Wanton of Nature's Pagan Forms

[NewJeffCT]

OK, what exactly does it mean? Does it relate to Norgorber? I don't really think it fits with a god of secrets, greed, poison & murder?

Is it just a name that Xanesha uses?

Pagan, to me, implies a religion that is either old & outdated, or well outside the mainstream. Norgorber is one of the deities listed in the core rulebook on Page 43. So, it implies that worship of him is not obscure/outside the mainstream (though, it may be outside of polite society...)

[godsDMit]

[won-tn] Show IPA

–adjective
1. done, shown, used, etc., maliciously or unjustifiably: a wanton attack; wanton cruelty.
2. deliberate and without motive or provocation; uncalled-for; headstrong; willful: Why jeopardize your career in such a wanton way?
3. without regard for what is right, just, humane, etc.; careless; reckless: a wanton attacker of religious convictions.
4. sexually lawless or unrestrained; loose; lascivious; lewd: wanton behavior.
5. extravagantly or excessively luxurious, as a person, manner of living, or style.
6. luxuriant, as vegetation.
7. Archaic .
a. sportive or frolicsome, as children or young animals.
b. having free play: wanton breezes; a wanton brook.
–noun
8. a wanton or lascivious person, especially a woman.
–verb (used without object)
9. to behave in a wanton manner; become wanton.
–verb (used with object)
10. to squander, especially in pleasure (often followed by away ): to wanton away one's inheritance.

[pey-guhn] Show IPA

–noun
1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.
2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim.
3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
–adjective
4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim.
5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of pagans.
6. irreligious or hedonistic.

Definitions from dictionary.com

Wanton: I think #s 3 and 4 on that lit fit her particularly well.
Nature: should be obvious
Pagan: I think #s 3 and 6 fit pretty well with the idea of Xanesha.
Forms: Should be obvious

[cynarion]

Given the construction of the phrase, 'wanton' is a noun and 'pagan' is an adjective, so realistically you're looking at #8 and #6 from the definitions supplied by godsDMit.

To spell it out:

The Wanton of Nature's Pagan Forms = the lascivious woman of nature's hedonistic forms; or, read another way, the woman of questionable morality who assumes forms from nature that would be considered immoral by folks in polite society.

At least, that's how I read it.

Having said that, the somewhat unusual construction (wanton is more often used as an adjective than a noun) means my players will probably obsess over the title to the point that it detracts from their enjoyment of the game. If you ask me it also points more to Xanesha being an agent of Sorshen than Karzoug. So I plan on changing her title. To what, I'm not sure yet. I'll work something out. Probably involving the word 'rapacious'.

[NewJeffCT]

godsDMit wrote:

Wanton: I think #s 3 and 4 on that lit fit her particularly well.
Nature: should be obvious
Pagan: I think #s 3 and 6 fit pretty well with the idea of Xanesha.
Forms: Should be obvious

It doesn't fit all that well together to me - I've never seen "wanton" used as anything other than an adjective before. However, your definitions make it pretty clear that there is both a noun & a verb form of it as well. But, using wanton as an adjective is easily the most common usage.

And, while Xanesha is doing the work of Karzoug, she is also paying homage to Norgorber in the process by using the Brothers of the Seven/the Skinsaw Cult. Using Pagan it as irreligious/hedonistic is also an uncommon usage for pagan - #1 and #4 are far more common.

[Scribbling Rambler]

Wanton was used as a noun in Shakespearean/Elizabethan english.

[NewJeffCT]

Scribbling Rambler wrote:

Wanton was used as a noun in Shakespearean/Elizabethan english.

Yes, it's an old usage of wanton. However, the rest of the note is written in modern 21st century American English. So, it seems odd to sign it with the Shakespearean form of wanton.

[tburke0]

After getting the note, discussing the name, meeting and defeating her in our campaign, we decided "hot and sour of nature's pagan forms" was an acceptable substitution in this scenario... :D

[Ambrus]

tburke0 wrote:

After getting the note, discussing the name, meeting and defeating her in our campaign, we decided "hot and sour of nature's pagan forms" was an acceptable substitution in this scenario... :D

On a tangent, in our campaign we nicknamed the Skinsaw men the "Insane Clown Posse" cause, looking how they dressed, that seemed a pretty accurate description for them. I was so disappointed to learn that Justice Ironbriar was a member of their silly troupe.