What is a good vice for a paladin? Something that his/her god would frown upon, but not enough to cause falling.
>>44282947
Suppressed pedophilia.
Casual drug use.
>>44282947
It would probably depend on the specific god.
>>44282947
In The One and Future King, Lancelot has a sadistic love of violence that he channels into combat for good. Galahad is arrogant, and doesn't feel the need to explain himself to any other human. Bors is something of a misogynist. Percival is committed to doing good, but wavers in determination of his exact course of action.
Anger management issues. Not to the point where he physically assaults people, but still verbally abuses them and even flings racially loaded slurs when angry.
A love for writing and reading unlicensed poetry.
If you've ever seen the Doom movie (Yes I know it was a piece of shit.) there was one character that ritualistically cut himself for any slights he made against God. I believe the primary example is when he said "God damn it!" from being scared, so he cut a cross in his forearm for taking God's name in vain. Not exactly a vice, but distinctive and shocking enough that it may be a good replacement.
>>44283097
That's pretty much a type of self-flagellation. Gods like Ilmater would probably just encourage that kind of behavior.
Now, if the paladin did that to ANYONE who slighted against his god near him, then it would be a vice.
>>44283097
Did that guy turn into a demon?
>>44283190
> Demons
> Doom Movie
Oh you poor thing, you haven't seen the best/worst action movie ever. Go rectify this.
>>44282947
An active sex life
>>44282947
Wrath is a classic.
Knights usually get mad at people who they're supposed to kill, and that's OK because it helps them do their job. They just sometimes go a little too far, maybe one time murdering a huge dick who was begging for mercy. And then it might become a big thing where they have to beg for redemption, but it's not *that* bad unless they hurt someone they're really not supposed to.
>>44283210
It doesn't matter what they call them. They are still demons. Just like zombies created by viruses are still zombies despite not being undead.
>>44283242
But they are literally not demons. They don't come from hell, they're not supernatural or magic. They're just a bio-weapon/virus thing.
>>44283162
Yes, that's what I meant. Forgot that self-flagellation was a thing for a moment. And the paladin probably wouldn't be a paladin for long in he started imposing it upon others. Hmm... I can't quite think of a way to make that work, sadly.
>>44283242
EVIL GENES, MAN
Gluttony.
Although I think it would heavily depend on the sort of paladin.
>>44283190
Probably. I haven't seen it in ages, but everyone did, except Doomguy and, I think there was a girl scientist that he was trying to save?
>>44283224
This one
>>44283303
Scientist girl was never affected.
>>44282947
Exaggerated pride plus a hard-on for justice. Drive him to the edge, where his deity starts questioning whether he paladins for himself and not for his code.
>>44283374
I agree, some sort of self-absorbed vanity would be a good sin of choice.
>>44282947
a homo
>>44283374
Isn't that just how Paladins generally play anyway? Stuck-up holier-than-you whiners.
Depression
The paladin appears to be an unusually stoic champion but upon removing his helm the blank expression and dead eyes give away a tired and near hopeless soul. He still fights for good an upholds righteousness but really just wants to sleep all day. It almost seems like he pursues the fight only because he doesn't know what else to do. So he fights to the point of breaking, hoping that he dies a martyr. Sadly God finds him too useful for death.
One day his flickering faith will go out entirely and he will fall never to get up again.
>>44282947
Elven talking tapestries and body pillows
>>44283467
True that my fellow euphoric comrade *tips necromancer-theif cowl*
>>44282967
I feel like I've read or watched something with a character like that.
Collecting the skulls of his enemies so he can lecture them some more on his downtime.
>>44283536
I didn't need that feel today.
>>44283608
Lecture them about what?
Harlot Sweets.
>>44283602
Is it because the guy who drew your image a pedophile?
No really, diddled his sister and then made a long comic about how it was the purest love. Grounded the whole bald angry stickman look for /v/-man too.
>>44283000
Lancelot also fucks his best friend and king's wife.
>>44283653
>>44283467
but I am holier then you. You are channeling things from the Abyss and feeding commoners to them. Your aura of malevolence is killing all life around it, and you've just crushed those orphans into a mealy powder to use to thicken your soup of boiling blood and offal.
I'm not even a paladin, I'm just a dude in accounting and I'm still holier then you!
Addiction: Smiting evil.
