I'm looking for some good idea for group themes. Our group did a campaign with an all dwarf theme, inspired by The Hobbit, and now we're talking about emulating super heroes (Batman, Green Arrow, Wolverine so far). Anyone have any other good/cool theme ideas? Anyone who suggests Smurfs, Samurai Pizza Cats, or Carebears can kindly leave the universe (though in the event, dibs on papa smurf).
My group accidentally created a magical girl team based on the different elements. I'm an acid-fist Monk, and then we've got a fire Magus, an ice-blasting Sorcerer, and a shock bombs Alchemist.
Damn, forgot about the ponies.
Could do characters based on video game characters. That would be fun. Mario would be a monk for example.
One game I'd love to do would be one in which your PC is a US president of your choice. The idea is that it would be a comedy based game. Just look up BA presidents on google images for ideas there.
Another one that a friend of mine said he did was an all bard party. In which the group is all a traveling band. The story was them traveling the world to do certain gigs and got into fights on the way.
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I have always wanted to play as a party of all rogues with different skill focuses but some teamwork feat synergy for combat and run around cities burglaring everyone blind and then breaking each other out of prison when we're caught. It would make for some truly fun, amusing and interesting role play opportunities as well as tons apon tons of hooks and toys for any gm to play with.
As a second theme idea, a group of wizards specialized in construction...so they use magic to build and create things, with the goal being to craft the greatest magical creations/locations in the known world. Sounds boring until you think about just what that entails: you need special materials, divination to locate those materials, laborers, information, access to stronger magics, clients, proof of ability, conjuration to create things, evocation to remove things like terrain, possibly necromancy for long-term labor if conjuration isn't good enough (it usually isn't until higher levels where it is pricey), illusion and abjuration for protection, appearance, and sometimes just for being able to survive the area where your information, materials or location is.
And no one character can effectively manage all of the different spells needed barring a Mystic the urge, perhaps. Then actual exploration requires surviving which means some way to deal with encounters. In short, this idea takes a lot of cooperation, several skilled players, and people who really ate interested in co-op play more than optimized 'get ahead' play. GM's can have an absolute field day with this as it screams nothing but epic quests, great wars, protecting important things, exploring mysterious regions, etc. Never mind the problem solving skills it requires from players.
I am currently playing in a Legacy of Fire game where all of the characters are named after characters from the hit TV sitcom Friends.
And no, I don't know what we were thinking.
Another one that a friend of mine said he did was an all bard party. In which the group is all a traveling band. The story was them traveling the world to do certain gigs and got into fights on the way.
I've had this idea too, but with the twist that either not all or none at all must be bards. It would be called something like "Magnamar has Talent" and they try to scrape the equipment, funds, roadies etc for their first tour by adventuring - fight the goblins for their firework stash (and the bounty), save/steal an impresario from a rival band, etc. Also, do you try to find some counseling for the barbarian drummer so he wrecks less sets, or would that weaken his, ehmm, skills?
The four horsemen of the apocalypse
The four elements
The fantastic four
But if you're looking for more serious themes, perhaps the following:
United by a single organization: you're all pathfinders, members of the same faith, or apprenticed to the same guild
United by a single location: the PCs all hail from Darkmoon Vale, or Absalom, or some tiny coastal village with no name
United by singular contact: a famous venture captain, or a lumber consortium boss, or just a made-up NPC
United by a singular event: now here is where you go back to your comic book/Saturday morning cartoon roots. Some of my faves are: you're all mutants (sorcerers and oracles), you're all survivors of some bizarre disease, you were all affected by a magic event that resembles a gamma bomb detonation or being bitten by radioactive spiders.
Fist of God - All members, clergy, or agents of a single church/faith. They are sent out to handle things it the name of X. Often covertly when it is politically unacceptable for the church to be involved.
Arcane Guild - All are full or partial arcane spell casters or at least trained to work closely with arcane spell casters.
Covert Reaction Team - Everyone can sneak, bluff, disguise, etc... very well.
Knights of the Oblong Desk - Everyone must be able to fight/cast mounted (from the same type of mount) and wear at least a breastplate for that knightly image.
Minor Scion Layabouts - All are later sons/daughters of minor nobility (aristocrat class is appropriate) with the wealthy trait. Skills and feats toward pride and image. Later build choices can be after learning how the world works.
