Editing Paladin (section)

===General tips===
* As you read through this section, you'll notice a common trend among the tips that boils down to this: Be an example of [[This Guy]], not [[That Guy]]. Remember to care about others, avoid putting a Law or Code over individuals, and the rest starts to take shape. But we'll try and keep the focus more on roleplaying and fluff, not social skills.
* Remember that you're playing a character, not a label. They can have diverse feelings and nuanced or evolving views even if they strive to uphold their codes. Heck, figuring out what their faith means to them and discussing it with others can be good roleplaying opportunities.
* Define what "Lawful Good" means to your character. There's a difference between "[[Salamanders (Chapter)|help the community and keep it safe]]" and "[[Black Templars|we must commit ourselves to the cosmic struggle, and if you don't you're a filthy heathen]]"; both could be Lawful Good, but one plays with others a lot more easily.
* Work out your Paladin's personality with your DM and group so that you're all on the same page. That way, even if they butt heads, it'll hopefully play out more like an expected scene of conflict instead of a plot-derailing argument. 
** The "Teammate Nobody Likes" or being the resident naysayer can be an acceptable trope...if it's mostly agreed-upon. Your personality doesn't have to be likable; it just has to be something your group likes to play with. Does your group love 40k and instantly recognizes the appeal of the Space Marines? Congratulations, you can now play an Imperial Fist, with all the toughness and social skills of the brick walls they build.
* Don't make your Paladin in a vacuum. Be somewhat aware of the setting or the party so that you're not just throwing in a Lawful Good character that doesn't fit.
* Your Paladin's origins can help justify playing them as someone with sensible morality or moral sensibility. D&D, or at least 5E, generally assumes that you've been training on this path for awhile now, and while Edgelords might consider that grounds for religious indoctrination, it's just as viable to say that gave you a well-rounded education. Think of it like someone who actually made the most of their college years to grow as a person.
* Conversely, you got your powers out of the blue with no preparation whatsoever, so you're free from the expectations and mindsets attached to Paladins. Think of it as someone who's just starting college, free of preconceptions.
* We may talk shit about [[Baby Monster Dilemma|bad DMing]] and [[Alignment|stupid roleplaying]], but it's important to remember: in most circumstances, a Lawful Good character shouldn't have problems integrating with the world as [[Noblebright|someone who keeps their word and cares about others]]. Unless you're in a campaign which is deliberately made to be [[Edgy|morally ambiguous]] or [[Grimdark|grimdark]] beyond hope or heroism, and so long as you're not playing your Paladin as a sanctimonious twit, your character should be just as capable of earning and giving loyalty and friendship.

''Pre-5E''
* If you're allowed to serve ANY god or come from ANY culture, you could serve a deity with values that aren't the stereotypical "LAW AND JUSTICE" fodder. For example, you could pick a more chill deity of the harvest and say "According to my god, it is Good and Lawful to help the land to flourish", or you are being Lawful by following such Neutral Good tenets. Though of course, be careful that you don't use it as a [[That Guy|loophole]] for [[Chaotic Stupid|disruptive]] [[Stupid Evil|behavior]] like "I serve a [[Cegorach|trickster god]], so it's Lawful and Good for me to be a self-serving [[Kender|kleptomaniac]]".