Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 3198464" data-attributes="member: 19675">Some thoughts provoked by this thread:Paladins as leader:  I can see them as kings, commanders & generals...but I see them more as field leaders.  Most Paladins would be loathe to send someone to do something they would be unwilling to do themselves, either as a matter of bravery or as a matter of ethics.Paladins in an ambush:  As long as the target is of military value, an ambush is a valid tactic.  If we're talking about a supply train, the Paladin would definitely offer surrender- these are not fighting men he's facing, after all.Paladins as assassins:  Depending upon the definition, I have no problem with this.  I can easily visualize a Paladin coming up with a "Lone Gunman" type plan if he decided that the only reason there was a war at all was because of 1 or 2 people.  Remove those people from the land of the living, and the war goes away.  Still, despite being an "assassin" in name, the tactics used would still be 100% paladin-ly.  No poison, for instance; no stab to the chest of the sleeping villain.Weapons of war:  standard weapons & magic would be permissible, but weapons of terror and disease wouldn't.  No poisoning the wells, no launching of corpses (dead or undead) over city walls to spread pestillence, probably no use of fire against civilian dwellings- though that may be permissible against barracks or garrisons, etc.  Siege would be a 50/50 thing- some would object because the starvation caused is indescriminate, others would support it because it has the chance to win with a minimum loss of life.  Special troops (say, Dragonriders, Outsiders or Undead) would only be used for special missions against difficult targets, which is to say those of similar power- no using a unit of Stone Golems or Elementals against local militia, for instance.  The chance of a complete slaughter in such instances would overwhelm the consideration of superior force ending a battle more quickly.POWs:  Depends upon the Paladin.  An "Old School" Paladin will likely pre-judge his opponents, "sorting them out" into 2 categories- those who can be redeemed and those who can't.  Those who can't can be killed indescriminately, even if they surrender, because their innate evil is so great or immutable, taking them alive only delays the inevitable fate that justice demands, and will ultimately save lives.  "New School" Paladins will accept any surrender they deem legitimate, feeling that any being can be redeemed.Role in a war:  A Paladin can find a legitimate role in almost any war, even if its just protecting innocents and minimizing loss of life.  Even if his Liegelord orders him to fight a war without provocation, he can fight that war in a 100% ethical fashion...announcing to his foe that he plans to attack at this location "at this time" and advising the foe that "surrender would be advisable", and that all who surrender would be "treated with honor" would be one way.  Keeping his troops from the "raping and pillaging" of those they conquer would be another.</blockquote>

Verification