Suggestions for Playing a Paladin

[JDragon]

My group will shortly be starting a new campaign and I'm considering playing a Paladin. After playing for various versions of D&D over the last 25+ years this will be my first serious attempt at playing a paladin.

We will be playing Paizo's AP Serpent's Skull, using PFRPG.

I want to play a Lawful Good Paladin not Lawful Stupid that is not going to get himself or the party killed for no good reason.

I'm looking for any suggestions and advice the brain trust that is the ENWorld Community can provide.

Thanks

JD

 

[GSHamster]

The key points which trip up paladins are ambushes, thievery, and non-combat killings (i.e. poisoning).

I would decide what your paladin's outlook on each of those items would be, and how he would respond to a party that utilized those methods.

 

[haakon1]

I play paladins often.

The key is: a paladin's role is not to be a pedantic annoyance. His role is to right wrongs by killing stuff with his sword, heroically sacrificing (meat shielding) to get the job done, and his off hours being nice to the poor and so forth.

Having a complex about using oil or ambushes has nothing to do with being a paladin, IMHO.

The archetype is a classical hero, not a defense attorney for monsters.

My last two paladins:

-- Ecgwulf, a paladin from a Viking culture (the name is from Beowulf). He had no complex about using tactical advantages and he didn't try to order anyone around, yet he did heroic things and tried to instill goodness by example. Like when fighting a black dragon, he taunted it to attack him instead of weaker characters, and stood up to the bully for a round or two. And when fighting vampire spawn, he ran into a room of them so they'd come after him, taking pressure off the spellcasters and concentrating them for a good blasting.

-- Tiberius, a paladin of the falling Nerathi Empire. I view him as a would be legionnaire of the fallen empire. His goal in life is not religious -- it's to restore the empire by living up to its highest standards of valor, and faithfully serving the remaining nobility to protect the people.

 

[Rechan]

Especially because that campaign deals with lawless areas and pirates and the like:

You need to consider how your paladin reacts to evil. This would relate to the God you follow, as well as your personality. I don't know if PF paladins can detect evil, but there's a few issues on how paladins react to evil.

How does the paladin react to evil NPCs that walk by or that they meet in general? A merchant may ping on the Detect Evil scale because he's callous, cheats his customers and on his taxes. A Lawful Stupid (LS) paladin would want to put him to the sword because he's evil. A LG paladin might either refuse to buy/sell from him, distrust/avoid him, try to convert him, or pity/sympathy him but not intervene.

If an evil NPC offers aid or to ally, how will the paladin react? If an evil NPC surrenders, does the paladin execute them or free them (as I understand it, that AP will be doing things away from civilization so there are no jails and judges).

This also applies to other partymembers doing it. Is the paladin going to stand by idly when PCs kill prisoners, or torture them for info?

There's also "doing the Right thing vs. Needless Sacrifice".

Some LS paladin types can't accept backing down from confrontation with Evil, because it's Evil, and allowing it to exist is Not Ok. Let me give an example:

If a lone, low level paladin happens upon a vampire attacking a girl, what does he do? He can attack the vampire, allowing the girl to escape, but because he is not powerful enough to kill the vampire, he will die and it will live to kill again. Or he could retreat, unfortunately sacrificing the girl, but by gather help and hunting the vampire down, he ensures the vampire will be vanquished.

 

[Rechan]

Also it's important to know your DM's stance on paladin codes and what circumstances they will nuke your paladin status.

It's not unheard of for DMs to intentionally try to snatch a player's paladinhood, give them unwinnable situations/pit them against the party, or be very strict on how they interpret the alignment/code.

 

[pemerton]

The key points which trip up paladins are ambushes, thievery, and non-combat killings (i.e. poisoning).

Having a complex about using oil or ambushes has nothing to do with being a paladin, IMHO.

<snip>

Ecgwulf, a paladin from a Viking culture (the name is from Beowulf).

I think for a classic paladin, honour is key. The reason for eschewing ambushes, thievery and the like is because they are dishonourable.

Which would apply equally to a viking paladin - viking law codes distinguish between murder - roughly, killin at night - and killing in a fair fight.

So if playing a paladin, you probably also want to think about what is or isn't dishonourable, and what other values are important to you. Honour was precious to vikings, but so was wit - there is a story in one of the sagas about a prisoner of war, waiting on the beach to be executed. He had long hair, and asked one of his captors to hold it out of the way while he was beheaded, so that it would not be stained by blood. Then, as the executioner was swining his axe, the prisoner pulled his head away, dragging the arms of the one holding his hair into the path of the axe, so that it cut of his hand. This clever deed was applauded by the onlookers, and the prisoner was spared and recruited by them instead. (Presumably the story is a fiction, or at least heavily embellished, but gives some feel for what the vikings admired.)

