Paladin Dilemma in WotR

[Regrs]

Our group started playing WotR last month, after several sessions with awesome fights, roleplaying scenes and generally good time our GM (who has a knack of slightly altering "written" stories) set a dilemma for my Paladin.

Story so far, Possible spoiler:

In our last excursion in the Worldwound we managed to save a couple of commoner NPCs from ritual sacrifice in the name of Baphomet (not sure if this official or just something he came up).
They both were in a state of insanity and their "restoration" costed quite much in our group (not that there was an issue since most of us are good).
After an entire session of "healing" them and checking them for their trustworthiness (detect evil spamming, zone of truth and stuff) a certain cleric "Core" NPC informs me privately that their soul has already been corrupted by the failed ritual and eventually they will betray or harm us without them knowing it and asked me to put an end to their misery.
I asked if they could be saved from such a fate but I received a negative answer. I didn't discussed it yet with my group as such a decision will surely leave a black mark at my character's ethos and reputation regardless my course of action.

I disregarded any notions of asking why our spells failed to find any sign of corruption and yet that NPC "sees" it as clear as day, as I know that I'll receive a vague answer like "the corruption is subtle and undetectable in its current state but it will grow stronger" and stuff.

Question:

So my dilemma is the following should I disregard the cleric possibly leading to long term evil by inaction.
Proceed with their "execution" for the greater good (releasing them from the grasp of a demon-lord and protecting our allies)

[Kermah Orletithar]

Talk to the group, or try and discover if you can do anything more with your own research.

Make Knowledge checks to try and discover more, and perhaps investigate the NPC as well. It may be that the NPC is a traitor, but that's something else entirely.

At the end of the day, make sure that you do all you can, and if all else fails simply let them live under observation. If they snap, then kill them because they are then Evil. (or try curing them again)

[HangarFlying]

I flagged this to move it into the AP thread. Also, spoilers would probably be appropriate.

[wraithstrike]

Maybe the NPC is wrong. You can believe in the power of your deities or the NPC's. You should follow your own deity and the powers he grants. If you happen to follow the same deity then tell the NPC to speak clearly or his words will be disregarded. <----Your party cleric may be the one to have to do this. :)

[Rynjin]

So basically your party, made up of people you trust and are competent, find nothing wrong with these people.

But some random NPC tells you you're wrong and should slaughter a bunch of, for all you can tell, innocent people in cold blood?

I think my first actions would be turning said divinations on that guy, and afterwards interrogating him on why he was trying to make a Paladin fall.

PS, from a meta point of view, this would not be the first time in an AP (or really in entertainment as a whole) that one of your "friends" has been playing the long game this whole time and is actually subtly leading you to ruin.

[French Wolf]

Surely you cannot act against the people until they exhibit signs of said corruption. Otherwise your paladin is heading down a very slippery slope of pre-emptive strikes.

It does sound very lawful or good to strike first for the someone else's belief in the greater good.

Better to keep on eye on them. Act as an example and "keep your friends closer".

[brad2411]

You might also look in to getting a Phylactery of faithfulness as it can give you clues to see if an action could affect your standing with your God/Goddess.

[Level 1 Commoner]

Rynjin is right. I'd rather be suspicious of the "helpful" NPC cleric. But if your GM tends to give you such dilemmata the mentioned Phylactery should be a good and surprisingly cheap investment.

(Unrelated Rant: Reading this forums I get the impression that only Paladins are ever confronted with ambivalent or ambiguous decisions. Everybody else seems wander freely in murder hobo country.) ;-)

[Regrs]

Thanks for the help guys I'll consider your suggestions before I take my decision.
@brad2411 and Level 1 Commoner (love the name btw)
I had totally forgot about that item, thanks for reminding me.

[The Shaman]

I´d have to agree with the before. Even if the cleric is honest, the fact is... how does he know for sure? on top of that, I think most good characters might balk at killing people for what they might eventually do - even if it were true, an asylum or jail might be more appropriate.

Plus, considering the impact of the decision, I think calling on a better expert is also warranted. What level are the characters? Depending on the level, Augury, Divination and Commune are all spells that might come in handy here, as they allow you to gain insight into the future - and in the case of commune, actually ask your deity or his/her chosen representatives.

[Sir Thugsalot]

brad2411 wrote:

You might also look in to getting a Phylactery of faithfulness as it can give you clues to see if an action could affect your standing with your God/Goddess.

Additionally, there is no requirement that it be worn constantly, so you can keep it in your pack until those ethical quandaries arise.

[Haladir]

This should be in the Wrath of the Righteous AP forum.

[2097]

Level 1 Commoner wrote:

(Unrelated Rant: Reading this forums I get the impression that only Paladins are ever confronted with ambivalent or ambiguous decisions. Everybody else seems wander freely in murder hobo country.) ;-)

Because in some RPGs they lose their powers if they go against their alignment, right?