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View Full Version : Portraying A Judeo-Christian God...Who Happens To Be Evil (Please Don't Flame!)



Leliel
2008-12-20, 06:15 PM
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Starsinger
2008-12-20, 06:27 PM
I dunno if evil's the right word. I'd go more with judgmental.

FatherMalkav
2008-12-20, 06:31 PM
I'd play him something akin to Zeus from Greek mythology; He's better then you and knows it so why bother faking anything else? I mean, you have his personality, just play him like any other NPC, tossing in supreme power for good measure.

I'd be careful at the wording of your post though. I know you don't want this to be a flame war, but you could have phrased
{Scrubbed} a bit better in my opinion.

Agrippa
2008-12-20, 06:35 PM
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Rutskarn
2008-12-20, 06:37 PM
The key word is, entitled.

This is the ruler, the head honcho, the king, the guy who has control over everyone. As far as he's concerned, anything anyone has, anywhere, ever, is a personal gift from him. This entitles him to whatever respect and worship those scrawny, mewling maggots can muster.

He sees no reason to give anything unless he is somehow benefited. He is incapable of understanding concepts like charity or compassion--those are things that happen to other people. He is above them. They are beneath him. End of story.

Careful, though--if you do go to this extreme, players will quickly find that this imperious, untouchable god grates on their nerves.

Prak
2008-12-20, 06:38 PM
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InkEyes
2008-12-20, 06:39 PM
Maybe watch some movies/read some books with notoriously arrogant, controlling BBEGs? Learn about how these types of people speak to other things that are seen as lesser in their eyes. Think about how you would act in a world where you were the most powerful thing ever and something you ruled over challenged your authority.

Did this supreme being create the universe? Why? Was it corrupted in some way along the road? The act of creating life doesn't seem like the sort of thing a selfish, arrogant thing would do.

Where does the Judeo-Chirstian thing come into this? You could easily have a supreme being without all the touchy baggage that comes with real world religions. Unless you plan on using real imagery, in that case I don't think anyone on this forum can help you without going into bad territory.

Tengu_temp
2008-12-20, 06:48 PM
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wadledo
2008-12-20, 06:57 PM
Isn't there a god like this already?
From RoD, LE, human centric etc?

SurlySeraph
2008-12-20, 07:06 PM
Isn't there a god like this already?
From RoD, LE, human centric etc?

Zarus, you mean? The problem is that Leliel seems to want a supreme god of the universe, rather than one among many. But basing it off Zarus would work well - he's basically the god of fascism.

@V: DIE, BLASPHEMER! :smalltongue:

Starsinger
2008-12-20, 07:06 PM
Isn't there a god like this already?
From RoD, LE, human centric etc?

Pelor? :smalltongue:

Caeldrim
2008-12-20, 07:19 PM
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bosssmiley
2008-12-20, 07:23 PM
Pelor? :smalltongue:

The Burning Hate. :smallamused:

"Preacher" (needy and unreliable god) and Piers Anthony's "Incarnations of Immortality" (neglectful narcissist god) are both interesting sources, as is the idea of a hands-off deity presented in "In Nomine".

Terry Pratchett's description of The Almighty as the grandmaster of the Xanatos Gambit is also fun. He has one character in "Good Omens" describe trying to second-guess the ineffable as being (I paraphrase) like playing cards in the dark, with blank cards, without knowing the rules, against a player with no tells, and who can see your cards in a mirror behind you. :smalleek:

Funny thing about Zarus. All the other major racial gods are -G in alignment, but not the god whose specific portfolio is humanity. How does that work? Cosmological cultural cringe? :smallconfused:

UserClone
2008-12-20, 07:23 PM
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Mikeavelli
2008-12-20, 07:25 PM
Read Rapture (http://www.mimir.net/torment/files/rapture.pdf)

it covers this idea extensively.

wadledo
2008-12-20, 07:25 PM
Funny thing about Zarus. All the other major racial gods are -G in alignment, but not the god whose specific portfolio is humanity. How does that work? Cosmological cultural cringe? :smallconfused:

I think it's because all the other gods have at least some conections to other races.
Zarus is just human, nothing else.

Asema
2008-12-20, 07:27 PM
Play (and beat) Shin Megami Tensei 1 & 2.

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Caeldrim
2008-12-20, 07:38 PM
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The Glyphstone
2008-12-20, 07:43 PM
You forgot Vows of Poverty, Peace, and Nonviolence.

Roland St. Jude
2008-12-20, 07:46 PM
Sheriff of Moddingham: Discussions of real world religion - even when it intersects gaming topics - is not allowed here. If you thought it was a good idea to conduct such a discussion here, I strongly recommend that you review the Forum Rules.