Hubler House Rules: Paladins

Paladins are the ultimate examples of a holy warrior. Why not change that to something a bit more realistic?

In nearly any RPG that has a paladin class there are rules or expectations that anyone belonging to that fantasy class has to follow a strict and binding code of conduct based on the ideals of good and right. But how can such a class really only be “good” when such ideals are so very objective? I once wrote a guide on how to roleplay a paladin’s code and I gave some examples of what different codes looked like.

I haven’t changed my stance on all that. If you wish to play a Paladin strictly by the rules you need to be educated as to the expectations of what is and isn’t a Good aligned action. However, I did begin wondering if a house rule for the Pathfinder RPG might be a good answer to the common issues people find when playing a paladin in that game.

House Rule: Attach The Paladin To Authority, Not Religion
Let’s face it, no one is going to fully agree on what is and isn’t a Good aligned act. My opinion of what is an Evil act will always be counter to someone else’s. We can’t rely upon the alignment system so heavily as to keep a class deeply tied to it. Instead, we need to tie the paladin class to something that can be easily defined and tracked.

The word paladin has similar roots to the word palace. It referred to a servant or offical attached to the palace and the royal family, loyal to that government and the ideals they believed in. It was taken over by romantic literature about King Arthur and his court, with his holy knights being called paladins. The deeply Christian idealism that the later versions of the tales carried ended up attaching itself to those knights and the term paladin. Later, when D&D introduced a class that was based on those holy knights it used those tales, and the Christian idealism attached, to define the paladin class.

So here is the house rule: Paladins do not need to be Good aligned but they must be Lawful. Paladins are dedicated to an organization as protectors, servants, and private militia members. They are to follow a strict code of conduct laid out by their organization, they cannot act against that organization’s interests, and they must follow the orders given to them by their superiors. Evil paladins use the antipaladin class. Lawful Neutral paladins choose which of the two classes to follow at character creation.

Paladins who lose their Lawful alignment, who act against their dedicated organization, or fail to follow their code of conduct, lose all benefits of their class abilities and cannot gain any additional levels in the paladin class until they have atoned and are forgiven.

Paladins must be dedicated to a religion, a noble house, a government, or a large organization. They cannot be lone agents and must have superiors that they can directly report to. Paladins exist to serve and protect the group they are dedicated to. Paladins still cast divine spells, as their magical power comes from their faith in, and dedication to, their cause.

Effects of the House Rule
The intended effects are to open up the paladin class to a greater purpose in the narrative. They can now be seperate from religion without negating their original purpose. This also causes more of a discussion at the table for what the GM and the player expect in terms of that code of conduct. If a paladin is attached to the royal family she is more likely to follow a code of conduct that keeps her vigilant of danger to that family, sends her out to defeat their enemies, and doing things that help keep them in power. Deciding what that code is will help both the GM and player define the world, flavor the game, and give purpose to action.

Having a superior to report to, such as a king or a high preistess, also gives the GM and player more to use in keeping the paladin grounded and in line with the order. Now the class as something more tangible to be accountable to. The GM has a major NPC who can call the paladin out for toeing the line or breaking the code. There can be some conflict where the paladin’s loyalties are pulled in two directions, but this shouldn’t be any more severe than the conflicts cause by the current rules.

What do you think? Could this work? I admit that this is a bit of a rough idea, so feel free to offer up your thoughts.