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I love your whole thing were you think a Paladin should show mercy to the merciless. I had a game in college as a Paladin where I raided a Goblin den (overarching multi-night game that eventually revealed a powerful Blackguard and his Devil overlord were the ultimate villians, Stupid Blood War). And we came across an entire den filled with young, infirm, and non combatant goblins huddled in a tunnel. My druid (who was Neutral Evil...because of course he felt like doing that) started to sick his animal on them, and I stepped in front of him and refused to let him through. One of the many times that campaign where I was glad I made my highest stat Charisma. Sadly, we ended up having to kill him when he sided with the Blackguard at the end, but we got a bit of help from a few of the Goblins I saved at the end. One was a master smith who crafted us all the gear we could want because I defended them against my allies because "They are not a threat, and we can't kill them. We owe them mercy and care."
I don't think a good aligned Conquest Paladin is that hard to imagine. The Conquest Paladin y'all imagine believes only in laws and fear, a good Conquest Paladin believes in just and fair laws. I imagine a good Conquest Paladin believes in being strong enough that enemies fear them and crushing what they would deem to be evil empires and organisations. I actually think it's more easy to be evil as a Vengeance Paladin. TL;DR: A good Conquest Paladin seeks to liberate those under tyrannical rule.
The idea of hell being a strictly regimented and process-focused environment makes it really interesting. Ding, there's the oath alarm! Pop, here's a new succubus! Next?
It does fit the Lawful nature of Hell. I mean there could be a sect of Devils who specifically monitor when a zealot or fighter makes that step to devotion and sets in motion there temptation. Party wants to "Take down the Man" by disrupting this process? Ok, there's the latter half of your campaign written for you. :D
Andrew Swart I really like the idea as well. The idea that this succubus is a sorta... Yandere "daughter" the paladin doesnt know they have. The succubus has a sick sorta "love" for their paladin. The succubus see the oath as a sort of bondage thats causing the paladin to suffer. "This person gave me _life._ I _love_ living. I owe them the love of life, and that poor fool is _locked_ in this _stupid_ oath that's preventing them from truly being alive! I _need_ to free them from that. There's got to be something they want! Whatever it is, I will get it for them, and all they will need to do to get it is break that stupid oath." Now to a succubus, THAT is a generous mentality. They are being KIND by not killing the paladin and sucking out their soul, in the mind of the succubus. It sets the succubus on their own path where they're watching the paladin, theyre corrupting and scheming and trying to get the paladin to be more evil. I like this idea because this gives the succubus a LOVE. And when a succubus loves someone, truly, their kiss turns them into a vampire... So the succubus' request doesn't NEED to be anything even kinda crazy. It can just be as simple as "true loves kiss". The succubus can be TRUTHFUL and EVIL at the same time. They can recount the horror of formlessness and how rapturous the moment of birth for them was, they can recount the disgusting creatures they've "punished" and how it made them happy to see these amoral deviants face "justice". She dies a twisted version of what you do and her love is genuine and ALL she wants is one kiss! She's not asking for some dark deed. She wants her love requited. "Ill give that up for you, just... Let me do this." And then you have the good hearted paladin, we'll say say he's rolled that coveted nat20 on his insight check and she's being honest and truthful as far as they know... Thinking back to the oath... Sometimes all it takes is one mistake. One slip... A succubus who is born from a paladin's oath KNOWS how good they are. They aren't going to insult them with something as stupid and obvious as "go kill this baby" or "go steal this thing" or "swear loyalty to me" its going to play off their goodness, and use THAT as the weapon against them.
Honestly, a good conquest paladin is just a benevolent dictator, he’s acting for the good of his people but he also has to rule with an iron fist when he has to, because if he shows any weakness he can be toppled. Dr. Doom is probably the best example
I would see a conquest paladin as the front line fighter on border conflicts. A war between countries or some such. The conquest paladin is there to lead the charge and defend the non-combatants from enemy incursion. Invade the enemy camp. Stuff like that. You stand against the opposing force and break them.
Of course, it's extremely easy for a benevolent conqueror to start slipping into Lawful Evil, not just despite but BECAUSE of their best intentions. They start making reasonable compromises, that then escalate. Or they get frustrated with people who aren't living up to their ideals, or who can't just behave themselves. It's not that Oath of Conquest Paladins can't be Good aligned. It's that the mentality of their Oath - that they will MAKE people obey - lends itself very well to tyranny. It takes a great deal of work and willpower to avoid devolving into a tyrant. Another example of a Conquest Paladin might be Klaus Wulfenbach, from the webcomic Girl Genius. He worked for years with heroes more noble than himself, trying to save the world from its squabbling collection of entitled aristocrats and mad scientists. But when Klaus left and returned, those heroes were gone, and it was as if they'd never been there. The chaos was just as bad, if not worse. So he stopped it. And he did it his way. He dominated his opposition, and imposed an order that not everyone liked, but that kept everything stable. Even then, Klaus tried to be diplomatic where he could, and tried to reserve his Iron Fist for when folks caused trouble. Klaus Wulfenbach wasn't close to being a Good aligned character - he committed many atrocities in the name of maintaining order and his own research (he is, after all, still a mad genius) - but he tried being good enough that he wasn't quite Evil aligned, either. He was Lawful Neutral; he was willing to do both bad and good, if it meant maintaining peace, and protecting the world from greater threats.
Bluecho4 True that. He did things that were despicable but he was trying to what was best for the world. For that greater whole. And doing it with everyone wanting to return to chaos, sometimes not knowing that would be the result. Easy to condemn him, but he did more to keep the world together and not shedding oceans of blood then anyone else.
Paladin: "Torturing an unarmed foe goes against everything my oath stands for!" (turns around and opens the door, before giving a wink) Paladin: "Have fun with that." (leaves the party to their business)
I've managed as a cleric via zone of truth or otherwise to never have to truely harm any captive. The worst was threatening to consume their soul and a single cut on their leg. I then yeeted them unbound into the sea off the boat when they talked. Most I get them to talk with just food , drink, and a polite tells what we want to know and we will see to it your treated well. Don't and we will get creative but we have standards.
Hey, it worked for Michael Carpenter. "If *I* break this guy's kneecaps, it goes against my oath and I risk blowing up my magic sword. If the party's Wizard does it, I barely even have to pretend to disapprove."
Oh my boy. I dig that a succubus is born each time an Oath is sworn by a paladin. If you go further into said idea, maybe said sucubus is tied to her paladin's life. Even though she/he wants the paladin to fall, they don't necessarily wants them to die, and thus, may come to the paladin's help because of that. A genuine help because their vitality is tied. This is definitely now gonna make appearance in a certain game of mine
RPG Marksman I like that idea, perhaps they just want to fulfill their purpose before the paladin dies, so until the paladin forsakes their oath they'll have a succubus/incubus guardian, but afterwards they have a demon trying to drag them to hell. Or perhaps a succubus/incubus could fall in love with their paladin over time, so once the oath is broken they stay by the paladins side as a companion. This has a lot of potential, especially if the succubus is drawn to the paladin, but has to travel from some random part of the world and so spread sin as they travel, which can attract the paladin's attention.
So, she's just protecting her investment? Like Crowley on "Supernatural", numerous times with Bobby and the boys. Maybe there should be a new alignment, Lawful Capitalist ?
Paladin was the first class I ever played, and it will always be my favourite class. I started in Pathfinder, where the restrictions on Paladins were steep but manageable- the most in terms of who you could associate with was basically "they can't be capital E Evil," and the first DM I had was laid back about how the oath worked because I wrote out my oath myself and stuck to it. Naturally I was confused when I saw people complaining about how restrictive and problematic the Paladin was, until I saw what older edition Paladins needed to put up with. The other thing that really gets my goat is DMs who take it upon themselves to *make* a Paladin fall. Ultimately that choice should fall down to the player, and the player alone. Absolutely the DM should put up situations that make a Paladin question the path they're on, but that should be done with the default assumption that the Paladin is going to refuse temptation and stay true.
I once made a Paladin and modeled him after The Clone Wars Series Obi-Wan Kenobi. I even asked my DM if I could be known as "The Negotiator", wielding a Maul I called "Backup Negotiation". When I got an 18 STR on my stat roll I got the image of a buff , bushy-bearded, religious, two-handed hammer wielding Obi-Wan... Took a few minutes before I realized I made DoTA's OmniKnight.
I can see Obi Wan as a Paladin. But I'm not sure what his oath would be. He's undeniably always good. But he has some moral flexibility and rebelliousness that makes him hard to pigeonhole. Undeniably charisma based, and also one of the deadliest fuckers to face in melee. Maybe he fits a variation of path of the ancients.
I had Barliamonte "Barley" Blackearth be a Devotion Paladin. I can see Obi-Wan being Devotion with the Jedi oaths nearly reflecting the Tenets as well as his prowess with the blade reflecting the Channel Divinity: Sacred Weapon. With the Defensive Fighting Style reflecting his Soresu Mastery.
Obi Wan Kenobi, Paladin. Gods I am in LOVE with that idea! “If you define yourself by the power to take life, the desire to dominate, to possess…then you have nothing.”
Making a Jedi in 5e is actually not very hard, a Paladin / Warlock multiclass covers most of the basics and the various sub-classes focus on various Jedi powers. A Redemption Paladin / Celestial Warlock is a healer and protector. A Devotion (or Vengeance) Paladin / Hexblade Warlock is a master of lightsaber combat, And lastly an Ancients Paladin / Old One Warlock is the master of the Force.
What came to mind when thinking about a Paladin's Nemesis; Vengeance Paladin: "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die" Nemesis: *Runs Away* Vengeance Paladin: *Gives Chase* Nemesis: *Pulls out dagger and throws it, stabbing the Paladin* Vengeance Paladin: *Dying* "I'm sorry father, I tried......I tried..." Nemesis: "You must be that little Spanish brat I taught a lesson to years ago. Simply Incredible. Have you been chasing me all your life only to fail now?....That must be the worst thing I've ever heard.....How Marvelous."
