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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thia Halmades" data-source="post: 2716268" data-attributes="member: 35863">By Request, a reposte (not to be confused with a riposte)Holding the Paladin to the tenets of their Deity is reasonable. I constantly feel like I'm the wrong person to get involved in these discussions, because my view is black & white. I've read the thread on the General Board and contributed to it; it's 505 or something (on page 10) and you can flip to it if you like. Look for the wolf statue. But the answer to your question (if such a question was asked) is simply, what to do in this situation?Far as I'm concerned, the player handled it perfectly. He failed, he knew he failed, he went full bore and said "Eff it. If I'm going, they're coming with me." He snapped. TOTALLY COOL with the snapping, it's the tragic side of the character. No one can be that good, all the time. And enough stress means eventually you'll freak. I might've allowed a Will Save to avoid it, or allow the PC to be 'aware' of what he was doing in character, but the way you retell it, the character knew full well what was happening.Bravo.You chose (or the DM chose) in this campaign to reward that hot RP session with a full blown recovery, intervention by another deity, and an Atonement granted by the Divine Itself. Again, I must say.Bravo.This adheres pretty much to what I usually say about Paladins; it isn't "WWGD" or even "WWSMD" - it's "What's right, in your world view, and what is within the bounds of the law?" Lawful. That to me means caring about society, and upholding the standards of society. It means that by doing so, you protect others by living your life to the standard you set. You don't "go around" your code to cut down the BBEG when you can't catch him red-handed. It isn't done. This is one of the great RP conflicts of the Paladin. They have the ability to Smite Evil, but doing the Smiting isn't always Lawful. Shoot, it isn't always Good, either.Good means keeping the peace, protecting the innocent, etc. It means, generally, your opponent should have a weapon in his hand and see you coming (honor code). I've made (and won) plenty of arguments over what constitutes being both Lawful (upholding the literal law) and Good (murdering evil doers to protect others from their predations). Are these Paladin behaviors? Depends on the Deity, and it depends on the DM. Some will rule "Yes," in a heart beat. I rule "no."My Paladins live in a black & white world. There's good, there's evil, and there's the Empire. Evil in the Empire is handled as best as possible. Because Paladins are generally part of the military, which is connected to the theocracy, they're assigned to empty raiding camps, hunt down villains (bounty hunting Paladins. Yes.) and bring them to justice. Justice doesn't mean murder. It means 'Justice within the bounds of the law.'But for every DM, there are multiple answers, and multiple scenarios. Did the Paladin in the former thread kill a Halfling? Yep. Was he evil? We don't know that; he may have been coerced, he may have been charmed, he may have just been the messenger. But he's dead now, and he wasn't the main threat. That act was neither Lawful nor Good, and I would have ruled immediate, lightning bolt style revocation.But that's me.__________________LCpt. Thia Halmades"A life spent making mistakes is not only more useful, but more honorable than a life spent doing nothing." -- G.B. Shaw</blockquote>

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