Need Paladin Lessons

[Sir_Chivalry]

I have a player who is playing a paladin/rogue going into shadowbane inquisitor.

The NPC training her is going to give her a series of lessons and advice in combating evil and fighting villains, with a special focus on battling anti-paladins.

I'm looking as many quips and pieces of wisdom you guys can think off. What would a veteran paladin tell an up and comer?

To start:

1. Your enemies will use your loved ones against you

2. Never get ahead of the enemy, but keep pace. It is better to react quickly than not be where he is at all.

3. Never fight a villain on his own terms

4. Don't rely on your equipment, rely on yourself

5. Even naked and unarmed, a paladin still has options. Your grace will guard you, and even a stray stone can smite.

6. A lone paladin is at best headed for an early grave, at worst headed for damnation.

7. A child can move a brick, but not even a dragon can move a keep.

8. Any warrior can use his sword, a paladin uses his mind and his heart.

[The Rabbler]

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
-Ezekiel 25:17

edit for credit.

[sambo.]

at least have the grace to credit that quote.....

[WarKitty]

"Law and good should always be allies and never enemies. When they are enemies neither one is true."

"You will be as those you keep company with."

"Beware of alcohol, for a paladin should always have a clear mind."

[Zaq]

You will be loved, hated, trusted, manipulated, feared, relied upon, mocked, defended, blessed, cursed, and lied to. You will be attacked from the front, from behind, from within, and from all sides. You will succeed. You will fail. You will see hope and despair in equal amounts. However, if you are a true paladin, not one of these things will make a difference in who you are and what you do.

[Abd al-Azrad]

Every day, you will fail. You will fail to end evil, to save all of the world from corruption. This is the curse of passion- that no matter how hard you work, there will always be a new cause, a new evil- a new failure. This knowledge is the greatest weapon the forces of darkness will ever bring to bear upon you, the wrongs you did not right. Hubris, the belief that you are infallible, is the most dangerous trait you can possess, because it will allow this weapon to work. Recognise that you can fail, and take comfort in the knowledge that greater heroes than you have suffered greater failures- and emerged victorious. Your place is not to win every engagement, your place is to uphold the virtues of righteousness, and to keep your sword in hand, your love in heart, until the Gods themselves come to tear your life away. For your greatest weapon is not righteousness, it is not infallibility- it is devotion. It is care. It is passion to a cause that is beyond any of us, beyond the setbacks, beyond the failures and shortcomings. It is unending dedication to the one truth worth fighting for: that goodness shall prevail over evil!

[lsfreak]

However, if you are a true paladin, not one of these things will make a difference in who you are and what you do.

On the contrary, if those things make no difference at all, the person is an empty shell devoid of the things that makes a human human. A paladin must use their experiences and emotions, but without giving in or becoming overwhelmed.

Anger and pain drive the will to right wrongs, so long as it does not turn to bitterness or vengeance or hatred.

A paladin must learn to constantly live in fear that - directly or indirectly - they will cause pain, to those they try and protect, to those they fight, to the families of those they fight. When it happens, the paladin must deal with the consequences of their actions, in order to better themselves, to strive to right wrongs. If they cut themselves off from this fear, they go towards the path of the fanatic, the antipaladin, one who is blinded by their own righteousness, one who is incapable of seeing the evils they wreak. Neither can they let this fear overwhelm them, though; it is easy to give up, believe life is evil and futile, or to waste away the days in grief at their own actions.

[gorfnab]

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." - Yoda

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain." - Litany against fear, Dune

When you think about, these quotes are really only useful until the paladin reaches 3rd level.

[Studoku]

Get a ring of feather fall. At some point, your adventuring party will defenestrate you and it's good to be prepared.

[Prodan]

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."
-Ezekiel 25:17

Lies. Filthy lies.

The actual bible passage bears little resemblance to the Pulp Fiction quote.

[gorfnab]

Lies. Filthy lies.

The actual bible passage bears little resemblance to the Pulp Fiction quote.

