Paladin Question

[Edgar]

Spoiler:

Code of conductA paladin must be of good alignment and loses all light abilities if he ever willingly commits an evil act. Additionally, the paladin's code requires that he respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use their help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. While he may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with evil persons, nor will he continue an association with someone who consistently offends his moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers or cohorts who are of good alignment. A paladin who violates this code, becomes an ex-paladin, and loses all Light-given abilities and can not train further as a paladin until he atones for his violations. [Information taken from Wowwiki]

Say if a Paladin, who was clearly a Paladin IC, was associating themselves with Undead, I would assume they would become an ex-paladin. So, they would lose all of their light abilities.

Ex-Paladin

I would just like to verify this information. This is just because I've seen a few people playing Paladins who associate with the Undead -and- continue using the light to heal wounds and attack others.

Thank you.

[Lynoa06]

Some paladins are trying to seek a cure for the Undead. Some are allying with them out of good will. Those paladins wouldn't loose the ways of the Light.

But I doubt there are many reasons for a paladin to associate with Undead, AND stay a paladin. Remember, people would go up to forsake their own children if they had been turned to undead.

[Aphetoros]

If I remember correctly, if a paladin believes he/she is doing right, then they keep their abilities.

[Piroska]

It would depend a lot on the association, I would think. Are they going to befriend someone that they know is evil? No, most likely not. But would they interact with evil people with the goal of using them to further the cause of right and justice? Maybe. That's a more likely scenario and an option that provides much more flexibility in roleplay than stringent adherence.

It also depends on your definition of undead. Are you speaking of Forsaken or undead undead? Forsaken don't necessarily need to be inherently evil. If I could quote the WoWWiki article on the Forsaken:

Although most of the race is evil, the Forsaken cannot be thought of in purely dualistic terms entirely. Although undead, the Forsaken are still inherently human, the majority of whom were victims of the plague spread by Kel'Thuzad. Thus some of the Forsaken are still good beings, if no longer living. As the above suggests, some individuals among them are capable of a tragic form of nobility, in that they do not allow their inability to obtain redemption to prevent them from trying.

The Forsaken that comes to mind that best represents this exception to the rule is Leonid Barthalomew the Revered. He is a member of the Argent Dawn. As the article states:

He looks at his undeath as a malady. An illness that merely requires treatment, hence his loyalties. It is also a great advantage for the Argent Dawn. What better weapon to smite the abominations of the Scourge than one of the "redeemed" undead?

If I remember correctly, if a paladin believes he/she is doing right, then they keep their abilities.

I read the article the same way, Aphetoros: if a paladin believes he's doing right, he keeps his powers. Now, there are certain concrete beliefs that most -- if not all -- paladins should possess, but that doesn't mean that every paladin's moral compass is exactly the same.


Edit: I was giving this some more thought and it presents an interesting insight (at least, for me). The powers of a paladin are more based on faith than anything else. If the aforementioned statements are correct, she must believe that she is doing right with every fiber of her being or else she will fail. There is no exception. If the belief that she is doing right cannot be sustained, she will falter.

So, this brings to the forefront some really interesting possibilities for roleplay.

• The neophyte paladin who is slowly growing in strength as his training progresses. However, he has to overcome whatever innate fear that he has that he might fail. If he doesn't believe that he will succeed, his fears will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  
  
• The aged paladin who may not be exactly treading the path of righteousness. Rather than the iconic paladin (strong, virtuous, and so on), she's employed methods that would be considered unorthodox. She, in her zeal, uses her powers and her connections to quash evil in ways that make most men blanch. She is dedicated, stalwart, and certain that she is correct -- except as time progresses and maybe she interacts with others who have other beliefs, she has moments of self-doubt.

Neither breaks whatever moral compass guides them, but they both suffer from occasional inability to use the Light.

Hell, I might have to roll a paladin to explore these concepts a little more. It sounds interesting!

[Jeff]

I acctually support this message greatly. Not so much that paladins friends with select undead is bad, but paladins who knowingly befriend "evil" people. Or paladins who knowingly and willingly lie, which goes against their own faith. What is a huge bother is that a minority of people tend to play paladins, possibly the most strict class to play when it comes to moral codes, and expect to be able to be, or romance with, or ally with a "bad-guy", and not take backlash for it.