|
I'm making a demonic apostle, and was wondering I could roleplay worshipping an evil entity while remaining neutral. All of my characters have been good aligned to some degree, so I have a personally difficult time trying to play an evil character. Thus, I'd like to take it one step at a time down the alignment train.
Any and all advice is accepted.
1st. demon != devil. We Asmodians are quite offended.
2nd. There is a cleric archetype, appeaser(agents of evil), that is exactly what you are looking for. They are literally clerics that worship a god they do not support, hoping their wrath will be assuaged.
3. Another idea is to worship just the non evil parts of a god's domains/beliefs. IE: Hellknights follow the ideal state of order Asmodeus is trying to put it into. They simply disagree with Asmodian selfishness. You can do this with most of the evil factions
4. Malconvoker logic. I use the powers of evil for good ends. While alignment debates are eternal, if your dm agrees this is an option
Is there a desperate need to play such a character?
Is there a desperate need to play such a character?
Cookies.
Hmm. It just seems odd. I mean if evil existed, I'm not sure why as a hero player character you would dedicate their life to serving something the rest of the party is fighting against. Unless the whole party is neutral, in which case good luck trying to get them to do anything. The whole appeasement thing sounds a bit odd to me in a Pantheonic system where there are alternatives. It sounds like a cool NPC lousy PC.
I mean, I think that players should design characters that can work in a group with others and play nice. Otherwise you're starting on the back foot, right out of the gate.
But each to their own.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I have 2 PFS characters that worship evil dieties.
My core Cleric/Fighter/Shadowdancer/Barbarian chose to worship Urgathoa because after she died in one adventure, she found it was not at all like she'd been led to believe as a cleric of Pharasma. Now she can slay her enemies without pretending to not enjoy it.
My Trapper Ranger/Knifemaster Unrogue worships Andirifkhu the Razor Princess because of the demon lord's penchant for knives and traps and willingness to use them.
EDIT: They don't worship them because they're evil but rather because they appeal to their soul.
Serenity felt betrayed by her faith and found comfort in Urgathoa to be who she is and not what society wants her to be.
Misericorde has an...obsessive...fascination with knives and traps. He/She also happens to harbor deep-rooted feelings against elves but is otherwise perfectly willing to help people.
|
|
I have 2 PFS characters that worship evil dieties.
My core Cleric/Fighter/Shadowdancer/Barbarian chose to worship Urgathoa because after she died in one adventure, she found it was not at all like she'd been led to believe as a cleric of Pharasma. Now she can slay her enemies without pretending to not enjoy it.
My Trapper Ranger/Knifemaster Unrogue worships Andirifkhu the Razor Princess because of the demon lord's penchant for knives and traps and willingness to use them.
EDIT: They don't worship them because they're evil but rather because they appeal to their soul.
Serenity felt betrayed by her faith and found comfort in Urgathoa to be who she is and not what society wants her to be.
Misericorde has an...obsessive...fascination with knives and traps. He/She also happens to harbor deep-rooted feelings against elves but is otherwise perfectly willing to help people.
I like these, and you just gave me an idea. This is much appreciated.
You could play them as an appeaser. A worshiper of a deity doesn't necessarily have to love/agree with/be happy about that deity. They could simply be a neutral person who feels that these very powerful beings are better left placated than opposed. Lots of "real" gods in human mythology are pretty awful, but people who weren't themselves awful still worshiped them and did whatever was necessary to keep them happy.
And don't listen to those voices who say that's the smooth, gentle, broad road to Hell. They're just trying to distract you from keeping the evil deities at peace with your worship...
I like these, and you just gave me an idea. This is much appreciated.I have 2 PFS characters that worship evil dieties.
My core Cleric/Fighter/Shadowdancer/Barbarian chose to worship Urgathoa because after she died in one adventure, she found it was not at all like she'd been led to believe as a cleric of Pharasma. Now she can slay her enemies without pretending to not enjoy it.
My Trapper Ranger/Knifemaster Unrogue worships Andirifkhu the Razor Princess because of the demon lord's penchant for knives and traps and willingness to use them.
EDIT: They don't worship them because they're evil but rather because they appeal to their soul.
Serenity felt betrayed by her faith and found comfort in Urgathoa to be who she is and not what society wants her to be.
Misericorde has an...obsessive...fascination with knives and traps. He/She also happens to harbor deep-rooted feelings against elves but is otherwise perfectly willing to help people.
You're welcome...? I've never been complemented for my outlandish subpar characters before; what is this warm feeling in my chest?
