The Path of Honor

Priviledge:
The idea of Priviledges is important. What I mean by the term is that these traits have to be earned, and they can be lost through the actions of the given person. Each Priviledge is a kind of respect that can be earned depending. The first four are the most important.
They are what I call the �Default� Priviledges. (notice the relation with the Rank term above? That�s on purpose.) You earn the Default Priviledges just by being a living human being. The Default Priviledges are very hard to loose, but once lost, they are very hard to gain back.
The Default Priviledges include:

Life: This is something of a misnomer. This is actually the Priviledge fo Death. That is to say that nothing should die a purposeless or meaningless death if the Paladin has anything to say about it. What this boils down to is, the Paladin must consider very carfully before
ever taking a life. As with most priviledges, the most likely way to loose it is to fail to respect the life of others.

Well-Being: No one should have their health purposefully
compromised by another. There are exceptions and bounds.. like in sports, but besides that, there really isn�t an excuse for trying to hurt someone. Remember the rules, you abuse it, you loose it.

Procedure: Believe it or not. most people have a vague idea about what they are doing, and should be allowed to continue doing it. It is not for the Paladin to decide what someone should be doing. Even if it seems strange, or even dangerous, we may warn all we please, but in the end, it is up to each of us to make our own decisions as to
what we do. A person looses this priviledge by abusing or obstruting any priviledge of anyone else through thier actions. This is, on the other hand, one of the easier ones to regain.

Esteem: This is the most important of the four Default Priviledges. Everyone who has earned this priviledge (or most precisely hasn�t lost it) has the right to feel that they are a worthwhile person deserving of courtesy and respect. It is important to remember that even the Paladin him/herself has this priviledge, that they, too are
deserving of courtesy and respect. This is the hardest of the Default Priviledges to loose, but once it is lost, it is virtually gone for good.

The rest of the priviledges are harder to earn. They are as follows:

Confidence: This person has earned the Paladin�s trust. They are privy to information and emotion that others are not. This priviledge is fragile, if you have it, keep it sacred.

Deference: This person is learned, experienced and/or in a position of responsibility. Their words have weight that others do not. The Paladin should learn what the strengths of this person are. This person can be very helpful in the fields where they are strong. This priviledge is lost or degraded when the person abuses thier power or proves they are unreliable in thier field.

Command: This person is in a position of great rsponsibility. Their words carry great weight indeed. The Paladin must have very good cause indeed not to follow through on the requests of such a person. This priviledge becomes void if the person abuses their or becomes irrational.

Absolute Command: This person is rare indeed. Their words are so trusted, so weighty, that they hardly ever need be questioned. This priviledge is nearly impossible to earn, but once earned, it is very very hard to lose.


The Path of Honor Honor is the basis for Paladinic philosophy. It is the reason why every paladin does what he or she does. Honor binds the Paladin to the path and way of Virtue and guides all of his or her actions. Honor is a system of respect, for oneself and everyone else. This version of that system is not a perfect representation, as a perfect representation may in fact be impossible, and if you ask another Paladin to explain it, he or she may well explain it differently, but this is how I have chosen to represent it in a way that I think people can understand. In this model, there are two major functions, two major variables that play into the system of Honor. They are Rank and Priviledge. Rank is the level of respect a person has earned, or is afforded. Priviledge is what forms of respect a person of a given rank is entitled to. Rank: What makes the true system of Honor different from any other way of treating people is that the Default level of respect, that is to say the Default Rank, is in the middle. In other systems, it is often on the bottem, but in the Honor System, most people start with a moderate and reasonable amount of respect. From there, a given person can either gain respect, or loose it, depending on their actions, attitudes, or sometimes the position they hold in society. One of the important things to remember in learning the Honor system is that it applies even to oneself, and whether you think about it or not, you judge and Rank yourself every day, and so you must become aware of how you are Ranking yourself. The Ranks Priviledge: The idea of Priviledges is important. What I mean by the term is that these traits have to be earned, and they can be lost through the actions of the given person. Each Priviledge is a kind of respect that can be earned depending. The first four are the most important. They are what I call the �Default� Priviledges. (notice the relation with the Rank term above? That�s on purpose.) You earn the Default Priviledges just by being a living human being. The Default Priviledges are very hard to loose, but once lost, they are very hard to gain back. The Default Priviledges include: Life: This is something of a misnomer. This is actually the Priviledge fo Death. That is to say that nothing should die a purposeless or meaningless death if the Paladin has anything to say about it. What this boils down to is, the Paladin must consider very carfully before ever taking a life. As with most priviledges, the most likely way to loose it is to fail to respect the life of others. Well-Being: No one should have their health purposefully compromised by another. There are exceptions and bounds.. like in sports, but besides that, there really isn�t an excuse for trying to hurt someone. Remember the rules, you abuse it, you loose it. Procedure: Believe it or not. most people have a vague idea about what they are doing, and should be allowed to continue doing it. It is not for the Paladin to decide what someone should be doing. Even if it seems strange, or even dangerous, we may warn all we please, but in the end, it is up to each of us to make our own decisions as to what we do. A person looses this priviledge by abusing or obstruting any priviledge of anyone else through thier actions. This is, on the other hand, one of the easier ones to regain. Esteem: This is the most important of the four Default Priviledges. Everyone who has earned this priviledge (or most precisely hasn�t lost it) has the right to feel that they are a worthwhile person deserving of courtesy and respect. It is important to remember that even the Paladin him/herself has this priviledge, that they, too are deserving of courtesy and respect. This is the hardest of the Default Priviledges to loose, but once it is lost, it is virtually gone for good. The rest of the priviledges are harder to earn. They are as follows: Confidence: This person has earned the Paladin�s trust. They are privy to information and emotion that others are not. This priviledge is fragile, if you have it, keep it sacred. Deference: This person is learned, experienced and/or in a position of responsibility. Their words have weight that others do not. The Paladin should learn what the strengths of this person are. This person can be very helpful in the fields where they are strong. This priviledge is lost or degraded when the person abuses thier power or proves they are unreliable in thier field. Command: This person is in a position of great rsponsibility. Their words carry great weight indeed. The Paladin must have very good cause indeed not to follow through on the requests of such a person. This priviledge becomes void if the person abuses their or becomes irrational. Absolute Command: This person is rare indeed. Their words are so trusted, so weighty, that they hardly ever need be questioned. This priviledge is nearly impossible to earn, but once earned, it is very very hard to lose.
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