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You do not have to be evil at all.
Lawful Neutral: A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.
Lawful neutral means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.
Gods are nto one sided. That have different aspects. Yes Asmodeus is evil, but also he is extremly law oriented. You can follow the aspect of law.
The idea to avoid evil in PFS it to keep players from being jerks to each other by using their alignment as a reason to do so.
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There is a player over east, Andrei Buters who runs a Cleric of Asmodeus (whose name escapes me currently). His character is a Hellknight Signifier and generally in rp and in play is fairly Agreeable. The character comes off as lawful but even.. fair but generally that should be the case as that concept would have to be.
A While back I tried to create a Cleric of Mephistopheles. I looked at the list, looked at what was expected of the Pathfinder Society and then looked back at the list. I chose Mephistopheles because
A) I wanted to get outside my comfort zone
B) The views on Secrets and contracts I found interesting
C) I thought I could mesh the concept in with the society far easier than some of the other types.
What has happened since
A) He has rarely played. I honestly struggle with playing him because I am not exactly sure how to bring the personality out. Unlike Andrei, I cant get my head around what he should be doing in each encounter (both mechanically and socially).
B) I rarely play him. He either is out of Tier or the game is set in Cheliax (Fact: Its illegal to be worshipper of any of the other Archdevil Gods in Cheliax. Thus he wont get played)
C) He died in Masks of the Living God. It sorta bummed me on playing him for a while and hes fallen into the spent so much gold that his future survivability is jeopardized
Im generally not a fan of the evil campaign, and this character Magnus feels quite close to that style of play.
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There is a player over east, Andrei Buters who runs a Cleric of Asmodeus (whose name escapes me currently). His character is a Hellknight Signifier and generally in rp and in play is fairly Agreeable. The character comes off as lawful but even.. fair but generally that should be the case as that concept would have to be.
Hrmn.
Randolf Culpher is my level 9 Hellknight Signifer.
He is a mashup of Grima Wormtongue, Draco Malfoy and Arnold Rimmer. He is a 22 year old virgin who has essentially been captured at an early age by a diabolic totalitarian government and moulded into a divine soldier for House Thrune – but this brainwashing has not removed the fact he is essentially a slimy grub who is worthless. If Asmodeus didn’t smile upon him, he’d have nothing.
I think a big part of it has been to play the character (LN) like his evil is ridiculous. Totally un-threatening. He is the kind of guy who would scheme and cackle from the darkness but as soon as you shone a ‘Daylight’ spell at him he’d scream and trip over his robe.
He has told a Shoanti barbarian that was probably around twice his size that his glorious motherland would instil some culture and education into the big brute.
If he sees a tiefling he’ll treat them like they’re hired help.
One time the party monk *had to* roundhouse kick him to the face to stop him from shooting negative energy everywhere whilst confused.
He has a +1 cold iron heavy mace that he’s named ‘Grimalkor’s Cudgel’. He has never actually summoned the bravery to hit a creature with it.
He once got an autograph from an ACTUAL Paralictor! *gleeee*
His father is a coach ticket inspector in Egorian and his mother is an accountant.
He went to a dinner party once and started encouraging the guests to begin a healthy scheme of war profiteering.
He is an instructing leader in the Charthagnion Boy’s Order for Upright Citizenry.
Basically, my thoughts are the whole angsty 'grim-dark' version of evil is quite boring and actually not suited to PFS play. My suggestion would be to go back and embrace that whole moustache twiddling version of evil which is fun, ridiculous and frequently hilarious.
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so, the title says most of it, i'm planning on building a cleric of asmodeus for my irst PSF character, and i'm curious of how I should RP it. How evil, should/can I be?
There's no "one way" to play it, but here's a few options:
1. Devoted servant of Cheliax. You cling to the Law in Lawful Neutral, having either heard or seen what the chaotic influence of Demons has done to your land. Serving the needs of your nation is foremost in your Maslov's Hierarchy of needs. What better to spread the faith of your strict, yet powerful Master.2. Contractual bargainer. When you sit down, pass around a "contract" to each player at the table stating the terms under which you will heal / cure / raise them. Everyone has a price. Don't go out of your way to do nice things unless people sign away their soul to Asmodeus. They don't need it that much, anyway...
3. The Deceiver. To anyone that doesn't know better, you're an upstanding model of what a Pathfinder should try to be. When pressed about your faith, you try to dispel myths and rumors about Asmodeus and present him in a different light. Of course, stereotypes are often rooted in truth, and you really are rotten to the core... but sure you'll rescue that villager. Soon your time will come.
What not to play:
1. You can't spell "Slaughter" without "Laughter." The villagers won't give me what I want? Forget about diplomacy, I'm leaving a trail of corpses from Irrisen to Absalom.
2. "I'm an evil, self-centered jerk. I kick puppies just because. Everyone in my party hates me, and that's ok, because I'm playing my character the way I want to."
3. "Heh heh heh. Cool. I worship the Devil. I'm not mature enough to handle the intricacies of deep, moral issues and like evil because it's "cool."
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Although having said that most Clerics of a particular god SHOULD have several characteristics that they share. Playing how you want to is fine as long as you set yourself boundaries.
I expect Clerics of Desna to be happy go lucky types who love the open road/ ocean , fight followers of Lamashtu wherever they might find them. I dont expect them to be uptight, extremely lawful types.
But please dont pick Desna just because she has the Travel domain (I cry everytime I see someone with that forsakenly good domain)
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the character in the society play has to focus on the law aspect of the church, he is the first god of order after all. So with that in mind, your character would uphold every law which applies.
