Would a Lawful Good Paladin not have to execute all companions? (Act 1 Spoilers!)

[Akim]

Ok one is a Githyanki. Following an evil Lich Queen.
One has some demonic pact.
One is Priestess of one of the most evil Goddesses.
One is a Vampire. Undead, sucking human blood.
One has done something really terrible with magic.

Finding that out, give me one reason why a Paladin of Lawful Order would not be in the duty to immediately execute all of them or breaking his oath?

[Panic Fire]

Because they would need to have committed actual crimes for you to judge them. And would you judge them solely on the crime iteself with out context? Or would you hear out there justifications for there actions and judge them based on that?

[Malaficus Shaikan]

1: is a soldier fighting a common enemy.
2: Is helping people and wants to get out of its pact.
3: Convert or kill.
4: Kill on sight.
5: Water is wet.


Justification is simple.
Are they active enemies or usefull weapons against bigger enemies.
Paladins are soldiers of there gods.
And as a soldier working with a lesser enemy to deal with a greater enemy is part of the job.
For example: You all want the mind flayer tadpoles gone.
Your companions will help you fight your way through armies of goblins for start.
Better have them in your party where you can direct there gifts to help others.
Think of it as you are there warden.
Trying to reabilate them before killing them.

[Akim]

Originally posted by Panic Fire:

Because they would need to have committed actual crimes for you to judge them. And would you judge them solely on the crime iteself with out context? Or would you hear out there justifications for there actions and judge them based on that?

They already commited crimes. See above. Ok Priestess of Shar, maybe not necessarily. And don't tell the Gith led a peaceful harmonic life hence. A vampire must suck blood to have survived (crime), and the mage (can't remember their names) has, as you find out later. Same has the Warlock, as too you find out later.

[Wolfgang421]

Because 5e has to ed down the paladin extremism a bit, their pantheon also is a bit more forgiving for the repentant, and some laws/moral codes encourage redemption rather than immediate summary execution. That, or the paladin has the enlightened understanding that greater evils are in motion and the comparably lesser evils of some random folks with time bombs in their heads shouldn't take priority over an interdimensional invasions by squid heads and a devil trying to manipulate things behind the scenes, as well as a certain smuggling group lotting a monastery and trading in slaves.

[Brian Sirith]

No, unless they do something crappy in front of me.

[everybe2]

Githyanki - that is there culture, so nothing wrong.
Demonic pact - good intentions.
Priestess of Shar - but actually acts lawfully
Vampire spawn - did he choice to be that way? / Survival needs.
Something terrible with magic - what exactly? No evidence.

[Wraith]

Laezel - product of her upbringing she relatively young and have been indoctrinated in their way of thinking but you can actually see fragments of doubt as you take her along

Wyll - Entire story being reworked so who knows

Shadowheart - Have no memory of pretty much anything but her mission for shar. (suspiciously very good inside to the point she might actually be a brained wash cleric of selune)

Vampire spawn - on a freedom high from being enthralled for centuries the real question is what will he do once that high wears off

Gale - Story look like it getting tweaked as well so who knows

[.Master Jiren, The Strongest]

Originally posted by Akim:

Ok one is a Githyanki. Following an evil Lich Queen.
One has some demonic pact.
One is Priestess of one of the most evil Goddesses.
One is a Vampire. Undead, sucking human blood.
One has done something really terrible with magic.

Finding that out, give me one reason why a Paladin of Lawful Order would not be in the duty to immediately execute all of them or breaking his oath?

In Dragons Age and even Witcher there are people whose job is to hunt down and otherwise impose order upon magical beings. I really like that idea. I also always liked the Spellbreaker class, a character thats a tanky warrior specializing in anti-magic. I love that gimmick. So I think a Paladin going around sort of hunting magic people and keeping them in line is great.

[Panic Fire]

Originally posted by Akim:

Originally posted by Panic Fire:

Because they would need to have committed actual crimes for you to judge them. And would you judge them solely on the crime iteself with out context? Or would you hear out there justifications for there actions and judge them based on that?

They already commited crimes. See above. Ok Priestess of Shar, maybe not necessarily. And don't tell the Gith led a peaceful harmonic life hence. A vampire must suck blood to have survived (crime), and the mage (can't remember their names) has, as you find out later. Same has the Warlock, as too you find out later.

So you assume they have committed crimes with out investigating. Then you are now committing tyranny rather than justice. You have lost your paladin oath....


