Light vs Dark - Chapter's Verdicts

The Chapter thrives on Good vs Evil role-play, mostly however our IC aim is to kill evil guys. Evil guys, however, are not very enthousiastic about killing their characters. We have given it some thought, and tried to find ways to 'punish' bad guys we catch and beat other than what we already have. Lets face it, not everybody feels like being captured for days (even if Chapter's capture&trial is faster than regular ones) We came up with an idea of Verdicts, or holy 'curses'. Lore-wise justification for existance of such spells is simply the fact that Light is purely about -faith-, and to a degree conforms to the expectations of a believer (if you believe that the Light is about killing enemies, you get more powers of smiting) We have already discussed it among ourselves, and some Bad Guys even. So this is a final discussion to let the community as a whole to have a say . Critisize away, and may the Light be merciful.


Light’s Damning Verdicts
When performing a verdict, make sure to agree beforehand with the target Out-of-character if it is alright, and agree on the verdict and the duration. Do not perform any of the verdicts without prior agreement! Use the existing verdicts as examples and inspiration, and feel free to create your own to fit the role-play or adjust the existing ones. Remember that this is about fun; your fun and fun of the person being sentenced!

When performing the verdict, the target must be incapacitated and laying with the chest up. The shadowbreaker is to kneel besides the target, take out his Anethionean Cross and press it against the target’s chest, right above the heart.

Then the shadowbreaker is to recite:

“I testify that there is nothing holy but the Holy Light, and no truer teaching than that of Anethion; O Light, watch as I expose the wicked who dare exist in your sight!”

Now the Shadowbreaker must look his target in the eyes.

“May the heavens bear witness to the darkness that has taken hold of your soul, and may the Light send down its wrath and punish you for your misdeeds.

By the power ordained from above, by the grace of the Holy Light, I assume upon myself the authority to pass Light’s Verdict and utter aloud your crimes: “

And he shall name the crimes that the target has committed with as much elaboration and detail as possible.

“I shall now become the agent of Light’s Wrath and Justice, and may the Holy Light stay my hand if I lay it upon an innocent.”

Then the Shadowbreaker is to say

“I pass upon you the verdict of…” where he should add the name of the verdict, and perform the actual verdict.

At last, when all verdicts have been passed, he shall recite:

“May this penance open your eyes, and guide you from darkness and into the Light. Those who transgress against Light’s Eternal Law shall pay the price in pain and blood. Light’s will be done!”

Verdicts are ordered from the least severe to the most severe

Verdict of Censure
This verdict makes the guilty one unable to speak. Only sounds that escape his mouth are incoherent and basic.

Verdict of Ritual
This verdict compels the guilty one to live according to the Nine Steps and the Religious Prohibitions. Disobeying the compulsion will put the guilty one through great spiritual pain.

Verdict of Justice
This verdict brands the word ‘criminal’ on the guilty one’s forehead, and compels him to relate the story of his crime when questioned. Disobeying the compulsion will put the guilty one through great spiritual pain.

Verdict of Revocation
This verdict makes every dark spell the guilty one casts to cause a backlash, making at least half the spell’s intended effect to afflict him instead of the intended target.

Verdict of the Damned
This verdict turns the guilty one’s skin a shade of grey and makes them appear sickly and forlorn, as well as sapping them of most of their physical strength and will-power. Those who turn against the Light must be made to realize how bleak their life truly is.

Verdict of the Outcast
This verdict surrounds the guilty one with an aura of unbearable stench of rot, and may even cause the skin to erupt in pus-leaking blisters. Some men are not to be trusted, this verdict is designed specifically to reveal to all the filthiness of the one sentenced, and warn them against any form of association.

Verdict of the Revelation
This verdict engulfs the target in Light’s radiance, forcing him to rethink his every decision and relive his every transgression, showing him the ‘mistakes’ (as seen from Chapter’s point of view) of his entire life. The result is a prolonged and agonizing nightmare. The idea of this verdict is to confront the guilty one with his many offenses in an attempt to force a realization and potentially redemption. The verdict can however have an adverse effect, with the guilty one realizing that his crimes are so many that he is beyond redemption anyway.

Verdict of the Flagellant
This verdict causes the victim to enter a state of holy frenzy, making him lash out against Anethion’s enemies with simple-minded, savage ferocity which lasts until the guilty one is knocked unconscious or feints from fatigue. The idea behind this verdict is to make the guilty one attone for his transgressions by aiding, even invulanteraly, the cause of good and perhaps even dying or being wounded in the process.

Verdict of Catharsis
This verdict combines the powers of judgement and exorcism, pitting the faith of the Shadowbreaker against the corruption of the target in an attempt to purge arcane and fel corruption. The act of Catharsis may or may not result in actual decrease of corruption, but will always leave the target depleted, sickly and potentially insane for a while. If purification does take place, escaping corruption may take any form on the target's body (such as blemishes or wounds) or may even manifest as a terrible demon that will chase the newly-purified, or even the shadowbreaker himself. Being purified in such a way may greatly decrease the power of a warlock.

hmm verry interesting.. lots of lovley thought put in as always sounds like fun!

Really great.

