To me, IMO, MAD MAX could be a paladin

[djreynolds]

No matter how he tries to avoid it, he is almost fated to become involved. No matter how much he runs from an oath, the oath catches up to him and he is pressed into service to fulfill it. He seems not aloof, but "not caring" because he's been hardened by his trails, yet always comes through. Not your typical paladin, but at least very paladin like and could be a good template for a vengeance paladin.

Who knows?

[Malifice]

CN ranger/ rogue.

[HammeredWharf]

Seeking out bad guys actively is what paladins are all about. Someone who's trying to run away from responsibilities is more like the classic rogue archetype. Then again, I haven't seen the first movie, where he's apparently on a quest for vengeance.

[JellyPooga]

Hmm...interesting.

I've not seen Fury Road (yet), but based on the other three movies, there could certainly be a Paladin-esque vibe. He's a traffic cop and a "good guy", so you could interpret that as being beholden to an Oath and he's definitely got the whole vengeance thing going in the first film...and that's where I've got a bit of an issue; he's driven by his vengeance, not because he's taken an oath to do so or because of some remnant of his previous life as a copper, but because he's gone a little loopy. He breaks all the rules in his quest for revenge, he becomes a really quite nasty piece of work; his personality changes dramatically.

In the second and third films, the vengeance thing has gone out of the window. He's just a "good guy" trying to stay alive in the wasteland, getting drawn into being that "good guy", not by choice, but by necessity. He doesn't offer to drive the tanker in The Road Warrior because he feels obligated to, but because the Interceptor got destroyed, for example. He was just going to walk (well...drive) away from the whole situation. Doesn't sound very Paladin-y to me.

[OldTrees1]

Hmm...interesting.

I've not seen Fury Road (yet), but based on the other three movies, there could certainly be a Paladin-esque vibe. He's a traffic cop and a "good guy", so you could interpret that as being beholden to an Oath and he's definitely got the whole vengeance thing going in the first film...and that's where I've got a bit of an issue; he's driven by his vengeance, not because he's taken an oath to do so or because of some remnant of his previous life as a copper, but because he's gone a little loopy. He breaks all the rules in his quest for revenge, he becomes a really quite nasty piece of work; his personality changes dramatically.

In the second and third films, the vengeance thing has gone out of the window. He's just a "good guy" trying to stay alive in the wasteland, getting drawn into being that "good guy", not by choice, but by necessity. He doesn't offer to drive the tanker in The Road Warrior because he feels obligated to, but because the Interceptor got destroyed, for example. He was just going to walk (well...drive) away from the whole situation. Doesn't sound very Paladin-y to me.

Fury Road is very similar in characterization to the 2nd and 3rd films in that Mad Max want nothing to do with the circumstance but is literally forced to work together with the people needing help (which ultimately leads to roughly the ideal outcome). I am not saying he couldn't be a Paladin, but if I could successful replace him with *Insert rational self interested character of any alignment and temperament* then I would not use him as an example for any class.

[Corran]

We all know that the warboys are the real paladins in this movie. They are religious, they ride ''steeds'', they are trained in ''mounted'' combat, they serve their leader faithfully and without question (lawful), etc. I would say oath of the crown, or perhaps devotion if you consider the tenets from a very subjective way (from their point of view). Nux is the definition of an oathbreaker, extra point that warboys are indeed paladins.

WITNEEEEEEEEEEESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[djreynolds]

I would think, hypothetically of course, that being a paladin is as much about choosing the lifestyle and is being chosen for it.

The farmer's son or daughter becomes a fighter, because he saw these soldiers doing this or it just the way to adventure or money or fame.

The urchin becomes a thief.

Rangers are unique as the "racial" aspect has been squashed, but a ranger could come from a community on the edge of the wilderness, he/she doesn't have to have had their village slaughtered by orcs.

Perhaps a cleric is the second born.

But classes like warlock, druid, sorcerer, and paladin... their choices don't seem so "generic"

Were you born into a druid enclave, is their a druid enclave? Sorcerers are born with it. A kid may grow up and hear stories of paladins and perhaps wants that fame, but that seems to me the realm of the fighter.

But if we see say Batman as a paladin, something happened to push towards this life choice. I don't see paladins as being drafted into service, but I think there is a divine instance that occurs and they answer the calling or do not.

