Honor
Posted by Apostate on 01/15/20
Q: What is the Arvani concept of honor like? Is it permissible to kill a foe that's trying to surrender and still be seen as honorable?
A: No.
An Arvani Primer to Honor
Honor is a central concept of the lives of the nobility in Arvani society, as well as those charged with acting honorably, such as knights and major public figures. While not every noble heart beats with the purest of intentions, flaunting the conventions of honor marks one as a scoundrel at best, and an oathbreaker at worst. Oathlands Houses and institutions like the Templars are held to the highest standards by the public in this regard, while the Islands tend to value loyalty and practicality over honor, and the Lyceum delights in flirting as close to the edge of dishonor as possible without ever being caught crossing the line. The Crownlands and Northlands tend to be more practically minded than the Oathlands, but recognize that mutual standards of honor are all that allow the Houses to interact without falling into paranoid brutality, and so are careful to not publicly violate them. For commoners, honor in one’s personal dealings is important, but most violations will only have repercussions for their personal circle, where a public breach of honor by a noble House can have consequences for their entire demesne.
What follows isn’t a comprehensive list of acts which are honorable for Compact society, but rather an illustration of honorable behaviors as examples. These are most valuable when they are tested: an honorable woman or man holds to their principles even when those principles may run contrary to efficient action, or risk significant negative consequences, including their own lives or the lives of others. Few individuals hold to this standard perfectly in practice, but being seen to break them in the public eye is dangerous. More, for those who court the favor of the Church or the gods, dishonorable acts that run contrary to the commandments of the gods do not impress.
-An honorable person does not break their sworn word, under any circumstances. Note: the Lyceum mostly handles this by not GIVING their sworn word very often, and it’s considered gauche among the Lycene to insist on a vow in a deal (which is one source of their friction in diplomatic and other dealings with the Oathlands).
-An honorable person respects sacred ground and the persons of priests, and does not seek to spill blood on holy ground or assault the servants of the gods. The concept of Sanctuary is one of the most sacred rites of Arvani culture, and those who break it are subject to arrest, trial, and - unless the Church is feeling exceptionally generous - swift and legal execution. Attacking or killing priests, pilgrims, or disciples in the course of their holy duties is tasteless in the extreme.
-A guest in your home is inviolate. Gild’s guest right is another of the underpinnings of Arvani society, and is the only reason diplomacy between demesnes is even possible. It is considered extremely dishonorable to cause any harm to someone you have formally welcomed into your home, and it is considered cowardly not to protect that guest even from outside threats. If someone abuses their rights as a guest, they can be turned out, but even then, an honorable person would do them no harm, merely send them away.
-An honorable person accepts surrenders and does not strike down those they know are helpless or who cannot fight back. One of Gloria’s strongest tenets is that of honorable warfare, including the acceptance of surrender. Those who surrender may be held captive, tried for any crimes they committed, and punished accordingly after a trial, but pre-empting the trial by killing them right there is considered offensive to Gloria.
-An honorable person engages in fair battle. They face their enemies on the field of glory, and fight with respect for their opponent. Tactics such as poisoning food or water, infecting enemies with plague, or slaughtering noncombatants, are an offense to the gods.
-An honorable person speaks the truth, regardless of the cost to themselves. Getting caught in a public lie - even (or especially) a minor one - is a deep blow to a person’s honor. As a result, nobility who wish to be seen as honorable are very careful about their public statements. Nobles of the Lyceum delight in making truth into a game, twisting it in a thousand ways, but even they consider it humiliating to be caught in an actual lie - you’re expected to be GOOD at lying, in the Lyceum.
Further, much of the public perception of someone's worth is precisely based around honor, in how valuable their word is and their degree of integrity. Concepts of purity are entirely related to someone's fidelity to their principles and never coming close to acting against the spirit of their sworn word or any of their implicit obligations. Similarly, honor effects how they hold obligations that might not be clearly defined and more understood (see 'lore expectations' and principle lore files for each house, such as 'lore thrax principles'). As examples:
-An honorable person respects his or her liege, and does not order his or her vassal to undertake any action that would stain their own honor. To (publicly) submit to the head of your house or your liege’s orders, even when they are not in your interests, is considered deeply honorable. Disagreements happen behind closed doors, not in public proclamations. The flip side of that is that lieges are expected not to order or encourage their vassals or family members into actions that would insult them or stain their honor.
-An honorable person does not abide slights on their personal honor, and they address such slights with speed and appropriate action. If a noble is insulted by another noble, the most honorable thing to do is to issue a public challenge, using Champions. If a noble is challenged by another noble, the honorable action is either apologize for the slight (if they can do so without calling themselves out as a liar), or accept the challenge with a Champion of their own. It does not matter how petty the slight or insult - an honorable person defends their honor in public. That said, the honor of both challenger and challenged is upheld by the duel, no matter who wins, as long as neither continue the conflict afterwards. A noble may decline a challenge from a commoner, but declining a challenge from another noble is a grave insult to that noble’s honor.
These are examples of honorable conduct, although they are not comprehensive. Arvani society does not consider them up for debate or rules-lawyering: there is no ‘but what if…’ exceptions to honorable behavior. It is very difficult for a character to continuously behave in accordance with honorable expectations, and being honorable ALL the time may not be sustainable. But when a dishonorable act is committed and known, there are no “buts” about it, and society at large does not care what your reasoning or intent was, only what the action was. Publicly defending dishonorable behavior is likewise gauche and inappropriate, regardless of what or why; it tars the defender with the same brush.
