What happens if a paladin gives up his Paldinhood?

[sword-dancer]

To make it a little clearer

What happens with a character who resigns from Paldinhood because he didn`t want to bear the burden longer?

Meant someone who is tired, exhausted mostly mentally, he didn´t found refreshment in the acknowledgement of fulfilling his duty, or to say it blunt, ready.

What happens with a character who resigns from Paldinhood because he didn`t believe he couldn`t bear the burden longer?

The character believes he is unable to fulfill his duty in an atleast an acceptable manner, he would resign to bring not dishonor to his gods, other paladins and endanger the innocent by not giving them the protection he is supposed to do.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

thats what always irked me about paladins. How come they ALWAYS have to LG? ... Why cant Hextor have paladins, or Nerull have some? why just Heironeous...

Paladins are defined as WHITE Knights. They are knights of virtue, chivalry, order, and good. They are that way by DEFINITION. There's nothing wrong with building equally BLACK Knights for evil deities. If you want one, design it. Besides, why would those gods want a fighter who heals, turns undead, etc.? They'd probably want the exact opposite.

 

[sword-dancer]

As someone else said, this varies with the nature of paladinhood in one's campaign. I've always looked on it as a call to fight evil. And if you're not out there in the world, actively fighting evil, you're not a paladin.

I´ve looked it always as a call of fight evil to defend the innocent

To fight evil didn`t make you good, if the reason and motivation is good that and your actions deflect this, then you are good.

 

[Squire James]

While I'm not a DM that tries to put every paladin I see in a crisis of faith every adventure (there seems to be a large number of DM's who think that's part of the class), I agree there has to be some standards.

I think renouncing one's Order should be considered a chaotic act, a chink in the paladin's "Law armor". I'd say the character loses his paladin abilities until such a time that he atones and gets them back. This should be fairly easy if he stays Lawful Good (no spell or quest required), and harder if he changed alignment in the interim. Future level advancement would have to be in something else besides paladin.

If the player wants to continue play as a paladin, but wants to lose the Order he's in, perhaps he can suggest an adventure where he gets unfairly tossed out... even if he later mends fences with the Order he might decide to serve Good more directly.

 

[Tolen Mar]

Here's how we handled it...

YMMV, of course...

My character was General Aeric Hardin, a third level Paladin of Haelyn (This was in Birthright). His whole life had been dedicated to his order, the church and the protection of his people. While he is away from Dhoesone fighting an orc invasion, the baroness is assassinated, and her two cheif advisors kidnap the next in line. Hardin and his first lieutenant give chase and begin trying to track them down. During the pursuit they found that the advisors had been powerless to stop the assassination, and that they were taking the next in line (sorry, I foget her name and title) to the Chamberlain in the Imperial City for safety. It turned out that the church (Hardins church) had hired the assassin because they wanted to take over Dhoesone for themselves.

This didnt sit will with Hardin, and he denounced his order. However, he continued to follow his code of honor (which requires his following LEGITIMATE authority) and proceeded to campaign against eh church and the orcs, as well as try to avoid a rebellion.

Therefore, I multiclassed as a fighter. For several levels he was too busy to atone for any actions taken out of Paladinhood, but he still worshipped Healyn, and still dedicated his life to the god. He continued to fight for the innocent. Therefore, for the duration, Hardin retained his paladin powers, but didnt advance as a paladin anymore. (He later became a warmaster. I have yet to worry much about any potential atonement.) In this case, we all agreed (DM included) that he was still protecting the innocent, and he was still worshipping Healyn. Hardin also continues to advance Healyn's will at every opportunity. He is no longer a paladin, but he still can heal, and now leads a fairly impressive army against invasion.

So in my opinion, as long as the character continues to follow his code, continues to show his god his devotion, he should still keep his powers. I have retained LG alignment, have never willingly or knowingly commited an evil act (Hardin even tries to capture rebels as opposed to killing them). So I dont think simply multiclassing would cause him to lose his powers.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

I´ve looked it always as a call of fight evil to defend the innocent

To fight evil didn`t make you good, if the reason and motivation is good that and your actions deflect this, then you are good.

Point taken. Perhaps I over-simplified.

As for the rest, there's a difference between multiclassing and resigning. If a paladin can roleplay a respectable reason for picking up another class in order to better serve his code, that's reasonable. But if he abandons the code, regardless of what his alignment becomes, he should lose his powers. It's the Code, the OATH, that provides the power. A paladin is given power contingent upon his servitude to a power or order. Alignment is a TOOL for partially measuring that. It is not the ONLY measuring stick.

At any rate, a kindly god may take pity on a burnt out knight like the one in sword-dancer's example and leave him some of his abilities. However, that would probably be the exception rather than the rule. The life of a Paladin is SUPPOSED to be HARD. He's supposed to EARN his abilities by virtue of that difficulty. If he gives up that life, he should forfeit those abilities.

 

[Suldulin]

What happens with a character who resigns from Paldinhood because he didn`t want or believe he couldn`t bear the burden longer?
Or believe he couldn`t longer follow the path of duty?

he gets some nice fluffy towels sent to him?(reference: PCat's storyhour)

 

[sword-dancer]

Sorry but i asked for a paladin who resign his duties, not from a member of an order who wish to leave that order.
Not every paklly is a member of a (knightly) order, and no order IMC has the majority of it`s members been Paladins.

Tolen Mar

I think, as long as you didn`t evil things in char self, that you refused to follow the orders of this evil, oathbreaking, blasphemic (you get the point)... scum. Isn`Treason.
To purirfies the Tenet of them, with approbiate(Quarteing, burning at the stake, drowning with poisonous snakes(roman punishment for fathermurederes) if acceptable IYC, wouldn`t be breaking the duties, but fullfillment of the duties.