"If I could have an entire regiment of cannons or one of those lads; I'd take the one, and have no need of the many" - Roman Vargus, Renowned Hylian Commander The organization known as "The Ordinance" has no official name, and it's unofficial one comes from it's legendary efficiency, and in part from it's creation. It is an extremely old and mysterious organization; few know of it's existence, far fewer actually believe in it and perhaps only those within it have any reliable knowledge of it. As such, it's numbers, safe houses, targets and identities of those within are entirely unknown to all but the king of Hyrule himself. The Ordinance is made up entirely of men and women sentenced to death, but have shown too much skill and loyalty to the royal family to simply hang. As such, most of it's members are the most vicious cut-throats and murders alive (Although thankfully most operate alone), able to take life in an instant and without a thought. These ones are given the freedom to die at the hands of the enemies of Hyrule rather than it's executioners; in the form of various contracts and missions that even the bravest of soldiers would second guess. Requirements for entry: - Must be extremely skilled in at least one form of combat or offensive magic (and at least 4 in a PWC stat relating to their chosen style.) - Must have been tried and sentenced to death - Must have requested a death from Hyrule's enemies - Must be undoubtedly loyal to Hyrule's royal family - (as a side note, it is optional to post that a character is a member of The Ordinance in this thread or anywhere in HC, part of it's point is the intrigue in discovering that one is a member) Should someone (or even a group) meet all these requirements a mysterious agent will appear at the execution and claim that the accused is to be executed elsewhere. In truth, they are inducted into the organization's ranks. For this they are unconscious, and when they awake they seem to have regained a tooth (or have one surprising loose if they had all of them) which is actually a shaped and coated poison pill, designed to kill quickly and reliably. Their "savior" is also nearby, and acts as the member's handler from then on; providing missions and possibly equipment to the agent. To these hardy, fierce men, there are only three crimes: -Disloyalty: Refusing to complete a mission or acting against the royal family -Failure: Failing a mission -Spreading word of the organization: Simply speaking about the organization to anyone save their handler Doing any of these results in death for the offending agent, often by other agents of the same handler. Although, in the same way the handlers are given the freedom to investigate and act outside of Hyrule's laws, most the agents may also, as few handlers care about petty things such as theft and murder so long as the agent doesn't commit any of the three. Although by the same token, an agent caught by the more recognizable authorities can expect no help from his or another handler, even if they once again request a death by the enemy. The Ordinance is in truth an ancient organization, formed when a convicted criminal, having already been lead up the gallows and wore a noose around his neck, shouted a warning to the king that a royal guard was about to take his life. A warning that ended with a sickening snap. A warning that allowed his other guards to subdue and kill the traitor, thus saving the king. The monarch was taken aback by this; a known criminal had spent his precious last moments saving a man by whose power he was dying, while a royal guard, chosen mainly for their unwavering loyalty, had attempted regicide. In the end, he order a full funeral for the criminal and a pardon to be included in the man's casket, and began drawing the plans for an organization made up of the most skilled and loyal criminals, ones deserving of death more meaningful and glorious than the end of a looped rope, secretly mending laws so that technically such an action would be legal. And thus, "The Ordinance" was born. ______________________________________________
It's hard to wrap my head around the terms "criminal" and "loyal to the crown," but it's a cool idea, Raz. Have fun!
More like a "Desperate last chance for redemption" and "Who dun it?" in equal measure, the goal is to create tense scenarios of PC-to-PC mystery and conflict (which, for better or worse, we thoroughly lack); and give reason for why the various authorities failed to notice or apprehend some obviously and criminally psychotic characters. It also gives a chance for characters to be evil, but still undoubtedly loyal to the throne (so even if a character is known to be evil, it leave options other than Ganon-worshipper and narcissistic; and thus may even have some characters second-guess killing them).
