Code of Conduct review

[SuwinTzi]

Will this work for a code of conduct? The name of the god was something I wrote up (not familiar with deities in Pathfinder)

You may never know fame, nor the comfort of hearth and home, so long as you walk this path. Ever do you stand against the tides of darkness encroaching this world. You are the line in the sand, the bulwark that shall not be moved. You may end your life at the tip of a spear, the point of a sword, having been rewarded nothing more than the knowledge of having done what is right. In your travels, be mindful of your service to Qistaphus.

You will uphold the spirit of the Law, wherever your travels take you.
You will met out Justice to the deserving.
You will repay evil its due, ten thousand by a thousand if called for.
You will be the Strength of those who cannot stand for themselves, the pillar upon which they may lean for support. Shade them from the harshness of the world, and give unto them succor.
You shall be a beacon of hope to those who despair, the light of justice in a world of darkness.
Swear an Oath of Vengeance, against those who commit heinous crimes, against atrocities, against that which is a perversion of all that is good, and hunt them down.
Let not travails and tribulations stop you from hunting your foes down, lest you bring dishonor to yourself and the Lord of Justice.
Finally, if you ever find yourself torn between duty and honor, what is law and what is justice, follow what is right. So long as you do not travel the path of Chaos, Qistaphus will never forsake you.

And some fluff that I wrote with it >.>||| (was bored)

Initiate’s Oath
I am a paladin.
I am sworn to uphold and become the champion and spirit of Law and Justice in the land.

There are many others like me, who fight for an ideal world free of suffering, that they may never see. Who draw a bitter defense against unspeakable horrors, holding the hordes back another day. Who die namelessly and alone, never rewarded nor recognized their deeds. And I am proud to call them my brothers and my sisters.
I will be a beacon of hope that shines against the darkness. I will enflame the weak, support the wavering, and guide the lost. I will be all things that are asked of me, by every one of those who have need of me.

So long as I draw breath, I will never surrender to despair. Never give in to doubt. Never stop punishing those who bring suffering to this world. Until the day that I am called to the Eternal Palace, and serve in the Hall of Honors forever more.
For I am a Paladin.


Discourse on the Code
"We speak for the dead. We are all they have when the wicked steal their voice. But we do not owe them our lives."
-Centurion Velimir Benes

“Hold back your wrath and anger, for there are some battles that you must surrender, to win the greater war.”
-Prefect Helinä Timonen

“Yet compassion is how we’re known. Selflessness, honor, and kindness to strangers is what defines a paladin. Sometimes, saving one more life is just worth it to give up your own.”
-Legionnaire Justinius the Kind

“We do not induct death seekers here. You uphold justice for all, not for this one family that makes your heart tremble, or an orphan that gives you cause for tears. You can’t save everyone. You can’t help everyone. That is why the Order was founded. Alone, we are not enough.[sic]”
-Centurion Zabalus

“No matter how your heart burns, never let your sense of honor come before reason. Understand that we may have to sacrifice a few, for the lives of many.”
-Centurion Thigret Nighthelm

“Is it necessary? Or is it senseless, nothing better than to glorify oneself? How you answer that, should guide your actions. Even as dying babes plead with you, with their last breath, you must be able to walk away, if you can't justify it. No one ever said that it would be easy.”
-Legionnaire Alfovraeg Greatrock

“Ask yourself that whatever it is you're trying to stop, is it absolutely worth losing the blessings of Qistophus for? If so, then let your heart run wild.”
-Centurion Idor ben Eli Hai

“People sleep easy at night, for there are violent men, ready to commit violent deeds upon their behalf.”
-Unknown, attributed to a philosopher.

“You are not infallible. Banish this notion from yourself.”
-Master Ahraku

“Sometimes, small acts must be overlooked to defeat the greater daemons.”
-Centurion Canus Papius (Novellius)

“Justice is what matters. The Law may be set, but the Law demands justice be served.”
-Praetor Ernst Waalkes

“We don't have the time or resources to collect bounties. What do I mean? I mean we can't drag bandits, monsters and criminals back to local authorities for them to take care of. We meet out justice. They get whatever they deserve at our hands.”
-Legionnaire Freya, daughter of Haldir

“In Extremis, we are representatives of Law; we are empowered by our service to Qistaphus to hand down judgments. You don't have the luxury of dragging a criminal back to the local magistrate or town hall for judgment and often times they can escape and do even more damage. Understand? You are empowered to hand down sentencing. In such cases, you are the executioner.”
-Praetor Estelle Bendtsen

