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DFRPG / Re: Blessed Bullets???
« on: October 01, 2010, 09:45:05 PM »
Here's an alternate point of view that might upset some folks, please bear with me:
At various points in the series, Michael and others say that their mission is not to kill Denarians or fight evil directly. The Knights of the Cross are empowered to help redeem the hosts of the Fallen and their mission is to bring as many souls back to the light as they can.
If you look at the items that are generally "holy" you see a lot of ritual objects used in prayer and symbols that reflect the faith of the bearer. Even a sword itself is shaped like a cross. But more to the point, they're all objects that can be used up close and personal, either through conversation and sermon or, in the case of the swords, in close melee combat. This gives the wielder of the item of faith the opportunity to confront the evil and try to get them to repent. In the case of a Denarian, they have the opportunity to convince the host to give up the coin and free themselves of the Fallen's influence.
Keep in mind the names of the swords of the Cross: Faith, Hope and Love. The fight isn't about destroying evil, it's about protecting and saving humanity. The tenets of True Belief are Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness, which is why a character like Sanya can exist at all. And the powers required by the True Believer template focus on protection and guidance. It's the Champions that get the "Smiting" abilities, and that's because they inherently have natures that make it unlikely for them to abuse them. Remember, the true test of faith is not whether you can destroy evil, but whether you can reject its temptation and guide others to do the same by your example.
You defeat that whole premise when you can take someone out from a rooftop with a gun, or from the end of an alley without ever confronting them. Sure, some guns you might need to get a lot closer (holy, sawed-off shotgun, yikes!), but while using a gun may not completely eliminate that moment for redemption, it's going to cut the probability way down.
Having said all that, I really like the image of a dedicated faithful working for days at a time to craft bullets, engraving holy symbols and true names and the like on them, to empower them with his faith to fight a specific foe. I don't think a magazine full of bullets is really in the spirit of faith, but maybe a bullet designed for a specific foe, or even a six-shooter's worth, where you have to actually confront the foe in a Wild West style shootout before discharging the gun at them would make for a really good scene. I also like the idea of holy bullets putting an aspect on a baddie that would allow a compel against the high concept making for a potentially amazing reveal scene.
At various points in the series, Michael and others say that their mission is not to kill Denarians or fight evil directly. The Knights of the Cross are empowered to help redeem the hosts of the Fallen and their mission is to bring as many souls back to the light as they can.
If you look at the items that are generally "holy" you see a lot of ritual objects used in prayer and symbols that reflect the faith of the bearer. Even a sword itself is shaped like a cross. But more to the point, they're all objects that can be used up close and personal, either through conversation and sermon or, in the case of the swords, in close melee combat. This gives the wielder of the item of faith the opportunity to confront the evil and try to get them to repent. In the case of a Denarian, they have the opportunity to convince the host to give up the coin and free themselves of the Fallen's influence.
Keep in mind the names of the swords of the Cross: Faith, Hope and Love. The fight isn't about destroying evil, it's about protecting and saving humanity. The tenets of True Belief are Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness, which is why a character like Sanya can exist at all. And the powers required by the True Believer template focus on protection and guidance. It's the Champions that get the "Smiting" abilities, and that's because they inherently have natures that make it unlikely for them to abuse them. Remember, the true test of faith is not whether you can destroy evil, but whether you can reject its temptation and guide others to do the same by your example.
You defeat that whole premise when you can take someone out from a rooftop with a gun, or from the end of an alley without ever confronting them. Sure, some guns you might need to get a lot closer (holy, sawed-off shotgun, yikes!), but while using a gun may not completely eliminate that moment for redemption, it's going to cut the probability way down.
Having said all that, I really like the image of a dedicated faithful working for days at a time to craft bullets, engraving holy symbols and true names and the like on them, to empower them with his faith to fight a specific foe. I don't think a magazine full of bullets is really in the spirit of faith, but maybe a bullet designed for a specific foe, or even a six-shooter's worth, where you have to actually confront the foe in a Wild West style shootout before discharging the gun at them would make for a really good scene. I also like the idea of holy bullets putting an aspect on a baddie that would allow a compel against the high concept making for a potentially amazing reveal scene.