These ideas affected the ways in which writers chose to present knights-errant in their novels. Says Lin, "At the most fundamental level, knights-errant are supposed to embody moral virtue. So while a writer might allow his hero to be less than perfect in some small ways, he will always stand fast when faced with an issue or choice of consequence."
這樣的觀點影響了武俠小說俠客的塑造，「我們的俠客基本上在表現仁心，因此不論作家怎麼寫俠客，可能在小德上有疏失，但在面臨重要關鍵，在大的抉擇上是絕對堅持的，」林保淳道破大俠的「宿命」。