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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Demmero" data-source="post: 2709698" data-attributes="member: 13641">Wow.  Where to start?  This is looking so Annakin Skywalker to me.....The paladin in question has gone beyond all normal reasoning, apparently, so he should be allowed to do whatever he wants, or, more precisely, whatever his rage drives him to.  I disagree.  I mean, look at this example!  There's the cleric friend finding the wife apparently unharmed, the intruders gone...and then bringing this "good news" to the paladin downstairs.  Yet when the cleric relates these good tidings to the paladin, the aggrieved father takes the words as "the worst news to confirm his own suspicions."  Huh?  Where's his mind at?  His wife's apparently fine; the intruders are gone.  A 'worst news" scenario has the wife dead or kidnapped.The paladin in this case isn't thinking about the welfare of his family at this point; it's become a pride issue.  How dare someone enter my home and try to harm my family!!??  I don't think that behavior's outrageously out-of-line for someone who's just experienced a home invasion...but it seems kind of off for a paladin.You're wrong.  He could loose his "righteous anger" on the friend who failed him...but then his anger probably be misplaced (and there would likely be serious consequences, both from his friend and his friend's church).  He could (and should, IMHO) vent on the escaped intruders who actually assaulted his wife...but they're not at hand, so there's no IMMEDIATE venting.  The subdued halfling is the easy target.,,and possibly the wrong one as well.In my mind, the bad guys are cowards for striking at the paladin's wife and unborn child instead of at the paladin himself; and the paladin's not much better, killing the stooge/distraction to "get back at" the attackers.And those who says it's a paladin's duty to mete out punishment to the wicked, punishment doesn't have to take the form of killing, especially killing someone who's already been rendered non-threatening.Sorry, no can do.  That's part of the equation, and that's why so many posters are against the aggrieved father's actions.  Were he a Fighter, a Rogue, a Barbarian, etc....the reaction would be more understandable.  Hell, a Wizard or Sorcerer would probably LOVE the opportunity to kill an intruder by snapping his neck.  Snapping the neck of a subdued foe (and outside of combat) doesn't seem the least bit paladin-like to me.I'm not buying this.  The original poster said this happened in a civilized city, supposedly with its own set of laws and punishments.  The paladin decides to take "justice" into his own hands, ignoring the legitimate authority of the city.  This in itself sounds like it's against the paladin's code to me, but others may disagree.  But look on the other side of the coin: let's say this incident happened to Joe the Candlemaker and not the paladin.  Would his explanation of the halfling with his neck snapped for being a part of an attack on his apparently-unharmed wife fly when the local constable shows up?  Maybe others would disagree, but I think he'd have a hell of a lot more explaining to do than the paladin in the same circumstances?  Is that fair or just?  Aren't paladins supposed to have a thing about injustice?For me, there are two reasons why I think the paladin in question has broken the code:1)  The manner of dispensing "justice."  Snapping the necks of subdued prisoners in the middle of a civilized, lawful city seems selfish and wicked; and, more importantly:2)  The paladin didn't take a few moments to Detect Evil on the halfling.  If you choose to execute an 'evildoer,' doesn't it make sense to make sure that he's evil beforehand, when you have that ability, usable at will?  The paladin's failure to do so show that he acted in a self-serving, reckless manner.As others have pointed out, the halfling may have been just a hired stooge.  Or maybe he's another victim, and threatening a person's family is the BBEG's MO.  Isn't it the least bit possible that the halfling was told that his family would be harmed if he didn't do this one "small favor" for the BBEG?  Kind of unlikely, I admit, but the paladin had the ability to find out--all in the matter of a few seconds--if the halfling was evil or not, and he didn't.  that reeks to me of choosing personal vengeance over justice.</blockquote>

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