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Yeril
2007-08-26, 11:46 AM
Im playing a paladin in a PbP game and ive got two conflicting ideals for my paladin.

My character is heir to one of the eight seats of leadership in a holy city or somthing, making him semi-royalty, probaly equivilent to a baron or somthing.

But of course, hes also a paladin, caring for the good and weak and such and such.

So this puts me two conflicting personalitys, The rather stuck up baron-heir figure who would want the best, Always having a good room at a inn with a good meal with wine, asking for somone to come wash his dirty clothes, and over all expecting the inn to have all of these services.

and the kind benevolent paladin who would instead settle for anywhere to sleep, eat very basic such as bread and maybe turnip soup, clean for himself and then give the money to charity and homeless and sick people.

so where would the balance be? where would he lean towards? the current situation we are in is we are in a gnomish settlement getting a room or two for the night for the party, however the price the have charged is 4-5gp a night each. which is enough for the finest tavern room with full cooked meal with wine and all that for a party over twice our size, and my paladin (who travels alot) would know this.

Going by his background I would expect him to be all "that much?? thats rather expensive.. oh well yes heres some money for me and <Npc> we will be up in our room please send our meal up, yes red wine please, also could you send somone to collect and clean our washing for us, Is that extra? very well here."

Im sure this is all very Baron-ey but then I noticed its not very Paladin-ey.

We aren't very far in its still in the "still-working-the-character-concept--into-the-character." sorta time.

Any ideas or suggestions on what to do? (that doesn't involve "What do you mean I have to pay?? SMITE EVIL!!!")

Morty
2007-08-26, 11:53 AM
Well, if he's become a paladin, it means that he isn't stuck-up pompus noble, isn't it?

Quellian-dyrae
2007-08-26, 11:54 AM
Myself I see no inherent reason that a paladin should be ascetic, barring actually worshipping a deity who demands it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting the best when you have the gold to pay for it.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that living over the top was something of an expectation for medieval knights, most (if not all) of whom were indeed nobility. However, they were also expected to use their wealth to make gracious gifts and so on. You could run with that; play your paladin as someone who does expect (and demand) the very best, but who tips extravagantly, will offer impressive rewards for minor services (and hey, a gold piece may be nothing to an adventurer, but it's big to most common people) and so on.

Actana
2007-08-26, 12:04 PM
I agree with Quellian above, he said it quite well.

Paladins are not all ascetic and stuff, those are monks. Paladins can be extravagant, but they can be benevolent too. Give money to the poor, but still live in fine rooms. Give food to beggars, but still eat fine meals. No paladin must live in complete benevolence, people just don't work that way. Every person has his/her flaws, and paladins are no excuse. He is just a person who does good deeds, and maybe he thinks that when he does goodly stuff, he is rewarded by living in fine places. Kinda like a karma thing.

Hope that helps.

Attilargh
2007-08-26, 12:26 PM
Paladins are not all ascetic and stuff, those are monks.
Actually, Monks (as a class) do not have to be ascets either.

Come to think of it, a decadent, bling-festooned Monk in the finest of clothes could be pretty amusing. Especially if he took a few levels in Drunken Master. :smallamused:

Yeril
2007-08-26, 12:29 PM
Thanks guys your all giving great advice, using the French Noble Knight was a great example because the whole Noble Knight in shining armour was exacly how I idealisied my character. :smallbiggrin:

So theres nothing wrong for asking a washer girl to clean my dirty clothes, and a knightly thing to do would be to reward her generously.

================================================== =====


Actually, Monks (as a class) do not have to be ascets either.

Come to think of it, a decadent, bling-festooned Monk in the finest of clothes could be pretty amusing. Especially if he took a few levels in Drunken Master. :smallamused:

I say your being rather rude good sir! Have at thee I challange you to fisticuffs! Just don't get blood on my good suit! *Finishes the glass of wine*


Reminds me of a magic item I made called the bottle of endless wine.

Bling-fisted? so thats how monks overcome DR 10/ Silver

Quietus
2007-08-26, 12:35 PM
Thanks guys your all giving great advice, using the French Noble Knight was a great example because the whole Noble Knight in shining armour was exacly how I idealisied my character. :smallbiggrin:

So theres nothing wrong for asking a washer girl to clean my dirty clothes, and a knightly thing to do would be to reward her generously.

That's the idea... I like that character concept, as well. I've been playing around with one similar to it for a while.

Raolin_Fenix
2007-08-26, 12:48 PM
The thing about the true Paladin, properly played, is that giving is sort of both an obligation and a choice. For the player, it's absolutely an obligation, since every player wants his character to have money for equipment and such. For the character, however... a Paladin doesn't view it as an obligation; he just views it as something to be done because he's a nice guy.

Contrary to popular belief, though, Paladins must be Lawful Good -- they need not be Lawful Stupid or Stupid Good. If they have little, they can give little, so logically, the Paladin seeks to have as much as possible -- the better to give. He can live a fine life of comfort, so long as he remains benevolent and charitable.

To use a bad example of a man who is as far from a Paladin as a man can possibly be, Bill Gates is a megabillionaire. He probably donates more money to charity than the rest of America combined, while he still lives a magnificent life that is the envy of everyone, everywhere. His comfort doesn't make him a bad person.

He's just a horrible, soulless little man who hates life and feeds Satan himself.

You can be a paladin and still have a lot. :P

Matthew
2007-08-26, 06:38 PM
In fact, I'm pretty sure that living over the top was something of an expectation for medieval knights, most (if not all) of whom were indeed nobility.

Very, very wrong, but a common misconception. Knighthood at its inception had absolutely nothing to do with the nobility (indeed, they were the servants of the nobility). It was later adopted by the noble class and eventually became something only they could really afford to do, but for several hundred years (the most actively knightly, say 1000-1300), the vast majority of Knights would not have belonged to noble families at all. The same is true, but moreso, of Samurai, as that never became the province of the nobility.


However, they were also expected to use their wealth to make gracious gifts and so on. You could run with that; play your paladin as someone who does expect (and demand) the very best, but who tips extravagantly, will offer impressive rewards for minor services (and hey, a gold piece may be nothing to an adventurer, but it's big to most common people) and so on.

Very true.

AslanCross
2007-08-26, 06:57 PM
A gold piece is worth ten silvers, and a silver is a day's wages. A gold piece would mean a lot to a commoner, indeed.

I really do think that a Paladin could remain charitable while living comfortably. Given the amount of money an adventurer rakes in, he could tithe his obligations to his church, spend money on commoners to brighten up their days, and still have enough money left over for equipment and comfortable living. (I believe the alternate rules for monthly upkeep in the DM Guide say that "extravagant living", which involves lavish parties, only costs 200 GP a month)

Murderous Hobo
2007-08-26, 07:42 PM
Asking for those extra services and paying royally for them is better then just charity because you acknowledge their worth and don't degrade them to beggars by simply handing out gold.

It's not very Spartan, but you could try Stoic instead for the feel of being a noble.
Which just means you don't whine about having to sleep in the dirt, the discomfort would leave you cold, while you can also acknowledge that the clear advantages of having clean clothes and a good night's rest in a good, clean bed are worth spending some gold on.