Re: [HoE] Templar Observation (long)

[Machine-gun Kelly <mgkelly@axom.com>]

> and the Templar ended up doing 
> very little, and actually a bit to, however inadvertently, help the Servitor 
> survive.
> 

Okay, that's a problem. The Templar [IMNSHO] should have been the first
one to go at the Servitor. The Templars' exist to save the world by
wiping out all the evils and lowering the Fear Level. They don't have to
fight every little battle, but a battle with a Servitor is anything but
a fight against a minor evil. Even if he was in a town where the people
didn't deserve to live, I would think that even Simon would turn a blind
eye to that if the group was fighting a Servitor. 

> But now...the Templar wishes to grab a Greater Power.
> 
> Now my gut feeling is basically to not let him do this.  But...the Saints in 
> general don't really seem to take this kind of approach.  As long as you're 
> a Templar, if you pay for the levels, you get the levels.

IMNSHO, again, a Greater Reward is something that is *EARNED*. He had to
actually significantly contribute to the battle in order to get it.
True,
the book says that if the posse gets a Legend Chip, the Templar gets a
Greater Reward if he has a Gift at level 5, but I would inform him that
he didn't earn it and, just *possibly*, let it slide once and tell him
to read "Last Crusaders" a little more closely. Being a Templar isn't
just about getting all these cool powers so that you can survive and
kick ass, it's about being willing to give your life for those that
deserve to live and being willing to give your life to make the world a
better place for the future. I'm guessing that your player didn't pick
up on that and only chose a Templar because they get cool powers that
don't cost Strain and are "always on" [even though they are expensive
power to buy.]

>  But 
> when you got a player that gets it into his head that Templars are a 
> bit...different than what they appear to be in the Sourcebook, it can get a 
> bit sticky.  And since we've seemed to determine that Simon & Co. pretty 
> much let the Templars have a free hand in carrying out their vows (see 
> discussions from a month or so ago), enforcement from that quarter doesn't 
> seem very workable.

Templars' are given a good amount of empowerment, but if anything major
happens, like fighting a Servitor, and the Templar didn't really do much
to help and almost let his posse and [if they deserved to live] a town
full of innocent people die, word *WILL* get around. It will get passed
to passing travelers and will eventually reach another Templar, who will
inform Simon, assuming he doesn't know already, somehow. In essence,
this
Templar is making Templars' as a whole look bad by hardly lifting a hand
to help. If the townspeople see a Templar barely willing to lift a hand
to help his friends, why would Templars help people they don't know?
Enforcement from Simon *is* workable. Word *WILL* get back to him that a
posse actually killed a Servitor and that the Templar didn't do much to
help. I don't know if Simon would actually have grounds to blackball
him, but he would most likely get a private talking to once he reported
in to Boise for his yearly debriefing. Assuming that Simon didn't think
that his actions would have made the Templars look bad enough that he
wouldn't want to talk to this character before hand. There is always the
possibility that he would spread the word to the Templars that are
currently debriefing and resting in Boise that he wants to see this
particular Templar, in person *RIGHT NOW*. Those Templars would inform
other Templars, et cetera, until word gets back to him that Simon wants
to see him immediately. Refusing a summons from the Grandmaster is as
good as admitting guilt, he would be blackballed, and any other Templars
he came across would be obligated to bring him to Boise. 

Suggestion, have Saint Stern turn his back on him. Don't let him use any
of the powers associated with him. This is one of those "greater than
the sum of it's parts" instances. What he did *may* have been what Saint
Stern would have done [even though I don't see how sacrificing a town so
that the bad guy could GET AWAY would possibly be something Stern would
have done. He may have nuked the town to kill the Servitor, but that's
different], but the Saints realize that the Templars are the best hope
for the world and that if all Templars acted like this, the world is in
much worse shape. 

A note about Saint Stern, it isn't that he didn't care about innocents,
it's that he would sacrifice a hundred people to save a thousand. Stern
would nuke a town full of Ebola victims so that the disease didn't
spread into the rest of the country and kill *EVERYONE*. 

Also, in the "Marshals' Section" of the book, it states that Saint Stern
was a victim of Night Terrors because of the things he had done. He
sacrificed a few to save the many, but the deaths of the few still
weighed heavily on his conscience.

Which brings me to my last idea, have the Templar [don't tell him this]
pick up the "Night Terrors" Hindrance. He starts having Night Terrors,
seeing himself standing idly by while the Servitor kills his friends,
the townspeople, his loved ones [even if they're already dead]. Then
have him dream, still standing idly by, while a horde of Walkin'' Dead
massacres a pre-Last War town. Make it graphic if you have to. Little
old ladies, kids, mothers and father, until he gets the idea that he
should care about the innocent. He can still be willing to sacrifice
them if it means that many more will live, but their deaths should still
be a concern to him. 

Personally, I'm betting that he wanted a Templar because of the cool
powers that he can get and be a One-man Death Machine (TM). Am I right?

But, that's just my opinion as someone who plays a Templar, and I talk a
lot....

Mgkelly
-- 
"Justice, not Mercy!"