Building a Saint

[Calanon]

Alrighty than so my DM wants me to broaden my horizons and try playing a good-aligned character and offered me the saint template if i can qualify for it (If I do than my backstory has to include some sort of martyrdom) NOW I have NO idea how Exalted characters work and how to exactly be a good guy... I've read over BoED and don't want the Vow of Poverty since that completely kills the purpose of being a Cleric and no Vow of Peace since... well that feat just irks me for no known reason other than the fact that my DM likes to throw a lot of humanoid villains at us.

tl;dr Building an Exalted Saint without Vow of Peace or Poverty, starting off as a Human Cleric of Knowledge, Planning, and Good. How to optimize and qualify for Saint.

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Generally, to be a Saint and gain the template, you have to act, well, saintly. As BoED describes, to qualify, you mus forever be of an Exalted Good manner and have made an "extraordinary sacrifice."

It sounds like your DM is waiving the Exalted feat requirements, which helps, but, yeah, just act saintly.

EDIT: As for optimization, All you need to know. (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=420.0)

[Zagaroth]

SO, RPing optimization on how to be 'good'. Given it some thought, and i have some advice.

1) Think "What would Captain America / Superman do?" they are not saints, but they are good guys who will put themselves endlessly on the line, and sacrifice anything of themselves to help/save others.

2) Being Good is about helping others, not yourself. This applies doubly so to Exalted Good. You do what ever it takes to save even the lowliest commoner. Even if some cowardly little sneak thief/pickpocket if being given a beat down that he 'deserves', if you character sees this, he'll consider it torture, not just punishment, and intervene.

Of course, depending on the character, if Lawful Good he'd probably then turn the thief over to the authorities for proper trial (Mind, he'd intervene if it was guards who were doing the beating, admonishing them for their actions, and when turning in the thief, reporting on the guards as well)

if chaotic good, he'd probably try and set the poor thief on the right path, turning him in only if the thief was proving incorrigible and refusing to change.

Notice Batman was not one of the people I chose for the What TO Do question. Batman's a little to ready to use violence and/or the threat of it to do what needs to be done. I think he's still good, just not Exalted Good.