How should I handle a paladin player character killing foes after they surrender?
$begingroup$
Recently my players were raiding a criminal headquarters. These were not nice people: drug runners, loan sharks, things like that. However, as the fight went poorly and they were unable to run away, a number of the criminals surrendered. One literally ducking into a cabinet and curling up to hide, even when it was opened.
The paladin proceeded to directly kill one of these surrendered foes, and advocate the rest, reasoning that their involvement with the gang was reason enough. While they were in the criminals base, they were still within the city. This Paladin is also lawful good and a paladin of Bahamut.
They were working with the guard, and have a friend that is Captain of the district they were in, so legally they should be able to clear this up, but I'm trying to decide if there should be a greater consequence. Would it be wrong to have a temporary dampening of his Paladin powers to show his God's displeasure?
For the record, the group is level 5-10 at this point.
dnd-5e paladin
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
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user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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$endgroup$
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
Recently my players were raiding a criminal headquarters. These were not nice people: drug runners, loan sharks, things like that. However, as the fight went poorly and they were unable to run away, a number of the criminals surrendered. One literally ducking into a cabinet and curling up to hide, even when it was opened.
The paladin proceeded to directly kill one of these surrendered foes, and advocate the rest, reasoning that their involvement with the gang was reason enough. While they were in the criminals base, they were still within the city. This Paladin is also lawful good and a paladin of Bahamut.
They were working with the guard, and have a friend that is Captain of the district they were in, so legally they should be able to clear this up, but I'm trying to decide if there should be a greater consequence. Would it be wrong to have a temporary dampening of his Paladin powers to show his God's displeasure?
For the record, the group is level 5-10 at this point.
dnd-5e paladin
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
|
show 5 more comments
$begingroup$
Recently my players were raiding a criminal headquarters. These were not nice people: drug runners, loan sharks, things like that. However, as the fight went poorly and they were unable to run away, a number of the criminals surrendered. One literally ducking into a cabinet and curling up to hide, even when it was opened.
The paladin proceeded to directly kill one of these surrendered foes, and advocate the rest, reasoning that their involvement with the gang was reason enough. While they were in the criminals base, they were still within the city. This Paladin is also lawful good and a paladin of Bahamut.
They were working with the guard, and have a friend that is Captain of the district they were in, so legally they should be able to clear this up, but I'm trying to decide if there should be a greater consequence. Would it be wrong to have a temporary dampening of his Paladin powers to show his God's displeasure?
For the record, the group is level 5-10 at this point.
dnd-5e paladin
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
$endgroup$
Recently my players were raiding a criminal headquarters. These were not nice people: drug runners, loan sharks, things like that. However, as the fight went poorly and they were unable to run away, a number of the criminals surrendered. One literally ducking into a cabinet and curling up to hide, even when it was opened.
The paladin proceeded to directly kill one of these surrendered foes, and advocate the rest, reasoning that their involvement with the gang was reason enough. While they were in the criminals base, they were still within the city. This Paladin is also lawful good and a paladin of Bahamut.
They were working with the guard, and have a friend that is Captain of the district they were in, so legally they should be able to clear this up, but I'm trying to decide if there should be a greater consequence. Would it be wrong to have a temporary dampening of his Paladin powers to show his God's displeasure?
For the record, the group is level 5-10 at this point.
dnd-5e paladin
dnd-5e paladin
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
edited 3 hours ago
V2Blast
22k366139
22k366139
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
asked 4 hours ago
user52158user52158
111
111
New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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New contributor
user52158 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Check out our Code of Conduct.
3
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
|
show 5 more comments
3
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
3
3
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
1
1
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
2
2
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
3
3
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago
|
show 5 more comments
2 Answers
2
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$begingroup$
Strictly speaking, the paladin didn't do anything wrong. You should do nothing.
You said in commenting on your question that his oath "does not directly have any [tenets] in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants." Seems like your Paladin does that, and that's enough.
There are many definitions of what is "Good" in the world. IRL when William the Conqueror installed Feudalism in England in the 11th century the moral code of his knights involved three, and only three, virtues: courage, loyalty and generosity. Note that forgiveness is not among these (generosity was interpreted as helping good people in need even when they have no means of repaying the favor). That's just one example of how being "lawful good" can exclude the sort of mercy you were hoping to see.
Your paladin's being lawful good does oblige him to certain codes of conduct, but mercy on defeated thugs isn't part of it, based on your own description of his oath. So he's being true to character. I might have even awarded him Inspiration.
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Don't use in-game mechanics to punish players
It makes them try harder. Either that or they will resent you punishing them. Show respect for their decisions and talk to him about how he is not following his code correctly, rather than coming out of the blue with it and making him angry with you.
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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$begingroup$
Strictly speaking, the paladin didn't do anything wrong. You should do nothing.
You said in commenting on your question that his oath "does not directly have any [tenets] in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants." Seems like your Paladin does that, and that's enough.
