Can a character gain favor from a god against a faction? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Can a character gain favor from a god against a faction? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DeathDealer11
06-08-07, 01:21 AM I have a player wanting to play a Banite who is not a follower of Zhentamin, and essentially says he wants to destroy them because they are heretics. He is also a cleric.

Ok, so here's the problem as I see it:

If the character was right, and he is a Banite, the Zhentamin clerics would not be able to cast spells from Bane because they are in fact Heretics. However, this conflicts with the books which state they are indeed true followers of Bane. This would mean that my character would not get favor from Bane because he would be the heretic. But he's not, on his character sheet he worships Bane.

So how do I deal with this issue?
allenchan
06-08-07, 01:25 AM Bane is the god of Tyranny. Might makes right. If your character can kill the Zhents (or take them over), then you're his best. If they beat up on you, then they're his best. He'll choose afterwards. There's really no conflict here. If you make more hate in the world, you get a cookie. He doesn't care who you are hating.

Its really not that hard to believe. In fact, its fairly common for there to be opposing organizations vying for one diety's attention. How many Heresy's does Lathander have? like four? And then there's deities like Helm and the Red Knight, who sponsor both paladins and black guards.
DM_Dan
06-08-07, 06:17 AM Yeah, there is nothing to say that Gods have to be too worried about mortal politics. As long as the character is paying worship to Bane in the best way he knows how, then there is no reason why Bane should not favour him with powers. The thing about the way deities grant power in D&D is that they basically give out abilities and spells for individuals to do with as they wish (within reason - it is still possible to offend a deity and have all power stripped away).

There is not necessarily a right or wrong for this situation. Your PC wants to believe that the Zhents are heretics and have got their worship/ideas/prayers/whatever wrong somehow, that's his opinion, not necessarily Bane's opinion. It is a fair bet to say that Bane doesn't care whether his services are conducted in Common or in Draconic as long as they are conducted with passion and the odd sacrifice. If your PC wants to believe that the true language of Bane's worship is Goblin and anyone who says a prayer in any other language is a heretic and must die, that's down to him. Faith gives people some funny ideas, and they are often very difficult to change.

The answer: they both worship Bane. They do it slightly differently, and this leads them each to believe that the other is wrong and thus heretical. It's nuts, but not without precedent.

Hope this helps,

DMD.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DeathDealer11 06-08-07, 01:21 AM	I have a player wanting to play a Banite who is not a follower of Zhentamin, and essentially says he wants to destroy them because they are heretics. He is also a cleric. Ok, so here's the problem as I see it: If the character was right, and he is a Banite, the Zhentamin clerics would not be able to cast spells from Bane because they are in fact Heretics. However, this conflicts with the books which state they are indeed true followers of Bane. This would mean that my character would not get favor from Bane because he would be the heretic. But he's not, on his character sheet he worships Bane. So how do I deal with this issue?
allenchan 06-08-07, 01:25 AM	Bane is the god of Tyranny. Might makes right. If your character can kill the Zhents (or take them over), then you're his best. If they beat up on you, then they're his best. He'll choose afterwards. There's really no conflict here. If you make more hate in the world, you get a cookie. He doesn't care who you are hating. Its really not that hard to believe. In fact, its fairly common for there to be opposing organizations vying for one diety's attention. How many Heresy's does Lathander have? like four? And then there's deities like Helm and the Red Knight, who sponsor both paladins and black guards.
DM_Dan 06-08-07, 06:17 AM	Yeah, there is nothing to say that Gods have to be too worried about mortal politics. As long as the character is paying worship to Bane in the best way he knows how, then there is no reason why Bane should not favour him with powers. The thing about the way deities grant power in D&D is that they basically give out abilities and spells for individuals to do with as they wish (within reason - it is still possible to offend a deity and have all power stripped away). There is not necessarily a right or wrong for this situation. Your PC wants to believe that the Zhents are heretics and have got their worship/ideas/prayers/whatever wrong somehow, that's his opinion, not necessarily Bane's opinion. It is a fair bet to say that Bane doesn't care whether his services are conducted in Common or in Draconic as long as they are conducted with passion and the odd sacrifice. If your PC wants to believe that the true language of Bane's worship is Goblin and anyone who says a prayer in any other language is a heretic and must die, that's down to him. Faith gives people some funny ideas, and they are often very difficult to change. The answer: they both worship Bane. They do it slightly differently, and this leads them each to believe that the other is wrong and thus heretical. It's nuts, but not without precedent. Hope this helps, DMD.