D&D 4th Edition deities - more than just what's in the PHB

Question

I'm making a Dragonborn Paladin. I'd like him to be lawful good, but I'm really not all that fond of the the two LG deities listed in handbook. What are some good options to get around this? Are there other resources that might have a deity he could follow? Also, would it be considered bad for him to be a LG follower of a non-LG deity?

The character is a bit snobbish, so if he could find a deity that is... lawful-er good-er than YOUR deity, that'd be great!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Assuming that you're setting agnostic, a forgotten realms Tormish paladin could certainly be holier-than-thou:

Torm:

Torm became the master of Celestia after the heroic self-sacrifice of the legendary Tyr (who perished decades ago when defending the upper realms against an overwhelming demonic incursion). He now shines as the beacon of pure law in the cosmos, and stands as the most civilized and civilizing force in the pantheon. Truth, loyalty, and a steadfast devotion to a righteous cause are his gifts to his mortal followers, and he is an inspiration to many of his fellow deities as well.

The Dead God, Haramathur, The Guardian in Stone, the Eternal Watcher:

Taking a page from Sir PTerry's Great God Om here, one of the best holier than thou approaches can be "My god sacrificed his form for us and we are here. What has your god done that's so impressive?" as well as "I don't need miracles to believe" can both approach a very snooty tone.

Haramathur was a guardian god who was tasked during the Dawn War with the protection of the Astral Sea against incursions of creatures from the Elemental Chaos. He had no enemies among the other deities, who recognized him as a force whose power protected them.

In the last years of the Dawn War, Io’s violent death caused a rift between the planes. Haramathur realized the only way to prevent the primordials from using the rift to invade the Astral Sea was to close off the way with his own essence. He sacrificed himself by turning himself and everything around him to stone to seal the rift. Few individuals know Haramathur’s role in these events. The deities try to limit any knowledge of what happened because they fear that someone might seek to restore Haramathur to his original form, and hence restart the war.

In general, most LG deities don't behave in a "holier than thou" way. My recommendation, if you want to make it into a proper plot point, is to have Pelor actually be an arch-fiend. Logic defined here. Therefore Pelor's church, ostensibly good, would absolutely encourage Sister Bertha better than thou (Ray Stephens, referenced by John Ringo in Princess of Wands).

Answer 2

I haven't seen you mention a setting, but the Church of the Silver Flame is what you're asking for, down to the holier than thou.

The Silver Flame is not an anthropomorphic deity. It is a celestial force comprised of a vast multitude of noble spirits. It neither requires sacrifices of gold or spices, nor does it want praise in the form of prayer. Instead, it needs bold warriors and pure ministers who will embrace the light and use that inspiration to banish evil from the world.

It is worth noting that the Church of the Silver Flame has been and continues to be quite corrupt in some sectors, and some believe that the Flame itself is corrupted by the evil it seeks to banish. If you want a religion that claims to be the purest of the pure, but has a definite side of arrogance and a hint of evil, Silver Flame is for you.

_{When describing the Church to those not familiar with Eberron, we often describe it as an evil Catholic church, such as you see it represented in some comics.}

Answer 3

Two things: one, you could worship a god that doesn't have your alignment, purely because what the god stands for is what you want: an example would be a lawful good paladin of Erathis, Ioun or Kord, which are unaligned deities, because he fervently believes in Civilization, Knowledge or Battle as the ways to bring the world forward. In a way, this would make your character holier-than-thygod, which is delightfully meta.

As for a direct quote about it being allowed or correct to worship a deity that doesn't share its alignment, I find this on Heroes of the Fallen Lands, page 44:

Alignments are tied to universal forces bigger than deities or any other allegiances that a character might have. A lawful good cleric is on the same team as the god Bahamut, who is also lawful good, even if that cleric isn't devoted to Bahamut.

A more interesting quote, from Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, page 117

Cavaliers are Paladins who have embraced one of the heroic virtues, such as compassion, justice, sacrifice, or valor. His or her belief in this virtue is so strong that it manifests as divine magic. Although many cavaliers pledge their faith to the gods, others follow no specific religion. Regardless of one's divine affiliation (or lack thereof), a cavalier's virtue stands paramount.