There are many definitions of what is "Good" in the world. IRL when William the Conqueror installed Feudalism in England in the 11th century the moral code of his knights involved three, and only three, virtues: courage, loyalty and generosity. Note that forgiveness is not among these (generosity was interpreted as helping good people in need even when they have no means of repaying the favor). That's just one example of how being "lawful good" can exclude the sort of mercy you were hoping to see.
Your paladin's being lawful good does oblige him to certain codes of conduct, but mercy on defeated thugs isn't part of it, based on your own description of his oath. So he's being true to character. I might have even awarded him Inspiration.
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Strictly speaking, the paladin didn't do anything wrong. You should do nothing.
You said in commenting on your question that his oath "does not directly have any [tenets] in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants." Seems like your Paladin does that, and that's enough.
There are many definitions of what is "Good" in the world. IRL when William the Conqueror installed Feudalism in England in the 11th century the moral code of his knights involved three, and only three, virtues: courage, loyalty and generosity. Note that forgiveness is not among these (generosity was interpreted as helping good people in need even when they have no means of repaying the favor). That's just one example of how being "lawful good" can exclude the sort of mercy you were hoping to see.
Your paladin's being lawful good does oblige him to certain codes of conduct, but mercy on defeated thugs isn't part of it, based on your own description of his oath. So he's being true to character. I might have even awarded him Inspiration.
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Strictly speaking, the paladin didn't do anything wrong. You should do nothing.
You said in commenting on your question that his oath "does not directly have any [tenets] in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants." Seems like your Paladin does that, and that's enough.
There are many definitions of what is "Good" in the world. IRL when William the Conqueror installed Feudalism in England in the 11th century the moral code of his knights involved three, and only three, virtues: courage, loyalty and generosity. Note that forgiveness is not among these (generosity was interpreted as helping good people in need even when they have no means of repaying the favor). That's just one example of how being "lawful good" can exclude the sort of mercy you were hoping to see.
Your paladin's being lawful good does oblige him to certain codes of conduct, but mercy on defeated thugs isn't part of it, based on your own description of his oath. So he's being true to character. I might have even awarded him Inspiration.
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
$endgroup$
Strictly speaking, the paladin didn't do anything wrong. You should do nothing.
You said in commenting on your question that his oath "does not directly have any [tenets] in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants." Seems like your Paladin does that, and that's enough.
There are many definitions of what is "Good" in the world. IRL when William the Conqueror installed Feudalism in England in the 11th century the moral code of his knights involved three, and only three, virtues: courage, loyalty and generosity. Note that forgiveness is not among these (generosity was interpreted as helping good people in need even when they have no means of repaying the favor). That's just one example of how being "lawful good" can exclude the sort of mercy you were hoping to see.
Your paladin's being lawful good does oblige him to certain codes of conduct, but mercy on defeated thugs isn't part of it, based on your own description of his oath. So he's being true to character. I might have even awarded him Inspiration.
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
answered 2 hours ago
Valley LadValley Lad
2,158727
2,158727
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Don't use in-game mechanics to punish players
It makes them try harder. Either that or they will resent you punishing them. Show respect for their decisions and talk to him about how he is not following his code correctly, rather than coming out of the blue with it and making him angry with you.
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Don't use in-game mechanics to punish players
It makes them try harder. Either that or they will resent you punishing them. Show respect for their decisions and talk to him about how he is not following his code correctly, rather than coming out of the blue with it and making him angry with you.
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Don't use in-game mechanics to punish players
It makes them try harder. Either that or they will resent you punishing them. Show respect for their decisions and talk to him about how he is not following his code correctly, rather than coming out of the blue with it and making him angry with you.
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
$endgroup$
Don't use in-game mechanics to punish players
It makes them try harder. Either that or they will resent you punishing them. Show respect for their decisions and talk to him about how he is not following his code correctly, rather than coming out of the blue with it and making him angry with you.
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
edited 38 mins ago
V2Blast
22k366139
22k366139
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
answered 2 hours ago
user50904user50904
6311
6311
add a comment |
add a comment |
user52158 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
user52158 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
user52158 is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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3
$begingroup$
What oath did the paladin take?
$endgroup$
– Jon
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
It was a homebrew oath we had agreed to. In short, it does not directly have any tenants in regards to mercy/redemption. The oath is based around striking down tyrants.
$endgroup$
– user52158
3 hours ago
1
$begingroup$
Is the fact that he is a paladin relevant? Would it make a difference if he was a lawful good wizard?, or an LG monk? Would you be concerned about punitive actions in these latter cases?
$endgroup$
– keithcurtis
3 hours ago
2
$begingroup$
[Related] How do you decide when a paladin has fallen from grace in DnD 5e?, Are Paladin Tenets Subjective?, Is there anything preventing a Lawful Evil Paladin?, How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
$endgroup$
– MikeQ
3 hours ago
3
$begingroup$
@Jon: Don't answer in comments. Leave answers as actual answers. ("You don't need to do anything in this case" is still an answer to OP's question.)
$endgroup$
– V2Blast
3 hours ago