Orphans of the Same Wandering Father - All human or half human. Just received a letter that their father has been killed.
when it comes to themed pathfinder i think everyone owes it to themselves to try a goblin game....just dont expect to get much done (but do expect hours of laughing yourself stupid)
"Orphans of the Same Wandering Father - All human or half human. Just received a letter that their father has been killed."
Gah, for some reason this reminded me of the Dudley Boys - except for the father being killed :) .
Actually, being the children of a somehow famous or infamous groups (like a previous adventuring party) has some promise, especially if you want to deconstruct a few cliches.
The League of Extraordinary Men: you're all PF versions of classic fantasy characters met for a global calamity.
Return from the Beyond: you're all souls ripped from The Boneyard/The Seven Heavens/The Nine Hells/The Abyss/whatever. You've been brought back for a specific service like capturing escaped souls, righting an injustice or to work off some kind of penance
Finally you could be a Ranger, Magician, Acrobat, Cavalier, Barbarian and Thief; all your PCs were once teenagers from another plane who fell through some kind of planar gate and now you inhabit these PCs striving to do good while searching for a way home.
Here are a few more:
Scions of the Devil’s Pact – all of you are the children/ grandchildren / great grandchildren /etc. ad nauseum who were promised to a devil one or more generations ago. Now the price (you) is coming due and you must either submit or find a way free.
Variants would be that you were all discovered by those who seek to free you from this pact before it comes due and you are trying to find a way to win yourselves free of the debt or otherwise find a way out of being owned by the devil(s) who have a lien on your future / soul / services / etc. ; or that you are the parents of those who will be taken and have just recently discovered the existence of the pact and must find a way to keep your children safe.
Scions of the Great Bane – all of you were adopted and have recently discovered that you are the children of one of the greatest evils your world has ever know. For whatever reason, that great evil left you in peace. That evil has recently fallen and those who are seeking their power, fortunes, and place will view your very existence as a threat.
Variant would be that you are the children of (or actually resurrected) the enemies of the great evil above, who has discovered some threat that they are unable to face alone. They have brought you forth / brought you back due to the belief that you could make the difference between victory and oblivion for untold lives (including your own and those of your folk).
The Last of the Great Clan – you are the last of your people (perhaps the last true blooded of one of the clans wiped out by the World Wound) and have been hunted by ancient evils for as long as your people have existed. Your fate is to find a way to purge your lands of the evils which drove you from them, even if it means that your once great clan will be no more.
Variants would be evil themed versions (last of the drow, last of dopplegangers, etc.) where you must find a way to remove all records of your existence or find a way to bring your people back to conquer those who have laid you low.
Inspiration – Renshai series.
Students of the Ancient Sage – all of you, at some point or another in your lives, received detailed instruction from a man or woman who was considered one of the greatest minds of the age. They have recently passed and in their passing revealed that some critical information was passed along to former students. Their enemies now seek this knowledge or the destruction of the knowledge and are hunting down those who may possess it. You may or may not know exactly what this knowledge is. It may even be a memory which has been suppressed until a certain event takes place. What you do know is that in order to survive, you must discover the secrets of the sage.
Variants would be the family members of those kidnapped or killed by those who seek this knowledge trying to rescue the students, or those who seek the knowledge that may be too dangerous (perhaps they are the names by which great evils can be awoken) and you seek to find the students for your own ends (benevolent or maleficent).
Pet People – all of you befriended one or more local arcanists in your youth and maintained a friendship with them as you grew older. Their familiars were like aunts or uncles and a family pet rolled into one being and you can’t help but smile at the antics they assisted you with in your youth. Their familiars have just come to you and told you that they have little time – all of their masters / mistresses have been taken / killed / corrupted / etc. and you are the only ones who know. It is up to you to find and free / avenge / redeem / destroy the masters / mistresses of the familiar before it is too late and their magics are used to wreak a great havoc upon all that they once held dear.
Variant would be that you ARE the familiars of those kind masters and through magic (known or unknown) have been given human(oid) forms by which you can aid or oppose the arcanists to whom you are bound. A mixed group of changed familiars and those who grew up with them would be another variant.
-TimD
...
Scions of the Great Bane – all of you were adopted and have recently discovered that you are the children of one of the greatest evils your world has ever know. For whatever reason, that great evil left you in peace. That evil has recently fallen and those who are seeking their power, fortunes, and place will view your very existence as a threat.