“So long as you haven't given up faith, even when fallen you may be redeemed. Understand that this is true for even the vilest of criminals and monsters.”
-Prefect Aurelian Manceau

“As Prefect Manceau says, but be wary that there are those who would shed a tear, to avoid their due.”
-Prefect Jean de Vries

“Take care, that as you fight against the coming darkness, to hold off the end times for another era, that you do not become a monster yourself. A wise man once said that he who fights with monsters, may become one himself, and he who stares into the Abyss, will find it staring back at him.”
-Master Nayree Arakelian

“Know that the Code covers conduct regards to civilians, or those not involved with the machinations of the Devourer, may his name be forgotten. So long as you serve the greater purpose of the Order, and never fail yourself, Qistaphus still grants his blessing.”
-Master Alvaro Jakobsen (later chastised)

[Gildedragon]

So the moment the paladin becomes reknown for their good work they fall? or if they ever marry? or if they warm their feet by the fireside?
That blows
It might be just metaphorical but an oath for lawful folks ought not have trivial superfluous bits, no matter how nice they sound.

Also: This seems to put Law before Good, is that the purpose?

Also: First is asks for Justice, then says evil must be paid back ten times over, paraphrasing there but that is disproportionate retribution and perhaps past the equality of justice (Aliz stole B'Ob's cow, so now the paladin seizes ten cows from Aliz?) And what if the evil was within the bounds of the law (Aliz had a legal right to take the cow, despite knowing that B'Ob would die without it)

Note that: "duty and honor, what is law and what is justice, follow what is right" makes no accounting for rightness or goodness. You are telling the paladin: if you find yourself between the conflict of two laws pick the Good one. Which while fair enough advice (a paladin must be both Lawful AND Good) does nothing to address being torn between the duty to good and that to law (duty, honor, law, justice, are all aspects of Law).

Also this is remarkably light on mercy, redemption, and atonement. Which might be your goal, but this code seems more for a LN tending to LG than straight up LG

[Epsilon Rose]

Alright, I'm going to go through this like I would an infernal contract and point out flaws as I get to them. I hope that's helpful.


You may never know fame
This ranges between impossible and impractical. Anyone who does important things, particularly if they're of the PC variaty will acrew fame by the very nature of their actions. People remember the guy who killed the terasque, even if he doesn't go around grandstanding. The only way around this would be for everyone in the order to adopt the same persona, though this creates two very major problems. The first is that if they don't all fight in the same way you'll still probably be able to tell them apart, but if they do fight in the same way then they'll be really easy to counter. The second is that it makes it really convenient for someone who wants to get away with something, since they can just mimic one of the adherents.

It's also worth pointing out that fame can be used for great good. A nameless farmer probably won't have much impact on the political stage, regardless of his personal power. Conversely, an extremely famous and well respected Paladin might be able to broker peace talks and stop wars even with out exceptional amounts of physical or mystic might.


, nor the comfort of hearth and home, so long as you walk this path.
This isn't very practical. Having a place to come back to is a great motivator and having a place to rest is nesasery if you don't want everyone in your order burning out within their first few years of service. Being able to tailor the place you return to for your own specific needs just makes you better at what you do.
Put another way, picture Batman without the Batcave.


You will uphold the spirit of the Law, wherever your travels take you.
So when I'm in the underdark I should go an buy some slaves and when I find myself in a banana republic I should help the local dictator put down the rebels?


You will repay evil its due, ten thousand by a thousand if called for.
I'm not entirely sure what the last part means. If Guigarci's interpretation is correct than this is decidedly unjust. If it's not then I don't know how to interpret it. Either way, this line should be struck.


Swear an Oath of Vengeance, against those who commit heinous crimes, against atrocities, against that which is a perversion of all that is good, and hunt them down.
A bit violent, but keeping in tone with the rest of this code. The big problem here is that it's liable to run afoul of the local laws in any civilized area that isn't evil.



Finally, if you ever find yourself torn between duty and honor, what is law and what is justice, follow what is right. So long as you do not travel the path of Chaos, Qistaphus will never forsake you.

This sounds like it renders the rest of the code moot if you have even a few ranks in profession(lawyer), though even that might not be neccisary. I understand why you'd want to have such a clause, but it's really not in keeping with a lawful code. It makes things too neutral or chaotic.

