Editing Paladin (section)

===In 4e===
Some might say that being a paladin in 4e is easy mode in regards this issue, since 4e paladins don't have to stay true to a generic alignment, but instead must uphold and obey the tenets of a patron deity. That said, this isn't entirely a free lunch. For starters, you probably shouldn't want to play a paladin devoted to an Evil or Chaotic Evil deity - though there are two notable exceptions, in the form of [[Bane]] and [[Vecna]]. Secondly, remember that you're playing a ''paladin''; your theological role is more the protection of the church and the faithful, by force if necessary. If you really want to focus on the "smite the heathen, burn the heretic" approach to faith, you're honestly more suited by temperament to the [[Avenger]] class... not that Avengers don't have similar issues to paladins, but still.

[[Avandra]]:
* Luck favors the bold. Take your fate into your own hands, and Avandra smiles upon you.
* Strike back against those who would rob you of your freedom and urge others to fight for their own liberty.
* Change is inevitable, but it takes the work of the faithful to ensure that change is for the better.
Normally 'freedom' is hard to get wrong, but care should still be taken so that you don't come across as a lulzy troll or edgy freedom fighter:
* You're opposed to the BBEG who, more than likely, wants to conquer, enslave, and tell people what to do.
* Your style of freedom is comparatively "hands off"; you merely defend it by fighting off tyrants and let people decide what to do.
* Your tenets generally help avoid sanctimonious preaching, but be careful not to turn it into a tract against "The Man".

[[Bahamut]]:
* Uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice.
* Be constantly vigilant against evil and oppose it on all fronts.
* Protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order.
The Platinum Dragon is one of the main vanilla choices for Paladins, and for good reason. So it's important to be wary of the classic pitfalls, too:
* However you do it, don't fixate on PURE LAW or JUSTICE AGAINST EVIL to the exclusion of individuals.
* Your take on your faith uses the third tenet to humanize the first two.
* You are a fresh initiate whose formative experiences involve your community and church.
* Conversely, you are a veteran whose firsthand experience lets you view conflict warily while appreciating what you defend.
* Bahamut may feel strongly about upholding justice, but for a dragon god, he's pretty chill and doesn't really have a huge ego. If your church is aware of this personality, it could be a good foundation for playing your Paladin as an actually tolerable person.

[[Corellon]]:
* Cultivate beauty in all that you do, whether you’re casting a spell, composing a saga, strumming a lute, or practicing the arts of war.
* Seek out lost magic items, forgotten rituals, and ancient works of art. Corellon might have inspired them in the world’s first days.
* Thwart the followers of Lolth at every opportunity
While Corellon may be one of the most mercurial "Good" pantheon heads each edition, it helps that aspects of his tenets can be taken as a proto-Oath of the Ancients:
* Appreciating beauty and perfection may be inoffensive ([[Fulgrim|usually]]), but you can frame it as you value [[Blood Angels|what these things do for people]] rather than [[Toreador|frivolously wanting to be 2 sxy 5 u]].
* Opposing Lolth is usually a no-brainer, but how you approach that can be more nuanced based on the plot and party. It could be a personal grudge, stoic vigilance against past evil, or even an ingrained prejudice you learn to overcome.

If you want an extra challenge as a Corellon worshipper, you could play your paladin using the rules for "elfpriests" from [[Dragon Magazine]] #394. These are the [[elf]] and [[eladrin]]-specific tenets, focusing on Corellon's identity as the patron deity of those races, and are meant to be followed alongside the core tenets above:
* Safeguard the elves and their holdings. Elvenkind is your paramount concern.
* Seek out and recover lost elven relics, for other races cannot be trusted with their safety.
* Be vigilant against the Spider Queen. Her lies and treachery promote ugliness and corruption.
* Wage war eternal against the banished darkness. The drow are your greatest foes.
* Suffer not the orc to live.
Some of these are more hardline tenets, admittedly, and dependent on what sort of cultures your campaign has. And in case the world isn't totally fine with those (e.g. orcs aren't just innately violent brutes to kill):
* Being "elves first" doesn't mean hating other races. You could view them as trusted allies or beloved students...
* ...or make it a character trait that evolves with the campaign.