Variant would be that you are the children of (or actually resurrected) the enemies of the great evil above, who has discovered some threat that they are unable to face alone. They have brought you forth / brought you back due to the belief that you could make the difference between victory and oblivion for untold lives (including your own and those of your folk). ...
I had started working on one similar to this.
Region loosely ruled by the Vengeance Council. Some dude in the past was so bad that the 5 remaining people that finally stopped him (halflings for some reason) made themselves into lich/wight/whatever so they could pursue vengeance on his bloodline until every last relative is permanently exterminated. So they have some divination ritual magic that locates the next closest relative of Mr Hated. Unbeknownst to anyone, the PC's are the third cousin, twice removed, nephew's half-brothers, uncle's orphaned children by his second marriage. They find out when the Vengeance Council's agents try to kill them. More agents are on the way (I was thinking mantis assassins). What are you doing?
Assassins/Spies - Everyone having Stealth or even Stealth Synergy.
Blacken the Sky - All Archers and/or Ranged characters
The Family - everyone is related
I F**king Love Science - Everyone is an alchemist
Religion - Everyone follows the same god
Daisycutters - All halflings and/or gnomes
Here are a few more:
Scions of the Devil’s Pact – all of you are the children/ grandchildren / great grandchildren /etc. ad nauseum who were promised to a devil one or more generations ago. Now the price (you) is coming due and you must either submit or find a way free.
Variants would be that you were all discovered by those who seek to free you from this pact before it comes due and you are trying to find a way to win yourselves free of the debt or otherwise find a way out of being owned by the devil(s) who have a lien on your future / soul / services / etc. ; or that you are the parents of those who will be taken and have just recently discovered the existence of the pact and must find a way to keep your children safe.Scions of the Great Bane – all of you were adopted and have recently discovered that you are the children of one of the greatest evils your world has ever know. For whatever reason, that great evil left you in peace. That evil has recently fallen and those who are seeking their power, fortunes, and place will view your very existence as a threat.
Variant would be that you are the children of (or actually resurrected) the enemies of the great evil above, who has discovered some threat that they are unable to face alone. They have brought you forth / brought you back due to the belief that you could make the difference between victory and oblivion for untold lives (including your own and those of your folk).The Last of the Great Clan – you are the last of your people (perhaps the last true blooded of one of the clans wiped out by the World Wound) and have been hunted by ancient evils for as long as your people have existed. Your fate is to find a way to purge your lands of the evils which drove you from them, even if it means that your once great clan will be no more.
Variants would be evil themed versions (last of the drow, last of dopplegangers, etc.) where you must find a way to remove all records of your existence or find a way to bring your people...
We've done something similar to the last of the great clan as dwarves, but all good ideas with story themes that can drive a campaign.
As I have a few more minutes and these types of topics are some of my fav things on the Paizo boards, a few more…
All-for-one / one-for-all / all-for-us – in their youth, the PCs made a pact with each other to support each other in their endeavors and quests for differing types of power so that, as a group, they would have a great deal of influence over the world. One might seek to become the Great Guildmaster, with spies in every court, blackmail on everyone, and to whom every criminal in the region pays heed & tribute. Another may seek to master the ancient arcane magics and seeks magical power and influence, perhaps even control, amongst the arcanists of the region. Yet another may seek to make their religion (and by “their” I mean all of the PCs by preference) the pre-eminent religion in the area, a state religion, or at least to build such a bastion to their deity (or deities) that their enemies may ever fear to enter into their lands (or even plane). One may seek to lead – whether it be army, city, nation, etc. – and seeks the guidance and backing of the others and to aid them too in their endeavors. The key is that none compete where others seek and that they all support each others’ efforts as they gain in power.
Variant – the PCs have discovered such a cabal already exists and must find a way to destabilize or remove them from power in order to accomplish their own goals.
We have a Dream – PCs have a singular, all-encompassing goal which will have significant repercussions on the game world, if achieved. Whether it be the ending of slavery, the eradication of a demon lord’s religion, the freedom of their nation from tyranny, the establishment of their own nation, or some other goal the campaign world will be changed both by their efforts and by the result of their efforts (even if not wholly successful).
Variant – the PCs are opposing another group who is implacably forging their own will on the PC’s world and must find a way to stop them before the way of life that they have enjoyed is gone forever. The PCs are bound by whatever is threatened by this group, whether it be a religion, citizenship in a country or city-state, or something even more primal or esoteric – whatever it is, they see in each other what they hope to preserve and defend.
