What would an Avenger of Oghma believe? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What would an Avenger of Oghma believe?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
colman
May 19, 2009 18:18:37 Apart from getting really cranky when your library books were late? :P

I'm looking to add a little bit of striker to a Swordmage that's intending to go towards one of the bookish Epic destinies, and taking some multiclass feats seems like fun.

What would an avenger of Oghma be out to punish, hunt or exterminate? The avengers may or may not be considered proper by the mainstream of their faith, they're extremists by their nature.
#2
meldread
May 19, 2009 21:11:38 Hm. I can envision a militant order of Oghma in which they seek to avenge individuals who have been persecuted for their new ideas or the pursuit of knowledge.

This would certainly put them up against many tyrannies, but they could also easily find themselves at odds with virtually any society.

In essence, they'd be staunch defenders of knowledge and ideas, especially new knowledge and ideas, and defenders of those who disseminate them to the rest of the world.
#3
colman
May 20, 2009 3:01:15 That sounds about right: arrange a book burning, get a visit from these guys.

Supplementary question: is there any lore about the Oghmanite church outside the obvious sources?
#4
BadCatMan
May 20, 2009 5:13:36 Faiths & Avatars and Faiths & Pantheons are the best sources for Oghma and his church. The Leaves Of Learning WE for F&P, here has a good look at an Oghmyte temple. Warriors & Priests Of The Realms gives a pair of specialty priests of Oghma, though they're not quite what you're looking for.

Assuming an Avenger is a kind of divine assassin and religious extremist, then...

The Oghmyte Avenger would probably target followers of Cyric, Mask, Leira and other deities of deceit and falsehoods, as well as Bane and Talos - the traditional foes of Oghma. (An ordinary Cleric of Oghma in one of my games surprised us all, including the former assassin, by suggesting the party kill a captive priestess of Leira. :eek Any one who lies, deceives, or erases the truth, or destroy knowledge and promotes ignorance, should earn an Oghmyte's ire.

I'm also reminded of a tale in Realms Of Valor, "King's Tear" by Mark Anthony which was about a priest of Oghma. In it, a militant priest of Oghma reckoned they ought to force "the truth" on people, whether they wanted it or not, and start a theocratic dictatorship.

You might also work in the schism in the Oghmyte faith, between the Orthodoxy and rival factions, if your Avenger wants to be very extreme in his views. (Highly unlikely however.)

You might also like to adapt the Children Of The Passive Voice to produce a few Avengers. Mostly they're Monks, a defenders of libraries and lore (I play a Monk/Paladin of Oghma of this group), but an Avenger could work well with this background.
#5
colman
May 20, 2009 8:24:48 Thanks, that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Where are the Children described?
#6
BadCatMan
May 20, 2009 8:31:46 A sentence in F&A, and a little bit more development in the Leaves Of Learning write-up.
#7
colman
May 20, 2009 9:11:20 Thanks. If WotC hadn't gone mad, I'd buy F&A as a PDF. Guess I won't now
#8
lord_karsus
May 20, 2009 22:49:17 -I would say that such a group goes after those who deliberately spread falsehoods and misinformation, but that seems much too vague, especially since that's an especially villainous thing for a "Sheriff of Nottingham"-type individual. To make it more specific, maybe they crusade to stop the impact that lies and such told by Liera and/or Cyric?
#9
colman
May 21, 2009 7:47:52 So, stymieing or punishing those who destroy or corrupt knowledge or the those who spread knowledge, with a focus on Cyric and Bane as a enemies since he inherited Leira's portfolio and Mask is MIA?
#10
lord_karsus
May 21, 2009 12:43:07
So, stymieing or punishing those who destroy or corrupt knowledge or the those who spread knowledge, with a focus on Cyric and Bane as a enemies since he inherited Leira's portfolio and Mask is MIA?

-I wouldn't necessarily say that such people would want to stop the spread of information about Cyric/Bane/Mask/Leira/Whoever else, since that starts getting into murky water, with Oghma (or his followers) censuring the spread and release of knowledge and information, but rather, that they'd seek to "repair" the knowledge that Cyric/Bane/Mask/Leira/Whoever else would try to corrupt via their own lies and propaganda. "Anti-Propaganda" crusaders.
#11
colman
May 22, 2009 2:38:58 Those who spread false information for their own ends deserve only death!