A: No.
An Arvani Primer to Honor
Honor is a central concept of the lives of the nobility in Arvani society, as well as those charged with acting honorably, such as knights and major public figures. While not every noble heart beats with the purest of intentions, flaunting the conventions of honor marks one as a scoundrel at best, and an oathbreaker at worst. Oathlands Houses and institutions like the Templars are held to the highest standards by the public in this regard, while the Islands tend to value loyalty and practicality over honor, and the Lyceum delights in flirting as close to the edge of dishonor as possible without ever being caught crossing the line. The Crownlands and Northlands tend to be more practically minded than the Oathlands, but recognize that mutual standards of honor are all that allow the Houses to interact without falling into paranoid brutality, and so are careful to not publicly violate them. For commoners, honor in one’s personal dealings is important, but most violations will only have repercussions for their personal circle, where a public breach of honor by a noble House can have consequences for their entire demesne.
What follows isn’t a comprehensive list of acts which are honorable for Compact society, but rather an illustration of honorable behaviors as examples. These are most valuable when they are tested: an honorable woman or man holds to their principles even when those principles may run contrary to efficient action, or risk significant negative consequences, including their own lives or the lives of others. Few individuals hold to this standard perfectly in practice, but being seen to break them in the public eye is dangerous. More, for those who court the favor of the Church or the gods, dishonorable acts that run contrary to the commandments of the gods do not impress.
-An honorable person does not break their sworn word, under any circumstances. Note: the Lyceum mostly handles this by not GIVING their sworn word very often, and it’s considered gauche among the Lycene to insist on a vow in a deal (which is one source of their friction in diplomatic and other dealings with the Oathlands).
-An honorable person respects sacred ground and the persons of priests, and does not seek to spill blood on holy ground or assault the servants of the gods. The concept of Sanctuary is one of the most sacred rites of Arvani culture, and those who break it are subject to arrest, trial, and - unless the Church is feeling exceptionally generous - swift and legal execution. Attacking or killing priests, pilgrims, or disciples in the course of their holy duties is tasteless in the extreme.
-A guest in your home is inviolate. Gild’s guest right is another of the underpinnings of Arvani society, and is the only reason diplomacy between demesnes is even possible. It is considered extremely dishonorable to cause any harm to someone you have formally welcomed into your home, and it is considered cowardly not to protect that guest even from outside threats. If someone abuses their rights as a guest, they can be turned out, but even then, an honorable person would do them no harm, merely send them away.
-An honorable person accepts surrenders and does not strike down those they know are helpless or who cannot fight back. One of Gloria’s strongest tenets is that of honorable warfare, including the acceptance of surrender. Those who surrender may be held captive, tried for any crimes they committed, and punished accordingly after a trial, but pre-empting the trial by killing them right there is considered offensive to Gloria.
-An honorable person engages in fair battle. They face their enemies on the field of glory, and fight with respect for their opponent. Tactics such as poisoning food or water, infecting enemies with plague, or slaughtering noncombatants, are an offense to the gods.
-An honorable person speaks the truth, regardless of the cost to themselves. Getting caught in a public lie - even (or especially) a minor one - is a deep blow to a person’s honor. As a result, nobility who wish to be seen as honorable are very careful about their public statements. Nobles of the Lyceum delight in making truth into a game, twisting it in a thousand ways, but even they consider it humiliating to be caught in an actual lie - you’re expected to be GOOD at lying, in the Lyceum.
Further, much of the public perception of someone's worth is precisely based around honor, in how valuable their word is and their degree of integrity. Concepts of purity are entirely related to someone's fidelity to their principles and never coming close to acting against the spirit of their sworn word or any of their implicit obligations. Similarly, honor effects how they hold obligations that might not be clearly defined and more understood (see 'lore expectations' and principle lore files for each house, such as 'lore thrax principles'). As examples:
-An honorable person respects his or her liege, and does not order his or her vassal to undertake any action that would stain their own honor. To (publicly) submit to the head of your house or your liege’s orders, even when they are not in your interests, is considered deeply honorable. Disagreements happen behind closed doors, not in public proclamations. The flip side of that is that lieges are expected not to order or encourage their vassals or family members into actions that would insult them or stain their honor.
-An honorable person does not abide slights on their personal honor, and they address such slights with speed and appropriate action. If a noble is insulted by another noble, the most honorable thing to do is to issue a public challenge, using Champions. If a noble is challenged by another noble, the honorable action is either apologize for the slight (if they can do so without calling themselves out as a liar), or accept the challenge with a Champion of their own. It does not matter how petty the slight or insult - an honorable person defends their honor in public. That said, the honor of both challenger and challenged is upheld by the duel, no matter who wins, as long as neither continue the conflict afterwards. A noble may decline a challenge from a commoner, but declining a challenge from another noble is a grave insult to that noble’s honor.
These are examples of honorable conduct, although they are not comprehensive. Arvani society does not consider them up for debate or rules-lawyering: there is no ‘but what if…’ exceptions to honorable behavior. It is very difficult for a character to continuously behave in accordance with honorable expectations, and being honorable ALL the time may not be sustainable. But when a dishonorable act is committed and known, there are no “buts” about it, and society at large does not care what your reasoning or intent was, only what the action was. Publicly defending dishonorable behavior is likewise gauche and inappropriate, regardless of what or why; it tars the defender with the same brush.