| akaitachi |
Okay, so I've been working on a new homebrew setting. I've set up a chart of 7s for just a thematic, fun thing (I fluff a ton of stuff for all sorts of characters). I've got 7 iconic evils, and 7 iconic goods- from Mammon to Ananiel. I would love a list of 7 iconic neutral names if you guys can help me out, I'm just having no luck. Its not as easy to find recognizable neutral (in respect to good and evil) as opposed to angels and demons.
For those curious, its for any numerology styled wizards. Days in a week, deadly sins, godly virtues, neutral lines between those, angels, demons, these neutral outsiders, schools of magic, etc.
Neutrality in terms of law and chaos don't really matter, my players want a new setting exploring good and evil, no so much law and chaos. We don't run LG only paladins, all gods have paladin codes. So be a little out there, toss chaotic neutral, lawful neutral and true neutral all.
Thank you so much for your help!
| Irontruth |
Chaotic Neutral - the primal force of creation
This god represents the source of the elements, not the harnessing of them. So if another god created the world, this god was the source of the power that was used. Don't think of the destructive power of fire, but rather the creative energy of volcanoes (that just happen to be destructive to the people below them). How a storm destroys so many things in its path, but also leaves behind life giving water and nutrients for new life.
This god gives its power to druids who renew the earth when it is barren, or to create something new on top of the old. This god does not appreciate the status quo, he does not appreciate stillness. He doesn't seek to create chaos and turmoil, he only seeks to create new situations for life and beauty.
He can fit in stories with many other types of gods. For some he's a resource or tool. Others, something to be mitigated or stopped.
Could also be paired with a CN god of entropy. Two sides of a coin, one creates out of chaos, the other destroys in chaos.
| Umbral Reaver |
I've often been fond of stories of deities of law and chaos being entwined with each other not as foes but as allies or even lovers. Chaos brings forth energy and change and creativity, while law provides continuity and stability.
I envision scientific progress as the perfect blend of the two and a god of science may suit true neutral. If your pantheons are largely anthropomorphised, this deity might be well-suited to being the offspring of the lawful god of codified laws and the chaotic god of imagination and art.
Chaos gives the magination, creativity and drive to want to change the world. Law gives the codified, repeatable procedures required for the scientific method.
It is neither good nor evil, for science can be used to further both equally.
Similarly, nature can sit well at either end of the scale. On the chaotic side you have the wild, raw and brutal side of the natural world. The strong survive. The weak perish. It is neither callous nor caring; simply savage. Even the seemingly serene plants fight each other for dominance on a scale too slow to witness.
On the lawful side of nature you have the ideas of balanced ecology, all parts working as pieces of a grand machine. Each animal, plant and weather pattern has its place. All following the laws of life and death, growth and decay, laws far greater than those of mortal civilisation.
The black raven
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I feel that all pantheons that have been worshipped IRL have been clearly split between the good guys and the bad guys.
For RL references to Neutral mythological beings, you probably need to go back to creation myths and select a few 1-st generation divine beings, as those are often presented as too far away from mankind to care about its morality frame one way or another.
For example, I believe that Gaïa and Ouranos in the greek myth (along with Ouranos' brothers Pontos and Ourea) might fit your need for Neutral divine beings.
Alternately, you could use deities that have both light and dark sides, such as Persephone and Pan.
| akaitachi |
Thanks guys, for the input.
I think I was a little unclear though, I'm looking for "lackeys" of a prime neutral. I have a pantheon set up, but I'm lacking in the neutral outsider "court".
The prime good may act through seven generals- archangels, high archons, and the such with iconic names like Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, and Ananiel.
The prime evil meanwhile has as many fights between his devil, demon, deamon, and quippilith lords: Mammon, Satan, Asmodeus, etc.
Are there any identified "neutral big guy" names?
Deiros
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For Neutral creatures you can mess with the Grigori Angels.
But as for neutral Gods... that is a tough one, for I really can't think of a single one at this moment so maybe making one by yourself? I can't think of one deity from the top of my head that (from real life) that would be consider Neutral.
