Sup /tg/, I've decided to play a paladin in an upcoming compaign and I don't wanna be a typical lawful idiot. Looking for some inspiration/interesting background and character trait ideas.
So, general badass paladin thread, I guess?
Guess I'll bump with paladins for a little bit
>>46645942
Sir William Won Franz
Defender of nature and bane of vegans
>>46645942
>I don't wanna be a typical lawful idiot.
But the range is huge.
Are you a man disillusioned with man, who trusts no one because he has seen the worst of mankind and enforces strict rules to keep people from doing bad?
Are you a person with a realistic view of the world who knows that evil happens, but who also wholly believes that no matter what man does, they are not evil? A man who'll jump to the rescue of anyone even the vilest of villains (until a lawful court sentences them to death?)
Are you a naive boy who ventures out to save the innocent from the wicked and who'll run from one moral dilemma to the next because life isn't as black&white as he believed?
Are you a cynic who has decided that mankind as a whole is evil and who'll deal fierce punishment for the tiniest bit of sinning?
Are you a jolly chap who is a defender of justice but also a friend of enjoying life? A guy who loses count of his beers in the evening but who'll pay for the damages he has caused in the morning?
Are you a man who will do what is necessary, and not hesitate to kill a man, but who'll nevertheless mourn the loss of the villain's life? A man with a gentle heart that he must steel every day because he is the champion of justice and there are things that must be done?
Who's even your God of choice? That is after all a defining factor.
>>46645942
Define your paladin's values, and keep his personality separate from it. The biggest mistake people make when characterizing paladins and defining them entirely by their virtues, but an interesting character should have more than one side to them.
There is absolutely nothing stopping a paladin from being a lawful good drunk womanizer, a lawful good pushover who's just trying his best, a lawful good genius that walks the line between pragmatism and idealism.
Making good paladins isn't actually hard in practice, most people just miss the mark because they're aiming in the wrong direction.
>>46646090
>>46646094
I was considering being a retired soldier. He's come back from the war a bitter and disillusioned drunk, by turns angry at his friends for getting themselves killed, and haunted by the memory of their deaths and his inability to save them. I figured I'd take advantage of not getting a whole lot of paladin abilities at level one (5e), and have him turn to service as a paladin to give himself some meaning.
Any thoughts?
>>46645942
What about the Last Adherent of a Fallen/destroyed Order?
Your Paladin was an initiate into the order when a vicious adversary crushed their stronghold and began slaughtering survivors indiscriminately. You turned to the locals for help an they turned you away to protect themselves from the retribution of your foe.
Desperate and alone, you flee on foot until you are exhausted and nothing looks familiar. Armed with the Holy text of your order, your rage and your mistrust for the smallfolk, you set about attaining your the rank of a high Paladin of your order so that you can one day take revenge.
>>46645942
Don't bother trying to play a Paladin if you're an atheist. You know nothing about religious motivations besides fedoracore garbage maymays, and if you're an apostate you never knew.
Some good food for thought here, thanks aguys
>>46645942
In one of my pathfinder games we had a guy playing a Paladin of Sarenrae, basically a holy warrior of compassion. He played it very well, choosing the honourable above the law (it was an intrigue campaign, and we quickly started suspecting that the queen was behind all the shit we were in), helping the common people where he could.
Him being a tiefling also made it quite interesting RP-wise with him overcoming racism etc.
... I miss Steve, he made awesome characters.
>>46646167
Not bad. But i would also like he has seen what evil men can and has done on both the winning and losing sides
>>46646090
>but who also wholly believes that no matter what man does, they are not evil?
That means you can't smite anyone.
>>46646579
>That means you can't smite anyone.
If you continue reading that line you'll note that indeed he doesn't do a whole lot of smiting.
>>46645942
>Lawful idiot
>Typical
this makes me ask what kind of horrid cesspit of a group you play with
