What is your paladin's personal code?

[JDowling]

Best advice i can give - talk with your GM and fellow players about your code before play.

In a recient game I played a paladin of a *vengeful* god, so I was very much smite evil, smite it now and hard.

Another player in the campaign questioned if I was playing within the alignment of Lawful Good. So, I wrote a rather long essay examining the moral and ethical codes of D&D as well as taking a look at the values my diety espoused.

I decided that my diety would not be a total and complete idiot.

for example: I may have a part to my code to say, always combat evil. But the diety realises that if I try to combat the evil of a greaty wyrm black dragon at level 5 that I will be combating a whole lot less evil over my life than if I put off that battle until later.

Similarly -
"Never lie"
"always protect the innocient"
What if, knowing this, the evil guys knock you out in a brawl, and have a hostage they say:
"If you don't tell us where the rest of the villagers are hiding, we'll kill this boy... if you tell us we'll let him go free"

So, you have several options here:
1 - you can tell them where the villagers are hiding... sentancing them to death but protecting the boy. Here - you fail your oaths.
2 - say "I'll never tell you vile xxx's where the villagers are hiding!"... saving the villagers and sentancing the boy to his death. Here - you fail your oaths.
3 - act emotionally distrought, give up a false location, hope they free the boy before they realise you have pulled the wool over their eyes... and in the mean time maybe the boy will send help to free you. Here - you hopefully save all the innocients, but you had to lie to do so.... so... you fail your oaths.

A god has wisdom that you, or I, or your DM cannot imagine. Saying to your holy warriors: "I will give you a set of rules that you must follow, and if you don't follow them you are unworthy of my grace" knowing *full well* that there is *no way* that the code can always be filled perfectly is by no means Lawful Good (IMO) or wise... it's rather malicious.

Thus - my god was more "ends justifies the means" (but not too much mind you, just enough so i could functionally fill the spirit of his wishes). He could care less if I lied to save innocient lives, killed the bad guy to save others (he's vengeful, after all).

In the end - the DM supported the way I played my character but the other player was left with a bad taste in his mouth, I think.

D&D is very good at glossing over difficult moral and ethical situations with universal laws that just don't make sense.

So, to reiterate - find out what your DM and the other players expect *before* you get into play, have them help you work out your code of conduct so you all agree before any problems arise.

and about the situation above - if *you* were a moderately intelligent "evil guy" NPC, and knew that a paladin had to fill his oaths exactly as they are written like that or fall from grace, wouldn't you take advantage of him/her in that way? I know I would.

EDIT: and Wizofice says it all before I posted :x I agree with him/her wholeheartedly. cheers to the I, Robot referance (i haven't seen the movie, because I don't remember the part in the stories with the army of robots trying to kill humanity )

 

[Jeff Wilder]

My paladin-player asked me to create a code for her Peloric paladin. Here's what I gave her:

The following edicts and observations, gathered and
compiled by the most knowledgeable theologians in
Pelor's service, comprise the code by which Pelor's
paladins must live by to maintain their status. These
are from about four primary sources -- religious texts
and transcriptions.

Note that because Pelor is a Neutral Good deity, His
code differs substantially from that of a God of
Valor, such as Heironeous, and even more so from a God
of Retribution, like St. Cuthbert.

In no particular order:

* "Do not suffer evil to thrive."

* "Evil associates with evil, as lowly things under
rocks, and likewise squirms in the warm glow of the
Sun."

(The interpretation of this passage is that paladins
are strictly forbidden to maintain evil companions.)

* "Obey just laws."

* "Promote just laws wheresoever thou goest, and
likewise speak boldly against the unjust."

* "The Sun is warm gold and the Moon is lustrous
silver. Are not both beautiful and worthy? But when
both hang in the sky, doth the Sun not outshine His
sister?"

(This passage is interpreted to mean that where Good
and Law -- even just Law -- conflict, Good must be
held higher.)

