Tips on playing a paladin
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seriously I see cleric but no paladins, somebody help me before I screw up big time with a few tip what not to do.
paladins do not question their faith.. right?
paladins serve only their deity.. right?a few tips would be sweet to
all are thanked in game with better RP
~Selene~
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DM Approved Tips:
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Paladins are less about there deity and more about fighting evil and protecting the innocent. There quiet a tricky class to play on Arabel really, since they have such high standards and can't compromise with evil, yet at the same time must always try to protect the innocent.
Also by "fight evil", it really is fight, and not maybe redeem. Through most paladins have decent wisdom and all of them have strong interest in being just, so they don't just go round killing banites, because there there. Through its perfectly normal for paladins to watch them like a hawk.
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thank you all guys and girls watever
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A tip is to study Kantian ethics. That is universal imperatives.
Paladin's do not accept middle ways and necessary evils. Every principle is to be uphold at all times. The Paladin can not commit wanton murder as it is not acceptable as a general rule.
A Paladin cannot lie as it is not accetpable as a genral rule.
So on so forth.
There is no greater good or greater evil just good and evil.
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Basically do everything the opposite of Amarantha Meynolds.
(in honor of Seter)
I've got a lengthy write up, I'll post it when I get a few minutes to proofread it
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Paladins have an oath that they swear to uphold. That is the most important thing to understand. The dogma and faith that they have is secondary to the oath. Whatever god(ess) a paladin chooses to follow should be evident in how the oath is lived in day to day actions. There should be a difference in the goals, priorities and methods Paladins of Sune, Helm, Lathander, and Torm.
Paladins are not perfect, nor all-knowing, and lastly not stupid enough to blindly attack someone just because they are evil without regard.
I have played a scholarly paladin of Tyr who fought evil and the like in exposing them via research and application of the law during trials. His conflict was he could never completely grasp, until the end of the character, how to align the perfection and purity of the dogma of Tyr with the flawed mortal he was.
I have played a Paladin of Bahamut who's noble lineage was based on a lie. He sought redemption for his family's great secret and crime through service to a crown and noble tradition he felt unworthy to be part of. As the civil war progressed he realized that most of the nobles and the causes he was fighting for were unworthy too.
There has been heroic and borderline suicidal paladin of Torm named Ky'ran, a stalwart Helmite defender at all costs who's name escapes me, a scheming and ruthless Hoaran paladin named Enlo, a Sunite who's journey to her from simple warrior all the way to the right hand of a queen, and who can forget the epic fall and redemption of Richard Stallner. Currently a Red Hart paladin of Lathander who somehow managed to form a friendship with a Legionairre, based on redemption I think is played by Orinnew.
In summary, paladins are more than unflexible smiting machines. They are people with flaws, emotions, and struggles in their existence. What makes them heroic is that with all the reasons to not care and to cower from the horrors around them, they rise up to take the mantle protecting people who will never understand or really accept who they are.
Have fun!
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Since Mr Geek mentioned my Paladin, I'll give a shot. Mine was surely not the example of a perfect Paladin, though I put a lot of work into the character. I tried to play him according to his background and his concept and in part, those two things along with some IC development ultimately made things much more difficult, painful, and controversial.
Here are some basic things.
1. Paladins are not perfect. They are merely people who have chosen to hold themselves to a higher ideal. While Clerics worship their deities, as do Paladins, Paladins have chosen to set themselves to an even higher ideal than just faith. They choose to hold themselves to their Oath that is flavored by their chosen/patron deity. In some cases, a Paladin will not fulfill some aspects of their Faith because of their Oath and may be in severe conflict, sometimes, with certain members of the clergy.
2. Paladins have something in their background that has defined them and made them seek the hard road of a Paladin. Well, at least they do if they're very interesting. In my Paladin's case, his parents were murdered and while the murderer was caught, he was released due to the corruption of a local Magistrate. He chose to take the law into his own hands and only the timely intervention of the murderer's young daughter saved him from the same sin. He turned to a Priest of Tyr and eventually became one of Tyr's Paladins. As a result, he always sought to uncover any corruption within the legal system or any attempts at bribery/influence that would unhinge justice.
3. Paladins do not live in a world that is black and white, eventhough they would like to. The real world they live in (in this case simulated world they live in) does not always allow them to choose a clear answer. My Paladin found himself faced many times with no real option that would not violate some aspect of his oath. A good example would always arise when two or more aspets of the paladin's code were in conflict. A good example might be that
- He is tasked by his superiors to support the local Garrison in the defense of innocent civilians in a nearby town. If he does not aid the squad protecting the village, it will surely be overrun. If he acts separately, it will surely be overrun. Only by working in concert with the assigned squad in the village is there any even slight opportunity to save the innocent villagers. Seems simple enough until the squad leader and several of his men are evil. They are defending the village because it is their job, or they'll get paid, or whatever, but without them, innocents are killed. He is legally bound to aid the village and the squad there, he is bound by oath to never harm an innocent (and in failing to protect them they will surely be harmed), and he cannot associate with evil. So, he is in a pickle, and what does he do. If he is Ky'ran Lordoron (spelling), he might tell the Lancelord in charge of a DM plot mission that he will not work with his party because three people are clearly evil and get himself arrested for failing to obey lawful orders. Another Paladin might register his problem with the evil personnel and try to convince the Lancelord that the Paladin's presense in the group,without the untrustworthy and backstabbing evil folks would be far more beneficial to the group. A different Paladin might convince the Lancelord to divide the group into separate missions ensuring that he goes with the "goodly" group and not the evil folks, such as the fact that a large number of Knights of the Merciful Sword participated in the fight against the Tannarak and Black Dragons in an Army that was also composed of monsters and other evil humanoids as well as if memory serves me, the Shadowvar.