[[Erathis]]: 
* Work with others to achieve your goals. Community and order are always stronger than the disjointed efforts of lone individuals.
* Tame the wilderness to make it fit for habitation, and defend the light of civilization against the encroaching darkness.
* Seek out new ideas, new inventions, new lands to inhabit, new wilderness to conquer. Build machines, build cities, build empires.
A more benign and progressive precursor of the Oath of the Crown: 
* Your focus is on the small picture of community which makes the big picture of civilization, so you understand the value of individuals (or groups of them, at least).
* Your first and third tenets leave you more open to new ideas and viewpoints.
* You pursue your second tenet in moderation: You will harvest and tame the wilds for civilization, but understand the importance of [[Druid|responsibly managing natural resources]].

[[Ioun]]:
* Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception, and emotion into balance with one another.
* Accumulate, preserve, and distribute knowledge in all forms. Pursue education, build libraries, and seek out lost and ancient lore.
* Be watchful at all times for the followers of Vecna, who seek to control knowledge and keep secrets. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light of truth and reason.
I think, therefore Ioun. Now that we have your attention:
* Being a servant of knowledge, you've learned enough about how not to be a douche to others.
* Your emphasis on self-knowledge means you have the humility and self-awareness to be at least tolerable.
* Your second tenet reinforces the importance of playing well with others to you. If nobody wants to deal with you, how are you going to share knowledge?
* As an extra note: Be careful not to be TOO zealous in unearthing secrets best left forgotten. More on that down below with Vecna...

[[Kord]]:
* Be strong, but do not use your strength for wanton destruction.
* Be brave and scorn cowardice in any form.
* Prove your might in battle to win glory and renown.
The god of swoleness can work out as the forefather of the Oath of Glory:
* As you gained strength, learned from the stronger, and taught the weaker, you grew aware that [[Marvel Comics|with great power, there must also come great responsibility]].
* Your goal isn't to lord over others, but raise them to your level of awesomeness.
* You're focused on SELF-improvement and have no need to preach at others. Not very interactive, but still an option.
* You could basically just play Grimlock from [[Transformers]]: You think Might Makes Right, but equally, Might Should Be Used For Right. So while you think it's bad to be weak, you also think it's even worse to use your strength against the helpless (either because it's wrong, or because they are hardly a challenge). You could even think it's good to lead by example and fight beside the weak!

[[Melora]]:
* Protect the wild places of the world from destruction and overuse. Oppose the rampant spread of cities and empires.
* Hunt aberrant monsters and other abominations of nature.
* Do not fear or condemn the savagery of nature. Live in harmony with the wild.
Nature's a real mother. Here's how you can make that work:
* Your outlook is of the more benign flavor of Druid: You're willing to live and let live, unless the balance is threatened. For extra fantasy points, you could model it after the [[Middle Earth|Ents]].
* The BBEG represents a very obvious threat against the environment.
* You are working with these city dwellers on the condition that they represent the interests of nature in return.

[[Moradin]]:
* Meet adversity with stoicism and tenacity.
* Demonstrate loyalty to your family, your clan, your leaders, and your people.
* Strive to make a mark on the world, a lasting legacy. To make something that lasts is the highest good, whether you are a smith working at a forge or a ruler building a dynasty.
While he might be stern and mostly for dwarves, Moradin's a lot more consistent than Corellon:
* Your tenacity isn't [[Mortarion|contempt for the weak]], but [[Lamenters|care for them]].
* Your loyalty to community isn't blindly given; you know exactly what it takes to forge strong bonds, and act accordingly.
* Your focus on making something that lasts is more of a personal goal than an excuse to look down on [[Dwarf (Warhammer Fantasy)|''umgak'']] efforts.
* Moradin's been known to cooperate with other good deities, so you have a potential "in" there.

