What should be asked of my character's god? Use of the Commune Spell.

[DanJester]

The journey has been long, the adventures perilous, the bonds forged by our party legendary... When we started out we were a rag-tag band of heroes, something the world glossed over. Through many trials and tribulations we grew as a group, slowly molding into the heroes this plane needed. It wasn't easy, but the party did it together... and need to do it once more.

The character I've been playing since session 1 is an Aasimar(Protection) known as Isaiah Maelborn. He's a Neutral Good Paladin(Devotion), who is fervently devout to the God of Justice: Tyr. He has followed his tenets almost to the T. He's not led the easiest of lives, suffering and death being prominent with his backstory. He hasn't let this little fact deter him though, actively seeking to help others and provide those who are willing a better life than he ever had. The other PC's requested that I play Isaiah personally.

This character at one point was a Major NPC in my own campaign, the son of a former PC of mine who was subject to all the horrors his father inflicted upon others and himself as an Elder Doom of Myrkul. For the first 19 years of his life he was forced to serve under his father, by extension also serving under Myrkul, up until the party managed to convince him to side with them against his father. He tossed his equipment related to Myrkul aside, going before Tyr's clergy and pitifully asking for acceptance... as a way of atoning for everything he did in the past he offered his services, wishing to bring his father to Justice before he could do any more harm. He made his crimes clear, begged for forgiveness, and asked for another chance.

Isaiah was granted this wish, but some things unfortunately are unavoidable. During the epic portion of the campaign it was revealed Isaiah was an extension of Myrkul, part of his soul belonging to the God of Death. During the climactic final with Myrkul the god managed to bring Isaiah fully under his control. The party was given no other choice but to fight and kill him, effectively wiping the boy's soul from existence. After defeating the god himself, the party was brought before Ao... For their services in defeating Myrkul they were given one "True" Wish each. A True Wish is essentially a Wish without error, coming true exactly as the wisher intended. One of the PC's(My current DM), made a wish to bring back Isaiah... with the only issue being it brought back Myrkul as well since the two are intertwined. This was a process that took roughly ten whole years.

Returning to the world, Isaiah was notably confused but also horrified at learning just exactly what he was. He sought out the former PC almost immediately, desperately trying to find out what has happened and why he has returned... While she was unable to convince him that her wish wasn't a waste, she did manage to convince him to go to her world. He had been invited to join up with a special group, a group that would ultimately become the greatest heroes of that world, or at least that was the plan. With some reluctance he did so, the whispers of Myrkul already starting...

When I said Isaiah had a rough life, I meant it. He was abused near constantly as a child, Drafon(his father) doing everything in his power to make the boy afraid of death. Physical punishment, soul wiping his best and only friend, murdering his mother in front of him in cold blood(His mother actually didn't care for the boy, only viewing him as means to an end), tag with zombies as "training", verbal abuse... Prior to the former party coming into Isaiah's life, he was a complete and utter nervous wreck. While he may have gained some confidence as a result of the party, learning he was Myrkul's plaything only made the deal worse. For the longest of time, even in the campaign itself, he suffered from a deep depression that while he didn't show the others, nearly had him at the brink of ending his own life. Once Myrkul started temporarily possessing him, this only got worse as he hurt his new "friends".

Isaiah only started to get better when a certain person entered his life. Isaiah was in love, he had fallen for a human woman(NPC) who was a Fighter/Sorcerer Muticlass named Sara... She is almost the parallel opposite to Isaiah in terms of good, While Isaiah is Neutral Good with lawful tendencies she is Chaotic Good. Sara is one of the very few people to have created genuine happiness within Isaiah, rather than him just faking it. She was his new reason to get up in the morning, as opposed to his devotion of Tyr, which prior to her was his only reason to wake up. As Part 2 of 3 came to a close in the campaign they were officially an item... Now, we've entered part 3

There was another group behind what we thought the BBEG's master plan was... not only that, one of our own had gone rogue. Being a former member of this group they left to take them on alone, without telling anyone. Now we have to hunt them down before they commit what is essentially a suicide mission. What's interesting about this little detail, the NPC that left was at one point a cold blooded murderer... but that's not so much the most interesting part.

