Essence and Absolution Points

Inspired by our roleplays of the past, we are now going to be introducing the Essence and Absolution system. Regularly, characters will be presented with choices on the server. These choices are typically neither 'good' nor 'evil' but instead should be compared as 'moral' and 'efficient'. While it may be 'moral' to allow these natives to continue to live on their planet, it would be more efficient if the Commonwealth, instead of attempting to live peacefully, simply killed them all. Absolution should be seen as the best way from Point A to Point B, or doing what's best for the group and humanity. Essence will often take in consideration of other members of the galaxy, and other members outside of the 1st VIRC.

A not so obvious example of Essence and Absolution being different choices than one may think is in the case of the Parasites that arrived in the Trenton system. The Vanguards were given the choice to completely destroy the planet or attempt to destroy the hive itself. With a large number of human colonists still on the planet, the choice was difficult. However, the Essence choice would be to destroy the planet, because it would ensure that no further spread of the parasite could happen, saving other planets and other alien worlds in nearby systems. The Absolution choice would be to attempt to just destroy the hive, as there would not be a direct loss of Commonwealth production and a Commonwealth colony, despite the chances of infection occurring in another system.

 Essence and Absolution are simply means to an end. 

Each character can gain points for these, and as the Vanguards gain notoriety, some characters may react to these points.

Essence Leaning Characters

Johnathan May (4 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Sued for peace between the Galakorians on Solitude, seeking to convince the Warlord's son to stand down, rather than killing them. (1)
- Stood up to orders to kill aliens who had done nothing hostile to the Vanguards (2)

- Wanted to annihilate the planet of Alora to ensure the parasite could not spread (1)

Roland Harlon (3 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Brokered the peace between the Galakorians natives and Solitude miners, destroying the Galakorian synthetics without firing a bullet. (2)
- Agreed to a diplomatic meeting with the Drovians (1)

Pytor Ryabov (2 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Sued for peace between the Galakorians on Solitude, seeking to convince the Warlord's son to stand down, rather than killing them. (1)
- Attempted to humanize James, and stood for his belief that the state of androids is no different than slavery. 

Arjun Rai (2 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Sued for peace between the Galakorians on Solitude, seeking to convince the Warlord's son to stand down, rather than killing them. (1)
- Wanted to follow through with their promises and deliver the artifact to the Drovians (1)

Ian McChrystal (1 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Wanted to annihilate the planet of Alora to ensure the parasite could not spread (1)

Aeryn Noble (1 Essence points, 0 Absolution Points)

- Wanted to follow through with their promises and deliver the artifact to the Drovians (1)

Absolution Leaning Characters

Eamon Thatcher (0 Essence points, 5 Absolution Points)

- Wanted to destroy all of the Galakorians on Solitude, including the peaceful ones who sued for peace. (2)

- Commanded one of his team members to kill any Galakorian, regardless if they were a combatant or not. (2)
- Uploaded the Artifact's data to the Rubicon instead of the Holy Radiance (1)

Liam Van Straaten (0 Essence points, 2 Absolution Points)

- Uploaded the Artifact's data to the Rubicon instead of the Holy Radiance (1)
- Wanted to destroy just the hive of the parasite on Alora, attempting to secure the rest of the colony. (1)

Wilhem Osborne (0 Essence points, 1 Absolution Points)

- Wanted to destroy just the hive of the parasite on Alora, attempting to secure the rest of the colony. (1)