broken oath

[cAipi_rInHa]

Hi,

have no idea about D&D rules, and it's kind of hard to understand what the game wants from me at times. I made a Paladin and chose the "Oath of the Ancients" for whatever reason.

One of my crew members likes to kill goblins, so I helped him kill some goblin leader named "Dror Something, True Soul of the Absolute." After the fight, a Paladin ghost dude appeared and told me that I broke my oath.

So what exactly does that mean for my character now? I can't use three of my skills because they are in the "Channel Oath Charge" section of my abilities. I know I can fix my oath problem when I talk to that guy again, but how are we supposed to know what breaks the oath?

That would be pretty useful information at the point where we decide if we want to help our group member with his mission or not. I mean, a Paladin should know if certain actions will mess up everything he stands for.

I have no clue; I am not a Paladin. I felt like killing goblins to help my buddy is a good thing.

[Lord Adorable]

Question is: Did you initiate a fight by ambushing Ragzlin?

If you did and didn't just outright challenge him in dialogue, your action is seen as cowardly and dishonorable.

[Ghost]

You can choose to continue as an Oathbreaker, or regain your Oath to the Ancients after some time for, iirc, 1000 gold.

[cAipi_rInHa]

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

Question is: Did you initiate a fight by ambushing Ragzlin?

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you.

But is there any way I could have known that, like from what the game told me somewhere? I feel it would be great to understand what consequences actions have or how certain classes are "supposed to be played."

Perhaps I just missed it, or are the developers like, "Yep, you just have to know"?
I mean even after the ghost guy told me I broke my oath I had no clue what exactly the problem was.

[Lord Adorable]

Originally posted by cAipi_rInHa:

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

Question is: Did you initiate a fight by ambushing Ragzlin?

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you.

But is there any way I could have known that, like from what the game told me somewhere? I feel it would be great to understand what consequences actions have or how certain classes are "supposed to be played."

Perhaps I just missed it, or are the developers like, "Yep, you just have to know"?
I mean even after the ghost guy told me I broke my oath I had no clue what exactly the problem was.

I don't know if it specifies it, but you can see the tenents of your Oath written on the armor you start with.
All you need to do is mouse over it. It's pretty vague but gives you an idea of what your tenents are.

But if you need a rundown, the tenents of the Oath of Ancients are these:

"Kindle the Light. Through your acts of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, kindle the light of hope in the world, beating back despair.

Shelter the Light. Where there is good, beauty, love, and laughter in the world, stand against the wickedness that would swallow it. Where life flourishes, stand against the forces that would render it barren.

Preserve Your Own Light. Delight in song and laughter, in beauty and art. If you allow the light to die in your own heart, you can't preserve it in the world.

Be the Light. Be a glorious beacon for all who live in despair. Let the light of your joy and courage shine forth in all your deeds."

In general though, actions like ambushing people, lying to them, stabbing them in the back or just plain attacking without provocation are all concidered dishonorable acts, no matter how evil a creature might be.

"Well that's dumb" you might say. You'd be kinda right. You might have heard of the phrase "Lawful Stupid" at some point. That's D&D Paladins. >:P

[Ghost]

Originally posted by cAipi_rInHa:

But is there any way I could have known that, like from what the game told me somewhere? I feel it would be great to understand what consequences actions have or how certain classes are "supposed to be played."

Perhaps I just missed it, or are the developers like, "Yep, you just have to know"?
I mean even after the ghost guy told me I broke my oath I had no clue what exactly the problem was.

Things can be a bit vague, but generally you want to always talk first and use the Paladin dialogue option. Never just attack, never lie or steal.
The armour you start with should have the tenets on their description, and they should appear on the class screen when you're first making your character.

[Mr Pibbleton]

Oh weird, I didn't get that as on oath of the ancients paladin, I was lying, cheating, stealing and had to go out of my way looking for ways to break my oath. Probably got by with having Astarion start fights with a sneak attack. I did manage to violate the oath on the tiefling hunters who had lae'zel in a cage when I critical fumbled a deception and hit them with a non-lethal attack knocking them out.

[Яeplicant]

Originally posted by Mr Pibbleton:

Oh weird, I didn't get that as on oath of the ancients paladin, I was lying, cheating, stealing and had to go out of my way looking for ways to break my oath. Probably got by with having Astarion start fights with a sneak attack. I did manage to violate the oath on the tiefling hunters who had lae'zel in a cage when I critical fumbled a deception and hit them with a non-lethal attack knocking them out.

Wasn't Oath of the Ancients about preserving nature and/or protecting the weak?

E: "You fight on the side of light in the cosmic struggle against darkness to preserve the sanctity of life and the beauty of nature."

Well, close enough. How would one break that oath in comparison to Devotion in BG3 current state? I myself had a very hard time breaking it as a Devotion Paladin.

[EricHVela]

Originally posted by cAipi_rInHa:

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

Question is: Did you initiate a fight by ambushing Ragzlin?

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you.

But is there any way I could have known that, like from what the game told me somewhere? I feel it would be great to understand what consequences actions have or how certain classes are "supposed to be played."

Perhaps I just missed it, or are the developers like, "Yep, you just have to know"?
I mean even after the ghost guy told me I broke my oath I had no clue what exactly the problem was.

Sadly, there are some things that are expected to be known from the D&D setting... though Oathbreaking is a per-table rule that I've never seen but have heard of.

This expectation of all the optional and highly-specific rules may change in 1.0 (hopefully)... but it'll likely involve a lot more reading than many will want to spend on just getting to the gameplay. That'll be on them, though, not on Larian for failing to explain things better. Not everyone's going to have the proprietary PHB or have read the SRD.

It's not too late to give feedback on your experience. It can help others.

[cAipi_rInHa]

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

You might have heard of the phrase "Lawful Stupid" at some point. That's D&D Paladins. >:P

That`s alright I just wondered how are we supposed to know.
Didn`t check in game about the tenents of the Oath on the armor but sounds like good advice, thanks.

[Lord Adorable]

Originally posted by cAipi_rInHa:

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

You might have heard of the phrase "Lawful Stupid" at some point. That's D&D Paladins. >:P

That`s alright I just wondered how are we supposed to know.
Didn`t check in game about the tenents of the Oath on the armor but sounds like good advice, thanks.

Glad to be of help, however meagre it might be. Oaths seem a bit iffy for some people. Personally never had a problem except for it having a very odd interaction-possibly a bug- with Halsin and his bear form going on a rampage within the Goblin Camp.

[seandeven]

Originally posted by cAipi_rInHa:

Originally posted by Lord Adorable:

You might have heard of the phrase "Lawful Stupid" at some point. That's D&D Paladins. >:P

That`s alright I just wondered how are we supposed to know.
Didn`t check in game about the tenents of the Oath on the armor but sounds like good advice, thanks.

It's literally "plot" armor