That said, neither of these characters should be looked up to or immitated.
Misericorde attempted multiple coup d'gras and blood sacrifices during his/her last scenario, none of which were particularly effective at 2d4+1d8 damage with terrible rolls. It was also tripping on mystical fountain water that allowed it to converse with a cyclops in the ancient past, sooo...
And Serenity is utterly broken. She's multiclassed to hell, gave the finger to some Pharsaman priests while she was disguised as a ghoul in Geb, and will brutally murder anyone who tries to hurt her mommy (read: shadow companion). SHE ONCE BOUGHT A DOLPHIN FOR DINNER! (and that one was before her crisis of faith)
Hmm. It just seems odd. I mean if evil existed, I'm not sure why as a hero player character you would dedicate their life to serving something the rest of the party is fighting against. Unless the whole party is neutral, in which case good luck trying to get them to do anything. The whole appeasement thing sounds a bit odd to me in a Pantheonic system where there are alternatives. It sounds like a cool NPC lousy PC.
I mean, I think that players should design characters that can work in a group with others and play nice. Otherwise you're starting on the back foot, right out of the gate.
But each to their own.
1st serving an evil entity does not necessarily make you evil. Don't get me wrong, the correlation is definitely there. Particularly with relative morality games one can serve an evil power and not be evil
2nd There are different evils. There are tons of different types of evil and many/most of them are opposed to one another. Going after the worse of 2 evils and working with the lesser are classics for a reason
3rd Evil characters can work very well with party members. It is only as much of a problem as the "better" people make it. You will never find a more tolerant party member than a CE nor a more cooperative than a LE. So long as everyone can avoid killing each other its perfectly ok
4th Unlike the good alignment, supporting the ideal of evil is the least common reason to be evil, not to mention extremely Saturday morning cartoonish. Evil characters tend to be more self serving far more than serving some concept of advancing evil as a whole
5th Appeasement is the act of either giving up or being practical. In the first case it acts as a very humanizing trait. See Avengers 1 when Loki arrived. In the face of the overwhelming, people generally will give in to fear. It can give a very powerful setup for when they ultimately decide whether to resist. In the other case it could simply be an attempt to bide for time. Rather than openly struggle against evil powers, these characters might being waiting for the opportune moment as to avoid being killed prematurely. Or like Chelaxians they might simply accept that opposition is not an option at the moment so going with the flow is the only thing left
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Asmodeus is the easy grab here. Outside of the 'law and order' items above, he holds the key for Rovagug's prison.
"Of course I venerate Asmodeus, as should you. Even if you do not agree with all of his views, understand that it is critical he have enough worshippers to have sufficient power to retain the key that keeps the most destructive force in creation locked away for all our sakes."
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It obviously varies depending on how you want the character to play out, but I'd suggest trying to focus on the non-Evil aspects of their deity to build your character around.
As an example, my "main" PFS character (LN Oracle/Hellknight Signifer/Diabolist) was built with a Planescape Blood War-style Law-versus-Chaos mentality. She is a devout and unrepentant follower of Asmodeus, due in part to being raised in post-Thrune Ascendancy Cheliax, but styles herself primarily as a "demon hunter", far more concerned with threats such as the Worldwound than squabbling with well-meaning, but "misguided" (from her perspective) followers of Iomedae.
She is by-and-large rather zen about things, treating her LG counterparts with a light touch, patiently playing the long game, and generally acting with an type of attitude. By contrast, demons and demon worshipers are put to the flame without hesitation.
Since she was designed, in part, to be a healer, her main focus on missions is keeping those in her care alive and well, supporting them with buffs and some anti-extraplanar standbys, and raining down hellfire (sometimes literally) on her foes, mainly in that order. Just because the paladin has been glaring at the imp on my shoulder all day is no excuse to let them die on my watch.
Hope that helps.
|
I found the drow heritage alternate racial trait for half elves. Would that be a good replacement for the half drow paragon feat, or is the feat still required?
I figure, with a half elf, I can spend the skill focus on use magic device, and then spend my initial feat on point blank shot towards an archer cleric whose familiar uses UMD to emphasize the support aspect.
Thoughts?
Your mom is a cultist, mostly because it's a great excuse to get the girls together and have tea and biscuits afterwards.
Having been raised in the faith, you pay lip service to it because it keeps your mom happy.
It's not like you really believe in it, but it's just easier to keep going since otherwise it'd be awkward during holiday visits.