DnD/Class Handbooks/Paladins/Call of Duty - Paladin

Call of Duty – A Paladin’s Sourcebook: Chapter 2: Roleplaying Paladins
Associates: “While she may adventure with
characters of any good or neutral alignment, a
paladin will never knowingly associate with evil
characters. A paladin will not continue an
association with someone who consistently
offends her moral code. A paladin may only hire
henchmen or accept followers who are lawful
good.”
Simply put, paladins only ally with heroes.
Paladins will use their detect evil ability on
prospective companions, and so will
not foolishly ally with evil creatures.
Nothing, however, prevents a
paladin from having friends of good
or neutral, or even chaotic,
alignments. Many paladins will
respect the opinions and advice of
such friends, even if they disagree
on some or many points.
Paladins will never approve of
dishonorable or chaotic behavior,
and will not tolerate evil. They will
not conveniently “walk away” when
the party’s chaotic neutral rogue is
interrogating prisoners or pilfering
the temple coffers. Lawful good
does not mean “lawful stupid”;
roleplay paladins according to their
Intelligence scores, but do not
compromise their integrity.
If the other player characters
consistently and flagrantly violate
your moral code, talk to them and
the DM out of the game, and try to
find a solution. Paladins belong in
heroic campaigns, and if that is not
the type of game you are in, there
will be problems. On the other
hand, you cannot expect the other
characters, even if they are lawful
good, to follow the Code like a
paladin, so try to show some
tolerance, especially if the party is
helping you fight evil and protect the
innocent.
Note that although paladins can
detect evil, they have no magical
way of determining whether a potential henchman
is lawful good. It can be assumed that they only
hire those that they know personally or by
reputation, or depend greatly on detect good and
detect law spells cast by a friendly clerical order.
Violating the paladin’s rules on associates
should be treated like a gross violation of the Code
of Conduct. Paladins who do so should lose their
special abilities until they atone.
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Paladins and Chivalry
Paladin orders (particularly
those with a lawful neutral tilt)
sometimes promote the ideals of
chivalry. Chivalry is defined as
“The qualities idealized by
knighthood, such as bravery,
courtesy, honor, and gallantry
toward women. “ It is best
represented by the use of tenets.
Suggested tenets for an order
committed to chivalry include:
• Always show courtesy to
women (or men if you are
female and your culture
perceives men as the
weaker sex) (cultural)
• Always offer a salute to your
enemy before going into
battle. A salute is a
respectful gesture that takes
a move equivalent action to
perform (It is probably a
good idea to take the Salute
of Honor feat, see chapter
1). (tactical)
• Never surrender to the
enemy (tactical)
• Never run from the enemy
unless the odds are
overwhelming. (tactical)
• Show proper respect for
authority by always following
formal rules of etiquette.
(cultural)
• Always wear brightly
polished heavy armor of the
highest quality and
appearance. (tactical)
Adding to the Code with Tenets
Because the Code is part of the game balance for
the paladin class, we do not recommend changing
it. Making it less strict dilutes the paladin class.
However, adding to the Code to reflect a religious
or cultural aspect of your paladin is a good idea, if
done in moderation. Additions to the Code of
Conduct are called tenets.
The tenets of your organization may change
over time. For instance, an invasion of
undead might prompt a paladin order
to adopt a tenet requiring paladins to
always destroy any undead
encountered before any other
enemies.
Alternatively, your order may
experience a schism, dividing into two
sides with different tenets. They need
not become sworn enemies or attempt
to destroy one another, but may
simply be rival churches with
irreconcilable philosophical
differences. Even lawful good
organizations can bitterly disagree on
some points.
Tenets can be cultural or tactical
in nature. Tactical tenets are the most
restrictive, and include anything that
restricts how the paladin behaves in
combat or when adventuring. Cultural
tenets are usually more religious in
nature and impact roleplaying instead
of combat. Some examples of tenets
that could be added to the Code of
Conduct might include:
• Undead (or some other
specific foe, such as evil
outsiders, drow, evil giants,
blackguards, etc.) must be
destroyed at every opportunity
before any other enemies.
(tactical)
• Paladins must tithe to the
temple or church (that is, you
must donate 10% or more of
your wealth). (tactical)
• Paladins may only own a certain amount
of wealth. (tactical)
• You may only own one or two magic items
of each type. (tactical)
• A paladin must remain celibate. (cultural)
• A paladin must not eat meat, or a certain
type of meat. (cultural, or tactical if food is
scarce)
• Mercy must always be offered to a
surrendering foe. (tactical)