>>44283536
urge to reach for the bottle rising
>>44283732
>>44283803
Nah, m8, I'm pretty sure channeling demons for the purpose of annihilating all life and mudering orphans so that you can channel MORE kill-everything demons is one of the only Objectively Evil things it is possible to do.
>>44283653
Oh no not again.
>>44283467
Yeh, but paladins are supposed to be humble as well, not ego-driven and narcissistic with a boner for justice so hard that even his deity will frown. A paladin who thinks he's better than his deity is a teeter from falling hard.
>>44283841
He's just euthanizing those who are miserable, for the greatest misery of all is to be alive. He's just a bit enthusiastic in his methods!
>>44283785
Aren't paladins supposed to give mercy to those truly willing to redeem themselves and do good?
>>44283879
They are. Doing what is portrayed in that image would be a one way ticket to falling.
>>44283000
Bors confirmed for best knight
>>44282947
Paladins are supposed to have high CHA for some of their abilities, right? Just go the usual /tg/ route with this and make him a philanderer who loves casual sex too much. It'll give him something to do during the party's downtime. Also storytime it later so that other fa/tg/uys have something to picture while they vent their many, many frustrations.
Literally Sam Vimes.
>Smokes like a chimney
>Recovering Alcoholic
>Fights the darkness inside him, but it lets him do his job so well, because he knows evil.
>Has a breaking point at which he Goes Spare.
>>44283971
>Tries to find his cow
>>44283879
Mr. A didn't have time to read the second half of the paladin handbook. He had too much evil to smite.
>>44284021
Ironically in DnD it looks like he'd be somewhere near LN.
>>44283536
oh this is good
>>44282947
Alcohol.
>>44283732
No, the guy closer to the divine is holier, regardless of what divine aspect he's closer to.
>>44283000
Arthurian legend is a bunch of cautionary tales of flawed human beings failing to live up to their codes - not a handbook on how to be a Paladin. In fact, the only one who might seriously be considered one is Galahad.
The paladin thinks his rightousness is perverse and feels great shame for all the good he does. He was probably raised in some evil worishiping culture or by Rand-esque objectivists. He knows the desire to help others for nothing and to bring glory to the divine are irrational, shameful urges but can't help himself.
He feels like a fool or a deviant so he tries to cover up his purity. He would be selfish if he could but holy fire burns inside him. No amount of shame can truely keep him fron such a thrill.
>>44283602
Ever play Drakengard?
>>44283602
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5B9SCySE1I
>>44284379
Interesting idea.
>>44283667
Uh, no.
>>44284402
That's it, thank you.
>>44282947
Excessive zeal.
Alcoholism.
Aversion for the clergy (no, the paladin isn't clergy).
Lacking observance for chastity or other virtues that are encouraged by the church but not explicitly required for paladins.
>>44283536
Sounds like the perfect setup forthe paladin to fall because he's taken in by an blasphemous cult after fighting an enemy he couldn't hope to beat, but instead is spared and treated really nicely by the cult as they tend to his wounds and give him a much needed break, turning him into a rebellious champion that stands in the face of a God that would let so much misery befall their most loyal servant
>>44283536
>when you are the nicest happiest guy in the group and then you take off the mask at home
This is good shit right here.
Any of the seven sins.
Wrath, gluttony, pride, greed, lust, envy and sloth.
A knight with anger management issues.
A knight who loves the luxurious lifestyle of a noble.
A knight who cobsiders everyone else inferior.
A knight who wants all of the love from the gods for himself.
A knight who loves to love.
A knight who loves to hate and a knight who would really love to leave his castle more often, but he just has sooo much buerocracy to do, he prefers to have his knaves do the job.
I played a paladin who was a functional alcoholic, stemming from survivor's guilt on an attack on his hometown by hill giants while he was off in paladin college that left his younger brother crippled and the rest of his family dead. He was scheduled to be home earlier but was not the best paladin-in-training. He saw it as if he could have just been better, he could have saved them.
He fulfilled his god's will and saved dozens if not hundreds of lives, but the campaign also had a lot of downtime. He spent most of it drinking himself into a stupor so he could feel something other than guilt. It wasn't resolved by the end of the game, either, so he ended up drinking himself to death.
