Gemmed magickers, society, and YOU!

[valeria]

I've just done some catching up in this thread so this may be a little belated, but.... I feel like "templars" these types of discussions are often painted as a cohesive group, but that's a mischaracterization.  They're actually they're as variable as characters as any other group of people.  So I tend to think saying templars do X or templars should do X is simply too broad.  Some templars might be all for letting you hire gemmed (whether bribed or not), and others might not.

I'd also point out that, to a templar, hiring a mage for a brief and limited task might be one thing, and trying to/looking like you're trying to buy its loyalty might be quite another.

[Eyeball]

In general magick is the purview of the templarate; the nobility have no want or need of it in their personal lives. They are very content to let the templarate handle the dirty business of controlling the gemmed, and would prefer to keep the mages at arms' length and pretend they didn't exist or have anything to do with the day to day running of the city. Water and protection come from the Highlord and his templars.

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "I would like to remind the members of this esteemed body that the comforts and public services provided to all of the citizens by the City Ministry, as with all things, have a cost."

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "The City Ministry takes full advantage of the abilities of elementalists, whenever possible, to minimize costs."

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "To cast aside these elementalist resources would require the City Ministry to procure suitable replacements."

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "Replacements which would come at a significantly higher cost."

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "Clearly, the City Ministry budget would require additional funds to keep his Highlord's city maintained at the same levels he has decreed for it."

In the amphitheater below, the pot-bellied, black-robed templar says:
    "I would be remiss in my fiduciary duty to his Highlord if I didn't introduce a measure to reallocate funds to the City Ministry budget from House stipends.

I'd expect nobles to be quite aware of how much they and the city owe to the gemmed, nevertheless, even if the general populace is not.

[Rahnevyn]

Precisely why I used the words 'prefer' and 'pretend', Eyeball. I actually had that very log in mind when I wrote that.

(edit: so as not to derail, if anyone would like to discuss that particular scene in more depth, let me plug the discussion thread: http://gdb.armageddon.org/index.php/topic,47505.0.html)

[Ouroboros]

I've just done some catching up in this thread so this may be a little belated, but.... I feel like "templars" these types of discussions are often painted as a cohesive group, but that's a mischaracterization.  They're actually they're as variable as characters as any other group of people.  So I tend to think saying templars do X or templars should do X is simply too broad.  Some templars might be all for letting you hire gemmed (whether bribed or not), and others might not.

I'd also point out that, to a templar, hiring a mage for a brief and limited task might be one thing, and trying to/looking like you're trying to buy its loyalty might be quite another.

The part of templars in the discussion was broad intentionally, at least on my end, because I was looking to have the letter of the law clarified. I agree not every Templar is cut from the same cloth, just like every gemmed isn't, and every character in general isn't. However, from the moment the hiring of gemmed by third parties isn't outlawed and is "only" social taboo, what a Templar chooses or chooses not to do is strictly them acting on their own. No different then a Templar deciding to fine you for wearing green on a given day. You can't argue it either way (in most cases), but at least both you and the Templar are aware that he or she is flexing muscle as opposed to upholding the law. And since no one would actually be breaking the law, I would hope a Templar would simply be out for a bribe and not for blood.

As far as loyalty is concerned though, I don't think that's come into question in the discussion. Anyone looking to hire gemmed should fully realize their first loyalty is to the city-state they serve, it's as plain as the gem around their neck. That doesn't even seem like something a Templar would need to question actually, unless we're talking about personal loyalty. Like a Templar being pissy over a gemmed being more loyal to another Templar over them. That's a different matter though, and outside the scope of the discussion.

[Zoan]

I love being gemmers and mages. They're all-round fun for me and I play them more than I play anything else, because I enjoy what they bring to MY Armageddon experience (just like lots of people love playing mundanes).

I do not so much enjoy sitting in a designated alone-place all the time because I have a gem, and thus everyone shudders when they see me and ignore me from there on. I mean, I DO like it, but at the same time I don't. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I love being a social pariah, but don't like the literal boredom that comes from it.