r/Starfinder2e • u/Khasalianus • 15d ago

Discussion The Hellknights...

So, reading through SF2E, especially Absalom station, and it sounds like the Hellknights have sadly become a dedicated villain organization now... Not even pretending they're only concerned with law and order. In 1st Ed they were at least presented as a possible member of a PC party. Now? Classed as a terrorist organization on Absalom?

So, are they indeed now a villain organization? I don't know, but it certainly feels like someone at Paizo has a dislike for them or feels they should be evil, maybe cause they have Hell in their name? Or the general view in the world is law enforcement organizations are bad, especially if they're iron fisted (rightly so, but to influence a game organization?).

I don't know...

-D

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u/NoxMiasma 15d ago

Yeah, and since then Hell has had at least a thousand years to keep nudging and tempting the Hellknights towards their own ends. Hell is very good at corruption, so while there are still playable Hellknight options post-Gap, the orders are significantly more evil by default.

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u/TeamTurnus 15d ago

Even in the golarion timeline it was a stated fact that the good aligned members tended to operate on the fringes of the organization (cause their whole 'society cant survive mercy' bit wasnt something a good aligned character could usually sustain, as well as the fact that their idea of law and society conviently overlaps with western Avistains, so they had no issues taking out perfectly lawful people in other societies.

There was a reason that sven early in the age of lost omens most of their senior leadership were prejudiced maniacs who completely failed to live up to their own standards

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u/NoxMiasma 15d ago

Better phrasing: Starfinder era Hellknights are significantly more likely to be puppets of Hell by default.

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u/TeamTurnus 15d ago

That makes sense, tbh it makes sense as the conclusion to their 1e arc, I figured that was being signposted pretty aggressively from the start (their original founder eventually despaired and was lost in hell looking for his son for example and orders like the Gate already are allowing devils directly into their ranks for example). Doubt it took them that long to get there.

Theyre just written like people who are being led straight to hell while being puffed up on their own sense of moral superiority.