The Chapter is going beyond cultism however, what will you do if this kind of stuff reaches the ears of the king and his men? Duskwood is full! =P

Jokes aside, if one deserves to die, but doesn't want to, these are great options I support.

Are these verdicts permanent however?

Yes, it is the will of Anethion that we force permanent damage upon other characters!

..no, duration is to be agreed on between the punisher and the punished.
"...agree on the verdict and the duration."

If Duskwood is full, the Chapter will merely move to its natural habitat - the fiery pits and plains of brimstone of the Burning Steppes.

Oh, missed that somehow. And good!

I love it, Exaythe. Good option to character death and a much needed one. It creates RP and adds to the story instead of just putting a finite stop to it.

(Some general roleplaying advice for everyone: Instead of answering questions about roleplay with yes or no, use "Yes, and..." or "No, but...")

*Arkson shakes his head sadly*

Very interesting and good.

However there's a couple I still doubt people will agree to oocly- namely the facial branding, and the stench of rot/pus-filled blisters.

Reminds me of Jonathon Strange & Mr Norrell (book)

Spoiler:

Kittrina wrote:Very interesting and good.

However there's a couple I still doubt people will agree to oocly- namely the facial branding, and the stench of rot/pus-filled blisters.

Reminds me of Jonathon Strange & Mr Norrell (book)

Spoiler:

Sometimes one also has to accept the realism of the situation.

Trave has a delicate scar from his mouth over his cheek from the second Steel Boot tournament, I lost a roll, and the situation didn't allow me any way out. So a facial scar I never desired was unavoidable. He's not dead though, so little to complain about!

The concept is great, fantastic even. It proposes exactly what I believe "punishment" RP should be: interesting and increasing the challenge of RP. Not a diminishing factor of one's RP.

While I agree that the duration should be agreed on with the victim, I believe it might be interesting to add a "hint". It risks pushing people to certain numbers, but on the other hand it could avoid a blatant conflict when a victim deems a punishment of days a lot, and the Chapterite was thinking about weeks. What would you consider reasonable?

I don't feel "Verdict of the damned" and "Verdict of the outcast" are very befitting for a Light order. Claiming to be purifying a man, and then turning them to rot.. Hmm.. There are other things one could do.

"Verdict of the Revelation" I think is interesting, but it could place a great challenge on the victim. While I would applaud such things, I have often seen people misunderstand such challenges or struggle with them. Perhaps... To help them on the way you could make a reference to "a clockwork orange" perhaps?
It really challenges the victim... They might need some time to think this punishment through before accepting it.

"Verdict of the Flaggelant" sounds a bit odd to me. It's basically "fight for our side now". What if there is no opponent to fight against?
The requirement of needing a foe might restrict it to events or specific situations. Perhaps this one could be renamed to "Verdict of reformation"?

The others are great, but I was looking at "Verdict of Ritual" and thinking it could perhaps be split.
"Verdict of the Ritual" - A player must do certain rituals, prayers or things on a daily or hourly basis, or feel a holy wrath burn them. "Enforced" religion

"Verdict of the xxx" (I was thinking Flagellant but you already have one)
The player gets a cross chained to their neck, a pain belt, and other religious torture devices attached all over their body (chastity belt woohoo). Perhaps tie one hand to their belt/chest with a spiked chain, that would set itself in the flesh should it be pulled. Basically they have to walk the path of pain to purify themselves.


Either way... These are just thoughts. I think the plan, "AS IS", is great

Good points there JP! Damned and Outcast is indeed a bit too unholy.

This is great!! I love it and I am even more tempted now than before to reroll a ... never mind. >:]

The verdicts are perfect though and just what I thought a fanatic group would use, it's fantastic! I don't think the Verdicts of the Damned and of the Outcast are all that sinister. I remember learning about what Allah does to sinners in Islamic Studies ... hohoho ...

I think this looks great! I am very interested to see if the cultists can come up with a list of spells to torture and maim Chapterians (I never got over the fact one of you called Darnassian heresy, you must all burn!)

Also, I agree that those 'unholy' verdicts should stay.. the Scarlets did gross stuff in the name of the Light, as long as the Chapterians think they are doing such things for good I think it shouldn't have to clash with them being a Light-guild.

Sometimes one also has to accept the realism of the situation.

Which counts for both sides!

It's nice. *can't say more but wanted to let you know that one more person read it and liked it*

I love this. I heavily approved.

I'm no longer scared of being captured by you guys and get the death sentence without wanting to, nor for myself to be let go for no reason.

No matter, back to working with cul-... setting souls free.

Looks good, as long as most of them are for durations agreed upon and not permanent, I don't see why anyone would disagree. Some even create interesting RP opportunities.

As an owner of a Arcane wielding madman.. I give a thumbs up. Death shouldn't be avoided for OOC reasons realistically but we put time and effort into our characters. I think this is a brilliant alternative, I hope you guys won't skimp out on the pyres though!

Cyrdain wrote:As an owner of a Arcane wielding madman.. I give a thumbs up. Death shouldn't be avoided for OOC reasons realistically but we put time and effort into our characters. I think this is a brilliant alternative, I hope you guys won't skimp out on the pyres though!

Skimp on pyres?! Madness and heresy!

*Guinea pig salutes*