Paladins of Hoar

Hoar is a dark, vengeful deity of retribution and poetic justice. Balancing between the influences of Tyr and Shar, and dealing with Beshaba to bestow bad luck upon the deserving, the Doombringer seems an ill-fit patron for paladins. Yet there are those who brave this narrow path and earn a fearsome reputation as uncompromising paragons of justice.

In Chessenta and the southern lands, Hoar is known as Assuran, the god of vengeance. Two temples, The Thunderous Hand of Vengeance in Akanax and the Amphitheater of the First Thunder in Mourktar, rival for leadership of the faith. Paladins from this region are uncommon, but are likely to swear fealty to either one of the temples and act as the priesthood's swordarm to mete out just punishment. In western and northern Faerûn, however, Hoar is considered to be more concerned in poetic justice and fitting punishment rather than vengeance. There, his worship is scattered and the only notable temple is the Hidden Hand of Fate in Archendale. Paladins from these regions are more common, and often act without the strict guidance of the clergy.

It is the Hoarites' duty to learn of injustice and repay it in full. Hoarite paladins often track down wanted villains, but refuse to collect the bounty unless it can be used as fitting compensation for the wronged party. Enacting justice is reward enough for the paladins. Feared and disliked as they are by many less-than-innocent people, they are often the only hope poor folks have of repaying those who've wronged them; whereas bounty-hunters demand gold and local authorities may not find evidence enough to press charges, the Hoarites will listen to the most wretched beggar, assess the truth of the account and decide the most fitting way to enact retribution.

Hoar instructs his followers to uphold the spirit of the law over that of the letter. After catching a criminal, a Tyrran paladin will take the captive for trial in the city where the crime was committed, if at all possible. A Hoarite, however, may suspect the captive will weasel his way free of any charges with his knowledge of local legislation. To make sure justice is done, he will simply administer whatever punishment is fitting on the spot. This has gained Hoarites the reputation of vigilantes, and the disapproval of many town watches and Tyrrans.

As instruments of poetic justice, paladins of Hoar are not without a sense of humour. Hoar teaches that revenge is at its sweetest with an edge of irony. While evil clerics of Hoar might think highly of the irony in feeding to the wolves someone who beat their dog, his paladins aim for punishments that teach a lesson but still compensate the crime committed. Violence will meet violence, but a paladin should avoid excessive violence whenever the foe's offence does not outright demand it. A greedy landowner who's kept his underlings in hunger would be better served with a task of sowing the fields, reaping the harvest and baking bread for his servants, rather than starving him to death; something a more malicious Hoarite might opt to do. On a similar note, retribution has two aspects: punishing injustice, for certain, but also rewarding good deeds. While far from charity workers, Hoarite paladins do their best to give suitable rewards to those they witness doing the just and right thing. If someone offers a room in their home for a travelling Hoarite to rest in, the paladin might later invite the family to spend a few nights in a fine inn in the nearby city, at his expense.

Paladins of Hoar are in a difficult position in their church, because some Hoarites are evil and even their neutral brethren may enact cruelties that would enrage many a goodly faith. Hoar's dogma speaks of an eye for an eye, and his paladins consider it a strict commandment that ensures fairness, whereas some others interpret the maximum severity of punishment more liberally. Especially in powerful temples, church hierarchy is established and paladins might end up subservient to evil clerics. That's one reason paladins are uncommon in southern lands where the rule of the church is stronger. Hoarite paladins in the Heartlands and the North are often loners who interact little with the rest of the clergy. A paladin of Hoar will not fight an evil priest of Hoar, because he knows they both apparently have the deity's favour, whether he likes it or not. The paladin may debate matters of moral and dogma and try to persuade the clergy to condemn excessive cruelty, or simply avoid or refuse to work with the evil clergymembers, though. However, it's not unknown for Hoarite paladins to thwart the plans of Hoarite assassins and other lay members when they go too far. Such incidents occasionally cause strife within the church and set the extremes of the clergy at odds with eachother. Fortunately, the neutral medium is by far the strongest group and has so far managed to maintain balance and relative unity.

Hoar's dogma tells to answer evil with evil, and that ”those who do not respond to attacks against their person or that which they hold dear only invite further attacks” Mercy is a luxury for those who don't take the fight against injustice seriously. On the other hand, it's important to a paladin that something good also results from the punishment. The path of a Hoarite paladin in narrow and paradoxical indeed: excessive cruelty results in a fall from goodness but showing undue mercy at the expense of rightful retribution is a breach of their code just as well. Likewise, working against the church they are sworn to serve is unacceptable, but neither may they actively partake in evil deeds. There are certain practices in the church of Hoar that would seem blasphemous to paladins of deities such as Lathander or Kelemvor: sometimes the victim of violence or betrayal begs with his last breath for a chance to take revenge. A Doombringer of Hoar may grant that wish and raise the victim as a revenant, an undead whose only purpose is to take vengeance upon those who wronged him. Once the task is done, the revenant crumbles and the spirit passes on to afterlife. Similarly, Hoarites may command undead to turn against their creator and crumble once he is destroyed. Paladins of Hoar understand the grim irony and justice in such actions, allowing these undead to complete their task.

There are no actual paladin orders dedicated to Hoar. However, the Fellowship of Poetic Justices is an order of bards, paladins and crusaders of both Tyr and Hoar who seek to spread tales of ironic justice and fight injustice in ways more efficent than violence.

The guy that probably has sexual fantasies about masturbation. I mean, Iron, you're a bookworm nerd that even in your wildest escapism fantasies flee to the internet to play the role of another bookworm nerd? Come on!

I am wanting to make a paladin, but I dont want a nice to everyone puppy kissing pally. I want to make his/her deity Hoar but I am confused about if it is rp viable. Paladin that is all about retribution sounds nice to me. I dont intend to commit evil acts but I want something different and that sounds fun. Can I hear what people think? Lawful doesnt mean following a cities laws only it also includes a persons moral code and possibly a deities dogma. Good also doesnt mean nice.. you can be an angry good person that doesnt take peoples crap.... Just a thought.

Well yeah, you can have good ideals, but be a prick and be rude and arrogant, like Qirlan ^_^

The guy that probably has sexual fantasies about masturbation. I mean, Iron, you're a bookworm nerd that even in your wildest escapism fantasies flee to the internet to play the role of another bookworm nerd? Come on!

Hoar, being a hardassed LN, doesn't make for great paladins, IMO. But they're allowed.

Doesn't help that they made him a LE exarch of Bane in 4e. :?

I believe the 'hardarse' was more Tormak's point than the LN

Qirlan <3

*Po-tee-weet?*

Paladins are interesting for me because they're potentially the most evil characters a player can create. Paladins are capable of commiting horrible acts of destruction if they think evil's involved or if their deity commands them to without any consequences becaue they're "doing the right thing." They're allowed to:

-Commit genocide on "evil" species like orcs and Drow without moral question.
-Prosecute and execute others simply for worshipping an opposing religion
-Stop anyone who opposes their religious crusade.

...and they're zealously organised and work well together because they "face a common cause." Something self-ambitious evil characters can't live up to because they're too busy looking out for their own necks.


If a Paladin's played well, they can be the biggest bastard on the server. You just have to pick the right deity with the right cause.