Lincoln Hills
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Trouble is that not all that many mythos focus on the 'servants of the gods.' Quite a few only have gods, mortals, and 'divine monsters'. Greek and Norse gods were very hands-on gods who didn't rely on a celestial host. You might have more luck mining Sumerian/Babylonian or Vedic myth - caste-oriented cultures tend to create divine hierarchies as an example to the peasants. As long as all the names are drawn from the same culture they'll tend to have the same tone, which will increase the impression that they're all on the same side. (Insofar as Neutral is a 'side'.)
Treebeard: I am not on anyone's 'side', because nobody is on my side.
| Indagare |
You could always elevate fey beings like Oberon and Titania to deity status.
You could also use deities like the Olympians. Most of them really weren't what we'd define as 'good' but they weren't 'evil' either (let's face it - Zeus may have been the patron and protector of travelers and the king of gods but he'd have sex with anything attractive, humanoid, and female - and the last isn't always needed).
All the other Olympians were pretty much like this. They had a benevolent side, but they could (and would) do some pretty nasty things, sometimes for really jerkish reasons.
I'm Hiding In Your Closet
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Hades - The preeminent example in myth of Lawful Neutral or Neutral Neutral: He's just there. He doesn't even particularly like his job, but he does it. C'est la muerte. The rulers of Mictlan in Aztec mythology are similar in character. The only issue with this is that they're GODS, and you're saying you want "Outsider Lords", which if you really mean that are not truly gods. As an alternative, then, there's The Grim Reaper. Terry Pratchett portrayed Death as Neutral Good, but you'd want to look to other models: Consider Christopher Walken's "Morty" from Click (yeah, I know, Adam Sandler, but don't let that bother you), or the Twilight Zone episode "One for the Angels." When I was in middle school, shortly before being introduced to Pratchett, we were assigned to write something in response to the prompt line, "the Prince of Darkness is a gentleman", so I wrote a short story about the Grim Reaper matching wits with the USDMV in order to take a minor bureaucrat whose time had come - it may not be published literature, but it might give you ideas. *figures it out at the last second* Actually, the name you probably want? [u]Thanatos[/u], greatest of either the Marut Inevitables or the Akhana Aeons (your call as to which).
Aleister Crowley: Historical Earth's very own embodiment of Chaotic Neutral, a former mortal who became something more (actually, it seems to me he might have been Chaotic Good, but then he wouldn't work for what you're presently asking for, and he would never have wanted to admit to it). Perhaps his otherworldly court would take the form of a curious bistro...Thou can do anything thou wilst, at Aleister's Restaurant *whistlewhistlewhistle*....
Pan: Astarte, Kali, Kampua'a and the like are all true deities rather than "Outsider Lords", so Pan is the best persona I can think of to represent the sex drive - sexuality is neither good, evil, lawful, or chaotic (associations with chaos, rebellion, freedom, and troublemaking are purely the result of certain religions and cultures foolishly stamping a moral judgement on it). Be careful not to fall into the trap of gender - even though the original Pan was gendered, what you'd be shooting for here is a single universal embodiment of pure, indiscriminate lust - and "Pan" is actually handy this way both since the name also means "any", "all", or "everything", and because of the goat imagery - goats will do anything, in any way, with anyone.
Audumla: Inari, Centeotl, and Neith are all deities, but Audumla, the primordial Nordic ice cow, isn't necessarily, in spite of being either the first or second living being ever. Anyway, all four of these entities, who all may be neutral themselves, share the principle of another near-universality: Food.
The Odradek: Read "The Cares of a Family Man," by Franz Kafka. The Chaotic Neutral Odradek represents the ultimate meaninglessness of existence. As swift and elusive as most any wind god, the Odradek speeds fearlessly about the many worlds, chased by fools and children who wouldn't know what to do if they caught It. It has no purpose for existing, but why should that be a problem? It is. It is happy. Why? Why not?
Argus: The Lawful Neutral watchman to the gods
Betelgeuse: The Chaotic Neutral Master of Mischief and Menace - if your campaign includes Truename Magic (from the 3.5Tome of Magic), he might have a connection or weakness to it. See Also: Q, Mr. Mxyzptlk. Modern mythology still counts.