The Pulp Fiction quote is a mix of Ezekiel 25:17 and Psalm 23.

[gdiddy]

Begin everyday with five minutes of quiet meditation on a helpful, inspirational thought.

Reflavor by replacing "Emperor" with a deity of your choice.

[krossbow]

Damn, ninja'd

[Ravens_cry]

Justice and Mercy. Can you balance the righteous opposites?

[Darth Stabber]

"You must always fight the evil in men, never the evil men. There are some that cannot be swayed, but each who is brought to the fold is lost to evil and another shall now fight the iniquity at your side."

Or

"Always detect evil first, you waste fewer smites that way"

[krossbow]

Just ask yourself one simple question:

What would Miko Do?



You shall go far.

[jguy]

You shall be judged on how you lived, not how you died.

[Ravens_cry]

Just ask yourself one simple question:

What would Miko Do?
And then disregard almost completely.

You shall go far.

Fixed for you. Paladin does not have to equal complete and utter Lawful Stupid OR Stupid Good fool.
It is a hard and narrow road, but no one said it was easy.

[TheMadLinguist]

Dealing out justice is your first, highest, and greatest priority. We are servants of law just so much as we are servants of good, so mercy, while admirable, is beyond your job description.

[Hopeless]

Remember sometimes inspiration arrives in the most surprising of people,
For example that halfling whose been deliberately endangering themselves by entering melee combat even though a sorceror with only their limited magic for protection since you are garbed in full plate and grabbed the only protection ring that the monk hasn't already claimed and is actually doing a better job of being a paladin than you are...

Just saying, Paladins are supposed to be role models of decency not homicidal fanatics who make Miko look reasonable in comparison!

[hamishspence]

Dealing out justice is your first, highest, and greatest priority. We are servants of law just so much as we are servants of good, so mercy, while admirable, is beyond your job description.

Celestia, plane where Law and Good are equally important- is referred to as being of both justice and mercy in Manual of the Planes.

Mercy is well within the job description of a paladin.

[Amphetryon]

Prowess: To seek excellence in all endeavors expected of a knight, martial and otherwise, seeking strength to be used in the service of justice, rather than in personal aggrandizement.

Justice: Seek always the path of 'right', unencumbered by bias or personal interest. Recognize that the sword of justice can be a terrible thing, so it must be tempered by humanity and mercy. If the 'right' you see rings agrees with others, and you seek it out without bending to the temptation for expediency, then you will earn renown beyond measure.

Loyalty: Be known for unwavering commitment to the people and ideals you choose to live by. There are many places where compromise is expected; loyalty is not amongst them.

Defense: The ideal knight was sworn by oath to defend his liege lord and those who depended upon him. Seek always to defend your nation, your family, and those to whom you believe worthy of loyalty.

Courage: Being a knight often means choosing the more difficult path, the personally expensive one. Be prepared to make personal sacrifices in service of the precepts and people you value. At the same time, a knight should seek wisdom to see that stupidity and courage are cousins. Courage also means taking the side of truth in all matters, rather than seeking the expedient lie. Seek the truth whenever possible, but remember to temper justice with mercy, or the pure truth can bring grief.

Faith: A knight must have faith in his beliefs, for faith roots him and gives hope against the despair that human failings create.

Humility: Value first the contributions of others; do not boast of your own accomplishments, let others do this for you. Tell the deeds of others before your own, according them the renown rightfully earned through virtuous deeds. In this way the office of knighthood is well done and glorified, helping not only the gentle spoken of but also all who call themselves knights.

Largesse: Be generous in so far as your resources allow; largesse used in this way counters gluttony. It also makes the path of mercy easier to discern when a difficult decision of justice is required.

Nobility: Seek great stature of character by holding to the virtues and duties of a knight, realizing that though the ideals cannot be reached, the quality of striving towards them ennobles the spirit, growing the character from dust towards the heavens. Nobility also has the tendency to influence others, offering a compelling example of what can be done in the service of rightness.