Honestly, I think Paladin was going to be the hardest class to do in this series and you guys nailed it. My props, love this channel, love you guys. I would totally be down to play with you guys sometime, if I could find the time. lol
My new Vengence Paladin his wife dies because of the tidal forces pulling her under and drowning her. He vows to destroy that, that stole his love he must destroy THE MOON!
@WebDM: Redemption Paladin reminds me of Ruroni Kenshin. He was an idealistic killer for the revolution who became disenfranchised with it and swore to never take another life. While technically leagues ahead of anyone else in the show in martial abilities, he hides it behind a happy-go-lucky demeanor. Just throwing that out there as a popular manga/anime related character to the class for inspiration.
My first ever DnD game was a dragonborn paladin who was left in the woods for being a chromatic coloured(black) dragonborn in a proud line of metalic dragonborn. He was then found and raised by a hermetic order of Oath of Ancients Elven Paladins that kinda just hung around in their monastery making mead and being slightly drunk, while secretly protecting an ancient relic. I miss that guy, he was a mess xD
Oh right, the point i meant to make what that paladins are dear to me and i have at least 6 different ideas on new ones to play , as ever you guys inspire and i thank you for it!
Eric Miles I have a player using the oath of redemption. His church was destroyed by the dominant church, he used the ashes of his burnt down church for a holy symbol and it was so much fun watching him try to decide whether to destroy the evil church or not
I personaly love the redemption paladins ability at level 20 Its very flavorful , good on mechanics, and theres just that nice feeling of taking all that damage , and returning it back ,with no effort, And the moment when you pull your weapon for what needs to be done, glorious
I usually just dump my awful jokes down here, but if you're looking for a fun way to play out a Paladin seeking redemption, that scene in the new _Samurai Jack_ where Jack tries to get his sword back is perfect! So the Paladin has to meditate in some remote, holy place and solve riddles, speak with ancestors, and confront their evil self in the astral plane. *Meanwhile,* some baddies got wind that the Paladin they hate is astral-projecting, so now the rest of the party has to fight off waves-upon-waves of mooks from killing the Paladin's body!
Spoilers for infinity war A great example of not compromising beliefs even if it made things easier is when cap says to vision "we don't trade lives" because if they had just killed vision then and there, thanos wouldn't have been able to ever get the mind stone, even with the time stone, it would have been too far back. Also if Peter had just immidietly killed gamora, or if Loki had let Thor die. Any one of these changing would have ensured that thanos lost. And all of these happened before the 1 chance to win fuckery.
"Symbology? Now that Duffy's relinquished his "King Bonehead" crown, I see we have an heir to the throne." That's right Pruitt, I see your Boondock Saints references.
I miss my paladin of the ancients, Cordeyr. Loved to laugh, had a good time with everything, and was often used by his party members for his money (it was for the good of the group, he wasn't using it, so why not). I remember when the group was in Scornubel headed west from Greenest, and the two wizards wanted to purchase wands. They had plenty of gold at the time, but asked Cordeyr to haggle them down. Cordeyr happened to be from Fort Morninglord, a camp where everyone was there to learn how to spread the light and goodness. Although he had a high charisma (18), he had never dated anyone in his 24 years of age. All the females around him we're co-workers. So Cordeyr goes up to the shop, and the DM describes the owner as a beautiful elven woman, wearing black tight leather. Cordeyr goes up to the woman, pulls out a gold and sapphire ring, and says "if I wasn't dating this woman (girlfriend in real life, stalker that doesn't have Cordeyr's love in game), I'd marry you in a heartbeat. How about you sell use those two wands a little cheaper, sweetie?". DM asks for a persuasion check, I roll a 23. She then starts hitting on Cordeyr back. Because he has never dated anyone or had a romantic interest, Cordeyr freezes. This has never happened before, what does he do? He panicks, and goes straight out the door. Laughs all around, it was a great time. Unfortunately, he was captured by a married couple of cannibals, who ran a tavern in the middle of nowhere. He was mutilated and strung up to bleed out, cut into tiny parts. Rest in pieces (and in peace), buddy. Silvanus will guide you home
Thank You. As someone who fell in love with the paladin back in 3.5 when Clerics were mini gods, Fighters had feats for days, and the Paladin had a horse that you could never fit in cavern, and ran out of smites in the blink of an eye, but the story of the paladin meant I didn’t care. You really did good bringing that out.
I think Oath of the Crown would be more Lawful Neutral. They strike me as a Law is more important than Good subclass. Making them Lawful Neutral gives them to space to do *some* questionable things in the name of law.
Normally my favorite class is Rogue, and it’s by far my most played class as well, but I gotta say my favorite character I’ve ever played was a Paladin. We were in an epic-level Hellscape campaign and went through the circles from Inferno. He wore full plate armor, could jump 40 ft high, and his blood was infused with silver to prevent vampirism and lycanthropy. I was so into it when I told the Demon lord that killed my character’s family, “BARAZETH! I am Argus Karn; Chosen of the Sacred Flame, and proud adherent of the Order of Branding Silver. I have come not to turn you to the light of Habdar, but to crush you under his mighty heel! RAAAHHHHH!”
I have the thought of playing a "reluctant paladin" - a seeker of redemption, but one who was offered the cold hard choice of dying on the battlefield or taking oaths he did not believe himself worthy to follow, by a mentor who demanded that he learn to embrace his destiny or die a failure.
I'd say a quick idea for how to make a "good" conquest paladin... I'm reminded of the Fire Nation, where the people believed that conquering all of these other lands is benevolent, sharing their prosperity and industry with the world, even though the lower people are rarely treated well. I'd love to see like the empire where a paladin legitimately believes in the tenets of their conquest, and maybe their very character arc is them breaking out of this and being turned to a more righteous path.
18:19 Definitely getting some connections to Jesus being tempted by the Devil to just bow down and do one act of worship to him, and all the kingdoms of the world will be his. Metaphorically this could be used in a modern day setting RPG where the paladin is tempted to give in to a drug addiction or other vice they had sworn off. Endless possibilities to consider.
Around 18:00 it seems like Jim is suggesting to go with the plot of The Labyrinth. Where Jareth offers Sarah everything, but she just has to love him. I love this so much.
Thank you, Jim Davis! Michael is my favorite, and probably the best example of a paladin in my opinion as well. Watching this video for the first time today and I literally fist pumped when you said that. The Dresden files have some amazing rp inspiration for almost every class, player characters, npcs and monsters-- top tier books; top tier show
Colby Gray How many times have you saved the party.... I’m just guessing from the “parent” statement that you have at least 1 or more times already. I’m just wondering because I was in the exact same situation and it was my first time playing 5e mind you compared to the rest of the group. I even jumped in when they were around level 6. I wasn’t the strongest (you could say I was actually second only to the cleric), but due to my other 4 party members’ gung ho nature-there were 5 [the cleric was usually beside me for protection]- there were plenty of instances where I had to think outside the box and actually risk being put in a perm death situation just to save the whole party. I felt like a silent parent (wasn’t really practiced in the way of RP yet) saving kids from a school bus hanging over a cliff. I am glad that my DM agreed that I tended to pick up on things to a greater extent and was able to work in the background to work around and with the party’s behaviors to essentially save the whole group. He actually said that if I hadn’t been there they would’ve been dead a while ago. If you, people that are fitting this description, are a murder hobo or just feel that dealing the most damage and getting the most kills means you are MVP of the group or some sort of OP character making you a savior or something like it, be attentive and actually pay attention and you might just see that your contribution is almost nothing compared to someone keeping silent. There may be instances where you’ll clearly see that if they hadn’t been there, your actions would mean nothing because the whole party is dead in the end. If you are someone who is being subtle or silent about how much you are contributing or how you are not being praised for it, don’t hold it against the party. Let them enjoy the game, and enjoy it knowing that no matter who speaks like a leader may not be a leader by action at all. True leaders will be the ones to carry their team on their back when it matters most expecting no praise from it. Its an obligation and duty of leaders to do so. It may suck and praise is a good thing to get because it means you are being acknowledged, but you will eventually play a part that will show you for what you really are to the rest of the group.
My favorite kind of paladin is oath of ancients, mostly because I love the ideas behind the word 'Ancients'. One long standing idea is this person who became a paladin (or now that it comes to mind this could work for a cleric) in sort of a similar fashion to a warlock, finding a demigod or fallen god or the evidence of an ancient entity and through showing compassion and reverence reignites the demigods power and that's how they become a paladin working to spread more of that compassion out there, and since it's a demigod it may have it's own aims, it may want you to spread the compassion to gain more followers to eventually reinstate itself in the pantheon, or to get help in restoring multiple ancient gods, maybe it was an evil god seeking to atone in it's final moments or because it sees that evil has lost. Alternatively this may not be directly with a demigod, you might have found an artifact with an ancient code and obeying that makes the world gift you powers because you're following were around when the world was young, and that manifests in the powers you have.
Interestingly, they can both be Redemption with different ways of inspiring others to be better. Hawk is negative reinforcement; Dove is positive reinforcement.
"so, how did you become an oath breaker? Did you accept a deal with a demon? Did you murder an innocent in rage?" "no, I slept with Bob, and part of my oath was celibacy..." "..."
My favorite paladin i played was to a goddess of love that was trying to prove he could get any woman he wanted but was saving himself for his goddess to prove his devotion.
Wyatt Weber they have a whole video about them but lots of rogues i’ve seen seemed to have kleptomania that caused irl arguments a good thief knows that risking your shot for big money just to pocket a business partner’s gold pouch is asking for trouble
Captain Marvel and Black Adam from DC comics are both really good examples of paladins (devotion and vengeance respectively). Black Adam especially is quite compelling in the fact that he knows he is crossing a line, but he feels that it is what's necessary for the world to be improved.
