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Horatio
Seeker
Israel
59 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 18:49:39
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I know it might be a big question, but how does one become a paladin in the Forgotten Realms? granted paladinhood by another paladin? doing a great feat in his deity's name? I'm in the dark about it...
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 18:54:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Horatio
I know it might be a big question, but how does one become a paladin in the Forgotten Realms? granted paladinhood by another paladin? doing a great feat in his deity's name? I'm in the dark about it...
Honestly,
I'd ask this of Ed because, to me, it would vary from faith to faith. I doubt that there's one general way to grant paladinhood for the various faiths. That would make no sense to me that the faiths have a universal way to grant paladinhood.... |
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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WalkerNinja
Senior Scribe
USA
575 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 20:01:48
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To me, the term paladin is a bit artificial in this setting. Certainly paladins of the Triad might refer to themselves as such, but by and large I prefer more ambiguous titles. More often than not in my game, "Chosen" means paladin instead of a big juju guy like Elminster. Here's a few that I have used in the past
Chosen
Called
Holy Warrior
Divine Sword
Saint
Sword Saint
Son of
Militant Servant
In many faiths in my game, there may not be an organization of paladins. More often than not, they are individuals that are called by the deity to take up a special path. Others recognize their status because the proverbial proof is in the pudding.
I once ran a solo game for a PC playing a paladin of Eldath. You're saying, "but Eldath doesn't have paladins!" Her alignment allows paladins (the one step rule), she just doesn't allow violence. This proto-paladin was shown her path in a dream vision. Priests/Druids of Eldath initially shunned her, and her mission, but her Paladin displayed the qualities of Eldath, and the blessings of their goddess. She was a singularity, and treated as such. |
*** A Forgotten Realms Addict since 1990 ***
Treasures of the Past, a Second Edition Play-by-Post game for and by Candlekeep Sages--http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=52011 |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 22:22:47
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While its not Realms specific, it does mention in the Player's Handbook that no amount of training will make a person who is not called a paladin. In other words, paladins do have to undergo a good deal of training, but at the same time, they have to be called to be a paladin in the first place. That doesn't mean that they would all be called in exactly the same manner, not that the individual would "notice" the call, or that they wouldn't ignore the call, thinking they weren't "right" for the job.
I agree with Kuje that the call is most likely very different from one faith to another. Torm or Helm might be very specific in lettting someone know they are called, but Mystra might be a bit more enigmatic about it. Similarly, the training said paladins go through are likely not exactly the same, even once they recognize the call (and its one of the reasons I really like the variant class abilities in the various books to help customize these characters).
For what its worth, the Player's Handbook, admitedly not a specific Realms source, mentions that paladins tend to recognize one another and respect each other, even if they are from different faiths, because they understand the calling to the profession and the discipline it takes to follow that path.
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 22:47:23
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
For what its worth, the Player's Handbook, admitedly not a specific Realms source, mentions that paladins tend to recognize one another and respect each other, even if they are from different faiths, because they understand the calling to the profession and the discipline it takes to follow that path.
They also have a shared alignment, which means they will have a similar outlook in at least some respects, even if their personalities and methods may vary. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31774 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2006 : 23:44:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
quote:
Originally posted by Horatio
I know it might be a big question, but how does one become a paladin in the Forgotten Realms? granted paladinhood by another paladin? doing a great feat in his deity's name? I'm in the dark about it...
Honestly,
I'd ask this of Ed because, to me, it would vary from faith to faith. I doubt that there's one general way to grant paladinhood for the various faiths. That would make no sense to me that the faiths have a universal way to grant paladinhood....
I would have to agree.
From what limited details we've been able to pick up both from Ed and Faiths & Avatars, most specific deity-based rituals or practices, such as the initiation of a paladin into the ranks of a deity's clergy, would tend to be somewhat influenced by the core dynamic of each particular faith itself. In other words, the initiation of a paladin into a faith will tend to reflect the perspectives and beliefs of that one particular faith.
There may be some overarching basic "steps toward initiation" that most good-aligned faiths subscribe to. However, over the course of their existence, each faith has likely tailored such rituals to fit how their own individual clergy worship their god. Some clergies of the same deity may even have alternate methods for initiating paladins into their orders. This, perhaps, reflects the fragmentation of a particular faith -- there may simply not be enough unity between the various mortal clergies of that one particular deity, so each follow their own course for developing divine rituals (most of which would be based on core beliefs of the unified clergy itself perhaps).
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Horatio
Seeker
Israel
59 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2006 : 18:52:14
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| Thanks for all the feedback! |
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Paladinhood
