Shattered Kingdoms

This is not a QQ, I am seriously curious as to the reasons Hellions have the Code, and then also are granted the ability to sneak, hide, and invis?

Again, I don't think it should be taken, I am just curious as to the reasoning behind it.

Something like this: A hellion does not hide. He or she has been blessed by the Gods to blend in with the surroundings naturally. It is his or her enemies' weakness that they are do not possess proper eye sight to witness their magnificence where they stand.

How pompous.

Yep, sounds right to me.

The way I see it is the aberrant would have a "letter of the law" code to some extent with hellions being more restricted but with plenty of outs.

Sargasian Knight tells you 'You will die by my sword before the new moon.' Now you've been officially challenged and warned. Keep your detects up, never sleep, look around every corner. That hellion will be there sooner or later, vis or not, to keep the promise. In the meantime, your paranoia will prove the hellion's intimidation factor.

There was a time when I ran HF Ain priest with no Ain knight. I required an Ain squire to fight to the death with a paladin knight in order to gain knighthood. I then scolded him for using the duelist guild rules because "who are they to set rules for us?"

Understand I honestly believe paladins should uphold the spirit of the code and hellions should uphold the letter of the code. It's for this reason I believe hellions are more permitted stealth than paladins. As a caveat, I believe any elf pal should be able to use sneak at will. The gods gave elves the ability to sneak so the elf pal should be expected to use the gods' given ability.

Hellions are the best and most able assassins.
They possess the most ultimate skills to end -anyone-, either by brute force or sneaky tactics.

Their alignment restriction is what keeps them in line and actually make the class playable by a PC.

I agree that their alignment restriction has/should play the most important role on how they are played. If I were an imm watching down, I would be extremely furious if a hellion would abuse his skills and start acting diabolically, slaying anything without discrimination. A hellion is a knight, a knight with distorted values (aberrant) but still a knight. He has to act like one. Even if he uses his skill to hide in the shadows, it will be only to find out information that he seeks for his holy wars (IE: info about his enemies) or performing an attack from the shadows if it's a matter of vengeance against honor or his Deity.

I guess I have hellions in my head partly like dark avengers, where the shadows are not being used like a rogue would use them, but more like a "ninja" in an holy mission. I also think that it would be somewhat related to their faith. I can see a hellion of Fear/Vengeance or a hellion of Order/Punishment to use the shadows more often than a bold hellion of War.

Don't put your stupid ideas in my mouth, B!

I agree absolutely. A hellion should wear the Code in the same way most politicians wear morality, as little more than a mantle of convenience and respectibility.



Agree. I think the "spirit" of the Vow vs the "letter" of the Code describes the difference in position admirably.



Perhaps. Though I remember a young elven paladin Lorias being sternly chastised by his human mentor Seydon for sneaking and creeping about like a hellion. He hadn't even considered the matter until then, but from that point on for the rest of his days made a conscious point of walking with a heavy tread so that his intentions couldn't be mistakenly misread as dishonourably skulking.

I do remember it being a pain in the arse having to continually remember to "unsneak" though; in later years it became something of a game on the part of his high priest Tumrall to catch him regressing and scold him for his inattention

wtf is the problem with sneak on an elf paladin? You're going to have to end up making your intent of hostilities before you gang rape newbs anyway.