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These are the villains in a tentative campaign which I am thinking of running.
Tell me what you think.
Some men wish that things be presented in a clear-cut fashion to them; that difficult choices either not be made at all or made by someone else. Such men seek to avoid the responsibility of thinking, which is a desire to avoid the responsibility of freedom. Dear reader, you have become acquainted with the Knights of the Scarlet Woman. You may have been repulsed and sought refuge in the opposite of those knights in the hopes that they would be better, but the enemy of an evil is not necessarily a good. It can be another evil. History teaches us that evil does not manifest itself openly, that the evil that is done in this world is often done in the name of so-called goodness. (since there are those who disagree with the princinples of chastity, duty, altruism etc.) I am here to tell you about one such organization that does evil in the name of alleged goodness which you should already know a few things about: the Knights of the Virgin.
These knights are the worshippers of the ideals of duty, self-sacrifice, altruism and selflessness. They see themselves as noble crusaders for good. They believe that they are led by a commander, X, (left unnamed for now) who has been sent to them from the Deity to lead them to a better tomorrow. Believing their commander to be mystically enlightened, they have sworn an oath of unconditional obedience to him. They see themselves as the chosen and all who disagree as the damned. They are supporters of a conservative social order which recognizes the proper rank and place of everyone: the priest, the aristocrat, the knight, the man, the woman etc. They oppose all secular and dissenting ideas, which to them represent the work of the devil in men’s hearts.
The knights make entry open to all, and in fact support the drafting of all able-bodied men. They see it as the duty of every able-bodied man to fight for the holy cause which they have undertaken. The knights also support the conscription of women for breeding purposes to produce soldiers for the armies of righteousness. Their mentality manifests itself in what they consider to be wisdom. For instance, their motto is “Obedience and duty; our lives belong to the state.” One of their most revered sages has said “In childhood a woman should be dependent on her father, in youth on her husband, in old age on her children; a woman should never be independent.” Another of their mottos is, “A woman, like a walnut tree, should be beaten every day.” And if you were wondering, yes, they punish adulterers with death, as they do to homosexuals and those convicted of dissent.
Those who are members of the organization receive a set of armor with the emblems of the order. The symbol of the order is an arm holding a sword with a crown dangling from the arm like a bracelet. Members are highly respected in areas where the knights holds sway. Higher ranking members get to indulge in “aristocratic pleasures” denied to the common masses. Adventurers receive payment for any missions they do on behalf of the order. (It is possible for such adventurers to be drafted, which is sad, but is an unfortunate reality.)
The knights are allied with certain celestial beings, certain churches and the aristocracy. Their sworn enemies are those dedicated to pagan ideals. Among these are the chief enemy of the knighthood, the Knights of the Scarlet Woman, while allies of the K.S.W. are also considered enemies. The Knights of the Virgin have been commanded to kill any K.S.W. members on sight and attack if they see anyone wearing the emblems of the enemy order. That is of course, if the knight is not high-ranking, in which case they are ordered to capture such knights and send them to the headquarters of the order to be tortured and interrogated. The Knights of the Virgin believe in honor and do not use trickery to win battles. All members have a duty to lay down their lives for the state, as the state is considered a living, breathing entity who is the Deity’s representative on earth.
The commander of the knights is appointed by the head priest who receives a vision from the deity as to the right man to lead the righteous to glorious victory. There is a military hierarchy and there is no civilian control of the military in the areas where the knighthood holds sway. The order is popular in conservative areas but shunned like the plague in pagan, secular, and liberal areas.
Sometimes reality is grim and presents men with difficult choices. This is one such choice. In a world where neither side can be called good, which will you choose, dear reader?
Last edited by Umbran; 14th July 2011 at 08:18 PM..
How horribly repressive! Codpieces should be burned! Chastity belts should be unlocked! Rampant orgies should ensue! Experimentation should commence*! Yay sex!
Sometimes reality is grim and presents men with difficult choices. This is one such choice. In a world where neither side can be called good, which will you choose, dear reader?
How horribly repressive! Codpieces should be burned! Chastity belts should be unlocked! Rampant orgies should ensue! Experimentation should commence*! Yay sex!
*But no gays.
This deserves xp. Great sense of humor.
Domino, you may say that is the reason why I am doing such a thing but a glance at history will show that pagan and religious cultures have existed in the past which were at war with one another.
Anyways, this is my campaign which I am planning. I will make the villains look however I want them to look. Even if you disapprove of them because you think I am misrepresenting savagery.
