DW - OOC
Our world really consists of two worlds, existing side by side. There is the magical one, called the Monster Kingdom and the mundane one. The mundane world is very much like our historical one (except that magic does actually exist in it).
The Monster Kingdom is itself divided into two, the Fey, and the not Fey. Fairies, Sprites, Dryads and the like are Fey. Goblins, Trolls, Elves and so forth are not. The importance placed on this distinction varies quite a lot (something like the how being a Muggle is viewed in the Harry Potter series).
Similarly, the mundane world is also divided into two. Those who believe in the old gods (the pagan gods for want of a better description) and those that believe in the White God (Christianity essentially). While the old gods, or at least their supporters, may jostle among themselves for ascendency, they still recognise each others existence. They believe that the heavens are shared, The supporters of the White God, however, do not. They deny the existence of all other gods, along with their creation myths, claims to dominion, etc.
Into this world comes Tristan. Now Tristan is certainly not the only Paladin in the world (so no snowflak-iness there). The White God has many. The other gods also have their own divine or inspired warriors. So the Paladin is not itself problematic. But Tristan, unlike other Paladins, is going to have to work not only with with a Priest of another god but also with members of the Monster Kingdom.
So the question is can Tristan do this? Can he see past the dictates of his religion to be able to make the distinction between good and bad based on the actions of the individual, not their beliefs or race? A zealot, I think, could not. Hence my comment about the young Tristan above.
I'm not against character's who buck the established standard per say. Hittar Vain, a Tiefling in the service of the Kingsmarch in Isida's The True Kings was one of my own forays in to that territory. Indeed, the internal conflicts that arise are one of the appealing things about playing such characters. I'm something of a fan of paladins because of this potential. But many are not.
The concept of an older character who has left behind the simple certainties of youth is promising. I also like the idea of a goddess called Our Virgin Mother the Lady of Tranquility (also known as the Virgin, the Tranquil Lady, etc). In the early days of Christianity, the boundaries between religions could be quite fluid. Christianity sometimes took on some of the rituals and trappings of existing religions. The Lady of Tranquility has the feel of a Virgin Mary cult blended with a mother earth or fertility or virtue figure. It suggests sect that recognises the value of understanding and adaption vs confrontation. Which is good.
I think that Good might be an better fit that Lawful. There will be some Tristan meets who could be called criminals (um, Trickle), and many who are truly unbelievers (the Fey have no gods, for example). Not all of them will be adversaries. Lawful is going to present more of an ongoing challenge. I will leave this one for you to decide.
I am going to wind back the quests. The quests are not like codes or favoured enemies in other games. i.e. something you pick at the start, which serve to define the character's capabilities and are enduring. There is no requirement to be questing all the time. Quest are Moves, they are something that will be emerge from the fiction. They are an agreement between you and your deity. They come with obligations. Choose carefully when deciding when to make a task into a quest. I'll PM you.
Wow. That was pretty long and ponderous. I going to put it down to sleep depravation. Um, here's the short version:
Sure. I think we can work with that. But if Tristan goes all Lawful Stupid, I'm going to bring the meta-divine smack-down.
thotd
