Paladins and Slavery~

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Let me see what you think.


A Paladin is raised in a slave owning society. Can the Paladin own slaves? Its lawful. And his definition of "good" might include treating his slaves well, perhaps even as if they were almost real people.

A Paladin from another part of the world might be aghast, but in this little slice of hell its perfectly acceptable and is a mark of nobility and wealth.


So what're your opinions? Citing references is a plus.

[Ismaels-Legacy]

Wow! That is a sticky situation. I think it would have to include how his family treated the slaves when they were growing up, too. If the paladin's parents treated the slaves like animals, it would be likely that the paladin would feel some sort of remorse for them. If they were simply treated like servants who were bound to the land (A fairly common practice for a while if I recall) then, the paladin may not think anything of it.

[phindar]

In a society like Ancient Rome, where slavery is an unquestioned part of life, I could very easily see a Paladin being fine with it. Likewise in a society like Medieval Europe, where the nobility run manors and lands staffed by serfs. (Any time a person isn't allowed to leave, I think you're dealing with a type of slavery.)

The hiccup is that while slavery has been an accepted part of many historical societies, the D&D Alignment system has always kept to the modern moral viewpoint. So one could make the argument that whether or not slavery is an accepted practice in a given society, it is always Evil, or at best, Not Good.

If it's Not Good (falling roughly under the heading of Lawful Neutral), then a Paladin could participate, either by owning slaves or tracking down escapees. The Paladin couldn't mistreat slaves or stand by while they were mistreated, but otherwise there'd be no violation.

If it's Evil, then the Paladin can't abide it.

Whether it's Evil or Not Good is ultimately up to the GM, although the players may have their own strong feelings about things. (If a player feels slavery is evil and has his paladin start freeing slaves left and right, and the GM thinks slavery is Not Good the paladin could end up getting slammed with an Alignment violation for a Chaotic action.) So I think as long as the GM is clear about how slavery fits into his or her world, that should keep the confusion to a minimum.

[Crimson-Kobold]

Let me see what you think.


A Paladin is raised in a slave owning society. Can the Paladin own slaves? Its lawful. And his definition of "good" might include treating his slaves well, perhaps even as if they were almost real people.

A Paladin from another part of the world might be aghast, but in this little slice of hell its perfectly acceptable and is a mark of nobility and wealth.


So what're your opinions? Citing references is a plus.

Since Good is largely defined by the society, if slavery is allowed, there would be no issues for the Paladin.

That said, they would not stand by and allow slaves to be mistreated. While they might be of lower caste, that's no reason to beat them, starve them, and so on.

Could be interesting if a Paladin from a land where slavery is outlawed met a Paladin from a land that approves of it, and said paladin has some slaves with him lol.