Would you allow this paladin in your game? (new fiction added 11/11/08)

[Look_a_Unicorn]

I don't know so much about the finer points of D&D paladanism- nor do I care too- My vote says 'aye!' on the basis of the character. It obviously fits into the gods view of how a paladin *edit* May */edit* behave or he wouldn't have a paladin's powers.

But the main point I wanted to make... I really enjoyed the mini-stories that portrayed this character. Would love to read about him in a campaign (that I am sure would ultimately end in his messy, violent and accepted death).

Thanks for the read Shilsen! Love your work.

 

[fnork de sporg]

I would like to point out that the paladin is not coercing anyone. Indeed he politely refused to have sex with four girls at once. They wanted to have sex with him. The pnly reason he payed at all was because it was the right and lawful thing to do.

 

[shilsen]

And it rises from it's grave once again.

Your mojo is powerful, Shilsen

Who knew?

*goes back to poking dolls of ENWorld members with pins to make them post here*

But the main point I wanted to make... I really enjoyed the mini-stories that portrayed this character. Would love to read about him in a campaign (that I am sure would ultimately end in his messy, violent and accepted death).

Thanks for the read Shilsen! Love your work.

Thanks.

I'd like to play the character as a PC someday, but right now I'm too busy DMing two campaigns to do that. I'm considering having Cedric show up as an NPC in one of my games.

 

[RigaMortus2]

I would allow it. Is this character a hero? I would say Yes. Is he a role-model? No. Do Paladins have to be heroes, or role-models (or both)?

Also why are people trying to psycho-analyze prostitution based on the real world? Do people not realize this is a FANTASY game? OMG, a prostitute that actually likes sex and wants to get paid for it... Unheard of! C'mon people, lighten up. It is a fantasy world, so if the DM (ie creator of the world) says all prostitutes work in a happy environment, are clean, respected, and are not enslaved or abused and it is legal, then that is that. No reason to bring real-world aspects into it.

 

[Torm]

I would allow it. Is this character a hero? I would say Yes. Is he a role-model? No. Do Paladins have to be heroes, or role-models (or both)?

Both.

However, in my opinion, a good role-model is NOT necessarily someone who is perfect; perfect role-models can actually be discouraging to those who would follow their example and fail to live up to them. A good role-model is someone who legitimately tries (rather than just paying lip service) and sincerely repents their failings. Cedric may be blurring the lines a bit - you get the feeling that once upon a time, he failed and repented, but after a while he grew cynical enough for his feelings about it to become a little hollow.

I'd allow him, though. In my opinion, he's a Good guy, and he fills a more important niche in gaming than being a role-model - he's an interesting character. And, after all, isn't the reason we play, in part, to sit around later bs-ing about cool things about characters we've played?

I'd be disappointed, though, if any potential DM of this character didn't have a story arc going that means the reason Cedric hasn't lost his powers is that he's needed by his deity for some specific purpose. Which ends with Cedric cleaning up his act, or becoming something other than Paladin (in a way that doesn't screw the player).

 

[Torm]

Also why are people trying to psycho-analyze prostitution based on the real world? ....

I think it is because there are certain ideas that people don't even want implied because they are worried the effects would carry over into the real world in the behavior of people exposed to them. Like that prostitution can be a good thing for all parties. Or that selective breeding might be good for humanity as a whole. Things that people think would negatively impact the status quo, and that in some cases there is a prominent BAD precedent (or several bad ones) that shapes their opinion. Not that they are necessarily wrong, but (IMHO) anything that causes people to have a kneejerk reaction rather than examining things on a case-by-case basis is bad.

 

[genshou]

That's a false dilemma. Cedric does not need to patronize the prostitutes in order to look out for them, help them out of financial trouble, or keep them healthy. Nor does he need to do all or even any of those in order to do good to them. Cedric's nighttime romps and his protection/assistance are not inseparable activities. It's quite possible to do one without the other. It's possible for one to be bad and the other good. And it's also possible (IMO, quite likely) that patronizing the prostitutes would actually interfere with helping them.

Bingo. I had thought no one else had figured this out.

I once had a character who frequented a brothel. Let's talk about him for a moment.

He was a handsome traveller who always arrived like a thief in the night and left the same way. There was something strange and mystical about him, but he never spoke with anyone in the city. He never requested a room at the inn or any meals, and most assumed he was some sort of adventurer who could easily survive in the wild with the help of magic. Once a week, he would enter the local brothel, and eight hours later he would exit. He never spoke to the management after his first time; they knew what he would request if he were to deem it necessary to speak. He liked virgins. And he paid well for the privilege.

Every week, he took four virgins into his room, one at a time. Every last one of them exited his room with a 1-lb. bar of platinum, and quit the next day. Naturally, this encouraged many a girl thinking of entering the business to keep herself pure until the stranger arrived, as he could somehow sense the purity of those sent to him, and would not open the door for them to enter.

So, this mysterious stranger gave great wealth as a thanks for a service rendered. Or did he?

The truth is, every girl that entered his room a virgin exited the same way. He spent the two hours with each girl teaching them the dogma of Pelor, and giving them a contact who was a priestess of said deity, as well as being a former successful merchant who enjoyed teaching her trade to others. The mysterious traveller then gave them a bar of platinum worth a staggering 500 gp, told them to speak of what had actually happened to no one, and bring the next girl in.

He could have just given them the bar of platinum and the name of the priestess and spent the 2 hours taking what they were so willing to give... but he was a servant of [Good]. And that meant he would do what he could to aid them without asking for anything in return.

 

[Squire James]

I think I've expressed my opinion about this before, but let's not keep that from commenting on it again, eh? This Cedric fellow is something, a real character. That something is NOT a standard D&D paladin. At best, he is a member of some DM-created "exalted order" that have the mechanical statistics of paladins and might even be called "paladin". But he isn't a paladin.

Such a character would, at the very least, be an "attention hog" in my game, and detract from the fun the other players are having because his problems pretty much draw the whole party in and make other PC's problems trivial in comparison. I'd ask the player to have a little mercy on my limited storytelling ability, especially since I really don't feel like creating an Atonement quest every time he enjoys the ladies...

 

[Funeris]

Such a character would, at the very least, be an "attention hog" in my game, and detract from the fun the other players are having because his problems pretty much draw the whole party in and make other PC's problems trivial in comparison...snip

Good thing that we were just asked if we would allow him in a game and not would you allow him in a game with the standard number of four players (or more).

That being said, I'd say I'd still allow him in a game. And I think that for some DM's (Sep pops into my head), this one character's issues would not override all of the other character's issues...and actually, this one character's issues would help to create situations where actual ROLE-playing would need to occur...and then you have all the other PCs growing dynamically with depth....all-in-all not such a bad occurence, IMHO.

Also, whether or not the character is an attention hog depends not just on the character or player but also upon the DM and what he or she is willing to tolerate at the risk of alienating the others. But...maybe that argument belongs in some other thread.

 

[Furby076]

I'd like to play the character as a PC someday, but right now I'm too busy DMing two campaigns to do that. I'm considering having Cedric show up as an NPC in one of my games.

Yes, I think Shilsen wants to have Cedric pimp slap my paladin, who believes in the goodness of everyone and has hope in those who show no signs of hope.