[Railstar]

I don’t think I have ever played a character who didn’t have some form of Code of Honour.

My temple-knight had Soldier’s – he wouldn’t take Chivalry because he saw things like duels as killing someone over calling him names, and he saw fighting fair as being irresponsible to the guys he was defending.

My vampire necromancer has Cabalistic (had Professional when she was alive, and Traditional Secret Society during the early days of her being undead, but her values evolved over time).

My amphibious merchant (specialised in trading goods between the surface and undersea civilisations) had Professional.

The NPC who was a giant glowing wheel covered in wings and eyes had a variant of Xia (he was an Ophanim, it seemed the most fitting I could think of).

The ruthless mercenary officer I played had Professional, he was too cruel to take Soldier’s but his values were to do his job well and to look after his men (Sense of Duty), regardless of how many civilians he had to butcher in the process.

One thing I really liked reading in GURPS Banestorm was how the codes knights lived by were not always Chivalry, and how Pirate’s Code or Soldier’s Code was common among knights who lived by some or most of the values but not all, or who interpreted being a good knight a little differently.

Essentially any character who has consistent values they live by would seem to have some form of Code of Honour. Usually it was a low-cost thing, because the other issue is not following a Code of Honour when expected actually became a very unwise move most of the time. For instance, a merchant who cheats his customers quickly builds a bad Reputation. An enlisted man who doesn’t look out for his buddies and take care of his kit gets recognised as the unreliable one. The officer who doesn’t lead from the front finds his troops would be far less willing to stand by him when the expected fight becomes unfavourable.

Generally I found being seen to have predictable values can get you very far. To quote Paksenarrion, “You know the worth of my word, and I know the worth of yours.” Another example is Gentleman Johnny Marcone from the Dresden Files, tolerated by the police because he is a civilising influence on organised crime who keeps the violence down.

The temple-knight once had troops on a side not-quite-the-enemy but certainly not allies help him deal with a mutiny, because they knew he was the one keeping others in line and making sure there wasn’t collateral damage when the battalion he was with marched through foreign territory. I’m sure the massive reaction bonus from Charisma, Appearance, Born War-Leader & Status probably helped a little… but being predictable got his foot in the door, and offset penalties that would normally apply.