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I've been running Crimson Throne for a few weeks now, and I've been going out of my way to get the party good and integrated into Korvosa. And now I'm in a position to throw some very fun monkey-wrenches their way, but I'm not sure how exactly to go about it. They're all third level, and about to go after the queens scapegoat. The rundown of part members, and the issues involved are:
Axel, Human Paladin, a young and somewhat brash son of one of the foremost armorers employed by the Korvosan Guard, he was visited in dreams by a nameless force calling him to defend the people and the city. He has no idea what this force really is. The player, a good friend and somewhat of an eccentric, wants his character to be working for something the calls "The Algorithm," effectively a sentient mathematical equation, something he himself incorporates into his own spiritual beliefs (such as they are). Hes described this as "a law beyond all laws" and other rhetoric to that effect. This screams Abadar to me, but he seemed unhappy with that prognosis. Maybe some kind of "after-image" of Aroden? I know hes dead as a doornail, but would it be interesting if a part of Arodens divine energy took up space inside a young man from Korvosa, calling him to be better then he would have been to begin with? (I'm thinking something along the lines of Garth Ennis's Preacher here, specifically in the depiction of the Genesis entity.) The flip side is, the Hellknights have taken notice of him, specifically of the golden aura of clockwork gears he emits when using his detect evil and smites and so on. I'm thinking of having a schism within the Order of the Nail, some who think hes consorting with fell powers, some who think hes channeling the power of the Godclaw.
Wow that was a lot of text.
The second is issue is more complicated. But before I go on, does anyone want to hear it, or am i typing to thin air? (It involves the relationship between a young summoner, the Headmaster Toff of the Acadamy, the summoners best friend, and fiendish possession.)
Anyone care?
You are right with that seeming to fall in to Abadar's creed. Have you let him read the article on Abadar in CoCT 2? If he is still unhappy with it, you could just embrace it as an abstract philosophy of order and greater good, and let him run with it, as long as you can keep him from running wild with it.
I am not as familiar with the lore on Aroden to really comment one way or another on it.
As for the Order of the Nail, as long as he is not dealing with abyssal powers, present himself as a threat to civilized order or their long term goals of crushing all of Varisia under the heels of civilization, I am not sure they would care one way or another about dealing with fell powers. To any with planar lore, it would seem more that he was channeling the will of the Inevitable or some other clock-work power of Nirvana. That is something a hellknight of any order (except perhaps Order of the Wrack) would likely be okay with.
If they thought he was channeling the power of the Godclaw, I might have them try to recruit him. This would present an interesting challenge if your player is up to it. Order of the Nail is not anymore difficult to work out with a paladins moral obligations when compared to most others, but Order of the Godclaw would be very difficult with their level of zeal.