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The Paladin: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:paladind 6742.jpg|link=Ultima VI|
{{quote|''My good blade carves the casques of men,
''My tough lance thrusteth sure,
''My strength is as the strength of ten,
''Because my heart is pure.''
|'''Lord Alfred Tennyson''', "Sir Galahad"}}
Paladins are warriors [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|dedicated to furthering the cause of all that is good]]. Holy crusaders, they combat the forces of evil wherever they are found, and [[We Help the Helpless|defend the helpless as much as possible]]. Above all else, paladins are ''[[Always Lawful Good|good]]''. An evil paladin is a literal contradiction of terms; a paladin that turns evil [[Fallen Hero|ceases to be a paladin]]. As holy warriors, they're almost always associated with [[The Order]], which are usually religious, or at least spiritual, in nature. While their Order may be tied to a [[The Church|specific church]], they are just as often dedicated to a [[The Force|more general power]] (frequently [[Light Is Good|The Light]]). As such, paladins are frequently [[Church Militant]]s and may have aspects of the [[Warrior Monk]]. When not part of [[The Order]], they will instead be a [[Knight Errant]].
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** Paladins in the 4th Edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' do not follow the [[Always Lawful Good]] restriction: instead, Paladins are servants of any god, and they follow the tenets laid forth by that god rather than follow an alignment. Paladins in the Essentials line for 4th Edition choose a Virtue (such as Sacrifice and Valor) and have options within that virtue (though Sacrifice Paladins fit the usual [[Always Lawful Good]] bill).
** Pretty much all additions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' also have an [[Inverted Trope|inversion]] of the paladin trope; some variation of an "anti-paladin", a mirror image of the paladin that replaces "good" with "evil" and "holy" with "unholy". 3e had a [[Prestige Class]] called the Blackguard (which could include fallen paladins) as well as the Paladin of Tyranny ([[Lawful Evil]]) and the Paladin of Slaughter ([[Chaotic Evil]]). ''Pathfinder'' went back to using straight anti-paladins, and 4th edition makes the issue moot by allowing your paladin to be dedicated to any extreme alignment.
**5e simplifies the paladin by making them, essentially, holy/unholy warriors of their respective faith. Instead of there being many different types, paladins are understood to be empowered by their faith in the religion or beliefs that they hold which allows them to have any alignment based on their beliefs. DMs can make restrictions to have the players play their
* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''
** The Space Marines in general arguably have this flavour if seen [[Alternate Character Interpretation|sympathetically]], with their existence being militaristic and fighting in the most important warzones where needed, and generally their devotion to the cause of the Emperor and the Imperium (and by that extent, humanity in general) is encouraged to border on religious fanaticism (though also generally ''just'' off the mark from religion). Played dead straight by the Salamanders chapter, who are especially protective of Imperium citizens whenever the Salamanders see them, have their own chapter-personal cult which extols the values of self-reliance, loyalty and self-sacrifice, and mostly utilize flame weapons and [[Drop the Hammer|Thunder Hammers]]—fire and hammers being fairly common iconography of The Paladin.
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