I don't think there is an exact lore match.
The Zon-Kuthonites might use their social deviants as fodder in the Silent Shroud, but they would brainwash them first.
Mendevian crusades accept criminals seeking redemption; they end up fighting demons and cultists.
I was expecting to see discussions about how to implement Branch of Sin in a Pathfinder game.
While there might not be a current lore match, using condemned prisoners to perform dangerous tasks is a pretty established practice. It certainly would make sense for this to be done somewhere, whether by sentence or as a "volunteer" based program for criminals.
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Paul is a dead man.
You could always play as someone who has self-imposed themselves to fight for the greater good. If I remember correctly, the Legion of the Dead is not only made up of criminals but also of dwarves who either had no other opportunity or sought to honor themselves through sacrifice. If you want to retain the criminal element, your character could have committed some misdeed or sin that they either weren't caught for or their punishment did not seem enough, and so the guilt of it has driven them to their current purpose.
Silver Crusade and the Church of Sarenrae both would work for a more redemption themed character. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch for either organisation to give criminals a choice to serve militarily instead of standard punishment.
Darn, to bad there is no lore match.
I still want to make this work so would a convicted criminal pathfinder fit best with dark archive, the exchange or the sovereign court?All of them have a reason to send criminals, it's cheaper for the exchange and a sentence reduction of sort would make them loyal and cheap.
The Dark archive is into all sort of shenanigans so it wouldn't suprise me.
With the whole switch to the court from taldor as a whole, I can't really justify it anymore actuelly.
Any tips would be appreciated.
You can probably get some ideas from the Pathfinder Wiki.
The Season 6 faction mission for the Silver Crusade is all about redemption and helping veterans of the Fifth Mendevian Crusade. I've have been at several tables (on both sides of the screen) where Silver Crusade members persuade surrendered bandits to come join the Pathfinder Society and/or Silver Crusade as a more productive use of their skills.
You could very easily write a backstory of a criminal in a prison that was destroyed by a demon attack.* Rather than run, you bravely fought the demons. Any paladin, cleric, or warpriest of Sarenrae or Shelyn would recognize that you were still redeemable and could potentially take you under their wing and bring you back from Mendev when the crusade was over.
Another possibility:
You come from a culture that includes slavery as a punishment for crimes. A lawful-ish Liberty's Edge member freed a group of slaves and found out that you were enslaved as punishment for crimes. Not being willing to just turn a criminal loose on the world and not able to send you back to your home culture authorities (who will just sell you into slavery again), the Liberty's Edger brought you back to Absalom to join the Pathfinder Society where other faction members can keep an eye on you.
*I think there is at least one prison attacked by demons in a Season 5 scenario: the event is referenced in Scars of the Third Crusade, but I don't know which scenario the attack actually takes place in.
Well, you don't have to want redemption to accept an offer to avoid rotting in prison: you just have to put up with the goody-two-shoes long enough to make it work. :-)
With the second option, though, you can make that work with any class. You could have had a profession/been any class before committing your crime, and now you're picking up where you left off. Or you could have been sold to someone who had class levels where you picked up some tricks, like working as a slave to a wizard or alchemist. You could even have been forced into a class by your master, like a gladiator slave. And having been a slave is a great backstory to let your inner rage build up and take some levels in barbarian.
If you want a divine caster class, it would be harder to pull off the character concept with the "divine servant" classes (cleric, warpriest, inquisitor), but ranger or druid could easily work (there's a whole conflict between druids and loggers in the Verderan forest, and Nirmathi rangers are guerillas/freedom fighters, either of which can land you in prison). Oracles can work with any background: one day you woke up cursed and casting. If you wanted to be an "accidental" criminal, Wrecker curse or Haunted curse are great ways to get into trouble without ill intent ("No, sheriff, I really don't know how that got in my backpack...").
Monk will be more difficult because of the lawful requirement, but the Marital Artist archetype lets you avoid that. Even still, it's possible. In a home game, I've got a completely anti-social, misanthropic, drow-blooded Zen Archer: she's only lawful because she knows that if she keeps her head down and follows the rules, she's less likely to get harassed and run out of town as an evil freak. Now, you won't be able to pull off the "all people are crap, and I don't trust any of them" attitude in PFS, but you could probably make the "I'm lawful because I don't want to get in trouble" bit work.
I thought the Hellknights had a regimen like this, but I cannot find support for it. I would imagine there is some Golarion equivalent to the French Foreign Legion somewhere.
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Any more advice on class selection?
I think that a monk would fit. The monk's dedication to internal discipline seems to be what you're going for. At some point - your character didn't like his life and was ashamed etc - he left it all behind one day and joined a monastary.
After years of training and self-discipline ("I'll have that rice extra bland - thank you very much!") - he has now left the monastary to begin using his newfound training and discipline to make up for his past life's wrongs.
I think a dwarf would especially fit - but maybe that's just because I'm thinking of the unarmored Slayers from Warhammer Fantasy. (For those not 'in the know' - dwarfs who are dishonored and want to kill themselves don't actually do so - that's not dwarfy - they instead go into combat against their race's foes while unarmored. They look for the biggest/meanest mofos they can find - hoping that said mofo kills them even as the Slayer kills it. Therefore Slayers never run from combat as they're hoping to die - and they get bonuses vs really big things.)
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Get convicted of a mass murder you didn't commit, go to wonderland and awaken your branch.
Wait... wrong anime sorry.
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There are at least a couple of scenarios, even before Season 6, where the PCs can offer at least one of the baddies, including the BBEG in one scenario, a chance to join up instead of die.
Also, rather than being a convicted criminal, be a fugitive from Rahadoum, as a Divine caster, using the Society to keep you on the run from the Grey Legion. Or non-Divine, just a worshipper, but with the Godless Healing feat for flavor...