(a society ruled exclusively by priests) or serves no feudal lord, he probably pledges fealty to the church alone. If a chaotic goodmonarchy has no formal relationship with an established religion, the paladin might pledge fealty to a ruler and a philosophy,and not to a church. If a paladinoperates independently and has no ties to a government or church, he'll probably pledge fealty to a philosophy. For reference,Table 14 lists all possible fealty combinations. A paladin may pledge fealty to any of the Permitted combinations (assuming the DMapproves). He may not pledge fealty to any of the Forbidden combinations. The waysin which governments, religions, and philosophies interact are discussed at lengthin Chapter 8.Table 14: Fealty Combinations Combination Permitted/Forbidden Government, religion, Forbidden* and philosophy Government and religion Permitted Government and philosophy Permitted Religion and philosophy Forbidden* Government alone Forbidden** Religion alone Permitted Philosophy alone Permitted * For the purposesof fealty, religion and philosophy are mutually exclusive. ** Every paladinmust pledge fealty to either a religion or philosophy, which serves as the source of his special powers (described in Chapter 2).Obligations of Fealty Once a paladinpledges fealty to a particular patron, he's bound to that patron indefinitely. Should his king engage in evil activities, orhis church become corrupt, the paladin may be forced to pledge fealty to another patron;the Expatriate kit (see Chapter 4) describes one possible consequence. Normally, however, apaladin's patrons never change. Theresponsibilities associated with fealty vary with the patron. Monarchs, for instance, may require their paladins perform militaryservice. Churches may expect their paladins to follow rigid rules of behavior. The"Edicts'' section elsewhere in this chapter discuses such requirements in detail. In general, however,fealty requires the paladin to: Faithfully servethe patron regardless of personal adversity. Promote theprinciples and ideals of the patron. Honor and respectthe representatives and symbols of the patron. Sacrifice his lifefor the patron if necessary. Examples: Sir Geffen, whohas declared fealty to his king, learns that his homeland has declared war against Dryston, a neighboring state. Geffen isdistressed by the news. Many of his schoolmates now live in Dryston, and so does hisbrother-in-law. Nevertheless, Geffen vows to engage all soldiers of Drystonas enemies, regardless of who they might be. In a distantvillage, Sir Geffen hovers on the edge of death, struggling to recover from serious wounds inflicted by a red dragon. A compassionatefarmer offers to take Geffen to a medical specialist. Geffen accepts, and thefarmer loads him in his wagon. An hour into their journey, the wagon passes a herald carryingthe banner of Geffen's homeland. Geffen demands that the cart stop, then insiststhat the driver lift him to his feet. Reluctantly, the driver does as he's told. With hislast ounce of strength, Geffen raises his hand to salute the flag. Valor A paladindemonstrates unyielding courage in the face of adversity. No danger is too great to prevent him from fulfilling a promise or completinga mission. His commitment is stronger than his fear of pain, hardship, or even death. A paladin's valoris particularly evident on the battlefield. He regards war as a noble enterprise, and combat as an opportunity to