The paladin is a warrior whose faith in himself is unrivaled. This faith is not arrogance, but is divine faith, for what is a man, but a creation of his god? The paladin lives by the Soul Code, and this code supersedes any laws or morals of petty nations and mortal empires. The Soul Code gives the paladin his strength, his unshakeable faith, and his courage in the face of certain death. The Soul Code is a law, written by terrible trials of the heart, and edited by the tenants of the church. When his faith becomes great enough, he is granted the same divine powers as priests and clerics of his god.

A paladin that strictly enforces the laws of the land he is in, risks losing his paladin-hood. Be it the law of his homeland, or the law of the lands he travels in, the mentality that, "The law is the law," is more of a neutral bent. That kind of attitude could be expected from mercenaries and professional soldiers -- but not from a paladin. The paladin carries within his personal Soul Code all that it means to be good, and all that it means to be evil. There is no middle ground within his own heart. This does not mean that the paladin must enforce his own Soul Code upon others. He leads by example, and hopes that over the course of his entire lifetime, he can say that he led just one soul to the righteous path -- to the good path, that parallels his own code. A paladin knows that his own code of conduct may be slightly different from another paladin from his own sect of the church; where one would see ambushing a lich as against the code of knighthood (see below), another would see eliminating a great evil with ambush as tactically acceptable. This does not mean that either paladin would ambush the lich; indeed, no paladin would do so. But it does mean that a paladin's comrades could acceptably do these things -- provided they give the paladin a chance to try his way, first.

"Players, do not mistake 2nd Edition 'lawful stupid' paladins for my own. A paladin is righteous and good. A paladin obeys the laws of his heart and his faith. But a paladin does not impose his own will upon others, unless they are evil, and therefore a danger to all of society, good, neutral, and evil. A paladin who enforces the law of the land wherever he rides, or forces his companions to abide by his own code of conduct, is Lawful NEUTRAL -- and in very real danger of losing his paladin-hood. The law may be the law, but good transcends all laws.

"This is not to say that a paladin can get away with Chaotic Good actions! Chaotic Good means that from instance to instance, you may do different levels or amounts of good; it means that you are unpredictably good. Lawful Good is always what it says it is, without double-meanings or innuendos. You'd be surprised at how truly good a paladin is: a beacon of light amid a sea of lost souls. He acts as a teacher, a steward, a healer, a priest, and a warrior. He exemplifies everything it means, to have a soul. He is the hardest-working individual you will ever meet.

"Perhaps I place too much faith in the paladin, but so does the average citizen of Gaeleth. An imposter would last barely a day, such is the passion in a paladin's eyes. Check out the PC listings, and you'll see how lavish I am to any character with the balls to play the hardest class there is. If I had a party of paladins or multi-classed paladins, I'd write the grandest adventure of them all..."
-Joe Parish

Shown at left is a 'holbrace' of a paladin, of the rank of Protector, and of the faith of Yatindar. The colors are equally recognizable as Yatindar's own. The universal ranks of the paladin, in order of ascendance, are: Banner, Guardian, Protector, Defender, Prelate, ArchPrelate, Champion. With each rise through the ranks of the paladinhood, the paladin adds one 'brace' to his holbrace to represent the hurdles of the mind and the faith he has overcome. A Banner of the Faith has but one brace, but that brace if very important as it represents the donning of the paladin-hood. Admittedly, some churches add braces to the sigil whether the paladin feels he has earned them or not -- and it then becomes the duty of that paladin to earn the braces he has been appointed to represent. The holbrace of a paladin represents all that he is, and to steal or deface one is a personal insult and affront to all paladins.

Code of Knighthood
-Know the difference between a promise, and a committment.
-Be respectful of all weaknesses, and constitute yourself the defender of them. 
-Respect the potential within all beings, all races, and all genders.
-Be respectful to your host through manners, as though you were hosting yourself.
-Be respectful to your elders, and the wisdom they represent.
-Be strong through contemplative self control and tempered courage.
-Be generous, kind, and give largess to all -- for it will be returned to you when needed.
-Never refuse a gift, out of respect.
-Never attack an unarmed foe, or from behind, for you fight with honor.
-Never betray your friends, family, gods, or lover.
-Love the country in which you live.
-Perform scrupulously your duties, if they be not contrary to your moral laws.
-Remain faithful to your pledged word, and only break it only when necessary.
-Live your life full of freedom and justice, so that it is worthy of respect and honor. 
-Avoid lying, cheating, deception, and torture.
-Keep your tongue clean, and sully it only when needed.