Snowflakes – all of the PCs share some ability which seems to be unique to them. Perhaps they can always smell incorporeal or ethereal entities, perhaps the sounds of lies spoken either by themselves or others creates an odd taste in their mouth, maybe there is a specific type of wood which they can shape like clay and which becomes as strong as steel once their shaping is completed. Whatever the ability – it is a sign of something else. A sign those who are their sworn enemies seek to find a destroy all those who share this trait.
Variant – the PCs are either the seekers or have discovered that their secret talent is actually the sign that they are capable of something they would prefer not to be involved in (such as summoning a greater demon lord, slaying a greater angel, etc.).
Hunters – PCs all share a specialty in opposing a specific type of enemy. Perhaps they are undead hunters or demon hunters, maybe they specialize in unearthing shapechangers or the manipulations of the aboleth, perhaps they are all non-humans and seek to minimize the influence of the upstart humans on the world as best they can, or perhaps they specialize in providing security and aid for dragons against those who hunt them for their lairs. Whatever it is, they are all very, very good at dealing with a specific type of threat. Their services are often sought for such threats and those whom they oppose may even start building their own forces to oppose the PCs.
Variant – PCs instead specialize in a service such as stealth specialists, kidnappers or hostage rescue, transport specialists, or magical engineers.
NOTE: this type of campaign requires a bit more buy-in from the GM than most as a group of pirate hunters may be bored stiff if they find themselves stuck in the deserts of the Tomb-Nation of the Ancient Mummy Kings.
-TimD
Clone Club from Orphan Black -- See how many totally different characters the players can come up with using characters with the same race, gender, age, and stats. You probably want to use a high point buy for this one to provide a set of stats that potentially works with most classes.
Another one that a friend of mine said he did was an all bard party. In which the group is all a traveling band. The story was them traveling the world to do certain gigs and got into fights on the way.I've had this idea too, but with the twist that either not all or none at all must be bards. It would be called something like "Magnamar has Talent" and they try to scrape the equipment, funds, roadies etc for their first tour by adventuring - fight the goblins for their firework stash (and the bounty), save/steal an impresario from a rival band, etc. Also, do you try to find some counseling for the barbarian drummer so he wrecks less sets, or would that weaken his, ehmm, skills?
So did you have to fight the evil party of bards who want to stop you from winning the battle of the bands so you can raise the money to stop the dark lord from destroying the civic center? Also, is there a montage every time you level up?
(note to self: keep that last idea- do a little song in the style "Gotta have a Montage" where you nonsensically described how you learned orcish [linguistics] while trapped in a dungeon that is at the bottom of the ocean. Bonus points if the montage involves going to other locations that you cannot go to and bringing in random characters [orc in glasses and ripped suit at a black board with a point])
Anyway, with the way Paizo is handling some of the races, you could easily play a game with variant heritages of the same race.
-An all aasimar party where everyone has different good outsiders' blood...and carry with them different agendas and targets that could lead to intrigue as they try to support their cause, sometimes at the cost of others (example- archon blooded might secrets work with devils in quelling a rebellion in order to get their support for another war)
-How about various types of tieflings that must face attacks from different kinds evil outsiders who recognize where one of them gets their blood (ie.-demons attacking the descendant of a powerful devil general; Qlippoth attacking a demonspawn;Rakshasa attacking the relatives of a daemon that destroyed the soul of one of their leaders; the list goes on when you consider that each tiefling has a relative that made a lot of enemies, many of whom can keep grudges for thousands of years)?
-Maybe a team of dhampir vampire slayers?
Minor thread rez here. What if you put a spin on one of Tim's groups?
The Victims Who Lived
The PCs barely remember their childhood and can have teen years and beyond in any number of diverse backgrounds, but at one point in their youth they all lived in some creepy, backwater town. They survived some supernatural attack or bogeyman by sticking together and they made a pact not to let it happen again. Now the creature/force/evil is back but it has been busy creating networks of villainous proxies and schemes in the meantime. One of the PCs spontaneously remembered something and started making connections from local tales of recent calamities. Now it's time to gather the old crew and go out after this thing, and finally put an end to it once and for all.
Oh sure, I'm stealing from a very famous novel here, but that doesn't make this any less viable. From a GM's standpoint this one's great for them. They have a built-in overarching BBEG that they don't even have to define, they can drop in any number of layers between it and the 1st level PCs to build their levels to the right height and you can introduce past memories the PCs forgot as clues/teasers to keep the plot going.