@@WorgenGrrl Depends on the story. Some times when he's a pure villain, yes, he's probably a conquest paladin, but in many stories, he's more of a figure inspiring people to fight for their freedom, to rise up against evil, and to crush the wicked without mercy. That sounds very oath of vengeance to me
One of my favorite characters I've played was a Warforged Paladin whose faith was in his creator and the powerful creativity of sentient beings. I played him sort of like a combination of Baymax and K-2SO.
I made an NPC for my group to meet, a Warforged Paladin who worshiped the Goddess of Fertility. He could not have children himself, but felt that if he proved himself worthy, he could become "real" ( like Pinocchio) and create life himself. And while that sounds all well and good, he was a complete bastard in combat. He would say things like, "I only speak Common, but these Goblins only understand force." He needs to show up again.
One aspect of the Redemption Paladín that you lightly touched on was the reformed villain. I'm currently playing a Goblin Redemption Paladín whose main arc is freeing the goblinoid races from the influence of Maglubiet *as well as* try to be an example for goblin-kind. It's been very fun to rp situations where my character asks those around her to do better to try and see the good in those who are at odds with the mission or the quest. I think Redemption Paladín alongside Ancients and Vengeance are good fits for races that are outside the typical "lawful" races in a campaign.
austin J I've got a similar one. Fallen Aasimar Vengence Oath. He's a "human" possessed by a fiend, and if he were to give in, it'd be the fiend's power breaking through that'd be the Fallen aasimar 3rd level Fear effect.
Keegan Pohlar mine was a aasimar part of a small church who's leader was actually a cult leader or orchus (spelling) who then corrupted him. He reached out and prayed and the Raven Queen answered saying she would restore his Divinity and Grant his wish of vengeance if he would also Grant her her vengeance
One of my favorite things to do since getting my PHB has been looking at the list of deities(and I know Paladins don't need to be devoted to a deity) and going "what would a paladin of the God of Wizards be like?" or "how would a Paladin of the Goddess of Joy work without being all sadistic glee?" or stuff like that...
I think a paladin of the Goddess of Joy should be like Thor or Goku, they are not mean and don't try to start violence. But they have fun fighting. Maybe during peacetime, the paladin goes in the tournament circuit. Jousting, melee, etc.
I play a NG Firbolg Ancient Paladin in one of my games, and I play him exactly how you described the fundamental Ancients Paladin. I am the goodness in our party. I play him kind of like Orlando Bloom's Balian of Ibelin from The Kingdom of Heaven, and goddamn is Bertilak one of my favorite characters that I've ever played.
WJEFOIA FJALFKJADFJK that's right, what was I thinking. There's no nuance. No need to worry about that changes politics, jobs, the economy, neighboring nation's perception, daily life, agriculture, nobility and status, trade, academics, expansion, taxes, justice, crime, and law, or anything else. What was I thinking
Fortello I mean it really depends on what you are going for. Perhaps a group of the highest Archmages are the ones who lead the land, and they have lower archmages ruling over different areas. Some mages are nobility but all of them hold higher status in society than any non-magic user. Obviously this would create a world where any non-magic users would most likely feel somewhat oppressed, or just resigned to their fate. Honestly though you can go in so many different directions with this I think my original answer still stands because of just how many different ways it could go.
It's so weird watching this while planning an Oath of Treachery paladin with actual tenets that I'm planning to have fall because she's not selfish enough... My paladin is basically all of this in reverse, swearing an oath to evil while tempted by good.
I think oath of the crown paladins can lend themselves to adventuring. They wander into the chaos to defeat forces of the wilds and uncivilized to defend civilization.
I dunno if a paladin is quite the right place to go for this (it might be, I haven't read up on the Oath of the Crown), but I love the idea of a counterargument to the ranger and the druid. Some rangers and druids exist to defend the wilds from the unwelcome encroachment of unnatural civilization, and I love the idea of a character who takes the exact opposite view, that the natural world is not the best world and that all places deserve to know the blessings of civilization. Obviously there's the issue that this sounds an awful lot like racist europeans who wanted to "civilize" the "barbarians" they found in the Americas and Africa and the parts of Asia they were able to take control of, but I think it's possible to create a character with an inclusive view of what counts as civilization who only views actual wild places as needing to be civilized who thereby averts those #problematic tropes.
I'd recommend you guys check out the character of Iskandar/Rider from the Fate franchise. He embodies the aspects of a good, genial, and likable conqueror to a tee, I think.
Nico Cabato While that’s true I think its hard to argue that the Oath of Conquest’s tenants are “Douse the Flame of Hope”, “Rule with an Iron Fist”, and “Strength Above All”
"A king without greed is even worse than a figurehead! Saber. You said you would become a martyr for your ideals. In life, you must have been a pure saint. A proud and noble figure, certainly. But who can truly admire the martyr’s thorny path? Who dreams of such an ending? A king… The king must be greedier than any other. He must laugh louder and rage harder. He must exemplify the extreme of all things, good and evil. That is why his retainers envy and adore him. And why the flames of aspiration, to be as the king is, can burn within his people. Proud king of chivalry… The righteousness and ideals you bore may indeed have saved your nation once. However, I’m certain you know what became of those who were saved, but left to themselves." While you can argue that Iskander is selfish and hedonistic to a degree through his policy of relentless expansionism, I'd be hard pressed to call him a bad man. He rules because he himself exemplifies the glories of conquest, and he has the strength and respect of his men to support him. As he once said to Waver: "The inferiority you feel is actually a quality of a conqueror. You may grumble a lot, but you know how small you are. And yet you still struggle to reach heights greater than you can imagine." It's not exactly what one imagines when one thinks of the classic LG Paladin, but his notion of conquest without humiliation, of not crushing your enemies, but DEFEATING them and turning them into friends and trusted comrades, is a laudable one.
I still don’t think Oath of Conquest fits Rider because the Oath is too strongly Lawful Evil, I feel that if you home brewed up an Oath of Adventure or Oath of Action Paladin where the tenants are all about living life to the fullest and challenging people because you believe it will be a good fight would work better for Rider.
I always laugh that "It is how that Paladin acts" that can ruin the situation. Lets not forget the people whose actions are designed to "troll" the Paladin, then hide behind the "It is what my class/alignment/character would do"
This has to be one of the *best* videos yet! I absolutely have to steal what you guys said about a succubus being born every time a paladin swears an oath. My players will get quite the kick out of it. Also, have you guys considered an RP monsters video? Not big villainous bad guys, but a *video on the rp possibilities of different monstrous races* Goblinoids, Orcs, Giants, Ogres, Duergar, Drow, Dragons, Dragonborn, etc. How they act in combat, how a player might roleplay them with a good aligned party or how a player might make reasons to make a good aligned Drow for example, maybe even a few words on what societies of the different evil races may looks like.
multiple paladin parties can be a lot of fun, especially if they are complimentary oaths that fit well with the campaign, conquest and vengeance can work quite well together, devotion and ancients, conquest and crown, heck, just putting together two paladins in a party and the campaign almost writes itself, add a cleric, some magic/skill classes, stir well, and set loose the wargs of war
This one and the Warlock one have been some of the best insight and have given me a lot of ideas on playing either of them. These two classes always seem to be played way too safely, so thank you for all of the great ideas on how to play them to their full rp potential. Great stuff
Could you guys to talk a little bit about re-skinning? ie. I had a Valor Bard themed as a H-Orc War Shaman. I've seen a lot of cool ideas of creating characters outside of the box, that function the same mechanically, but just feel out of the box. Thanks!
My favorite way to build a Redemption paladin’s background is that they are also in need of redemption/have been redeemed. Maybe they had a criminal background, or were a part of a corrupt city guard. One day, they had just seen too much, and so they left that old life behind. They need to believe that everyone can be redeemed because if that isn’t true, then they can’t be redeemed either. I think it’s a great way to internalize the concepts of the oath into an easy way to play the character out.
Thos is why it's my favorite oath. I play a orc paladin of redemption (seeking redemption for participating in genocide) I've only killed 1 person so far.
I actually really wanna play a Revenant Oathbreaker Paladin in Curse of Strahd, with the idea he was a coward who ran from his oath to kill Strahd, and his fallen comrades sheer hatred from him caused the evil of Barovia itself to resurrect him, and deny him death. But as he eventually grows, I'd love the idea that he becomes an Oath of Redemption, to reflect that despite his mistakes, he found the light in the darkness.
On the topic of 'Dresden Files', it has been awhile since I read the series, but I believe I remember that one of the holy knights is an atheist. Real good series, go read it.
Sonia is the night and yes he says the angels may be aliens, or other entities with power who might not be behind it. All that matters is that he works towards the greater good.
I know I'm a bit late, but if I remember correctly he's not an atheist, he is an agnostic. He's not entirely devoted to religion but he is open to it. Basically saying that it doesn't matter if it's God or Angels or aliens, if he's doing good that's all that matters.
A buddy and I were talking about the back-up characters we thought we were going to have to bring in to our Wed night games. Neither of us knew we both had a Paladin planned. Him: gold scaled dragonborn Paladin of Bahumut with the oath of devotion. Me: silver scaled dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut with the oath of vengeance Then I wake up Thursday and I see this. Stop reading my notes! In all seriousness though, well done guys. Thanks for the video.
9:38 What a coincidental choice of language! My players were just in a city that I created where the law is kept by Paladins of Pholtus, and they are known as "Beacons"
Really enjoying the "Goldpact Knight" paladin order in Deadfire. They hold contracts and rationality as holy. It's interesting to not have to be some zealot.
Redemption Paladin came out for my character at exactly the right time. I was already playing a Life Cleric of Lathander who had the charlatan background and a habit of recruiting at least one NPC from our encounters, so when I multi-classed into Paladin, Redemption was a perfect fit. (Also, mechanically, I was looking for something to do with my reaction, so win-win!). Redemption Paladin is great for the non-traditional background Paladin like urchin, criminal, etc, or if you start above 1st level, like at 7 or 10 for that fun multiclass build. Your Assassin Rogue 3-Redemption Paladin 7 multiclass who saw the light and offers peace before offering swift judgment to evil doers is a great build for this. They do it swift, silent, with as minimal pain as they can to get the dirty business of violence out of the way fast.
