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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6267059" data-attributes="member: 4937">Probably depends on the alignment of the deity.  I'd typically play a LG deity from the merciful perspective of considering whether or not the reviewer thinks it should be noticable to the paladin.  I wouldn't expect LE deities to be so understanding with their champions.One area you don't seem to be considering is whether or not the deity requires (or perhaps even needs) his champions to maintain a certain level of purity.  For example, suppose the code requires a vow of chastity in order to be in the deities service - maybe you are a Paladin in service of a Virgin Goddess.   If the vow of chastity is broken by any means, knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or not, it may well be that though your deity is merciful and forgives you, you aren't getting back into her sacred order.   For a lawful diety, the fact that this isn't 'fair' to the particular transgressor is far less important than the standard and example being upheld for the group.   My short answer to this is that the 3.5 alignment descriptions are generally incoherent to the point of being meaningless if not clarified in some fashion.   They are also generally in contridiction to the alignment descriptions from earlier editions.   It should be obvious that being guided by a personal code (ei, one you set for yourself) is in immediate conflict with the notion of respect for authority (ei, someone with the right to set rules for you).  As far as how you can have high authority and also have a judge, the idea behind lawfulness is that all are subject to the law.   The highest authorities publish a code that they also are subject to, one persumably based on their rightful understanding of the universe, and presumably pass judgment upon themselves or else would lose their authority.  Since however they are paragons of lawfulness, in practice this doesn't happen.   A paragon of lawfulness acting in a chaotic manner would basically mean Chaos had won.I'm a bit uncomfortable with the notion that you are in service to a Principle - ei Law or Good.  However, it an anthromorphic universe its entirely possible that Good or Law is itself a sentient Elder God.  Certainly 'Chaos' is often portrayed in this way in real mythologies.    If not, I imagine that the Principle is far less forgiving even than a diety would be, as the again, the precondition on recieving power might well be ABSOLUTE purity of conduct.</blockquote>

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