>>44284250
Lancelot and Galahad are both unambiguously paladins if translated to D&D IMO. I mentioned Percival and Bors as they are the other two knights who see the Grail. I am not sure why it featuring flawed knights is a problem for OP who is looking for flaws for a paladin.
>>44287651Being treated really nicely wouldn't necessarily cause him to fall. Depression isn't just feeling sad and in need of being cheered up, it's more like a world view that cannot let you be positive. If it was just being nice, I'm pretty sure the other party members would be able to cheer him up.Now a BBEG who has worked through those issues himself, understands the paladin's problem better than any priest of his God, and talks to him like an equal might have more success. Long term it might be so that the Big Bad Evil Therapist has a useful, intensely loyal minion or a sacrifice whose mind isn't clouded by a form of madness, but it could also be so that they have a worthy opponent.More likely the depressed paladin falls when he finally gives in to despair and kills himself only to rise again, and again, and again, until all that's left is misery and suicidal anguish
>>44283297
Make his mount a celestial boar and I'm sold.
>>44283785
I like this guy. Who is he?
Practical jokes
>>44283667
uh, sorry, what?
who?
>>44282947
Oooh, fun idea: sloth. So confident in his natural and holy abilities that he doesn't bother working to become a better warrior, potentially clergyman, etc. I'd allow it as DM, but YMMV: defer applying some or all skill points/feats, maybe never apply them at all, and when you do, do so only after hard work and having had trouble for not having them.
>>44289114
Sir Dinadan is the guy who missed a few sessions and is kind of underlevelled, so he freaks out every time there's a challenge appropriate to the rest of the party
>>44282947
Rape.
>>44295296
>Sir Dinadan
Most sane and relatable knight at the round table. I do like the buddy-cop thing he has with Tristram though.
>Riding with tristram
>Tristram: Yo let's fuck up these 30 men-at-arms by ourselves
>Dinadan: No thanks, I choose life
>Tristram: Come on faggot, I'll kill you if you don't fight them with me
>Dinadan: Jesus Christ, fine
>[later that day]
>Find a castle to rest at
>Castle demands they joust the lords of the castle before resting there
>Dinadan: This is stupid, we're wounded, and those guys are clearly evil
>Tristram: Git gud fgt
>Dinadan: No this is ridiculous, we already fought 30 goddamn people
>Castle Knights: No seriously get in and fight, we're not going to 2v1 your friend
>[Dinadan gets his shit pushed in, Tristram beats them both]
>Dinadan: Alas that I ever came into your company
In RPG terms, he's like the only one who put points into mental stats. Half the other knights are complete dopes who rest at obviously-evil castles and can't even recognize each other by face or accent. They frequently wind up accidentally jousting and killing family members just because they weren't wearing their heraldry for one reason or another.
>>44295659
>paladin is smited where he stands before he can even commit the act
>player is banned from the table and immediately kicked out of the house
My Games paladin is a paladin for a Sun/light god and happens to be a necrophiliac
>>44283667
Sauce on said comic?
>>44283235
>Wrath
This one right here.
>>44287651
Sounds good.
>>44283971
>also a chubby chaser
>>44283971
Fuck anon, now I want to play a reformed bad guy paladin.
>Did a lot of things I'm not proud of
>Lots of people wanted me dead
>Towards the end, so did I
>I found the church, or more like it found me.
>I'm not afraid to fall; I can't get any lower than I used to be.
>The church helped me out, now I just want to return the favor.
>I never thought I'd return to this place
>But I know how these sons of bitches think better than anyone else
Can anyone suggest any media like that, where the character's clever and dismantles the villain's plans by explaining exactly what he was thinking and why he did what he did?
Paladins are basically divinely empowered cops/vigilantes, so you could take inspiration from any number of flawed protagonists in the crime and superhero genres.
Make him in love with his horse. The constant temptation of "riding" his trusty steed.
Depends on the god., I suppose...
But... Take a page from Maverick Cop movies, being a loose canon, On the Edge, playing with your own rules, etc.
>>44298018
>cops/vigilantes
Fuck, now I want to run a Paladin Noir campaign.
>>44298078
It'd have to be a mare though. No homo.
Paladins don't fall because of vices, they fall when they stop believing or following their ideals.
I play a paladin who's flaw is that he's a mooch. He tries to weedle free food, and the like from people who can afford it like his fellow adventurers and individuals hiring him and the group he's with.
