This is how I paladin

>Frank Castle is a paladin

>the rules don't change

You sure about that?
>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history
>"the study of how law has evolved and why it changed"

I think the Crimson Bolt meant more about laws of decency more than anything

Also a pants shitting moment for the drug dealer

...

I would say Frank is an example of a D&D-style paladin acting out in a world which doesn't work that way.

In most D&D games, paladins can kill criminals, murderers, and raggamuffins with impunity as long as they're Evil. This "give him to the proper authorities" is a candy-assed way to play the class because by virtue of their alignment and the status afforded to them, Paladins ARE the proper authorities. Frank's brand of justice is in no way counter to Lawful Good in the context of a D&D setting.

If someone played a Paladin like Frank in one of my games, I probably wouldn't make him fall.

Probably.

...

5e D&D makes this question very clear.

If you care primarily about doing good and protecting the innocent, you're a Lawful Good "Paladin of Devotion."

If you care primarily about punishing evil, you're a Lawful Neutral "Paladin of Vengeance." Even if your targets are evil, if the goal in your heart is "HURT THEM, MAKE THEM SUFFER," you're neutral at best.

Sort of like a Super Hero?

So chaotic neutral?

The difference is, in a D&D world, the Paladin is implicitly connected to the 'proper authorities' - even if he's not a member of the church himself, his abilities are divinely given. The fact that he has the abilities he does is a mark of the vested interest the divine has in his mission, and implies authority.

Frank does not have this implicit authority. Rather, he explicitly flaunts the authorities of his world. He is not acting under a divine mandate, but rather under a personal code of justice that exists only in his own viewpoint.

That was the first point I made. Frank is a Paladin in a world where Paladin's don't actually exist.

Even if a D&D version of Frank might not be an actual Paladin, his actions aren't out of line with one. He is compatible with basic points of Lawful Good, he's just not nice about it. At least that's case for 3.5/PF. As points out he fits 5e's LN Vengeance Paladin archetype much better.

I have no doubt if the guy's actions were divinely sanctioned he'd use that to every advantage.

But, like says, Chaotic Neutral is the best way to describe him in his own context if you aggregate his actions. He's essentially performing extra-judicial executions because he thinks the system's broken, and unlike someone on the Lawful spectrum he's got no interest in fixing it.

Who are these characters?

Wrench-man and Claw-girl?

>tfw when I misread my (You)'s.

I guess it's hard to maintain Bolty isn't CN when I just made a case the fucking Punisher is Chaotic Neutral.

Crimson Bolt and Bolty.

It's from "Super". Rainn Wilson feels impotent and useless after his wife runs off with Kevin Bacon, so he decides to become a super hero. His main shtick is he beats up crooks with a pipe wrench. He gets help from a comic book store clerk who later makes herself his sidekick.

Also Nathan Fillion cameo's as a Christ-themed superhero.

>Christ-themed superhero

Um... That's kind of already a thing... Complete with a totally-not-Batman suit, and a totally-not-a-lightsaber sword. (Pic Related)

Hopefully it's nowhere near as cringe-worthy.

>Hopefully it's nowhere near as cringe-worthy.

It actually is. But it's an in-universe tv show. It's supposed to be a parody of stuff like Bible-man. Wilson gets the superhero idea after accidentally turning on the Christ Channel and seeing this show

Aaaaaaand now I want to play in a buddy cop two-paladin game.
He's devoted. He's vengeful.
Together they fight crime and butt heads.

Wow. I may just have to check this movie out.

It sounds like a train wreck. In a good way.

It's pretty good. Nice story about a guy who decides he doesn't want to be an NPC anymore. Some decent humor mixed with a healthy dose of feels. It feels like the script needed one or two more rewrites, but it's one of the better comedies I've watched.

You tell everyone you know! That anytime some stupid fucking bastard wants to commit some gay ass crime that Crimson Bolt and Boltie are gonna be there to crush their little fucking evil heads in!

It's actually surprisingly good and pretty hard-hitting emotionally at points

Def worth checking out.

So you can't sell medicine, now?

>Frank is a Paladin in a world where Paladin's don't actually exist

What is Moon Knight then?

I just realized Ferrus Manus looks like the Punisher.

Huh.

Moon Knight is probably the biggest nutjob in all of comicdom.

so, a Cleric then

He's literally a paladin/avatar.

How so? I haven't read him.

>was a blood thirsty mercenary
>is Jewish
>has an Egyptian God Vengeance in his head
>cut off his nemesis face
>has dissociate personality disorder x 3

...

Those have also changed dramatically over time, and vary even in different areas.

Literally never seen this comic, but why is Tommy Wiseau in it?

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I always try to diplomacize with a villain, so long as they may understand my language and mannerisms. I do not try to talk them out of their evil ways on the spot, but I attempt to rationalize and understand them, to talk them down, and hopefully turn themselves in. If it works, I escort them to the guards. I further a recommendation that he or she be judged fairly to the decree of those who have been wronged. Otherwise, I have no say in what happens. I was not the one who was wronged, I was only the one doing what had to be done.

If they are outsiders, I exercise a bit of caution. Demons, devils, I often draw my blade first. I am loathe to diplomacize with them unless it's talking them out of their current goal and to focus on me, that I am able to smite them down.

I don't 'hunt' evil. I choose to work as an enlightening beacon in a community, to help and inspire, and to bring hope during times of war. A paladin isn't a holy warrior of righteousness so much as they are the extension of a cause, a faith, or a deity's own will.

I follow Apsu or Sarenrae for Paladins. For more 'offensive' personality classes such as Strength/War domain clerics, I follow Iomedae.

