To Be a Paladin... [Archive] - Wizards Community

To Be a Paladin... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dragonwriter
03-06-06, 11:21 PM I don't know what inspired me to write this, but I just started thinking about it one day and this is what came out. I figure this is the best place to post such a thing, since it's all about what it means to be a paladin in-game. Tell me if you think I got it right.

***

To Be a Paladin

To be a paladin is to dedicate your life to something greater than yourself, and also to never have to fear for lack of knowing what the right thing to do is. You know what the right thing to do is, and you need not ever hesitate to do it. You are the hero, the knight in shining armor, the deus ex machina even. You are a shining example of the hope that will never die, for even if you yourself are destroyed the principles upon which you base your existence will shine long after your own death. You are a champion of justice, a slayer of evil, a righter of wrongs, and a protector of the innocent. You bring hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, and justice to the unjust. Yet for all of this, you must also always keep in mind that you are merely a servant of something greater than yourself, not a cause in and of yourself. Your path lies in the pursuit of and, in many ways, servitude to ideals that you have put your faith in. You are called to show kindness, mercy, and just treatment to all, even to the most horribly evil people, if it is at all possible. You must remember: it is infinitely more preferable to convert evil to goodness than to simply destroy it.

To help you in your quest, you are granted powers and abilities. You are granted the ability to heal the wounded, so that you might remember the mercy you are called to show. You are granted the ability to show courage even in the face of your worst fears, that you might remember that the cause you fight for is greater than any fears your enemies may present you with. You are granted a mount, a companion who will share your pursuit of justice and righteousness, that you will know you are not alone. You are granted immunity from sickness and disease, that your enemies might know that your holyness is greater than any foulness they might use against you. You are granted the ability to drive away undead, that you might remember that good will always triumph over evil in the end. And lastly, you are granted the ability to drive back the darkness itself, that your enemies might know that you will not back down in your cause, and that they might know the touch of righteousness in their foul hearts.

Remember, you are not perfect, nor are you even the best at what you do. You are not the best fighter, the best spellcaster, or the best healer. What you ARE is a light against evil. Your true strength lies in your undying pursuit of your beliefs. Keep you faith, and perhaps, some day, the rest of the world will see the truth... as you have.
WhrenKehrsyn
03-07-06, 10:53 AM Very nice =0)

When Im playing a paladiny type character I usually just keep in mind the Knights Code from the movie Dragonheart

I play a palain in the video game FFXI, and this is her pledge, which includes that same Knights Code:

"There is horror, suffering, and too much death in this world and no longer will I tolerate it.
I will take up steel and shield, a knight of Vanadiel.
I will stand, a wall, between the weak and those who would bring harm to the them.
I will bring vengeance for the wrongfully dead.
I will carry light to the world.
This I pledge.

A knight is sworn to Valor.
Her heart knows only virtue.
Her blade defends the helpless.
Her might upholds the weak.
Her word speaks only truth.
Her wrath undoes the wicked."
Uberwoot
03-07-06, 01:50 PM I like it. It's not perfect, but I like it. I have two complaints.

The lesser complaint is that your statement of purpose seems like it tries to be pure roleplaying, but tries to explain game rules. An explanation of the paladin's abilities is not really necessary from a roleplaying perspective, but this is a minor issue- it's still good.

The other, larger, complaint is that paladins vary, and your manifesto does not cover them all. While being lawful good and adhering to certain ideals of conduct is fairly restrictive, there is still a lot of leeway in beliefs, methods, and dogma. The Forgotten Realms setting allows for paladins of quite a variety of faiths, including some who may worship a chaotic good deity (Sune, goddess of beauty), a deity of magic (Mystra), or a deity of death (Kelemvor). There is a huge spectrum of focuses for paladins, and dogma or personal preference may lead one to focus entirely on one aspect while ignoring or disdaining others.

But hey, it looks good.

