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Message: <blockquote data-quote="N'raac" data-source="post: 6686425" data-attributes="member: 6681948">So let's ignore the deal - let's assume they came across first the town, then the staked-out witch.  She is evil, and he can detect evil.  is it OK to cut her down?  Is it mandatory?No deals with evil beings.  How does one accomplish that when there may be perfectly law-abiding, but evil, members of the nobility, merchants, etc. in the civilized world?  Pretty much every mythological pantheon has at least one Evil member - I guess no deities can maintain Paladin levels as they make deals with evil Pantheon members.Now, if the game world is designed around the presumption that the Paladin may never compromise with an evil being, and we make Evil with a capital 'E', not just a selfish merchant, this could work in a given game.  However, it would mean building in an option in any scenario for an action acceptable to the Paladin to be successful.  The Paladin's Dilemma, where no action satisfies the requirements imposed on the Paladin exists (eg. you must obey all laws of the land, and slay evil wherever you find it - that guy is evil so killing him would be murder and sparing him allows evil to live, so you lose your Paladin status whatever you do) should not be present.  That may describe your game world - the possibility is why I note we need background on the specific game.It's always amazing when GM's complain that their players not following the standards of the genre (eg. the Paladin compromises his moral code; the starship captain is unwilling to sacrifice himself for his crew; the Superhero never exercises restraint - numerous examples exist across all genres), but don't recognize that those genre standards also include success coming from following those standards (the Paladin's mercy is repaid with loyalty, not betrayal; the Captain finds a way to win after surrendering himself to the enemy to protect his crew; the Superhero's restraint is not followed by a gleeful cackle as the enemy knocks him out with one blow, or slaughters an innocent bystander).  Paladins are a fantastic example - if the game world is stacked against him, just tell the players "no Paladins in this game" rather than grinding them into the dirt through a world where abiding by their principals will always mean failure, if it is possible at all.</blockquote>

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