|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
In Pathfinder Order of the Pike were monster hunters, there's no reason to believe that this hasn't carried over to Starfinder. If we just go based on what they were in Pathfinder with possibly some allowances for Starfinder space stuff.
The seven major orders:
The Order of the Chain - Bounty Hunters
The Order of the Eclipse - New, Currently Unknown
The Order of the Furnace - New, Currently Unknown
The Order of the Gate - Summoning and Dealing with Fiends
The Order of the Nail - Uplifting Savage People
The Order of the Pike - Monster Hunting
The Order of the Scourge - Root out Corruption
So let me get this straight. The Order of the Nail handles first contact situations? That seems stupid. I wonder if there is going to be a starfinder scenario where the PCs get into a first contact situation.
|
|
So let me get this straight. The Order of the Nail handles first contact situations? That seems stupid. I wonder if there is going to be a starfinder scenario where the PCs get into a first contact situation.
There's already three sfs scenarios (two arguably are second contact but effectively first for different reasons) and at least one part of the first AP that involve first contact. And you could theoretical argue a fourth sfs scenario is first contact but it's with a known race in a weird location where they don't know about space travel.
So let me get this straight. The Order of the Nail handles first contact situations?
For some definition of "handles." They'd be the kind of people who roust "savages" on Castrovel to make way for corporate mining projects.
Hellknights have a serious branding problem. They should maybe reconsider putting the word "hell" right there in their name.
I thought the point was they were literally emulating and enacting Hell's idea of Lawful order. Trying to "reclaim" a nickname sounds sort of better but there's also the part where attempts to reclaim words rarely work and people who think "taking a derisive nickname and turning it into a badge of honor" is a thing often turn out to deserve the derisive nickname. On balance if they hired me to advise on branding, I'd still say drop the Hell.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Suddenly the company's tactics in Avatar make a lot more sense. They hired Order of the Nail to do security.
|
I thought the point was they were literally emulating and enacting Hell's idea of Lawful order. Trying to "reclaim" a nickname sounds sort of better but there's also the part where attempts to reclaim words rarely work and people who think "taking a derisive nickname and turning it into a badge of honor" is a thing often turn out to deserve the derisive nickname. On balance if they hired me to advise on branding, I'd still say drop the Hell.
In actuality, Hellknights think they're BETTER than Hell, because they seek pure order uninfluenced by both soft-heartedness and cruelty. In order to become a full Hellknight, the pre-Gap orders required you to beat a bearded devil in single combat to prove you've resisted their temptations.
In practice, though, this discipline does waver, especially with the Order of the Gate. Since they spend so much time summoning and hanging around devils, devils have more opportunities to influence them.
I would guess that the Order of the Furnace is probably the Order of the Pyre renamed to reference more modern technology.
I have no clue about the Order of the Eclipse.
CRB does mention that while there are seven major orders, with the Furnace being one of them, there are also an unspecified number of lesser orders in operation. Could be that the modern order of the Pyre has been reduced to a lesser order and that the Furnace has a completely different purpose.
Well, maybe they should do a sourcebook on the Hellknights.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
I think at least one of the orders should be dedicated to propaganda. We were talking about it on the discord earlier today and came to the consensus that there needs to be a Hellknights cartoon series for kids and Hellknights Action Figures, toys, and games.
Which order will be dedicated to propaganda? And can we have the cartoon be produced by someone else besides cartoon network?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'm thinking Order of the Eclipse, because the idea of a production house logo of just a black dot surrounded by a corona of bright orange and gold sounds spot on for a media outlet. It's also a good metaphor for the 'light of law' outshining the darkness, which seems a solid basis for a corporate branding strategy for the organization as a whole. I imagine that most of the knights from this order walk around in Stationwear fashioned as professional attire for lawyers and brand managers.
If I were them, I'd probably have my own network(s) to do the distribution through.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
We could also add in radio broadcasts and the commercials. If there's going to be an order we dedicate to propaganda we may as well go all out, right down to even having a "Hellknight!" magazine dedicated to extolling the exploits of the Hellknights in their endless quest to enforce order. Hell you could add a Hellknight Trading Card Game if you want to really go down the rabbit hole.
furiously taking notes
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
They probably also market things like security systems and anti-virus applications that also secretly track your movements and/or infosphere behavior, which they use for targeted ad sales to other corporations.
|
"Check out the Hellknight twin stick shooter, only on the PS12 this summer!"I'm totally imagining this as TF2 with fewer hats and a substantial PvE mode:
Chain would be Scout or Sniper, Scourge or Rack would be Spy, Nail or possibly Furnace would be Engineer, Pike would be Heavy or Demoman. If Godclaw's still around it's likely to find itself in the healer role, while the arcane-heavier Gate could map to Pyro.
After a certain scenario, I’m thinking the pyro would by order of the Pyre. VERY order of the pyre.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
They probably also market things like security systems and anti-virus applications that also secretly track your movements and/or infosphere behavior, which they use for targeted ad sales to other corporations.
So the Hellknights are also Google. Fantastic.
They probably make a browser as well then.
I think we need to move this all to the Homebrew section soon. We're getting down a rabbit hole at this point and it's rapidly turning dystopian on us.
Actually this gives me an idea for an adventure where the Players are either Hellknighs who work in the cyber security division. Or they get themselves pulled into a virtual conflict with the Hellknights and take actions both in the infosphere, and using the information they derive from the Hellknights to fight them
I was thinking Facebook. Google has that 'don't be evil' motto. Though, now that I think about it, wouldn't an organization run by Asmodeus also have 'don't be Evil' in their brand strategy?
At this point, though, I'm mostly hoping someone steals my idea for the (eventual) villains book.
Google's real motto: Don't be Evil . . . unless it's profitable.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think we need to move this all to the Homebrew section soon. We're getting down a rabbit hole at this point and it's rapidly turning dystopian on us.
Although arguably any setting that treats Hellknights as normal is already dystopian. The ideas here are really just logical extensions of what they could get away with in such a setting.
I was thinking Facebook. Google has that 'don't be evil' motto. Though, now that I think about it, wouldn't an organization run by Asmodeus also have 'don't be Evil' in their brand strategy?
At this point, though, I'm mostly hoping someone steals my idea for the (eventual) villains book.
Could be. People tend to confuse evil for good in the real world.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd be too tempted to turn it into a caricature of some real media personality that I disagree with or think is whackadoodle.
Though, now that you mention it, that probably would be fun.
I love the Idea of some Hellknight masked hero figure in the propaganda. Like a Captain Justice! His catch phrase would be something like: "There is no price for Law!!" haha.
But to get back to OP's question, It seems the Hellknights have different sub groups that can be used in any context. For exmple, a group defending a specific order of government or an association.. or simply dissmantling a group of protesters or any sort of Anarchist order.
Could be. People tend to confuse evil for good in the real world.I was thinking Facebook. Google has that 'don't be evil' motto. Though, now that I think about it, wouldn't an organization run by Asmodeus also have 'don't be Evil' in their brand strategy?
At this point, though, I'm mostly hoping someone steals my idea for the (eventual) villains book.
And they really have trouble with Law vs Chaos . . . .