[[Pelor]]:
* Alleviate suffering wherever you find it.
* Bring Pelor’s light into places of darkness, showing kindness, mercy, and compassion.
* Be watchful against evil.
Alongside Bahamut, a good vanilla choice for aspiring Paladins, though emphasizing kindness over justice:
* Your tenets have a lot more built-in kindness, so find the degree and style which best fits. Pelor makes it easy to just straight up be [[This Guy|nice]], but tread carefully so that you're not (or are not seen as) a kinder-than-thou-goody-two-shoes who wants to show up others.
* Your sense of mercy is tempered by the knowledge that there IS evil out there that has to be guarded against, so you're not Stupid Good.
* Your vigil against the dark things of evil leaves you more wary and savvy than the stereotypical Paladin.

[[Raven Queen]]: 
* Hold no pity for those who suffer and die, for death is the natural end of life.
* Bring down the proud who try to cast off the chains of fate. As the instrument of the Raven Queen, you must punish hubris where you find it.
* Watch for the cults of Orcus and stamp them out whenever they arise. The Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to claim the Raven Queen’s throne.
While initially creepy, D&D veterans will likely appreciate gods of "natural death" like the Raven Queen:
* Your calling gives you an appreciation for life and humanity. You're a little morbid in how you consider it "natural" and "not to be pitied", but you're not some unfeeling person who treats it merely as a biological fact.
* Your punishing of hubris isn't because you're a zealous avenger, but because you've seen the sobering cost of undead abominations.
* Fighting Orcus is a pretty good hook for the plot. Just don't go overboard with it and go full Leeroy Jenkins crusader.

[[Sehanine]]: 
* Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.
* Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of evil.
* Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.
Corellon's moon waifu is definitely easier to work with than her amorphous hubby:
* Sehanine's tenets give you a lot of fertile ground to be your own person. They can also easily go into Stupid Self-Absorbed Snowflake territory.
* The second tenet might sound like Stupid Neutral bait, but you can humanize it fairly easily by caring for "those caught in-between". Or, simply by having more sense than [[Mordenkainen]], recognizing that Evil tends to be WAY more invasive than Good.
* The third tenet, by contrast, baits Chaotic Stupid if you play it as a STRONG, INDEPENDENT PALADIN WHO DON'T NEED NO PARTY or as some ADHD-addled reprobate. Having a proper personality and connections helps, but you can make this tenet work for you by taking it as "making sure to fully experience something"...including whatever the campaign has to offer.
* Of course, an easy way to approach these "Neutral-Liberal" ideals is to take an approach similar to Avandra above.

[[Bane]]:
Achra, the God of War and Conquest, might seem like an odd choice to play a paladin for, but there's a bit more nuance to him than to his [[Forgotten Realms]] namesake. As early as [[Dragon Magazine]] #372, 4e pointed out that there are perfectly logical reasons for non-warmongers to worship him; Bane is also the god of discipline, order, the rule of law, and the triumph of civilization over the wilderness... and considering that most of the standard &D setting (the [[Nentir Vale]] especially) is a monster-haunted wilderness hellhole... yeah, you can see why people might want him on their team. 

In the 4e [[Dungeon Master's Guide]], Bane's tenets are given thus:
* Never allow your fear to gain mastery over you, but drive it into the hearts of your foes.
* Punish insubordination and disorder.
* Hone your combat skills to perfection, whether you are a mighty general or a lone mercenary.

The aforementioned Deities & Demigods article presents alternative interpretations, and a fundamental message for each of these in turn:
* Fear is a two-edged sword.
* Order is sacrosanct.
* Without strength, there is no victory.

So with these tenets of the Oath of Conquest before the Oath of Conquest in mind, here's how you can make the Big Guy work...for you:
* If the setting, like 4E, acknowledges that cities and Goodly folk pray to him for victory and to hold the line, then it won't be too big a leap to be a worshiper of Bane. Especially if that's established in your DM's setting.
* His more civilized, disciplined aspects go a long way to giving you a framework: You strive to be a disciplined person who defends civilization, and you can personalize how you view those qualities.
* You could interpret your worship of Bane as the [[Edgy|more metal]] version of Kord worship, emphasizing self-improvement with the caveat that you're not just competing against yourself, but your enemies.
* You fully buy into his domineering aspect...against your foes, [[Salamanders (Chapter)|because you cherish what is behind you]].
* Chain of command and unit cohesion, baby. You may be a hardass, but you have a military understanding of the importance of working WITH the party, not against them.

