Ok, so I’ve been hammering away at my homebrew ttrpg-wargame and I decided to give clerics the ability to conjure troops. Different alignments get different things. So far, I’ve given clay golems to the good alignment, flesh golems to the evil alignment, and awakening plants to the chaotic alignment. I am unsure what to give to the lawful alignment.

To clarify the vibe I am going for, here’s a a paraphrased version of each one’s fluff text:

  • “This clay golem you have given life to is a person. It is, by its nature, inclined towards kindness, helpfulness, and generosity.”
  • “The flesh golem you have constructed is a person with a different alignment from yours. They respect you as their creator, but may rebel if you do not discipline them, or if they feel disrespected, or if they disagree with you strongly enough.”
  • “You grant sapience and mobility to a number of plants of your choice. They may or may not appreciate this.”

Vibe-wise, whatever I give to the lawful alignment should be obedient, predictable, and honest. My first thought is to give the lawful alignment stone golems, as in animating statues. However, i think it needs to parallel the mass troop creation i have granted the chaotic alignment. I have a number of ideas, but everything I’ve come up with either doesnt seem to follow the Lawful vibe in at least one way (Animating armor seems very scary and somewhat evil) or doesnt seem sufficiently exceptional or awesome (You have a class feature that lets you rally a peasant mob? Watch me do that with a Persuasion roll.)

I am also very averse to giving them the ability to call down angels, as I think creatures that powerful or abstract should never be easy to call upon unless the DM wants them to be easy to call upon.

For a last bit of context, lawful-aligned clerics are basically paladins. So, a better version of the question would be how you think paladins would conjure or fabricate troops if they had a class ability to do so?

  • eerongal@ttrpg.network
    6·
    22 days ago

    Ice/crystal golems. Crystal structures are very regular/organized and I would argue quite lawful.

  • INeedMana@piefed.zipEnglish
    2·
    22 days ago

    Animating armor seems very scary and somewhat evil

    IMO that fits paladins’ zeal. Those who oppose them should fear the wrath of their righteousness, right? Taking a look at other piece of culture: “Smite Evil” does not leave a lot of gray area on both words.

    • Wugmeister@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      2·
      22 days ago

      That’s actually a good point. I forgot that armor is a work of art, sort of like a statue that you wear.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    2·
    22 days ago

    I feel like if chaotic gets plants then they should summon animals.

    • Wugmeister@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      1·
      22 days ago

      Chaotic cleric is basically a druid, so honestly i should also give them animal troops. They already have an at-will speak with animals.

  • SamuraiBeandog@lemmy.world
    2·
    22 days ago

    You could give them the spirits of the righteous dead, the fallen soldiers and heroes of the realm that continue to fullfill their duty even in death.

    Summoning undead is usually an evil act in most fantasy, but you can easily write it to suit this purpose.

  • Sunsofold@lemmings.worldEnglish
    1·
    22 days ago

    Mechanical would be the obvious choice. Hard to think of something more aligned to specific ‘codes’ (laws) than a robot, possibly clockwork.

    Less obvious would be rectilinear quarried stone for its unyielding straight lines. Think the bot from Interstellar made of enchanted marble/obsidian.

    You could also go for more of a literal interpretation in that they are formed of written laws on basically any material, written on paper for fast, vulnerable units, inscribed into stone for slow, resilient units, carved into the skin of corpses for a necromantic unit, etc.

    Or take it in a more fluid direction by having them be akin to an air elemental, spoken into existence by legal decree.