Some Paladin Ideas
I just watched Web DM’s video on roleplaying Paladins and I thought of some interesting character concepts that I or those of you more inclined to play might want to try out.
Devotion: For starters, lets cut the pantheism. This Paladin didn’t swear an oath to one god, he or she swore one to them all. More specifically, this Paladin would follow an ideal quite like the great chain of being, believing that all things must fit evenly into their designated order, and if that order is broken, the world will be worse off for it. There are many Shakespeare characters that would fit this archetype.
Ancients: As a bit of a twist, this Paladin would be a misanthropic nature lover who took this oath believing that civilization was destroying everything good in the world and needed to be stopped. This might make for a better villain than player character, but is worth considering nonetheless
Vengeance: This paladin took an oath of vengeance because they came to the conclusion that the only way they could slow the tide of violence that surrounds them is with more violence. They know that fighting violence with violence won’t stop it forever, but it will serve to mitigate losses. This particular character would be the type to look for immediate solutions rather than long-term ones.
Redemption: To this paladin, even for a hand thicker than itself with brother’s blood, there is enough water in the heavens to wash it white as snow. They will try their best to redeem anyone and I mean anyone. Of course, if their words fail them, they will do whatever they can to strike them down, for death has no sting.
Conquest: I imagine a conquest paladin who isn’t evil like Xanathar’s suggests they should be, or at least not in the unempathetically megalomaniacal way one might expect a conqueror to be. They’ve taken their oath because they’re so sick of wretched things roaming the world and causing problems that they have to crush and utterly destroy them whenever they get the chance.
The Crown: My crown paladin doesn’t follow a ruler, he/she is one. The purpose of the oath to the crown is to model the standards this ruler’s people would be held to. Like any good leader, this paladin leads by example.
