So one of my players is playing a Cleric of St. Cuthbert. Great choice, but running into some role-play issues. he wants to be a an inquisitorial zealout, hunt out witches, put demon cultists on trial, etc....However, I am finding him to be a little heavy handed in his wants and desires. Our campaign is set in Eberron, specifically Breland. My interpretation is that Breland is a little more democratic and enlightened and less prone to religious zeal or letting a cleric waltz into town and start putting peple on trial.
If we were in Thrane (a Theocratic nation in the Eberron setting) it might be a different story. But my player was talking to an undercover cultist who failed to fool him (he has a very good insight skill), and he seems to think that give him liberty to arrest this person, put him on trial and start an inquisition.
As a cleric, I want him to role-play his charactger in the manner he wants, but at the same time I'm trying to get the point across that he is not an actual legal authority in the context of the game world. Breland has it's own laws and whatnot, and that if he feels ST. Cuthberts laws (which are not really defined) give him some authority he doesn't actually have, then he will face in-game consequences, like becoming an outlaw himself. He seems to think this is not fair, so my question to other DMs out there is how do you manage a zealous cleric who seems to put himself above the actual authorities in the game and yet not spoil things?
First of all, talk to him away-from-table. Point out that his actions are making extra headaches for you as DM.
I would be thinking about a way to get him a "badge" that allows him to investigate and arrest cultists &c but they must be delivered to the lawful authorities for trial and conviction. This allows him to do what he conceives the character as doing, without making him the local tyrant and mocker of The Authorities. I also would be thinking about giving him a (written) set of circumstances (a) when the State will back him up; and (b) when the State won't. If he refuses the job offer and starts doing his own thing anyway, he can be arrested and deported with instructions never to return to this jurisdiction. Also decide what the Church of St. Cuthbert might think of this situation.
How is he worshipping a deity that doesn't exist in Eberron? (And I don't mean "doesn't exist" like the mysterious, unproven existence of the Sovereign Host - I mean there is no concept of the Greyhawk pantheon in Eberron, and Eberron clerics get their powers from faith instead of from deities. (Incidentally, the people are aware of this. During the Last War, national armies tried to train clerics to get their power from faith in national ideals instead of in divine sources. They failed, and no one's sure why.))
The inquisitor's role in Eberron is the Church of the Silver Flame, and most of Cuthbert's dogma can translate to some branch or other, notably the Inquisition. The whole point of the Church of the Silver Flame is to defend the innocent from supernatural evil, but more than a few inquisitors got a little tied up in their zeal - similar to the Vengeance paladin in some ways, except slightly less Batman.
With that in mind, you can just look up how the Silver Flame fits in with any given nation - it's the second-most-common faith in the Five Nations (just behind the Sovereign Host in most of them except Thrane and possibly Aundair), and it's accepted just about everywhere (though there's some bad blood between some of the Eldeen Reaches and the Church because of the whole Lycanthropic Purge getting trigger-happy with shifters), including in places you might not expect (there's an entire barbarian cult in the Demon Wastes that is basically the Silver Flame without the Roman Catholic trappings painted on it).
Breland as a nation is democratic (well, constitutional monarchy with a national parliament, but still), but its individual people are very diverse. A Brelish Purified (follower of the Flame) may take to his faith with characteristic gusto, but might simultaneously disagree with the notion of theocracy. This particular narrative arc is very strong among Aundair's Purified, due to the rivalry between Aundair and Thrane. An Aundair Purified might legitimately believe that the worst thing that ever happened to the church was getting into politics, since ruling the people's day-to-day concerns lightens the focus on the chuch's mission of fighting supernatural evil in the world in exchange for fighting a secular war (which only just ended - every adult human in Eberron knew nothing but war until four years ago.) They'll hold this belief even as they accept the role of the Keeper of the Flame as their spiritual leader. Since Breland's government is strongly in opposition to the ideals of theocracy, you'd assume that their people were of similar attitude to Aundair's - leave governing the people to the people (or their elected representatives), and focus the spiritual leadership on fighting back the tides of darkness.
In the case of the undercover cultist, I'd suggest bringing in legitimate Brelish lawyers or the City Watch (if you were in Sharn, which is likely). They are legitimate authority of the cleric's country, and can be as Good as you want - but since the Church has no secular jurisdiction in any nation except Thrane (where the word "secular" doesn't really exist), the cultist gets to go free and the cleric has to deal with the conflict between his faith and his dedication to the law. No amount of faith can replace the law - curiously, this is actually true even in Thrane, although faith and the law are often aligned there - and he simply doesn't have the authority to arrest the cultist, any more than another player at the table can "arrest" the Dungeon Master.
If the pattern keeps up, send in the Sentinel Marshals - they are Eberron's internaional police, and they do have jurisdiction to chase criminals in any nation even if they haven't broken the laws there (i.e. if I break a uniquely Thranish law and flee to Q'Barra, only a Sentinel Marshal can arrest me - and due to the unique politics in Q'Barra, this might actually cause a minor international incident).
If you really want to set an example, make one of these authority figures - the lawyers, the Watch, the Sentinel Marshals - a devoted follower of the Silver Flame, who has a better balance between their faith and their duty. This NPC might admire the zeal of the young inquisitor, but can instruct them on how to properly carry out the church's fight against supernatural evil while being a good citizen of Breland. If the player takes after your RP, you can even have this NPC sponsor them to join one of the secular institutions that will give them the authority to fight evil the way he wants.
And if there's no recourse at all, you can get him special legal waivers - for instance, he might be a member of the Silver Flame's clergy charged with seeking out and extinguishing a cell of the Cults of the Dragon Below that are troubling some Purified in Breland. He's not acting as an agent of Thrane - it can be difficult to keep Thrane and the Church separate in your mind, but they are - and the Brelish Churches will provide legal protection should he transgress secular law. Put him in conflict with the local law enforcement at least once - an obstructive cop who doesn't believe the letter you have from the Church until he gets it verified by his superiors (note: the goal of this encounter is to have the police back down or join in, so bring them in early enough to obstruct and not arrest the PC) - and the player will learn that he's not a law enforcement officer but rather the instrument of the Church's will.
And, if all else fails and this pattern continues, give him a good run for a few adventures and then arrest him. Center an adventure around the trial (gathering evidence to make a case for his innocence). Make it clear that the courts won't accept religious law in Breland, and put the Church in there somewhere (the obvious role is the defense attorney, but the judge might be a fun one as well). The player will be forced to choose between his faith and his actions. I hate having to mention alignment, especially in an Eberron game, but the conflict between a zealous Lawful individual and the actual legitimate law of the land is a classic narrative force to draw upon here.
Hope that helps.
Thank you both for your in-depth replies. Good stuff.
Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
That leads to the interesting situation of Dreland's guards being called in to break up a fight, and explaining to the cleric that being a worshipper of some odd minor church isn't against the law, but attacking civilians is. Having the cleric spend a night in the cells to cool off might get the point across without causing permanent damage.
Of course it might also attract the attention of those with an interest in cults, good or bad. 
Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
Being a cleric of any faith doesn't allow you to just start arresting people because you 'think' they might have told a lie about something. Even if you give him license to worship any diety he wants, it is still an out of place faith that isn't shared at all locally. The townsfolk could just as easily arrest HIM for religious conspiracy and murder etc...Easiest solution is to have NPC officials approach them and give them official church orders to cease and decist from unwarranted Inquisitioning.
Player prolly has daddy issues.
CCS wrote:
CCS wrote:
Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
Byakugan01 wrote:
xirr2000 wrote: