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Message: <blockquote data-quote="5ekyu" data-source="post: 7819514" data-attributes="member: 6919838">This is the part of the position you seem to be taking that baffles me."This seems to be how the paladin in the OP scenario came under a duty to the NPC."You have this somewhat solid defined( and extremeist yo me) view of some obligation to the NPC thatbincludes offering up your life for theirs (not just risk but likely death) even if it wont necessarily save them. This seems to even trump a prior "obligation" or agreement with others on a quest to save the world.You seem to take it as a given that this degree of moral obligation to this individual applies to this paladin in this case with this oath and this circumstance.Yet, the only evidence we have in the scene gives us none of that. I mean, hey, we dont even know if this dragon was the force of the epunds and what they were fleeing, right? If the paladin was trying to rescue this injured fellow from a pack of orcs performing a dark summoning, carrying them to safety to save them from and stop orcs' ritual... then poof a dragon shows up with the claim and offer about eating etc... hasn't whatever deal (overt or implied) changed?If not, if once I start trying to save someone from a specific harm, I am obliged automatically (stated or otherwise) to do whatever I can to protect them from any harm, that's one heck of an expansion of responsibility. It would seem to me, that in a world where that was the norm... a paladin would morally be very hesitant to take on this broad open-ended obligation of the rescuer. After all, perhaps this person is evil or protecting them might lead to evil. So, taking that huge an obligation is akin to taking on a master for a knight or samurai. I mean, basically, if that degree of obligation is assumed by starting to rescue - why would it even be within oath for the paladin to go so off mission when already on a quest to save many many more? Did not the save the world rescue mission also come with this degree of implicit obligation?Or does the obligation-de-facto only kick in after the individual is taken to be rescued? If so, why?</blockquote>

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