Re: [HoE] Templar Code

[The Baron Samedi <baron11@netmcr.com>]

>
>Basically, that's the "Star Trek" syndrome.  Basically, every other week 
>Kirk, or Sisko, or Picard, or whoever, has an adventure, and doesn't do 
>what his orders dictate that he do.  So he saves his friend/violates the 
>prime directive/rescues a crewmate.  Next week, the reset button gets hit, 
>the Federation doesn't remember it, no court-martial comes about.  Repeat 
>ad nausem.
>
>Granted, this may vary in the Deadlands/HoE universe.  Hucksters, or 
>Harrowed, or Sykers, or (most) Junkers, or Mad Scientists, aren't under 
>any real authority.  Texas Rangers are.  Doomsayers are.  Templars most 
>definitely are.
>
>The options here are A) "Shucks, I guess our boys in the field failed and 
>disregarded their orders - let's give them next week's exciting adventure" 
>and B) "Let's kick them out."  The problem with B is of course that 
>Templars put death sentences on the folks they kick out.
One quick thing here is this tho:
with information being what it is in HoE, how do most Templars KNOW?  How 
do they KNOW the Templar violated his orders? how do they KNOW he found 
them unworthy and helped them anyway...maybe he misjudged them, ect.


>>As a Marshal, you should continually be making the PC's second-guess
>>themselves.  The posse Law Dog should occasionally ask himself, "What if that
>>arrogant Templar is actually RIGHT?"  At the same time, the Templar should
>>wonder if he did a good enough job in judging that settlement that just got
>>razed to the ground.  "What if there were good people there that I just 
>>didn't
>>see?"
>
>Agreed.  But that doesn't deal with the issue of party divisiveness.
and Party Divisiveness is a major factor...we agree on that.



>This leaves the player (and the Marshall) with a couple of puzzles, I'll 
>admit.  So if the Templar finds a minority of the townsfolk who meet these 
>guidelines, what's he to do without helping the "unworthy"?  (Templars may 
>be great, but nobody yet has believably explained how if there are 100 
>people in a town of 500 that are "worthy", the Templar gets the other 400 
>to go along with him despite his expressed disdain for them.  All 
>believable explanations welcome, though.  :) )

wish I had one.




>And of course, as mentioned before, what the Templar is to do if his 
>comrades swear to defending all 500, but he only commits to helping the 
>100 "worthy" ones?
>
>*shrug* Sound stringent?  Sure.  But I believe this stringency originates 
>in the source material.  Pinnacle seemed to go out of its way to make the 
>Templar code a harsh, unyielding, brutally enforced policy.  And as NPCs, 
>or solo characters...it works.  No doubt about that.
>
>It's an interesting, and logical viewpoint, based on the game setting.
>It's just not one that lends itself well to a player using it in a group.
>Nor is it one that I wish to undermine because then whatever Templar NPCs 
>I might use are undermined as well.
agreed.




>>--
> From Whom It May Concern,
>>Richard Ranallo, The Man They Couldn't Hang
>
>
>---
>
>Steve Crow