Bless this video! I was concerned that my paladin I built wasnt paladin-like enough, but yall brought up some points that made me feel better about her. Thank you!
Ive been wanting to play a goblin paladin for so long. Rescued and inspired by a paladin, he wants to live up to that paladin's ideals, even though he doesnt really understand them yet. A character who's naturally an abrasive jerk that people arent inclined to trust or take serioisly, but wants more than anything to grow into a paragon of virtue
Currently playing a Aasimar Devotion Paladin in a Ravenloft game, and this video was really helpful as I'm actually having a lot of difficulty role playing him. I like the idea of having compassion for the people of Barovia, as opposed to trying to bring judgement on... everyone.
Holy shit, Michael Carpenter is a d&d paladin, he has a weird group of friends who go on quest with him and he eventually kills a dragon. I want to make this character now.
isaac haahr, I totally just started a HotDQ campaign playing him. It's really fun trying to think of how he would react based off his personality in the books.
He absolutely is. Jim Butcher is on recorded saying he came up with Michael because he loves Paladins and wanted to see what one would look like in what is basically our modern world.
Regarding breaking the oath. I prefer the option of the gods can't take the powers back. Mostly because it adds fun story, "I gave this person power and now he is acting like a jerk. Go go adventuring party!" This also allows the paladin to really do what he believes in, not just doing something because he has to.
Awesome vid guys! The paladin has long been my favorite class and this is my fave vid on roleplaying classes in your series. I do so wish I had a steady party to play with!
I find the paladin oaths to be very similar to the “vow and restriction” rules from HxH- through the paladin limiting themselves and committing themselves to a certain way of life, their ideals give them strength. I struggle to see them as casters “tied” to a deity- they find aligning with gods whose ideas line up with their own easy to do, but they don’t nessecarily need to follow a god in order to gain that power.
Very true. I'd say that the only real significance of the character's alignment is how he perceives himself, and his actions, and are they consistent. Even if twisted, as long as he's consistent, then he can maintain whatever oath he swore to. The risk of losing his oath would come in the form of behavior inconsistent with his value system and thus oath. So a morally flexible Paladin isn't a problem, if he swears to vengeance and stays loyal to that path. But if he wavers, even in doing a good act, from his oath, he risks losing his powers.
I always jump to Sturm from the Dragonlance novels when I think of paladins. Particularly when you spoke of the unrequited love part, I thought you might be looking his way.
You guys really make me want to play DnD 5th, I haven't played it since 3.5 and started playing pathfinder years later with a small group of friends and now that's all we play. Great video, thanks for the content. Side note, WAFFLEMAN!!!!
I've always liked the idea that a Lawful Good Devotion Paladin could be pushed into becoming a Lawful Evil Conquest Paladin without actually realizing it, but just becoming so jaded with the inability of others to stop sinning and profaning the gods that they eventually become a "bigger monster"
Man, currently playing a half-orc Paladin/Cleric of Helm and absolutely loving it. Rather than "goodier than thou" he's a former city guard and footsoldier on the cusp of retirement who was unlucky enough to receive his calling in a very public manner. He's common as muck and swears like a sailor, is a doting father to a loving family and takes his role as party tank and main healer (an unfortunate combo, I know) incredibly seriously. His job isn't to pass judgement on people's actions, it's to be the frontline, protecting the things that are valuable, even if it kills him. Currently in the process of writing a little monologue for him to deliver in our next session because the rest of the party apparently don't understand why he wasn't just going to put his weapon down and get out of the way of the giant tree muttering arcane incantations (speaking in Sylvan), just because they told him it was peaceful.
I kind of always like to have a certain inner struggle with most of my characters. Currently, I'm playing a level 7 Sorcadin in a campaign set in Diablo world, some time in between Diablo 2 and 3. The 3 levels of Shadow Sorcerer and his demonic ancestry is in direct clash with his utmost efforts to remain loyal to the cause of Light and the tenets of his Crusader of Light Devotion Oath. So, even though I murder stuff in combat encounters, I play this character in a way that creates tension both within his own instincts, behaviours, ideals and choices, as well as the party as a whole, often ending with me getting into trouble due to the strain my nephilim nature puts in front of me. So far, it's been really amazing playing a troubled old man who tries to remain good-hearted, just and lawful only to be thrown off completely by demonic influences and his innate demonic powers.
Played a Paladin as a 1st-time player back in the convoluted days of 3.5E. Boy, do I wish I had the 5E abilities then! I rp'd Vygard Sentinel as a true knight in shining armor, devoted to Bahamut as he shielded his nation of Dawncrest from the legions of monsters that lashed against its borders. His holy symbol was a set of seven rings attached to the hand guard of his blade, with each one representing a Virtue. Emblazoned upon his chestplate was the inscription: Ye Bastion of the Light, Stand firm, defend from slight Those without aid in adversity- Your blood the seed of prosperity. He struggled with upholding his worldview while being challenged by other perspectives. Vygard was so genuine, honest, and dedicated to protecting his comrades that three of the other players said he was their favorite part about the game. That felt amazing : ) I'd love to reboot him for a 5E adventure. I have my paladin as a historical figure in the campaign I'm running now, looking forward to the players learning about him through an optional dungeon with puzzles based upon the seven Virtues of Justice, Truth, Wisdom, Honesty, Loyalty, Faithfulness, Selflessness.
Oath of the Ancients has turned into the Party Paladin in our group. Usually of Bacchus. I went Unarmed and made mine a Pro Wrestler. Grappling+Unarmed strike+Smite=Pile Driver.
What I love about paladin's is how versatile they've become as a concept. Not D&D, but Pathfinder led to me making one of my favorite characters I've ever played, Adran Phenry. He serves the god of family and community, so his oaths are different from say, the god of mercy or the god of justice. He seeks to help the community. Sometimes that means killing goblins, but most of the time it means building fences, repairing roofs, organizing a militia, settling disputes. It also means his ideals are more flexible. Technically, if he commits a crime and it's done for the sake of the community, it's fine. He actually technically did a no no by lying, but said lie was done to protect someone's reputation and standing in the community, therefore he did his duty. He has that righteous warrior aesthetic that I love about paladins, while also having a very grounded, realistic view of morality and the world. He won't judge you for theft or promiscuity. To him, smaller evils are to be dealt with after the big ones. He doesn't have time to deal with that sorta shit when there's a plague spreading through the poorer districts, or a blight is threatening to cause a famine.
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Jim, you've forgotten the Divine Soul Sorcerer in your quest to the nine hells. ^^b
I love your whole thing were you think a Paladin should show mercy to the merciless. I had a game in college as a Paladin where I raided a Goblin den (overarching multi-night game that eventually revealed a powerful Blackguard and his Devil overlord were the ultimate villians, Stupid Blood War). And we came across an entire den filled with young, infirm, and non combatant goblins huddled in a tunnel. My druid (who was Neutral Evil...because of course he felt like doing that) started to sick his animal on them, and I stepped in front of him and refused to let him through. One of the many times that campaign where I was glad I made my highest stat Charisma. Sadly, we ended up having to kill him when he sided with the Blackguard at the end, but we got a bit of help from a few of the Goblins I saved at the end. One was a master smith who crafted us all the gear we could want because I defended them against my allies because "They are not a threat, and we can't kill them. We owe them mercy and care."
Web DM Ooh here’s a line you can quote “Be the example, don’t MAKE the example”
Jim, Jon, I am pretty sure Batman would be more of a Monk/Rogue. But, THANK YOU for giving me that idea! XD
I don't think a good aligned Conquest Paladin is that hard to imagine. The Conquest Paladin y'all imagine believes only in laws and fear, a good Conquest Paladin believes in just and fair laws. I imagine a good Conquest Paladin believes in being strong enough that enemies fear them and crushing what they would deem to be evil empires and organisations. I actually think it's more easy to be evil as a Vengeance Paladin. TL;DR: A good Conquest Paladin seeks to liberate those under tyrannical rule.
The succubus being born when your Paladin swears his oath is such an interesting concept.
The idea of hell being a strictly regimented and process-focused environment makes it really interesting. Ding, there's the oath alarm! Pop, here's a new succubus! Next?
It does fit the Lawful nature of Hell. I mean there could be a sect of Devils who specifically monitor when a zealot or fighter makes that step to devotion and sets in motion there temptation. Party wants to "Take down the Man" by disrupting this process? Ok, there's the latter half of your campaign written for you. :D
Andrew Swart
Andrew Swart
I really like the idea as well. The idea that this succubus is a sorta... Yandere "daughter" the paladin doesnt know they have. The succubus has a sick sorta "love" for their paladin. The succubus see the oath as a sort of bondage thats causing the paladin to suffer.
"This person gave me _life._ I _love_ living. I owe them the love of life, and that poor fool is _locked_ in this _stupid_ oath that's preventing them from truly being alive! I _need_ to free them from that. There's got to be something they want! Whatever it is, I will get it for them, and all they will need to do to get it is break that stupid oath."
Now to a succubus, THAT is a generous mentality. They are being KIND by not killing the paladin and sucking out their soul, in the mind of the succubus. It sets the succubus on their own path where they're watching the paladin, theyre corrupting and scheming and trying to get the paladin to be more evil.
I like this idea because this gives the succubus a LOVE. And when a succubus loves someone, truly, their kiss turns them into a vampire... So the succubus' request doesn't NEED to be anything even kinda crazy. It can just be as simple as "true loves kiss". The succubus can be TRUTHFUL and EVIL at the same time.
They can recount the horror of formlessness and how rapturous the moment of birth for them was, they can recount the disgusting creatures they've "punished" and how it made them happy to see these amoral deviants face "justice". She dies a twisted version of what you do and her love is genuine and ALL she wants is one kiss! She's not asking for some dark deed. She wants her love requited. "Ill give that up for you, just... Let me do this."