[Slipperychicken]

I think you'd have a more coherent code if you answered a number of questions first:

Flesh out the god (What does he do? What does he value? What does he dislike? What will he never tolerate? What exceptions exist? What are his flaws? What are his strengths? Where does he fit into the cosmic power structure? Who are his enemies, who are his allies?)
What is the god trying to accomplish through his mortal minions?
What core values and principles does the god want his followers to emphasize while carrying out his will? What happens when an objective and a core value are in conflict?
By what means are the clergy expected to advance the god's will? Are there limits on what the faithful can do in the god's name? When, if ever, is violence acceptable to him? What about other behavior he finds objectionable? What offenses are worthy of his wrath?
What will he do if someone breaks the rules or steps out of line? Will he forgive them? Make them confess and atone? Demote them? Torture them? Damn them? How is this treatment different between normal followers and clergy?


From there, you can think through the god's perspective and figure out what he would tell his followers to do, which parts would make it into the traditions, which parts are considered unimportant or nonessential, and so on.

Also, if you're writing a Paladin code, you might as well set one up for the Clerics too (or just port over the same one). It's implicit that Clerics are supposed to have codes of conduct too, but nobody could be bothered to write them up after they realized how much of an ugly mess the default Paladin code was, and how much of a pain it would be to write up an entire code for each god.

[Thrudd]

It's nice from a fluff perspective, but I think you need to specify the mechanical interpretation of each point. What does each point of the oath actually mean in game terms. Or is it just meant to be the fluff that goes along with the standard paladin?

[TheIronGolem]

It's nice from a fluff perspective, but I think you need to specify the mechanical interpretation of each point. What does each point of the oath actually mean in game terms. Or is it just meant to be the fluff that goes along with the standard paladin?

This is almost exactly what I intended to say. Your fluff is great, but you also need a straightforward explanation of the code of what a paladin can and can't do for the players' sake, or else you're at risk of "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that!" arguments.

[Jeff the Green]

Is this for a Paladin order (as in the class, not just what people call them in-game)? Because I'm pretty sure "paying evil ten thousand times over" is itself evil.

[SuwinTzi]

Some of the parts of the code are being taken much too literally... though I must say that I wrote the under the assumption that anyone playing a paladin is playing at least from a "good person" point of view. Should've put a disclaimer that said "Warning: Heavy Fluff ahead!"

The first paragraph, was more or less an introduction to what "may" happen to you as a paladin. Not as in "you cannot" or "you will/will not" but "you may not know" or "experience" these things while you're traveling out there. "May" is simply a possibility, not a command; it's not written in a way to take it as "permission" in context! Hence why I used "will" in the actual body!
Paladin is practically an armed and trained missionary. He or she is not going to be staying in a nice inn all the time. They may save people who will forget them after a month or two, help others who may betray them, or suffer ignominiously as a paladin, instead of being a hero and celebrated. Or nothing "may" happen. This part was to emphasize "if you're looking to be a rockstar, go somewhere else". This was no way meant to be mechanical. Or crunch. However you want to say it.

Spirit of the law was chosen over the letter of the law. This line with the second one, "met out justice" was written for the purpose of having to travel through or operate in an "evil empire". The paladin is held to what I wrote his "Order" defined as "spirit of law", meaning that law is to protect beings from each other, from those who would seek to maliciously prey upon others for their own gain. In this way, society and the world would survive, and not fall into chaos.
But the paladin is allowed to interpret what the "spirit of the law" in a given nation is, and how to do "justice" to those who deserve it; the example of slavery, paladin could legally buy the slaves, but set them free or give them the means to start a new life. That's lawful in the "evil empire" unless the Empire is so ridiculous as to have a law "You can't set free slaves" (given what I've heard about some DMs and how they don't like paladins...) If the setting involves the Evil Empire, then the paladin can also either choose to work within the laws of the Empire itself to break slavery, or find a group that seeks to restore power to the people (putting the power of law back in the hands of those being oppressed).


"You will repay evil its due, ten thousand by a thousand if called for."

