I'm considering this as a new campaign in the future. Just wondering if anyone else has thought of running a religion-centered campaign set in Thrane where each member is a divine class (Avenger, Cleric, Paladin, Invoker, etc...) working under the church and whatnot.
Thoughts?
It sounds like a good idea, but only if the players are fully willing to do it--after all, enforcing restrictions on the creative process of making a character is never a good thing if the players chafe under these rules.
The other factor is, of course, the fact that not everyone who is very faithful and an arm of the church is a divine class. The image of the noble knight who doesn't know magic, but still dedicates his blade to the Flame... that's an image I like as much as a paladin or avenger.
Most martial classes, actually, could have a very nice place IN the church, but not necessarily divine.
This is a great idea for a One-Shot or Mini-Adventure that you can then branch out into a larger campaign- mostly because not every player might be comfortable playing a Divine Character from Thrane because Even if they try realllly hard- everyone associates the Silver Flame with Christianity. For better or worse someones going to bring it up in some way: whether its an intolerant Paladin or a Charitable Monk or what have you. Rather than run away from it- accept that this is going to happen and plan around it.
Due to the Religious focus its important to determine the "Brightness" level of your campaign- as well as the "Contrast". A quick explanation- In a "Bright" the side your on is winning- in a Dark Game its the opposite. In a "High Contrast" game Good is Good, Evil is Evil and never the two shall meet. In a"Low Contrast" Game everything is a bit of grey.
Specifically:
Bright High Contrast: Jayla is a Tiny Beacon of Hope and Good: the Silver Flame is full of Paladins who care about people, Priests who care for the Flock, and the faithful are armed and ready to do battle with all the enemies of their faith- but only the monstrous and evil ones need to be destroyed. The Corrupt Cardinals are mustache twirling villains, think Hedley Lamar from Blazing Saddles, the Raksashas are inscrutable Evil Creatures whose greatest power is deception- and when their victims realize their mistakes and attempt to redeem themselves. The shadow in the flame only attracts those that would already be drawn to evil. The rest of Khorvaire is ignorant- but not hostile- and the party is a heroic force of light and freedom in a world that wants to find its way back to the light. This is the "Classic" DnD setting applied to Eberron.
Bright Low Contrast: You can't trust anybody- but like in a James Bond film the Heroic, dashing, and impossibly brave (and sexy) Player Characters will carry the day; protect the world; get the girl and do it all with style and panache. In this version Thrane might be slightly ... misguided in its attempts; and its up to the players to temper the zealous passions of some of their countrymen- possibly taking out double agents from Aundair; rooting out corruption in the church; and discovering the age old conspiracies out to destroy the world. This is the "Classic" Eberron- a little bit Noir but still very heroic.
Dark High Contrast: Jayla is a puppet: Crozier is the real power behind the throne- and everyone knows it. The Faithful hide from the oppressive church: who preach charity while murdering wealthy citizens and taking their goods and lands "for the good of all". Zealous Paladins murder innocent people for Heresy while indulging their vices. The Shadow in the Flame is in command; the true message of the Silver Flame has been diluted- and only the PC's and their few allies can stand against the Church. This is the "Thrane is Evil and Spain during the Inquisition" option which a lot of people seem to cling to.
Dark Low Contrast: Jayla is a Mad Child imbued with terrible powers: the Silver Flame is a ruse created by the Overlord"Imprisoned" in it- as he consumes the souls of a ever widening cult who worship him in his guise as a savior. Khorvaire is a paranoid and dangerous place- the influence of the Shadow in the Flame has already reached out and touched the minds of all the rulers. The Church is a massive Inquisition which relies on terror and informants to get its job done. This is the "Doomsday" option.
If you determine what kind of "Thrane" game you want to run- (I.e. Bright and Shiny Paladins or Inquisition Terror) its much easier to get the Christian analogies and assumptions out of the way to allow your friends and players to really explore the world.
The other factor is, of course, the fact that not everyone who is very faithful and an arm of the church is a divine class. The image of the noble knight who doesn't know magic, but still dedicates his blade to the Flame... that's an image I like as much as a paladin or avenger.
Agreed. I have a one-shot I want to run that's based around a unit of Silver Flame soldiers caught in the events of the Silver Crusade. The party includes divine characters, but it's not all divine. The peasant scout is a ranger. He developed his skill with the bow because of his faith in the Flame - but that skill is natural, not divine in nature.
So Thrane has the highest concentration of divine heroes of the Five Nations, just as Aundair has the edge on Arcane. But personally, I see it as having more mundane/martial forces in its armies than divine... and the same goes for Aundair and arcane.Thrane is strong in its faith, but you can have faith without having divine power.
So the all-divine Thrane party's a fine idea. I'm just saying that you've GOT warlords and rangers in Thrane, and even your Silver Pyromancer sorcerers... just not as many warlords as you'll find in Breland or Karrnath, and not as many sorcerers as you'll find in Aundair.
Thanks for all this important feedback.
Honestly, the idea for this campaign came from a little game called Dogs in the Vineyard, in which authorities from a Mormon-like religion travel the 1800s West and judge the wicked, kill evil sorcerers, and do the Lord's work in general.
I wanted to bring that concept to Eberron and figured Thrane and the Silver Flame would be perfect. The reason I was considering Divine classes only was not to exclude other classes, but to convey that the PCs aren't necessarily "worshippers" of the Flame, no... They are the embodiment of the Flame. They are the true believers graced by the Flame's touch with divine power.
Granted, the whole idea of silver pyromancers is a good damn point where divine-only might limit someone's awesome concept.