And then you have the good hearted paladin, we'll say say he's rolled that coveted nat20 on his insight check and she's being honest and truthful as far as they know...
Thinking back to the oath... Sometimes all it takes is one mistake. One slip... A succubus who is born from a paladin's oath KNOWS how good they are. They aren't going to insult them with something as stupid and obvious as "go kill this baby" or "go steal this thing" or "swear loyalty to me" its going to play off their goodness, and use THAT as the weapon against them.
Holy shit I’m stealing this for a plot element. This sounds awesome.
Honestly, a good conquest paladin is just a benevolent dictator, he’s acting for the good of his people but he also has to rule with an iron fist when he has to, because if he shows any weakness he can be toppled.
Dr. Doom is probably the best example
Not if Bane is worshiped, it's more LE.
I would see a conquest paladin as the front line fighter on border conflicts. A war between countries or some such. The conquest paladin is there to lead the charge and defend the non-combatants from enemy incursion. Invade the enemy camp. Stuff like that. You stand against the opposing force and break them.
Of course, it's extremely easy for a benevolent conqueror to start slipping into Lawful Evil, not just despite but BECAUSE of their best intentions. They start making reasonable compromises, that then escalate. Or they get frustrated with people who aren't living up to their ideals, or who can't just behave themselves. It's not that Oath of Conquest Paladins can't be Good aligned. It's that the mentality of their Oath - that they will MAKE people obey - lends itself very well to tyranny. It takes a great deal of work and willpower to avoid devolving into a tyrant.
Another example of a Conquest Paladin might be Klaus Wulfenbach, from the webcomic Girl Genius. He worked for years with heroes more noble than himself, trying to save the world from its squabbling collection of entitled aristocrats and mad scientists. But when Klaus left and returned, those heroes were gone, and it was as if they'd never been there. The chaos was just as bad, if not worse.
So he stopped it. And he did it his way. He dominated his opposition, and imposed an order that not everyone liked, but that kept everything stable. Even then, Klaus tried to be diplomatic where he could, and tried to reserve his Iron Fist for when folks caused trouble. Klaus Wulfenbach wasn't close to being a Good aligned character - he committed many atrocities in the name of maintaining order and his own research (he is, after all, still a mad genius) - but he tried being good enough that he wasn't quite Evil aligned, either. He was Lawful Neutral; he was willing to do both bad and good, if it meant maintaining peace, and protecting the world from greater threats.
Bluecho4 True that. He did things that were despicable but he was trying to what was best for the world. For that greater whole. And doing it with everyone wanting to return to chaos, sometimes not knowing that would be the result. Easy to condemn him, but he did more to keep the world together and not shedding oceans of blood then anyone else.
You spelled Darth Vader wrong.. The ONLY conquest Paladin. All others are pretenders.
Paladin: "Torturing an unarmed foe goes against everything my oath stands for!"
(turns around and opens the door, before giving a wink)
Paladin: "Have fun with that."
(leaves the party to their business)
I've managed as a cleric via zone of truth or otherwise to never have to truely harm any captive. The worst was threatening to consume their soul and a single cut on their leg. I then yeeted them unbound into the sea off the boat when they talked. Most I get them to talk with just food , drink, and a polite tells what we want to know and we will see to it your treated well. Don't and we will get creative but we have standards.
Hey, it worked for Michael Carpenter. "If *I* break this guy's kneecaps, it goes against my oath and I risk blowing up my magic sword. If the party's Wizard does it, I barely even have to pretend to disapprove."
You do know that doesn't work, yes? Torture just gets the target say what they think you want to hear, as telling the truth may not end it.
@@silverbird425 Quite right.
*Tapes a dagger to the guys hand*
"Ok now we can torture him."
Oh my boy. I dig that a succubus is born each time an Oath is sworn by a paladin. If you go further into said idea, maybe said sucubus is tied to her paladin's life. Even though she/he wants the paladin to fall, they don't necessarily wants them to die, and thus, may come to the paladin's help because of that. A genuine help because their vitality is tied.
This is definitely now gonna make appearance in a certain game of mine
RPG Marksman I like that idea, perhaps they just want to fulfill their purpose before the paladin dies, so until the paladin forsakes their oath they'll have a succubus/incubus guardian, but afterwards they have a demon trying to drag them to hell. Or perhaps a succubus/incubus could fall in love with their paladin over time, so once the oath is broken they stay by the paladins side as a companion.
This has a lot of potential, especially if the succubus is drawn to the paladin, but has to travel from some random part of the world and so spread sin as they travel, which can attract the paladin's attention.
TheApexSurvivor Yes! This has so much potential I cannot just let it go, I will have to make it happen in my homebrewed world
So, she's just protecting her investment? Like Crowley on "Supernatural", numerous times with Bobby and the boys. Maybe there should be a new alignment, Lawful Capitalist ?
paul coy
Thats what we call "Lawful Evil"
Reague of Regends
Everywhere is whiterun if you're white enough.
Paladin was the first class I ever played, and it will always be my favourite class. I started in Pathfinder, where the restrictions on Paladins were steep but manageable- the most in terms of who you could associate with was basically "they can't be capital E Evil," and the first DM I had was laid back about how the oath worked because I wrote out my oath myself and stuck to it.
Naturally I was confused when I saw people complaining about how restrictive and problematic the Paladin was, until I saw what older edition Paladins needed to put up with.
The other thing that really gets my goat is DMs who take it upon themselves to *make* a Paladin fall. Ultimately that choice should fall down to the player, and the player alone. Absolutely the DM should put up situations that make a Paladin question the path they're on, but that should be done with the default assumption that the Paladin is going to refuse temptation and stay true.
I once made a Paladin and modeled him after The Clone Wars Series Obi-Wan Kenobi. I even asked my DM if I could be known as "The Negotiator", wielding a Maul I called "Backup Negotiation". When I got an 18 STR on my stat roll I got the image of a buff , bushy-bearded, religious, two-handed hammer wielding Obi-Wan...
Took a few minutes before I realized I made DoTA's OmniKnight.
I can see Obi Wan as a Paladin. But I'm not sure what his oath would be. He's undeniably always good. But he has some moral flexibility and rebelliousness that makes him hard to pigeonhole.
Undeniably charisma based, and also one of the deadliest fuckers to face in melee. Maybe he fits a variation of path of the ancients.
I had Barliamonte "Barley" Blackearth be a Devotion Paladin. I can see Obi-Wan being Devotion with the Jedi oaths nearly reflecting the Tenets as well as his prowess with the blade reflecting the Channel Divinity: Sacred Weapon. With the Defensive Fighting Style reflecting his Soresu Mastery.
Obi Wan Kenobi, Paladin.
Gods I am in LOVE with that idea!
“If you define yourself by the power to take life, the desire to dominate, to possess…then you have nothing.”
That's for SWOLE'ADIN
Making a Jedi in 5e is actually not very hard, a Paladin / Warlock multiclass covers most of the basics and the various sub-classes focus on various Jedi powers. A Redemption Paladin / Celestial Warlock is a healer and protector. A Devotion (or Vengeance) Paladin / Hexblade Warlock is a master of lightsaber combat, And lastly an Ancients Paladin / Old One Warlock is the master of the Force.
What came to mind when thinking about a Paladin's Nemesis;
Vengeance Paladin: "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die"
Nemesis: *Runs Away*
Vengeance Paladin: *Gives Chase*
Nemesis: *Pulls out dagger and throws it, stabbing the Paladin*
Vengeance Paladin: *Dying* "I'm sorry father, I tried......I tried..."
Nemesis: "You must be that little Spanish brat I taught a lesson to years ago. Simply Incredible. Have you been chasing me all your life only to fail now?....That must be the worst thing I've ever heard.....How Marvelous."
Alfie_ Lew
*Relentless avenger procs, bad guy runs only to realise they're just 10 ft away after moving*
“HELLO! My name is INIGO MONTOYA! You killed my father! Prepare to DIE!”
“STOP SAYING THAT!”
To be fair, if the Vengeance paladin falls with only one knife... well, yes, that is kind of sad.
Half-orc: stands up :)
45 minutes of my two favourite things. Web DM and Paladins. You guys made my day.
up until 5e I UTTERLY DESPISED Paladins. God damned Lawful Stupid.
Honestly, I think Paladin was going to be the hardest class to do in this series and you guys nailed it. My props, love this channel, love you guys. I would totally be down to play with you guys sometime, if I could find the time. lol
My new Vengence Paladin his wife dies because of the tidal forces pulling her under and drowning her. He vows to destroy that, that stole his love he must destroy THE MOON!
Fucking Love It
When i read the moon part i only saw gru as a paladin for some reason.
In turn he floods the entire "Earth".
He should ask Piccolo for some tips.
High STR and CHA, INT dump stat build with a twist
@WebDM:
Redemption Paladin reminds me of Ruroni Kenshin. He was an idealistic killer for the revolution who became disenfranchised with it and swore to never take another life. While technically leagues ahead of anyone else in the show in martial abilities, he hides it behind a happy-go-lucky demeanor.
Just throwing that out there as a popular manga/anime related character to the class for inspiration.
Or Vash the Stampeded, though he might be a little too chaotic for a paladin...
DM: Is that your mother or a fiend?
Paladin: DIVINE SENSE!
My first ever DnD game was a dragonborn paladin who was left in the woods for being a chromatic coloured(black) dragonborn in a proud line of metalic dragonborn. He was then found and raised by a hermetic order of Oath of Ancients Elven Paladins that kinda just hung around in their monastery making mead and being slightly drunk, while secretly protecting an ancient relic. I miss that guy, he was a mess xD
Oh right, the point i meant to make what that paladins are dear to me and i have at least 6 different ideas on new ones to play , as ever you guys inspire and i thank you for it!
Sounds kinda like Hannes from AoT
Omw yes!!!
As much as I love the other classes in 5E, I think the Paladin is my favorite. The Oath of Devotion and Oath of Redemption are a blast to roleplay.
