Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:38 pm
I cannot speak for nobility. I've never played one (though I'd, of course, be open to the adventure). However, I can speak for Orderites and some of the stuff surrounding playing a clergyman in theme, from both OOC and IC levels, and some of the general (sometimes conflicting goals) I see for clerics and the Church at wide. This might stray a bit from what we've been talking about, but I hope this might be enlightening/informative/interesting to people who have concerns invested in how well Orderites are being played and what RP paths can lead to balanced clergyman characters.
To start off, I have been guilty of being too nice. Benedictus was ultimately a little lax on a lot of things, and for those old codgers about, you will remember the direct results of some of that laxity (*cough*the fall*cough*). However, moving from Benedictus into some of my 'middle' period Order characters and now into Iain, my next 'big' Order character, I've identified what I see as the two major, sometimes conflicting, goals of what the Church should be. These are:
1) The defenders of public morals/traditions and spiritual health
2) The egalitarian shepherds of the people of the Kingdom, for the ingame Order, the city of Lithmore.
Point 1 is where the 'scary' most notably comes in. The Church, knights included, have the singular job of making sure everyone in the city and in the Kingdom are being fostered on their path to holiness and that the general norms of Lithmorran society and the doctrines of Davite spiritual life are being maintained. They support the divine right of the nobility and the Kings to rule, the oppose magic with a passion, they work to root out false (heretical) opinions among the player bases and to suppress those who spread dissent from the traditional doctrines of Davite society. For Point 1, I have often used two sub-motivations as my guiding lights: The Church believes that sin ultimately harms the sinner and those around the sinner, and the Church believes in the general stability of Dav's Kingdom, beyond the individual political goals of this noble or that. They are interested in seeing society survive. This does not mean they are utterly against innovation or 'progress,' more that they are naturally wary of it and will desire significant justification to alter how things have worked. In promoting this, Davites should be strict. I think where a lot of the laxity comes in is the idea of mercy which is often associated with religion. Mercy, in many people's minds, is about letting things go, taking the route that involves the least pain for someone at your power, in a sense, being lax. I'd counter by saying in many cases, true mercy (especially for an Orderite), means allowing second chances and encouraging change for the better as opposed to purely punitive or vindictive measures. In this sense, just 'letting it go' doesn't actually mean mercy it all, it means you are being weak when you have a responsibility to help a person along. Mercy, instead, means being quick and sure about the punishment and then happily accepting reform afterwards, not holding a grudge. People should know that when they do something the Order perceives as being harmful (they do drugs, have extramarital sex, indulge heresy, perform magery), that there are going to be punishments involved, but that the end result of those punishments is a chance at new life, that the purpose of the punishment is to 'wake you up' and encourage you to live anew.
Point 2 goes a bit of a different direction. In a sense, I have always been a little Christian in how I view the mission of Davite bishops. I see Davite bishops as having an ultimate responsibility for the people of the area they are assigned. And by the people, I mean -all- the people. Everyone from the richest, most influential noble to the poorest bum; from the most glowing and devout Davite to the nasty heretic mage. The responsibility the bishop has to these people is to ensure that each one is given what he needs to live, is allowed the chances at a happy devout life in accord with his station, that they are given justice, and the attention of the Church. The priests of a given province are an extension of that care. How I see this playing out is that the Church should strive to be equally receptive of the concerns of the Southside poor as the Northside nobility. The Church should possess some distance from the secular law (not necessarily from secular governing) in being willing to grant Sanctuary to the unjustly accused or the cruelly convicted. Everyone should be comfortable approaching the Church for the help they need and should feel some sort of filial love for the Davite Church. Sure, it can be big and scary, sure it demands my respect, but in the end, I know it cares for me, and it cares for me in a way which is different and more equal than how my noble or the reeves care for me.
These interact much in how I see the tension of the Law of Caring interact. Nobles are nobility, have special rights, there are laws, they must be enforced -but- in the end, these things must return to the care of the people and to ensure they are being treated well. I don't deny it is a difficult tension, but I think it is one the Church ought to embrace, in game. I hope to see the Church become a lot less one-way-or-the-other. Either being super, super strict and scary or being loving, gentle, and totally lax. The balance is where we should be.