Women At Arms: The Silence At Saint Corvin's

A One-Shot Scenario of Women at Arms

WHAT YOU NEED

• Mörk Borg Bare Bones Edition (core rules)
• JARLS: Pressure Drop (Stress, Bonds, Heat mechanics)
• Four players, one GM
• Standard polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20)

SETTING & TONE

You are officers of the Ordo Arbitrae —a sisterhood empowered to arbitrate disputes of faith, doctrine, and institutional order. When evidence conflicts with truth, when conscience conflicts with duty, you are the final word.

Every sound echoes as if recorded. Every choice leaves a stain. This is not dungeon-crawling. This is procedure under duress: faith tested by evidence, conscience corroded by duty, truth weighed against order.

The aesthetic is Ironlily's vision — anime-styled medieval women in armor, where competence and grace coexist, where piety is shot through with doubt, and where the weight of authority is both burden and armor.

SIDEBAR: ON DIVISION OF LABOR

"Where are the men?""Back at the convent — doing laundry, preparing meals, cleaning the cells, and sweeping the cloisters."

The Ordo Arbitrae is not an order against men. They simply serve where their talents are most useful.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Each player embodies one officer. These are not classes with mechanical differences — they are roles that shape how you interact with the crisis and each other.

Each archetype's Instinct comprises the core of their character — the reflex they default to under pressure. These are not suggestions. They are compulsions. When in doubt, act on your Instinct.

When these imperatives collide, the story begins.

THE MILITANT: SISTER ADALBERTA

Role: Field commander, security chief, tactical authority

Strength: 3
Agility: 1
Savvy: 2
Charm: 0

Hit Points: Strength + d8 = 3 + d8

Starting Gear:

• Polearm (d8 damage)
• Heavy armor (−d6 damage taken, +4 DR Agility tests, Defence +2 DR)
• Officer's seal
• Whistle and manacles

Authority: You command in combat situations. Your word is law when steel is drawn.

Instinct: Fortify and purge. If something silenced the cloister, it's an enemy to be eliminated.

Stress Triggers (in addition to standard):

• Subordinates die under your command
• Civilian casualties occur
• Your tactical judgment is publicly questioned

THE AUDITOR: SISTER LUCIENNE

Role: Auditor, investigator, internal affairs

Strength: 0
Agility: 1
Savvy: 3
Charm: 2

Hit Points: Strength + d8 = 0 + d8

Starting Gear:

• Ledgers and quills
• Seal of Inquisition
• Lock picks
• Robes of office (light armor, −d2 damage)
• Ornate dagger (d3 damage)

Authority: You may review any records, interrogate any member of the Order, and seal evidence.

Instinct: Root out corruption. Trust no one, question everything, preserve the chain of evidence.

Stress Triggers (in addition to standard):

• Evidence is destroyed or tampered with
• Witnesses die before testimony
• You're ordered to suppress findings

THE THEOLOGIAN: ABBESS CECILIA

Role: Elder stateswoman, theologian, council liaison

Strength: 0
Agility: 0
Savvy: 3
Charm: 3

Hit Points: Strength + d8 = 0 + d8

Starting Gear:

• Crozier (staff, d4 damage)
• Abbess robes (light armor, −d2 damage)
• Wax seal and parchments
• Holy symbol

Authority: You speak for the high councils. Your interpretation of doctrine is law.

Instinct: Manage the narrative. What matters is not only what happened, but how it will be told to the capital.

Stress Triggers (in addition to standard):

• The Order's reputation is publicly damaged
• Higher authorities question your judgment
• You must choose between truth and stability

THE DIPLOMAT: SISTER SERAPHINE

Role: Envoy, mediator, foreign liaison

Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Savvy: 2
Charm: 2

Hit Points: Strength + d8 = 1 + d8

Starting Gear:

• Rapier (d6 damage)
• Diplomatic papers
• Multiple language lexicons
• Fine clothes (light armor, −d2 damage)

Authority: You negotiate with secular powers, foreign faiths, and layfolk. Your word can bind treaties.

Instinct: Seek compromise. Preserve face, faith, and alliance above all.