Eric Miles I have a player using the oath of redemption. His church was destroyed by the dominant church, he used the ashes of his burnt down church for a holy symbol and it was so much fun watching him try to decide whether to destroy the evil church or not
I personaly love the redemption paladins ability at level 20
Its very flavorful , good on mechanics, and theres just that nice feeling of taking all that damage , and returning it back ,with no effort,
And the moment when you pull your weapon for what needs to be done, glorious
I usually just dump my awful jokes down here, but if you're looking for a fun way to play out a Paladin seeking redemption, that scene in the new _Samurai Jack_ where Jack tries to get his sword back is perfect!
So the Paladin has to meditate in some remote, holy place and solve riddles, speak with ancestors, and confront their evil self in the astral plane.
*Meanwhile,* some baddies got wind that the Paladin they hate is astral-projecting, so now the rest of the party has to fight off waves-upon-waves of mooks from killing the Paladin's body!
Spoilers for infinity war
A great example of not compromising beliefs even if it made things easier is when cap says to vision "we don't trade lives" because if they had just killed vision then and there, thanos wouldn't have been able to ever get the mind stone, even with the time stone, it would have been too far back. Also if Peter had just immidietly killed gamora, or if Loki had let Thor die. Any one of these changing would have ensured that thanos lost. And all of these happened before the 1 chance to win fuckery.
"Symbology? Now that Duffy's relinquished his "King Bonehead" crown, I see we have an heir to the throne." That's right Pruitt, I see your Boondock Saints references.
I miss my paladin of the ancients, Cordeyr. Loved to laugh, had a good time with everything, and was often used by his party members for his money (it was for the good of the group, he wasn't using it, so why not).
I remember when the group was in Scornubel headed west from Greenest, and the two wizards wanted to purchase wands. They had plenty of gold at the time, but asked Cordeyr to haggle them down. Cordeyr happened to be from Fort Morninglord, a camp where everyone was there to learn how to spread the light and goodness. Although he had a high charisma (18), he had never dated anyone in his 24 years of age. All the females around him we're co-workers.
So Cordeyr goes up to the shop, and the DM describes the owner as a beautiful elven woman, wearing black tight leather. Cordeyr goes up to the woman, pulls out a gold and sapphire ring, and says "if I wasn't dating this woman (girlfriend in real life, stalker that doesn't have Cordeyr's love in game), I'd marry you in a heartbeat. How about you sell use those two wands a little cheaper, sweetie?". DM asks for a persuasion check, I roll a 23. She then starts hitting on Cordeyr back. Because he has never dated anyone or had a romantic interest, Cordeyr freezes. This has never happened before, what does he do? He panicks, and goes straight out the door.
Laughs all around, it was a great time. Unfortunately, he was captured by a married couple of cannibals, who ran a tavern in the middle of nowhere. He was mutilated and strung up to bleed out, cut into tiny parts.
Rest in pieces (and in peace), buddy. Silvanus will guide you home
"Symbology? I am sure the word you were looking for is symbolism. What is the ssssssymbolism, there?"
Thank You. As someone who fell in love with the paladin back in 3.5 when Clerics were mini gods, Fighters had feats for days, and the Paladin had a horse that you could never fit in cavern, and ran out of smites in the blink of an eye, but the story of the paladin meant I didn’t care. You really did good bringing that out.
I think Oath of the Crown would be more Lawful Neutral. They strike me as a Law is more important than Good subclass. Making them Lawful Neutral gives them to space to do *some* questionable things in the name of law.
My oaths demand I answer your call for views without delay
Normally my favorite class is Rogue, and it’s by far my most played class as well, but I gotta say my favorite character I’ve ever played was a Paladin. We were in an epic-level Hellscape campaign and went through the circles from Inferno. He wore full plate armor, could jump 40 ft high, and his blood was infused with silver to prevent vampirism and lycanthropy. I was so into it when I told the Demon lord that killed my character’s family,
“BARAZETH! I am Argus Karn; Chosen of the Sacred Flame, and proud adherent of the Order of Branding Silver. I have come not to turn you to the light of Habdar, but to crush you under his mighty heel! RAAAHHHHH!”
I have the thought of playing a "reluctant paladin" - a seeker of redemption, but one who was offered the cold hard choice of dying on the battlefield or taking oaths he did not believe himself worthy to follow, by a mentor who demanded that he learn to embrace his destiny or die a failure.
Pruitt's glasses look awesome.
I'd say a quick idea for how to make a "good" conquest paladin...
I'm reminded of the Fire Nation, where the people believed that conquering all of these other lands is benevolent, sharing their prosperity and industry with the world, even though the lower people are rarely treated well. I'd love to see like the empire where a paladin legitimately believes in the tenets of their conquest, and maybe their very character arc is them breaking out of this and being turned to a more righteous path.
Paladin is my favorite and I'm always eager to hear what these two have to say about the class.
18:19 Definitely getting some connections to Jesus being tempted by the Devil to just bow down and do one act of worship to him, and all the kingdoms of the world will be his. Metaphorically this could be used in a modern day setting RPG where the paladin is tempted to give in to a drug addiction or other vice they had sworn off. Endless possibilities to consider.
Around 18:00 it seems like Jim is suggesting to go with the plot of The Labyrinth. Where Jareth offers Sarah everything, but she just has to love him. I love this so much.
18:19
"And what, Gul'Dan, will we give in return?"
"Everything!"
Why does Jim almost always looks like he failed a saving throw against being frightened in the video thumbnails?
Matteus Silvestre Because Pruitt is actually an Oath of Conquest Paladin, not a Monk like he claims.
I would also be scared if a black templar terminator was anywere in the same system as me.
Thank you, Jim Davis! Michael is my favorite, and probably the best example of a paladin in my opinion as well. Watching this video for the first time today and I literally fist pumped when you said that. The Dresden files have some amazing rp inspiration for almost every class, player characters, npcs and monsters-- top tier books; top tier show
I am currently playing a LG Paladin (Vengeance) and I feel like I am the parent of the group... I am really enjoying the paladin so far
Colby Gray How many times have you saved the party.... I’m just guessing from the “parent” statement that you have at least 1 or more times already.
I’m just wondering because I was in the exact same situation and it was my first time playing 5e mind you compared to the rest of the group. I even jumped in when they were around level 6. I wasn’t the strongest (you could say I was actually second only to the cleric), but due to my other 4 party members’ gung ho nature-there were 5 [the cleric was usually beside me for protection]- there were plenty of instances where I had to think outside the box and actually risk being put in a perm death situation just to save the whole party. I felt like a silent parent (wasn’t really practiced in the way of RP yet) saving kids from a school bus hanging over a cliff.
I am glad that my DM agreed that I tended to pick up on things to a greater extent and was able to work in the background to work around and with the party’s behaviors to essentially save the whole group. He actually said that if I hadn’t been there they would’ve been dead a while ago.
If you, people that are fitting this description, are a murder hobo or just feel that dealing the most damage and getting the most kills means you are MVP of the group or some sort of OP character making you a savior or something like it, be attentive and actually pay attention and you might just see that your contribution is almost nothing compared to someone keeping silent. There may be instances where you’ll clearly see that if they hadn’t been there, your actions would mean nothing because the whole party is dead in the end.
If you are someone who is being subtle or silent about how much you are contributing or how you are not being praised for it, don’t hold it against the party. Let them enjoy the game, and enjoy it knowing that no matter who speaks like a leader may not be a leader by action at all. True leaders will be the ones to carry their team on their back when it matters most expecting no praise from it. Its an obligation and duty of leaders to do so. It may suck and praise is a good thing to get because it means you are being acknowledged, but you will eventually play a part that will show you for what you really are to the rest of the group.
My Oath of Vengeance Paladin had seen the world end and the party fall and was sent back in time to prevent that from happening. She was ruthless.
My favorite kind of paladin is oath of ancients, mostly because I love the ideas behind the word 'Ancients'.
One long standing idea is this person who became a paladin (or now that it comes to mind this could work for a cleric) in sort of a similar fashion to a warlock, finding a demigod or fallen god or the evidence of an ancient entity and through showing compassion and reverence reignites the demigods power and that's how they become a paladin working to spread more of that compassion out there, and since it's a demigod it may have it's own aims, it may want you to spread the compassion to gain more followers to eventually reinstate itself in the pantheon, or to get help in restoring multiple ancient gods, maybe it was an evil god seeking to atone in it's final moments or because it sees that evil has lost. Alternatively this may not be directly with a demigod, you might have found an artifact with an ancient code and obeying that makes the world gift you powers because you're following were around when the world was young, and that manifests in the powers you have.
A possible example of a vengeance paladin and a redemption paladin working together is the hawk and dove characters from DC comics.
Interestingly, they can both be Redemption with different ways of inspiring others to be better. Hawk is negative reinforcement; Dove is positive reinforcement.
"so, how did you become an oath breaker? Did you accept a deal with a demon? Did you murder an innocent in rage?"
"no, I slept with Bob, and part of my oath was celibacy..."
"..."
My favorite paladin i played was to a goddess of love that was trying to prove he could get any woman he wanted but was saving himself for his goddess to prove his devotion.
easiest class to mess up the rp aspect of after rogues
So what's the one best way to play rogues supposed to be?
Wyatt Weber its more that rogues played like a**hole kleptomaniac who steals from the party is unfortunately an often occurence.
Wyatt Weber they have a whole video about them but lots of rogues i’ve seen seemed to have kleptomania that caused irl arguments
a good thief knows that risking your shot for big money just to pocket a business partner’s gold pouch is asking for trouble
Ask and ye shall receive! ua-cam.com/video/NnaF4aIZDTU/v-deo.html
Aha gotcha.
I never thought about this, but Hercules fits the paladin archetype very nicely. Going through the labors to ultimately find redemption.
Captain Marvel and Black Adam from DC comics are both really good examples of paladins (devotion and vengeance respectively). Black Adam especially is quite compelling in the fact that he knows he is crossing a line, but he feels that it is what's necessary for the world to be improved.
