quote:
I never have envisioned Paladinhood as upholding the law of the land. Why? Because if the law of the land is oppressive, it would be a Paladin's duty to assist in destroying the dictator in power, and placing a benevolent ruler in the seat of power
The 2nd edition started to allow holy warriors of various different faiths to try to address the spectrum of possibilities.. though I prefer the specialty priests as such. Used to play a specialty priest of Tempus in PnP. He was a holy warrior, but he weren't no paladin... The Paladin is special. He is, and must be, lawful good. As a justification for this, besides simply being the ultimate good warrior... rangers and paladins are both required to be good. Both of them, through their goodness, obtain powers that regular warriors do not, no matter how woodcrafty or goldenhearted they may be. No barbarian, no matter how mighty, no matter how good with animals, no matter how able to survive -50 degree blizzards, will ever be able to tap into the divine and heal another man's wounds, or cure an old lady of poisoned meal, or a pig of hoof-and-mouth (and if you want to see where a high-level ranger is valuable to a rural community in PnP roleplaying, folks...). Why?
The ranger is more complex, so let's stick to the paladin: the paladin is defined as lawful. Always. The paladin lives a life of ascetic discipline, and makes tremendous personal sacrifices in order to uphold the good. His power comes from that combination of discipline, self-sacrifice, and the good.
In places where the law is evil, paladins simply don't exist. Zhentil keep is an orderly place... but its inhabitants view law and order as a way of gaining and maintaining personal power, just like the stereotype of the corrupt cop who hides behind the aegis of his badge. Lawful evil doesn't get power, obviously, because order is twisted toward inherently selfish ends. No personal sacrifice. Lawful neutral doesn't get it, because the order is an end, a good, in and of itself. Neutral good and chaotic good, while having vast reservoirs of benefice, are unable to make the sort of drastic personal sacrifices and acts of discipline required to make the grade. The ranger upholds the good, often a very wild and wooly good. The paladin upholds the good order...