Stress Triggers (in addition to standard):

• Negotiations collapse into violence
• Innocent parties are harmed by your choices
• You're forced to violate guest-right or diplomatic protocol

CORE MECHANICS SUMMARY

TESTS

Roll d20 + Ability vs. DR 12 (standard difficulty)

• DR 6: Incredibly simple
• DR 10: Pretty simple
• DR 12: Normal
• DR 14: Difficult
• DR 16: Really hard
• DR 18: Should not be possible

CRITICAL SUCCESS (Natural 20)

• Double effectiveness
• Gain advantage on next related roll

FUMBLE (Natural 1)

• Worst possible outcome
• Take Stress +1
• Complication occurs

PRESSURE DROP MECHANICS

STRESS

Starts at 0. Mark +1 when:

• You witness corruption, blasphemy, or betrayal within the Order
• A subordinate dies because of your decision
• You fail publicly or contradict doctrine
• You exceed lawful authority (force, deceit, mercy)

When Stress ≥ Savvy: Make Stress Check before risky actions.

• Roll d20 + Savvy vs. 12
• Success = Clarity (choose benefit: +2 next roll, insight, ignore wounds, or reduce ally's Stress by 1)
• Failure = Slip (choose complication: error, tell, snap decision, doubt spreads, need to cope, or confession impulse)

At Stress 6+: Roll d20 + Savvy vs. 14

• Success = The Crucible (tempered by pressure; gain permanent benefit at session end)
• Failure = The Break (retire character, betray party, or snap destructively; resolve at session end)

Reducing Stress:

• Skip action to center yourself: −1d2 Stress (not in combat)
• Downtime: Medical attention (−1d4), full rest (reset to 0), vice (−1d3 but add complication)

Optional Rule: Wound Spiral When HP drops below half, mark Stress +1 and choose an ally present. That ally may make a Bond check (d20 + your shared Bond value vs. 12):

• Success: They steady you; ignore wound penalties for your next action
• Failure: Panic spreads; both of you take Stress +1

This keeps physical and emotional collapse linked — the body's vulnerability infects the mind.

BONDS

Track between each pair of PCs. Start at 2 (neutral professionals).

Gain +1:

• Save someone's life
• Give up resources to help
• Cover mistake without complaint
• Succeed at high-stakes cooperative action

Lose −1:

• Endanger them through recklessness
• Question competence publicly
• Break plan without warning
• Take their share or betray trust

Effects:

• Bonds 0-1 (Hostile): Cannot Assist; joint actions at −2
• Bonds 2 (Neutral): May Assist (+2 to roll); may Cover
• Bonds 3+ (Bonded): Grant Advantage (roll 2d20, keep higher); Cover at distance; once per session, bonded ally can steady you on failed Stress check

HEAT

Starts at 0. Represents ecclesial scrutiny — Inquisition, nobles, divine omens.

Increase when:

• Witnesses survive (+1)
• Evidence spreads (+1)
• Someone dies (+2)
• Miracles manifest or truths are buried improperly (+2)

Effects:

• Heat 0-2: Safe — no mechanical penalty
• Heat 3-4: Active Response — all risky rolls are Hard (+2 DR)
• Heat 5-6: Escalation — elite agents intervene (inquisitors, arch-clerics, miracles of punishment)
• Heat 7+: Maximum Pressure — hunted across jurisdictions, no escape

Reducing Heat (Downtime only):

• Lay low (costs time, roll 1d3, reduce Heat by result)
• Bribe/manipulate (costs resources per Heat point, only below Heat 5)
• Leave jurisdiction (reduce Heat by 3, but lose all local contacts and resources)

THE SCENARIO

PREMISE

At dawn, the monastery of Saint Corvin's — a remote convent housing the relic of the Saint's Tongue — stops transmitting its daily prayers through the tele-chanting mirror network. A courier reports smoke above the hills, but when a messenger reaches the gates, no one answers.

The four officers are dispatched not to wage war, but to understand what happened. Each carries the authority of her office and the suspicion of the others.

ACT I: ARRIVAL

THE SCENE

The convent stands strangely intact. Gates open, but no guards

THE SMELL HITS FIRST: Wax and rot, honey-sweet decay beneath frankincense. The candles still burn — dozens of them, melted into obscene shapes, wicks drowning in their own tallow. The tables are set for evening prayer, bread gone gray with mold, wine oxidized to vinegar. Your boots stick slightly to the flagstones. Later, you will realize it was blood, gone tacky in the cold.

