'Oly Order of the Onery Orrery | Glowfic Constellation

little-Cheliax

He says well then in that case he'd like to enlist in the Korvosan Guard.

drearily-disrated

The Korvosan Guard is not a holy order. The Korvosan Guard has preexisting obligations.

little-Cheliax

Where else is he going to find a more senior paladin to emulate in this Vault?

drearily-disrated

She says that she is not - what's that holy symbol he's carrying? that's the sword of the Inheritor?? - he was chosen by the literal goddess of defeating Evil by means of having all the best paladins.

Whereas Cressida Kroft's goddess made her a paladin by mistake.

little-Cheliax

He says the gods don't make that kind of mistake.

drearily-disrated

She says she got a literal divine vision and she is telling him to his face that her goddess absolutely makes that kind of mistake.

little-Cheliax

He says well then what's your advice. Where's he supposed to go from here?

drearily-disrated

She says why not found your own holy order? She'd be happy to consult.

little-Cheliax

He says he's never formed so much as his own stickball team, and he doesn't trust any of the other baby paladins to do it either.

They need someone with experience fighting monsters and leading men - or at least someone who knows a pseudodragon from a feral Riddleport parrot!

drearily-disrated

She says she could ask Sabina to discharge Detective Brontolone from the Guard and you could consult him on everything and weigh his advice judiciously but overrule it when - and only when - other considerations are more important.

little-Cheliax

The Iomedaean says that sounds incredibly doomed and Kroft doesn't know if he came to the conclusion himself or just read it off her face.

drearily-disrated

She says that he's assuming things of her which aren't true.

She was actually just about to ask Otolmens to un-paladin her, because she hasn't done anything to earn the reputational benefits of being one.

If she instead decided to found a holy order, and promptly fell as a paladin, she expects she'd feel embarrassed and somewhat ashamed - but doubts she'd feel surprised.

It'd make more sense, she feels, to find an actual paladin for all your paladin needs.

little-Cheliax

He says that if Detective Brontolone falls as a paladin oh wait he can't because he's not a paladin because he's not even Lawful Good. Look, Field Marshall, we're all nervous about this, every baby paladin I've spoken to. None of them were made paladins until the gods kind of had to, right? They weren't Their first picks for the stickball team. He knows that he for one would be greatly reassured on the front of whether he's going to disappoint his goddess and waste Her time and power ruin his reputation (he bets the real paladins don't even worry about that part!) by trying but failing if he had a holy order to join and she was in charge of it. If it'll help him make his point he'll go around and get a petition signed by everyone who agrees.

drearily-disrated

She'll phrase this more politely, but she thinks he's falling into one of the classic traps for people with higher Splendor than they have Intelligence or Wisdom, where they get focused on a particular plan and can't be argued out of it and succeed at convincing everyone else that it's the best course of action when actually all their justifications for it are emotional appeals or post-hoc rationalizations and it's a disaster.

little-Cheliax

He does in fact have more Splendor than Intelligence or Wisdom. That might well be why he wasn't made a paladin earlier. Probably a lot of the other baby paladins do too.

Kroft should get out in front of this disaster by forming a holy order they can join.

drearily-disrated

This is her "I am not very impressed" face.

little-Cheliax

Another Korvosan citizen approaches. Is now a good time?

drearily-disrated

Who are they and what can she help them with?

little-Cheliax

It's Altronus's lawyer, fresh from losing those arm wrestles.

(After the arm wrestling, Altronus had him take ten on one Strength check and twenty on another; at this point the barrister's Strength score and Base Attack Bonus are pretty well nailed down.)

He seems concerned - and perhaps worried - without being nervous.

drearily-disrated

She isn't too busy to ask him what's up; she might be too busy to do anything about it.

little-Cheliax