* "Offenders, be they redeemable, treat with as thou
wouldst thy brother; but do not suffer the
irredeemable to live."

(I'm considering a house rule that only irredeemably
evil creatures ping for a Peloric paladin, but
infallibly so.)

* "Of all the Sun-like qualities in mortals, Mercy and
Compassion are those most beloved of Pelor."

* "Cowardice is to be despised in ourselves, second
only to the wasting of a good life."

(This passage means that paladins need not throw their
lives away, even to combat evil. But note that likely
death, or even CERTAIN death, is not necessarily
"wasting a life." Martyrs are fairly common in Pelor
worship.)

* "Pelor does not shine in ambush behind dark clouds."

(This aphorism has been interpreted to mean that a
Paladin of Pelor must behave honorably in life and in
battle. In truth, only truly questionable tactics --
or those "dishonorable" tactics that become relied
upon or habitual -- seem to earn Pelor's disapproval.
As above, Pelor places more emphasis on Good than upon
manifestations of Law such as "honor.")

* Undeath is an abomination to be purified beneath the
Sun."

 

[Torm]

I haven't read the book in well over a dozen years and wrote that in 2001 or 2002. So, I was referring to the book, or my faulty memory thereof.

That wasn't meant as an attack on you, anyway - it was DEFINITELY meant as an attack on that abominable Will Smith vehicle. But you got that, it seems, so nuff said.

 

[JDowling]

1. A Paladin may not commit an Evil act or, through inaction, allow an Evil act to be perpetrated.

2. A Paladin must obey the laws of man, except where such would conflict with the First Law.

3. A Paladin must protect their own existence and dignity (as well as that of those they have chosen to make identifiable with themselves) as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

I'd acctually put them in order of 3, 1, 2 for paladin... you don't want all the little level 1 paladins going out to "verily smite yon dragon of black" as to never make it to level 2

 

[James Heard]

My paladin's ethos code (but bear in mind that paladins are all following a much more LN diety than LG IMC):

1.The church is all that is holy and good. It creates order throughout the world and those who fail to uphold and support it's teachings are infidels and blasphemers. Even so it is made of Men, a paladin should strive to promote the Will of Heiros throughout the church as they are His Chosen Spears.

2. Do not question the order of the church, disorder is the blackest mark a Soldier of Heiros can invoke upon his soul.

3. As it is the Will of Heiros, it is the Will of Man. The Empire is His Chosen Nation, and His Emperor His Chosen Ruler. All those who would follow the crede of Heiros must follow the crede of His Emperor.

4. Remove the taint of the unholy from everything that it stains.

5. Do not suffer a blasphemer or elf to live.

6. Do not covet riches nor earthly pleasures. Strive for the Will that in Himself He displays.

7. Promote the glory of Heiros by deeds and actions. Be fearless and forthright in all things, let not deception tarnish His Glory.

8. A warrior in good service to Heiros is gracious in all things, they there is no order without refinement.

9. Those Chosen for His most special of services are Lords and Ladies of the Empire, entrusted with all the courtesies and responsibilities that does entail. Be one of the Peerage and exact your Justices. Always present yourself in times of war or strife without fail.

10. Observe your prayers at noon, when Heiros is in full attendance. Never eat fowl on holy days, or fish on the days of remembrance.

That's about it. Of course the actual laws are pretty much normal, and so are the emperors. Paladins often have a really tough time upholding all of their obligations. The crede is written in order of importance (if you accidentally eat trout on the wrong day then there's no big deal - if you go out of your way to eat a bunch of it on several days though...)

 

[Lord Pendragon]

As a player of paladins, I tend to use the Old Code previously quoted from Dragonheart, as an implied code, and not specify the actual code itself. Why? Because I don't particularly care to check each and every one of my actions against a list of rules, or to have my DM do so. The Old Code gets across the tenor of the paladin's code quite nicely, while refraining from naming specifics.

 

[neg]

Sorry it took so long...

