I'm a gigantic egotistical faggot everyone hates. I should just go kill myself.

From a quite Grimdark game my GM ran; said by my character standing atop a burning wizard tower, on huge debuffs due to torture, wearing nothing except rags, having just fought the Wizard to a standstill to stop a ritualistic sacrafice of a child.

“You would risk your life and everything that is for one person?”
“For one person? For one life! For one chance of love, for sorrow, joy, fear, kindness and for her to have a long life, dying hand in hand with the weeping children they brought into the world? YES! I WOULD DIE FOR THAT!”

And then he punched the wizard off the edge of the Tower
Sure, he died when the tower collapsed, but the NPC 'sacrifice' survived.

A man does what is right, not what is wise.

We once fought together for an ideal with our swords. It wasn't for power or for glory, but to create a peaceful world where people could live without fear. And, if you could just get up, leave and forget about that, then what did you spend all those years fighting hopelessly for?

---

"Justice doesn't mean law"

---

Do what you feel in your heart to be right- you’ll be criticized either way anyway.

---

Doing something and doing it badly is better than doing nothing perfectly.

---

Men of genius are admitted; men of wealth are envied; men of power feared…but only a man of character is trusted.

---

The strong cannot be happy. Triumphant, perhaps, but never happy.

Just a few.

More 40k related, but
"for those we cherish we die in glory"

Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly; the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence.

"Do the impossible, see the invisible, ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWAH!"

From the best Paladin my group ever saw; having just saved a village, just before riding off into the desert on his raptor Mount (Spirits in the setting were Goblinoids and stuff basically; Humans and 'Spirits' were always at war, the Paladin was a sort of peace keeper attitude, protecting both sides since neither was in the right totally):

"While evil flourishes and wrongs grow rank, while men are persecuted and women wronged, while weak things, human or Spirit, are maltreated, there is no rest for me beneath the skies, nor peace at any board or bed…plus it pays well.”

My armor is contempt, my shield is disgust, my sword is hatred. In the Emperor's name, let none survive!

>>16690392
Damnit Dinobot.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

A few Words from Father Benidictus, the Worlds Angriest Paladin; seriously, this guy was Paladin/Barbarian in equal amounts (GM was flexible with alignment restrictions)

>“What can I say? When I get angry, really angry, I get angry right. I don’t smoulder, or make threats, or give warning. I burn, then I go cold, and then I make things happen as best I can. Anger is a wonderfully simple thing when it comes down to it really.”

>Anger isn’t bad, no matter what people say, anger is natural, anger is human, anger is there for a reason. The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow terrible evil because it isn't angry enough.

>“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry”

>Most the time when I'm angry I have a good reason to be angry, but you need to remember one thing…even the best reason in the world, no matter how angry you are, doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

>This world can stain me so badly that I will never be able to look at myself in the mirror again, it can poison my every intention and deed and turn it black, so I am forever known as a monster by the world, long after I am dead; it can turn every kindness I attempt into a tragedy, every gentle word into a lie…and take everything from me. But no matter what, it cannot bend my will. It will never stop me trying to do kindness.

>>16690474


>The problem with trying to do what’s right is that so many other people are gleefully doing what’s very, very wrong.

>I bet you’re wondering, ‘What makes a man like him? What makes him do the things he does?’…I’ll tell you, A man like him has a great, empty hole right through the middle of him. He can never do enough, or fight enough or put himself in enough pain to ever fill it. Then you’re asking yourself “What does he need?” He needs Revenge. For what? Against who? How? When I find out by filling the hole, I’ll let you know.

>"There is good, and there is evil. There are those who commit crimes and those who stop them. The two sides are opposite, as different as day and night…in that there are constant shades and a blur where they meet.”

War Orphans in a time when the world is warming up to the biggest war ever are awesome paladins.

>>16690438
That is the fucking worst paladin I've ever heard. Certainly by the modern definition of paladin. Just because they are big armored knights, does not make them a paladin, if anything, it usually makes them a jackass.