I like to play lawful good as adhering to my own faith, but accepting of others so long as I am able to see the potential good within their actions. Even a True Neutral rogue doesn't deserve to be incapacitated and hauled to the guards because of what he does, at least not by me. If his actions however become inherently evil, he will get one warning. Murder is an exception to this rule. One innocent or undeserved murder and it's time to take the role of the angry diplomancer.

Oh, and I also forgot. Morality extends outward to various degrees. If a player-character dies during a session, I ensure that their remains, possessions, and everything are dealt with in accordance to whatever faith they may have followed, however loosely it may have been done. If their request was to have their body sent back to their family, I will go out of my way to ensure it happens. They died on their quest. Dying in combat, while glorious, does not mean my companion would deserve any less for his death if it were whimsical. He or she stood by my side, even if they did not agree with my terms, and I did not agree to theirs.

We were comrades. They deserve to at least have one thing go right for them in death. If they have no faith, and bore no family, I will attempt to bring their body to a local graveyard if possible. If not, I will find some sort of physical monument of nature, be it a tree or something, where I may bury them in peace and give proper funerary rites.

After all, being a paladin isn't always about fighting evil. It's also a moral test for a player, to see how they would react in the face of adverse situations.

If asked, I would attempt to pass on short, summarized definitions of knowledge that was within my power to do so. I had another player come to me for advice once. She was a Neutral Good Cleric, following Shelyn. Distraught as she was that no matter how hard we tried, our companions would suffer grave injuries, and one unfortunately fell in combat. We buried him, she began to doubt herself. When she came to me for advice, I looked her in the eyes and told her "We must always do what we know is right. The correct path will often be the most difficult, fraught with hardship, suffering, and often times, sorrow. It is what we do, so that others need not share such pain. The death of our companion was to no fault of your own, or anyone's, save for that which dealt him the death knell itself."

That villain looks fly.

Absolute gold.

I've always wanted to do that. I'd like it to be a 'By the books' Paladin and his Inquisitor partner who is somewhat 'Above the law.' But in their off time they're like something right out of super-troopers.

People like you are cancer to the tabletop. There is nothing more noble than vanquishing evil.

Don't bother replying to him: he probably thinks the same way of policemen and law enforcers.

Cool. Here's how I inquisitor

>throws swords (?)
>doesn't spells
>doesn't abide rules of Christianity
>team kills actual Christians

Cool. Here's how I dragon.

>they are bayonets, not swords
>he does spells
>he is a priest and also helps in an orphanage
>he kills protestants, it's different
Get your facts straight before you start spouting bullshit.

This is how I necromancer

This is how I true neutral

This is how I chaotic evil

This is how I Lawful Good.

This is how I paladin.

I believe in 616 canon God explicitly approves of Frank's crusade. He even had angelic powers at one point.

Well, she got what she deserved.

>le "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" argument to deter people from doing good deeds

>religous figure
>you dont molest little children
>you dont profit on the misery of others
NICE TRY THO SENPAI

Not quite the case.

The One Above All doesn't have much to say about Frank. Frank was used in a case of angelic politics. He killed himself and an angel snatched his soul before it went to Hell. Turns out that the angel had been his family's guardian angel before he decided to fuck off for a day and they got killed. There's a political war going on in Heaven, you see, and the only reason Hell isn't winning is because the demonic egos are too busy sabotaging each other to wage a big enough invasion to destroy the Pearly Gates once and for all.

So the angel sacrificed a part of itself to bring Frank back to life and had him go after demons that were killing angels hidden on Earth.

God didn't allow Frank to pull guns from Heaven's armory. That was the angel that gave Frank that power, because he needed someone who would kill for him to save his angel friends, and to keep God from knowing about it.

Why does God need an armory?

God sucks at unarmed combat. Remember how Jacob kicked his ass in a wrestling match?

This is how I Mystic Theurge.

He was a Jesuit and a scientist, and a pioneer of aeronautics, in case you don't feel like googling.

More a Ranger with Favored Enemy: Criminals.

AH HA HA HA

This is how I Chaotic good

There's more to it than that, in the previous Thunderbolts run where he was part of the team they all went to hell to deal with Red Hulk being claimed by Mephisto. Along the way Frank got the shit kicked out of him and they escaped with a plan that involved opening a portal to heaven to let a host of angels invade hell and start kicking demon ass. Deadpool grabbed a feather from an angel's wing to replace the recently lost feather of a hat that he liked. Once they had gotten back to their headquarters and the feather got close to Frank it flew over to his bloody and beaten body and, in a brilliant flash of light, healed him. The group asked why the man upstairs would do that for him of all people, but Frank didn't want to talk about it.

Just because a few Angels owe Frank favors (he saved some of their lives), it doesn't mean that God approves.

You're confusing what's basically a clerk passing a guy a free donut with the president of Krispy Kreme giving him donuts for life.

God is probably at least a little bit glad that his employees are being saved.
And if you saved many of the clerks eventually their union or whatever equivalent would give you a medal or at least pay you a hooker.

Yeah.

Still doesn't mean God approves of Frank's decades-long murderspree.

that's LN

if God doesn't approve then why doesn't he stop him?

check-mate "god is good" fag

He doesn't specifically disapprove either.

Because doing otherwise would violate Frank's free will.

You might as well try to say that God approves of the Red Skull, the Purple Man, or Skip.

Their actions are their own choice. They'll be punished with Heaven or rewarded with Hell when they die. That will be the measure of whether or not God approves of their actions, not whether or not God interferes with their life. And when Frank died, he went to Hell.

This is how I potentate.

>They'll be punished with Heaven
>or rewarded with Hell

Brain fart.

This is how I awakened animal