An all-bard team would be pretty fun. Chelish Diva/Arcane Duelist/Court Bard/Archaeologist would fill every role reasonably well and not conflict in terms of what does or does not stack.
Well, it wasn't a full group theme, but one me, my gf, and our best friend were planning on doing once as a trio...
(me) Male Suli Drunken Master/Four Winds Monk
(her) Female Half-Orc Drunken Brute/Elemental Kin Barbarian
(him) Male Dwarf Alchemist with max ranks in Craft (Booze).
Every fight was going to be a party xD.
A group of Kobolds. Everyone starts off as part of the same clan. Everyone has to start with a teamwork feat. No full spellcasters to encourage the use of swarm tactics and teamwork feats.
A group who specializes in seige-breaking. They get hired whenever a seige has gone on too long to get inside and create a way in for the armies. They could also be used for assassinations.
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Make Race Matter and have everyone make characters with this in mind.
I ran a game a long time a go called "When the last elf is dead" which was tolkienesque. But imagine Kingmaker meets alternate history Lord of the Rings where things went south.
The premise is that the elves will choose the great human king to defeat the BBEG. Only the said king is dead, the quest failed, and elves have recently been hunted to extinction.
Most characters were half elves who are being hunted down to cement the BBEG's victory.
You could do something like this with many races/group or whatever, where the world is stacked against the party with any race or group or variation in place of my half elves.
Dump the Characters in an Alien Setting allow characters to be from anywhere.....earth, fantasy land, SF land, or whatever and put them in a world they aren't familar with. For fun let some of the characters know they're in Atlantis or whatever.
I thought a flock of Tengu would be hilarious. Maybe one is a druid with an Axe Beak animal companion. Another could have a Hawk familiar. Maybe a giant bird eidolon. Take a bunch of the flanking and distraction type teamwork feats to simulate a flock swarming a foe.
My group just looked at me like I was an idiot. {sigh}
My group is going to try all-bards at some point and pretend we're a punk band.
Themes I've done either as player or GM:
Sneak: Everyone had some ability for stealth. No plate armor, no negative stealth modifiers, focus was on either avoiding combat or starting from ambush.
Farm kids: The original Dungeon Siege start. All farm kids out working in the fields. Suddenly there is a massive attack, ransacking the nearby town. Now the kids have to help people get to 'safety' and try to figure out what has caused all this.
Drinking Buddies: Yup, a mis-mash of people in a bar decide to form an adventuring group, check out those rumors of treasure.
Slaves: All captured and pressed into slavery. You make an escape and now try to survive with the others who escaped with you.
Students: All students at some sort of educational institution. Class projects become the adventures, although sometimes the classes themselves can be.
Religious: All followers of the same pantheon and generally focused on the same god.
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I thought a flock of Tengu would be hilarious. Maybe one is a druid with an Axe Beak animal companion. Another could have a Hawk familiar. Maybe a giant bird eidolon. Take a bunch of the flanking and distraction type teamwork feats to simulate a flock swarming a foe.
My group just looked at me like I was an idiot. {sigh}
I like.
I thought someone suggested Disney Princesses. Reread thread and didn't see. I like in a so awful it's good kinda way.
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I thought a flock of Tengu would be hilarious. Maybe one is a druid with an Axe Beak animal companion. Another could have a Hawk familiar. Maybe a giant bird eidolon. Take a bunch of the flanking and distraction type teamwork feats to simulate a flock swarming a foe.
My group just looked at me like I was an idiot. {sigh}
I like.
I thought someone suggested Disney Princesses. Reread thread and didn't see. I like in a so awful it's good kinda way.
I made a bard who had a dream of Kurgess (god of sports/competition) asking her to bring an art to Golarion. Thus the first cheerleader was born. Easily made into a Bard team.
I thought a flock of Tengu would be hilarious. Maybe one is a druid with an Axe Beak animal companion. Another could have a Hawk familiar. Maybe a giant bird eidolon. Take a bunch of the flanking and distraction type teamwork feats to simulate a flock swarming a foe.
My group just looked at me like I was an idiot. {sigh}
Alternates: all of the tengu are bards and based on sea birds (Flock of Seaguls). All of them have a level dip in Paladin and wear unique plate armor; one is actually an android made to LOOK like a tengu (Silverhawks). If you're going to go corny bird theme, go big or go home...
