CoH: discretion?

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by whswhs

If there be trouble to Herward, and a lie of blackest can clear,
Lie, while thy lips can speak and a man is alive to hear.

(Rudyard Kipling, "Certain Maxims of Hafiz")

I'd call that either an inherent assumption of CoH (Professional or Gentleman) or a one-point quirk that adds an extra specification to how the disadvantage manifests.

"If she hath spoken a word, remember thy lips are sealed, and the brand of the dog is upon him by whom is a secret revealed.

If she hath written a letter, delay not an instant to burn it - tear it in pieces oh fool, and the wind to her mate shall return it"

...and by contrast, we all know what happened to General Bangs.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by cmdicely

That’s not really the same kind of thing as the CoH though; its a legal immunity that doesn’t mean you won’t tell, it just means you can’t be forced by the State. You could have that without the CoH, vice versa, or both together. (It might come with a social or legal prohibition tied to the immunity, which I guess is conceptually a kind of Duty accompanying the Legal Immunity, but usually it should be non-Hazardous and low enough frequency of appearance to not be worth points.)

Of course, if you have the legal immunity and it applies to the same set of secrets as the CoH, it should reduce the value of the CoH (probably to no more than a quirk in most circumstances), since it reduces the potential consequences of upholding the CoH.

It is not hard to arrange ways to circumvent this.

Parishioner tells Father Jones that he saw a mob killing because he was burglarizing the place it happened.
Court calls Father Jones to testify. Father Jones refuses.
Rival gang suspects Father Jones knows something. Rival gang are Chinese not Italians and hence unconcerned about priestly sanctity.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by cmdicely

That’s not really the same kind of thing as the CoH though; its a legal immunity that doesn’t mean you won’t tell, it just means you can’t be forced by the State. You could have that without the CoH, vice versa, or both together. (It might come with a social or legal prohibition tied to the immunity, which I guess is conceptually a kind of Duty accompanying the Legal Immunity, but usually it should be non-Hazardous and low enough frequency of appearance to not be worth points.)

Of course, if you have the legal immunity and it applies to the same set of secrets as the CoH, it should reduce the value of the CoH (probably to no more than a quirk in most circumstances), since it reduces the potential consequences of upholding the CoH.

I disagree. When you are Blind but invest in Daredevils super senses you still get the full value for blindness. Furthermore "You are required to testify in court about what that guy at your bar told you" is only one situation where pressure might be put on you to be indiscreet and it's not even one of the more common scenarios. And of course there is no code of honor that has only one tenet. A "code" that only has a single tenet is a Vow.

[jason taylor]

Addition to CoH is more fitting, in fact that is closer to what was intended.

[acrosome]

That probably deserves the same cost as Stays Bought.