I would have pegged Black Adam as Conquest.
@@WorgenGrrl Yeah so would I. Definitely.
@@WorgenGrrl Depends on the story. Some times when he's a pure villain, yes, he's probably a conquest paladin, but in many stories, he's more of a figure inspiring people to fight for their freedom, to rise up against evil, and to crush the wicked without mercy. That sounds very oath of vengeance to me
One of my favorite characters I've played was a Warforged Paladin whose faith was in his creator and the powerful creativity of sentient beings. I played him sort of like a combination of Baymax and K-2SO.
I made an NPC for my group to meet, a Warforged Paladin who worshiped the Goddess of Fertility. He could not have children himself, but felt that if he proved himself worthy, he could become "real" ( like Pinocchio) and create life himself. And while that sounds all well and good, he was a complete bastard in combat. He would say things like, "I only speak Common, but these Goblins only understand force."
He needs to show up again.
One aspect of the Redemption Paladín that you lightly touched on was the reformed villain. I'm currently playing a Goblin Redemption Paladín whose main arc is freeing the goblinoid races from the influence of Maglubiet *as well as* try to be an example for goblin-kind. It's been very fun to rp situations where my character asks those around her to do better to try and see the good in those who are at odds with the mission or the quest. I think Redemption Paladín alongside Ancients and Vengeance are good fits for races that are outside the typical "lawful" races in a campaign.
Been waiting for this one. Seeing as I'm playing a fallen aasimar vengeance paladin who wants their divinity back
austin J I've got a similar one. Fallen Aasimar Vengence Oath.
He's a "human" possessed by a fiend, and if he were to give in, it'd be the fiend's power breaking through that'd be the Fallen aasimar 3rd level Fear effect.
Keegan Pohlar mine was a aasimar part of a small church who's leader was actually a cult leader or orchus (spelling) who then corrupted him. He reached out and prayed and the Raven Queen answered saying she would restore his Divinity and Grant his wish of vengeance if he would also Grant her her vengeance
Every time Jim says 'exemplar', the only thing running through my brain is 'Templar Exemplar/ Exemplar Templar.'
When my players ask about Paladins I just tell them to think of Brianne of Tarth.
I love when Jim Davis wears this shirt! He looks like Kool-Aid Man got too drunk to break through the brick wall.
My body is ready... to lay divine smites
But be careful where you Lay your Hands, or it might get you in jail.
Man I miss these guys. Some of the best personalities in TTRPG.
Bucket list. Play a paladin in a web dm campaign. Love this channel and the way you guys approach building your campaign worlds
One of my favorite things to do since getting my PHB has been looking at the list of deities(and I know Paladins don't need to be devoted to a deity) and going "what would a paladin of the God of Wizards be like?" or "how would a Paladin of the Goddess of Joy work without being all sadistic glee?" or stuff like that...
I think a paladin of the Goddess of Joy should be like Thor or Goku, they are not mean and don't try to start violence.
But they have fun fighting. Maybe during peacetime, the paladin goes in the tournament circuit. Jousting, melee, etc.
I play a NG Firbolg Ancient Paladin in one of my games, and I play him exactly how you described the fundamental Ancients Paladin. I am the goodness in our party. I play him kind of like Orlando Bloom's Balian of Ibelin from The Kingdom of Heaven, and goddamn is Bertilak one of my favorite characters that I've ever played.
Right on time guys! I'm playing my Paladin later today in a brand new campaign, and this has definitely helped me out! Keep up the amazing work!
I'd give anything to see you guys best down how to make a Magocracy video. (There might not be any on UA-cam.)
The mages rule everything. Oh no.
WJEFOIA FJALFKJADFJK that's right, what was I thinking. There's no nuance. No need to worry about that changes politics, jobs, the economy, neighboring nation's perception, daily life, agriculture, nobility and status, trade, academics, expansion, taxes, justice, crime, and law, or anything else. What was I thinking
Fortello I mean it really depends on what you are going for. Perhaps a group of the highest Archmages are the ones who lead the land, and they have lower archmages ruling over different areas. Some mages are nobility but all of them hold higher status in society than any non-magic user. Obviously this would create a world where any non-magic users would most likely feel somewhat oppressed, or just resigned to their fate.
Honestly though you can go in so many different directions with this I think my original answer still stands because of just how many different ways it could go.
It's so weird watching this while planning an Oath of Treachery paladin with actual tenets that I'm planning to have fall because she's not selfish enough... My paladin is basically all of this in reverse, swearing an oath to evil while tempted by good.
Kylo Ren?
I think oath of the crown paladins can lend themselves to adventuring. They wander into the chaos to defeat forces of the wilds and uncivilized to defend civilization.
King said to go get him magic items
I dunno if a paladin is quite the right place to go for this (it might be, I haven't read up on the Oath of the Crown), but I love the idea of a counterargument to the ranger and the druid. Some rangers and druids exist to defend the wilds from the unwelcome encroachment of unnatural civilization, and I love the idea of a character who takes the exact opposite view, that the natural world is not the best world and that all places deserve to know the blessings of civilization. Obviously there's the issue that this sounds an awful lot like racist europeans who wanted to "civilize" the "barbarians" they found in the Americas and Africa and the parts of Asia they were able to take control of, but I think it's possible to create a character with an inclusive view of what counts as civilization who only views actual wild places as needing to be civilized who thereby averts those #problematic tropes.
I'd recommend you guys check out the character of Iskandar/Rider from the Fate franchise. He embodies the aspects of a good, genial, and likable conqueror to a tee, I think.
Nico Cabato While that’s true I think its hard to argue that the Oath of Conquest’s tenants are “Douse the Flame of Hope”, “Rule with an Iron Fist”, and “Strength Above All”
Inquisitor Thomas I like to think Iskander keeps that except for his ideal fight being honorable
For someone that basically wants to start WW3, Broskander is actually a really nice guy.
"A king without greed is even worse than a figurehead! Saber. You said you would become a martyr for your ideals. In life, you must have been a pure saint. A proud and noble figure, certainly. But who can truly admire the martyr’s thorny path? Who dreams of such an ending? A king… The king must be greedier than any other. He must laugh louder and rage harder. He must exemplify the extreme of all things, good and evil. That is why his retainers envy and adore him. And why the flames of aspiration, to be as the king is, can burn within his people. Proud king of chivalry… The righteousness and ideals you bore may indeed have saved your nation once. However, I’m certain you know what became of those who were saved, but left to themselves."
While you can argue that Iskander is selfish and hedonistic to a degree through his policy of relentless expansionism, I'd be hard pressed to call him a bad man. He rules because he himself exemplifies the glories of conquest, and he has the strength and respect of his men to support him. As he once said to Waver: "The inferiority you feel is actually a quality of a conqueror. You may grumble a lot, but you know how small you are. And yet you still struggle to reach heights greater than you can imagine." It's not exactly what one imagines when one thinks of the classic LG Paladin, but his notion of conquest without humiliation, of not crushing your enemies, but DEFEATING them and turning them into friends and trusted comrades, is a laudable one.
I still don’t think Oath of Conquest fits Rider because the Oath is too strongly Lawful Evil, I feel that if you home brewed up an Oath of Adventure or Oath of Action Paladin where the tenants are all about living life to the fullest and challenging people because you believe it will be a good fight would work better for Rider.
Talking about Dresden Files, talking about fiends of temptation, no mention of Lasciel? Now that's a great paladin nemesis & character arc!
Once again your timing is impeccable for me since I'm playing a paladin for the first time this weekend.
I always laugh that "It is how that Paladin acts" that can ruin the situation. Lets not forget the people whose actions are designed to "troll" the Paladin, then hide behind the "It is what my class/alignment/character would do"
This has to be one of the *best* videos yet! I absolutely have to steal what you guys said about a succubus being born every time a paladin swears an oath. My players will get quite the kick out of it.
Also, have you guys considered an RP monsters video? Not big villainous bad guys, but a *video on the rp possibilities of different monstrous races* Goblinoids, Orcs, Giants, Ogres, Duergar, Drow, Dragons, Dragonborn, etc. How they act in combat, how a player might roleplay them with a good aligned party or how a player might make reasons to make a good aligned Drow for example, maybe even a few words on what societies of the different evil races may looks like.
Oohh good one
The Hound. Vengeance Paladin seeking and struggling with redemption
First time running a campaign with a Paladin and this will be perfect for them. So good
multiple paladin parties can be a lot of fun, especially if they are complimentary oaths that fit well with the campaign, conquest and vengeance can work quite well together, devotion and ancients, conquest and crown, heck, just putting together two paladins in a party and the campaign almost writes itself, add a cleric, some magic/skill classes, stir well, and set loose the wargs of war
This one and the Warlock one have been some of the best insight and have given me a lot of ideas on playing either of them. These two classes always seem to be played way too safely, so thank you for all of the great ideas on how to play them to their full rp potential. Great stuff
Could you guys to talk a little bit about re-skinning? ie. I had a Valor Bard themed as a H-Orc War Shaman. I've seen a lot of cool ideas of creating characters outside of the box, that function the same mechanically, but just feel out of the box. Thanks!
You just describe Luke Skywalker's dilemma when his father asked him to join. I love it
My favorite way to build a Redemption paladin’s background is that they are also in need of redemption/have been redeemed. Maybe they had a criminal background, or were a part of a corrupt city guard. One day, they had just seen too much, and so they left that old life behind.
They need to believe that everyone can be redeemed because if that isn’t true, then they can’t be redeemed either.
I think it’s a great way to internalize the concepts of the oath into an easy way to play the character out.
Thos is why it's my favorite oath. I play a orc paladin of redemption (seeking redemption for participating in genocide) I've only killed 1 person so far.
I actually really wanna play a Revenant Oathbreaker Paladin in Curse of Strahd, with the idea he was a coward who ran from his oath to kill Strahd, and his fallen comrades sheer hatred from him caused the evil of Barovia itself to resurrect him, and deny him death. But as he eventually grows, I'd love the idea that he becomes an Oath of Redemption, to reflect that despite his mistakes, he found the light in the darkness.
