Paladins: How to RP in 5e Dungeons & Dragons - Web DM

Take some practices from the Catholic and Orthodox Church that have inspired the Paladins in the first place and then change them.

My main idea is "paladin= astartes"

I had a vengeance paladin with a serpent biting as his heraldry, he was seen as the a necessary evil.

Paladins are the cops of DnD

I played a Conquest paladin in a one-shot with my regular group (we streamed it on Twitch -- we're a small channel).

I played him as an anti-villian (see Matt Colville on Evil and the Gremacian Square): my PC saw himself as the only one capable of overcoming chaos (he was LE), and he would do anything necessary within the bounds of the law (including twisting them or utilizing loopholes)

Paladins were powerful, but the restrictions of their alignment back when alignment meant something more than made up for it. In the 80s hardly anyone wanted to play Paladins because it was difficult. And the life expectancy of a Paladin was really low. This could be that we were playing them "wrong" but that's how it was in my experience. The Paladins of 5e are pretty much anime heroes. Tenets? Oaths? You can torture any of those to fit your rationalization. As bad as it sounds, 5e has greenlit murder hobos like no other edition.

My Oath of the Ancients Paladin is one who holds dear to the lands and cares deeply on nature and lawful nature of the world. I feel like I’m that one dnd player that doesn’t have a family member dying for a backstory😂 I added my native background from my grandfather into my Paladin as my gods are more related to the spirits of animals and I give my thanks to all offerings and connections they grant me with the life of my journey.

My Oath of Vengeance Paladin had seen the world end and the party fall and was sent back in time to prevent that from happening. She was ruthless.

Exceeding 20 years now, I have wanted to play a paladin, but I have not yet found a group who can accept a paladin who isn't lawful stupid who will smite the rogue the instant they pick a lock or pocket, or anything. 😕

Our favorite characters are paladins, their best to role-playing.

What I love about paladin's is how versatile they've become as a concept.

Not D&D, but Pathfinder led to me making one of my favorite characters I've ever played, Adran Phenry. He serves the god of family and community, so his oaths are different from say, the god of mercy or the god of justice. He seeks to help the community. Sometimes that means killing goblins, but most of the time it means building fences, repairing roofs, organizing a militia, settling disputes. It also means his ideals are more flexible. Technically, if he commits a crime and it's done for the sake of the community, it's fine. He actually technically did a no no by lying, but said lie was done to protect someone's reputation and standing in the community, therefore he did his duty. He has that righteous warrior aesthetic that I love about paladins, while also having a very grounded, realistic view of morality and the world. He won't judge you for theft or promiscuity. To him, smaller evils are to be dealt with after the big ones. He doesn't have time to deal with that sorta shit when there's a plague spreading through the poorer districts, or a blight is threatening to cause a famine.

I used Rodrigo Diaz aka El Cid’s life story as my paladin background, but tweaking to fit in the time line of the campaign Dragon Hiest. Replacing the King who exiled EL CID as Lord Dagualt Neverember. The character choosing the path of vengeance to get back what was once his.

Yo even at X2 speed you’re talking slow…

Ugh.. Colbert...

Conquest could be good. In a world of violence and evil, the good are crushed. They crush back.

I don't know much about D&D just a couple other RPG'S. Is it possible in D&D to role play as a paladin that serves the Christian God? That would make them as a sort of crusader.

My big view on paladins is that an essential component that many of them sorely lack is compassion. If you're going to be a lawful good paladin, you need to show compassion for those around you, especially the victims and downtrodden. One of my favorite characters ever written is Willard H Wright from the novel series Umineko, a witch hunter whose philosophy was to never trample on the truths of the heart of those who were innocent. To that end, he would show compassion to virtually everyone, even the witch he was sent to kill, he put her to rest as an act of mercy and then nearly lost his life to protect the person she had spent millions of attempts trying to find. It's only when facing down the cruelest witch of them all that he drops all forms of kindness and commits to putting her in the ground or dying in the attempt, all to give another person the time they needed to get away. That to me is what a paladin is, someone who comforts the distraught, shows mercy and understanding to their enemies, and is willing to risk or give up their life in defense of others. Not just the Deus Vult 4chan meme.

Green Lantern is a paladin. Will can be seen in wisdom or charisma, I think.

ew, a paladin who doesnt follow gods but rather the law and crown? sounds like a cop with extra steps

I feel like Eberron's "Church of the Silver Flame" at its best is a good core for a good Paladin. Since they believe all righteous souls go to the Flame, to strengthen it against the Demon Overlords, their goal isn't just to smite the wicked, but to teach and reform them, so that when they die, their soul is helpful. The church's core mission is rehabilitation whenever possible (With obvious fuck-ups like the Silver Crusade).

I feel like that gets at the core of what a Paladin is: a fighter for righteousness, sure, but also a paragon of righteousness trying to show people WHY it's good to be Good.