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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3442421" data-attributes="member: 4937">It's a hard thing to discuss, because we don't have accurate words for describing things we can't see.  I mean, who can say what Faith looks like or where it resides?  Fantasy is interesting (to me) precisely because it takes things from the nebulous sphere of ideas, and transforms them into concrete entities that we can discuss in more concrete terms.My point is that a fighter's strength comes from his discipline, skill, strength, endurance and other things inside the fighter.  The fighter's strength is fundamentally internal and personal in nature.  A fighter is strong because well, he is strong.The paladin is a different sort.  Yes, his strength can come somewhat from displine and skill and strength and endurance just like the fighter, but the sort of strength that a Paladin has which is unique to the paladin is that his strength comes from without himself.  The Paladin doesn't rely on himself to be strong.  Rather he cultivates reliance on something external and stronger than himself.  From the Paladin's perspective, faith is not a cultivation of spiritual strength, but a recognition of physical and spiritual weakness.  Faith is opposite of self-reliance.  It is the practice of learning not to imagine yourself strong.To the element of Sacrifice mentioned as the defining aspect of Paladins, I would add the element Service.</blockquote>