>>44284402
>surpressed
>Drakengard
>>44283536
And suddenly I need to go for a walk.
Peasant: Thank you dearly, sir Tourettes! The orphanage is saved!
Sir Tourettes: I WISH I COULD TEAR YOUR EARDRUMS WITH MY COCK AND MAKE YOU CHOKE ON THE BLOOD OF YOUR CHILDREN!
Peasant: Gee wiz, Tourettes, I am so glad we have you around. I just know that as long as we got you, noting wrong will befall our peacefull hamlet of Cuddlington.
Sir Tourettes: PENIIIIIIS!
>>44298174
That would be very obnoxious to play with.
>>44283653
What are Harlot Sweets?
>>44298149
>Paladins don't fall because of vices, they fall when they stop believing or following their ideals.
That's pretty much cannon actually.
>>44283536
Alternatively, a depressed Paladin who fights on even when he just wants to give up and sleep because others can still be happy, and the BBEG is what's stopping that from happening. Therefore, he decides hecan't afford not to care anymore.
>>44289590
Mr. A, Objectivist superhero
>>44284035
In most settings he'd be lawful evil. He just lives in a world where he's right because he's the author's political mouthpiece.
>>44282947
He really likes killing evildoers. Like, he's pretty violent. He does channel it to constructive ends, but he enjoys killing the bad guys. If he wasn't a Paladin, he'd be a blood-soaked Fighter.
In many ways, being a Paladin is a square peg fitting into a square hole. He's the Sword of God, but not so good at social events and shit.
>>44298634
Is his sword a tool of justice?
>>44283628
In fairness to Soldier, the dead ones are the ones most in need of a lecture on the art of war.
>>44298232
canon*
>>44282947
He keeps falling in love with the monsters he's supposed to purge.
Then he kills them.
>>44297969
interstingly enough I read this text while thinking about this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCTdm8Nb7Ps
it worked well
>>44297969
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PeyiU3uWJ8
Boundless Empathy
He feels the pain of others, always keeps an open heart, and no matter how much he suffers, he can never harden himself.
>>44299635
>always keeps an open heart, and no matter how much he suffers, he can never harden himself.
That would make for an excellent servant of righteousness. He'd probably be super reasonable and just, even if he needs therapy pretty often. Maybe they could stuff him into a decision-making sort of role if killing makes him too sad.
I could see this dude giving a lot of mercy, taking prisoners, treating them with respect, and giving them a chance to redeem themselves rather than just being slaughtered. It would be great for his faith's image.
>>44283668
There was an old webcomic: "Arthur King of Time and Space", where King Arthur mythos is repeated across history and many different settings, simultaneously. There's a Sheriff Arthur in the old west, Captain Arthur in a Sci-fi future, a modern Arthur who just runs his own company, etc.
In every one of them, Lance is his best friend.
In every one of them, Guinevere is his wife.
In every one of them, those two are fucking behind Arthur's back.
It's just part of his story.
>>44297797
The name for her is "Rubenesque"... Also: " well fed".
>>44282947
Horrendous Punnery.
>>44283879
>>44300515
>King Arthur mythos is repeated across history and many different settings, simultaneously
So all across the gulfs of time and space, there are infinite universes... and every single one has a different Arthur building the greatest kingdom that ever was, then getting brutally cucked by his closest friend, and watching the ensuing crisis destroy his entire life's work, especially his marriage and kingdom.
It sounds to me like the whole universe is King Arthurs' personal Sisyphean hell.
Cannot forgive himself.
He agonizes over every mistake, internalizing them as moral failings. Eventually this leads to hubris as the Paladin starts to second guess whether they are worthy... Whether those empowering them truely understand the enormity of their sin...
In mild cases, it can lead to brooding and short tempers, but the Paladin remembers humility and does not presume to be a greater judge of character than the divine, perhaps they live in self imposed extreme penance.
In full fall mode this blossoms into a rejection of the divine for being too forgiving and assumption that celestial forces are either too ignorant or too soft to determine justice.
>>44301304
What's scary is, Merlin is his advisor in every setting. The same Merlin. Immortal, unable to intercede, Merlin must let the events happen.
>>44301523
Unless Merlin is the devil tormenting him, all that bad advice eventually leading the only place it ever could...
