Level Up (A5E) Herald's who don't keep their oaths

[TYP]

Correct me if I'm missing the appropriate text, but I've read the Herald entry many times and I don't see anything about what happens if a herald doesn't uphold their oath. My inclination is to treat them like their genetic ancestors, the paladins, and deprive the herald of their powers until they complete an atonement quest. Thoughts or other solutions?

 

[xiphumor]

I think this is time for a story-based penalty rather than a mechanical one. Also, I personally think revoking their powers is a tad harsh on the player, as it could remove the things they found fun about their character.

Possible real life model: in Catholicism, a priest can be “laicized” for egregious behavior, which strips them of their rights and obligations as a priest, making it impermissible for them to do things like hear confessions or say Mass. However, because Catholicism considers priesthood to leave “an indelible mark on the soul,” laicized priests technically still have the ability to do these things.

In light of the fact that Herald oaths are tied to their archetype, what you could do is introduce a punishment if Heralds use an ability tied to their archetype. Green Knights must dismiss their familiar, Inquisitors can’t use communication spells, etc, without some kind of story cost. However, they still can do such things, and may be tempted to do so. However, if they want to redeem themselves, they still have all of their vanilla Herald abilities to make that quest possible. This also has the advantage of not needing to edit their character sheet.

 

[Timespike]

Clerics and paladins losing their powers isn't a standard part of the O5E rules either. I think if it comes up in an egregious fashion in play, it's time for an adult conversation with the player about what kind of implications their actions will have.

If you're planning to "gotcha" the player of the herald and take their powers? Don't.

 

[niklinna]

This is the sort of thing that could be discussed in advance with your players. Ask them how they want classes with behavioral stipulations handled. Maybe they want to ignore that. Maybe they want to use it for inspiration in portrayal, and no more. Maybe they want that to be a key point of playing such classes, but to have social/narrative penalties rather than mechanical ones. Maybe they do want to risk losing one or some of their class features (I could easily see particular abilities being withheld depending on gravity of transgression, with designated durations and/or atonements). Going really hardcore, maybe a transgression (of sufficient weight) permanently changes their class to something more mundane, like a Fighter or Marshal. It all depends on what your players consider fun and/or challenging. (Keep in mind that you can put such characters into moral dilemmas where no matter what they do, they will violate one tenet or another—their option is which! It's quite the trope in Celtic myth. Check whether players would be into that or not, too.)

If you didn't discuss it in advance, and it comes up, you might put a hold on play to discuss this, or just apply a minor penalty and say you will discuss all the possibilities for future occurrences after/outside of the session.