I'm currently running some homebrew and the path presented for my characters is going to take them through (or next to) a sealed shrine to a daemonic demigod. Inquisitive minds will likely want to investigate and see if the alcove of evil is responsible for some if not all the nasties they've encountered. As such I've prepared some particularly malicious items in store for them in accordance with the tenents of his worship: wither, blister, burn and peel.
Now the party tends to be pretty pantheistic in nature with two of four members primerily worshiping Calistria, one fairly uncommited, and one a paladin of Iomedae. The problem arises when they try to break in. None of them are slouches in the knowledge religion department and the wards won't trigger if they perform the proper rituals. Chances are good they might know the secret handshakes. The rituals themselves are fairly debilitating (willingly accepting a Bestow curse as an example) but act as a trial of the faithful. If they make it through the four trials they'll recieve a profane blessing and have their debuffs removed.
However the Paladin isn't going to pay even lip services to a daemon. I doubt he's going to just wait outside either. He most certainly isn't going to accept a 'blessing'. I wouldn't use this as an excuse to make him fall but it strikes me as very much a line in the sand for a paladin. If he's going to force himself through it may come across as targeting him explicitly, which is generally something I try to avoid.
Suggestions?
Welcome to Paladin Headache #5839.
Now, me, I admit, I don't really see a problem. Reciting some words and rituals isn't inherently harmful to anybody (except maybe, in this case, the Paladin him/herself). Provided that he/she isn't actually believing in what he/she says, it's just empty words and hot air.
You could do this like a Force thing ... with each ritual or test, he feels a little temptation, a little more, a little more ... once he's through, though, he gets the profane blessing, the trial penalties are removed, then through his own force of will/faith (maybe he Lays on Hands himself?) throws off the profane blessing, reaffirming his code and all that crap.
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Paladin does the ritual while serving the greatest good.
Paladin falls and loses his special powers till the end of the encounter/trial.
Paladin is rewarded for his sacrifice and succeeding at the trial by his deity granting him a free atonement on the spot as well as some minor blessing.
In other words, put your faith in you deity and trust him/her/it to guide you to the right course of action.
A paladin's god does not delight in making him fall and actually rewards faithful service. And so too shall the GM.
Thank you both for your input. Figured I'd wait to come back to this. I think I'll be going with The black raven's approach, it'll give him a reason to trust in his actions. If he refuses then no harm, no foul. I'll deal with it at the table since it'll likely be a bit of a discussion.
The paladin should find another way. Either suffer the wards or find a way to dispel them. (You did leave another way past them, right? Trapfinding? Dispel magic? Dispel evil?)
Chances are fair that their rogue/wizard will find out that the area is trapped. The problem is they've been neglecting their Disable Device scores. Magic traps have a HIGH DC to spot and disable. They'll likely be able to see abjuration auras but the back glow of other things is going to make it difficult to detect specifics.
They are free to prepare whatever they want or have access to in order to try and get around it, however the 5 minute adventure and 8hr rest is usually rewarded with negative consequences in my campaigns.