Astarian has never drank blood from a humonoid creature till the scene in the party camp (he was barred from doing so by his master) In fact Astarian is a weird example, he is a person who was forcibly turned into an undead thrall and hasn't had free will till literally he was implanted with the worm.

Did the Gith commit crimes? Maybe, maybe not. Would your oath require you to find out for sure? Yes.

Yes but are there crimes worthy of death? Or is there context to them? And why are you the judge of there crimes? Would it not be your job to deliver them to be sentenced?

[Yojo0o]

I don't think any of the actual paladin oaths in the game currently require execution for what you witness in your party members, at least not initially.

I would never assume Lawful Good to mean "Execute all morally ambiguous characters immediately".

[dulany67]

People will say that you must honor your oath. But I say yes, unless they submit.

[Dinvan]

I don't agree with you so you are evil and must die, sounds American, but its just another paladin.

[SpockEndil]

No. However, if the point is that the companion list is full of the "happy to be evil" and "needs to find redemption" archetypes, I agree. A counterpoint is that the companion list provides a compelling story for a lawful good paladin who's been plucked from his normal station, and now must find a way to interact with characters that are foreign to him to overcome a great evil, while at the same time having to resist the taint that has been placed in him against his will.

I don't think the story was written for a LG paladin, but what I've seen of it so far works great for one.

[everybe2]

By description, none of them really is evil.


Karlach

Fresh-escaped from Hell, Karlach is finally free of the archdevil Zariel - but not from the infernal engine Zariel planted in her chest. With her first taste of freedom in ten years, Karlach is eager to find a fix for the engine that's burning hotter and hotter before it burns her out completely. But even more premier in her mind? Exploring, finding like-minded travellers, falling in love (or lust)... and taking revenge on the man who sold her to Zariel all those years ago.

Astarion

Astarion prowled the night as a vampire spawn for centuries, forced to follow the orders of his sadistic master, Cazador: seduce every fool with a pulse, and lure them back to Cazador's lair. Free for now, Astarion will do anything to keep his life in the light. He can see but one way to ensure his liberty for good: become many times more powerful than his old abuser could ever dream of being. His body is forever tainted by the intricate, patterned scarring Cazador carved upon his back, and the elder vampire seems set on sending out waves of hunters seeking to capture his lost spawn.

Gale

What’s a god to a world-class wizard? Gale was once a formidable archmage in Waterdeep, but pushed his relationship with the goddess Mystra too far. Failing to usurp his former lover’s godhood, the goddess stole Gale’s magics away and cursed him with the Netherese Orb, a dangerous artefact with enough magical potential energy in it to level a city if it were allowed to escape. Beyond learning the lesson for his hubris, Gale has now become beset with concern for the danger he poses to others around him, and is worried that if he undergoes ceremorphosis, the angry Orb could imperil countless lives if he can’t neutralise it first.

Lae'zel

Crashed down to the Sword Coast from the stars, Lae'zel is a fierce warrior, even by the standards of militant githyanki society. When faced with the possibility of becoming a mind flayer, the monster she has dedicated her life to defeating, she must prove her worth and earn the right to rejoin her people -- if they don't execute her first. Will Lae'zel's strength and determination be enough to prove herself to Queen Vlaakith, or must she walk another path in exile?

Shadowheart

A devoted cleric of Shar, goddess of darkness and loss, Shadowheart agreed to have her memories wiped as part of a holy mission. Now its sole survivor, she must deliver a powerful relic back to her kin in order to win Shar's love and have her memories restored – but all the while, she is tormented by strange, painful magic that she struggles to understand.

Wyll

From a scion of a famed Baldurian house to a life of adventure on the road, Wyll’s life as the monster hunter called the Blade of Frontiers has made him one of the beating hearts of the Sword Coast. While he has done great deeds for the Coast’s people, the source of his power remains secret. The cambion Mizora drew Wyll into a warlock’s pact in a moment with many lives at stake, and cursed him with the duty of hunting her enemies. Mizora only asks Wyll to sacrifice devilish creatures to her, but a cambion’s ambitions are ever fickle, and Wyll wishes to escape the pact before its price grows cruel.

[Deylendor]

It would take a very serious offense for me to think about eliminating them in the game. But perhaps that’s just my chaotic good nature.

On the other hand, you can always pretend to be a character with different values, but that’s more fun for replaying the game.