Evil Good guys...

[atemu1234]

I'm running a campaign that consists of a group of misguided paladins led by an Ur-Priest. The Ur-priest seeks to end the world with a powerful artifact, and serves a mysterious being from another plane who provides his paladins with power. Now, the issue of this is role-playing. How should the paladins act? I've never exactly met a true-blue religious zealot, so a little bit of help in that area would be useful.

[hemming]

Paladins can run the spectrum in personality

They can be humble or boastful - use religion to justify their actions or act from religious humility - be quiet or ostentatious - thoughtful or impetuous

They can act however they like as long as they are concerned with upholding the law and fulfilling a religious obligation to rid the world of evil

[Knightofvictory]

Here's how I would play the paladin extremists. If they are out to destroy the world, they have to think the world is beyond redemption. If confronted, they can talk about their disgust at war, poverty, injustice, death, everything bad in the world- and if given the opportunity try to persuade the PCs about their evilness and demand they repent or die. If spoken to, they are friendly and polite-even if they intend to kill you- but firm in their beliefs.

They will kill people that try to stop them, but they will get no pleasure in it. They will never lie, steal, torture, gamble, drink, or lose control of their emotions. They won't get angry, they have no problem with suicidal missions if it furthers their cause, they will never, ever give up. They will do what is required of them, for they hate themselves as much as they hate the world, and look forward to their own end/rebirth/whatever. They probably are joyless, bitter, scarred by all the evil they have seen in their life, and live only for their cause looking forward to their own death/reward.

True believer extremists are the scariest evil there is.

[Soarel]

The stereotype of the zealot paladin isn't really true. If you really intend to make them zealots, give them some hard proof that what they're doing is right.