So, with that said, would a "fighter" who was devout and loyal to the flame have the same impact as a "Enforcer of the Church" as a paladin? Is it simply a matter of flavor? Or, do those Divine power sources and Radiant keywords actually matter?
As far as which "type" of Silver Flame religion I'd choose, well I'd probably leave that up to each player to decide. And, perhaps inner-group conflict could directly result from one person have a "dark high contrast" view of the church's actions and another having the "high contrast" view of their doings. Ultimately, I'd think it'd be up to each individual. After all, in this campaign they would be the "law" of the Flame themselves. They are the ones who's decision is final and they don't really answer to the cardinals (I'm thinking this would be upper-heroic, possibly paragon tier campaign).
So, with that said, would a "fighter" who was devout and loyal to the flame have the same impact as a "Enforcer of the Church" as a paladin? Is it simply a matter of flavor? Or, do those Divine power sources and Radiant keywords actually matter?
Certainly. The cleric, invoker, paladin, avenger - they are directly channeling the power of the Silver Flame. I would expect the mundane worshippers to treat them with respect - it's the power of the faith made manifest. Not every soldier of the church is a paladin... and that's why the paladin will get that respect (and be expected to protect the innocent and otherwise exemplify the values of the church).
Thranes don't HAVE to follow divine classes - that doesn't mean that you couldn't have a church strike force that is formed entirely of divine characters. And honestly, you could probably turn an invoker into a decent Silver Pyromancer.
Certainly. The cleric, invoker, paladin, avenger - they are directly channeling the power of the Silver Flame. I would expect the mundane worshippers to treat them with respect - it's the power of the faith made manifest. Not every soldier of the church is a paladin... and that's why the paladin will get that respect (and be expected to protect the innocent and otherwise exemplify the values of the church).
Thranes don't HAVE to follow divine classes - that doesn't mean that you couldn't have a church strike force that is formed entirely of divine characters. And honestly, you could probably turn an invoker into a decent Silver Pyromancer.
That's pretty much what I was going for; a "strike force" as you put it of divine imbued enforcers of the Silver Flame that travel from town to town keeping the faithful in line and destroying any evil beings.
In this campaign, I'm thinking it'd be assumed that the PCs have a certain amount of authority within the church to judge wrong-doers (whether they deem them monstrous and destroy them, or redeemable and exorcise them). Citizens and "mundane" worshippers would see them as powerful authorities not to be reckoned with.
looking back at "The Blade of the Flame" - trilogy by Tim Waggoner, I have to say that I strongly believe that champions of any faith are NOT dependent on what they have learned (in this case: assassin, maybe daggermaster), but how they evolve (multi to cleric etc).
Based on game terms, i'd losen those restrictions up to:
required: divine class, multiclass or hybrid class.
required: need to take divine PP later on.
devout worshippers of the silver flame only.
focus on radiant powers if existant.
not everyone started as a cleric, and not everyone will end as one.
looking back at "The Blade of the Flame" - trilogy by Tim Waggoner, I have to say that I strongly believe that champions of any faith are NOT dependent on what they have learned (in this case: assassin, maybe daggermaster), but how they evolve (multi to cleric etc).
Based on game terms, i'd losen those restrictions up to:
required: divine class, multiclass or hybrid class.
required: need to take divine PP later on.
devout worshippers of the silver flame only.
focus on radiant powers if existant.
not everyone started as a cleric, and not everyone will end as one.
I dig those restrictions. I'm not trying to restrict PCs so much as develop a theme for the campaign. Multi-class divine characters would be totally appropriate. The basic gist is: you've been touched by the Flame, you are so special the church has given you authority not granted by just any follower, you're an authority within the church, worshippers of the Flame place their judgement in your hands.
That kind of thing. I intended to start higher level, so perhaps the person has multi-classed into a divine power source. That makes sense.
In this campaign though, everyone starts as a cleric, but not everyone will end as one. I can totally see the "job" becoming too much and straining one's faith. But the faith is there to begin with - at least.
Ummm I disagree with the suggested restrictions/requirements.
personally the only frequirement I would have is the character must have a formal tie to the church of Thrane.
That leaves open a whole bunch of character concepts that are quite interesting without necessarily being 'divine'. For example a 'Paladin' who has doubts and lost his faith - built using teh Fighter or Warlord class, possibly with multiclassing into palladin later to demonstrate a renewal of faith.
Or how about an INFERNAL warlock who outwardly worships the silverflame (perhaps even poses as a lay cleric), but hears whispers from the shadow in the flame...
I am sure your players can take one background element that is required and build all sorts of interesting characters that are not necessarily Divine.
I've been fantasizing about doing this kind of thing for awhile now. Definitely with a different flavor, but with a lot of focus on moral shading, and complications of a Theocracy.
Specifically, I've been looking at setting something up based on an underground network of people opposed to the rule of the Church of the Silver Flame. In the campaign, the PCs would be agents of the Church who were set on the trail of these malcontents, and charged with bringing them to heel.
There are so many different ways to approach this, I think you could run more than a handful of completely different feeling campaigns based on Silver Flame faithful.
any strong opinions or beliefs make for a good multi-sided campaign. followers of the flame have certainly a lot to offer in that regard.
as for my restrictions, or the initial ones: if your players are fine with it, why not? we're currently playing an all-goblin campaign. very restrictive, but also a lot of fun. As long as the players are ok with restrictions, there's no reason not to use them for each campaign. 
DMs place all kinds of restrictions on players anyway - Like only playing heroic games, only playing Humanoid races, only playing people that actually are at a certain city... there's lots of stuff that restrains players, and if it fits the campaign etc - then ask yourself: why not restrict those options as well? i see no good reason not to. (until a player is unhappy, then you'll have to adjust)