4. Paladins are generally charismatic and inspirational, but they are not always friendly. Being chivalrous and honorable doesn't mean you're sunshine and rainbows. Bradley Larks was an Aasimar paladin who was extremely arrogant and quite blunt.
5. Paladins are usually one screw-up away from a really miserable time. It takes as few as one mistake, even in what might be very gray area, for a Paladin to become a Fallen Paladin. The road back may take longer than the character has existed and is quite nebulous from the few examples I've seen in game.
6. Paladins are hard to play. I cannot think of a harder basic character to play, much less play well. If you look at the number of people who have pulled it off compared to the number of people that have pulled off any other character class, including some PrCs, you'll see this to be true. It is very easy to play a bad Paladin, but extremely hard to play one well.
7. Paladins are not like other Paladins. When I played a Paladin, my Paladin was not like any of his friends that were Paladins. Even within the same deity circles, Paladins focus on different aspects of the code/faith because different things shaped their understanding and their motivations.
It is almost 1 AM and so I'll apologize now for anything above that doesn't quite make sense. Hope it helps in some way.
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@Mr.:
DM Approved Tips:
viewtopic.php?t=77525Cheers
This link comes highly recommended. There's a lot of useful and well-written stuff in there for paladins, and it's pretty exhaustive in its scope. Paladins are, I would say, the single most awesome class in NWN. It's very difficult to play a paladin "right" and even tougher to play a paladin well, but if you can pull it off you will have created a character with well defined strengths and crippling weaknesses who can make the most mundane tasks seem like they are the most important thing anyone will ever do - so good luck!
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A Cleric tries to convert people to the Church.
A Paladin enforces the dogma of the Church.
That is basically what a Paladin is, the military arm of a faith.
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Sadly no. It seems that, (on CoA at least, PnP house rules vary) a paladin is a paladin first, a follower of his god a distant second.
Personally I dislike this method, and think that paladins should be tailored far more towards their deity. (Paladins of deities like Baravar Cloakshadow, Yondalla, Arvoreen permitted to use theft, trickery and lies for instance.)
Like druids, the Patron deity is simply a sponsor, someone who offers power to the Paladin (or druid) because they recognise a need for such a person. Rather than granting them powers based upon service and understanding of dogma as with a cleric. Unlike Druids however, a Paladin is supposedly a rare and powerful Champion of their deity, and I dislike strongly the idea that a deity would grant such a privilege to someone who is not committed entirely to the deities cause. This is particularly noticeable with the LN deities, who accept and support Evil followers and perhaps even pursue evil agendas on occasion, and yet still their Paladins are expected to work AGAINST THEIR OWN FAITH, if the actions of their faith are evil.
People often decry their hatred of gods like Hoar or Helm because of the preposterous idea that a Blackguard and Paladin might both be in service to the same god. I say Blame not the God, Blame the fecking retarded way Paladins are implemented. As a champions of their god, the two should be capable of working together (albeit reluctantly and with a large amount of aggravation argument and conflict) in the service of their faith.
So, in short. Paladin code and behaviours come first. Deities dogma and ideals come a distant second simply adding a little flavour.
Hinty's personal opinion (and strong recommendation for v5): Paladins SHOULD be champions of their faith, not lightly seasoned with a hint of their god, but pure representations of their gods dogma. (Personally I say grant paladins to ALL gods, but restrict alignment to that of the god they follow. Helm LN, Lathander NG, Valkur CG, Malar CE etc. but ensure paladins that are not shining examples of their god fall swiftly) You should be able to tell a Paladin of Tyr, from one of Chuantea, Lathander, Ilmater, Hoar etc. almost instantly. Sadly, as the rules work now, you should be hard pressed to tell the difference.
I would love to remove Paladins as a class all together and simply use Champion of Torm, since it is far better a representation of what a Paladin is supposed to be (Someone who is granted powers by the god after they display their worth, not before the god (DM controlled NPC after all) has even seen them in action.) but the removal of a base class is too big a move and would upset and confuse new players, so far better to simply grant paladins to all faiths restricted to the gods alignment. (TN Gods get none, since they do not display a strong alignment leaning they do not need champions of their alignments cause maybe?)
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a source from an old article of othr aligned paladins
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@Mr.:
DM Approved Tips:
viewtopic.php?t=77525Cheers