Inside:

• Ritual candles still burn (wax pooling like wounds)
• Meals half-served sit untouched (flies gather)
• Tables set for evening prayer (hymnals open to Psalm 39: "Make me know my end")
• A trail of dried blood leads to the reliquary (handprints on the walls, descending)

THE RELIQUARY

The reliquary stands open. The Saint's Tongue — a preserved relic said to speak truth — is missing.

INITIAL CLUES

Present evidence that points in multiple directions:

Evidence of Internal Theft:

• The armory is unlocked (keys from inside)
• A ledger shows relic fragments being traded (in the Abbess's hand)
• Sister Venera's cell contains a suicide note: "I could not bear what I heard"

Evidence of External Raid:

• Scorch marks around the altar (no known weapon)
• Peasant heresy symbols scratched on outer walls
• A broken palisade section (could be exit or entry)

Evidence of Divine Punishment:

• All mirrors in the convent are shattered
• Birds will not enter the courtyard
• The well water tastes of copper

STRESS & BONDS TRIGGERS

Potential Stress Gains:

• Finding the suicide note (+1)
• Discovering the falsified ledgers (+1)
• Realizing the nuns may have died in terror (+1)

Bond Moments:

• The Militant demands forceful interrogation → The Diplomat objects (+potential Bond loss)
• The Auditor takes notes on everyone's statements → others feel watched (−1 Bond with all if she's obvious)
• The Theologian suggests sealing the scene → The Auditor refuses (+conflict)

GM GUIDANCE

Let players argue about methodology. Their first instinct reveals character. Don't rush to Act II — let them investigate, bicker, and establish Bonds (or fracture them).

NPCs Present:

• Novice Marta (trembling, hiding in root cellar, witnessed "the sisters tearing at their ears")
• Groundskeeper Osric (deaf, saw nothing, points to the catacombs)

ACT II: THE ACCUSATION

THE DISCOVERY

Following clues (or Osric's gesture) leads to the catacombs beneath the chapel.

INK AND IRON: The air changes as you descend — cooler, older, tasting of limestone and something else. Your torchlight catches scratches on the walls, fresh gouges in old stone. Someone carved words, then tried to erase them. The ink running through the carved letters looks like veins, black and deliberate. The deeper you go, the more the stone weeps.

There, they find Sister Venera — alive, but eyes burned out, hands bloodied, muttering in fragments:

"It spoke... it spoke too much... the Saint knows... the Saint knows all our sins... we tried to silence it... but it wouldn't stop... it wouldn't stop..."

She claws at her ears. She is barely coherent.

THE REVELATION

Through careful questioning (Charm or Savvy DR 14), Venera reveals:

1. The Saint's Tongue began speaking three days ago
2. It recited the secret sins of the Order — names, crimes, betrayals
3. The Abbess of Saint Corvin's (now dead) ordered it destroyed
4. The nuns turned on each other in panic
5. Some fled, some died, some went mad
6. Venera burned her own eyes "so she wouldn't see the Saint's judgment"

THE DEBATE

Now the officers must decide what to do with Venera:

The Militant's Argument: "She's a witness to heresy. Silence her and move on."

The Auditor's Argument: "She's evidence. We record her testimony and investigate the Abbess's crimes."

The Theologian's Argument: "Her testimony will destroy the Order's credibility. We must manage this carefully."

The Diplomat's Argument: "She's suffered enough. We give her mercy and sanctuary."

MECHANICAL RESOLUTION

Each officer states their position. Then:

Round 1: Persuasion

• Each player rolls Charm or Savvy vs. DR 12
• Success = make a compelling argument; other officers must respond
• Failure = your argument is weak; take Stress +1

Round 2: Authority

• Any officer can attempt to override by invoking their office
• Roll Charm + relevant authority vs. DR 14
• Success = your will prevails (but may cost Bonds)
• Failure = your authority is questioned (Stress +1, Heat +1)

Round 3: Consensus or Fracture

• If Bonds are high (3+), officers may compromise
• If Bonds are low (0-1), someone may act unilaterally (breaking the group)

STRESS & HEAT CONSEQUENCES

If Venera is silenced:

• Heat +2 (divine judgment is watching)
• The Militant and The Theologian lose −1 Bond with others

If Venera is preserved:

• Heat +1 (her story will spread)
• The Auditor and The Diplomat gain +1 Bond

If the group fractures:

• Each officer acting alone increases their personal Stress by +2
• Heat +1 for each officer acting without consensus

ACT III: REVELATION

FINDING THE RELIC

Clues (or Venera's broken confession) lead to the ossuary deep in the catacombs.

