Bad Good Guys, and Good Bad Guys

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

• Jul 3, 2024

• #11

jdrakeh said:

It's my experience that, in D&D, a lot of people who play paladins end up having a pretty vile worldview and commit some heinous crimes in the name of their gods.

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I need to send a fruit basket to my paladin player, who plays the most pious, most wrestling-with-his-faith heroic figure you could possibly imagine. The Knights of the Round Table look up to him and he plays it all straight, not as a cartoon character.

That said, he clashes with folks in his church who are definitely Good Bad Guys or Bad Good Guys, who either view the church as a tool for getting what they want or justify doing anything in the name of their god.

In a long-running campaign full of great characters, his paladin might be my favorite.

 

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dbm

Savage!

Supporter

• Jul 3, 2024

• #12

Not from my campaigns but…

The White Cloaks from Wheel of Time probably qualify. Maybe the Red Ajah too so both ‘sides’ have their own bad / good faction.
Arguably the Inquisitors from WH40K also qualify since they are ‘saving’ people from demonic possession, or more accurately saving people who are standing close to other people who might be possessed.
Super controversial - the Jedi as shown in the Prequels are basically fascists making people behave. Engaging in ‘aggressive negotiations’ and mind controlling drug dealers.

 

Voadam

Legend

• Jul 3, 2024

• #13

I use the Holy Lothian Empire in my games with a henotheistic official imperial church of the LG ascended paladin Lothian. I also only used mechanical supernatural alignment in my 3e game and not alignment as morals and clerics were all actually mechanically godless clerics who got power regardless of their alignment and actual faith, so the LG church could be filled with good or bad guys and even faithless or corrupt spellcasting clergy and had a history of crusades and inquisitions.

There were many bad good guys as inquisitions got out of hand, but also actual hidden corrupting demon cults they were trying to root out.

 

Necropolitan

Adventurer

• Jul 3, 2024

• #14

I'm currently playing a fanatical Cleric of Umberlee (Chaotic Evil goddess of the ocean, storms, and sea monsters) who is only a former pirate by circumstances rather than choice.

His companions are another former pirate who likes fighting and plundering, a Warlock cultist of unknown abominations, and a Neutral Good Ranger who seeks to fight against evil.

Our party's currently fighting against a corrupt town guard who have joined forces with a gang of wererats. So we're making the city a better place despite the majority of the party only fighting because our enemies are threatening our business.

It's funny though since the Neutral Good Ranger is the only character who's killed someone in cold blood.

 

Voadam

Legend

• Jul 6, 2024

• #15

I like the 4e story of Lolth where she was originally the spinning goddess of fate Aurashnee until the Abyss erupted and threatened reality. She saw that it could be contained by her directly spinning webs to contain it, but that this would corrupt her essence turning her into a hateful demoness herself, driving her mad and spiteful and that all she loved would turn against her and try and kill her and she would strike out against everything she loved. She did it knowing the cost, choosing to save everyone.

 

Voadam

Legend

• Jul 6, 2024

• #16

double post.

 

Reynard

Legend

Supporter

• Jul 6, 2024

• #17

Voadam said:

I like the 4e story of Lolth where she was originally the spinning goddess of fate Aurashnee until the Abyss erupted and threatened reality. She saw that it could be contained by her directly spinning webs to contain it, but that this would corrupt her essence turning her into a hateful demoness herself, driving her mad and spiteful and that all she loved would turn against her and try and kill her and she would strike out against everything she loved. She did it knowing the cost, choosing to save everyone.

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That sounds cool. It also probably made some people REAL mad.

 

Voadam

Legend

• Jul 6, 2024

• #18

Reynard said:

That sounds cool. It also probably made some people REAL mad.

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I also can't find reference to that story now in my main 4e materials (her MM3 entry, her DMG entry, Demonomicon, Manual of the Planes, The Plane Below). It might be in some 4e Dungeon article or some other 4e place or it might just be my own head cannon combining the 4e Abyss story with the 2e Aurashnee stuff from Demihuman Deities.

In any case I really like it as her story.

 

overgeeked

B/X Known World

• Jul 7, 2024

• #19

Anti-heroes and anti-villains. They’re really old, really well-worn tropes that can be great fun to play around with.

My experience with paladins more closely mirrors the posters talking about the either lawful stupid paladin or the anti-hero paladin using their faith as an excuse to commit evil despite being ostensibly good.

Magneto was right.