Role

Chapter 4

Those of this author's guild have codified a set of actions that define a belief
of what makes someone good. There is a recurring theme that underlies each tenet,
and that is the paladin's behavior in the larger society. A true paladin is not strictly
martial in the mundane sense of the word, but a crusader for a cause.
Courage, generosity, steadfastness, honesty, and moderation are all character traits
that serve the purposes of others more than they serve the individual.
Vice, it follows, serves the individual over the group.

None of this is revelatory, but what if motivations are in conflict? At the time
of this writing, the bruises of a brutal attack upon the author by an outlander
ranger Bartok are still fresh. He struck at a svirfneblin and the paladin as they fought
abominations in the mausoleum. Outlanders understandably despise undead, yet he struck the Battlerager
first, then the paladin, and ignored all the undead. Even a snare was placed at the svirfneblin's home.
His actions suggest that his personal motivations superseded the goals of his community. This is
a solid example of evil.

On the other side, the author sat and spoke with a bard who dreams of not only
making a place for herself as a Maran, but to lead the Fortress. If squires and maran
are tasked with destroying evil, then how do they choose whom to fight?
One cannot take five steps in Thera without passing a foul vagrant, a reeking duergar,
or a pestilent undead. Some might say if their strength is sufficient, taking on the
stronger enemy serves the greater good. It is impractical to attempt to do more than
what one can accomplish, and wasteful to expend our energies on more mundane
foes. Is it impractical then to become a Maran in claiming to attempt to destroy all evil,
when the enemy is innumerable and is potentially overwhelming? Is it vanity to
even attempt it? And if, in seeking to do 'the greater good', can we make
the indefensible claim that one good is greater than another?

This line of thinking becomes dangerous if we see it as futile, but that
is an improper conclusion. Virtue is outwardly focused, and so it is not about
what we as individuals can achieve, but we as individuals can achieve to benefit others.