BONE AND WITNESS: The ossuary is older than the convent itself, pre-Empire stonework holding bones stacked like cordwood. The air doesn't move here. Your breath doesn't fog. In the center, on an altar of femurs and skulls, wrapped in holy cloth gone yellow with age and chained in iron — the Saint's Tongue. A desiccated human tongue on a silver reliquary stand. Around it, seven candles burn in a perfect circle. No one lit them.

When they approach it, the Tongue begins to whisper.

THE WHISPERS

Each officer hears their own sins spoken aloud in Old Ecclesiastic:

• The Militant: "You left them to die at Rothfeld. You chose retreat over honor."
• The Auditor: "You falsified evidence against Sister Margit to advance your career."
• The Theologian: "You knew about the embezzlement. You protected your allies."
• The Diplomat: "You betrayed the treaty at Verlund. Blood is on your hands."

Mechanical Effect: Each officer must immediately make a Stress Check (d20 + Savvy vs. 12).

• Failure = gain Stress +2 and suffer a Slip
• Success = gain Clarity but must still choose what to do with the Tongue

THE CHOICE

The relic will not stop speaking. It knows everything.

Options:

1. Destroy the Tongue (The Militant’s solution)
   • Ends the scandal immediately
   • Heat +2 (divine wrath)
   • All officers gain Stress +1 (guilt)
   • Bonds reset to 1 (complicity)
2. Preserve the Tongue (The Auditor’s solution)
   • Document everything, begin trials, expose the truth
   • Heat +3 (institutional collapse)
   • Bonds −1 with all (everyone's sins are now known)
   • Stress resets to 0 (clarity through confession)
3. Stage a Miracle (The Diplomat’s solution)
   • Declare the relic "ascended" (fake its disappearance)
   • Stress −1 to all (the lie is comforting)
   • Heat +1 (the deception is fragile)
   • Bonds +1 with all (shared complicity)
4. Declare New Dogma (The Theologian’s solution)
   • Reinterpret the relic's speech as "divine test of faith"
   • Everyone rolls Savvy vs. 14
     • Success = rationalization holds; Stress −1
     • Failure = the lie corrodes you; Stress +2, permanent Flaw: Doublethink

FINAL STRESS CHECKS

After the decision, all officers at Stress 6+ must roll their Breaking Point (d20 + Savvy vs. 14):

• Success = The Crucible (tempered, gain permanent Edge)
• Failure = The Break (retire, betray, or snap)

EPILOGUE

IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES

Based on the group's choice, narrate:

If the Militant Won (Tongue destroyed):

The ossuary collapses in flames. You emerge in silence. The official report will state: "Heretical artifact neutralized." No one speaks of what you heard.

If the Auditor Won (Tongue preserved):

You seal the Tongue in lead and glass. The trials will take years. The Order will never be the same. Some will call you heroes. Most will call you traitors.

If the Diplomat Won (Miracle staged):

You carry the Tongue to a hidden vault. The pilgrims will hear of its "ascension." You will guard this secret until death. Or until it speaks again.

If The Theologian Won (Dogma rewritten):

You draft the encyclical by candlelight: "The Saint's Test of Faith." It will be doctrine by spring. You will enforce it. You will believe it. You must.

LONG-TERM FALLOUT (d6)

Roll or choose:

1. Haunting: The relic's whispers echo in your sleep. Gain Stress +2 each dawn until you confess.
2. Inquisition: You're summoned to the capitol for inquiry. Heat immediately 5.
3. Cult: A heretical sect forms, claiming you as prophet. Bond +1 with someone you betrayed.
4. Possession: The Saint's Tongue now lies in your satchel, still murmuring. It will not leave.
5. Erasure: You wake in a new posting. No one recalls the trial. Did it happen?
6. Prophecy: The records show all went according to divine plan. You are listed as heroes. The Tongue is never mentioned.