Sara gave us a rundown of this group, explaining its purpose, what it wanted, and what was being planned. She informed us also that at one point she was apart of this group as well. Not only that, but she admitted to Isaiah that she alone was responsible for millions of deaths on his home plane on behalf of this group. This information came out not an in-game day from the two finally getting together. She went on to explain that it was ten years ago, back then she was an entirely different person... and she deeply regrets what she's done. It's the sole reason she spent so much time as an alcoholic in solitude before Isaiah came into her life. She didn't want to be judged based on her past, that being the reason she never told any of the party or Isaiah.

Isaiah spent most of the day in utter shock and horror, unable to offer a response. After a long discussion with his angelic guide over the whole mess... he came to a conclusion. It didn't change a thing about how he felt for her. He had also done despicable deeds in the past, while he had been forced to as opposed to her... Tyr still took him in regardless. That night he pulled Sara to the side and had a long talk with her about it. The talk amounted to: "I still love you... despite what may have happened in your past, you're different now. You're trying to be better, trying to be good and you've done so much for everyone else... for me. I couldn't punish someone who's trying to be different, and I couldn't imagine Tyr doing the same." That being said he's also made it clear to her that she means the world to him. Ultimately deciding to keep things going with her, rather than breaking it off and seeing her "tried".

We are one level away from 17. This is when Oath of Devotion Paladin's get access to commune. We should level up tomorrow, and Isaiah has every intention of making contact with Tyr upon learning this spell. With his three questions he's going to attempt to get a feel for his gods views on the matter, and if negative, possibly try to gain an audience on her behalf. He doesn't want to lose her, but he also doesn't want to lose Tyr or feel as if he's wronged the god's portfolio in any way. After all, Tyr's a fatherly figure to his men... and the only father Isaiah's ever known to be like an actual dad. I myself am going to have Isaiah offer a diamond up 5,000 GP as a "tribute"/"Offering" to get the gods attention himself, as well as say a little prayer I found dedicated to Tyr.

I would like help revising these questions so Isaiah could possibly get the most out of the Commune spell. Also, where Isaiah could potentially go if things turn... sour, or do not go nearly as favorably. At the present moment these are the following:


So... Tyr... I... I take it you've known about the whole Sara thing a lot longer than I have, correct?

The following question doesn't change regardless of Yes or No as an answer.

Well... I guess you know what I'm going to ask, but... In your eyes, do you consider Sara atoned or in the process of atoning?

This is where the deviation occurs. If yes

I'd ask that you let me watch over her... to help guide her on the continued path of being just. I don't want to ever leave her, besides yourself she's the greatest thing to ever come into my life... Do you... approve of our love?

If Tyr answers no to the second question...

If that's the case... I'd ask that you let me speak in her name. Would it be possible if you could grant an audience to your most faithful, humble, and gracious servant? Please... I wish to speak with you on her behalf, in the names of every virtue and teaching you have instilled in me...

Any thoughts on how I could revise this to possibly get better responses?

[Biggstick]

So first of all, this sounds like a pretty sweet story. Just as a personal thing, maybe include some sort of TLDR version, so other folks can provide some input.


So... Tyr... I... I take it you've known about the whole Sara thing a lot longer than I have, correct?

The following question doesn't change regardless of Yes or No as an answer.
So we're going to get right into it. Why would Tyr (or the divine proxy that picks up this Commune call, you don't actually know who's answering when you cast the Commune spell) know about you and Sara? Other then that point, it's a fair question that seems in the spirit of your character to ask.


Well... I guess you know what I'm going to ask, but... In your eyes, do you consider Sara atoned or in the process of atoning??
This is not a yes/no/maybe question, at least in my eyes. You could probably frame it to be a bit more clear on which one you want to ask, either that she has atoned or has started the atonement process.


This is where the deviation occurs. If yes

I'd ask that you let me watch over her... to help guide her on the continued path of being just. I don't want to ever leave her, besides yourself she's the greatest thing to ever come into my life... Do you... approve of our love?
Again, Tyr would care about your ability to carry out justice. Why would a deity of such power care about a mortal's love life? As long as you stay true that that which you've promised Tyr, you're doing right by him. Again, this isn't to sound mean, it's just a question that seems...insignificant/unimportant to a deity of justice.


If Tyr answers no to the second question...

If that's the case... I'd ask that you let me speak in her name. Would it be possible if you could grant an audience to your most faithful, humble, and gracious servant? Please... I wish to speak with you on her behalf, in the names of every virtue and teaching you have instilled in me...

