Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying the Oath of the Ancients
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Riley37" data-source="post: 6482749" data-attributes="member: 6786839"><p>Good questions!</p><p></p><p>The Oath of the Ancients applies to some of these questions, and is irrelevant to others. How you feel about justice vs. law depends more on whether you're Lawful or Chaotic.</p><p></p><p>Mercy is explicitly related to the light of hope. A human foe *who surrenders* should get mercy in almost all situations; but that doesn't always mean trust - you might tie them up, in place of killing them outright, if you're not willing to accept their parole. (Parole, in military usage, is more or less an agreement between honorable enemies.) If the normal action would be killing them, then *anything less* is mercy.</p><p></p><p>An orc... well, on one hand they're mostly evil to the bone, but if it will run away and not bother you or your friends, then I'd say let it go.</p><p></p><p>A devil? Maybe you could drive it from the material plane rather than kill it, but under what circumstances (and with what motives) could it stay on the Material without doing harm and blight?</p><p></p><p>"Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren."</p><p>If other PCs are rendering life barren - for example, if they see a pack of wolves, and decide to go kill it just for the XP and the furs - then an Oath of Ancients paladin is oath-bound to stop those PCs. You give your PC allies a warning, and if they fail to heed it, then you defend those wolves or die trying.</p><p></p><p>If this kind of situation arises, then I recommend both an in-character conversation, and an out-of-character conversation. (If the other players don't want these kinds of in-character issue, then your choice to play a paladin, and their choice to play murderhobos, are an issue for the group as a whole.)</p><p></p><p>Charity comes under "kindness" as well as hope. If you see someone who's down on their luck, and you can help them keep trying to pull their life together, then helping that person is absolutely an act in support of the light of hope. (If you were multi-classed as Druid, you would cast Goodberry with all your unused slots before every long rest, to give them away as food for the hungry.)</p><p></p><p>The oath does not specifically call for YOU to add to beauty in the world, but if you sing, or if you paint a pretty picture on your shield, then you are enjoying beauty as well as adding to it. Notice if anyone around you is an entertainer or artisan (as background). Bards are not always entertainers; sometimes they're just casters whose magic happens via music; if there's a bard in the party, see what roleplay emerges.</p><p></p><p>Mind control, breaking and entering, assassination and poisoning, lies and deceit: with known, declared enemies, if you've warned them and they still destroy light and beauty, well, bring it on by any means necessary. But all of those methods raise issues of trust. Normally, people need to be able to trust each other, especially their neighbors, and also peaceful travellers. The more everyone needs to be on guard against charms, lies, poison, etc., the less they can let their light shine openly. Don't use such methods casually, or recklessly.</p><p></p><p>Yes, these values have a fair bit in common with some versions of hippyism. Also with some specific religious traditions, which can be a touchy topic.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Riley37, post: 6482749, member: 6786839"] Good questions! The Oath of the Ancients applies to some of these questions, and is irrelevant to others. How you feel about justice vs. law depends more on whether you're Lawful or Chaotic. Mercy is explicitly related to the light of hope. A human foe *who surrenders* should get mercy in almost all situations; but that doesn't always mean trust - you might tie them up, in place of killing them outright, if you're not willing to accept their parole. (Parole, in military usage, is more or less an agreement between honorable enemies.) If the normal action would be killing them, then *anything less* is mercy. An orc... well, on one hand they're mostly evil to the bone, but if it will run away and not bother you or your friends, then I'd say let it go. A devil? Maybe you could drive it from the material plane rather than kill it, but under what circumstances (and with what motives) could it stay on the Material without doing harm and blight? "Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren." If other PCs are rendering life barren - for example, if they see a pack of wolves, and decide to go kill it just for the XP and the furs - then an Oath of Ancients paladin is oath-bound to stop those PCs. You give your PC allies a warning, and if they fail to heed it, then you defend those wolves or die trying. If this kind of situation arises, then I recommend both an in-character conversation, and an out-of-character conversation. (If the other players don't want these kinds of in-character issue, then your choice to play a paladin, and their choice to play murderhobos, are an issue for the group as a whole.) Charity comes under "kindness" as well as hope. If you see someone who's down on their luck, and you can help them keep trying to pull their life together, then helping that person is absolutely an act in support of the light of hope. (If you were multi-classed as Druid, you would cast Goodberry with all your unused slots before every long rest, to give them away as food for the hungry.) The oath does not specifically call for YOU to add to beauty in the world, but if you sing, or if you paint a pretty picture on your shield, then you are enjoying beauty as well as adding to it. Notice if anyone around you is an entertainer or artisan (as background). Bards are not always entertainers; sometimes they're just casters whose magic happens via music; if there's a bard in the party, see what roleplay emerges. Mind control, breaking and entering, assassination and poisoning, lies and deceit: with known, declared enemies, if you've warned them and they still destroy light and beauty, well, bring it on by any means necessary. But all of those methods raise issues of trust. Normally, people need to be able to trust each other, especially their neighbors, and also peaceful travellers. The more everyone needs to be on guard against charms, lies, poison, etc., the less they can let their light shine openly. Don't use such methods casually, or recklessly. Yes, these values have a fair bit in common with some versions of hippyism. Also with some specific religious traditions, which can be a touchy topic. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying the Oath of the Ancients
Top