Franchise: Seek to emulate everything I have spoken of as sincerely as possible, not for the reason of personal gain but because it is right. Do not restrict your exploration to a small world, but seek to infuse every aspect of your life with these qualities. Should you succeed in even a tiny measure then you will be well remembered for your quality and virtue.

-Brian R. Price

[Deca]

Just remember one of the key concepts in the Paladin Bro Code.

[Project_Mayhem]

"Multi-class into crusader at the first opportunity my son, for they possess actual class features past level 6"

[Name_Here]

I always thought some quotes from Hunter the Vigil were strangely appropriate for Paladins.

The one that always got me was: As one candle is blow out another is lit, the Hunter falls the Vigil remains.

There are several others in the book that's my favorite and the only one I could remember off the top of my head.

[LibraryOgre]

"Keep your sense of humor and perspective. Nothing drives people away from right behavior than seeing its champions being jerkwads with sticks up their bums, and nothing kills paladins faster than biting off more than they can chew. Do not ignore evil... but don't sacrifice yourself to it if it solves nothing. Mark it, monitor it, and bide your time. You are immune to fear, not sense."

[Deme]

The Paladin must enter the world, to clear the land of the weeds of evil so peace may grow. The Paladin must take his sword where the innocent cannot stand against the darkness. Peace is the paladin's love -- but he must always go to where it is not. He is best placed where drawing a sword is not only an option, but a necessity, lest innocents be damaged.

It should be the dream of every paladin that he could create a world in which there would be no purpose for paladins, where he could have been a farmer and the world would be no worse, where no weapon would be needed to help people. It is an impossible dream, but the paladin is better for trying to make that dream true.

...That's generally the philosophy I try and work with.

[Telonius]

The Laws of Ducks can be a good primer.

Duck Law No. 1. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, looks like a duck and cooks like a duck, it’s a duck.
Restatement: All things are known by their attributes.

Duck Law No. 2. Even under ideal circumstances, no duck, no matter how noble or well-intentioned, can be an eagle.
Restatement: All things must be what they are.

Duck Law No. 3. A duck can pretend to be an eagle except in times of adversity.
Restatement: Pretense and adversity are inversely proportional; adversity reveals the true nature of all things.

Duck Law No 4. No duck may be an eagle until it abandons its webbed feet and bill for talons and a beak.
Restatement: All things remain as they are until the attributes that define them are abandoned. Then, and only then, can they evolve.

Duck Law No. 5. Ducks are noble creatures. They shall not be penalized in the eyes of other creatures because they are not eagles.
Restatement: All things are honorable if they are what they are honestly, even if they are different from you.

Duck Law No. 6. The greatest duck that ever was cannot fly as high as even a modest eagle.
Restatement: If one would soar with eagles, do not swim with ducks.

Duck Law No. 7. Ducks flock. Eagles fly alone. Ducks and eagles never mingle.
Restatement: Choose company wisely.

Duck Law No. 8. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why.
Restatement: Sometimes there is no answer.
["The Laws of Ducks" by Ken Fussichen - 1998]

[Kris Strife]

Do good, fight evil, and don't be a jack-bloop about it. And remember, you can't spell Paladin without pal, make sure to act like one.

[Cuaqchi]

Life is but the vessel for the soul; safeguard it, guide it, but do not covet it. Fear of death is what drives men to evil, and to accept the inevitability of death is to ignore the temptations of a false life.

Honour drives us; honour for one's god, one's family, and one's home. Always stand by this and you shall forever have a shield against the mechinations of the darkness around us.

Sacrifice is the truest test one's faith, if you can sacrifice yourself and your body for the preservation of others than no threat is undefeatable.

Strike only for the source of evil, not its branches, as the hearts of lesser men are prone to vengeance and to cut a branch shall grow two more in its place. Instead the tree of darkness must be uprooted and purified, cleansed of its evil, and if possible replaced so that the well it creates does not sprout forth a greater foe.