Help justifying the heroics of one of my player characters?

[MonkeySage]

This character is a cleric of my setting's "God of Time", Rionis. Rionites are morally opposed to interfering in history, they observe and record; they're historians, archaeologists, chroniclers. They aren't heroes by nature.

This is a heroic campaign however, so we need a way for him to justify his participation as a Rionite.

[fishyfishyfishy]

Seems easy enough to me. They themselves are not there to be a hero, but to chronicle the actions of the heroes. As a chronicler and historian it seems like adventuring is the perfect job to expose oneself to as much of the world as possible. So long as they contribute to serve this purpose I don't think the deity would have any issues with them using their magic to the benefit of a small group of friends and allies.

[BWR]

People are part of history. Someone has to make history, why not someone who knows how important it is?
Maybe their god has decided that the other PCs are important and need to have some help to make sure they do what History wants them to.

[ATHATH]

Yeah, I mean, if it's something world-ending (or if it would be a really boring story to tell; a god of history might want his domain to be interesting), he could send some Clerics to ensure that the story of the world doesn't just abruptly end with "and then a Hulking Hurler threw its galaxy at another galaxy, and the world ended. The End!".

[Grod_The_Giant]

He belongs to a heretical sect that believes that they have a duty not just to history, but to the right history?

[nedz]

He could have the revelation that since he gets to write the history he can pass the buck on the heroics stuff. It would help if he was a buffer Cleric - or similar.

[Red Fel]

He belongs to a heretical sect that believes that they have a duty not just to history, but to the right history?

Maybe not heretical, but heterodox. He belongs to a sect (or personally espouses the belief, which perhaps got him kicked out of a monastery) that one cannot fully observe a phenomenon without experiencing it firsthand. Perhaps he starts play with the intent to merely observe, but in order to chronicle the adventures of the heroes with whom he's traveling, he must be strong enough to journey alongside them. As he watches them, he realizes that he can never understand their impact on history without experiencing it firsthand.

Eventually, he comes to grasp the inherent incongruity of Rionite doctrine - it is impossible to observe something without influencing it. Unless they shut themselves away so much that their presence has no impact, Rionites are necessarily shaping the future by recording the present.

So he resolves to found a New Rionite Doctrine - observe and record, to shape a better future.

Also, bonus points if his name is Joe.

[Aleolus]

I'm gonna go ahead and second what Red Fel suggested, because that is just awesome. Three internets to you, man.

[The Glyphstone]

He believes it is the will of his god that history be corrected - someone from the distant future used powerful magic to travel back in time and alter the course of history, and Rion wishes that he return the timeline to its proper order of events.

He might even be right. Or maybe he gets to the end of his career only to realize it was all a mistake/lie/delusion, and he needs to use powerful magic to travel back in time and undo his own alterations...

[Necroticplague]

How interventionist are said deities? If they're hands-off enough, it's entirely possible that different forms of their doctrine form over time. The chronicler-type might be the primary sect, but there might be a heretic or heterodox sect with different beliefs about the same figure or interpretation of doctrine. Heck, it might be traced back to as minor a thing as a translation error (maybe the phrase make history", which is already somewhat ambiguous in straight Common [as in, make the records of such, or make the events that form such?], is even more ambiguous is whatever celestial language it was first written down from). Sky's above know real life religions have never managed to be completely consistent once they get more than one dude talking about them, no reason to assume fantasy ones would be (unless the deities are both highly interventionist, and care about their proper worship).

[Telonius]

This character is a cleric of my setting's "God of Time", Rionis. Rionites are morally opposed to interfering in history, they observe and record; they're historians, archaeologists, chroniclers. They aren't heroes by nature.

This is a heroic campaign however, so we need a way for him to justify his participation as a Rionite.

First thought: Sometimes you just have to steal a TARDIS, no matter what Rassilon thinks.

Second thought: is there a chance that somebody else is interfering with history? Some field work might be necessary to assess that.

[Vizzerdrix]

How about this. Rionis, being the God of Time, notices something strange. A hero who was supposed to go with the group went missing. From time. So he has one of his pawns faithful stalwart clerics tag along to be bait for whatever is mucking about in his Domain keep an eye on the party and make sure history stays on course. Maybe Rionis wants him to investigate the how of someone being removed from their own history, or just draw out the culprit while keeping it on the down low from the other gods. Wouldn't do to have your piers finding out you can't handle your business, after all.

[ATHATH]

How about this. Rionis, being the God of Time, notices something strange. A hero who was supposed to go with the group went missing. From time. So he has one of his pawns faithful stalwart clerics tag along to be bait for whatever is mucking about in his Domain keep an eye on the party and make sure history stays on course. Maybe Rionis wants him to investigate the how of someone being removed from their own history, or just draw out the culprit while keeping it on the down low from the other gods. Wouldn't do to have your piers finding out you can't handle your business, after all.
Ooh, what if the Cleric has to disguise himself as the person that went missing, so that the timeline is preserved?

[arkangel111]

My personal vote goes for a combination of Red Fel and Vizzerdrix. But I would add in a mysterious figure always just on the edge of the clerics perception. A dark shadow seen in an alleyway as he passes only to be completely gone when he looks. You could use this guy as a recurring villain that they never get to fight. Have your other villains mention the stranger as the one giving them some direction. This gives you a good in-game reason to actively counter some of the player's abilities/tactics outright, and thus making the game that much tougher, and I dare say more fun.
Bonus points if you make it an Epic version of the cleric in question, comeback to right the timeline he messed up.