Single Class Paladin Campaign Book - First Glimpse

I have decided to write a book on running a single-class paladin campaign for OSR type games. Here is the introduction and opening section. 

Introduction

The ‘old school’ playstyle imagines its protagonists as rogues: adventurers, tomb robbers, dungeoneers, vagabonds, vagrants, thieves. They gain power, fame and glory through the ill-gotten wealth they accrue. And they think it entirely appropriate to deploy murderous violence in pursuit of their ambitions. We are all familiar with their ilk; and, by and large, we love them.

This book, however, provides a means by which ‘old school’ gaming can be reconfigured, with the protagonists imagined not as rogues, but as the reverse: paladins, defined as those for whom their honour is more important than their lives. Whether or not they gain power, fame and glory is immaterial to them; whether they accrue wealth is a matter beneath contempt. What matters to them is virtue: pursuing truthfulness, justice, protection of the weak. And in that pursuit they ask not the number or size of their enemies, the distance they must travel, or the hardships they must endure. They ask only what is right.

This book provides you with the basic building blocks for running such a reconfigured ‘old school’ campaign – with rules for creating paladin PCs and running single-class paladin campaigns, tools for creating settings and sandboxes, and lists of foes. It provides you with a complete overhaul of the basic conceptions of ‘old school’ play – but in a manner which will be instantly recognisable to those who prefer the methods of gaming associated with the ‘old school renaissance’.

Some Questions

What is a Paladin?

A paladin, as stated in the introduction to this volume, is one for whom his honour is more important than his life.

This definition is deliberately broad. A paladin is not necessarily (though he could be) the chivalric knight that will inevitably have appeared in the mind of the reader the instant this book’s title was read. Indeed, the concept of a dedicated warrior who prizes virtue is both of ancient heritage and diverse lineage. It encompasses, of course, the wandering knight-errant, but also the Japanese samurai, the Homeric Greek hero, the laconic Spartiate, the gallant Sipahi, the proud hidalgo, the Roman eques, the Bedouin warrior, the Youxia folk-hero, and much more besides; such figures are indeed probably universal across societies of a particular type and level of development. What unites these disparate figures is not language or culture or background, but adherence to a particular set of values.

 

What are these values?

First, dedication to honour is distinct from dedication to glory. Glory means winning renown through great deeds. A paladin will sometimes perform great deeds, or at least attempt to do so, and may indeed win fame and status for doing so. But this is not his main aim. His goal is to live honourably: to know, and be known for, abiding by a moral code irrespective of the personal risk it entails.

Second, dedication to honour means behaving honourably: treating others fairly, justly, compassionately. It does not mean treating them as equals, and nor does it mean treating them well; what isa  fair or just way to treat a defenceless old beggar woman who has stolen a loaf of bread is different to what is a fair or just way to treat to a hardened outlaw who has kidnapped a child. What behaving honourably means, simply, is behaving towards others – once again – in accordance with a moral code.

And third, dedication to honour requires honesty in all things. This goes beyond ‘mere’ truthfulness, though truthfulness is an important facet of honesty. Honesty also means trustworthiness; it means integrity; it means loyalty; and it means sincerity. It means acting in good faith as an end in itself, even when there is no likelihood that one will be treated in good faith in return. It means staying true to one’s word, in all things and at all times. It means approaching the world with frankness.

A paladin’s outward appearance, the place from which he comes, the language which he speaks, what he chooses to call himself, and so on, may affect the nature of the external moral standards to which he attempts to abide. But the core values listed above are characteristics that paladins share in all societies, cultures and backgrounds where they are found.  

The remaining question to ask is, what does a paladin do?

There are two answers to this question, and they are at odds with one another.

The first is that a paladin does good in the world. He is physically and spiritually strong, and there are many who are weak and in need of protection. He therefore dedicates his strength to those who are weaker, so that they may live in a place of greater safety than it would otherwise be. He is their shield and sword.

The second, however, is that a paladin usually serves. One usually derives one’s status as a paladin from becoming enmeshed in a web of loyalty to higher temporal authorities – whether a king, lord, military order, religious institution, or the like. Yet it is the way of the world that men of honour rarely occupy positions of high office, and such positions are intrinsically corrupting of those who hold them. Since this is so, and since a paladin must abide by his oaths of fealty in all things, he might find himself required to carry out tasks that are orthogonal – or even opposed – to his conception of the good. Every paladin must therefore wrestle with the need to loyally and faithfully serve those to whom one he fealty while also staying true to the other strictures of his moral code. In a world filled with deceit and danger this is rarely if ever straightforward.