How do you create an interesting lawful-good Paladin character?

>>46128827
Make him an outcast.

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Did someone say succu-

-oh, wait, I'm assuming you want the "good" kind of interesting.

Go the Vampire Hunter D route and put a weird spell-eating mouth in his hand that always whispers about how much of a failure he is, reminding him of all the people he couldn't save, and how he should just succumb to the darkness already.

Dude, edgy Judge Dredd ripoffs lmao

>>46128827
Your choices as a LG Pally are:
>Optimus Prime
>Optimus Prime, but jaded/angry
You don't, because you can't

>>46128827
By not being an unimaginative fucktard.

>>46129371

Enlighten us, great master.

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>>46129179
Optimus is the best LG.

But yeah OP, pick a good role model and do what they'd do.

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>>46128827
I think the important thing to remember you're just as good as you are lawful.

Do the little things that a true hero would. Be the last to leave a battle in a retreat, your friends are counting on you to cover them.

Listen to people who are in need, even if you can't spare the time to help; maybe you can give them advice.

There's always a chance for redemption. A lot of paladin codes require you act lawful, not so much that you enforce the law. An orphan stealing food needs a stern talking to and maybe spare coin from your pocket, not a righteous smiting.

Your god is calling upon you to be a hero, not a tyrant.

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>>46128827

>>46128827
I made Rorschach the hospitaller once. He was a Paladin in a Pathfinder game set in the Inner Sea Setting.
He was exiled from Cheliax because he tried to fight corruption in the courts. He started off as an idealistic knight-healer and slowly became a lawful-neutral despot as the campaign continued.

Good times.

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>>46129711
Truly the embodiment of LG.

Well, OP, first figure out what kind of god or pantheon this setting has as "Defender of Humanity," and what their church is like.

Now make up a story about the kind of person who dedicate their entire life becoming a warrior in service to this church, and why.

Play that character.

If you ever find yourself asking "how do I be Lawful Good," then you may be have undiagnosed autism, and should shut up and go back to playing that character

>>46128827
My 2 cents...

First, talk with your DM and figure out how close you can toe the line before falling. You need to know how much space you've got to work within.

From there you can consider the flaws you can play with. Interesting role-play 101, realistic flaws that you have to address and work around make for interesting characters to portray.

If you can toe the line pretty far, try being a kleptomaniac, an arsonist, or some other sort of compulsive criminal. Have the character know that they have serious problems that they need to try and control, hence becoming a paladin. Less about bringing order to the world, more about bringing discipline into their own life.

If you have less leeway, try building in a reason for joining beyond "JUSTICE!" or "REVENGE!" Maybe try a hapless everyman chosen by a god, somewhat against their will; maybe an honest country bumkin with an overly simplistic understanding of good and evil/ law and chaos who finds himself at a legitimate loss when asked to handle morally difficult situations; perhaps a mentally unstable person who serves a higher power because they are too afraid make decisions for themselves, and instead try to serve a socially acceptable deity to fit in and feel normal.

>>46129789
What is this some sort of muscle Conan O'Brien?

>>46128827
Make him old and sad. Sad at all the cruelty that humanity is capable of, but grimly determined to believe that humanity is also capable of great acts of mercy and kindness, despite the crapsack world around him's every effort to prove him wrong. Have him suffer for being good, but press on in spite of it.

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>>46129636
>There's always a chance for redemption.
I would say always, but I agree that a LG Paladin shouldn't be "kill them all, my god will know their own". There are going to be some truly despicable beings they're going to run into that only someone obliviously naive would fail to see are beyond redemption (and wouldn't ever seek it), but they should be willing to hear out those who seek to repent. That doesn't mean just letting them go free with only a stern warning; but being Good is about taking the higher road and not even giving them a chance to try to redeem themselves is Lawful Neutral at best. Which is fine in and of itself, but people on /tg/ need to stop believing that the "SMITE EVERYTHING" route is LG. Be wary about how you battle monsters.

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>>46130075
It's a comedy manga that starts out really lighthearted then cranks everything to 11 and turns brutal and dark as fuck.

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>>46128827
Being Lawful Good doesn't necessarily mean he has to be boring. You have on your hands a high charisma character who is great at reading people, make him a sly socialite who uses a lot of magic devices to ply his trade. He's honorable and good in a fight, but likes to drink and indulge in women. He can throw on armor and raid a dungeon if needed, but there's just as much evil to be smote in the heart of the city, where a dinner jacket and good manners are necessary to keep you from being backstabbed. And then they'll try to backstab him anyway, but he's expecting it - after all, he's been doing this sort of thing for a while.

