I have noticed a lot of misconceptions with this class. All one needs to know is that the Paladin is special, and gets his abilities from his god. Yes, he is Lawful good, but that not all. I have heard some crazy things being said about them in forums I have read over the years. Who says a paladin can’t sneak around and be all stealthy, who says the paladin cannot use missile weapons. These remarks are upsetting, to say the least.

A paladin is probably the most judgmental character in a game, of course he can kill evil with but one tiny reason. He is the hand of god, and through that guidance will always be right in his decisions. Keep in mind that the aura of good for a paladin is so great that people just know and feel something great about them. Think of the RPG game “Vampire: The Masquerade” Aneska , the nun is a prime example of this. She had this extreme holy vibe to her that vampires wanted or feared.

The justice a paladin delivers can also be extreme sometimes. The modern paladin was well played by Bill Paxton in “FRAILTY” in  which he gets an old rusty pipe, old workman gloves, and a wooden axe named Otis to kill and murder demons , that are in the bodies of people. He did not need evidence nor did he question what he did. He simply accepted what he was and went through with what god wanted. In the movie he beats a woman in the head with the pipe knocking her unconscious, kidnaps her by throwing her in the trunk of his car, and then ties her up and drags her to his old beat up shack where his 9 and 12 year old kid are forced to watch as he kills her with an axe, and then actually dismembers all her limbs, placing them in garbage bags and burning them in his rose garden. All in the name of god. Trust me he is not insane because he in fact has the power to see and detect evil. God even protects him by clouding people minds of his presence and affecting electronic equipment as well. Now does all this sound like a holy lawful good warrior, probably not but its all justified in the name of his god.

Don’t get me wrong a paladin is not infallible, but he is by far given the most leeway to committing acts that would get other classes in trouble. Why do u think the paladin who commits an evil act by mistake is allowed to atone. Because his god understands this and forgives him so long as he begs for forgiveness. In fact a paladin loses his status permanently only if he commits an act of evil willingly.

I am not talking about a knight or a holy crusader. This is AD&D 2nd edition a generic lawful good warrior chosen by god to bring justice to the world.

I as a DM have allowed a paladin to threaten, kidnap, and torture people who deserved it all in the name of good.

I have even allowed paladins to sway large violent crowds with his presence, because the player said and i quote,” LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE, GO TO YOUR HOMES!! THE LORD WATCHES YOU ALL THROUGH MY EYES, AND HE BARES WITNESS TO ALL THE HARM YOU HAVE COMMITTED THIS DAY, LEAVE NOW OR BE JUDGED BY THE HAND OF GOD, THAT I AM!!!”

I mean as a DM what was I to do, the players handbook does state that people and evil feel his aura, even under disguise. So the mob all felt the truth in his words, that god did in fact watch thru his eyes and that he could in fact deliver the wrath of god to them. So I gave him his charisma modifier, aura modifier, and roleplaying modifier to adjust their reactions, which came to about +8 or so. Well let me tell u, the crowd quickly dispersed.

But I decided to mess with the paladin to see what he would do in return, (I was hoping to make him lose his paladin status the whole campaign) a small group of cultist numbering at a dozen had started the riot originally, decided to throw rocks at him, in the attempt of stoning him to death. The cultist were mainly misguided teens, children, and a commoners down on there luck who were being led by 1 evil cult member. The paladin, gathers his senses and reaches for a young teen age boy of about 15 years of age and holds him up by his throat. He yells at the teenager so all can hear him,” DO YOU REPENT YOUR EVIL WAYS, CHILD?” he loosens his grip to allow the young man a chance to answer. I made the child kick him away and be completely frightened of him because he knew his life was in the hands of the paladin and he just wanted to escape the situation.

Guess what the paladin did?

He holds the kid up, pulls out his long sword flaming tongue mind you and decapitates him in one swipe, with the blue flame cauterizing the wound. He then hold up the kids head up high and declares, “FEEL AND WITNESS THE WRATH OF GOD!!” as the paladin begins to cast the cantrip spell to light flammable objects on the head, bursting it into flames causing the paladins hand to be burned in the process. He then Yells,” THE FLAMES OF HEAVEN DO ME NO HARM, BUT HAVE PURGED THIS BOYS SOUL OF EVIL” He then dropped the head, as he used his lay on hands on himself to make the wounds vanish.

Well let me tell u this, some cultist ran away in fear and some begged for forgiveness on the spot. The evil cult leader saw this and dropped his weapon which was a dagger and begged for forgiveness to the paladin, stating he saw the error of his way and that he should be sent to trial for his crimes. What the paladin did next just blew my mind away.

The paladin looks down at this man and cast a bless spell on him and kisses him on the top of his head. Drops to his knees and hugs him, crying in joy that this evil man has seen the errors of his life. The paladin then gets up and walks him to the magistrate, where he demands the man be given a fair trial. Within minutes the man is sentenced to death, by hanging. After hearing the sentence the paladin confronts the jury and says, “YOU ARE ALL QUICK TO JUDGE THIS MAN TO HIS DEATH, HAVE YOU NOT ALL SEEN ENOUGH DEATH THIS DAY. THE LORD HAS PLANS FOR THIS MAN, I CAN CLEARLY SEE IT NOW”. The paladin then turns to the cult member and releases him from the rope tied around his hands. “THE LORD HAS GIVEN YOU A SECOND CHANCE, REBORN YOU ARE, DO ONLY GOOD DEEDS FROM THIS POINT ON, OR FACE THE LORDS WRATH” He reassures the jury that he will be responsible for this cultist actions and will assume full responsibility for any indiscretion that might happen in the future.

I was like what the F$%K!!! i decided to end the adventure that very moment to allow myself time to think and absorb what has happened. Do i take this paladin’s status or do i grant him more XP for his dealing with the people and evil cult leader. Sure violence could have been prevented but at the same time he had every right to be violent.