This line was for a situation where the punishment is too light for the crime. Situation spawned from just how many people the Joker killed, in every escape and everytime he wrecked havoc. Batman would not go against his "will not kill stance", but damn if wouldn't try to beat his point home. The point is that evil might not get its due "justice" (there's "justice" for the victim and "justice" for the criminal; one hopefully gets resolution, the other pays absolution.) due to either incompetence of the "law" itself, the "letter of the law" or any number of other things, but the severity of the crime is often what is neglected. Bandits kidnapped and raped a simple country family's daughter, before feeding her to dogs. A boy is forced to bear his father's weight, lest he hang, for the entertainment of a warlord. A father is forced to watch his family be butchered and consumed by the whim of his lord, for no other reason than "I didn't like the way your rags hung against your frame".
Is jail time, or execution enough? Is that "justice"? A mass murderer in your campaign has burned down three towns and a small village, murdered hundreds and he's getting imprisoned for life? Or simply "off with his head!"?
I understand the line can be abused but I wrote it assuming that anyone who is playing a paladin, is GOOD at heart. That they will not abuse the line, and use it in extremis. And only use the power to return retribution in such a way that normally they would fall, because justice demands it, because the blood of innocents demand it, because the spirits of those tortured and murdered are screaming out for peace, and that a simple life-sentence or execution is simply too little, for a life that causes so much suffering...sheds so much blood.....

*cough* Sorry, I got caught up in "fluff".

Oath of Vengeance is specifically to allow the "Oath of Vengeance" for the oathbound paladin to work (much redundancy).

The last line is to emphasize that a paladin is GOOD before law; that if law and duty would force the paladin against that which is good, that he should choose the good way.

This was how I wanted to cover a "Good is Not Nice" trope, avoid a "Lawful Stupid" paladin, and provide a way out for "Killer Gamemasters" who hate paladins and want to see them fall with an "orc-baby" situation. If it seems too neutral or chaotic, that is not my intent, because fluff wise for the order, Chaos is what they're mostly fighting against (or rather keeping in stasis for to not fight is to fail, and to win the fight is to lose the war). I remember hearing a story about a GM who used the BBEG (a succubus) to dominate the paladin and...essentially rape the paladin because the paladin took "Oath of Chastity" and ruled that he had fallen. The "orc baby" setup and others like it were what I was trying to actively avoid in how I wrote this code.

As for the god itself, the god represents Order. Things behaving and interacting within a things given Fate, without threatening Material (What Is). But the mind of man grasps the concept of "Order" as closer to Law, and a god with only Law but no Justice is not a god that protects. So the people of the time wove the concept of "Good" and "Justice" into Qistophus. Thus now Qistohpus, the Jailer, the Architect of the realms of the gods, second in authority to Mykronus, the All-Maker, the Crafter, did know what is "Just" and what is not, and proceeded to know what lies within the mortal heart; a need for what is "right" is done, a need for "justice" to be met out. But since Qistophus is jailer and warden of That-which-should-not-be, Qistophus focuses on "Order" and enforces it (for in the absence of Order, the Nameless one grows and stirs). Mykronus, hearing the hearts of men as well (though there were demi-men in those times, there numbers are not as numerous as in the Second Age of the Gods), pulled a piece from within Mirana of the stars, and fused it with the chest of Qistohpus, before pulling the Heart of Qistohpus and creating Balaun, goddess of Justice and Qistohpus' companion.

[Flickerdart]

Too long. Clerics are the ones that sit around in dark rooms scribbling down ethical tenets. Paladins just need a good punchy sentence or two before they rev their magic horse and ride off into the sunset to mete out justice on the end of a sword.

[Angelalex242]

The biggest problem with this Code is that Miko Miyazaki would approve of it. (except that Master Arahku guy. She'd stab his face off)

You might wanna fix it to something that's more along the lines of what Hinjo and O Chul would approve of.

And run it by the Book of Exalted Deeds too, while you're at it.

[Gildedragon]

Some of the parts of the code are being taken much too literally... though I must say that I wrote the under the assumption that anyone playing a paladin is playing at least from a "good person" point of view. Should've put a disclaimer that said "Warning: Heavy Fluff ahead!"

Maybe, but it does say "code" and one would expect the paladins to abide by the code: least of all because of the threat of falling, but because their word and oaths ought mean a lot to them


The first paragraph, was more or less an introduction to what "may" happen to you as a paladin. Not as in "you cannot" or "you will/will not" but "you may not know" or "experience" these things while you're traveling out there. "May" is simply a possibility, not a command; it's not written in a way to take it as "permission" in context! Hence why I used "will" in the actual body!
Use "might" rather than "may". Clarity is good in codes



Paladin is practically an armed and trained missionary. He or she is not going to be staying in a nice inn all the time. They may save people who will forget them after a month or two, help others who may betray them, or suffer ignominiously as a paladin, instead of being a hero and celebrated. Or nothing "may" happen. This part was to emphasize "if you're looking to be a rockstar, go somewhere else". This was no way meant to be mechanical. Or crunch. However you want to say it.

