I'm trying to find a backstory for a character I'm making and I'm wondering if there would be any big consequences of deserting as a soldier if the character is not going to go back to his homeland.
In my case it would be a soldier deserting Mendev cause he doesn't want to keep messing with demons. I guess the most logic place to go would be the river kingdoms.
If I stay out of Mendev, would they chase me out of their borders?
If I ever go back, would they bother to execute my character for that?
I know it might depends on the GM, but what would you say for your games?
They're Lawful Good in Mendev, right?
They'd just judge you heavily. I don't think they'd ever execute you or pursue you, after all it's more worthwhile to spend their efforts fighting demons.
Lawful characters specifically judge others who fall short of their duties. You will be heavily shunned, but as a good organization, that will be about all they do. I'd expect your character to have a low self-esteem, and feelings of great shame. (If you want)
Mendez has a weak central government. Even the Queen's Law does not extend beyond her city. If your character worships Iomedie, that connection will likely be soured, but barring your character being a divine class, it shouldn't be a game-breaker, as long as you go for a lot of existential angst. If you worship a non-lawful god, then it is even lass of a problem. Assuming you aren't starting the character at a level memorable to your campaign, you are unlikely to even have to worry much about running into people who even remember you. If you WANT that, then you should be able to work out a betrayal story about leaving your formal comrades in the lurch.
Remember that Mercenaries now outnumber Crusaders at the Worldwound. If you are looking to have problems, deserting a large established mercenary company would have further reaching mundane consequences, especially if you also betrayed or stole from them. Crusaders are mostly kept in line via Faith. Mercenaries are kept in line by Consequences.
Thank you MageHunter , Daw , this is what I hoped to read. I don't want the backstory to influence too much the gameplay. So I won't have to worry about the backstory everytime I go in a city.
We always start lvl 1, so even if I go back to Mendev at some point, there is little chance that someone recognize me.
MageHunter:"I'd expect your character to have a low self-esteem, and feelings of great shame."
Yes, that's a great characteristic to add. The low esteem would also justify a low charisma score for a fighter.
Also, I was wondering. Are there normal soldiers in Mendev or all of them are considered "Crusaders"?
They're Lawful Good in Mendev, right?
They'd just judge you heavily. I don't think they'd ever execute you or pursue you, after all it's more worthwhile to spend their efforts fighting demons.
Lawful characters specifically judge others who fall short of their duties. You will be heavily shunned, but as a good organization, that will be about all they do. I'd expect your character to have a low self-esteem, and feelings of great shame. (If you want)
In many war time situations, what you'd have would be a drumhead court. So said for the practice of the commanding officer sitting on an up-ended drum and delivering summary justice. This would be perfectly okay even in a Lawful Good nation in a situation where delivering criminals to cities for judgement simply isn't practical, and/or military commanders were given the right to render judgement on their own troops for practicalities sake. One should remember that many of the rights and protections given the accused are a modern invention.
Most likely the penalty would be execution on the spot. Now on the other hand, being as stretched as they were, it would not be practical to scour the country or the continent for you, so you'd be fairly safe as long as you got the hell out of Dodge.
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Mendev may be lawful good but I've always got the impression they lean toward the lawful more than the good.
Execution on sight is the most likely result. There might be some kind of trial but assuming you're found guilty execution will be the sentence. Maybe if you were some kind of amazing war hero banishment might be possible.
I also think execution would be the most likely to happen, but like Daw mentioned, Mendev has a weak central government. As I start lvl 1 and leave at the same lvl, if I go back my chances to go through a city in Mendev unnoticed are very high I guess.
I don't intend to go back to Mendev anyway, we are not doing a Worldwound campaign. I was more worried about consequences outside of the border, if I would be hunted for the deserting. Apparently, I won't be, according to MageHunter and Daw.
Deserting would be considered pretty serious to the army you were a part of. You were supposed to be there, they counted on you being there, and you left all your allies to die. wherever you go you would be labeled a coward and liar, completely untrustworthy in all things.
On the other hand... the army there is now short handed and probably wouldn't bother chasing a lowly level one coward/liar across the world or anything. They may have a standing bounty out for any bounty hunters who come across a deserter that they'll pay for your return... but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.
If you went back you probably WOULD be executed or imprisoned... but with wars going on, they probably wouldn't consider you worth imprisoning.
Should your character leave there, move to Cheliax or Absalom, never mention his past and start his life over... I'm sure he'd be just fine. But if he's bragging about how he ditched his regiment that's not the kind of thing that most people would applaud. After all, if he bailed on THAT group when things got tough... why would they believe you won't turn tail the first demon you see with THIS group. Why would any employer believe you'll finish HIS job?
It could be a fun backstory and I would hope it wouldn't just be a throw away line the first night and never dealt with again.
Just out of curiosity, what alignment is this character? I personally think it sounds like Neutral Good if they originally wanted to help people, or True Neutral if they didn't.
Desertion is a serious crime, through much of history the punishment was death. Do you have to be a deserter? Could you be a mercenary who served out their contract? Maybe you had a one year contract that has been paid out and explains your starting money?