There are things that go bump in the night. We are the ones who bump back!

You call me a fool rushing blindly to his death. So tell me, are you afraid of fools?

Time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I can't reach my bubblegum

"Blade with whom I have lived, blade with whom I know die, let right and justice win one last time. Slay one last heart of evil, still one last life of pain. Cut well, old friend, and then, farewell."

They sing no songs in Hel, nor do they celebrate heroes. For silent is that dismal realm and cheerless.
But the story of the Gjallerbru and the lone god who defended it is whispered across the Nine Worlds. And when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head, the answer is always the same.
He stood alone at Gjallerbru. And that answer is enough.

My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.

"Let strength be granted so the world might be mended... So the world be mended."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elFef3tx9NI
>Stand aside, everyone! I take LARGE STEPS!

"What have I done?"

"You've killed a tyrant. You've ended a war. You've saved countless lives!"

"All I’ve done is kill another man. That’s all I’ve ever done. That’s all I’ll ever do, I think.”

Aw man, now I really wish I'd saved that 'Paladin's Intimidate Speech' about falling.

But we in it shall be remembered! We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother, be he ne'er so vile this day shalt gentle his condition. And Gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here! And hold their manhoods cheap! Whilst any speaks! Who fought with us upon St. Crispin's Day!

This one needs a bit of backstory; the entire game was based in a vast world where nature was basically CE; after one dick ass druid literally summoned the Spirit of Darwinism to the world to weed out the weak.
Now the world was slowly being overcome by a vast and ancient forest that grew from the south, known as the Borderforests; our Paladin was a Necromantic Paladin, who defied Nature by creating undead to hold back the forest.
One day, the Princess of the last human kingdom disappeared into the Forest, dooming her to a horrific life as a breeding slave to the 'chosen' races of the forest (Mostly Orcs and stuff, being the Apex predator species of the setting), out Paladin went 'Fuck that' and disappered into the forest wearing an ancient set of armour created by a Dark Lord in ancient times; wielding a +6 Plant Bane sword in one hand and a +4 Flaming Towershield in the other; leaving behind him a trail of blackened, dead plantlife as the armour was basically so EVIL that it siphoned off all the life in a nearby area (1 HP per turn for everything in a 10 foot radius.).

We all assume he's fucked since we're only 10th level, (All the armour and crap came from the King, since the GM created it as part of the world fluff that there'd been a Dark Lord the Kings ancests had defeated and crap and that the armour literally grew in power with each kill.) and the GM himself said that the plan was that we were going to find a new heir.
Paladin disappears for something like 7 sessions, we all assume his character is dead and the player is thinking up a new dude, he sits in on our sessions.

>>16690685
Which one? http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Paladin or http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Powder_Keg_of_Justice ?

>>16690695
Just as we finish the beginning of the 'Find the New Heir' Arc; theres a rucus, as something approaches from the Southern Forests; something so terrible that a fell storm follows in its wake, that the dead are rising in their coffins and unearthing themselves, then disappearing into the forests; and that the trees at the edge of the forest are withering and dying.
We all think its Neo-Gaia come to fuck our shit...and prepare for a huge battle as fast as we can...when Sauron-adin comes out the Forest, riding a huge undead Boar Monster; with the Princess wearing the armour and the Paladin Emaciated by being near it, but still alive in an almost skeletal state. Think the effects of TB x1000.
We break the armour down off the Princess, who is fine, naturally, and discharge its power using a McGuffin we had that can only be described as 'an Earth Wire for Supernatural Charge'
The Paladin says 5 words before fainting; and taking 3 sessions an entire Quest Arc to recover; he looked back at the Forest behind him with a ratting breath and then whispered 'The Forest Knows my Name'
We later found out he fought the Right hand of Neo-Gaia for the Princess's life and literally choked the life out of him by holding him down with the Death armour and impaling it on the spikes.