Paladins might be stationary though; become sworn protectors of a settlement.
"ought not look for glory..." or something to that end might be better



Spirit of the law was chosen over the letter of the law. This line with the second one, "met out justice" was written for the purpose of having to travel through or operate in an "evil empire". The paladin is held to what I wrote his "Order" defined as "spirit of law", meaning that law is to protect beings from each other, from those who would seek to maliciously prey upon others for their own gain. In this way, society and the world would survive, and not fall into chaos. But the paladin is allowed to interpret what the "spirit of the law" in a given nation is, and how to do "justice" to those who deserve it; the example of slavery, paladin could legally buy the slaves, but set them free or give them the means to start a new life. That's lawful in the "evil empire" unless the Empire is so ridiculous as to have a law "You can't set free slaves" (given what I've heard about some DMs and how they don't like paladins...) If the setting involves the Evil Empire, then the paladin can also either choose to work within the laws of the Empire itself to break slavery, or find a group that seeks to restore power to the people (putting the power of law back in the hands of those being oppressed). this sort of thing needs to be a tad more explicit. as it stands well... in an LE land (or even LN) the spirit of the Law is not protection of the weak, but establishment of order (and protection of the mighty). Since that is not something you want, you need to clarify that it is not the spirit of the laws, but a sort of Higher Law.



"You will repay evil its due, ten thousand by a thousand if called for."

This line was for a situation where the punishment is too light for the crime. Situation spawned from just how many people the Joker killed, in every escape and everytime he wrecked havoc. Batman would not go against his "will not kill stance", but damn if wouldn't try to beat his point home. The point is that evil might not get its due "justice" (there's "justice" for the victim and "justice" for the criminal; one hopefully gets resolution, the other pays absolution.) due to either incompetence of the "law" itself, the "letter of the law" or any number of other things, but the severity of the crime is often what is neglected. Bandits kidnapped and raped a simple country family's daughter, before feeding her to dogs. A boy is forced to bear his father's weight, lest he hang, for the entertainment of a warlord. A father is forced to watch his family be butchered and consumed by the whim of his lord, for no other reason than "I didn't like the way your rags hung against your frame".
Vigilanteism is generally seen as Chaotic or Neutral, rather than Lawful. Also the point is already made in the "Searching for Justice" the "paying evil ten times over" bit is just the promotion and condoning of brutality


I understand the line can be abused but I wrote it assuming that anyone who is playing a paladin, is GOOD at heart. That they will not abuse the line, and use it in extremis. And only use the power to return retribution in such a way that normally they would fall, because justice demands it, because the blood of innocents demand it, because the spirits of those tortured and murdered are screaming out for peace, and that a simple life-sentence or execution is simply too little, for a life that causes so much suffering...sheds so much blood.....

Likewise it can be expected that they are Lawful at heart. But you are putting a whoooooole bunch of thought into codifying lawfulness and retribution, and not any into doing the same for mercy, good, and compassion.



The last line is to emphasize that a paladin is GOOD before law; that if law and duty would force the paladin against that which is good, that he should choose the good way.

that isn't what it says though. and good isn't very... present in this



This was how I wanted to cover a "Good is Not Nice" trope, avoid a "Lawful Stupid" paladin, and provide a way out for "Killer Gamemasters" who hate paladins and want to see them fall with an "orc-baby" situation. If it seems too neutral or chaotic, that is not my intent, because fluff wise for the order, Chaos is what they're mostly fighting against (or rather keeping in stasis for to not fight is to fail, and to win the fight is to lose the war).
Good might not be nice. But by def, Good oughtn't be exclusively nasty.
Also if Chaos is their biggest enemy, not Evil, then you really ought put something about that. Also it pushes the paladin role to LN rather than LG.

Despite all that: it is a serviceable Paladin code.
It needs to be clearer though. And for an order that focuses mostly on the L side of LG it has way too many frivolous bits. Cut those out, don't make paladins swear things that they do not mean. These paladins ought follow the Horton guideline: "I said what I meant and I meant what I said; an elephant a paladin is faithful 100%"

[Angelalex242]

Seriously, you'd be better ripping off Dragonheart then going with what you've got there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35GUTY_Gr14

[Slipperychicken]

Too long. Clerics are the ones that sit around in dark rooms scribbling down ethical tenets. Paladins just need a good punchy sentence or two before they rev their magic horse and ride off into the sunset to mete out justice on the end of a sword.

