To the list, continuing the discussion and responding to your
suggestions..

> How did you finagle Diemed anyway? It's "not recommended for players".
Strange. Diemed said recommended in the book. (Ruins of Empire I
think.) Could have been recommended for DM's or something.
I think the DM wanted people to choose warrior/fighter based
countries. From what I know, one guy has the place north of Ghoere,
and the other I know of is a dwarf in Barak thingy.
What countries (preferably in Anuire) would you recommend for a
paladin regent?
>
> Landed priest and paladin regents can be extremely powerful, since they
> If you're planning to take over existing temple holdings, you may find
> yourself denied your throne altogether because the priests of Haelyn
> could refuse to crown you unless you promise to divest yourself of all
> temple holdings...
Luckily, my DM paid a visit to the computer lab earlier this evening.
An earlier suggestion from Daniel McSorley for Diemed was that:
either I start with the law holdings as per the current regent, or
I've successfully led a revolution with the backing of the church and
am now in power.
The history I've written this evening ties in with my paladin gaining
the law holdings. I'm awaiting DM approval. I based the history on
the story of Theseus. (with a raid into Spider territory taking the
place of a trip to Crete and a battle with a minotaur.)

> You're going to need several capable lieutenants as well, since three
> actions per domain turn barely cuts if for one type of holding.
I've written in a very capable wife. (daughter of current ruler.)
Perhaps I should have kept the knight whom I was a squire to alive.
The others would come from the raid on the spider.

Ruling.
I created Laurence with the plan to have a go at playing someone who
is, first and foremost, a King. Just rule - the legendary wisdom of
King Solomon and all that. Someone others trust. Having paladin
status means that Laurence dislikes intrigue but he is forced to respect
the need for information on enemies of the faith. Fortunately, the
Queen has a very extensive spy network.

Holdings. I'm actually a paladin of Haelyn. As a player, I don't know
who controls the temples in Diemed but the plan is to introduce the
religion gradually.

Magic Item.
This is where it got difficult. The story of Theseus calls for a
magical sword belonging to his father. It does fit in very well with
the history written. Somehow, finding a magic ring under a rock
doesn't strike me as so heroic.

Thanks for all those prompt responses.
Thomas Brightwell