Paraphrasing of the last words of the second (and last) paladin I ever played:

"You killed my wife, you son of a bitch... you killed my little boy. Five years old. Five fucking years old. My shield is broken in two. My sword is out of reach. All I have is this dagger. Not even sharp enough to pierce your hide." He shakes his head, and turns the dagger toward his stomach. "It'll do for me, though. I hereby foreswear every oath I've made to uphold righteousness. Every oath to uphold order, to defend the innocent, give charity to the poor. Everything I've ever believed in, I renounce. And after all that, if my word still has any meaning, I want to muster all that meaning now, for these four words: I will end you. You do what you will to all these people. Carry on your merry little way, massacring innocent men, women, and children who just want to live happy, peaceful lives. But as you do, in the back of your mind, remember this: I will end you. When all is said and done, when you decide to return home... when you set foot in hell... I'll be waiting. And then, if I have to use my fingernails, if I have to bite your throat open, if I have to drag you screaming into oblivion with me, you will cease to be, and the last thing you see, hear, smell, touch, and taste, will be me. I. Will. End you." And then he ran himself through with the knife.

"None of that, 'Oh well if you're truly sorry, there's nothing I can do," horseshit. No, he coup de graces your ass because he's a goddamn Paladin. His job is killing evil. You know what his job doesn't entail? Being a sympathetic ear for every whiny NE or CN or LE douchebag who's only being evil because the world is unfair to him or every punk that lets his own dislikes or laziness overcome his own personality. You know what unfair is? Being able to know what kind of person everyone is before you even talk to them. Smelling evil so potent on a motherfucker that you want to sink your fingers in his chest and pull that tar out until the screaming stops. Having the psychotic urge to murder people that you've never even met, for the sole reason that your God decided that you ought to be his right hand without your choice in the matter, that's unfair.
But unlike Evil McBlacknails over there, that Paladin puts on his helmet, sharpens his sword, and then continues walking through crowds of people day by day, resisting the urge. Seeing evidence of injustice so black it makes him sick. Seeing murderers and rapists walk the street, watching good men hang as evil ones pull the lever. Saving his righteous violence for when the situation exactly, specifically, precisely calls for it. Surgically removing that which is most evil. Because he's a Paladin. And if he gave in to the urge, what would he be? Who will right the true wrongs if not he?
It's not about not falling as a Paladin. It's about falling so fucking hard you crash through the planet and stand up on the other side."

Even in the darkest night
Stars and angels still shine bright


It's from a magic card, but my players are going to find it written on something at some point, I love it

"Never mistake composure for ease."

>>16690707
Ah yes, that one. A bit long, but a damn good Paladin quote.

"Never be fair when you can be generous."

From the best modern paladin Michael Carpenter.

"Blood of the dragon, that old serpent.
You and yours have no power here.
Your threats are hollow, your words are empty of truth.
Just as your heart is empty of love, and your body of life.
Cease this now before you tempt the wrath of the almighty. "

>>16690724
That's not very paladin, but it's pretty badass.

"A good man will kill you without saying a word."
Terry Pratchett, Men At Arms

>>16690346
To dream ... the impossible dream ...
To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...
To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...
To run ... where the brave dare not go ...
To right ... the unrightable wrong ...
To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...
To try ... when your arms are too weary ...
To reach ... the unreachable star ...

This is my quest, to follow that star ...
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far ...
To fight for the right, without question or pause ...
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ...

And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest,
That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm,
when I'm laid to my rest ...
And the world will be better for this:
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,
To reach ... the unreachable star ...

Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear -- until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share -- I'll never stop fighting. Ever.

I will use this power for all the good that can be done...
To work for peace...
To encourage virtue...
And above all, to preserve life, in all its forms...
Or failing in that, to give up this power...forever!

>>16690794
>>16690794
You beat me to it. I've always wanted to play a donQuixote inspired paladin.

Lost cause? Of course it's a lost cause! That's why we're here!

