[Torg] Dark Heroes and Noble Villains (Core Earth World Laws 12)

[Jones Jasyn]

An additional sidebar.

Dark Heroes and Noble Villains

The definitions of “hero” and “villain” are fairly extreme and seemingly one sided. If proscriptive, they could render any character into a one-dimensional caricature. This is not the intent of the World Law. No hero need match every one of the listed characteristics, similarly no villain need embody all of their description. What matters, in both cases, in what they choose to do.

Villains pursue their own goals, at the expense of others, even innocent others. Heroes choose to place themselves in danger, to protect others. Villains can be noble and heroes can be arrogant, alcoholic, selfish, racist, or ruthless. When it come down to making a choice, heroes choose to aid others. Villains choose to aid themselves.

An example of a noble villain is Gen. Francis X. Hummel, from The Rock. His plot—to steal 20 VX gas rockets and threaten San Francisco—is a classic Threat of Villainy. That he had no intention of murdering civilians, is irrelevant: he placed innocent others in danger, to achieve his goals. When pressed, he acquiesced in the execution of the SEALS. He threatened—with apparent sincerity—to kill a civilian, in order to get the guidance chips back. That his goals may have been noble (to see his fallen soldiers honored and their families recompensed) is irrelevant: he was committed to his ends over all other considerations, and risked the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents to achieve his goal.

At the end, when pressured to make good on his threats, he turned away from becoming a mass murderer. Betrayed by his subordinates and shot, he sought to rectify his error and undo the damage he caused. In that moment, he turned away from villainy and was redeemed.

The redemption of a villain is always a possibility, perhaps more so in Core Earth than any other reality. Giving the villain a chance to recant and atone is an act of nobility and heroism. When facing a noble, and perhaps penitent, villain the use of Persuasion and Charm might be advised. Gamemasters might consider allowing this, even if the original module didn’t call for it. After all, noble villains have less-than-noble henchmen or lieutenants (as Hummel did) who can step into his shoes.
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Jasyn Jones
jasynj (at) gmail (dot) com

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson

Check out my Torg webpage, Storm Knights:
web.me.com/stormknights/