Laws in Westgate?

[GriffinRider]

Hey all! New to the forums.

Got a situation that I could use some help with. Playing a paladin in a Forgotten Realms setting, version 3.5. Passing through the city of Westgate and I have gotten the attention of/incurred the wrath of some corrupt businessmen. They are abusing and threatening their slaves to make me squirm, knowing slavery is legal there. Anyone know of any sites where some of the laws of the city have been posted? My DM probably doesn't have the time to write the whole legal code just so I can hunt for some loophole that will allow me to speed them on their way to a messy death, so I'm hoping someone somewhere has already done some of the legwork. Otherwise I may have to grind my teeth and look the other way while my compatriots do what I can't!

[icefractal]

Not sure if it'll apply, but keep in mind that a Paladin follows the concept of Law, not necessarily the laws of any given city. For example, if the Lich King is gathering virgins to sacrifice so that he can open a portal to the netherworld and flood the lands with endless undead, then most Paladins would consider it their duty to stop him.

However, the Lich King is the ruler of a kingdom, that kingdom has laws, and any attempt to stop him is going to break several of those:
1) Virgins within Undeadland are the property of the Lich King.
2) Attacking the Lich King's subjects (more undead) is illegal.
3) Entering the Lich King's palace without permission is illegal.
4) Interfering with a dark ritual is very illegal.
5) Attacking the Lich King himself is extremely illegal.

So if you can break the laws of the Lich King, you can break the laws of a corrupt city. As a Paladin, you shouldn't just go around breaking any law that's inconvenient, but if you have a defined set of principles, and slavery is against those principles, then you have no obligation to respect laws that condone slavery. After all, whose opinion is more important - the local Duke, or an actual god / divine ideal? I think you know the answer to that.

[Zanos]

I agree with icefractal, Paladins are Good before they are Law. If someone is using a corrupt legal body to oppress the weak, and your DM makes you fall for breaking the corrupt laws to stop them, he isn't a very good DM.

Paladins would accomplish very little if they weren't permitted to do anything someone, somewhere considered illegal.

[Bullet06320]

http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20010327d

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Westgate
has a list of references for westgate at the bottom

not much published that I can think of about the laws specifically, most likely located in the forgotten realms campaign setting, asking over at www.candlekeep.com might be better

[Sian]

yeah ... for such a setting specific question, the correct place to look for infomation is without a doubt Candlekeep.com ... they got some of the most knowledgeable members, in questions about the setting, and many of the authors are on those forums as well, all of them having an "Ask XYZ" thread, or three, or in the case of Ed Greenwood, one or two a year for the last 10 years or some such.

[sleepyphoenixx]

This is really something you should ask your DM about.
It will also require you to have the appropriate knowledge skill (local: Westgate in this case). Metagaming is bad, mkay? :smalltongue:

If your DM is too lazy to make up the laws or you don't have the necessary knowledge you could also inquire about the specifics of the code of your paladin order.
That's something your character would definitely know (no check required), and they'd almost certainly mention how that kind of conflict between your ideals and the local law is to be resolved. Because evil is evil even if the law says it's not.

If all else fails you can also go to a cleric of your faith or use magic like Commune to directly contact your deity (or, more likely, a representative like a mid-level planetar) for advice on how to proceed.

Something else to keep in mind: your Code of Conduct only requires you to respect legitimate authority only, not any authority. It's certainly not unreasonable that a good faith/order of paladins doesn't recognize any government that allows slavery as legitimate.
You're required to be Lawful Good, but the Lawful part does not necessary refer to local law. In the case of paladins especially it almost certainly refers to the code of conduct or a personal code of honor, so there's no real problem there alignment-wise.

The CoC also requires you to help those in need and punish those who harm and threaten innocents, so i'd say the only choice you have is how you want to fight those slavers, not if.