I've set aside this thread specifically for discussing the setting, and everything that entails; gods, religion, nations, politics, NPCs, etc.
The first thing I thought I'd mention (since it bears reiterating) is that this setting is a homebrew world that's
inspired by Greek Mythology, and while knowledge of Greek Myths, gods, and heroes will prove invaluable, I've modified the "core" mythology to accommodate many of the types of magic and heroes that exist in
Dungeons & Dragons. There's been a significant amount of "re-flavoring" of races and classes, and since I haven't exactly written a sourcebook on it (yet?), there's a lot of information that's been missing from the discussion of the setting so far. Here and there, I'll try to fill in (in-game) as I come up with stuff (or remember it).
I. Evil and Alignment[spoiler]
Some time back, I read an interesting bit in a third party D&D sourcebook that addressed different methods of addressing evil, for the purpose of the paladin's Smite Evil ability. Now, having a couple of decent psych/philosophy classes under my belt, I like to think I have a pretty firm handle on the difference between what should be considered evil (in a fantasy setting), and what simply constitutes poor decision-making.
According to that third-party book, Evil comes in four flavors, which I'll specify here:
Evil as an everyday thing: this idea is that evil is a part of life. At any given time, people are making selfish choices that hurt others, and that this is roughly equal to the number of people who make selfless decisions, and people who don't swing one way or the other. The populace is divided roughly into thirds -- one third good, one third neutral, and one third evil.
My take on this view: I differentiate this from evil by calling it the axis of "vice and virtue." People can perform honorable, virtuous deeds and be considered "good" people, but this is a very long and slow process. There's some overlap with the law/chaos axis, as playing a virtuous character entails keeping your promises and being honest and forthcoming. It'd take a long time for an evil character to change alignment simply on the basis of performing virtuous actions, and similarly, performing vicious actions would alter a good character's alignment very slowly.
Evil as a matter of choice: few people really have what it takes to be truly good or evil, and together, they constitute roughly 5% of the population (think natural 20). Good and evil are about making a commitment and sticking to the tenants of the ideology, even when it doesn't necessarily benefit you directly. Evil characters are evil because they want to be, and they derive a certain amount of pleasure from it, in one way or another. You can't be "accidentally" evil and you can't be evil without knowing it.
My take on this view: this is what I default to when it comes to judging alignment on the good/evil axis. It might take years of vicious acts to become evil, but that's what the character's been working towards all along. These characters aren't beyond redemption (good), because redemption is available to anyone willing to put in the effort, but the thing is, it's much more difficult for these characters to redeem themselves, as they've often been putting themselves before others for so long that they've forgotten how to truly care about others. In a Greek setting, this usually applies to the people
beyond a character's immediate family or clan (since family is so important to the Greeks there's a whole class of creatures dedicated to tormenting those who betray family --
the erinyes), but particularly heinous characters may not even care about their own family.
This is where qualification for most Exalted or Vile feats comes from.Evil as a supernatural taint: evil doesn't come from people, it comes from divine/malign interference. The only people who actually register as evil are typically those who consort with demons and other vile forces, and those who specifically channel evil energies. It's nigh impossible for your average person to become evil unless he's immersed in cults dedicated to perverse rituals and vile deeds.
My take on this view: I will tend to use the taint (corruption/depravity) rules to represent this. Often this type of evil (while generally still detecting as evil) is drenched in madness. While most characters with corruption CHOSE corruption, it's possible to have a corrupt or depraved character who isn't actually evil -- as is often the case with adventurers who gaze too long into the Abyss.
Evil as a matter of faith: your religion or your philosophy tells you what is good and what is evil. Your opposition is your definition of evil. Your god and the priests of your faith dictate right and wrong.
My take on this view: This is where spells like consecrate and desecrate, and weapon abilities like holy/unholy come into play. It isn't really so much about good and evil, as it is about following your beliefs (which may not necessarily line up with what's actually good or evil). It's entirely possible to have a virtuous, pure, holy paladin who is also evil. Now, this paladin is likely a variant Paladin of Tyranny or Slaughter, but the point is that what he's doing IS holy, as long as he's following the tenants of his faith.
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II. Religion and the gods[spoiler]
Deities (alignment) and Domains:- Zeus (CN) Air, Chaos, Competition*, Pride*, Strength, Storm*
- Hades (LN) Earth, Law, Pact*, Repose*, Wealth*
- Poseidon (CN) Chaos, Destruction, Ocean*, Strength, Water
- Apollo (NG) Glory*, Good, Healing, Pestilence*, Sun
- Hephaestus (NG) Artifice*, Creation*, Fire, Protection
- Hermes (CG) Chaos, Good, Luck, Magic, Travel, Trickery
- Aphrodite (CN) Chaos, Charm*, Nobility*, Trickery
- Athena (LG) Knowledge, Law, Planning*, Protection, War
- Persephone (NE) Darkness*, Death, Evil, Madness*, Mentalism*
*Spells and Domains not found on SRD can be found in the Spell Compendium.