And who do you think scribbled down the Paladin's ethical tenets?

Besides, I still think the default Paladin code makes them more suitable for bureaucratic roles than fighting.

[Flickerdart]

And who do you think scribbled down the Paladin's ethical tenets?
Nobody. A paladin embodies justice and chivalry, concepts that are beyond the definition of old men with skinny arms.

[Kazudo]

Don't let any old paladins hear you say that. They'll Smite you for AT LEAST a few extra damage.

[Gildedragon]

Nobody. A paladin embodies justice and chivalry, concepts that are beyond the definition of old men with skinny arms.

Seeing how most paladins are members of organized churches, organized churches tend to have (written) codes of conduct, particularly for orders within the church... well yeah they are gonna be written by the higher ups in the hierarchy (or by the occasional rogue (not in the class sense) saint-type figure... but those seem more for N and C churches than L ones.

Also, one would expect all the power-channeling members of an L religion embody Justice. Particularly those with the Law domain. Cloistered clerics with their focus towards writings, and knowledge of precedent and law are very much embodiments of justice.

Also: Paladins needn't be thick or young. They age. A venerable paladin that focused their level up boosts in Cha will have become an old person with skinny limbs, and damned if they don't KNOW what Justice and Chivalry are. They know it in the flesh much better than the whippersnappers that haven't had to fight against becoming jaded and cruel, that haven't seen their companions fall because of pride and become blackguards out of bitterness. The age category is called Venerable for a reason.

Also: Chivalry is a cultural thing (Justice might well be a completely inherently real thing in D&D) a codification of proper modes of behavior. The sort of thing idealists and thinkers cook up. Paying liege, rules of fair combar, gender roles, etc...
Paladins may follow them, but someone's gotta codify them

[BWR]

Just ask the Solamnic Knights about the Oath and the Measure.
You can codify all you want, but people must also uphold the spirit of the laws, not just the letter.

[Psyren]

Seriously, you'd be better ripping off Dragonheart then going with what you've got there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35GUTY_Gr14

This. Simple, easy, clear, yet offers leeway for corner cases.

[Slipperychicken]

Nobody. A paladin embodies justice and chivalry, concepts that are beyond the definition of old men with skinny arms.

How about game developers with skinny arms? :smallbiggrin:

[Urpriest]

Seeing how most paladins are members of organized churches

I get the impression that's mostly just an FR thing. Paladins are supposed to be like Favored Souls: they get the "calling" to serve LG, and they do out and do it, with little to no formal training.

[Gemini476]

I get the impression that's mostly just an FR thing. Paladins are supposed to be like Favored Souls: they get the "calling" to serve LG, and they do out and do it, with little to no formal training.

The standard fluff seems to be that while you can expect some Paladins serving Good churches and acting as the militant arm of such, a lot of Paladins are independent of that.

Being able to become a Paladin is an innate thing, much like the ability to become a Sorcerer. And all that's necessary on the divine front is to worship Lawful Goodness itself, rather than a god.

[Gavinfoxx]

Here's a code for a Paladin of Honor I came up with some time ago



*Show kindness to children and others that are weak.

*Never stand idly by while the weak become the victim of the strong.

*Defend hearth and home, family and friends, stranger and ally, and especially defend innocents.

*Once given, a paladin's word is a solemn contract.

*Refrain from abusing or overusing intoxicants.

*Whenever possible, work for and give to noble charities.

*It is an unspeakable act to deny any soul its rightful afterlife.

*Never use lethal poison.

*Respect life, even that of the foe, only kill when necessary, and show quarter if possible.

*Respect the terms of an honorable and fair duel.

*Never willfully commit an evil act, and combat evil whenever possible. This does not mean that it is appropriate to be violent against evil all the time; seek justice tempered with mercy more than a violent solution.

*Use power to aid and help others, except towards evil ends. Do not seek out power simply to have power.

*Be courteous in all you do, and seek to never be crude.

*Be humble before the forces of light and good.

*Uphold virtuous laws whenever possible.

*Lead by example.

*Respect and hold dear the trust that others place in you.

*Be heroically brave in pursuit of goodness.

*Show kindness towards guests.

*Care for and be kind towards those you employ, and especially your mount.