A paladin guide I found

[Pup]

Am I the only one who noticed that it was written by James Bond?

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Am I the only one who noticed that it was written by James Bond?

wut

[Pup]

It's not Easy being Good

by Roger E. Moore

"A View to a Kill"?  "Live and Let Die"?  "OCTOPUSSY"!?

[GoblinSapper]

Cool story Bro?

[Pup]

Heathens.

[Barehander]

I disagree that a Paladin, even a Tyran would ever tolerate slavery unless it was a very specific and highly regulated sort, where the slaves were all criminals and violent lawbreakers and were treated with a regulated amount of fairness whilst being forced to labor for the social good - IE, the ideal no system of slavery has ever lived up to EVER.
 
Hoar, being a diety of vengence, doesn't sound like great Paladin material either but the conflict makes sense. I don't think they'de just ACCEPT it though.
 
Oghma is a TN diety, can he even have Paladins?
 
I completly agree with your final assessment though. It's important remember for characterization as well as your own sanity that your not playing a Paladin, your playing a character that happens to be a Paladin.
 
PS: I'd be interested in looking at anything you had for Paladins of Kelemvor, to compare notes to.

Calimshan is a nation based on slavery. The church of Tyr and its paladins are the primary law enforcers of the region. Ergo: paladins of Tyr in certain societies enforce legal slavery, whatever their personal stance is.

In an ideal situation, they would probadly condemn slavery. But it's simply a fact that different virtues and duties will sometimes collide with eachother. Which is more important, to be merciful or just? To be truthful or to save a life? To go after the villain or to let him go in order to tend to the wounded victim about to die? While all paladins are LG, these are the situations that IMO make the difference between different personalities and different faiths. A Tormite might go after the villain whereas an Ilmatari stays to tend to the wounded. A Hoarran would be strictly just where a Lathanderite showed mercy and offered a new beginning. And so on.

Paladins of Tyr probably emphasise the lawful aspect of their oaths rather than the good aspect. That's why some would and do consider it more important to enforce legal society based on slavery rather than to go rogue and oppose slavery.


Oghma accepts followers of every alignment, including Lawful Good. I don't see why he wouldn't have Paladins. I suppose that's open for debate, though.

[Barehander]

It allows Paladins, which largely have identical codes and standards which they must live up too (because in D&D good, evil, law, and chaos are absolutes), to have variations and even strong, perhaps even violent, conflicts with one another.

On this note: the revised FRCS (2e) specifically states there is no one Paladin's Code shared by all paladins in the Realms. As you said, they're similar, but I'd say they're not "largely identical." The only thing they all have in common would be Lawfulness, Goodness, honor (which is culturally relative) and the few details specifically mentioned in the PHB.

I think it's imperative to keep in mind that a paladin's duty is first and foremost to his deity. IMO, everything should be interpreted from the perspective of the deity's dogma and church. Do remember that the PHB paladin is not made for Forgotten Realms but a kindergarten setting where you can worship Law or Goodness instead of an actual god. Contrary to popular opinion, a paladin is not first and foremost the champion of Law and Good. A paladin is the champion of his patron deity and everything Lawful and Good said deity represents.


About casual sex and sexual morality in general: I think it's laughable to assign alignment to it, whether Chaotic or Lawful. There is nothing inherently chaotic about sleeping around. It is 100% culture-dependant. As such, I might agree that in some nations it would be frowned upon. But you must remember Ed Greenwood is a lecherous old man and sex is more free in the Realms than in our world. It's certainly nothing like medieval Europe or Victorian England. The church of Ilmater, IIRC, organizes paladins to have wild sex with priestesses every now an then to keep their needs in check. (Or it could have just been churches in general, I'd need to look up the post on Candlekeep, in So Saith Ed.)

[GoblinSapper]

Oh i'm sure Paladins of Sune knock it frequently.
 
As you said, strictly culturally based. I suppose it's to each of us to decied where their paladin stands. Kelemvor's main concern is the treatment of the dead, and the undead, so there would be no stricty statement about slavery in his tennants. However, My Paladin is also Cormyran, and in Cormyr commoners have rights under a Constitutional Monarchy, so culturally to him it would be wrong.

[TheImpossibleDream]

I love it when somebody brings up the subject of sex in a dungeons and dragons setting. It always makes me giggle.

[derfo]

i think homosexually sleeping around should be considered evil but acting like a stuck up catholic bitch shouldn't land you lawful or good points really

[GoblinSapper]

i think homosexually sleeping around should be considered evil but acting like a stuck up catholic bitch shouldn't land you lawful or good points really

I'm not touching that one.
 
...*goes to make a Gay Paladin*