[[Vecna]]:
You'd think that the god of [[necromancer]]s, [[undead]] and black magic as a whole would be the last choice to play a paladin of without getting short shrift from the rest of the party. And normally you'd be right. But there's two things giving Vecna an almost Bane-like level of potential playability. Firstly, Vecna is a '''subtle''' god, so you're supposed to be keeping your true faith under wraps in the first place. Secondly, Vecna is also the god of secrets, which means there are sects of his dedicated to the idea that there is shit in the world that man was not ''meant'' to know, and to making sure that they don't get the chance. In particular, there's the sect known as the Keepers of the Forbidden Lore, who worship Vecna as the god of secrecy and forbidden knowledge by rounding up the darkest, nastiest lore they can find and making sure it stays buried forever. Truenames of fiends, rituals to open rifts to the [[Far Realms]], magics of mass destruction, the Keeper's job is to find this stuff and bury it good and deep.

The DMG offers these as Vecna's commandments:
* Never reveal all you know.
* Find the seed of darkness in your heart and nourish it; find it in others and exploit it to your advantage.
* Oppose the followers of all other deities so that Vecna alone can rule the world.
If you're sticking with Vanilla Vecna's evil edicts, you can go about it carefully:
* Don't be Stupid Evil. Stupid Evil exposes you, turns your party against you, and makes [[Nagash|Bone Daddy]] facepalm.
* Play the long game subtly. You might be trying to get your allies to [[Star Wars|let the hate flow through them]], but you're also trying to do it without getting caught, and with more grace than a DM spawning a single surviving orc baby after your massacre.
* What's that? The BBEG is serving the interests of another deity? Sweet! I, too, oppose hostile deities!

His Channel Divinity in [[Dragon Magazine]] #395, which talks about playing a Vecna worshipper without being evil, instead presents his fundamental tenets thus:
* Follow the Subtle Path: Enemies abound. Ostentatious displays invite their attention. Reveal nothing about yourself and never offer more information than is required. Hold back all that you can because secret knowledge gives you power over others. Vecna knows your spirit, so never risk yourself or your gains by revealing your devotion to nonbelievers.
* Nurture the Seed of Darkness: Search your heart, your mind, and your body for darkness and surrender to its power. Let the shadow consume you, fill you with its perfect darkness, and guide your actions in the world. Those who shine brightest cast the darkest shadows. Corruption’s potential is your greatest ally. Locate darkness’s seed in those around you. Nurture it until the evil flourishes. Once your subject is in its throes, he or she will be powerless to resist you and become your obedient thrall.
* Reject All Gods but Vecna: The Maimed God is the one true god of all gods. All others are lesser godlings, sycophants, and pretenders. They win mortal affection through trickery and fraud. Reject them and go forth confident in Vecna’s favor. Scorn the priests who prostrate at the altars to the false gods. Trust them not because they covet the blessings Vecna bestows on you. Oppose their efforts lest they steal from you what you have earned.
So assuming that, like Citizen Bane, you're taking the non-evil route, here's how you can make it work:
* You treat Vecna's tenets as personal guides for self-improvement, wanting to master yourself rather than others...though admittedly, even the "non-evil" tenets imply you should try getting power over others.
* You're similar to the Oath of the Watchers, maybe part of the aforementioned Keepers of the Forbidden Lore. Your driving motive, maybe even your plot hook into the campaign, is to keep the world safe from terrible knowledge nobody should remember.
* Despite everything Vecna teaches, you're still a person, and you want what's best for those you care about. You want to master yourself to better help them, and you want to bring out their potential...even if you end up sounding more like Ayn Rand or Nietzsche than Confucius.