I need some inspiration...

[Wamyen]

I have most of this figured out, but I need some help connecting dots. I play in a Ren group that allows fantasy-esque characters. Character interaction has kind of always been one of my sticking points so I'm trying to make a character I'll actually bother to play. I'm basing my new character off of a Human Paladin of Lathander from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in the 3.5 era. I'm primarily focusing on being a "warrior of light" in a militaristic religious order as opposed to being a full fledged knight because that is a title that is earned in my group, you don't just show up with it. Main things I'm trying to figure out are "Why am I travelling to this land?" I'm trying to find something other than the cliched "I'm spreading the message of my god" standby. That's what priests are for, not Paladins. How do I act toward other characters of "darker alignments" without going too over board? Last this I want to do is make people nervous, or just think I'm a jerk. What is a decent resource for coming up with a code of conduct? I've tried looking up some of the real ones and... not all of these "real" knights were very nice people. Has anybody else had any experience trying to play with kind of character in a LARP or any other similar setting? If so any input it appreciated. Thanks!

[ObadiahtheSlim]

You should read the Elenium series and the sequel the Tamuli series by David Eddings. The main character is Sir Sparhawk, a knight from a holy order of knights who have magical powers. It also focuses on other knights in his order. One memorable instance is the head of the order asking a pagan if she will renounce her heathen gods. Once she tells him off he says that he's "glad thats out of the way" and greats her as an old friend.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

First, make it personal, because a paladin's faith is going to be a very personal thing. Why did they join the order in the first place, and what do they hope to accomplish? Humans are complex beings, and a paladin's desires are going to be a lot more robust than a flat "I'm going to make other people believe in the same things that my people believe."

Second, when it comes to people of non-Good alignment, I find that compassion can be a very good response. You don't want them to suffer eternal punishment, right? So the best thing you can do for them is to attempt to save them, and go after them only when there's no other result. (A good point of research for this is the Knights of the Cross from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. They are absolutely fantastic examples of how to make paladins who aren't sanctimonious jerks. Can't really go into any more detail without broaching the forum's religion policy, though.)

[Wamyen]

You should read the Elenium series and the sequel the Tamuli series by David Eddings. The main character is Sir Sparhawk, a knight from a holy order of knights who have magical powers. It also focuses on other knights in his order. One memorable instance is the head of the order asking a pagan if she will renounce her heathen gods. Once she tells him off he says that he's "glad thats out of the way" and greats her as an old friend.

I'll have to look for those later, those do sound interesting. Thanks!


First, make it personal, because a paladin's faith is going to be a very personal thing. Why did they join the order in the first place, and what do they hope to accomplish? Humans are complex beings, and a paladin's desires are going to be a lot more robust than a flat "I'm going to make other people believe in the same things that my people believe."

I hadn't really thought of that yet...

Second, when it comes to people of non-Good alignment, I find that compassion can be a very good response. You don't want them to suffer eternal punishment, right? So the best thing you can do for them is to attempt to save them, and go after them only when there's no other result. (A good point of research for this is the Knights of the Cross from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. They are absolutely fantastic examples of how to make paladins who aren't sanctimonious jerks. Can't really go into any more detail without broaching the forum's religion policy, though.)

Oooooo... I completely forgot about the Knights of the Cross! That's a great idea. I've been wanting to play a paper and dice character based off of them forever. That fits perfectly with Lathander too. Thanks!

[Wookieetank]

I'll have to look for those later, those do sound interesting. Thanks!

I'll +1 this as well. Even if you don't use it for character research, its worth a read. And if you enjoy snark based humor, expect to find yourself laughing a lot. :smallbiggrin:

[Cogwheel]

What is a decent resource for coming up with a code of conduct?

There's no better source, really. Here's your code. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGzqbEeVWhs)