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AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 09:55 AM
So, I really feel…cheated of a good, noble death. It’s weird, but…it happened.

Due to setting off a trap, my paladin/crusader and some his comrades were trapped in a solid wall of force that was filling up with a mist that was causing us drowning checks. Our DM was being nice and making it a flat DC 16 fort check instead of a steadily rising con Check, and it took two failure to drop us unconscious.

Through trial and experimentation, we discovered that my crusaders Foehammer and Mountain Hammer maneuvers would crack the shell long enough to get one person out. So, every turn, I cracked the wall, and one person would squeeze through the opening. First out was the wizard, who had failed two saves and had to be thrown. Then the cleric, to whom the same thing had happened. Because they were lying there inert, I sent the monk (trained in heal) out there to help them. At this point, the fighter who was in there, helping me, dropped unconscious due to failed saves. The DM was not being nice to me…I made save after save trying to figure out a way to strike the wall and hurl the fighter out. It ended in me managing to put the fellow on my shoulder, slam the wall with a warhammer, and toss him out. The round I did that in, I got my first failed fort save, upon which my DM said I could feel my lungs filling with water. Still, I was able to hurl my friend out of the wall of death and pick up the gear I’d dropped. Armed and ready, I make my next fort save.

Nat 1. I drop unconscious. IRL, the group panics. And I mean they PANIC. I have been playing the laid-back moral compass of the group…My paladin didn’t police, but he was kind and noble and to many of them, a bit of an innocent…he was a farm-raised boy and it reflected in the way he treated things and people. They didn’t want him dead. Well, the rogue did, but that’s because the player hates me IRL (he’s the person my inevitable conflict thread was about). The swashbuckler’s player almost started crying. And then we switched to the portion of the party that was pursuing a hag coven.

I sat back and actually smiled, because you know what? How much of a better death can a Paladin 5/Crusader 1 with an utter devotion to his friends and his god ask for? I saved every single person in that orb with my conviction and devotion to my god, hurling a fully armored fighter to safety with my lungs filled with water before giving in. My friends would have seen nothing more than me hurling our friend to safety before the wall closed in and then…nothing but silence. The wizard player gave me a back-thumping man-hug, saying that this was the first time he’d seen a paladin played as he imagined it instead of a fighter with a superiority complex. The monk-player who plays a paladin in another game gave me a salute. All in all, I was proud. In game, enough time had passed that the monk was now flailing at the wall in a panic (his character had grown very close to mine, due to mine saving his life, trusting him, and backing him up in matters of honor) and trying to figure out if he could leap the wall and rig up a pulley system.

I stepped outside to call my girlfriend in our downtime and we talked for a while. When I returned, I was greeted with triumphant shouts of joy and given a beartackle hug by the swashbuckler. They saved me. Thanks to some shenanigans with an elixer of firebreathing and the cleric, having been healed up via wands, charging through the flames to drag my unconscious body through the opened up hole.

The party was ecstatic, I was happy, and the DM gave me a giant grin and a handshake. I was simultaneously ectstatic about this and a little sad. I felt cheated of an amazingly poetic death…while I wasn’t even there. But the party seemed so very happy I didn’t want to say anything about it.

Still, it allowed me to have a bit of a moment of badass. While the cleric and monk and wizard are all thanking me, we hear the swashbuckler’s character scream in the distance. Having recently regained consciousness, I hit myself with lay on hands, charges of a cure mod wand, and start running. The cleric catches up to me and says

Cleric: “Haven’t you done enough heroics for the day?”

Paladin, stonefaced, with water dripping off his face and still coughing up liquid as he runs: “Nope. Paladin.”

The party was really, really happy, though I was a bit disappointed. Still, I’m hoping for a heroic death again.

SolkaTruesilver
2010-04-23, 10:01 AM
+1


That is all

Starbuck_II
2010-04-23, 10:01 AM
That would have been a good death.

Glad you lived though. Allthough, I'm uncertain how you broke Force walls...

BRC
2010-04-23, 10:03 AM
Cleric: “Haven’t you done enough heroics for the day?”

Paladin, stonefaced, with water dripping off his face and still coughing up liquid as he runs: “Nope. Paladin.”
Dear Wizards of the Coast: Put this quote into ANYTHING you write about paladins.

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 10:04 AM
I don't think they were force walls, but honestly, I'm guessing mostly because my DM realized too late he created a trap that would TPK and he didn't want that.

Mountain Hammer and Foe Hammer penetrate all DR, so I think he was just trying to toss us a bone. He expected me to save myself and help people from the outside, but I realized I was the hardiest of the players and couldn't risk people dropping unconscious inside without someone consistently working to save them. So I stayed inside and I played the goddamn paladin.

Forever Curious
2010-04-23, 10:04 AM
These are the epic moments of pure win I strive for. Thanks for posting this, it made my day. :smallbiggrin:

Forever Curious ~

Blackfang108
2010-04-23, 10:11 AM
Cleric: “Haven’t you done enough heroics for the day?”

Paladin, stonefaced, with water dripping off his face and still coughing up liquid as he runs: “Nope. Paladin.”

EXCELLENT line.

Epic. Quite Epic.

SolkaTruesilver
2010-04-23, 10:12 AM
These are the epic moments of pure win I strive for. Thanks for posting this, it made my day. :smallbiggrin:

Forever Curious ~

This is one my group and I went through years ago (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49495)

It's not as poetically heroic as the OP's paladin, but I was shaking in my boots the whole time, and it did save the whole group. It is remembered as the finest piece of RPG we ever had as a group.

QuantumSteve
2010-04-23, 10:12 AM
That was one of the better RP stories I have heard all year. Kudos. :smallbiggrin:

paddyfool
2010-04-23, 10:20 AM
Inspirational, sir. I salute you.

Cuaqchi
2010-04-23, 10:22 AM
Isn't it great when paladins are played as paladins? Really, who else but a paladin would so willingly sacrifice themselves to save the party?

Also, I understand what you mean about missing out on a heroic death. Sometimes it just seems right for a character to die, even if you want to keep playing them and this was one of those moments.

SolkaTruesilver
2010-04-23, 10:26 AM
Also, I understand what you mean about missing out on a heroic death. Sometimes it just seems right for a character to die, even if you want to keep playing them and this was one of those moments.

But think of it for the other players' perspective. They are SO happy to have reaped him from the clutches of Death. They LOVED the guy.

Traveler
2010-04-23, 10:31 AM
You sir, had one of those great moments in role playing that many of us wish we had the oppertunity to achieve and for that, you did not loose out on a Noble Death. No, you simply had a test run for what it would be like when your last moment of glory arrives.

Of course hopfully your character lives till a nice old age and dies a peaceful death.:smallwink:

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 10:35 AM
But think of it for the other players' perspective. They are SO happy to have reaped him from the clutches of Death. They LOVED the guy.

Which is what makes ME okay with it. There was a brief conversation about how to raise me if I died, where I said it was okay for it not to happen, since I'm not the type of guy who likes the revolving-door afterlife. The wizard-player responded with this:

"Don't be ridiculous. Yeah, if you died in a random fight with a bunch of ogres, sure, it would feel lame for you to be brought back. But you died saving our lives, man. Sure, on one side of it, you died a good death and any god would be happy to have a character that noble at its side...but what good god, for the sake of the world, wouldn't want an agent that devoted still fighting for good on the material plane?"

Brings to mind a quote from a favorite movie, Stranger Than Fiction (spoilered because its essentially the end of the movie:


Said about Howard Crick, who goes to meet his death to save a little boy he doesn't know from the same fate and now knows it, by the woman who unknowingly decreed his death and at the last moment, changed it (without Harold's knowledge) to allow him to live:

"But if a man does know he's about to die and dies anyway. Dies- dies willingly, knowing that he could stop it, then- I mean, isn't that the type of man who you want to keep alive?"

CarpeGuitarrem
2010-04-23, 10:44 AM
Cleric: “Haven’t you done enough heroics for the day?”

Paladin, stonefaced, with water dripping off his face and still coughing up liquid as he runs: “Nope. Paladin.”

Words cannot describe. Well, okay, they kinda did already. But yeah. This is what a paladin should be like.

Cool story, although every time I think "a noble death", I think of the Operative from Serenity...

Scarey Nerd
2010-04-23, 11:05 AM
That is just about the singular most epic thing I have ever seen, and I've seen Pulp Fiction. And kudos for managing to make a Paladin well-liked by a party, as many people have problems with them as I'm sure everyone on this forum knows. And the 'Nope. Paladin' line made me want to hug my computer screen. Thank you good sir.

Radar
2010-04-23, 11:09 AM
Now that is a magnificant example of roleplaying!

It would have been a great ending for the character, yet now you can strive to top it with more noble heroics. It also seems to have created a very special bond between characters - something to be cherished. Besides: you got to play the hero and save everyone else and a moment after they got to playt heroes to save you. If your character would die there, their heroics would be in vain.

ka_bna
2010-04-23, 11:15 AM
Great story!

Now you can live to die another noble day!:smallbiggrin:

GenPol
2010-04-23, 11:18 AM
Great line, great group, great character! This makes me want to roll up a paladin. :smallbiggrin:

TheCountAlucard
2010-04-23, 11:35 AM
(applauds) As cool a story as any.

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 12:33 PM
And kudos for managing to make a Paladin well-liked by a party, as many people have problems with them as I'm sure everyone on this forum knows.


Never understood that. Though I guess it's a common feeling...when I said I wanted to play a paladin (this is the first game I've ever played), the DM and the other person I was meeting with said "Uh-oh..." and started laughing. But...I didn't know why. And as I played my paladin (and I play him to the hilt lawful good, just...capable of compromise), the party rapidly warmed up to him, especially when compared to the other worshipper of the same god, a cleric of Heironeous, my character was severely laid back (at one point telling the cleric to get the stick outta his rear-end and just deal with it).

One of the key lines in the paladin class description is that you can ignore evil for a time for the sake of a greater good. In light of that, why can't I ignore the teenaged monk oggling some breasts when I know that if I've got to face down an evil cult, he's got my back? No one in the party (except for the rogue) is a brutal heartless cutthroat.

The group has some problems with their conceptualization of alignments, too. I'm hoping to crack them out of that (chaotic neutral isn't madcap crazy, etc.) but we'll see. Events like this make my characters and my actions memorable and I love it.

J.Gellert
2010-04-23, 01:14 PM
Awesome story. I wish more of our games were like that.

Flail_master
2010-04-23, 01:44 PM
You sir... are my role model for playing my paladin!

i want everyone in my party to feel the same way about my Paladin! u truly broke the mould and i salute and congratulate you!

this is exactly how the paladin is meant to be portrayed

SolkaTruesilver
2010-04-23, 01:56 PM
You sir... are my role model for playing my paladin!

i want everyone in my party to feel the same way about my Paladin! u truly broke the mould and i salute and congratulate you!

this is exactly how the paladin is meant to be portrayed

He did not "break a mold". He tried to apply the spirit of the real "Heroic and Galant Knight" without taking it as a license to being a jerk.

The same thing applies to a well-played evil character. It doesn't give you the right to kill the other party members. I once played a bad guy that was fondly remembered and brought a lot of fun to the team. being evil doesn't mean you have to ruin everyone's fun.

He seems to be a good player that I'd be proud to have at my table, methink.

Cuaqchi
2010-04-23, 02:06 PM
He did not "break a mold". He tried to apply the spirit of the real "Heroic and Galant Knight" without taking it as a license to being a jerk.

The same thing applies to a well-played evil character. It doesn't give you the right to kill the other party members. I once played a bad guy that was fondly remembered and brought a lot of fun to the team. being evil doesn't mean you have to ruin everyone's fun.

He seems to be a good player that I'd be proud to have at my table, methink.

+1

It would seem that everyone here is rejoicing in the nobility of a well played paladin. I only wish they weren't so rare...

Eldonauran
2010-04-23, 02:21 PM
+1

It would seem that everyone here is rejoicing in the nobility of a well played paladin. I only wish they weren't so rare...

Well, the PHB does say that a lot of people are called to be a Paladin and yet, few are chosen. I guess the same thing goes with those who play Paladins.

But, yeah. Great story. Everyone at work is asking me why I have such a big grin on my face.

BRC
2010-04-23, 02:23 PM
The "Lawful Stupid" Paladin tends to take the approach "I Am Lawful Good, ergo, anything I do is Lawful Good". That's not an absolute, but you get the idea. They get a superiority complex and use that to justify bossing around/judging the party.

A Proper Paladin should try to inspire good deeds by example. They do not try to change the ways of others, they try to convince others to change themselves.
If a Paladin stands fast and defends a village from a group of marauding ogres, he is not just fighting to defend the innocents or to end the evil the ogres represent. His true victory is in the hearts and minds of the villagers who see him defend them, respect him for it, and in the process try to act a little more like him.

The way I see it, a paladin who sacrifices himself to save his party does not do so because he has a death wish, or because he is bound by some idiotic code to never retreat. He sacrifices himself in order to inspire his party to be better people on his account.

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 02:31 PM
A Proper Paladin should try to inspire good deeds by example. They do not try to change the ways of others, they try to convince others to change themselves.
If a Paladin stands fast and defends a village from a group of marauding ogres, he is not just fighting to defend the innocents or to end the evil the ogres represent. His true victory is in the hearts and minds of the villagers who see him defend them, respect him for it, and in the process try to act a little more like him.

The way I see it, a paladin who sacrifices himself to save his party does not do so because he has a death wish, or because he is bound by some idiotic code to never retreat. He sacrifices himself in order to inspire his party to be better people on his account.

This is true, but not entirely. "Teach by Example" is one of the core examples of my paladin's beliefs...he'll never lecture and will almost never preach, but he hopes his actions inspire others. One of the happiest moments in his life is when he knelt down to pray for guidance during a difficult time in the party's adventures and the generally doubting and mildly agnostic swashbuckler knelt down beside him and prayed to HER GOD in hopes that they would answer.

(after this, he nudged the NPC cleric of the same god that the other characters HATED and murmured "Honey and Vinegar, my brother")

But as for why he saved people or defends them or anything like that? It's still because its the good and right thing to do. He saved his party because they are his friends. And because he treats them like his friends and not his charges, they treat him like a friend and not someone they have to put up with.

BRC
2010-04-23, 02:34 PM
But as for why he saved people or defends them or anything like that? It's still because its the good and right thing to do. He saved his party because they are his friends. And because he treats them like his friends and not his charges, they treat him like a friend and not someone they have to put up with.
I said he does not JUST defend the village in order to protect the villagers and defeat evil, he does it for those reasons, but also to inspire the villagers to be good people.

AtwasAwamps
2010-04-23, 02:36 PM
I said he does not JUST defend the village in order to protect the villagers and defeat evil, he does it for those reasons, but also to inspire the villagers to be good people.

Totally missed the just, which is why I was confused. Carry on.

We are a hedge.

Lix Lorn
2010-05-19, 10:10 AM
This is truly awesome. (nodnodnod)
Can I quote your line from the end of the story? With 'No. Paladin.'?

AtwasAwamps
2010-05-19, 10:22 AM
This is truly awesome. (nodnodnod)
Can I quote your line from the end of the story? With 'No. Paladin.'?

Go ahead :) Glad you enjoyed it.

Lix Lorn
2010-05-19, 10:25 AM
Thanks! ^_^

Tulio d Bard
2010-05-19, 01:53 PM
That was Epic!
After almost dying this way, I think it would be better to die a peaceful death in the end, instead of a heroic one. You know, if you die saving everybody it would either make this one you told us fade or the opposite (the event of your death will be forgotten because of this other).

Elfin
2010-05-19, 02:10 PM
Wow. This is just spectacular.
Awesome.

Lev
2010-05-19, 02:37 PM
Atwas, I added you to my buddy list.

AtwasAwamps
2010-05-19, 02:51 PM
Atwas, I added you to my buddy list.

What more could a paladin hope for?

(We have buddy lists on here? woah...)

Melayl
2010-05-19, 10:25 PM
This is a great story (which I just re-read).

Also this :

So I stayed inside and I played the goddamn paladin. is another awesome quote.

Congratulations for showing the world how a paladin is supposed to be.

true_shinken
2010-05-19, 10:51 PM
Awesome!
You, sir, are my hero.

Skeppio
2010-05-20, 12:43 AM
Now THAT is how a Paladin is meant to be played. Kudos to you, good sir. May Heironeous bless you and your journey!

Thajocoth
2010-05-20, 01:02 AM
That's awesome!

Bookworm42
2010-05-21, 12:30 PM
I too hold a special place in my heart for Paladins and I am very moved by your Paladin's actions, you do credit to all who call themselves Paladins.

On a semi-related note may I sig your "No, Paladin." quote as well?

Ossian
2010-05-21, 01:14 PM
Hats off to the noble player! :smallsmile:

WorstDMEver
2010-06-04, 09:53 PM
I haven't played a paladin since just a few years after they were printed. About 24 years ago. Probably because I'm a lazy role player. My paladin was similar but of noble birth and bearing, so grated a little on the other characters but was a jovial and generally likeable fellow when he wasn't moaning about sleeping on the ground. My RP laziness has taken hold since then and I usually play the stoic or mildly grumpy types - closer to my personality.

Bharg
2010-06-05, 02:47 AM
I really enjoyed your story. Dieing while showing off an act of kindness still sounds better than it actually is, tough. Continuing to serve your god and living on is always better, because in the end you're still just an paladin.
It's what they do.
Before your next chance of dieing an honorable death the paladin should probably discreetly start talking about heros and their great memorials with his party member's. Probably they will get the hint. Just in case...

jpreem
2010-06-05, 03:48 AM
What was the int score of the paladin?
Did he realize that he put all of his party in grave danger, by not removing the only guy who could destroy their prison out of harms way the first. If he were to drop - every single of them would have died in the sphere.

Cogidubnus
2010-06-05, 04:32 AM
What was the int score of the paladin?
Did he realize that he put all of his party in grave danger, by not removing the only guy who could destroy their prison out of harms way the first. If he were to drop - every single of them would have died in the sphere.

But if he hasn't been in there, who would have thrown the fighter out?

Ed: And what 5th level Paladin can't reliably pass a DC 16 Fort save?

Bharg
2010-06-05, 04:58 AM
What was the int score of the paladin?
Did he realize that he put all of his party in grave danger, by not removing the only guy who could destroy their prison out of harms way the first. If he were to drop - every single of them would have died in the sphere.

Heroics consist of 50% willingness for self sacrifice and 50% stupidness.

DarkLightDragon
2010-06-05, 09:30 AM
Awesome... Just awesome... Also nice to see such great roleplayers...

Serpentine
2010-06-05, 09:46 AM
Ed: And what 5th level Paladin can't reliably pass a DC 16 Fort save?1. If you have to do enough of them, you'll fail eventually. As demonstrated by the fact that:
2. he rolled a natural 1.

AtwasAwamps
2010-06-05, 07:37 PM
I too hold a special place in my heart for Paladins and I am very moved by your Paladin's actions, you do credit to all who call themselves Paladins.

On a semi-related note may I sig your "No, Paladin." quote as well?

Of course, and thank you for the flattery ;)


What was the int score of the paladin?
Did he realize that he put all of his party in grave danger, by not removing the only guy who could destroy their prison out of harms way the first. If he were to drop - every single of them would have died in the sphere.

Fairly above average, as it allowed him to make the following conclusions:

1 - Of those in the sphere, he had the highest fort save by a long shot thanks to stats and multiclassing, meaning he was the most reliable method of getting people out of there. I had to roll a 3 or lower to fail my save.

2 - Checking with my DM, I was told that someone on the inside would need to throw the characters out and by the time I started cracking the shell, we were already close to losing people. Knowing that I was most likely the one to survive, I stayed inside in case things went sour. All it would have taken with no one inside is one extra round of unconsciousness for a death. And that risk was unacceptable.

Was it the smartest course for the survival of individuals...no. Was it the only way to guarantee saving the entire group? Yes. Heroism and pragmatism are not mutually exclusive, but often must be.

Khaeta
2010-06-06, 07:31 PM
...Finding this thread made my day. This sort of thing is what I think RPGs are all about, and I hope that someday I can be with a party like that and have something like that happen in my group.

...

Also, I may now have to play a paladin :smallredface:

Doresain
2010-06-06, 11:08 PM
wow...i usually play the evil mastermind or the self-serving war profiteer, but this actually makes me want to play a paladin


touche

drengnikrafe
2010-06-06, 11:23 PM
Reading this thread reminded me of why I love paladins. It also prompted me to link to your story in my sig as a reflex. Err... Can I have your permission to do so? I'll remove it if you'd prefer, but I figure it's the type of thing that should be spread.

Froogleyboy
2010-06-07, 12:33 AM
This is just pure awesomesauce. You have made me want to give playing a paladin a try (I usually play rogues )

Rokurai
2010-06-07, 05:15 AM
You're one of the few I've seen who actually played the paladin as a paladin should be played. I'll be expecting more of this.

Grogmir
2010-06-07, 08:25 AM
To the OP – epic story – great ‘sacrifice’ – don’t feel bad about being saved. You’ve got all the kudos in that party – and sounds like the GM was just trying to keep her party happy – one expects the player to be a little upset – but if the whole group is freaking out I would do anything to let them save the guy.

I wish I played with guys like you that actually think - what would my 'Character Do?'

-----

Could I threadjack this with my own humble story of when DnD / Roleplaying goes ‘right’?

I was playing a Dwarven DragonShaman – Grogmir - Lawful Good – usual party – another was playing a ‘doppelganger’ type – basically could shapeshift. Don't remember the exact race. He’s got a pack of cards that he plays with (deck of many things) (Cheese I know but not my campaign)

Anyroad – we are under orders from the local Nature spirit to clear out some evil bears from a cave up a mountain.

We climb up to the entrance – all fail our spot checks and get bull rushed by the biggest dire bear you’ve ever seen, the 1st PC– our meat shield gets pushed off easily. Next in line is the doppelganger – there’s nothing he can do – so he throws a card…

DM rolls in plain sight - Bam – Great big freakin Demon appears – kills the bear instantly but its way out of our CR. That TPK look starts going round the group.

‘Lets get the hell out of here’ is the general consensus. We blast open the portal that the Nature Spirit gave us to travel back to her, when the DM starts cackling/laughing (never a good sign) He reads the Demon’s powers – constricts portals. Give us a break!

So the portal is now only the size of a tiny person. Who’s the only PC that could get through now? Yep the Doppel that summoned the demon in the first place!

The rest are cursing his name and watching that little movie that plays when your life is flashing before your guys – we can’t even touch this thing – so on my turn

Me ‘I jump across a large ravine – turn and eh… mock the demon’
DM ‘Mock it?’
Me ‘ Yeah you know – mother is a beardless whore - From a pit of flames? More like a flaming PIT! – that kinda stuff’ ‘ I want it to attack me’
DM ‘Ok it’s angry – its coming for you.’
Me ‘it has to make a jump check right?
DM ‘yep’
The whole Group finally seeing what I’m trying starts ‘Please roll a 1, please roll a 1’

Dm rolls… Bounce; Bounce; one!!! It’s only a (insert word) one! The demon falls long enough for the portal to un-constrict and we all jump through.

We appear 2 miles away – with the Doppel looking sheepish but we’ve got bigger fish to fry. We hear a mighty roar in the distance – the earth shakes and we see the tree’s near the cave start toppling as the Demon tracks us down for the kill.

At this point the group is discussing ways to get as far away as possible – most likely in different directions just to give us some more time. We are running out of time – out of options when I announce

Me ‘I walked towards it’
Another PC ‘YOU’RE GOING TO FIGHT IT?’
Me ‘Yep and I’ll probably die’

I would love to tell you I fell fighting that Demon – but alas the DM had ruled the fall had injured it – had toned it down to a very hard level encounter (We didn’t know this at the time) and with a little luck and a lot of healing we managed to take it down.

But for a while there I had never felt so badass, to quote every ones favourite villain.

Thanks for reading – and sorry again for the threadjack.

Happy Rollin’

P.S the poor guy died fighting nondescript orcs in the next session – some deaths just arn’t epic I guess.

AtwasAwamps
2010-06-07, 08:35 AM
Good stories always make me happy!

For those of you asking about sigging the story or whatever...yeah. Blanket permission. Sig it, quote it, what have you. I never expected so many people to like it, I just wanted to tell a satisfying story!

Lix Lorn
2010-06-07, 08:56 AM
(epic story)
Haha. Awesome.

Aeromyre
2010-06-07, 09:05 AM
My Paladin is a warforged i'd do the exact thing you did, i wouldn't drown though.

Dalek-K
2011-01-02, 01:19 PM
+1


That is all

+5
----
OP gets

+1 For epic story
+2 For epic one liner (Nope. Paladin)
+2 For epic stick of the ass paladin

Callista
2011-01-02, 01:40 PM
Nicely done. It's kind of sad that people are surprised that a paladin was played like this. I mean--high charisma, Diplomacy class skill, good alignment--they should be well-liked just about wherever they go. Paladins aren't supposed to be Knight Templar types; in fact, that's the type to play if you want to play a blackguard. They're supposed to be decent people who care so much about others that they've dedicated their lives to protecting them, keeping order, and generally putting themselves in sticky situations so other people can stay out of them.