I meant that people who attack knowledge or attack those who spread knowledge would be enemies.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 colman May 19, 2009 18:18:37	Apart from getting really cranky when your library books were late? :P I'm looking to add a little bit of striker to a Swordmage that's intending to go towards one of the bookish Epic destinies, and taking some multiclass feats seems like fun. What would an avenger of Oghma be out to punish, hunt or exterminate? The avengers may or may not be considered proper by the mainstream of their faith, they're extremists by their nature.
#2 meldread May 19, 2009 21:11:38	Hm. I can envision a militant order of Oghma in which they seek to avenge individuals who have been persecuted for their new ideas or the pursuit of knowledge. This would certainly put them up against many tyrannies, but they could also easily find themselves at odds with virtually any society. In essence, they'd be staunch defenders of knowledge and ideas, especially new knowledge and ideas, and defenders of those who disseminate them to the rest of the world.
#3 colman May 20, 2009 3:01:15	That sounds about right: arrange a book burning, get a visit from these guys. Supplementary question: is there any lore about the Oghmanite church outside the obvious sources?
#4 BadCatMan May 20, 2009 5:13:36	Faiths & Avatars and Faiths & Pantheons are the best sources for Oghma and his church. The Leaves Of Learning WE for F&P, here has a good look at an Oghmyte temple. Warriors & Priests Of The Realms gives a pair of specialty priests of Oghma, though they're not quite what you're looking for. Assuming an Avenger is a kind of divine assassin and religious extremist, then... The Oghmyte Avenger would probably target followers of Cyric, Mask, Leira and other deities of deceit and falsehoods, as well as Bane and Talos - the traditional foes of Oghma. (An ordinary Cleric of Oghma in one of my games surprised us all, including the former assassin, by suggesting the party kill a captive priestess of Leira. :eek Any one who lies, deceives, or erases the truth, or destroy knowledge and promotes ignorance, should earn an Oghmyte's ire. I'm also reminded of a tale in Realms Of Valor, "King's Tear" by Mark Anthony which was about a priest of Oghma. In it, a militant priest of Oghma reckoned they ought to force "the truth" on people, whether they wanted it or not, and start a theocratic dictatorship. You might also work in the schism in the Oghmyte faith, between the Orthodoxy and rival factions, if your Avenger wants to be very extreme in his views. (Highly unlikely however.) You might also like to adapt the Children Of The Passive Voice to produce a few Avengers. Mostly they're Monks, a defenders of libraries and lore (I play a Monk/Paladin of Oghma of this group), but an Avenger could work well with this background.
#5 colman May 20, 2009 8:24:48	Thanks, that's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Where are the Children described?
#6 BadCatMan May 20, 2009 8:31:46	A sentence in F&A, and a little bit more development in the Leaves Of Learning write-up.
#7 colman May 20, 2009 9:11:20	Thanks. If WotC hadn't gone mad, I'd buy F&A as a PDF. Guess I won't now
#8 lord_karsus May 20, 2009 22:49:17	-I would say that such a group goes after those who deliberately spread falsehoods and misinformation, but that seems much too vague, especially since that's an especially villainous thing for a "Sheriff of Nottingham"-type individual. To make it more specific, maybe they crusade to stop the impact that lies and such told by Liera and/or Cyric?
#9 colman May 21, 2009 7:47:52	So, stymieing or punishing those who destroy or corrupt knowledge or the those who spread knowledge, with a focus on Cyric and Bane as a enemies since he inherited Leira's portfolio and Mask is MIA?
#10 lord_karsus May 21, 2009 12:43:07	So, stymieing or punishing those who destroy or corrupt knowledge or the those who spread knowledge, with a focus on Cyric and Bane as a enemies since he inherited Leira's portfolio and Mask is MIA? -I wouldn't necessarily say that such people would want to stop the spread of information about Cyric/Bane/Mask/Leira/Whoever else, since that starts getting into murky water, with Oghma (or his followers) censuring the spread and release of knowledge and information, but rather, that they'd seek to "repair" the knowledge that Cyric/Bane/Mask/Leira/Whoever else would try to corrupt via their own lies and propaganda. "Anti-Propaganda" crusaders.
#11 colman May 22, 2009 2:38:58	Those who spread false information for their own ends deserve only death! I meant that people who attack knowledge or attack those who spread knowledge would be enemies.