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One of my players decided to play a very interesting character: a human Inquisitor (from the APG playtest) of Groetus with alignment of Chaotic Good.
Now the concept is, in my view, pure gold - but I need to help him flesh it out. We have here a:
- zealous vindicator fighting against the enemies of the faith;
- with Chatoic Good, free-spirited alignment;
- who worships a CN god of disaster, void, apocalypse - who disdains healing and encourages madness.
Now it's all legal by the rules, and I see great potential but ... I need ideas ! It's challenging to wrap the head around such a bizarre idea, and I really want to make it work and for my player to have great time with the character. Any ideas about how to make such character work (fluff-wise) are appreciated !
Maybe he views the "apocalypse" the same way I imagine (and work towards) 2012. A huge, worldwide revolution that throws off the rule of law and creates a world based on mutual agreement, individual freedom, and synergistic relationships rather then rules. In other words the apocalypse isn't the end of the world, but merely the end of the world as we know it.
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He could focus on helping people cope with the idea that everything they hold dear is going to be destroyed; like a really positive nihilist ^_^ i.e. "Hey guy! Don't look so down. Everything has to end sometime, right? We all know it's gonna happen so there's no reason to let it get to you. You might as well be the best person you can be and be happy with the idea that you're making a difference right now when it matters most! Let me get you a beer!"
In this example, enemies of the faith could mean anyone who uses the impending doom of the world as a means of manipulating people: false prophets, personality cult leaders, anyone who promises salvation from the end of the world when there clearly isn't any, etc.
I don't think CG clergy of Groetus would encourage madness, but they probably would encourage free-spirited behavior. Each alignment's priests (whether they be adepts, clerics, laymen or inquisitors) are going to have a different focus when it comes to their deity and madness lends itself more to the devil-may-care attitude of CN and CE priests. A message to live your life the way you want without inhibiting someone else's ability to do the same thing, however, would be CG.
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He could focus on helping people cope with the idea that everything they hold dear is going to be destroyed; like a really positive nihilist ^_^ i.e. "Hey guy! Don't look so down. Everything has to end sometime, right? We all know it's gonna happen so there's no reason to let it get to you. You might as well be the best person you can be and be happy with the idea that you're making a difference right now when it matters most! Let me get you a beer!"
In this example, enemies of the faith could mean anyone who uses the impending doom of the world as a means of manipulating people: false prophets, personality cult leaders, anyone who promises salvation from the end of the world when there clearly isn't any, etc.
I don't think CG clergy of Groetus would encourage madness, but they probably would encourage free-spirited behavior. Each alignment's priests (whether they be adepts, clerics, laymen or inquisitors) are going to have a different focus when it comes to their deity and madness lends itself more to the devil-may-care attitude of CN and CE priests. A message to live your life the way you want without inhibiting someone else's ability to do the same thing, however, would be CG.
Really great concise answer, who are you? I mostly lurk but haven't seen you around.
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I'm just your typical friendly, neighborhood magical beast. I mostly hang out over in the Campaign Journals thread where I maintain my chronicle of The World's Largest Dungeon, but my ability to teleport at will allows me to pop up just about anywhere.
Sounds possibly Buddhist - primarily as regards non-attachment and suffering.One of my players decided to play a very interesting character: a human Inquisitor (from the APG playtest) of Groetus with alignment of Chaotic Good.
Now the concept is, in my view, pure gold - but I need to help him flesh it out. We have here a:
- zealous vindicator fighting against the enemies of the faith;
- with Chatoic Good, free-spirited alignment;
- who worships a CN god of disaster, void, apocalypse - who disdains healing and encourages madness.Now it's all legal by the rules, and I see great potential but ... I need ideas ! It's challenging to wrap the head around such a bizarre idea, and I really want to make it work and for my player to have great time with the character. Any ideas about how to make such character work (fluff-wise) are appreciated !
I wouldn't call a Buddhist CG, more NG in my opinion.
Maybe your player could do research on Shaivite Hinduism-
Shiva is Shiva the Destroyer, after all- but he's also Shiva Natarajah: Lord of the Dance, adored and loved.
A CG priest of Shiva is not hard to imagine at all! Seems quite fitting, actually.
Now, I'm not saying Groetus is very Shiva-like, BUT- any CG worshippers of Groetus would probably (have to) conceive him that way...
Says Wikipedia:
Nataraja (literally. The Lord (or King) of Dance, Sanskrit) is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation.
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Again- is this what Groetus REALLY wants? Probably not. But I think the gods are surely trans-human in their motivation, i.e., humans can never fully understand them -- which is partly why, surely, that disparate alignments can worship the same god. (Like an LN deity has both LG and LE worshippers? Really? That must make for some fun seminaries!)
I also like ChrisRevoceteur's idea that a CG conception of Groetus could mean the death of old forms, structures, beliefs, etc. (Promethea by Alan Moore also talks about this meaning of 'apocalypse'- death of an oppressive status quo.)
'Apocalypse' comes from the Greek, and originally meant more like 'revealing or disclosing the secret' - ('revelation' itself refers to the drawing back of the 'velum' (Latin)- the veil) -
When Shiva dances, he dances on top of a demon or dwarf, which symbolizes Illusion, Ignorance, Maya - misguided views... a Chaotic Good Groetian would rejoice in that!
One of my players decided to play a very interesting character: a human Inquisitor (from the APG playtest) of Groetus with alignment of Chaotic Good.
Now the concept is, in my view, pure gold - but I need to help him flesh it out. We have here a:
- zealous vindicator fighting against the enemies of the faith;
- with Chatoic Good, free-spirited alignment;
- who worships a CN god of disaster, void, apocalypse - who disdains healing and encourages madness.Now it's all legal by the rules, and I see great potential but ... I need ideas ! It's challenging to wrap the head around such a bizarre idea, and I really want to make it work and for my player to have great time with the character. Any ideas about how to make such character work (fluff-wise) are appreciated !
ok lets see
- He's a Zealous Vindicator
- A protector of faith
- Chaotic Good
- God of disaster, the void and apocalypse
I have this incling to say, play him like a good 'ol 40k inquisitor.
You have every right to be wherever you deem fit, you will forcebly maintain the order of things as they lead to the impending apocolypse, you will help those in need of help unless they play a key roll in the end of times. You help some accept it, and purge the heretics and false soothsayers that predict or denounce it. You know not when it will occur but you know that it will and as such are always ready to die, but resist death to contiune playing your role.
Sound good?
-Sp00k
I think this sort of concept sort of demands that you acknowledge the insanity of the character.
That said, you can still be basically good as long as the demands of your insane god don't go too far.
'Supporting lawful structures' and 'protecting innocents' because (besides that you're good at heart) they aren't meant to be destroyed until the apocalypse is a great aspect to focus on.
You can rely on messages from your god via divinations, GM fiat, and straight-up delusions like your character hallucinating 'signs' of people to be 'saved' and people to be 'destroyed' (for fighting against the apocalypse, presumably). Some of these hallucinations can even lead you to targeting innocent/good people mistakenly, as long as it isn't too egregious/routine, and you make up for it with more good actions, I think your alignment should stay within "Chaotic Good" - it's not like other Good people don't make mistakes either.
Like any crazy person, what you really want most is for people to recognize your vision as truth, i.e. recognize the truth of Groetus, which isn't much different from your average paladin/inquisitor/cleric, probably.
If you're serious about actually being good (mechanically it doesn't matter for your class, since Groetus doesn't care), you just have to make sure to keep your hallucinations under control enough not to target good people as 'opposers of the apocalypse' and so forth, and/or be willing to go along with your good party members for good-motivated missions that aren't directly tied into 'bringing the apocalypse', which isn't really a problem any more than any other good character with their own agenda which doesn't ALWAYS correspond to the party's immediate adventure.
I think this concept could work, if you're a responsible enough player to know you don't need to push the line past party/plot-destroying actions and have a GM who can also accomodate this, i.e. throwing in messages from Groetus and so forth that generally DON'T sabotage the main plot, even if they have their own complications.
I think this character could be alot of fun to play
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Necro'ing the Groetus thread.
A CG Inquisitor of Groetus could be really interested in "mediating the transition to the afterlife." She reasons that life is so transient and honestly pretty pathetic, whereas afterlife is permanent and profound, so why should anyone waste any time on worldly concerns instead of focusing on the "big picture"? They should just make good with their god and get going to their final destination.
Her main aim is to make sure people are being accepted to the afterlife of their choosing. Or for unrepentant sinners, being sent to their deserved judgment, but she prefers to convert them to another god so they have a more pleasant afterlife. But she knows that the souls of atheists are used by Pharasma to repel Groetus, assumedly delaying the End Times, so she takes great pains to make sure any beings that die are able to find a suitable god before they go.
She belongs to the Portal of Incarnation theological school, so she believes that the sooner this world is destroyed, the sooner a better, more perfect world that is a crystallization of all of the greatest and most essential elements can be created.
Mechanically I think the Reformation Inquisition is fitting. And it just sounds fun to me to play a good-aligned character who wants everyone in the world to die, especially other good-aligned people.
^-^
He is actually the young man from "Paradise by the Dashboard Light".
He began to worship Groetus because he is reduced to waiting for the end of time.