>>16690695
>>16690717
That must have been a blast.

>>16690695
>>16690717
Your character made Evil Mother Nature shit herself?
That's awesome.

I stand before the unstoppable hordes...and I hold them back. That's what I do. What I've always done. I hold back the storm...When nothing else can

>>16690833
isn't what everyone wants?

I hold no enmity against those coerced into evil, but to those vile beings who toy with the hearts and souls of people, since the time of ancient gods, we have been your destroyers!

Men are governed only by serving them; the rule is without exception.

"From the earth?"
"A base metal."
"From the sky?"
"Fire."
"From my veins?"
"Hot blood."
"The fate of the world..."
"Is on my back!"

"Oh, stay," the maiden said, "and rest
Thy weary head upon this breast!"
A tear stood in his bright blue eye,
But still he answered, with a sigh,
Excelsior!

Would it be too mary sue to play a rogue-turned-paladin?

"You're right. we can't beat you. You really are just too strong. Every odd is stacked in your favor and every rule of your god and mine are agianst me. Which is why I'm going to break those rules over your goddamned head even if it kills me, you monstrous son of a bitch."

The only guy in our group with any serious meta-knowledge who had been for once not the absolute monster in or out of combat for a campaign; right before he pulls out a combo that dealt infinite damage to both himself and the BBEG.

>>16690900
Depends on how you do it, if you just leave it as a skeleton in your closet, then no.

>>16690900
Someone did that already.

He did it to get free night of lodging.

Ended up saving the kingdom.

>>16690900

No character type is inherently a Mary Sue. What makes them a Mary Sue or a compelling character is entirely in the hands of the player.

>>16690938
That's not entirely true, but it has to basically be something from Deviant Art to be one.

I am not a wise man, but I am a strong one, and I know right from wrong.

Surrender and I will see that you are judged fairly. Resist, and I shall end your tyranny with your life.

"Nobody has a monopoly on the truth. Doesn't mean you can't fight for it."

From my Gnome Paladin. (Yeah go figure.)

"Sticks and Stones
May break my bones
But evil and tyranny
Can bite me."

"Bluto. Even though you're bigger than me, you can't win, 'cause you're bad, and the good always wins over the bad."

>>16690933
I believe I have those screencaps somewhere. Ah, here. A delightful tale.

>>16690900
Let me put this into perspective for you: I once ran a lesbian half-celestial Aasimar rogue-paladin and I was told by the rest of the group, as well as several people not involved in the game, that I had the most compelling character.

Christ, what a pain in the ass that game was. We had no less than two THAT GUYs at the fucking table. The monk/druid and the cleric/rogue Kender. The monk/druid would argue over anything, including the drop of a hat, at the drop of a hat. The Kender could only be described as a kleptomaniac "Evil Mcblacknails". Fortunately, this was Pathfinder, so I could see every bullshit thing he did.

Shit was so bad, I would take the non-shit parts of the group, and ditch the shit parts of the group on a regular basis.

>>16691017

"Ten score of your forces lay as dust in the wind or baking in funeral pyres of weeks past. Dozens more lay rotting in nondescript woods. Ten lay bleeding out before you. You're cunning enough to count, monster, but are you fool enough to gamble?"

>One man can start a landslide with the casting of a single pebble.
this sound like the next episode of Mythbusters

>>16690903
Did this involve an army of orcs and end in the forest?

>>16691051
I read a great Cracked article about Popeye. Apparantly, since spinach gives everybody super-powers, WWII ended up becoming a cluster-fuck. Popeye never took off his uniform until '78, and since WWII killed about million people, his version killed 390,000,000 people (about one in every ten humans).
>Contribution
"Sir, I know this is a suicide mission, and I'm going to die. But if one man must become the salvation of his people the hard way, so be it!"

>>16691076
I love that story!!!!!

Good men don't need rules, now is not the time to find out why I have so many.

"Fan out, kill everything that moves. My blades get first taste of their women and children. God is on our side because they all detected as evil"

"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated."

