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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dogbrain" data-source="post: 1213341" data-attributes="member: 14980">A few things to remember about a swashbuckling setting:The "good guys" are usually far from Good in a D&D sense.The "bad guys", even if they are Evil in a D&D sense, are usually bound by some sense of honor.The "good guys" may be in a situation wherein the most powerful and most evil person around ultimately has the same loyalty they do (Musketeers and Cardinal Richelieu--both are utterly loyal to France).The greatest power is political power, wielded behind the scenes by people who do not make any display of their prowess of arms (or of magic).Motives can never be certain--so mind-probing and alignment-probing powers and magic don't fit.Today's enemy is tomorrow's ally of convenience.  The man you love as a brother can die on the point of your sword because honor, duty, and virtue demand it, and he will be trying to kill you for the very same reasons.The great conflicts are morally very murky:  "We sing our psalms in Latin and they sing theirs in French, and for this we are killing them?"  "Of course, my dear Porthos, that's what wars of religion are all about."Virtuous men only severely beat their servants when they actually do something wrong.In short, real swashbuckling and the simple moral conventions of fantasy don't go together.And a basic run-down of that damnable thing called "honor".Only an accusation of lying demands a duel.  Anything less can be honorably answered by firing back a worse accusation. A rough hierarchy of accusations, from least horrible to worst:Lack of style.Low birth (even if it is true).AdulteryIncestTheftCowardiceTreasonLyingIt is possible to apologize and back down from anything short of an accusation of cowardice, but that means loss of honor for the one making the apology.In addition, physically striking someone cannot be apologized for.  It must be answered with a duel.Duels, in our own world, were usually not l'outrance (to the death).  In general, they were fought until one side or the other either yielded or was unable to continue (or a physician stated that one side was unable to continue).  The "first blood" duel was invented in the 1700s and was considered a joke in much of Europe for as long as dueling was actually done.</blockquote>

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