to the DM to determine if anethos violation has been committed. Henchmen. Apaladin accepts only chaotic good characters as henchmen. As with a hireling, the paladin should make every effort to determinea potential henchman's alignment before an alliance develops. The paladin mustimmediately dismiss a henchman who commits an evil act. Good characters.In an adventuring party, a paladin naturally gravitates to other chaotic good player characters, making them his confidantsand closest companions. Rarely, however, can a paladin choose the composition of hisparty, as fate often throws together characters of vastly different outlooks. A paladincooperates with a party so long as the majority of the characters are good-aligned; amajority of neutral characters or the presence of even a single evil character may presentproblems. A paladin canmaintain a comfortable partnership with a neutral good characters, despite his reservations about the neutral good character'sindifference to individual liberties. However, the neutral good character mustbe working strictly in the interests of good. A paladin is less at ease with lawful goodcharacters, owing to their dependent nature and lack of respect for individuality. But apaladin will work with lawful good characters so long as their behaviorcomplies with his goals. Neutral characters.Next to good characters, some paladins feel most comfortable with chaotic neutral characters, admiring them for theirsense of individuality and loyalty to the cause of freedom. This, of course,presumes the chaotic neutral characters serve as benevolent freedom fighters,not bandits or raiders. A paladin willcooperate with a party that contains a minority of chaotic neutral or true neutral characters. But he most likely keeps neutralcharacters at arm's length, resisting their gestures of friendship. Instead, he tries to serve asan example to the neutral characters, hoping to convince them through words and deedsthat a commitment to good results in a richer, fuller life. So long as neutralcharacters refrain from committing evil acts, a paladin continues to work with them. A paladin won'tjoin a party consisting entirely of neutral characters, unless the stakes are exceptionally high. He may, for instance, work with aneutral party to retrieve a holy artifact, rescue his king, or save his church fromdestruction. For less momentous undertakings, such as treasure hunts or reconnaissanceexpeditions, the paladin should excuse himself. (If a party mostly consists of neutral PCs,the DM should explain the general nature of a new adventure to a player with apaladin PC. The player should have the option of gracefully bowing out of the adventure orchoosing another character.) Evil characters.Because he is duty-bound to suppress evil, a paladin won't tolerate an evil PC. He may take the evil PC into custody, physicallyrestrain him, or demand his expulsion from the party. If all else fails, the paladinsevers his ties with the party and go his own way. In any event, inaction is unacceptable. A paladin finds itdifficult, if not impossible, to avoid contact with evil NPCs. They're everywhere: walking down a street, dining at an inn,shopping at a bazaar. A paladin's ethos doesn't compel him to attack or even confront all evilNPCs; in many cases, hostile confrontations could be counterproductive, particularly ifsuch an action distracts the paladin from a