/Woot
Dragonwriter
03-07-06, 07:30 PM Well, I guess it does focus more on how I see the archetypal Paladin rather than trying to be more broad-spectrum. But when you sit down to write creatively, you can't always tell what will come out. I hope that the quality is good enough to grab people's imaginations, which is the reason why I ever truly write anything.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dragonwriter 03-06-06, 11:21 PM	I don't know what inspired me to write this, but I just started thinking about it one day and this is what came out. I figure this is the best place to post such a thing, since it's all about what it means to be a paladin in-game. Tell me if you think I got it right. *** To Be a Paladin To be a paladin is to dedicate your life to something greater than yourself, and also to never have to fear for lack of knowing what the right thing to do is. You know what the right thing to do is, and you need not ever hesitate to do it. You are the hero, the knight in shining armor, the deus ex machina even. You are a shining example of the hope that will never die, for even if you yourself are destroyed the principles upon which you base your existence will shine long after your own death. You are a champion of justice, a slayer of evil, a righter of wrongs, and a protector of the innocent. You bring hope to the hopeless, strength to the weak, and justice to the unjust. Yet for all of this, you must also always keep in mind that you are merely a servant of something greater than yourself, not a cause in and of yourself. Your path lies in the pursuit of and, in many ways, servitude to ideals that you have put your faith in. You are called to show kindness, mercy, and just treatment to all, even to the most horribly evil people, if it is at all possible. You must remember: it is infinitely more preferable to convert evil to goodness than to simply destroy it. To help you in your quest, you are granted powers and abilities. You are granted the ability to heal the wounded, so that you might remember the mercy you are called to show. You are granted the ability to show courage even in the face of your worst fears, that you might remember that the cause you fight for is greater than any fears your enemies may present you with. You are granted a mount, a companion who will share your pursuit of justice and righteousness, that you will know you are not alone. You are granted immunity from sickness and disease, that your enemies might know that your holyness is greater than any foulness they might use against you. You are granted the ability to drive away undead, that you might remember that good will always triumph over evil in the end. And lastly, you are granted the ability to drive back the darkness itself, that your enemies might know that you will not back down in your cause, and that they might know the touch of righteousness in their foul hearts. Remember, you are not perfect, nor are you even the best at what you do. You are not the best fighter, the best spellcaster, or the best healer. What you ARE is a light against evil. Your true strength lies in your undying pursuit of your beliefs. Keep you faith, and perhaps, some day, the rest of the world will see the truth... as you have.
WhrenKehrsyn 03-07-06, 10:53 AM	Very nice =0) When Im playing a paladiny type character I usually just keep in mind the Knights Code from the movie Dragonheart I play a palain in the video game FFXI, and this is her pledge, which includes that same Knights Code: "There is horror, suffering, and too much death in this world and no longer will I tolerate it. I will take up steel and shield, a knight of Vanadiel. I will stand, a wall, between the weak and those who would bring harm to the them. I will bring vengeance for the wrongfully dead. I will carry light to the world. This I pledge. A knight is sworn to Valor. Her heart knows only virtue. Her blade defends the helpless. Her might upholds the weak. Her word speaks only truth. Her wrath undoes the wicked."
Uberwoot 03-07-06, 01:50 PM	I like it. It's not perfect, but I like it. I have two complaints. The lesser complaint is that your statement of purpose seems like it tries to be pure roleplaying, but tries to explain game rules. An explanation of the paladin's abilities is not really necessary from a roleplaying perspective, but this is a minor issue- it's still good. The other, larger, complaint is that paladins vary, and your manifesto does not cover them all. While being lawful good and adhering to certain ideals of conduct is fairly restrictive, there is still a lot of leeway in beliefs, methods, and dogma. The Forgotten Realms setting allows for paladins of quite a variety of faiths, including some who may worship a chaotic good deity (Sune, goddess of beauty), a deity of magic (Mystra), or a deity of death (Kelemvor). There is a huge spectrum of focuses for paladins, and dogma or personal preference may lead one to focus entirely on one aspect while ignoring or disdaining others. But hey, it looks good. /Woot
Dragonwriter 03-07-06, 07:30 PM	Well, I guess it does focus more on how I see the archetypal Paladin rather than trying to be more broad-spectrum. But when you sit down to write creatively, you can't always tell what will come out. I hope that the quality is good enough to grab people's imaginations, which is the reason why I ever truly write anything.