>>44298634
>let me tell you about the day I found my faith
>me and Cuthbert were counting the day's alms
>I saw Cuthbert pocket a handful of gold, he looks to me expectantly
>"come now Gadriel, it's only a pittance, the church will not miss it. Our coffers already burst with wealth"
>I was overjoyed, for there is no greater pleasure than the opportunity to aid a friend
>I taught him well that robbers can not sustain their hunger with such I'll gotten gains, it choked not just his soul but his body as well
>the hangman slept well that day, for there was no need for his assistance
>>44284250
Gawain is pretty alright.
>>44298232
>That's pretty much cannon actually.
Hundreds of paladin who fall because of dickish gm tell you something else.
>>44301662
By the time it hits Modern age, Merlin is pretty laid back. He genuinely cares about everybody involved, but can't directly interfere, because "Spoilers". The strip heavily indicates that Merlin perceived time very differently as well.
>>44301739
In many old myths he aged backwards and remembered the future while having visions of the past. This disjointed context often caused him to give accurate, if poorly timed advice.
>>44301739
One of the common interpretations of Merlin is that he was experiencing time backwards. So he knew the future because it had already happened to him, and knew he couldn't change it because it was already in his own past.
Presumably he read a lot to find out what happened in the world's past / his own future.
>>44282947
Trophy collecting.
>>44297969
Noir movies.
>>44301674
I want this. A lot.
>>44283879
No. A paladin is a well tuned killing machine using their power in proxy of their god. They have the divine authority to be judge-jury-executioner by their god's code.
>>44283283
WHy not? His moral code is absolutely god-derived. If he was a Paladin of Jehovah, he would be fully in his rights to kill with stones anybody who blasphemed. He would not fall for doing so.
>>44283879
Not as a general rule, no. Killing someone who is seeking redemption will send their soul to heaven before they have time to go back to their evil ways.
>>44283536
We pursue the fight because the children are not yet like us, anon. Don't forget.
>>44295753
>triggered the post
>>44298078
Had a DM that went 'fanfic' mode when the part was taking to long to decide on things, his favorite was describing the longing in my Wolf companions eyes.
Just to clarify, it wasn't magical realm bullshit, it was his way of getting us to stop standing around like oafs.
>>44303137
Standard D&D paladins derive their code and powers directly from the concepts of Law and Good, not gods, even if they're part of a church and devoutly follow one. Unless he was one of those variant evil paladins, he would fall flat on his face for following what would in that cosmology be an objectively evil command from an objectively evil deity.
>>44303826
>he would fall flat on his face for following what would in that cosmology be an objectively evil command from an objectively evil deity.
They made 5e a lot more lenient about alignments, especially for paladins. They don't have any alignment restriction, so you can even have an evil paladin who worships an evil god (or no god at all, since the main thing about paladins is their oath and devotion to the cause of righteousness). One of the core subclasses is "Oath of Vengeance", which basically lets your paladin act like the Punisher. As long as your paladin is devoted to the idea of justice (even if he's acting like a complete shitbag), and at least mostly follows his oath, he'll likely keep his powers even if he pisses off his favorite deity. Even if he doesn't keep his oath, he can still just switch to the oathbreaker archetype.
So yeah, 3rd edition was excessively harsh on paladins, but they let up a lot in 5th.
>>44284450
Shoulda dabbed.
>>44282947
To smite all the evil!
>>44298187
These amber-colored lozenges instill within the user a slightly increased agility and enhance both physical beauty and speech. So named for the fact that prostitutes often abuse the drug, harlot sweets are gaining popularity among certain circles in the aristocracy as well.
Never heard of it before google, but it'll go in my campaign. Right alongside Talkstowalls a drug that lets you talk to walls. (Been waiting on my players to try to use it for information, give them said information, then have it turn out to be false. Bro you were tripping and got advice from a wall, what did you expect?)
>>44304460
Arthas did nothing wrong.
>>44298149
And vices can be at odds with those ideals.
>>44283297
>Gluttony
>heavily depends
Ayyy
>>44295659
>>44303436
>edgy faggot the post
>>44283879
Steve Ditko didn't put much stock in redemption or mercy.
>>44293590
>>44297677
No dice.
I'm not searching for any memes in my search history.
>>44298181
Particularly since most people with tourette's syndrome don't even have corprolalia
>>44304935
Or spelling.
>>44303296
We fight so that they never will be. One day...
