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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yora" data-source="post: 6279859" data-attributes="member: 6670763">I think it's entirely permitable that PCs occasionally find their conscience and take actions that don't benefit them or even go against their own best interests. Murdering horrible people when nobody is looking because of the attrocities they have done, putting themselves in danger to save a slave or a child even though they should just keep running, or beating up thugs who are attacking innocent, and things like that.But I think it becomes problematic, in regard to the genre, when the PCs wander the land looking for opportunities for charity, helping the poor who can't fight for themselves, and generally making the world a better place.One difference between general Heroic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery in particular, is an underlying notion that the world is unfair and trying to fix it is just unrealistic. You can make a good life for yourself, and if you're doing really well create a safe sanctuary for your people, but overall the world is so unfair and devided that you can't establish safety in an area any larger than what you can guard and defend yourself. When wandering the world and helping people, the most you can hope for is giving another chance to those you just rescued. But once you are gone they will have to fend for themselves again. You could kill an evil king or mayor, but unless you take over their position you have no idea who will follow them once you're gone. Maybe the locals manage to institute a new ruler who actually protects them, but it may just as well return to being just as bad as it was before.It's not just the rulers who are corrupt, but society at some basic level. Supposed you kill the king and claim his throne. Are you going to exile all the advisors, commanders, and soldiers and do all their work by yourself? And all the nobles and merchants who keep slaves, and all the farmers and laborers who are just as racist against minorities? You can't, especially when society as a whole is resisting any good intentions you might having.A Sword & Sorcery hero might be doing the right thing most of the time, but within the genre they have no illusion that they could make the world a better place. As king Kull says "By this Axe I rule!", because the only thing that keeps the men below him in line is the threat of he coming after them personally and split their worthless skulls. If you have loyal and competent generals, you can extend this circle of control, and if they can mange to find good lieutenants, it can reach even further. But in the end, people will behave as a whole only if you are capable of forcing them to.Bandits are attacking travelers on the road and monsters destroy farms on the edge of the village? There's always bandits and monsters and if you kill them, new ones will move in shortly after. The mayor and his guards are abusing their power, but so will their replacements when they are removed. And can the heroes even be sure that they can defeat the evil?Often it's better not to kick the hornet nest and leave things be. If some lone stranger beheads the mayor and proclaims loudly that there won't be any mistreatment of the villagers anymore, will that really make things safer for them? It might just as well cause the local lord to send a more ruthless replacement to crush any trace of resistance among the villagers.Sword & Sorcery heroes can definately be heroic, but the extend of their ability is limited. They may be able to kill a monster or defeat 10 soldiers by themselves, but they are still vulnerable and need to be careful to stay away from trouble that is bigger than what they can handle.That's an example of the fourth aspect I mentioned as important at the start of the thread: Success is never a given. Sword & Sorcery characters can never be sure that they are able to win. They may be the most powerful individuals around, but they still stand no chance against all the possible enemies they could make in a place.</blockquote>

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