Mad Max's troubles seem more than just bad luck or wrong place wrong time, almost destined. And it keeps happening to him.

[RickAllison]

To me, he seems like a class that's going to MC into paladin. He has been chosen by fate/a deity/a devil for a greater purpose. Though he keeps trying to reject it, eventually he will give in and accept that it is his destiny.

[djreynolds]

To me, he seems like a class that's going to MC into paladin. He has been chosen by fate/a deity/a devil for a greater purpose. Though he keeps trying to reject it, eventually he will give in and accept that it is his destiny.

Yes. And perhaps is trying to break his oath or turn away from it, but his benefactor will not have it. Really role-playing a paladin well ( a class I never play) seems to be a heavy burden. Frodo is paladin-like.

[JellyPooga]

Frodo is paladin-like.

Psh...Frodo's a chump NPC. Samwise is the Player Character. :smallbiggrin:

[Logosloki]

Psh...Frodo's a chump NPC. Samwise is the Player Character. :smallbiggrin:

Frodo is the person who isn't sure about Roleplaying but when the DM asked if they wanted to take lead on the campaign, they said that they would give it a go. Now now they are out of their depth and if it wasn't for Samwise they would probably be having a miserable time.

Samwise is the friendly person at the table. Noticed earlier on that Frodo had no idea what was going on and decided to play as the roleplaying equivalent of a wingman. Brings full kit just in case the DM decides that they have to start tracking gear.

Meriadoc and Peregrin thought the campaign was going to be a chill laid back halfling adventure and only realised after the DM revealed about the barrow wights that things were going to be on a much darker, grander scale. They decide to each immerse in the campaign by joining separate npc factions.

Gandalf is the person in the group who just wanted to go full ham wizard. They had to miss some of the sessions because they were in a production. After the production is over they asked the DM if they could change things slightly.

Aragorn wanted to play a stoic silent character but realises that some of the group are relatively new or wasn't initially having fun so they starts to help things along where he can.

Boromir usually plays lawful characters and decided that they wanted to play a chaotic alignment for once. They had to bow out of game night but left on a good note by having their character go through a redemption arc.

Gimli wanted to play a dwarf and wasn't going to be persuaded otherwise. Proceeds to play the dwarfest dwarf to ever dwarf.

Legolas was going to play as a human ranger but when they found out that Gimli was going to be a dwarf they changed to elf so they could have some fun roleplaying as if they hate each other. In the end they decided to go with a buddy cop vibe.

[mgshamster]

The recent movie could be viewed from an old school version of the paladin, where they weren't bound by oath, but rather chosen by the gods. "You will be a paladin and you will help, no matter how much you try to run away."

Even in the 4th movie, he was running away to escape slavery and death. He rescued innocents once he learned of the situation. He came back for topple the society once he had resources.

Interesting perspective, thanks for the topic, djreynolds. :)


Mad Max's troubles seem more than just bad luck or wrong place wrong time, almost destined. And it keeps happening to him.

So. A PC, then?

[Vogonjeltz]

No matter how he tries to avoid it, he is almost fated to become involved. No matter how much he runs from an oath, the oath catches up to him and he is pressed into service to fulfill it. He seems not aloof, but "not caring" because he's been hardened by his trails, yet always comes through. Not your typical paladin, but at least very paladin like and could be a good template for a vengeance paladin.

Who knows?

I mean...he's only revenge oriented in the first movie.

Every other movie is him getting dragged into someone else's problems against his will every step of the way. So it doesn't really fit the character of the Paladin or any of the oaths.

So I'd say Fighter, Ranger (wastelands based), or Rogue.

[Douche]

Frodo is the person who isn't sure about Roleplaying but when the DM asked if they wanted to take lead on the campaign, they said that they would give it a go. Now now they are out of their depth and if it wasn't for Samwise they would probably be having a miserable time.

Samwise is the friendly person at the table. Noticed earlier on that Frodo had no idea what was going on and decided to play as the roleplaying equivalent of a wingman. Brings full kit just in case the DM decides that they have to start tracking gear.

Meriadoc and Peregrin thought the campaign was going to be a chill laid back halfling adventure and only realised after the DM revealed about the barrow wights that things were going to be on a much darker, grander scale. They decide to each immerse in the campaign by joining separate npc factions.

