D&D 5E Oath of Devotion

[Saeviomagy]

I can't say how your paladin should behave. All I can say is how I would play it.

Covering up the lie is betraying the honesty, courage, honor and duty components of the devotion oath. So I would do the quest (partially in deference to the DM, and partly because it will help in future). Then I would persuade the queen to come clean and make sure that I do everything to facilitate it and make it as painless as possible.

If the queen cannot be persuaded, it might orchestrate events such that she is exposed... but again smooth it over.

The goal is to reward the queen for coming clean and showing everything that truth is paramount. Also it will make a much better story that simply stonewalling.

The one thing I would NOT do is just tattle on the queen come what may. The oath isn't the oath of being a pedantic jerk.

 

[Scott Steven Bell]

Paladins of Devotion do not lie or knowingly mislead others.

Whether its for the "greater good" or not the paladin MUST tell the truth. He cant lie to protect his friends, or strangers.

If the DM was smart he would have had the paladin not 100% in the know. The others could lie to the paladin for the "greater good" but not the paladin.

Thats how I see it anyway

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

It's hard to say for sure without knowing the details, but from the OP I think, if the paladin were my own PC, that I'd be approaching this as if the elven queen were a close friend desperately looking for another hit of cocaine. I'm not necessarily going to lecture her on the need to reform (unless I think she'd be receptive), and I'm not necessarily going to expose her sins to public view (it may not be my place to do so), and I do feel compassion for her--but I'm not eager to enable her and I'm not going to tell myself that getting her that hit of cocaine is "for the greater good." It's just a dead end.

In the specific case, whether or not I choose to go seek her lost journal is probably going to be determined by my assessment of the long-term impact my going or not going would have on OTHER people (like other PCs, the queen's children, and the king), not on the queen. Maybe for me, getting the journal back isn't the point, because the queen's a lost cause and the journal really isn't any of my business. Maybe for me the point is that my friends need my help, and that getting this journal back from the illithids is something that's important enough to them to risk their lives, and so I'm willing to put my life on the line for my friends and do all the good I can along the way for everyone else too. Maybe I'm playing Michael Carpenter to everyone else's Harry Dresden.

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before destination, paladin.

 

[Bladesinger]

Everyone, thank you for your responses. Just as an aside, my group isn't fighting over this, we are having an excellent discussion. We were just looking for other thoughts and view points, which you have all provided, again, thanks! Here's how it played out - The Paladin player said she would in no way cover this up for the Queen, so the GM made sure the only two player Elves were there to hear the Queens plea. We certainly are more invested to help and keep her secret. It all worked out and the sessions have been great.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Everyone, thank you for your responses. Just as an aside, my group isn't fighting over this, we are having an excellent discussion. We were just looking for other thoughts and view points, which you have all provided, again, thanks! Here's how it played out - The Paladin player said she would in no way cover this up for the Queen, so the GM made sure the only two player Elves were there to hear the Queens plea. We certainly are more invested to help and keep her secret. It all worked out and the sessions have been great.

What makes the secret such a big deal anyway? The king might get tetchy. I can't see elves being the sort of individuals who are going to rebel just because the guy who might take over the throne in 400 years time is illegitimate...

 

[Scott Steven Bell]

I would have done the same as the DM. Leave the paladin in the dark as to the true nature of the quest. Let the others that live in the greyness of the normal world decide.

 

[Sunseeker]

The fun part about oaths is that they often have contradictory elements.

It's a bit late to post it but here's the RAW Oath of Devotion tenents:

Honesty. Don’t lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise.
Courage. Never fear to act, though caution is wise.
Compassion. Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom.
Honor. Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm.
Duty. Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.

Never lying could compromise Duty and Honor, but Duty may compromise Honesty, Compassion may compromise Courage, Lying may compromise Honor, but not Duty or Compassion. The big RP elements of the Paladin are far less about following the tenents of your code, and much more about finding the room to maneuver within your code. Following all these elements to the letter is 100% guaranteed to get you killed, or drive you insane.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

The fun part about oaths is that they often have contradictory elements.

It's a bit late to post it but here's the RAW Oath of Devotion tenents:

Honesty. Don’t lie or cheat. Let your word be your promise.
Courage. Never fear to act, though caution is wise.
Compassion. Aid others, protect the weak, and punish those who threaten them. Show mercy to your foes, but temper it with wisdom.
Honor. Treat others with fairness, and let your honorable deeds be an example to them. Do as much good as possible while causing the least amount of harm.
Duty. Be responsible for your actions and their consequences, protect those entrusted to your care, and obey those who have just authority over you.

Never lying could compromise Duty and Honor, but Duty may compromise Honesty, Compassion may compromise Courage, Lying may compromise Honor, but not Duty or Compassion. The big RP elements of the Paladin are far less about following the tenents of your code, and much more about finding the room to maneuver within your code. Following all these elements to the letter is 100% guaranteed to get you killed, or drive you insane.

Even more directly paradoxical: protecting the weak from the strong, and punishing those who threaten the weak, involves weakening those who are strong. If followed literally, that tenet would imply that the paladin has to continuously switch sides during a conflict to ensure that he is always on the currently-losing side.