GM GUIDANCE NOTES

PACING

• Act I: 30-45 minutes (investigation, clues, first arguments)
• Act II: 45-60 minutes (Venera, debate, first major choice)
• Act III: 30-45 minutes (relic, whispers, final decision)

Total session: 2-3 hours

TONE MANAGEMENT

The dread comes from institutional pressure, not jump scares.

• Keep the tempo deliberate
• Let arguments breathe — don't rush past conflict
• When officers clash, pause and ask: "What does your character's face look like right now?"
• Use silence as a tool — let players sit with their choices

STRESS SPIRAL CALIBRATION

If players are hitting Breaking Point too early:

• Offer more Clarity moments (cooperation, small victories)
• Reduce DR for Stress Checks by −2

If players are coasting without consequence:

• Increase Heat faster
• Add NPC witnesses who complicate choices
• Have Venera die mid-interrogation (Heat +2, Stress +1 to all)

BONDS AS DRAMA ENGINE

The most powerful moments come from Bond fractures:

• When The Militant and The Auditor drop to Bonds 0, they can't assist each other
• When The Theologian loses trust with The Diplomat, the group splinters
• Use this to create dramatic dilemmas: "You need her help, but she doesn't trust you anymore."

HEAT AS CLOCK

Heat is the ticking clock:

• At Heat 3, mention "distant bells" or "a courier riding hard toward the capital"
• At Heat 5, introduce Inquisitor-General Mordana (NPC) arriving to "assist"
• At Heat 7, the Divine Punishment arrives (choose: plague, earthquake, or the Tongue speaking publicly)

Optional: Heat Becomes Witness (Heat 5+)

When Heat reaches 5 or higher, external pressure personifies. Choose one:

THE SCRATCHING: A sound fills the air between heartbeats — quills on parchment, hundreds of them, writing in perfect unison. Records are being written somewhere. You are already testimony. Every choice now is transcribed.

THE MIRROR: Sister Seraphine's reflection moves when she doesn't. In every polished surface — armor, candleholders, Venera's burned eyes — someone is watching. The institution has a face now. It is yours.

THE BELL: The convent's bell begins tolling, though no one rings it. Once per player statement. It tolls when lies are spoken. It tolls when truth is suppressed. It tolls when you act against your office. The world is taking record.

Let Heat stop being abstract. Make it an interlocutor. Let the officers argue with the institution itself.

OPTIONAL RULES

ALTERNATE ARCHETYPES

If players want to create their own officers:

Stat Array: Choose one of these spreads:

• 3, 2, 1, 0
• 2, 2, 2, 0
• 3, 1, 1, 1

Role Selection: Choose a role (not class):

• Martial (combat, security, enforcement)
• Investigative (evidence, interrogation, analysis)
• Political (doctrine, narrative control, high council)
• Social (negotiation, mediation, foreign relations)

Define your Authority (what you can command) and Instinct (default response to crisis).

EXTENDED CAMPAIGN

If continuing beyond the one-shot:

Carry Forward:

• Final Stress values
• Bond levels
• Heat (as "Reputation")
• Any Edges or Flaws gained from Breaking Point

New Missions:

• Investigate similar incidents across the diocese
• Manage fallout from the players' choice at Saint Corvin's
• Factional conflict within the Order (those who know the truth vs. those who don't)

SAFETY TOOLS

This scenario involves:

• Religious trauma (faith tested, blasphemy, divine judgment)
• Institutional betrayal (corruption within trusted systems)
• Self-harm (Venera's burned eyes)
• Moral injury (choices with no good outcome)

Before play, establish:

• X-Card or Lines & Veils (see TTRPG Safety Toolkit)
• Pause Button: Anyone can call for a 5-minute break, no questions asked
• Debrief: After the session, check in with players about emotional impact

Optional: The Liturgical Exit

After the epilogue and before the meta-debrief, offer a final in-fiction ritual:

"Your officers stand in the ruins of Saint Corvin's chapel. You have made your choice. Now, before you return to report, what do you do? Do you burn your seals? Share a confession? Rewrite the report together in silence? Pray? Or simply walk away?"

Let each player describe one small, physical action their character takes. Don't comment. Don't interpret. Let the fiction carry the weight before the players do.

This liturgical moment lets players externalize catharsis through their characters, not through themselves. It's a controlled burn before the debrief.

DESIGNER NOTES

WHY MÖRK BORG + PRESSURE DROP?