I'm not saying that James Bond is necessarily a Paladin, but simply that you could make a Paladin who shares a lot of qualities with James Bond

>>46128827
It's actually very simple, and it the same answer as to many main questions about characters in tabletop:
You work with your DM.
Your Paladin clearly serves a god or at the very least an idea.
Every one of his powers comes from the divines.
Every one of his actions is in service to his god or ideal.
All you have to do to make an interesting paladin, is pick out a goal that would fit a paladin. (Protect the Innocent, Vanquish Evil, Help the Wicked find salvation, seek out the Holy Grail/whatever, avenge the late, assassinated emperor, and bring peace to the realm,etc) and then have the DM figure out which god(s) would be your patrons, if you didn't choose one yourself.
Talk through with him about your character, and from that point on bam. you're set.

You don't need to start out a Jesus at level 1. You don't have to be Optimus Prime.
Just be a knight seeking to do good.
If your character would ever come to a point where his patron(s) wouldn't tolerate his next action, you'd get a warning. Because of course you would. You're a fucking Paladin. You wouldn't be one if your patrons didn't have on speed-dial.

From that point on, your character will evolve and learn like any other.
He'll slowly grow into his role as a paladin, or may refuse the call and become a blackguard, or whatever else instead, coming to disagreements with his patron(s).


So to put it basically:
Star with the Journey, not the destination, and you're golden.

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>>46128827
You'll want to to flesh out his moral outlook, his set of beliefs and ideals (i.e. "the unliving must be destroyed", "everyone deserves mercy, but the wicked already had their chance and blew it", "the will of my king must be done", etc), and how he came to those ideas.

Since you're playing someone who is most likely a religious extremist, you need to do a lot of thinking about the ideology and practices, and how your character interacts with them.
>What does he think about specific teachings (i.e. thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife)?
>how does he express faith in everyday life?
>does he think that mundane events are influenced by the divine?
>what teachings does he disagree with, or isn't so certain on?

Let your character have doubts and develop in alongside the game's events. Try to handle those conflicts and developments in a way that kind of makes sense for a human being. Even if your PC just seems nervous in the moment and tries to talk it through later, that can help add real depth. Contacting fellow clergymen is one natural way to help your character resolve these things. Keep your eyes out for omens or other signals of divine will, in both symbols and events.

Someone who is so devout that the divine literally granted him supernatural powers, that kind of person is a representative of the faith who practically radiates the ideals of the religion. So it makes sense to embody most of the tenets at least outwardly. Try to find ways to show off faithfulness at all times, especially in subtler ways that aren't so intrusive as shouting about your god.

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>>46130272
>>46130075
And here for the other side of the spectrum.

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>>46130273
>I'm not saying that James Bond is necessarily a Paladin, but simply that you could make a Paladin who shares a lot of qualities with James Bond
Or you could not and take all the kickbacks.

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>>46128827
With the manly tears of genuinely caring about your companions and the weak.

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>>46130226
Welp, glad to know no one likes my idea.

>>46128952
There was a thread a while back about Death Knights serving the public good. They were a check against rogue Necromancers and other things that go bump in the night.

Complete outcasts and good dudes.

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>>46128827
Pic related has a lot of good in him despite putting up a front of LN. He enforces the law because he feels it is the right thing to do, not out of a personal vendetta against crime. He believes so firmly in the goodness of the law that he will not break it, even to do another good.
>>46130226
>>46131120
Well, Dredd isn't very sad, but he is old.

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>>46128827
>>46131629
I remember in past threads of 'making paladins interesting' someone posted a type of Dirty Harry type of paladin. An stoic older middle-aged law enforcer who is 'getting to old for this shit'.

"Heya Harry, we need you and your party to take care of this lich problem for us. He's being a real asshole to the locals."

>I ain't got time for your liches and bitches chief. I just got back from clearing out a underground ghoul infestation. Get off my ass.

"You're out of line Harry! Get on the job or I'll bust your ass back to guard duty so fast you'll be casting cantrips for months!"

Then the paladin heads to the lich, blowing cigar smoke in his face while monologueing or something. He just doesn't care.

I dunno, I think that would be kinda cool.

>>46128827
How definite/absolute are the alignments in dnd/pathfinder?

Could a paladin be lawful good, but be devoted to a cause that seems evil? From their perspective, what they're doing is good, but from everyone else's it's evil.

Could a deity declare themselves good but require their devotees to do things which seem at face value to be evil?

It's the traintrack dilemma. There's an unstoppable train, and you choose whether it runs over ten people, or one person. Killing one saves many. Maybe razing that village and murdering everyone inside prevents something worse from happening.

Moral quandaries are kind of bullshit though.

>>46131858
Law is how one respects the rules they and society create. Good is a measure of how constructive their goals are. A person fighting to build their nation may be LG but if their leader is building their nation via slavery and atrocities (knowingly and without remorse) they are probably NE.
As for the train track dilemma, most Paladins would either choose greatest good or attempt a third option.

