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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kibo" data-source="post: 427332" data-attributes="member: 5451">So now you're arguing that somehow someone who kills a person with no ability to fight back, like a child, has any measure of courage?  My dictionary says courage is the capacity one has to counquer their fear and or despair.  I'm certainly going to cower at the sight of all the horrible villains who choke back their crippling fear of toddlers so that they might follow through with their grizzly task.And by my logic, one would observe that the enemies the US has faced in recent years were weak, and could have put of a serious fight, but lacked the conviction to do so.  It's not like they didn't have the hardware, or training.  They lacked one thing, to the last man, personal conviction.  The Iraqi army in 1991 was the 4th largest standing army in the world, battle hardened, and in possesion of 3rd generation air craft vs what might be called the 3.5 generation F-15, and modern main battle tanks.  They lacked leadership and resolve.  (One might note to two things I think a truly great villain needs)  A professional, motivated, volunteer army in action.  The weapon that ultimately wins wars has never been anything other than the guy in the uniform.  I try to keep that aspect, of viable professionalism, and real leadership alive with my villains.  It explains why their henchment are motivated, and strong rather that villains off somewhere with their own grand scheme.  It just doesn't follow that the man on the line follows out of fear alone.  A rule of fear by itself would breed treachery, and waste.  How could any organization be effective if it had to devote the bulk of its resources to policeing itself?  How could that man on the line be trusted to fulfill his duties.  Fear just isn't enough.  Even the tyrants that worked had to have something else.  To some extent this can be mitigated in fanstasy through thralls, undead, or some other mindless foot soldier (and they and their kin do play a part in maintaining whatever status quo I've got going).  But their mindless, they don't adapt.  Which while it does add a certain element of terror, it's also a little repetative, and still leaves the demand for an effective more motivated fighting force.   Again my most typical way of getting over the organization hurdle is via a small group of villains with a plan.  Or just villains that don't have interests on that level and are closer to forces of nature.It does ammuse me that you consider a despot's soldier with modern weaponry every bit as threatening as a small child.  I,  however, avoid such tenuous equivalencies.  I would appreciate it if you avoided attributing them to me. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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