Desertion is a serious crime, through much of history the punishment was death. Do you have to be a deserter? Could you be a mercenary who served out their contract? Maybe you had a one year contract that has been paid out and explains your starting money?
Why are you trying to impose on what this guy wants to play? If he wants to tell the story of a deserter, don't dip in his Kool-Aid.
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Yes, being a mercenary would be a nice alternative, Combat Monster . For now I will stick with the deserter, it seems we concluded that it was viable. If my GM says I have a bounty, I'll just wear a full face helmet most of the time.
MageHunter, yes, I'm going for neutral-good. It started lawful-good, but after writing about the deserting, the lawful part didn't make much sense anymore :p
If Mendev is indeed short-handed, an alternative for recovered deserters might be a Penal Battalion. Now, if you deserted from that, then certainly execution.
In the case of the ancient Romans, desertion could be classified as positive or negative desertion –that is, emansio and desertio, respectively. The emansor was the soldier who voluntarily deserted but was not subsequently caught, while the desertor was the soldier who also voluntarily left the Roman Army but was afterwards arrested.
For cases of long-protracted desertion —that is, where it is not possible to assess the desire to return, which is proper of the emansor— Roman law applied deportation instead of death, a penalty that otherwise was exclusively reserved for pagans and involved the deprivation of Roman citizenship.
Source = Desertion in Roman Law
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Regarding the question of LG vs NG, remember that your desertion was a one time event. Context matters.
According to your backstory, it may very well make sense that you were NG, got embroiled in Mendev's military efforts, found yourself second guessing your decision to enlist, and deserted at the first available opportunity.
Or you may have been LG, eagerly joined Mendev's military efforts, then were convinced, whether through simple deceit or magical effect, that staying would not only doom you but the rest of your squad, and so you left in an attempt to avoid harming your comrades. In this scenario, you would still have a price on your head and would likely be feeling conflicted, but you would ultimately have a "better" reason for your actions which may in turn allow you to get the charges dropped.
*shrug* People of all different sorts of backgrounds and impulses can wind up in the exact same circumstance, sometimes intentionally and sometimes quite the opposite. I wouldn't presume that your path to desertion necessitates a particular world view.
In the case of the ancient Romans, desertion could be classified as positive or negative desertion –that is, emansio and desertio, respectively. The emansor was the soldier who voluntarily deserted but was not subsequently caught, while the desertor was the soldier who also voluntarily left the Roman Army but was afterwards arrested.
A better phrasing is that the emansor was the soldier who voluntarily deserted and voluntarily returned [or was planning to return]. For example (these are explicit examples from Roman law), a soldier who deserted to track down a runaway slave, or who left to visit beloved relatives, would typically be pardoned on return.
If my father, the head of my family and of the household, was on his deathbed, filial piety imposed a religious duty for me to return and at least pay my final respects. It would be an imprudent Roman commander indeed who suggested that his orders should trump the will of the Gods.
Yes, being a mercenary would be a nice alternative, Combat Monster . For now I will stick with the deserter, it seems we concluded that it was viable. If my GM says I have a bounty, I'll just wear a full face helmet most of the time.
MageHunter, yes, I'm going for neutral-good. It started lawful-good, but after writing about the deserting, the lawful part didn't make much sense anymore :p
Upon reflection I doubt there would be any legal consequences if you returned. It seems doubtful to me that there would be much in the way of record keeping when there are so many foreigner mercenaries joining the cause (and deserting once they realise the enormity of what they face). The native Mendevians would be desperate for any help they could get, if someone returned to fight the good fight all would be forgiven. What I am getting at is you could play someone with the guilt of a deserter without the legal consequences.
I believe in Honors Echo this was explored.
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Although you would likely not have any official response from Mendev, it might be an interesting story arc to have members of your battalion or an old friend try to hunt you down to exact "justice" for your betrayal - especially if you were from somewhere like Kenabres which has a highly-militant and more Lawful than Good governing body.
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I think the draw of the character is the inner turmoil, not any heavy handed, and frankly, trite, GM driven punishment. He cannot force himself to abandon his new compatriots even though they are fools and murderers dragging him down. He cannot abandon the village to the horde.
This is a great chance to tell a story of a flawed character redeeming himself.
This is a true thing, Mark. Hopefully the OP and the GM will be on the same page. It is good to warn him of potential pitfalls. Since the character is getting no actual benefits from the background, heavy handed response seems a bit unwarranted.
As far as consequences, death has often been one of them. Technically, 'in times of war', you can get the death penalty today if you desert from the US armed forces (although apparently it's not often applied). All this hinges on how bad the army you bailed on wants to find you, of course. And how forgiving they are. And possibly the circumstances of your enlistment (Andoran and the River Kingdoms might look on harbouring a fugitive draftee more favourably, perhaps?).
Of course, again, I wouldn't think they'd move too much in running you down. And yes, advising the GM is good in case there's potential conflict or campaign derailment.