Lawful Good doesn't mean flawless, and too brave or too helpful in spite of danger doesn't count as a flaw.
Give them the same flaws all other characters can have. Make them gambling addicts, or xenophobic, or something else, not just a warrior that strive to be good in an evil world.
Alternatively, give them motivations that aren't just "for the greater good" or "because my god said so". Maybe this character thinks of the powers like a demon's deal: they want the powers to achieve their own goal, and are willing to accept the god's word in the mean time.

>>46128952
>"I am the hero this city needs, but not the one it deserves".

Honestly you don't see a lot of Batman paladins. vigilanty types

>>46128827
Make him conflicted. He's been doing this a long time, and he's tired. No matter how many evils he smites, there will always be another. He doesn't know if it's worth it any more.

>>46133062
Or have him be dug into his ways. The Inflexible lawman in a corrupt world makes for interesting stories.

Define Interesting.

Then really dig into the character. What was his family and childhood like? Was he born to followers of the God, or did he join later in life? When did he feel the Call, and how did it come about?

Was there a test of faith and character, did he know about the test when he took it? Was there a sacrifice, something left behind? What's the specific pact he has with his God, is there a mutual goal he is working for in specific, or is it a general "Good Deeds and Fight Enemies"?

Is he cynical and jaded, or is he optimistic and filled with awe? Is he well versed in the theology of his religion, or is he playing it by ear, trusting in his God to show him the way and that his judgement would suffice. How personal is the relationship between Paladin and God - do they converse regularly, or at all, or is it just vague signs?

All things to consider.

>>46132627
It requires being a paladin in an evil/mostly evil setting, which can suck hard.

Make the pally so stupid that they have troublev with situations where being lawful means being evil and being good means being unlawful...

>>46133543
It doesn't need to be evil. It's plenty enough if it's petty.
You could have the paladin simply be obsessed with the dark side of things. See himself as someone who belongs in the shadows, cleaning them up, rather than out in the light.

As long as there is an evil criminal organization or cult operating in the city, it can be done. It's not necessary that the entire city be a slave to it.

I always wanted to do a Paladin with the leadership feat.

Trick was that the follower was going to be a cleric he was sworn to protect, rather than a servant.

Never really fleshed it out too much, but it seemed like a neat concept.

>>46133543
Not really. Gotham is not evil, just has a lot of crime and corruption. Same goes for any setting you where you can have an evil kingdom with a lot of good people suffering while the hero laments the need to hide behind a mask to do his deeds when all the kingdom needs is a kind man to take the reins of leadership. A man that you can never be.

>>46133682
It's been a while since I saw a proper Zorro type story.
Whatever happened to those?

lel

>>46133616
>obsessed with the dark side
So.. A chuunibyo paladin? Just this guy trying to be grim dark Batman, I am vengeance I am the night, while he farts holy light and rainbows much to his frustration? Because that is a great idea

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Lawful good fascist who doesn't believe in Neutral.

Put infidels, pagans, and sinners to the sword if they don't accept Fantasy-Jesus into their lives, because only an evil man would refuse him.

>>46128827
You don't.

>>46134075
Was thinking more of a "Judge Dredd in Disneyland" kind of situation, where when everything's fine, he just sits, eats, drinks. But the moment he hears a cry for help he goes into war mode, because "Woe is the world, for such evil can exist that would disturb the land. Oh how can men have such corrupt hearts, as to threaten the righteous so?"
But that's good too.

>>46129111
>not having a Paladin that constantly berates himself over just that

You're doing it wrong if you need a spell.

I bet you don't even mope and agonize over the inconsistencies between your Paladin code and the tenets of your patron's faith.

>>46131120
Well, your idea is basically the natural conclusion to a typical Paladin's career that doesn't include lolfall.

>>46133543
>Pally
>evil setting

Yeah. Definitely a masochistic acquired taste.

>>46131858
Paladins are lG.

Small law, big Good.

They should never choose law over good, any day of the week.

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>>46129512
Do one better
have your character pick a good role model, like a legendary figure or like his father that died too early for him to learn his faults
Strive towards their perfection

>>46128827
By not being lazy and basing personality off outdated stereotypes of what each alignment should be like. Sure lawful good has the least options out of the alignments but that's still a shitload of possible combinations.

Baby-making love with rescued maidens is the epitome of Paladinhood. Prove me wrong, knaves.

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>>46138907
>Children out of wedlock
>Taking advantage of women who were just in mortal peril
>Abusing savior-status to slake your carnal lust

Get this licentious vagabond out of here.

>>46128827
Make him slightly insane from a mace blow to the head.

