to all of the virtues described below, exceptions are possible. For instance, a paladin from a primitive societymay be so unfamiliar with civilized etiquette that including courtesy as part of hisethos would be unreasonable. All adjustments must be cleared by the DM at the outset of apaladin's career. There are no rulesfor adjudicating virtue violations. The DM is advised to err in favor of the paladin when the player makes honest mistakes.Conversely, the player should graciously accept the DM's rulings and, in the spiritof the paladin, avoid looking for loopholes to take advantage of the DM's good will. Theentries below include examples of how virtues might influence the paladin'sbehavior in the context of a game.Fealty In feudal times,fealty referred to the relationship between a warrior and his lord. A warrior swore allegiance to a lord in exchange forprotection, support, and property. The lord, in turn, could count on the warrior for military dutyand other services. Both the lord and the warrior scrupulously honored this agreement.Perfidy, the breaking of the promise by either party, was considered a treacherous breachof faith. This book takes abroader view of fealty, defining it as loyalty not only to a lord but to any chaotic good government, religion, or philosophy. Forconvenience, we refer to the recipient of a paladin's loyalty as the patron. Regardless ofwhoor whatfunctions as the patron, fealty gives the paladin a sense of belonging to something greater than himself. Fealty alsosets the criteria for a paladin's moral code; in essence, the patron establishes thedifference between right and wrong, good and evil. However, although the patron provides thebasic moral code, it is ultimately the paladin who is responsible for and bears theconsequences of his actions. About the Categories Let's take acloser look at the three categories of fealty patrons: Religion. Areligion is a set of beliefs centering on one or more omnipotent deities with supernatural powers. The patron is usually a churchrepresenting an established religion, but can be a deity. Government. Thiscan be any individual or governing body with the absolute power to make laws and declare war. In most campaigns, the patronis usually a monarch. Philosophy. Aphilosophy is a system of ideas that explains the nature of the universe, exclusive of supernatural beings. The patron maybe an established philosophy developed by scholars, or a unique philosophy developed bythe paladin himself. (Chapter 8 discusses the definition of a philosophy in moredetail, including the differences between philosophies and religions.) For thepurposes of fealty, religion and philosophy are mutually exclusive; a paladin can't pledgefealty to both.Choices of Patrons Every paladin mustpledge fealty to something. As a minimum, he must pledge fealty to either a religion or philosophy; this faith is whatgrants him the special powers described in Chapter 2. Beyond this requirement, patronsshould derive logically from the paladin's background and outlook. In most campaigns, theproper patrons will be self-evident. For instance: If a paladinfollows the tenets of a chaotic good religion and serves in the military of a chaotic good ruler, he probably swears fealty to both hischurch and government. If a paladin comesfrom a rigid theocratic culture