Hope you're a size 13, because my foot's about to go straight up your ass!

"The goal of all life must be to expand and continue, for all the wrong and evil that we see in man only ends in isolation and decay."

"I don't do this because I like to hurt people... I could hurt people without all these rules and codes. I do this because I want to help people. I do this not because of who I can slay with my sword, but who I can heal with my hands. None of this comes naturally for me. Every single decision I make requires forethought. Would I be breaking my oath? Because I know the second I break my oath, I lose these gifts that have been given to me. So if you drive me to do something I regret... if you cause me to break my oath... if these hands can no longer heal... I got no problem picking up my old daggers, hunting you down, and doing all the things I'm not allowed to right now.

>>16690998
"Sticks and Stones
May break my bones
But law and good
Stand beside me."

Just thought of that.

"2011, not being lawful. I seriously hope you guys don't do this"

[spoiler]No really this actually seems like something a paladin would say[>implying/tg/hasspoilers]

Arm broken , ribs cracked , knife in chest between third and fourth rib can feel it scratching against my heart . Child screaming in distance demons approaching him . I wonder if its possible to swing my blade one-handed . Oh well my teeth are sharp enougth

"If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness."

"No man is justified in doing evil on the grounds of expediency."

The cause of demons is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do good, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of it seems to have vanished, asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

Even if heaven itself tolerates your brutality, I promise you I never will!

"The scars that we've acquired aren't shadowed in remorse! These scars are our testament that we didn't quench spirit's flame, but we assailed Hell with swift feet and iron fists proclaiming -- "We fight! We shall not rest!"

"Show me courage! Show me strength! Show me the resolve it takes when buckled knees carry the world, because the will doesn't break!"

"I do not wish for people to put their faith in me because 'The Good Guys always win.' That is not how I see it. We do not win because we are the Good Guys, we win because we have the stronger belief."

I tried.

>First words at the beginning of the campaign upon meeting another PC getting mugged in a back ally
"You see, you might hurt my friend there real bad with that knife. Real bad. He'll be in the hospital for days, maybe weeks. On the other hand... I'll kill you with this sword."

>Last words at the end of the game when fighting the BBEG who was a 'Hurr, all men are tools to be manipulated, you can't handle the truth' type noble, who was also a Big game hunter (Big game in his eyes including any and all sentient non-humans)
My place in life is to walk into the twilight and drag back from the night the carcass of that rarest and most terrible of beasts…the truth, the hideous, terrible truth, and show it to the light…for all to see and be disgusted by. Because only by them knowing this…can I ever hope they will be ashamed enough to change things.

"The hammers of justice are unisex!"

"I'm >insertname< and I am a suspicious bastard."

"soon you'll be smitten with something...and it aint love."

to paladin: you betrayed the law!
paladin: YOU BETRAYED EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD!

for good to exist there must be evil
paladin: challenge accepted...

"What does it mean, to be a paladin?"

"It means to know what evils lurk in the hearts of men. It's to be able to look at a crowd and to *know* who there is evil--who is a murderer, who is a rapist, who peddles in flesh and human suffering."

"It means to, every day, see the worst that humanity has to offer, to see the monsters dressed in the skin of men."

"It means to fight, every day of your life, to train, to be vigilant, to never, ever, EVER let yourself waver."

"It means to hold fast to your ideals and your goals. It means to help those who are helpless."

"It means to show mercy to the merciless, and love to the loveless. To be a Paladin is to be thrown, head-first, into the worst people in the world... and to mourn them when they die."

"To be a paladin is not a simple warrior or a priest. A Paladin takes no joy in death or in killing. Truely, a Paladin only fights so that, one day, he will be obsolete."

"And to be a Paladin is to be perfectly fine with that."

My personal measure of quality for the contributions to this topic: I read it with the following song playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-sR3nx1yRg

If goosebumps ensue, it's damn good.

