Members

Pardoners tend to fall into one of three niches: intense people with something to prove, those who are intensely driven to help others, and those who are intensely - some would say too intensely - curious about the Darkness. The Concord can make use of all these people, though the latter tend to not last for long in the field. Still, someone has to compile the information for the Chapter's War Journal, and often times it winds up being the would-be researchers.

Most Pardoners tend to be "middle-aged" Wraiths who've been Awake for at least a decade or so, but those are the survivors. There aren't many "old" Wraiths in the Concord, due to the increasing strain of the job, and the young ones have a rate of attrition that can best be described as shocking. In fact, many Pardoners don't bother to get on a first-name basis with their assigned Postulants because they're so likely to lose them within a month's time, if that: "hey, you" will do until they've proven their mettle.

Recruitment is a constant process, and is done while on rounds. They keep an eye on all the recent arrivals, and look for Wraiths who have a high degree of willpower and/or resistance to their Shadows {what some call the Eidolon}. Common sense, a willingness to obey orders and combat training are also good things.

They also keep an eye out for those who seem to have a knack for the Castigation Numen. Such worthies are all but forced to join, in order to keep the number of "non-combatants" with that power to a minimum. And those who don't get with the Pardoners' program find things very uncomfortable in the Necropolis from then on out.

Due to this, there are a lot of people who died due to their own Insanity in the Pardoners, given their possible Affinity for Castigate. Sometimes the victims of Mystery are in higher than normal evidence too, as they might come into the Deadlands with a handle on that rare Numen. However, the largest proportion of Deathmarks is that of Violence - a phenomenon that need not be explained too much, except to point out that getting one's own back is as good a reason for joining as any.

No Fear, No Fate

Two things that the Pardoners don't want is anyone who makes a habit out of using the Fear Numen, and those whose deaths were attributed to Fate.

The distaste for Fear is due to its close association with the Haunters. The Pardoners spend most of their time ordering their charges not to use that sort of Numen, as it practically spoonfeeds Tainted Essence to the Shadow. If their own number were seen to be using it, that would look really bad. And they don't need any Traitors, either - not in this kind of war.

The last one is the sort of policy that has as many explanations as there are reasons for asking. The general consensus is that Fate - as both Numen and cause of death - is seen as the province of The Order, who learned it from Charun and the strange Gods they venerate. So if Charun's gone bad, who's to say that the Condemned aren't just that? And when you add in the fact that they can be taken over anytime, anywhere, you have a real liability on your hands.

However, it's a hard policy to effectively police, since only those who were chosen by Fate can truly tell one another. But if they learn they've got one of the Touched in their ranks - most often when they are remote-piloted at a key moment - Dismissal follows immediately thereafter. Whether it's followed by a volley of fire depends on how much the disgraced Pardoner knows.


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