But this sort of heroics isn't restricted to paladins! You don't have to be a holy warrior to be the kind of person who's perfectly willing to die for your friends without angsting about it... (In some situations you just have to be a wizard with the Benign Transposition spell... I should know. And she survived both times. Wizards are tricky like that...)

hamishspence
2011-01-02, 01:47 PM
Nicely done. It's kind of sad that people are surprised that a paladin was played like this. I mean--high charisma, Diplomacy class skill, good alignment--they should be well-liked just about wherever they go. Paladins aren't supposed to be Knight Templar types; in fact, that's the type to play if you want to play a blackguard. They're supposed to be decent people who care so much about others that they've dedicated their lives to protecting them, keeping order, and generally putting themselves in sticky situations so other people can stay out of them.

True- the problem is, that some of the splatbooks, and some of the novels, tend not to portray them this way.

Plus, some rules are very subject to interpretation.

"Will not continue an association with someone who consistantly offends against their moral code" is sometimes taken as a licence for the paladin to say "conform or I'll leave".

"Punish those who harm or threaten the innocent" is sometimes taken to an extreme, with the paladin being extremely harsh toward the slightest infraction that can be interpreted that way.

And so on.

Paladins can be played as less judgemental and more easygoing than the stereotype, though. If the player stresses "altruistic, heroic, and kindly" and avoids excessive judgementalness- their paladin can be much easier to get along with.

I suppose it's possible to take it too far the other way- with a paladin not killing even when the situation warrants it- and trying to stop the other players from killing in these situations as well.

But "brutal, judgemental paladin" seems to be a more common problem style than "overpacifistic paladin".

Heliomance
2011-01-02, 02:52 PM
Necromancy is [evil].

hamishspence
2011-01-02, 02:58 PM
It's more "some necromancy spells have the [evil] tag"

In editions all the way up to 3.5, there were at least a few Necromancy spells that didn't have the [evil] tag- or text suggesting it was evil to cast the spell.

Grelna the Blue
2011-01-02, 03:19 PM
Necromancy is [evil].


It's more "some necromancy spells have the [evil] tag"

In editions all the way up to 3.5, there were at least a few Necromancy spells that didn't have the [evil] tag- or text suggesting it was evil to cast the spell.

Heh. I believe she was referring to real world necromancy, of the thread-like persuasion. :smallamused:

hamishspence
2011-01-02, 03:28 PM
Ah- I didn't spot it had been necroed-

because the post at the top of the page was dated to today.

Turgon9357
2011-10-23, 03:49 PM
This deserves to be put into an OotS-style comic. Anyone up for it?

Dvil
2011-10-23, 05:49 PM
Necromancy is [evil].

Obligatory extra characters. :smalltongue:

Sith_Happens
2011-10-24, 10:14 PM
This deserves to be put into an OotS-style comic. Anyone up for it?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3739013167_c03b7660d3.jpg

:tongue:

AtwasAwamps
2011-10-25, 09:13 AM
::chuckle:: Bookmark the thread if you like, but let's let this die, like my paladin has yet to do.

Still trucking.

Morph Bark
2011-10-25, 09:30 AM
Do tell me when and how he actually meets/met his end. Colour me interested. :smallamused:

Wamyen
2014-01-15, 02:38 AM
The party was really, really happy, though I was a bit disappointed. Still, I’m hoping for a heroic death again.

It's probably been said already, (I really don't want to read through all three pages of comments), but you weren't robbed. The group as a whole was enriched. They were allowed to use ingenuiety to figure out a way to save a beloved party member. You should definetly take it well (and love the character all the more yourself) because of this. You don't hear of many D&D games where someone almost starts crying because of your character being in danger. You made a character that has effected real life people enough to ellicit that kind of response... and that's some pretty amazing roleplaying. Wow... I just looked at the date on this. Oops.

Sith_Happens
2014-01-15, 03:05 AM
Must this thread's death be sullied again!?:smalltongue:

Lix Lorn
2014-01-15, 05:32 AM
Its work is not yet done.
Paladin.

ElenionAncalima
2014-01-15, 01:15 PM
This is a really great story. Wish more people would play Paladins like that.

Cruiser1
2014-02-11, 03:54 PM
Its work is not yet done.
Paladin.
Indeed, it's easy to die for a cause, but much harder to live for a cause!

BootStrapTommy
2014-02-11, 08:53 PM
This is a really great story. Wish more people would play Paladins like that. This is effectively how I have always played paladins. Which I was inspire to always do... by this very thread.