Shoanti Blood, Paladins and Cultural Assimilation


Curse of the Crimson Throne

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I've been drafting a little backstory for a character for this adventure path and I'm struggling to figure out how to make it work.

The basic concept is this: A Sklar-Quah woman exiled from her people found comfort in the arms of a roving elf scholar. The character is their bastard son, whom she raised herself in Korvosa's ghettos. After her untimely death, the lad found shelter as a Little Lamm...or so he thought. After suffering years of abuse, he was nearly killed by one of Gaedren's beatings. But he did not die. Instead, he had a vision. He saw the herald of the god he'd later serve as a cleric, telling him that they were going to help him. He woke up to find a priest of that god tending his injuries. That priest became the kid's mentor, until he grew up and became a cleric himself, and recieved a mysterious Harrow Card reminding him of the torment Gaedren wrought on him, and saw a chance for justice.

The question is, what god?

The choices I've boiled it down to are Iomedae, Sarenrae and the Empyreal Lord Ragathiel, but each I feel has issues that conflict with his Shoanti heritage, which is something he views as a badge of pride.

Sarenrae seems like an obvious choice. Of the three she has a dedicated temple in the city all to herself, healing is something she promotes and her sun motif fits well with his wanting to connect to his Sun Clan heritage. However, her Kelish influence has always bothered me, especially considering her favored weapon is one that I irrationally despise. Plus, her emphasis on forgiveness and redemption doesn't exactly mesh with the idea of a character who wants to rip the man who abused him for years a new one. Revenge isn't her way.

Iomedae also seems like a good choice. She created the McGuffin sword the party needs to complete the campaign, and she's more about justice than forgiveness. However, she DOESN'T have a dedicated temple within the city, so that raises the question of where he'd receive his education in the faith. Yes, there's the Pantheon of the Many, but that's an ecumenical building with a number of shrines, and a shrine doesn't have the educational resources of an actual temple. There's also the fact that Iomedae is a Chelish god, and his mother's people HATE the Chelaxians and everything they brought with them. Committing to her could make sense out of a sense of personal gratitude for saving him growing into true faith, but he'd probably still be viewed as a cultural traitor when they encounter the Sklar-Quah later, fully embracing a tshamek god and the culture she brings with her.

Ragathiel is the last one, and while cool beyond belief, he's also one of the hardest to justify. Ragathiel is an Empyreal Lord, and their most prominent center of worship is in Korvosa's greatest rival, Magnimar. A mystery cult of Ragathiel in Korvosa would probably be construed as rabble-rousers at best, and outright spies at worst. Furthermore, Ragathiel is the risen son of the Archdevil Dispater, and since one of Korvosa's other most prominent faiths, if not most prominent is that of Asmodeus in keeping with their Chelish heritage, he'd probably not be popular even WITHOUT the Magnimar connection. I like the idea of flavoring his style as a combination of the character's berserker blood and his deity's righteous fury (Ragathiel's one of the few LG patrons that grants access to the Destruction domain and its Rage subdomain that lets you rage like a barbarian regardless of alignment), and his favored weapon is my all-time favorite without at doubt. Also, Ragathiel's sphere of influence includes vengeance. But he also requires that you slay an evildoer every day in his name. While it's easy to find scum to kill in Korvosa, when we get outside city limits, that could be a problem. A similar option would be to take Vildeis, another Empyreal Lord, instead, but her favored weapon isn't as good (dagger).

Each patron has pros and cons, and there's just sort of the overarching idea of being a knightly, paladin-like guy while still having Shoanti heritage and reconnecting with it in A History of Ashes, acting as a bridge between the ways of the people he came from and the city he grew to love.

Any advice?


Archpaladin Zousha wrote:

The question is, what god?

Sarenrae seems like an obvious choice. Of the three she has a dedicated temple in the city all to herself, healing is something she promotes and her sun motif fits well with his wanting to connect to his Sun Clan heritage. However, her Kelish influence has always bothered me, especially considering her favored weapon is one that I irrationally despise. Plus, her emphasis on forgiveness and redemption doesn't exactly mesh with the idea of a character who wants to rip the man who abused him for years a new one. Revenge isn't her way.

Well, I'd think no further than Sarenrae. As you say, her fire-sun aspect fits in perfectly with the Sklar-Quah background of the character. Her Kelish influence plays no role at all in Korvosa and her priests are not obliged to use her favored weapon.

Her emphasis on forgiveness and redemption might actually add nice layers of depth to your AP, and in the case of Lamm, some people are beyond redemption. Info on Sarenrae says: "Compassion and peace are her greatest virtues, and if enemies of the faith can be redeemed, they should be. Yet there are those who have no interest in redemption, who glory in slaughter and death. From the remorseless evil of the undead and fiends to the cruelties born in the hearts of mortals, Sarenrae's doctrines preach swift justice delivered by the scimitar's edge." So, while your priest might not be using a scimitar, he will be able to deliver swift justice to Lamm.

And if the favored weapon is all that is bothering you, you're the GM, so you decide what goes. Maybe Sarenrae has a Shoanti aspect that allows her priests to wield the earthbreaker as favored weapon.

Still, I'd definitely go with Sarenrae.

Silver Crusade

Gotta admit I'd favor Sarenrae here too. She's easy to absorb into a totemic faith and you could play an awesome redemption angle towards the Chelish of Korvosa as a whole as far as relations with the Shoanti go.

Also...redemptive characters get a LOT to play with in this AP. I'd actually say this is one of the best AP fits for Sarenraen characters. :)

Radiant Oath

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I never said I was the GM.

And my bigger concern is the "knightly" angle I wanted to develop in.

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