If an evil NPC surrenders, does the paladin execute them or free them (as I understand it, that AP will be doing things away from civilization so there are no jails and judges).

I think taking oaths and ransoms is an option here, at least for many NPCs - oaths to renounce violence, to do good deeds in repentence, to make recompense, etc.

Also it's important to know your DM's stance on paladin codes and what circumstances they will nuke your paladin status.

It's not unheard of for DMs to intentionally try to snatch a player's paladinhood, give them unwinnable situations/pit them against the party, or be very strict on how they interpret the alignment/code.

I wouldn't play with this sort of GM at all, and certainly not if I wanted to play a paladin.

Doing anything interesting with the paladin code, with taking prisoners, etc, requires the GM not to be a dick. For example, if the paladin PC takes prisoners, and extracts oaths of repentance from them, the GM shouldn't just have them turn around and rejoin the bad guys without thinking about the implications that has for how the player of the paladin can play his/her PC in the future.

 

[Nebten]

If you have not done so already, I would recommend downloading and reading the Serpent's Skull Player's Guide. This guide seeks to aid players preparing to take part in the Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path, to arm them with spoiler-free details and rule elements useful in the forthcoming challenges, and to help create backgrounds that easily mesh with the campaign. It's free and can be found on Paizo's website: http://paizo.com/store/games/rolepl...ath/serpentsSkull/v5748btpy8g6d&source=search

The following is what is says about Paladin's in this adventure path:
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Paladins

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Holy warriors may travel to Sargava for any number of reasons. Paladins focused on maintaining order see the growing unrest in Sargava as needing their attention, and Iomedaean, Abadaran, and Erastilian paladins flock to Eleder and Kalabuto to face the threat of openrebellion from the native Mwangi inhabitants. On the other hand, paladins may pity the natives’ plight and work to right the injustices committed by colonial oppressors. Additionally, the Hellknight Order of the Coil maintains a base near Eleder, setting their sights on eliminating the spread of what they see as disease and savagery as relics from the past flow out of the Mwangi to the civilized world. Paladins with ambitions of rising in the ranks of this small order may travel to Sargava in the hope of discovering lost cities to seal their secrets deep in the jungle. Paladins native to Sargava and the Mwangi Expanse may be sailing home on the Jenivere after a tour in the Mendevian Crusades, the orc-wars of Lastwall, or other holy missions throughout the Inner Sea. The quest to liberate lost relics from the jungle depths also leads many paladins to explore the Mwangi Expanse, attracting those hopeful of discovering treasures to better the lives and further the goals of their brethren.

Recommendations: Abadar or Iomedae make fine divine patrons for paladins, as their presence and inf luence are strong in Sargava. But in the depths of the wilderness such crusaders shouldn’t expect significant support from their churches. Also, a paladin’s mount can often prove troublesome in the claustrophobic jungle tangles and shadowy ruins common to the upcoming adventures—making the ability to summon and dismiss such a companion at will most beneficial. Yet for all the challenges a paladin might face, the class’s resistance to many aff lictions and ability to heal disease, poison, and other maladies commonly employed by denizens of the jungle make a paladin a most welcome addition to any band of explorers. ​

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[Dioltach]

You might want to read the Elenium trilogy by David Eddings, which centres around a group of paladins (called 'Church Knights'). It offers a very good example of possible ranges of lawful good-ness. It also makes it clear that the Church Knights are more worldly than members of other religious orders -- they're not locked up in cloisters but deal with real people and real problems.

(Compare Shepherd Book's response to events in Firefly: he ventures out into the world and realises that many of his Abbey's ideals are impossible for people who are just trying to get by.)

 

[Quickleaf]

We will be playing Paizo's AP Serpent's Skull, using PFRPG.

Haven't play through it myself, but the impression I got from it is a mix of old school Swords & Sorcery with smugglers, pirates, and tropical frontier life. Also, it takes place in Sargava which (according to the free player's guide) has fatigue penalties for armor due to the hot climate.

Taking all that into consideration, this seems like a challenging campaign to play a straight up paladin in.

How does your character concept relate to the adventure path?

 

[Hand of Evil]

Create your code, for that is where your aligniment will come in to play. An example/guideline I always use is the Boy Scout's Oath.

Now see the DM ADIVE Thread...