Mörk Borg provides:

• Fast, brutal resolution
• Low HP = vulnerability, mortality
• Minimal prep

Pressure Drop adds:

• Psychological weight (Stress)
• Relationship dynamics (Bonds)
• Institutional pressure (Heat)

Together, they create a system for tragedy under duress — where every roll matters, every choice has cost, and the spiral is mechanical, not arbitrary.

WHY FOUR ARCHETYPES?

The four roles create natural tension:

• The Militant vs. The Diplomat = force vs. negotiation
• The Auditor vs. The Theologian = truth vs. narrative
• The Militant + The Auditor = law enforcement axis
• The Theologian + The Diplomat = institutional preservation axis

This 2x2 grid ensures conflict is baked into the structure, not dependent on player whim.

INSPIRATIONS

• Ironlily's Scriptorium (visual aesthetic, "capable women at arms")
• The Name of the Rose (institutional murder mystery)
• A Canticle for Leibowitz (faith and knowledge in tension)
• Pillars of the Earth (medieval political intrigue)
• Pyre (choice-driven tragedy, no good options)

CREDITS

Scenario Design: The Grey Ledger Society + CGCG Helix
System: Mörk Borg (Ockult Örtmästare Games / Stockholm Kartell)
Expansion: JARLS: Pressure Drop (The Grey Ledger Society)

QUICK REFERENCE

STRESS

• Starts 0, mark +1 when: injured, trauma, specialty fails, pushed past limits
• Check when Stress ≥ Savvy: d20 + Savvy vs. 12
  • Success = Clarity (4 benefits)
  • Failure = Slip (6 complications)
• Stress 6+ = Breaking Point: d20 + Savvy vs. 14
  • Success = The Crucible (gain Edge)
  • Failure = The Break (retire/betray/snap)

BONDS

• Start 2 between each PC pair
• Gain +1: save life, sacrifice, cover mistake
• Lose −1: endanger, question, break plan, steal
• 0-1 = Hostile (can't Assist)
• 2 = Neutral (can Assist +2)
• 3+ = Bonded (Advantage, Cover at distance, steady once/session)

HEAT

• Starts 0, never decreases naturally
• Increase: witnesses (+1), evidence (+1), death (+2), major event (+2)
• 3-4: All risky rolls Hard (+2 DR)
• 5-6: Escalation
• 7+: Intervention by systemic forces

TESTS

• d20 + Ability vs. DR 12 (standard)
• Natural 20: Crit (double effect)
• Natural 1: Fumble (worst outcome, Stress +1)

APPENDIX: THE SAINT'S TONGUE

HISTORICAL NOTE (IN-WORLD)

Saint Corvin was a truth-teller martyred in the Third Purge. Before execution, his tongue was cut out, but it continued to speak from the executioner's hand. It was enshrined as a relic of divine justice — a tool for revealing lies and testing faith.

For centuries, it remained silent. Until now.

WHY IT SPEAKS NOW (GM OPTION)

Choose or roll d6:

1. Divine Will: The Order has grown corrupt; the Saint acts.
2. Temporal Instability: The world is ending; all secrets surface.
3. Heretical Ritual: Someone tried to use the relic for divination and broke its seal.
4. Demonic Possession: The Tongue is not divine — it's infernal.
5. Mundane Fraud: The Tongue is a forgery; someone planted a speaking device.
6. Resonance: Another relic nearby (hidden?) is causing sympathetic activation.

The GM need not reveal the "true" answer unless it serves the story.

Optional: The Revelation Test

If a player character listens to the Tongue for too long (more than one scene), they may attempt to understand its nature:

Roll Savvy vs. 14:

• Success: You know which of the six origins is true. The GM tells you privately. You are certain.
• Failure: You believe one of the origins is true. The GM tells you one (true or false). You are certain.

The table never knows whose certainty is real. Epistemology becomes gameplay. Faith and knowledge fracture together.

FINAL NOTE TO GMs

This scenario is not about solving a mystery. It's about what the officers do with the truth once they find it.

The relic is a mirror. It reflects each officer's sins, each player's choices, and the institution's rot.

Your job is not to punish the players. Your job is to ask them:

What will you sacrifice to preserve the Order?What will you sacrifice to preserve the truth?And when those two are incompatible — which will you choose?

Let them answer with their rolls, their arguments, and their silence.