SRD Standard Domains,
SRD Additional Domains(
The following is copied from the original recruiting thread.)
These are the gods that provide spells to worshiping clerics. Many other gods exist (Ares, Dionysus, Artemis, Hestia, Demeter, etc.) but don't favor clerics, or don't grant spells to clerics. Artemis, Demeter, and Dionysus, for example, favor druids and grant druid spells (Artemis has a great deal of disdain for most humans, in fact).
You still have the option of choosing a "philosophy" for your cleric, and many clerics in the setting do this, as a matter of course. They still receive their domains, and many have temples devoted to gods who pay no attention to them (not at all unlike some gods in other settings). It's difficult to say if the gods need prayers, but the gods listed above are known to pay attention to their followers and have substantial followings.
Persephone, it should be noted, is this setting's rough equivalent of Lolth. She's actually quite different from Lolth, particularly because she isn't necessarily associated with spiders, or even drow, but if you find you need to direct your character's hate towards a particular deity, or their followers (who already has a bad rep), Persephone's your girl.
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III. Slavery[spoiler]
Slavery is a fact of life in Ancient Greece, but it isn't usually the type of slavery that's demonized by the history books. Slaves are usually taken as "war booty" and serve many different roles -- from manual labor, to more esoteric roles, like blacksmiths, scribes, architects, and bankers.
Slaves generally make up the middle class of a given nation. Many slaves are, in fact paid, they're simply "long-term" employees, and they don't have the right to go anywhere without permission from their master. Slaves aren't generally mistreated, except by particularly evil or unbalanced character, since injuring a slave damages a valuable worker.
There are many examples of slaves being treated like extended family, and in some cases where an especially competent slave was granted his master's inheritance
over his own flesh-and-blood sons, who were understandably pissed off. This isn't anything like American slavery, with a movement of abolitionists, and an organization like the "underground railroad" (though abolitionists and slave liberators certainly do exist), and slaves are often allowed to keep personal possessions and even
own their own slaves. Whether slavery is a "good" or "bad" thing must be decided on a case-by-case basis, as it depends on how the slaves are being treated, and whether they prefer their position or if they even desire "freedom," etc., etc.
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IV. Sex and Gender Roles[spoiler]
The first thing I thought I'd mention is that, similar to the "core setting" of D&D, there isn't any particular sex/gender dominance, and society is fairly egalitarian in its views towards sex and gender. Since power is considered to be granted from the gods, and the gods are fickle at the best of times, it doesn't serve to favor men or women, as the gods choose their champions at their sole discretion.
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V. Grand List of Sylvan Creatures[spoiler]
abeils? (MM2), bacchae? (FF), banshee? (MM2), banshrae (MM5), boguns (MM2), centaurs, changelings, dopplegangers, dryads, "wild elves," fauns (DD), fossergrim (FF), frostwind viragos (MM5), "wild gnomes," gargoyles?, glaistigs (MM3), glimmerskins? (MM2), grigs, grimalkin (MM2), half-fey (FF), "wild" halflings, harpies, jackal lord? (FF), jackalwere? (FF), jaebrins (MM5), jermlaine (MM2), joystealers (MM4), kelpie (FF), kenku? (MM3), kobolds, lizardfolk?, locathah, lycanthropes?, "medusas," meenlocks? (MM2), merfolk, mongrelfolk? (FF), needlefolk (MM2), nimblewright? (MM2), nixies, nymphs,ocean strider (MM2), ophidians? (FF), oreads (FF), orcwort (MM2), pixies, ragewalkers (MM3), raggamoffyns? (MM2), redcaps (MM3), ruin chanters (MM5), sarkriths? (FF), satyrs, selkies (FF), senmurv? (FF), shadar-kai (FF), shaedling (MM5), shedu? (FF), shifters? (MM3), sirines (MM2), spirits of the lands (MM2), splinterwaifs (MM3), spriggans (FF), swamplight lynxes? (MM2), sylphs (MM2), thri-kreen? (MM2), thorns, treants, twig blights (MM2), verdant princes (MM4), verdant reaper (MM5), vine horror (FF), vinespawn (MM5), wendigo (FF), wicker man? (FF), the Wild Hunt, wizened elders (MM4), wood woads (MM3), woodlings (MM3), yakfolk? (MM2), yuan-ti? (various), yurians? (FF)
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