Yet Another Paladin Behaviour Thread! Yay! Weeee!

Gez

First Post
OK, so during last night's session, as the party is finally investigating the murder mystery, they decide to spread out and patrol the city at night, hoping to stumble unto a clue.

The paladin does, as he hears all sort of noise and agitation and, taking advantage of Eeeevil's lingering aura and his own at-will detect evil ability, decides to track the whatever that's responsible for these murders thanks to the aura it leaves in its path. Pretty clever.

Anyway, he follows it into a series of half-natural caves under the city (not sewers, for once, although these caves are used as emergency flow containment in case of flood), where he's ambushed by goblin-like critters (huggermuggers from ToH2) and their pet Mad Slashers (from mini HB).

They opposition proves to not being tough enough for a level 8 paladin, and two of the hugmugs die, another flee, as well as one of the two slashers. The last slasher lies, agonizing.

Now, our paladin kinda hoped to take one of the hugmugs as a prisoner, to ask a few questions. All he has, though, is a mad slasher.

So, he thinks, "when life gives you lemon, you make lemonade; and when it gives you evil dagger-footed spidery-looking thingies, you try to see if you can follow a wounded one home." He was kinda hoping that, once healed back to 0 hp (yay lay on hands), the beast would flee to its nest.

So, securing a rope around the arachnoidish aberration, he heals it back to its feet, and let it go. He's lead to a merry tour of the old caves, before the rest of the party finally catches up with him, and demonstrates to him that the slasher is, in fact, just fleeing from him and his torchlight, rather than going to a particular location.

Arrives the funny part. Discovering the captured slasher is useless, he wants to... adopt it!

His reasonning being that the creature is too evil to be let loose, but too pitiful and defenseless (it certainly looks so when limpcrawling at 0 hp and shrieking terrified "skreeeee!") to kill in cold blood. :lol:

Unfortunately, another of the PCs wasn't as compassionate toward the poor monster and killed it. :(
 

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IMHO, the paladin was having a perfectly great role-playing moment, taking pity in a creature that was too frightened of him. If anything, the other player spoiled his fun. I'd allow, in name of good RPing, the spidery-thingamaging to survive and let the paladin look for a cleric to divine a way of changing the beast's alignment to at least Neutral (same as a natural animal, even if a bit vicious).
 

Oh, I'd allowed him to try to redeem the critter, if it hadn't been slain. That's how irresponsible players kill a sidequest!
 

Gez said:
So, securing a rope around the arachnoidish aberration, he heals it back to its feet, and let it go. He's lead to a merry tour of the old caves, before the rest of the party finally catches up with him, and demonstrates to him that the slasher is, in fact, just fleeing from him and his torchlight, rather than going to a particular location.

Arrives the funny part.

No, no. The image of a paladin tracking the creature "back" when it is only running from him, is quite funny as it is.

Well, and if the creature is evil unfortunately paladins as defined in the class cannot associate with them, even for adoption purposes. Must be the smite evil aspect as opposed to LG aspect of the class kicking in there, mercy and redemption of others is not on the list of things paladins can do with evil under RAW as I read that prohibition.
 

I don't see "trying to redeem" as "associating", myself. To me, the prohibition is for partnerships rather for emprisonment or reeducation...
 
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Gez said:
I don't see "trying to redeem" as "associating", myself. Too me, the prohibition is for partnerships rather for emprisonment or reeducation...
A Paladin who is forbidden to help a foe along the path to redemption just seems wrong...

Regardless of the RAW, that would have been a great roleplaying/storyline oppourtunity. And a fine time to bend/ignore/reinterpret the rules.
 

Mallus said:
A Paladin who is forbidden to help a foe along the path to redemption just seems wrong...

Regardless of the RAW, that would have been a great roleplaying/storyline oppourtunity. And a fine time to bend/ignore/reinterpret the rules.

Agreed. I like this paladin player, as he or she is both resourceful and thoughtful -- bonus 1000XP's.
 

PaulKemp said:
Agreed. I like this paladin player, as he or she is both resourceful and thoughtful -- bonus 1000XP's.


Paul "Monty Haul DM" Kemp,


yes it is resourceful. and should be rewarded. but not that heavily.

heck for that much xp he would've killed an army of orcs at his level.

redeeming 1 unintelligent critter should = a good side quest with the potential to gain that 1000xp and also get killed doing it. ;)
 

diaglo said:
Paul "Monty Haul DM" Kemp,


yes it is resourceful. and should be rewarded. but not that heavily.

heck for that much xp he would've killed an army of orcs at his level.

redeeming 1 unintelligent critter should = a good side quest with the potential to gain that 1000xp and also get killed doing it. ;)

That's "Mr. Monty Haul DM" to you, bub. :D

And I take your hyperbole and raise it by an order of magnitude: "He could have killed one meeelion kobolds at his level and not received as much as you want to give him for one redemption" (presuming that a CR 1/2 creature grants no XP's to an 8th level paladin, but IDNHTBIFOM). I therefore award not 1,000 but 2,000 XP's to our paladin.

Hah!
 

PaulKemp said:
Agreed. I like this paladin player, as he or she is both resourceful and thoughtful -- bonus 1000XP's.

She'll be happy to hear that! :D


... But she won't get 1000 bonus XPs. :] Maybe 200...
 

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