I grew up with only LG paladins. It's been opened up now and I'm OK with that. So, it would be good to have more types of Paladins. Xanther's has the LE version and pacifist version.
I've been teaching my son about Greyhawk and all the background if that awesome setting. There is more of an....active version of Neutral than other game systems. I like that aspect where you can have someone who believes in balance and works against all forces that get too strong.
My likes the Hero God Kelenan, the Prince of Swords. He not only believes in perfect balance in dueling, but as an overall philosophy. His clerics will actively work against any side that gets too powerful. My son thought it would be cool to have a Paladin of his that believed in Balance.
Any chance something like that could pop up on a future product?
Really, a few of the paladin oaths don't really "require" you to be of a particular alignment. You could have a true neutral oath of devotion if you really wanted to, for example.
Agreed. The vengeance and ancients oaths certainly don't feel LG-specific. The ancients oath could be easily reskinned to reflect a balance motive. Maybe replace a few of the oath spells, and swap the "Turn the Faithless" into an ability which targets celestials and fiends, instead of feys and fiends.
Paladins are servants of the gods. Therefore, they should emulate the alignment of whatever god they champion, and that god can absolutely be neutral. So long as your paladin acts in accordance with your god's edicts, there shouldn't be a problem... unless your DM is some kind of weird 3.5e purist.
I'm of the opinion that the paladin class is fundamentally lawful (except oathbreaker). Since the whole point of being a paladin is taking an oath to uphold.
And whether or not the cause you serve is lawful or not, your service to that cause is lawful. Similar to how all (Faerun) angels are lawful good even if they serve a chaotic evil God.
It's worth noting that in 5th edition, the Paladin class is no longer directly connected with gaining power from a deity, in the way that it was in previous editions.
The Paladin's powers come from their Oath, rather than a deity.
It's perfectly ok to have a very religious and devout paladin, in the same way you could have a devout Fighter or Rogue.
You can even homebrew that in your campaign, the paladin power does come from a deity.
-Watchers is probably the one most lacking in a moral inclination from their tenets, as it's all about being ready to fend off extra-planar beings without caveats about whether or not they're harmful
-Glory similarly is mostly just about personal discipline rather than leaning towards either end of the morality spectrum.
-Conquest has a strong "Evil" vibe, but you can fit a ruthless but not malicious character in the tenets as well; similar deal for Vengeance
-Crown also allows for the classic "Lawful Neutral" of someone who obeys the laws and duly appointed authority
-Really, you can finesse most of the options into Neutral one way or the other, carrying out your oath because of obligation but without the fundamental drive to do good for its own sake.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I grew up with only LG paladins. It's been opened up now and I'm OK with that. So, it would be good to have more types of Paladins. Xanther's has the LE version and pacifist version.
I've been teaching my son about Greyhawk and all the background if that awesome setting. There is more of an....active version of Neutral than other game systems. I like that aspect where you can have someone who believes in balance and works against all forces that get too strong.
My likes the Hero God Kelenan, the Prince of Swords. He not only believes in perfect balance in dueling, but as an overall philosophy. His clerics will actively work against any side that gets too powerful. My son thought it would be cool to have a Paladin of his that believed in Balance.
Any chance something like that could pop up on a future product?
Thanks!
Really, a few of the paladin oaths don't really "require" you to be of a particular alignment. You could have a true neutral oath of devotion if you really wanted to, for example.
Agreed. The vengeance and ancients oaths certainly don't feel LG-specific. The ancients oath could be easily reskinned to reflect a balance motive. Maybe replace a few of the oath spells, and swap the "Turn the Faithless" into an ability which targets celestials and fiends, instead of feys and fiends.
Paladins are servants of the gods. Therefore, they should emulate the alignment of whatever god they champion, and that god can absolutely be neutral. So long as your paladin acts in accordance with your god's edicts, there shouldn't be a problem... unless your DM is some kind of weird 3.5e purist.
"The Epic Level Handbook wasn't that bad, guys.
Guys, pls."
I'm of the opinion that the paladin class is fundamentally lawful (except oathbreaker). Since the whole point of being a paladin is taking an oath to uphold.
And whether or not the cause you serve is lawful or not, your service to that cause is lawful. Similar to how all (Faerun) angels are lawful good even if they serve a chaotic evil God.
Yeah, but I'm hoping there is some official product that addresses it.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
D&D Beyond FoundersIt's worth noting that in 5th edition, the Paladin class is no longer directly connected with gaining power from a deity, in the way that it was in previous editions.
The Paladin's powers come from their Oath, rather than a deity.
It's perfectly ok to have a very religious and devout paladin, in the same way you could have a devout Fighter or Rogue.
You can even homebrew that in your campaign, the paladin power does come from a deity.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
So, if you swore loyalty to a Primordial wouldn't that change the focus of your oath? I don't think many are lawful good.
Oath of The Dude, vows to abide.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
There's several good options for a Neutral Oath:
-Watchers is probably the one most lacking in a moral inclination from their tenets, as it's all about being ready to fend off extra-planar beings without caveats about whether or not they're harmful
-Glory similarly is mostly just about personal discipline rather than leaning towards either end of the morality spectrum.
-Conquest has a strong "Evil" vibe, but you can fit a ruthless but not malicious character in the tenets as well; similar deal for Vengeance
-Crown also allows for the classic "Lawful Neutral" of someone who obeys the laws and duly appointed authority
-Really, you can finesse most of the options into Neutral one way or the other, carrying out your oath because of obligation but without the fundamental drive to do good for its own sake.