PDA

View Full Version : Paladins of Sune: The Ruby Rose Knight



Talya
2007-04-21, 12:03 PM
In the Forgotten Realms, there is an exception to the "one-step rule" for the alignment of paladin deities. She's the Goddess of Beauty, Love and Passion, the Chaotic Good Sune.

Sune has an order of paladins, the Ruby Rose Knights (CoV). (They've even got some nifty paladin substitution levels at 3, 6 and 12.) Note that the ruby rose knights are still lawful good, with all the alignment and moral code restrictions of a typical paladin.

Now, philosophically, how would you handle this? I would guess the paladin's own lawfulness is a personal code of discipline, like a monk. They devoutly worship a deity dedicated to chaos...she's even got chaos as an available cleric domain...this presents some conflicts I think. How would you handle it?

Roethke
2007-04-21, 12:24 PM
Well, just as clerics choose from the domains associated with their Deity, esteeming them higher than others, so too with Paladins. Just because there are chaotic aspects to Sune, doesn't mean that you have to worship that chaos.

I like the flavor of this a lot.

I'd play up the "Courtly Love" aspect, in the order of paladins. The ritual, the honoring of the love-bond, and of women (or men, if it's an egalitarian order). Make them bound to honor Love as the primary law, with Beauty not far behind. They'd be the world's Cyranos, aiding lovers, or abetting adulterers, or convincing a straying spouse to return, so long as the cause was just.

If you remember way,way back, there was a 'Cavalier' kit from the 2nd Edition Complete Figther's handbook, I think. This is pretty much what you want-- they had a code, similar to a traditional paladin, along with their own set of abilities, but no reason you couldn't play a regular paladin this way.

Matthew
2007-04-21, 04:37 PM
Hmmn, interesting.

There was also a Paladin Chevalier Kit in The Complete Paladin's Handbook [(A)D&D 2.x)] and a Cavalier Prestige Class in The Complete Warrior [D&D 3.x].

What to do about Sune (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sune), though. Hard to say. Looks like Roethke is giving some sensible advice, though. The Paladin supports the good aspect of her Divinity and considers her Chaotic aspect to be something to be understood.

SerroMaroo
2007-04-21, 04:56 PM
I played a pally of Sune once. Basically I treated my goddess as one that I loved and followed with all my heart and because of my devotion I was able to overlook her chaotic aspects much in the same way daddys little girl gets away with more than her brothers.

It was a fine line, but lots of fun to do.

Talya
2007-04-21, 05:00 PM
There's one as an NPC in a campaign i'm playing in. She's actually a human ruby rose knight with the half celestial template. That template mixes WONDERFULLY with the ruby rose knight substitution levels, btw...Ruby Rose Knights lose Divine Health (immunity to disease), but instead gain immunity to any type of charisma drain or damage. Of course, the half celestial is already immune to disease. Likewise, ruby rose knights lose "Remove Disease" in favor of a heroism type effect. However, Half Celestials get remove disease as a spell like ability...etc.

The intricacies of a lawful paladin following a chaotic goddess are strange, though.

Roethke
2007-04-21, 05:06 PM
The intricacies of a lawful paladin following a chaotic goddess are strange, though.

Can you give an example? In my mind, Lawful is more 'Principled/Ordered' and Chaotic more 'Pragmatic/Disordered', which would make playing a principled paladin of even a chaotic Goddess not too difficult. But that'll definitely by DM specific.

Talya
2007-04-21, 05:08 PM
Can you give an example? In my mind, Lawful is more 'Principled/Ordered' and Chaotic more 'Pragmatic/Disordered', which would make playing a principled paladin of even a chaotic Goddess not too difficult. But that'll definitely by DM specific.

Well, she's still a paladin. She isn't self righteous, but the rules of the church are the rules of the church, and she follows them and expects others to do so.

My character is a heartwarder/sorceress of Sune, and something of a high-priestess. The paladin shows my heartwarder a fair amount of deference, but is infuriatingly difficult when my character acts as whimsically chaotic as she's prone to being. The law is the law!