Divine Champion

[Ryudo]

I was thinking of turning my fighter into a champion of their god but I'm having a little trouble figuring out how to go about that from a role play perspective. Divine Champions (The class Champion of Torm is based apon) are not paladins, so my faith is more flexabe but what would you say would lead me to being a champion? A quest? Virtues being displayed? Help please..

[Gods_Kill_People]

Could start simply with a Dream (Vision) from what you believe is your god that leads you on a path to become a Champion?

[Cortex]

Faith and willpower to a cause, not necessarily an explicitly good aligned cause since they can be neutral.

[Wordless Truth]

Perhaps you'll want to get in touch with other followers of the faith. Perhaps someone's willing to play the guru. Or it helps your character getting more dedicated to the cause, as mentioned above.

[Tathkar Eisgrim]

Give some thought as to the 'quintessential trait' of the God in question. A champion might better pursue that trait.

For example, a Champion of Lathander might pursue 'Athleticism' as a guiding principle whilst a Paladin of Lathander might be a 'Beacon of Light' champion against evil.

[Iceborn]

A character can't just 'stumble' into being a champion.
They have to strive, make commitments, stick to them.
They may not be clerics of their deities, but they are willing to give their lives and their not-so-immortal souls to the cause of their patrons, they embody an aspect of the divine dogma that shapes them.

The deities have a goal, an agenda to follow, an obsession that is their portfolio, their identity and the reason they are known for, and to be a divine champion is to be the spearhead of all those.

[TimeAdept]

Champions of Tymora would totally stumble into it

[Iceborn]

I was just being hammy, yeah. But there are cases and cases.
The essence of the champion is in the name itself.

[Alox]

Maybe your character does something that is so terrible that your bad conscience forces you to seek out a way to set things right. One way could be aligning yourself with a god that stands for such a principle necessary for setting things right and devoting yourself to that fully, i.e. become a champion of the cause.

[Rebel4ever]

A character can't just 'stumble' into being a champion.
They have to strive, make commitments, stick to them.

I am split about this...while i see where your coming from a very faithful warrior could just be chosen as i understand it. I could see for example a Ranger of Mielikki who protects the forest basically doing everything Mielikki would require of a Divine champion be chosen.

I think this can be flexible.

[Iceborn]

A character can't just 'stumble' into being a champion.
They have to strive, make commitments, stick to them.

I am split about this...while i see where your coming from a very faithful warrior could just be chosen as i understand it. I could see for example a Ranger of Mielikki who protects the forest basically doing everything Mielikki would require of a Divine champion be chosen.

I think this can be flexible.

There is a very clear difference in the concepts here.
If you go and tend to nature, you are gaining points with your deity because that's their portfolio; you are doing something that pleases them. We have a very defined measure of your relation with your deity in Arelith in the shape of piety.
Now, if you want to become a champion, that's taking things a step further. You don't wake up one morning and find that suddenly you can shoot divine rays from the eyes; there was a class for that, and those were the Favored Souls - when you are taking levels of a class, you are putting an actual effort, in one shape or another, toward that goal.
You already have a divine patron, you are deepening that bond that you have with them.

Yes, a deity may choose you, but they choose you because you are an apt canditate to begin with. You have to make yourself that candidate, worthy over legions and legions of power hungry petitioners that lick the divine droplets that rain from the metaphoric godly awe.

It makes a vastly better story to have committed and paid prices for that devotion than just "lel, guess Hoar liked the way my hair flows".

[Ryudo]

Thank you for all the replies. This has given me a lot to think about.

[msterswrdsmn]

Curious question; what religion is your character? And what have they been doing to live by that religion thus far?

[Ork]

Divine Champion
(Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting variant, p. 42)

Divine champions are mighty warriors who dedicate themselves to their deity's cause, defending holy ground, destroying enemies of the church, and slaying mythical beasts and clerics of opposing faiths.

And that's all there is to it. Dedicating yourself to the deity's cause enough to notice. Could that be accidental? Sure. This is roleplay after all.

[Ryudo]

They're a worshiper of Eilistraee. She's been actively been trying to advocate for races to get along and even given those more monstrous races a chance to prove themselves, using the logic if the drow can turn a leaf then surely a gnoll can.

[msterswrdsmn]

I know next to nothing about Eilistaree, so the advice below is based off a quick wiki read and my own experiences playing divine champions of different religions.

From my personal experience, being a divine champion is similar to being a paladin or strict cleric; you're a living embodiment of your religion. Its easy to take one faucet of your religion and just exemplify that one trait. Ex: I follow this god of good, who opposes all evil!

From what i've read, Eilistraee promotes coexistance of (good) underdark races and surfacers. You say you've been doing this by being a strong advocate? Some thoughts of things you could also do

Teacher/Diplomat
From the wiki read, Elistraee followers have issues "adjusting" due to the rampant mistrust/lack of understanding of whatever is coming up from the underdark trying to live on the surface. Instead of just advocating "hey! we should all just get along!", your character could act as a teacher/guide for both sides. To the surfacers; explaining underdark culture, acting as a translator/language teacher, etc. To the underdarkers: teaching social norms/expectations, acting as liason between groups, etc.

Conflict
Its a very real fact drow culture (or the underdark as a whole) is full of murder and evil, and even Eilistraee knows she has enemies. Becoming adept in hunting down the more serious threats to your goals would also be an acceptable faucet of a divine champion of Elistraee. Similar to how Lathandar/Kelemvor are violently opposed to the undead.

Murdering your enemies is the easist (and most often used) way to approach your faiths enemies. Converting them is doable, but very, very difficult, and someone who is seriously commited to converting people will know that a LOT of people will fail or turn (or just flat out betray you) before reaching the point of no return. If flat out converting people is impossible, maybe learning how to be a master of sowing seeds of doubt in your enemies beliefs is doable instead?