Last edited by Hunter99; 8th July 2011 at 06:08 AM..
Dear reader, you have become acquainted with the Knights of the Scarlet Woman. You may have been repulsed and sought refuge in the opposite of those knights...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunter99
Tell me what you think.
I think Aristotle had something to say relevant to this.
My online gaming group, Torch of Spirit (Contains all information for the current game I'm co-DMing as well as lots of houserules I'm using or considering for the future. Feel free to check it out.)
If you are talking about his golden mean, you should remember that the mean between two evils is not a good.
And that between good and evil (although I am not saying the Knights of the Scarlet Woman are good) there can be no golden mean. (Which is something Aristotle also pointed out.)
If you are talking about his golden mean, you should remember that the mean between two evils is not a good.
And that between good and evil (although I am not saying the Knights of the Scarlet Woman are good) there can be no golden mean. (Which is something Aristotle also pointed out.)
More like a mean between deficiency and excess. Again, just seemed incredibly relevant here. Anyone who thinks the solution to an appaling excess is to go completely to the other extreme (or vice-versa) has a serious problem with ethical reasoning.
My online gaming group, Torch of Spirit (Contains all information for the current game I'm co-DMing as well as lots of houserules I'm using or considering for the future. Feel free to check it out.)
I agree with Aristotle's idea of a golden mean, but when it is a question of moral principles, there can be no compromise.
For instance, if one side represented individual rights and the other side represented the subordination of the individual to the group to seek a middle position is equivalent to surrendering to evil. It is, in fact, surrendering to evil.
This, combined with the KSW thread, has given me a tropical island's worth of facepalms.
Altruism is one of their highest virtues...except when it comes to killing people for dissent, homosexuality, or adultery, or when conscripting women for breeding purposes. (Yes, I know RW religions have exhibited such dissonant dichotomies- I'm a practicing member of one...)
Related side-question: how is their "conscription" morally different from that of the KSW?
Given a choice between these two "Knightly" orders, I'd choose neither. Heck, I may just seek to found my own Knightly order, dedicated to eradicating both of these.
In all honesty, this doesn't sound like a D&D campaign to me. I mean, usually, campaigns give you contrasts in light and dark, not dark and darker. Even the darkest D&D campaigns usually have SOMEONE who is a true beacon of virtue, even if they are doomed to fail. And even so, D&D bucked trends of sexism (less so in the earliest editions) to make female characters every bit as playable and viable and interesting as the more traditional fantasy heroes of manlier than manly men. In this world of yours, there is no beacon of virtue...and women seemingly have no value beyond being breeders or sex puppets. Again, this doesn't sound like D&D at all.
F.A.T.A.L., OTOH, seems like it would be a natural fit.
I can see having evil groups like this in a campaign what I don't get is not having a third group made of people who want to see both pf these groups dead.
I also would not want to play in a game where you get two choices to role play out the subjugation or woman. One by forced rape and the other by forced breeding.
__________________ Favorite line heard at the table "I am killing to subdue" Kavo the Dwarf
The purpose of this campaign is to create a conflict of values.
If the choices were easy, there would be no conflict of values.
It is only when the campaign presents such difficult choices that a real conflict of values is created in the minds of the players.
Hence why I chose to create this tentative campaign in this manner.
Edit: You are not required to role-play out either of the two, but this doesn't mean that man is never presented with difficult choices.
It is up to the players how they respond to this situation. Perhaps they can act like the man in Schindler's list and try to save as many women as possible. They could also become renunciates and preach non-violence like Buddha. There are many possibilites as to what the players can do.
Edit: They can also act like the men in Valkyrie with Tom Cruise and try to bring down one of these orders from within.
Last edited by Hunter99; 8th July 2011 at 07:09 AM..
Sometimes reality is grim and presents men with difficult choices. This is one such choice. In a world where neither side can be called good, which will you choose, dear reader?
Scandalous! And therefore I choose... neither!
Viva la Revolucion!
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Last edited by Theo R Cwithin; 8th July 2011 at 07:21 AM..
Reason: more awesomer Che smilies!!!11!!
No compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon.
Quote:
Given a choice between these two "Knightly" orders, I'd choose neither. Heck, I may just seek to found my own Knightly order, dedicated to eradicating both of these.
I really should write up a summary for the Devil Dogs instead of forcing people to read through the novella.
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Viva la Revolucion! 
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