We-ell.

Hmm.

Playing the devil's advocate.

I, being in many regards a fool, taught Arthur how to play Magic the Gathering. 

To my folly and ruin. The kid's a total Spike. 

I can still beat him - for now - by netdecking harder than he does. He's still in college; I have deeper pockets.

But deckbuilding is half the joy of Magic! When we play now it's just the internet battling itself on my dime.

Drinking Arthur's bitter loser tears is worth every penny, but when I check my bank account I can't help musing that the whole arms race could have been avoided.

Contrast Arthur with Olivia. 

Her commander deck's some horrifying Rube Goldberg machine which my feeble brainmeats can't so much as comprehend, however.

She built it herself, out of the same cards I'm using, and I once watched her draw literally the entire deck and fail to combo.

She milled herself, I just watched. 

So I win some games and lose others and no one ups the ante.

Maybe fighting with honor is a kind of mutual disarmament.

If you're sweating too hard, everyone else has to start sweating too, and now we're all running twice as hard just to stay still.

Sometimes it pays to be dumb!

There's a vicious cycle, where people who don't feel safe to trust each other would both seize any chance, sink to any depth, if it let them get a good hit in, because they know their enemies would absolutely do the same.

And you can live like that...

Paladins of Torag are dedicated to protecting not just the lives but the way of life for those under their charge, and hold the ways of their chosen people as holy, especially when they are the centuries-old works and traditions of an entire race. Their tenets include the following affirmations.

My word is my bond. When I give my word formally, I defend my oath to my death. Traps lie in idle banter or thoughtless talk, and so I watch my tongue.

I am at all times truthful, honorable, and forthright, but my allegiance is to my people. I will do what is necessary to serve them, including misleading others if need be.

I respect the forge, and never sully it with half-hearted work. My creations reflect the depth of my faith, and I will not allow flaws save in direst need.

Against my people’s enemies, I will show no mercy. I will not allow their surrender, except when strategy warrants. I will defeat them, yet even in the direst struggle, I will act in a way that brings honor to Torag.

- Inner Sea Gods

Oh.

Oh yes.

Okay, like, cross out the part about not allowing surrender - Cressida Kroft will happily take on quite a bit of risk if it's to allow a surrender. And - while she is willing to mislead people in order to protect her people, it's not the example she'd have put in the oaths, she'd have put a different rude thing which she's less reluctant to do, like abduct or kill people in their sleep. Misleading people ruins trust, civilization thrives when people are able to trust each other, and improving people's knowledge and understanding can have unexpected effects when they realize an opportunity for profit or a solution to a problem.

(...Well, actually, maybe there is a good reason to make "I might lie to you" explicit? Or maybe paladins of Torag still can't lie outright?)

Kroft would have a different set of complaints if Torag ruled Heaven, compared to the current setup, if by no means no complaints. But if you can be a follower of Torag and also a paladin, you can probably be Cressida Kroft and also a paladin with only a little hassle. 

...Unless there's a bunch of institutional knowledge that paladin orders of Torag have, which is necessary for successfully being both a follower of Torag and a paladin, which didn't make it into this book.

Ugh.