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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 2721884" data-attributes="member: 19675">My overall position on Vow vs Religion is this:If the Sacred Vow and VoP are to a cause or philosophy, and the PC is devoted to a god (or vice versa), then there is a conflict that is (possibly) resolvable through roleplay.  That is permissible.  There may even be an establishable heirarchy within the game world to help resolve such a conflict.The real problem comes when any of the below is true:If the Sacred Vow and VoP are to a god, the same god the PC is devoted to, then the SV & VoP are subordinate to the PCs overall duty to his god- the god has the final say as to what the PC can get away with.  The DM really has no business in putting a player in the position of having to decide between the relative importance of 2 divine orders from the same divine being, the Ultimately Supreme source of rules within his clergy.  Presumably, if the god is asking you to do something that is outside the bounds of your normal scope of abilities (as in, it is circumscribed by your vows to the deity), that god has a good reason, and shouldn't penalize you for doing what he asked you to do.  This is especially the case if we are dealing with a good god, as we are in this specific case.If the Sacred Vow and VoP are to a cause or philosophy, the same cause or philosophy the PC is devoted to, then the SV & VoP are usually subordinate to, but possibly co-equal to, the PCs overall duty to his cause or philosophy.  There may be an in-campaign process for resolving this conflict, but its not likely.  This is the most problematic of the situations because a cause of philosophy is not, by itself, sentient, so it cannot aid in the decision making process.  If, as has been suggested, that a Cleric or Paladin devoted to a cause/philosophy is granted his abilities by any/all gods of like viewpoints, the SV & VoP may be in conflict with more than one god's desires...a recipe for a minor holy war.  Once again, it is unfair of the DM to put the player in such a situation.</blockquote>

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