Blackguard and patrons

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Wethrinea
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Blackguard and patrons

Post by Wethrinea » Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:20 am

From what I read, the canon class requirement to become a Blackguard is "peaceful contact with an evil outsider", implying that the Blackguards power derives from a pact, much like a warlock.

How does this work when you have Blackguards that explicit serve deities? Does Bane use various evil outsiders as middle-men to empower his Blackguards? Or could you play the class more like an anti-paladin, ie receiving the divine powers directly from the deity you serve?

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Kuma
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Re: Blackguard and patrons

Post by Kuma » Mon Jan 23, 2023 11:22 am

You can kinda do it either way.

Blackguard is a base D&D PrC and therefore in its original form isn't explicitly tweaked for the Forgotten Realms setting, where the Planes are generally less important than the Gods who dwell there. As I believe BG is a Divine class on Arelith, you are likely to be serving a God/s and your fiendish support would be an agent of your Patron.

Gods are served by all manner of fiends, angels, monsters, and creatures. The way it works on Arelith trends somewhat toward the "anti-paladin" path, but it still allows scope for Blackguards that are free agents striking bargains with (or enslaving) fiends in service to himself, or a demon lord, or other weirder entities, similar to a Warlock.

In all honesty you can go either way and you will be absolutely fine. This includes being a Blackguard of a Neutral Deity, which is often very interesting. A BG of Helm or Red Knight will be rather different to their fellows-in-faith.

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Wethrinea
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Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:56 pm

Re: Blackguard and patrons

Post by Wethrinea » Mon Jan 23, 2023 12:21 pm

Helpful input, thank you.

Are there any Neutral Deities that would absolutely not allow Blackguards? I would think that nature-deities would not be happy with a class that has creating undead and summoning evil outsiders as core mechanics. Or do we just follow the one-step aligment rule?

Hoar and Jergal seems like deities that very feasibly would employ Blackguards, and probably Maztican Helmites too, but Kelemvor or Tempus is perhaps more of a stretch?

Ivar Ferdamann - Mercenary turned Marshall

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