sneak into the temple and creep into the high priest's room, where he finds the high priest (amazingly) still asleep.Our rogue/paladin is bound by the paladin code, but not the knight's code. He has no problems with attacking flanked or flat-footed opponents, otherwise he wouldn't be able to use his sneak attack ability at all. The interesting question is, what does the paladin's code allow him to do to a helpless opponent? Of course, he can capture the high priest by dealing nonlethal damage, or he can demand his surrender, but let's say that for some reason, he has been ordered by legitimate authority to slay him. Can he coup de grace the sleeping high priest? Can he shout loudly enough to wake him up, but attack while he is flat-footed? Does he have to allow the high priest to arm himself? Does he have to allow the high priest to arm himself with his best weapon and armor, or can he just toss him a dagger?  Would it make any difference if the high priest was 4 levels higher or lower than the rogue/paladin?Now let's say it was the rogue/paladin that discovered he had made a deal with an imp. Assuming he has standing orders to destroy any evil outsider he encounters, how much warning should he give the imp before he breaks the truce? No warning at all, in an attempt to surprise and sneak attack the imp? A shouted warning, giving the imp the chance to win initiative and avoid the sneak attack? One round to flee or prepare to fight? One minute? One hour? One day? Would it make any difference if it was not an imp, but a more powerful devil? Would you take the relative power of the rogue/paladin and the imp into account?I guess what I'm trying to illustrate with these examples is that the line between "honorable" and "dishonorable" is sometimes difficult to draw. What one person may consider acceptable, another may consider dishonorable. What one person considers to be the minimum requirements for honor, another may consider foolish. I, personally, enjoy playing extremely honorable paladins, but I don't believe that all paladins needs to be played that way.</blockquote>

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