Sorry it took so long to get back to this thread, real world crept up on me when I was least expecting it.

First, thanks to everyone who responded. This was very helpful and I am going to list a few of my favorites. All of the material listed was helpful, and the arguement for guidelines rather than strict rules has merit of course.

My situation has changed slightly. My first character will be a fighter who will hopefully prestige class into a Knights order than is very Arthurian in nature, sans the Holy Grail aspect. I thought playing a paladin might be outside of the direction I wanted to go to get the prestige class. So instead, I figured that developing a personal code and trying to stand by it will get my character noticed and possibly become a champion of the people at the same time.

If you will remember, this is a Dawnforge campaign and the PC's have the opportunities to shape and change the world around them, so this is very possible.

Here are the themes that struct me most, they will need some thought to get them into shape, but I think they are a good starting point. Some may be redundant, but bear with me. If I didn't take anything from your post, don't take it personally, there were so many good ideas I had to pick and choose.


Mercy: Offer opponents a chance to surrender. Use non-lethal force and incapacitating spells where convenient and not endangering allies.

Charity: Always give up a sum of the gains a local church that is good to the common people (in this case St. Cuthbert) and use another part to start initiatives to help the poor.

Friendship: Share things with friends and assist them when possible. Respect that they are different, be mild in the rejection of their ways unless clearly evil or unlawful.

• Never allow undead or demons to flourish when it is within your power to destroy them (This works well for the Dawnforge campaign in particular.)

• Serve as an example to others

You are defender of the kingdom. You are protector of nobleman and commoner alike. It is your duty to protect the innocent, the frail, and those who cannot defend themselves. (Very much an ethic of the Knights Prestige class I am shooting for)

Honour is your sword, wear it with pride. Be noble, just, honest and respectful. Do not abuse your position nor your status as a knight. Your words and deeds speak for more than just yourself.

Do not judge a man by his race or appearance. Just as evil can wear a pleasant face, so the opposite is true of good.

Not every crime requires harsh judgement. Temper your actions with wisdom.

Truth: I will always tell the truth, for it is unbecoming of a man of my station to lie. When dealing with touchy political situations, I will either not be the speaker for my family, do my best to avoid topics of secrecy, or flat out tell them I cannot answer such questions. (I especially like the choice of the word "unbecoming" here, it struct me somehow.

6. Do not seek the easy way nor the hard way; seek the best way. (Brilliant and simple, my favorite. Obvious yet full of wisdom.)

10. Lead by example.



Well any comments on this list?

Anyone have further personal codes or paladin codes they wish to share?

-neg

 

[Voadam]

Dude! You have to roleplay! This is a roleplaying game! You gotta shout "BLASPHEMER" before you kill them and take their stuff. Read the rules man.

Here Here!

Although "Die minions of evil!" works too.

As a DM with a paladin in the party I am very lenient as far as what is an evil act or gross violation of the code that will have any power consequences. The player however thinks the code and alignment restrictions are the coolest aspect of D&D.

Same for Exalted characters, although mechanical evil crosses the line quickly. For example the exalted druid shifter does not want to take on fiendish forms because he would risk his spiritual purity and exalted status.

Mechanical evil strict, clear cut, need purification. Roleplay issues that can lead to DM/PC disagreements about appropriate character actions, avoid as much as possible.

 

[TheGemini]

Mine is a purposely built stupid Paladin modeled after The Tick. Therefore, the complex notions of Paladinhood escape him:

If it's yucky, it's probably in need of a beating.

If it's evil-looking, it's probably ripe for a "Taste My Justice!"

If it's evil looking and obviously more powerful than me: Walk away in righteous disgust, then start pacing and asking Torm how to kill it. Every now and then mutter something indignant so everyone knows just how righteously unhappy I am with the evil thing/guy.

If it's not evil, but not a follower of Torm, present it with a pamphlet or recite some religious text to set it on the right path.

Protect the rest of the party -- they're not Paladins of Torm so they need it.