I continue to contemplate the purpose of the Condemned in the WotR narrative, how the existence of a pariah-class of criminal soldiers in a seemingly unending war begs the question of how much has been criminalized in Mendev. This is primarily noodling for the purpose of fixing Zell's very loosey-goosey backstory, and getting him in place for the start of the action. Things are starting to come together.
Daeran makes a passing comment about fun being outlawed, but he's also not completely wrong in that nearly everything in Mendev comes with an initial suspicion of criminality. We get to see the place at its best during the Festival at the beginning of the game, and things only get worse from there unless the party/Knight Commander decides to do something about it.
The Condemned are treated as a necessary evil. If the war is endless and affects everyone, but still localized in a single country of little import to the rest of Golarion, it's hard trying to convince people to come fight in the forever war against the demon hoard. Instead of drafting every able-bodied adult to fight, pull from the jails and pop the criminals on the front lines. Criminals running out? Pass new laws criminalizing certain acts. Make more common interactions blasphemous. Remove the right to question the authorities who make those decisions (especially that one).
How much are you allowed to speak against the Crown? How much can people protest petty thieves being shoved into the Worldwound until they're arrested and made to suffer the same?
We already know Hulrun is a Zealous Despot at his worst at the beginning of the narrative, implying years of nonjurisprudence and general malfeasance towards the people of Kenabres. He's not even considered the worst example of his kind, and people endlessly try to defend him. And part of me wonders if it's because they know that he's crucial to a system that keeps soldiers in this hopeless war, without having to feel too much the pang of that sacrifice. If someone is a criminal, regardless of the circumstance, then clearly they brought their fate on themselves. Or at least as much is true in Mendev, where sin is condemned and crucial.
So, what gets criminalized? Pretty much everything! Count Arendae can flaunt the law because he has absurd amounts of money and a soul-deep parasitic curse that prevents him from coming to harm. Meanwhile, a single father and small child are burned a the stake for looking suspicious to a man caught in a reactive trauma loop. Anything you do can get you killed or imprisoned. Especially if you aren't a citizen, especially if you aren't immediately obviously human.
So a Circus filled with tieflings, kitsune, and one dhampir? They never had a fucking chance. A single night of revels ended in the tents burned, animals scattered or slaughtered, and all the survivors stuffed into Condemned gear and threatened with torture until death if they desert. Then with less than a day to get back on their feet, the ground opens up and Deskari pops out and everything goes from bad to terrible.
[am I functionally replacing the league of the cart with my OCs? Yes, because I want to write my own characters more teehee.]