LN, is about upholding the laws.... LE, is about upholding the laws which you like, and finding loopholes in those which you don't. Playing LE, is easier then LN, it gives you more flexibility. However in the society, LE is not allowed.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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LE, is about upholding the laws which you like, and finding loopholes in those which you don't. Playing LE, is easier then LN, it gives you more flexibility. However in the society, LE is not allowed.
Um, no. That's NE. Might be time to re-read the CRB's definitions. The good/evil axis does not affect how tightly you hold to your place on the law/chaos axis. The two are independent. That's how axes work.
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anyways, i am not going to jump into that argument, because objectively the players perceptive is what matters and how they can justify it to the DM. This thread, if it continues down that road, will be quite long and solve nothing... this is based on the years of experience dealing with alignments and how players view them.
Lets go back to the cleric asmodeus...
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I just don't see how you can worship a DEVIL and not be evil...
That devil has the portfolio of contracts, which is a hugely powerful source of divine power. In Golarion, if you are employed... Asmodeus is there. If you start trading with your neighbour... Asmodeus is there. When you marry your wife... Asmodeus is there.
His nature is to corrupt and cheat, but in order for that to happen, there needs to be a system, a set of game rules in place first. By filtering his power into 'the system', he's rigged the game so that he is always winning. It also means a large amount of lawful mortals are drawn into his web. They don't have to be stomping kittens in order to whittle away at the power of Good.
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I have an 11 level LN cleric of Asmodeus. I have had allot of fun with this character.
He has ranks in Diplomacy, Sense Motive, Bluff (through trickery domain), and profession: Barrister.
No ranks in heal. not a single one.
He is a negative energy channeler.
I have emphasized the legal aspect of this character, working on contracts and agreements etc.
My favorite moment with this character:
I have had fun making "bargains" with characters...offering to help them in exchange for a favor in the future.....you would be surprised how many people turned down my character's offer of help.
Anyways I also have enjoyed playing through the Lassalan story arc, picking up goodies, and then facing the big bad and barely surviving the vilian at the end.
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Asmodeus is the 'House' in Vegas. Every game has a set of rules, but you will find most rules favor the House.
Sure you might occasionally win big, but at the end of the day the House wins far more than it loses
Also, Magnus Khollarix High Cleric of Mephistopheles would like to point out it is the Red King who holds the contracts of those the Infernal realms has yet to claim. Asmodeus is far too tied up in the mortal concerns of a Golarion nation to commit his energies to the proper controls required by the Hells.
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Asmodeus is the 'House' in Vegas. Every game has a set of rules, but you will find most rules favor the House.
Sure you might occasionally win big, but at the end of the day the House wins far more than it loses
From now on, I will imagine Asmodeus speaking like Robert Edwin House and being attended by succubi modeled after old Hollywood sex symbols.
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That devil has the portfolio of contracts, which is a hugely powerful source of divine power. In Golarion, if you are employed... Asmodeus is there. If you start trading with your neighbour... Asmodeus is there. When you marry your wife... Asmodeus is there.
His nature is to corrupt and cheat, but in order for that to happen, there needs to be a system, a set of game rules in place first. By filtering his power into 'the system', he's rigged the game so that he is always winning. It also means a large amount of lawful mortals are drawn into his web. They don't have to be stomping kittens in order to whittle away at the power of Good.
For the lay person sure, I can see his influence over the folks as peripheral. However, we are talking about a cleric here. The cleric has to know at some point that he is worshipping a DEVIL! Since the DEVIL's nature is to corrupt, just how long do you really think a cleric can go without fully embracing the tenets of the faith or switching altogether?
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To turn that around, do you think that, given time, a devout healer of Sarenrae who has worn the cloth for decades would eventually learn to fully embrace Dawnflower's tenets of smiting the infidel, to live by the scimitar? That's one of her aspects, afterall.
To return to OP's questions, we have a local Seeker cleric of Asmodeus. He's equal parts Anton LaVey(sorry for any practising Satanists present, this is going to be fairly off, hope it's not demeaning), preaching about the perfection of self, through Hell and diabolist ways of course, and Macato, the charming coven master. If respect is not given, hellfire awaits. But bargaining is always possible, always.
It's funny to play the foil, since my Seeker is an aloof pirate who worships a pantheon of watery deities and demigods from Dagon to Hanspur :D
1: Get people to sign contracts w/o reading them
2: Try to enslave any halfling you meet
3: Dye your skin read
4: Carry a Leash with you no matter what
5: FIRE, ALWAYS FIRE
6:Did I mention enslaving halflings?
7: Buy a slave to carry your stuff
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How, oh how, did I miss this thread for so long? Great Asmodeus, allow me a short break from preaching of your power to respond to this fellow aspirant.
Now young Akolbi, I shall instruct you in the ways of Asmodeus.
1) The Law is Paramount. The law must be followed in all cases.
-If an adversary kills several of your companions but local laws demand that you must bring him to trial rather than ending him yourself, you must do so no matter how just your claim.
-If local law forbids the active worship of a deity (such as the case in heathen Rahadoum) you must temporarily cease your prayers.
2) All Must Know Their Place.
-If you are tasked by a Venture-Captain to explore a backwards region, it is not your place to question why he would send you.
-If peasants, servants, or slaves fail to give their masters the proper respect that is due, you should chastise them for their lack of decorum.
3) Cooperation in Clearly Defined Roles.
-Any journey, exploration, or revival meeting will go much smoother if all participants are aware of the functions they are expected to perform prior to the moment such an event is upon you. A signed contract is an excellent way to ensure the duties are understood.
-All groups need a leader and who could be a better leader than a dedicated servant of Asmodeus? One who understands order and is used to giving direction? None.
I know that I have managed to instruct you well. Now please excuse me. Something called the "Moonscar" awaits and I have several dictums to prepare.
Cardamus Ispherion
Evangelist of Asmodeus