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Message: <blockquote data-quote="genshou" data-source="post: 2554162" data-attributes="member: 13164">I have read these threads in the past.  The crux of the matter is that D&D is a world of Absolutism–Good (or [Good] if you prefer) is not a universal principle, it is an absolute.  But as I explain in my last post above to Lord Pendragon, the absolute of "Good" and what a society or religious grouping perceives as "Good" can differ due to imperfections in human thought.  The paladin's goal is to strive for that which is more Lawful Good than anyone else's Lawful Good–the absolute that is the very essence of the alignment.  While you or I might be *mostly* Lawful Good but have a few vices, a paladin is striving for perfection.Sepulchrave handled this nicely in his Tales of Wyre campaign with the schism in Oronthon's church between the advocates of mercy (Good) and justice (Law).  This seems to be a paradox in real-world Christianity as well, though there are ways to explain how the two balance one another within the context of a being possessing Divine Nature.  However, explanation of this would not only cause real-world, irrelevant-to-the-discussion religion to intrude upon the discussion at hand, but would use the very dogmatic approach I shun in my post to Lord Pendragon above.  Thus, I shall set aside this concept for the purpose of the discussion at hand.A paladin is not required to be perfect; any philosopher who believes in the possibility of a perfect man (and by man I mean human, mortal, sentient) is a fool.  As only Oronthon himself in Sepulchrave's campaign possesses the perfection required to balance between Law and Good, any paladin serving under Him must sit on one side of the fence or the other.  Thus, the individual's dogma–and therefore their interpretation of moral absolutes–is defined solely by the realm of the Lawful Good alignment in which they reside.  It is not so much a question of "is it merciful to the goblin children" or "is it just?", but instead a question of how the needs of both spheres are met, and which side the paladin shies toward.I challenge someone to take what I just wrote and use the mystical powers of brevity to make it half its current size.</blockquote>

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