Paladinic Philosophy 101: Another Way to Play a Lawful Good Paladin Without Being Lawful Stupid

Quite a few years ago I found an excellent reference for explaining paladinic philosophy based on the Path of Honor.  TL; DR on this is pretty simple.  Paladins have a set of privileges that can be earned or lost based on how an individual person acts.  A number of these privileges are default privileges that everyone gets by default and can only lose:

• Life -- Privilege to not die a meaningless death
• Well-Being -- One should not have their health intentionally compromised by another
• Procedure -- People should be allowed to do what they want by the paladin, so long as it doesn't infringe upon others' privileges
• Esteem -- One has the right to courtesy and respect

Beyond these default privileges are additional ones that can be earned:

• Confidence -- trusted by the paladin
• Deference -- a person's word is trusted in a given area
• Command -- a person can direct the paladin
• Absolute Command -- a person can direct the paladin without question

So when playing a lawful good paladin, many of the "good" side of things are simply these default privileges.  Of course, how the paladin chooses to play these default privileges in a setting can vary.  For example, do they only apply to intelligent humanoid races?  Do they apply to goblins?  Do they apply to murderers?  What proof does the paladin need to revoke the privileges of a person?  Must he witness the acts himself?  Can he simply hear of these acts from someone he has confidence in?  These distinctions give the "good" side of lawful good still a good bit of grey area.

The "lawful" side of the paladin is really all about the earned privileges.  What law the paladin chooses to follow depends on who has earned the deference, command, and absolute command privileges from the paladin.  For example, one would suspect a paladin to always hold their deity in a level of absolute command.  High priests and clerics under their deity may also hold absolute command.  However, where do kings and noblemen fall?  If there is an evil king in the land, does the paladin still give that king absolute command, command, deference, or even confidence?  Does that king lose privileges as he performs evil acts depriving his subjects of their default privileges?  This grey area of law also gives a spectrum of options when playing the paladin.

Unfortunately, the one area of the paladin where the grey area does not apply is committing evil acts.  Evil, which could be interpreted as breaking default privileges in an unjustified manner, is simply something a paladin should not be involved with.  This is not to say the paladin is without fault; however, the consequences of an intentional evil act, as judged by their deity, is for them to be cut off from their deity's power, until they make up for their evil act.

So next time you come across a paladin in your party, along the road, or even as your own character option, remember that there are a lot more ways to play a paladin that just your typical shining knight lawful stupid.  Put together a picture of how your paladin views the world, and you'll find a better way to play.