I'm planning on having the party, which includes a Neutral Good Inquisitor of Shelyn end up in a small backwater village where the elder is a Lawful Neutral cleric of Zon-Kuthon.
I'm trying to picture just how that kind of character would work. He would probably preach that "Life is suffering and endurance makes you stronger", and punish anyone that breaks the laws with stuff he learned in the seminary, but I'm not sure that works.
Any advice on how to approach portraying the non-evil side of Zon-Kuthon worship?
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A priest in such a position might approach his 'leadership' in a creative ways without becoming definitively evil. Below are a few ideas based off of ZK's portfolio:
Enforce no light curfews at dusk, on pain of public flailing.
Portray the envy aspect as jealousy of the other townsfolk's prosperity, with the leader economically abusing his position in a LN way but not quite an LE way (money laundering, extortion, embezzlement).
All local laws are punishable by painful, borderline cruel means. Dismembered hands for thieves, plucked eyes for peeping toms, missing tongues for perjurers.
Ban public mourning and funerary services. All bodies are to be cremated and the remains disposed of in a proper method.
For a bit more dramatic effect, have the Elder carrying out a criminal sentencing when the party arrives.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Lean more on the sadism side than the criminal torturer side... an evil Kuthonite will torture whoever he wants, a neutral one only tortures those who consent to it or if the law gives him permission.
Director of Brand Strategy
|
I've got a LN Kuthite monk in PFS that focuses on experiencing pain as a way of making herself stronger, hoping that someday Zon-Kuthon will bless her. She has a very strict ritual of masochism every morning, and when she faces foes, she offers to cause them pain (nonlethal) if they convert to worship of Zon-Kuthon. Despite her dedication (and countless amounts of pain), Zon-Kuthon won't ever bless her, of course, because it's his own way of torturing her; mental and emotional anguish is its own reward.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pain and loss make you stronger, and prove that you're alive. Along with the stuff above, maybe these practices could be in place for the populace's protection, born(or twisted) out of old traditions, against some daemonic threat sealed away nearby?
(my players stay out)
LN Kunithe gives you a safe word?
Y'know....found out not too long ago that /tg/ went and built a Lawful Good deity based around that very concept... Probably NSFW-ish
That's the internet for you.
Thanks for the help everyone. I think I see where to go with this now.
LN Kunithe gives you a safe word?
LE Kunithe gives you a safeword too. Then he gags you.
Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)
Y'know....found out not too long ago that /tg/ went and built a Lawful Good deity based around that very concept... Probably NSFW-ish
That's the internet for you.
I saw that recently. And that, in the suggestions on how to insert her into Pathfinder, they decided that she would probably be linked to Idomede.
Sigh... the internets can be a strange and scary place.
|
|
I saw that recently. And that, in the suggestions on how to insert her into Pathfinder, they decided that she would probably be linked to Idomede.
I
My mind.
HOW
I mean, okay I can see some angles on how it could work, but trying to link those two still makes me go cross-eyed. Even Shelyn and Sarenrae feel like they'd have an easier time of it.
I guess it's just how Iomedae's been built up in my head and I'm not looking at it the right way.
|
Sounds like a very 'spare the rod, spoil the child' sort of town. Corporal punishment for any sort of infraction would be accepted practice.
This sort of philosophy would seem most prevalent in an environment that is naturally harsh and unforgiving, such as a desert or a near-arctic climate, where sloppiness or a half-assed bit of work could end up resulting in swift death. Where the world itself seems to send the message that human life is cheap, and that mistakes can be brutally punished, the locals are likely to have been hardened by that unforgiving nature, and taken it to heart.
In a fantasy world, it doesn't need to be environmental either. The surrounding area could be similarly hard-to-work, such as the swamp-cities of the Aztecs, and people who seem undisciplined or not pulling their weight could be seen as a threat to the entire community, or there could be constant raids by goblins or whatever, requiring that every villager be on the alert, constantly. Under a constant aura of threat, a society is more likely to become draconian and bound by harsh and, by some standards, cruel notions of justice and order.
Under Kuthonite principles of strength and discipline through pain and physical trial, rituals similar to suspension might be practiced, to prove one's strength, endurance and fitness for various posts in the local community (such as head of the guard, militia chief, mayor, etc.).
If local enemies or conditions impose some sort of penalties (extremes of cold or heat, or thin air due to altitude, or toxic pollen, or whatever), the local harsh practices might well serve to allow the local residents to ignore some of those penalties, giving them a small advantage against newcomers, who haven't spent a lifetime hardening themselves to these conditions.
Given the nature of self-mortification practices, it's probably best to place such a society in a more temperate or arid climate. A culture heavily into scarification and mortification that lives in a swamp might be wiped out by opportunistic infections, fungi, etc. due to the constant precense of open wounds somewhere on their body.
Obviously, the real world has exceptions (those darn Aztecs, again!), but with a LN faith / community, a complete disregard for human life, or actions that are overly evil or sadistic, would be as out of step with the sensibilities of the community as someone who fainted at the sight of blood.
More 'lift the burning cauldron and prove your worth to learn my teachings, Grasshopper,' less Saw IX.