"If you set out to be liked, you must be prepared to compromise with anyone, about anything, at any time, and in the end of all things, you will have accomplished absolutely nothing."

My first Paladin's final words to his Squire.
"Write over the pages of my tale with that of your own."

This thread is awesome.

What is a kingdom? A place? A castle? A crown?

No

A kingdom is its people. As long as we live, the kingdom lives with us

Amazing quotes, guys

I'm not even close to being good at writing... but hey, let me try:

I am the one who has lost his self-awareness,
Just an insignificant piece of sand on the shore
A spark of light in a sea of darkness,
Still, I refuse to forsake this feeling I've got in my core.

I am the wave, doomed to never reach the coast,
The dry leaves the wind has just blown away
Just a kid, first and foremost,
Even so, my Will will never decay.

I am the Tower, the Knight.
The Priest and the Peasant.
The Sword, the Shield,
The Sacrifice.

I am nobody.
I am a paladin.

>>16697135
I can taste the Geass.

May the spatula of Purity scramble the eggs of your malfesense!

"I would give my life to save these people."
"I would trade my life for those you hold hostage."
"And I will make you pay dearly if you harm them in the slightest."

"JUUUUUUUUUUSTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE"

> Not well? What is illness to the body of a knight-errant? What matter wounds? For each time he falls, he shall rise again, and woe to the wicked.

God... fucking damn it. I have never cried so much or so hard than at my local theater's production of Man of La Mancha. I'm not going to lie and say they were manly tears. They weren't. These were the most distinctly unmanly tears I had cried in over five years. It was one of the best nights of my life.

Only Death can redeem you!

May <God> have mercy on your soul, for I shall have none!

Everything I do, I do in th name of <ideal>!

No, no! Never despair, NEVER SURRENDER!(rawshark and all that)

Be at ease, fiend. Soon, all will be over.

"I Fight for my friends" and "I have no sympathy for you". surprisingly, the FE series is a good source of these.
>Hmph. You see me, and instead of fleeing, you come to face me. Interesting...and foolish.

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

Foolish mortal, did you think you could harm this material coil? You are naught but a speckle of dust, a mere blink in the eye of the <Epithet>! Now come, if you dare, and face the power of a God!

Fire cleanses everything.

Okay, I'm not a good paladin player.

>>16690346

"The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote."

"My life's a disaster zone. I got a stepdaughter so fucked up because her real father's this large-type asshole. I got a wife, we're passing each other on the down-slope of a marriage - my third - because I spend all my time chasing guys like you around the block. "

"You don't live with me, you live among the remains of dead people. You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain, you search for signs of passing, for the scent of your prey, and then you hunt them down. That's the only thing you're committed to. The rest is the mess you leave as you pass through."

>>16700618

"No dictator, no invader, can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power, governments and tyrants and armies cannot stand. The Centauri learned this lesson once...we will teach it to them again. Though it take a thousand years, we /will/ be free."

"It's really hard following a code of conduct in all honesty. It means I can only cut your head off for being a heathen instead of piking it. That's for harlets and sluts."

You never said Blackgaurd wasn't allowed.

"Pelor might be my god, but that doesn't mean I hit like an old man."

"See this sword? Now you don't, but I bet you feel it"

"Yeah, I saw your fellow theives. IF you would look up, you'll see them too!"

>Mfw I tied 4 thieves up to the ceiling in an effort to hide the bodies, and then used it as an intimidation tactic, and it worked.

"We do not argue that war is better than peace; we are not so stupid as that. But it is not peace when cruelty reigns, when stronger men steal from farmers and craftworkers, when the child can be enslaved or the old thrown out to starve, and no one lifts a hand. That is not peace: that is conquest, and evil."

>>16700629
>funny-city.com
Way to undermine yourself, Cap.

"It has always fallen upon the shoulders of a strong few to defend the many weak."

"I don't care if you can burn this world, the afterlife, and all of the gods. I will not kill the girl."