I'm currently playing in a campaign which at the moment is in a fairly corrupt town. My character is a 17 year old Paladin who is rather naive. The party encountered what they later found out was a necromancers lab, the place was filled with mutilated bodies and skeletons from grave that had been robbed. I smashed the necromancer down with non lethal and dragged him back to the town to throw into jail. However the corrupt unofficial major of the town had him released.
I am unsure how to proceed with this (the plot has advanced past this but is still in the same town) since he is clearly guilty of some serious crimes. But since the local sheriff has judged him to have done nothing wrong I'm not sure what I can do. I don't want to derail the campaign pursuing this minor plot point, but It's important to my character since this man is the first glimpse of real evil he has seen.
If anyone was wondering this is Age of Worms but if this plot point is later sorted out I don't want anyone to tell me.
Does the Paladin realise that corruption - or some other miscarriage of justice - is the cause of the Necromancer's release? If not, his hands are tied. But if he does, it stands to reason he'll now bring his own brand of justice to the town. One that kills the Necromancer (since there's no other legal recourse to see him punished) and then takes over as the new Sheriff - whether the town likes that or not.
Mind you, I've no idea how all of that fits in with your PC's personality, nor how that would work out within the campaign.
Not all paladins follow exactly the same code. The code in the core rule book is a start but depending on your deity it can and often will be slightly altered. A paladin of Sarenrae will have a lot different attitude then one of Torag. Sarenrae's paladin is going to be more forgiving and willing to give people a chance, Torag on the other hand will be a lot harsher and more prone to judge it.
Also consider that not all cultures will agree with your code. Most people are neutral not good, so the local laws may not agree with your code. Beating up a necromancer in Geb for example is not going to be tolerated very well. In some cases there may not be any laws either way regarding necromancy. This may be the case in the town you are in.
Lawful does not mean following all the local laws in means following the laws of your deity. When a local law conflicts with your deity's law your deity's law takes precedence. If the local law does not conflict with your deity's law you will probably follow it out of respect for authority.
Also consider the fact that a paladin is more focused on good than law. A single willing evil act will cause you to fall, but unless you commit enough chaotic for your alignment to shift to neutral good you do not fall. This can be a problem is your deity is lawful neutral because you have a much harder time.
The reason the necromancer is in town is because the unofficial major called him to to help with a bigger problem. According to him there are powerful undead under one of the mines in the town, and the necromancer was brought in to help combat the situation. So the authorities were told it was a lesser evil by their higher-ups. As of now this story seems true, though he is still guilty of grave robbing, maybe murder and although necromancy isn't illegal in this setting what was in that lab definitely wasn't.
I think what I will do is after the current situation we're in is resolved , is I will try and bring him before a different source of authority. I believe there are a few men in the town that have influence and will have my back, namely the priest at the chapel of Heironeous who is a mentor to me(long story why that wasn't an option in the first place). If they are unwilling to serve justice I'll reluctantly put him to the sword.
@FallofCamelot it isn't an alignment thread I'm asking for advice on a delicate situation.
I'm also not a fan of 'burn the town to the ground'. The place is a rather miserable and its ran by rich corrupt mine managers. Everyone else is basically trying to make enough money to get out. I plan on fixing the corruption once I have the strength too, but as of now I'd be killed and thrown in a ditch, I'd rather live long enough to actually make a difference.