I thought someone suggested Disney Princesses. Reread thread and didn't see. I like in a so awful it's good kinda way.
That was FanaticRat, near the top of the thread.
I've always wanted to do an evil crusade. As in, everyone worships the same evil deity and goes out to cleanse the world of nonbelievers. Which would encompass most people. So you'd just go around burning villages and desecrating temples and sacrificing virgins and all that jazz. I think it'd be fun.
We did a all rogue group once. That was fun.
I keep hoping to have a group of characters inherit a circus. And use their skills to keep it going.
Our Curse of the Crimson Throne crew got all dolled up in outfits in homage to Blackjack. They had variety but black hoods and facemasks. I wish we had done it earlier. Because about the time we got dolled up we took off from the city.
couple of my friends and I are kicking around the idea of a group of three bards. An Oread, Sylph and Ifrit. Of course we call ourselves Eart, Wind and Fire.
3 bard/gunslingers (3 Mariachis)?
3 bard/gunslingers (3 Mariachis)?
The Three Amigos
3 bard/gunslingers (3 Mariachis)?The Three Amigos
No no, the Rodriguez action films about 3 traveling mariachi performers in Mexico who are also heavy weapons experts bent on taking down a crimelord. the American film was Desperado with Antonio Banderas.
But 3 Amigos would work too.
What about a group united by a guild. Not an adventurer's guild or mercenary company though. Here's some ideas:
The Ratcatcher's Guild - the lowest of the low professions, these hunters scour the streets and sewers for the vermin and creatures who make their lairs in the shadows of civilization.
United Bakers, Butchers and Chandler's Local 344 - a union of commoners who privately supply most of the food and light to the entire city.
Wayfarer's Orphanage - Madame Pirha Wayfarer is a kindly Halfling and genuinely cares for children. As such she goes to great lengths to protect them, even if they are not her wards. The orphanage then trains promising children to enter their adolescence with a particular skillset useful in her endeavors.
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Have everyone in the group agree on a deity, and they all worship it. They don't have to be divine casters, but they do have to be the kind of person who would choose THAT deity to pray to over all the others.
It might not create any major storytelling hooks, but it does pretty much guarantee right out of the gate that there won't be any clashing roleplaying moments, as everyone will be playing characters that have a fairly good basis for getting along. They won't agree on everything, but they'll at least be able to form a coherent group decision on most things.
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Playing off Saturn's hook:
The faith of Saranrae is one of healing, of redemption. We bring the light with us and we wish for all people to see that light within themselves. There are some though who are beyond redemption.
For every light, even that of the Dawnflower herself, there are shadows.
You four are those shadows. Born of the holy radiance but existing just outside its reach. Yet you are connected, as one with the church and the faith.
We will train you, house and supply you with many of the resources you need. In return, you will go among these lands, unbidden and unfettered from our church. In public you are nothing more than adventurers, explorers. But you will have your mission and nothing should dissuade you from those.
Many will try to stop you. Many will attempt to seduce you from your vocation. Though you might no longer operate within the laws and light of civilization at hand, know that your actions are ordained by the Dawnflower and her will.
And so you shall be our Moonlight Brigade.
So the PCs are sort of like the characters from the VanHelsing movie with Hugh Jackman. They have a church, or maybe a couple where they have contacts who can supply them with holy water, alchemical goods, spare armor and weapons and occasionally magic items. They also have boltholes, contacts and businesses friendly to their crusade hidden among the cities of Golarion. In return for this support the PCs take on missions in the name of Saranrae.
These missions would negatively impact the PR of the faith. While the public face of the faith is one of charity, mercy and healing, the PCs are little more than holy warriors and assassins who root out undead, monsters, and cults. They also hunt for lost resources, sometimes in places where the church has no authority or presence.
As a GM I'd play up the angle that the public at large doesn't consider what the PCs are doing to be noble or heroic work. Even the few they might tell are disgusted that the "church of light" would hire mercenaries to go and murder the "unredeemable" as judge, jury and executioner.
So the party wouldn't have to be all rogue/clerics, but they'd have to cleave to a certain anonymity. They wouldn't be the typical "heroes" saving the city from a dragon and getting a parade in their honor. The roleplaying of the game would come from the players reconciling with working toward helping a world which both hates and fears them.