Guidelines for Religious Edicts (CPaH)

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Generally, a paladin's religion (or philosophy) imposes more edicts than his government, family, or any other sources discussed in Chapter 3. Whereas a government may be concerned with defense, economics, and order, a religion may be concerned with all of these things, plus morality, worship, and spiritual salvation.
To remain true to his ethos, a paladin may have to juggle edicts from a variety of sources. Generally, edicts from his religion and government take precedence over those from his family and culture. When governmental and religious edicts conflict, use "Campaign Models" in this chapter to help prioritize them.
Because faith takes many forms, there are no fixed rules for determining which religious edicts are appropriate for a particular paladin. It's up to DM to make these decisions, based on the prevalence of religion in his campaign, the paladin's background, and the paladin's kit.
The DM may use the following guidelines to help decide the type, number, and severity of religious edicts. Remember, these are generalizations. They may not apply to every campaign nor to every paladin.
* More edicts are associated with an organized religion than a philosophy.
* A theocracy issues more religious edicts than a co-dominant society.
* The larger the organization, the more edicts it issues. A large church may have officials who do nothing but amend old edicts and draft new ones. Large churches have more interests to protect, more disciples to regulate, and more enemies to fear.
* A paladin who lives in a monastery or other church-owned building has more edicts to follow than a paladin who lives in his monarch's castle or his own stronghold.