Just a question for the Inn, has there been any times when a paladin fell from grace in your campaign? I had one fall not too long ago, and it almost felt like i was punishing him ( even though technically i am ) and it wasn't to cool, the mood to the game kinda got killed. he felt stupid for doing it later also. this is what happened.

the group was scoping out a spot by this bridge at night where a group of young ( around 19,20,21) guys were going to meet. Supposedly one of them had stolen his grandmothers deed to her orchard and was going to wait till she was evicted and booted out to " find it " and have it left to him. he threw it in a scroll case and weighted it so it would go to the bottom of the stream that this bridge in the middle of town flows.

well the party hid and one of the guys stripped naked and dove into the water, and when they had the scroll case the paladin and rogue confronted them. The fighter had a bow trained on them while the bard was standing on the other side of the bridge. Three of the guys tried to run when the paladin said that they were all going to be arrested and stuff, and the nephew who's plan this all was actually stayed cuz he knew he was screwed, it was his friends who were there just to watch/help retrieve it ran. well the paladin told them to stop, they didn't, so he whipped out his short bow and shot one, killing him. Now these guys were defenseless and running, and the paladin was a tormite in faerun ( IIRC ).

I came to the conclusion that he fell at this point. It ended up being a reoccurring joke afterward saying that " the paladin did hundred lines of coke and listened to tom sawyer during our time lapse of a few hours and yelled LETS DO THIS! with his short bow in hand". suffice to say the player rather re roll than climb to grace again, he felt ashamed for doing that act. anything else like this happen to you?

While I have given out a few debatable Dark Side Points to Jedi players, I've never had a Paladin fall (that didn't want to at least...)

It really does sour the mood of the game.

I find that most DMs are not up to having a paladin "fall" due to potential game troubles. This often leads to paladins that act like pure fighters in regards to morals.

ya, i wish i could of just given him some sorta verbal warning from torm but this was right out murder in the middle of a village >.<

I had a paladin of Pelor become corrupted with power and pride to the point that he became a proverbial "Jesus" in the campaign, (The player took the "leadership" feat and acquired a few cohorts and a mess load of followers)though the way he was playing his character, "Jesus" may not be the best example. I had Pelor pay him a visit in his dreams and hand him an atonement mission that required him to sacrifice his life for another person selflessly. He successfully completed his mission taking a bite from a megapede for one younger and less powerful than he was, and he stood before Pelor. Pelor gave him a choice, begin his afterlife or resume his life with his comrades and finish his mission of destroying the evil in the world he was in (A second test). He made the right choice, to resume his mission. In consequence his character required less attention from the DM from then on and the other characters took a more active part in the campaign.

I guess the big difference here is that the game became better for the experience rather than worse.

I was a Kobold Paladin and I did fall from grace for a short time.We had captured a halfling thief and our fighter said," too bad we can't eat him. That would be cannibleism. I said, "Well I can I'm a Kobold!" (I was in character) Our wizard wasn't too happy with that. I got a whack on the head and a warning not to. I tried to make up fo that when I got partially posessed. I accidentally transported us into some strange underground place. Everyones mad at me, and I'm trying to fix my mishap.

I have had it happen twice... Which I will get to in a moment.

In the case where you mentioned your paladin killing a defenceless boy... That really isn't 'the fall' IMO. Now it is certainly something that would make him lose his divine abilities... but it is also something that he could atone for and continue on his paladiny way.

For the cases I have DMed and a paladin fell the first was expected. We were playing a neutral game (but wanting to play an evil one) The paladin character wanted to become a blackguard, so when we reached an appropriate point in the game... he suffered a trauma (his wife and son killed by another paladin being tested by their god). He went on a rampage killing the offending paladin forgoing his religion and becoming a blackguard. And we became an evil campaign.


The second time it happened it was a campaign that had been running for some time. The paladin wanted to change classes... so started doing things against his code of honour. In the end he fell because his alignment changed and didn't bother to atone. Then on his next level took a level in sorcerer.


Now in both of the above cases (while they wanted to be paladins) the players made some bad choices (much like what you mentioned with your game) and it just gave a new dimension to the game, because now they had to atone for their choice. Each time it was a reason for the next adventure, and any pall the fall may have caused was forgotten with the act of atonement.