Well this is the weirdest way to break paladin oath... [Act 2]

[Kafik]

So I have Karlach in my party as an Oath of Devotion paladin. We go to Nightfall for the final confrontation with Balthazarr. I tell him if if he touches Nightsong we'll kill him, he says "screw you" and disappears. We hop down to the bottom area. It's at this point I figured out that Karlach can throw the piles of bones off the rock platforms into the chasm and kill them (the skull comes up). Ok cool I throw three piles of bones into the abyss and that pisses Balthy off and he immediately attacks.

Things are going well, we kill him in three turns only because Karlach got boxed in by party members on round one so she had to use arrows. Balthy dies, we mop up the rest of the enemies and combat ends. It's at this moment where Karlach says she doesn't feel so sparkly anymore. I didn't even notice, I had to go back to the combat log to find out where the oath was broken.

It appears that killing the soon to be evil minions of one of the most vile, evil villains in the game and making him attack first is what broke the oath. That's both hilarious and ludicrous at the same time! Well, time to fight a fallen paladin with another fallen paladin it seems...

[Hellsteeth30]

Just be pleased you don't have to be lawful boring anymore. I like my moral/ethical flexibility.

Blackguard was the only way to make Paladins fun in older editions.

As for your thing, yeah Pally oaths don't allow for guerilla tactics or pre-emptive strikes. No, you have to charge in with a loud cry of "CEASE YOUR EVILLNESS EVILDOER, I'M GIVING YOU A GOOD HIDING WHEN I GET OVER THERE IN THREE TURNS TIME!"

Yep, I see a lot of the Oathbreaker Knight.

[seeker1]

Arguing with DMs over how paladin oaths should be interpreted and followed is the new argument over interpreting alignment.

And as always, in a CRPG, the DM is AI software, the appeal process is nonexistent.

Yep, if your paladin attacks & kills one of the guards in Moonrise prison - because IMHO you're doing the very "devotional" thing of helping some tieflings and gnomes escape - well, they weren't hostile to you first: oath broken. Also doesn't matter that they are serving the Absolute, the world ending threat you are trying to stop.

BTW, if another party member does this, you're fine. So if you are or have a devotion paladin in a party, just have someone else attack the guard before they become hostile. Fortunately, this is NOT an issue for Minthara's Oath of Vengeance.

[MrsJekill]

if it's not an active skeleton... all you did was desecrate the remains of the dead.

[jims]

Always funny when someone tries to make an open game, then without thinking puts in something based on a closed mindset - what "Good" is being a classic - put 10 people from different backgrounds in a room and discuss it and get 10 different answers.

[RhodosGuard]

Courage. Stride dauntlessly into action.
Compassion. Show clemency when prudent, and lend your arm to those in need.
Duty. Tend your responsibilities, obey just laws, and support those entrusted to your care.

[Baldurs_Gate_2]

Those things are bugged. Sometimes your oath breaks after you get ethel's hair and sometimes not.

[Kafik]

Originally posted by RhodosGuard:

Courage. Stride dauntlessly into action.
Compassion. Show clemency when prudent, and lend your arm to those in need.
Duty. Tend your responsibilities, obey just laws, and support those entrusted to your care.

Yeah so which one of those applies to Balthazzar after he told me he's going to kill me and the Nightsong?

[RhodosGuard]

Originally posted by Kfuk:

Originally posted by RhodosGuard:

Courage. Stride dauntlessly into action.
Compassion. Show clemency when prudent, and lend your arm to those in need.
Duty. Tend your responsibilities, obey just laws, and support those entrusted to your care.

Yeah so which one of those applies to Balthazzar after he told me he's going to kill me and the Nightsong?

"Show Clemency when prudent"
"Tend to your responsibilities"
"Support those entrusted in your care"

You are not showing clemency when attacking creatures not hostile to you, you do not tend to the responsibility given to you by Zrell, you do not support those entrusted in your care (aka Balthazar after Zrell told you to take care of his business)

You know, if you really wanted to play goody two-shoes the good good-doer, maybe you shouldnt have agreed to help Balthazar when you find him in the Gauntlet and used the option, that I am convinced exists for Paladins, to say "♥♥♥♥ you undead dude".

This is also the reason I wouldnt respecc any Companion into Paladin of Devotion. Always use Vengeance.

[Mr-Yellow]

Try being an evil Paladin...

[Chillearth]

Paladin's are stupid and I'd never use one unless I actually wanted to do a vengance paladin.

The breaking of the oath is way to close to being Lawful Stupid in this game. As it stands now it is worse than if Larian had ignored oathbeaking consequences.

[Kafik]

Originally posted by Mr-Yellow:

Try being an evil Paladin...

Yep have a campaign like that.

Originally posted by RhodosGuard:

You are not showing clemency when attacking creatures not hostile to you, you do not tend to the responsibility given to you by Zrell, you do not support those entrusted in your care (aka Balthazar after Zrell told you to take care of his business)

Hmm ok yeah that's a good explanation. And yes I understand the limits of the game versus a real DM.

[Toaster Maximus]

Oath of vengeance are the only one of three that get away with pre strikes it seems

[Fuzzilly]

Too much daunt, mate… stride DAUNTLESSLY into combat.

[Tresh]

Originally posted by Fuzzilly:

Too much daunt, mate… stride DAUNTLESSLY into combat.

Thou shall not commit acts of necromancy without providing substantial contributions to the subject of the deceased thread. Thine oath is broken. Cease thy evil deeds and repent!

[jonnin]

paladin is near unplayable because of this stuff. I tried a few times, but after breaking oath from failing a conversation roll, or for alpha striking our enemy (as the OP did), and various similar things... no, not gonna bother with that.