> Avast foul demon, you have met your match, your days of filth and heresy are done
> For I am righteous reckoning, I am justice, I am POPSICLES!
> ..."what""
> AND MY TASTY FRUITY FLAVOR SHALL VANQUISH YOU FROM THE FACE OF THIS EARTH!
> ..."seriously"
> LET THE PASSION FRUIT RECKONING COMMENCE

>>46139098

What if he is a lawfull-good Paladin... from a Norse paganism point of view?

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>>46139211

> oh no a den of Orcs, who's gonna save us

> "FEAR NOT MY BRAVE COMPANIONS, THESE FOUL WRETCHED DEMONS SHALL DINE IN THE DEPTHS OF HEL TONIGHT"

> it's Bjorn the bear cloaked paladin, yay!

> "I THE NAME OF THOR, ODINSON, THE PROTECTOR OF MANKIND, I SMITHE YOU!"

> go Bjorn go!

> *sounds of slaying*

> ...

> "dude what"
> "he bit that guy's throat off? seriously"
> "dude he""
> "he is wearing that orcs face over his own and showing it to his kids"
> "why is he making a necklace out of their genitals
> "oh god why""
> "what is he doing now? he already broke that guy's spine"
> "why is he pulling out his dick... OH GOD""

> *Orc screams*

> THE ENEMY HAS BEEN DESTROYED, I RAPED HIS WOMEN (and himself) AND BURNED HIS CHILDREN. HE SHALL NOT ENTER VALHALA. ODIN SMILES UPON US.
> NOW FIND ME A WRETCH, OTHERWISE ANY CABIN BOY WILL DO

>>46139375
this need to be drawfagged.

>>46139098
>beautiful children
>mating with a woman you have proven capable of protecting
>love forged in the hottest fires

You sirs know nothing of chivalry.

>>46131858
>How definite/absolute are the alignments in dnd/pathfinder?
'law' 'chaos' 'good' and 'evil' are fundamental forces of the universe, just like 'fire' 'water' 'earth' and 'air' are. You get things like evil outsiders, who are literally Made Of Evil in the same way that a human is made of meat.
IIRC, it's perfectly possible to be evil and quite a pleasant person, or good and kind of an asshole; it's a case of where you slot into the cosmic scheme of things, not a personality test.

Played a Paladin of Empyreal Lord Vildeis from Golarion. He had a 5 WIS: trusting, naive, helpful, friendly. Unless you Detected as Evil; then he immediately killed you without apology.

>>46131858
Basically what >>46140227 said.
It's good to remember though that the entire point of Planescape, is that the Prime Material plane and its natives are different from the various natives of the other planes, in that they are much more open to change, and choosing their path than say a Demon who might as well burst into flames the first time he even considers not killing a basket full of kittens placed in front of him, just because they didn't do anything to the Demon.

Basically alignments are definite when you're trying to interact with beings who are their exemplars, and physical manifestations, but if you're in a human kingdom, the line can become incredibly muddled, and it's more about the general idea of how your character sees morality, than how they must act at all times.
Well, in some older editions of D&D it was much more definitive than that, but since you said D&D/Pathfinder, I'm assuming you mean 3.5

>>46128827
Just play as Ernst Jünger

>>46130272
It got a little hard to deal with that chapter.

>>46130682
>
What class is Archer?

>>46128827
make him Captain America/Superman in personality, but a normal PC in power. the conflict comes from struggling to be satisfied with he good he CAN do instead of the over-reaching good he WISHES he could do.

A few different ideas

Make him unintelligent but with a heart of gold

Give him a task which he doesn't want to do but must for the sake of a greater good. Either to do something bad in order to prevent something much worse, or to forgo something they personally want very very much for the sake of others.

Make them the paladin of a benevolent but (to outsiders) incomprehensible god with morals that are mostly in line with, but in some cases dramatically different than, the typical lawful good character.

Make them either obnoxiously brutal in battle or reluctant to kill to the point of counteractive to their greater goals.

Make them the paladin of a god which either does not exist or is not in communion with them. They believe with fervor, even correctly, but are not granted boons, for whatever reason, known or unknown.

>>46141370
Different Anon, but I would put him down as a Bard.
All that useless Bardic Knowledge in pop culture quotes has to come from somewhere, even if he's not known for his Perform ranks.

Said paladin has been excommunicated from the church due to his radical views. A firm believer in the "velvet glove" and "iron fist" sides of God.

>>46134143
>"Woe is the world, for such evil can exist that would disturb the land. Oh how can men have such corrupt hearts, as to threaten the righteous so?"

Oh, my, what an excellently kannigitly quote. You make that up, or is there a source for that?

>>46130273
>James Bond
>LG
Haha

>>46129179
>Optimus Prime, but jaded/angry
So Optimus Prime from Transformers 4?

>>46143048
He is the proof that >>46138907 is the right way, fool.

>>46128827
Remember that Lawful Good is not Lawful Nice.

>>46129512
>>46131062
These two are fantastic options.