Gandalf is the person in the group who just wanted to go full ham wizard. They had to miss some of the sessions because they were in a production. After the production is over they asked the DM if they could change things slightly.

Aragorn wanted to play a stoic silent character but realises that some of the group are relatively new or wasn't initially having fun so they starts to help things along where he can.

Boromir usually plays lawful characters and decided that they wanted to play a chaotic alignment for once. They had to bow out of game night but left on a good note by having their character go through a redemption arc.

Gimli wanted to play a dwarf and wasn't going to be persuaded otherwise. Proceeds to play the dwarfest dwarf to ever dwarf.

Legolas was going to play as a human ranger but when they found out that Gimli was going to be a dwarf they changed to elf so they could have some fun roleplaying as if they hate each other. In the end they decided to go with a buddy cop vibe.

Please do more characters. Doesn't even have to be LotR, I just like your parallels hahaha

What about, like, Gollum?

[brainface]

I'd call him a knight errant, or a play on one at least, which is absolutely paladinesque. ^^

[djreynolds]

The whole idea is that, MAD MAX never ends up turning away, but in the end when thing are set right, he leaves.

He's not the guy in Kung Fu, Mr Carridine, who is a monk and at peace. I think a Paladin is troubled. Its definitely a class I usually steer clear from and just for role-playing reasons.

And Sam can be a paladin too, but Frodo chooses to go on this mission and knows the consequences, he knows that death is a real possibility. Perhaps both are paladins, but different oaths. For Frodo the devotion to the cause gives him strength, and Sam oath binds him to Frodo.

Its why I play a wizard, fighter or rogue. And I just by healing potions and bandages.

[RickAllison]

Now that I think about it, Mad Max kind of fits a Paladin who has lost their oath, but hasn't turned Oathbreaker. It's not that he is a bad person, it is that he failed and never was quite the same afterwards. He started as a Paladin of Devotion as a law enforcement officer, swore himself to vengeance upon his failure there, but he is currently Oath-less. He wanders because he has no path. No Oath to guide him, no ties keeping him to one place, so he became a drifter.

[Steampunkette]

Max is not a Paladin.

Nor is he a Rogue or Ranger.

Max is a Fighter. He's got next to no skills beyond driving and shooting, Charisma score of 8, no knowledge skills as relates to Religion, and spends most of his time making 3-5 attacks per round with the occasional strength based combat maneuver. Plus he's proficient in basically any weapon you put into his hands, from rifles to hocky sticks.

[JellyPooga]

The whole idea is that, MAD MAX never ends up turning away, but in the end when thing are set right, he leaves.

(Mad Max) Dude walks away from his job because it's all getting too much on the road, only going back to essentially steal the Interceptor to get his revenge.

(The Road Warrior) Dude gets his gas and leaves, only returning to drive the truck because Humungous' gang blew up his car. He doesn't leave in the end, the others leave him, after not telling him that the tanker was a decoy all along.

It's only in Beyond Thunderdome that he "doesn't turn away" and that only in the second half of the film with the kids...and I always found that a bit jarring because it didn't really fit his character to date.

[djreynolds]

(Mad Max) Dude walks away from his job because it's all getting too much on the road, only going back to essentially steal the Interceptor to get his revenge.

(The Road Warrior) Dude gets his gas and leaves, only returning to drive the truck because Humungous' gang blew up his car. He doesn't leave in the end, the others leave him, after not telling him that the tanker was a decoy all along.

It's only in Beyond Thunderdome that he "doesn't turn away" and that only in the second half of the film with the kids...and I always found that a bit jarring because it didn't really fit his character to date.

Don't burst my bubble man. Stay positive... Off topic, how did the trapspringer turn out.

[JellyPooga]

Don't burst my bubble man. Stay positive... Off topic, how did the trapspringer turn out.

Heh. I can see where you're coming from about Max...he's definitely a "good guy" on the whole. I'm just not convinced he's really Paladin material. I can see the "Multiclass to Paladin later" argument...kind of like he's been refusing "The Call" to date in an attempt to bury his memories of a happier time, but I'm not seeing him as a Paladin now (maybe by the end of Thunderdome he's transitioned, who knows?).

Off-Topic; yeah, my trapspringer is working out just fine! We had a little break over the xmas period, but back at it now and very much enjoying playing him.