Role Playing a Paladin

[Harmony]

Presumably most have seen at least 1 Starwars movie, and Much of the Jedi Knight stuff (if You remove the Sci Fi bits) can be good inspiration to roleplay a Paladin, as well as the RL Knights Templar Myths and Legends.

1 issue where RL Knights Templar and Paladins clashes, is on the fact that RL Knights Templar was formed to war against the Saracens, and much like an Army, their members where expected to follow orders from their leaders. They where even expected never to flee from battle, some say they would flee if outnumbered 3 to 1.

Being a Paladin is very much about each individual Paladin having high morale and ethical standards. So if someone orders You to kill an innocent or commit other crimes, remember that the goal does not justify the means. Your personal integrity, what You truly believe is right and wrong is what should govern Your decisions and actions.

And after all, would You rather be in a "cool" guild or something like that, even if it meant You had to do things which where against Your beliefs in what was right and wrong ?

We are not trying to brainwash people into thinking the same way or even roleplay the same way. Our strength comes from each individual member who will stand up for his beliefs.

If You need inspiration on how to roleplay Your Paladin character, the best thing I can suggest is to look at other roleplaying games, and look to classic myths, tales and movies/novels for more general issues regarding right and wrong. We learn every day, we meet new people almost every day, we are faced with many difficult decisions in our lives, likewise with Your Paladin character in UO, and perhaps this is why we log on to UO.

Don't be afraid to do something wrong, but on the other hand don't do things You know is wrong. We all make mistakes and those who think they don't will have a hard time. Our mistakes is what we learn from, some says going uphill is what builds character.