On the topic of 'Dresden Files', it has been awhile since I read the series, but I believe I remember that one of the holy knights is an atheist. Real good series, go read it.
Ryan McCann yes the Russian is an atheist even after being given a holy sword by an angle. I love it.
Sonia is the night and yes he says the angels may be aliens, or other entities with power who might not be behind it. All that matters is that he works towards the greater good.
Whats important is he has "Faith" and Sanya is one of my favourite characters from the books. In fact, all of the Knights of the Cross are awesome.
I know I'm a bit late, but if I remember correctly he's not an atheist, he is an agnostic. He's not entirely devoted to religion but he is open to it. Basically saying that it doesn't matter if it's God or Angels or aliens, if he's doing good that's all that matters.
@@jimmystyles670 That's very good description of Sanya.
Was tentatively creating Mezgo the Lawful Neutral Paladin who married his Succubus and has kids.
Cross Married with children and Addams Family.
;)
The Book of Erotic Fantasy has legit rules for half-succubus children...
A buddy and I were talking about the back-up characters we thought we were going to have to bring in to our Wed night games. Neither of us knew we both had a Paladin planned.
Him: gold scaled dragonborn Paladin of Bahumut with the oath of devotion.
Me: silver scaled dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut with the oath of vengeance
Then I wake up Thursday and I see this. Stop reading my notes!
In all seriousness though, well done guys. Thanks for the video.
9:38 What a coincidental choice of language! My players were just in a city that I created where the law is kept by Paladins of Pholtus, and they are known as "Beacons"
Really enjoying the "Goldpact Knight" paladin order in Deadfire. They hold contracts and rationality as holy. It's interesting to not have to be some zealot.
TNTrailblazer In a way you kinda still are.
Best paladin type for sure.
"They're out there writing checks that their God can't cash." lolol
Redemption Paladin came out for my character at exactly the right time. I was already playing a Life Cleric of Lathander who had the charlatan background and a habit of recruiting at least one NPC from our encounters, so when I multi-classed into Paladin, Redemption was a perfect fit. (Also, mechanically, I was looking for something to do with my reaction, so win-win!).
Redemption Paladin is great for the non-traditional background Paladin like urchin, criminal, etc, or if you start above 1st level, like at 7 or 10 for that fun multiclass build. Your Assassin Rogue 3-Redemption Paladin 7 multiclass who saw the light and offers peace before offering swift judgment to evil doers is a great build for this. They do it swift, silent, with as minimal pain as they can to get the dirty business of violence out of the way fast.
Bless this video! I was concerned that my paladin I built wasnt paladin-like enough, but yall brought up some points that made me feel better about her. Thank you!
Ive been wanting to play a goblin paladin for so long. Rescued and inspired by a paladin, he wants to live up to that paladin's ideals, even though he doesnt really understand them yet. A character who's naturally an abrasive jerk that people arent inclined to trust or take serioisly, but wants more than anything to grow into a paragon of virtue
I am playing a communist paladin in a game soon and my God I was waiting for this. Gods bless. Love the content guys keep it up.
The Epic Archer I really want to play a communist palidin. possibly vengeance against capital.
WE MUST SEIZE THE MEANS OF MITHRAL PRODUCTION!
Their a dire genasi as well so, "They will burn down the capitalist regime"
Currently playing a Aasimar Devotion Paladin in a Ravenloft game, and this video was really helpful as I'm actually having a lot of difficulty role playing him. I like the idea of having compassion for the people of Barovia, as opposed to trying to bring judgement on... everyone.
Holy shit, Michael Carpenter is a d&d paladin, he has a weird group of friends who go on quest with him and he eventually kills a dragon. I want to make this character now.
isaac haahr, I totally just started a HotDQ campaign playing him. It's really fun trying to think of how he would react based off his personality in the books.
He absolutely is. Jim Butcher is on recorded saying he came up with Michael because he loves Paladins and wanted to see what one would look like in what is basically our modern world.
Regarding breaking the oath. I prefer the option of the gods can't take the powers back. Mostly because it adds fun story, "I gave this person power and now he is acting like a jerk. Go go adventuring party!" This also allows the paladin to really do what he believes in, not just doing something because he has to.
I honestly really enjoyed this one! Thanks for the thought provoking episode
Awesome vid guys! The paladin has long been my favorite class and this is my fave vid on roleplaying classes in your series. I do so wish I had a steady party to play with!
I find the paladin oaths to be very similar to the “vow and restriction” rules from HxH- through the paladin limiting themselves and committing themselves to a certain way of life, their ideals give them strength. I struggle to see them as casters “tied” to a deity- they find aligning with gods whose ideas line up with their own easy to do, but they don’t nessecarily need to follow a god in order to gain that power.
Very true. I'd say that the only real significance of the character's alignment is how he perceives himself, and his actions, and are they consistent.
Even if twisted, as long as he's consistent, then he can maintain whatever oath he swore to. The risk of losing his oath would come in the form of behavior inconsistent with his value system and thus oath.
So a morally flexible Paladin isn't a problem, if he swears to vengeance and stays loyal to that path. But if he wavers, even in doing a good act, from his oath, he risks losing his powers.
I always jump to Sturm from the Dragonlance novels when I think of paladins. Particularly when you spoke of the unrequited love part, I thought you might be looking his way.
Just watched your first vid. Jim Davis has cleaned up!!! Love you guys. Love save or dice.
You guys really make me want to play DnD 5th, I haven't played it since 3.5 and started playing pathfinder years later with a small group of friends and now that's all we play. Great video, thanks for the content. Side note, WAFFLEMAN!!!!
Another video that has been gifted by the web dm gods, you have given my paladin confidence and shown her the way.
I've always liked the idea that a Lawful Good Devotion Paladin could be pushed into becoming a Lawful Evil Conquest Paladin without actually realizing it, but just becoming so jaded with the inability of others to stop sinning and profaning the gods that they eventually become a "bigger monster"
Here's a reformed-villian paladin: Sarevok Anchev from Baldur's Gate (expansion to number 2)
Man, currently playing a half-orc Paladin/Cleric of Helm and absolutely loving it. Rather than "goodier than thou" he's a former city guard and footsoldier on the cusp of retirement who was unlucky enough to receive his calling in a very public manner. He's common as muck and swears like a sailor, is a doting father to a loving family and takes his role as party tank and main healer (an unfortunate combo, I know) incredibly seriously. His job isn't to pass judgement on people's actions, it's to be the frontline, protecting the things that are valuable, even if it kills him.
Currently in the process of writing a little monologue for him to deliver in our next session because the rest of the party apparently don't understand why he wasn't just going to put his weapon down and get out of the way of the giant tree muttering arcane incantations (speaking in Sylvan), just because they told him it was peaceful.
I kind of always like to have a certain inner struggle with most of my characters. Currently, I'm playing a level 7 Sorcadin in a campaign set in Diablo world, some time in between Diablo 2 and 3. The 3 levels of Shadow Sorcerer and his demonic ancestry is in direct clash with his utmost efforts to remain loyal to the cause of Light and the tenets of his Crusader of Light Devotion Oath. So, even though I murder stuff in combat encounters, I play this character in a way that creates tension both within his own instincts, behaviours, ideals and choices, as well as the party as a whole, often ending with me getting into trouble due to the strain my nephilim nature puts in front of me.
So far, it's been really amazing playing a troubled old man who tries to remain good-hearted, just and lawful only to be thrown off completely by demonic influences and his innate demonic powers.
After this series I think it would be neat to see a series about creating plots in different role playing environments.
Played a Paladin as a 1st-time player back in the convoluted days of 3.5E. Boy, do I wish I had the 5E abilities then!
I rp'd Vygard Sentinel as a true knight in shining armor, devoted to Bahamut as he shielded his nation of Dawncrest from the legions of monsters that lashed against its borders. His holy symbol was a set of seven rings attached to the hand guard of his blade, with each one representing a Virtue. Emblazoned upon his chestplate was the inscription:
Ye Bastion of the Light,
Stand firm, defend from slight
Those without aid in adversity-
Your blood the seed of prosperity.
He struggled with upholding his worldview while being challenged by other perspectives. Vygard was so genuine, honest, and dedicated to protecting his comrades that three of the other players said he was their favorite part about the game. That felt amazing : )
I'd love to reboot him for a 5E adventure. I have my paladin as a historical figure in the campaign I'm running now, looking forward to the players learning about him through an optional dungeon with puzzles based upon the seven Virtues of Justice, Truth, Wisdom, Honesty, Loyalty, Faithfulness, Selflessness.
WAFFLEMAN-esque screams need to happen more often / every episode / so forking gooooooooood
Oath of the Ancients has turned into the Party Paladin in our group. Usually of Bacchus. I went Unarmed and made mine a Pro Wrestler. Grappling+Unarmed strike+Smite=Pile Driver.
Your 'Hellish Realm' campaign idea sounds GREAT!
What I love about paladin's is how versatile they've become as a concept.
Not D&D, but Pathfinder led to me making one of my favorite characters I've ever played, Adran Phenry. He serves the god of family and community, so his oaths are different from say, the god of mercy or the god of justice. He seeks to help the community. Sometimes that means killing goblins, but most of the time it means building fences, repairing roofs, organizing a militia, settling disputes. It also means his ideals are more flexible. Technically, if he commits a crime and it's done for the sake of the community, it's fine. He actually technically did a no no by lying, but said lie was done to protect someone's reputation and standing in the community, therefore he did his duty. He has that righteous warrior aesthetic that I love about paladins, while also having a very grounded, realistic view of morality and the world. He won't judge you for theft or promiscuity. To him, smaller evils are to be dealt with after the big ones. He doesn't have time to deal with that sorta shit when there's a plague spreading through the poorer districts, or a blight is threatening to cause a famine.