Any thoughts on how I could revise this to possibly get better responses?
Seems awfully presumptuous of you to assume you're the most faithful, humble, and gracious servant he has. Remove the most from the statement imo. And the Commune spell is already him (or again, a divine proxy) granting you an audience. Unless whatever you're currently doing is massive enough to affect Tyr, I don't see him coming down to talk to you in person about "atoning" a mortal soul, or how you feel about said soul.

Overall, if this was a different deity, they might be more inclined to talk to you about your love life. If the mortal you're talking about has some prophesized role in an event of huge importance to the way law is carried out in the realms, then you might have a better shot at Tyr's interest.

Another point here is that while the gods of law and justice care about mortal souls making up for their past sins, it's not as important as you'd think. In my knowledge of the Forgotten Realms, when someone dies they go to the Fugue Plane. They hang out their for a while, until the deity they've lived their life by comes through and judges their soul worthy of joining them on their Plane. If they aren't picked up by any of these deities, or any Devils who've come to tempt the poor unfortunate souls, they're to be judged by Kelemvor. Any deity can judge them as having atoned, and worthy of joining them on their Plane once they shake the mortal coil, but in reality, the person who's opinion matters most in determining whether the person has atoned is Kelemvor.

I'd love to hear what happens, as this seems like a pretty compelling story.

[NecessaryWeevil]

This is not a yes/no/maybe question, at least in my eyes. You could probably frame it to be a bit more clear on which one you want to ask, either that she has atoned or has started the atonement process.


Seems pretty clear to me. If she has atoned, the answer is "Yes." If she is in the process of atoning, the answer is "Yes." Otherwise, "No."

[DanJester]

So first of all, this sounds like a pretty sweet story. Just as a personal thing, maybe include some sort of TLDR version, so other folks can provide some input.


So we're going to get right into it. Why would Tyr (or the divine proxy that picks up this Commune call, you don't actually know who's answering when you cast the Commune spell) know about you and Sara? Other then that point, it's a fair question that seems in the spirit of your character to ask.


This is not a yes/no/maybe question, at least in my eyes. You could probably frame it to be a bit more clear on which one you want to ask, either that she has atoned or has started the atonement process.


Again, Tyr would care about your ability to carry out justice. Why would a deity of such power care about a mortal's love life? As long as you stay true that that which you've promised Tyr, you're doing right by him. Again, this isn't to sound mean, it's just a question that seems...insignificant/unimportant to a deity of justice.


Seems awfully presumptuous of you to assume you're the most faithful, humble, and gracious servant he has. Remove the most from the statement imo. And the Commune spell is already him (or again, a divine proxy) granting you an audience. Unless whatever you're currently doing is massive enough to affect Tyr, I don't see him coming down to talk to you in person about "atoning" a mortal soul, or how you feel about said soul.

Overall, if this was a different deity, they might be more inclined to talk to you about your love life. If the mortal you're talking about has some prophesized role in an event of huge importance to the way law is carried out in the realms, then you might have a better shot at Tyr's interest.

Another point here is that while the gods of law and justice care about mortal souls making up for their past sins, it's not as important as you'd think. In my knowledge of the Forgotten Realms, when someone dies they go to the Fugue Plane. They hang out their for a while, until the deity they've lived their life by comes through and judges their soul worthy of joining them on their Plane. If they aren't picked up by any of these deities, or any Devils who've come to tempt the poor unfortunate souls, they're to be judged by Kelemvor. Any deity can judge them as having atoned, and worthy of joining them on their Plane once they shake the mortal coil, but in reality, the person who's opinion matters most in determining whether the person has atoned is Kelemvor.

I'd love to hear what happens, as this seems like a pretty compelling story.

We use a lot of homebrew, admittedly, the reason for commune reaching out to Tyr in particular is one prestige I've gone. It's a "Messiah" of sorts. The Miracles of Faith. Tyr essentially selected Isaiah at the end of Part 2 to become a "Favored Soul" of sorts. The issue at hand is Isaiah doesn't not want to disappoint Tyr, particularly when it comes to this... she murdered a lot of people, millions. "Justice" would certainly demand something Isaiah can not go through with... He wants Tyr to approve, to not have him kill or imprison Sara in exchange for all the lives lost. Within the parameters of the spell, there's a limit as to what Isaiah can say and argue.

I'll let you know! Honestly, the DM has come a really far way from when he first started out. Part 1 was kind of a joke, but it was really the PC's faults, myself included. I had a half-elf detective who looked and sounded suspiciously like Sean Connery. The twist about him was he was the murderer behind his investigations.