Common board assumptions

[JackRackham]

...that I think maybe we should be more cautious of:

1. The Snarl is not a threat. This may be true. It may have become a benevolent world building hug-machine. But it may have simply learned to bide its time. In other words, it may be waiting for the last gate to fall before it makes it's move.

2. Xykon cannot control the gate. What we KNOW is that the Dark One's plan would allow HIM to control the gate. Whether or not Xykon will figure this out in time and/or whether he will find a way to maybe change the arcane portion to maybe give him control, has yet to be seen.

3. Redcloak is manipulating Xykon. What we actually know is that Redcloak is attempting to manipulate Xykon. We cannot be sure how successful his attempt is.

4. There will be another gate/the story is almost over. This stems from comments about how many books are left. Understandable. It seems to me, however, that there are other possibilities. The order may get transported to the works in the rift, or may have to go to Xykon's demiplane (as suggested elsewhere). Or they may have a side quest to get their party back up to strength. I'm sure there are possibilities I've not thought of.

5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.

I'm sure there are others. These were iff the top of my head. Feel free to add/critique. I'm not saying, by the way, that these assumptions will be wrong, or even tgat they don't represent the most likely scenario, just that they could be wrong.

[Tragak]

Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.

I just got scared. So much sense was just made.

[Jubal_Barca]

1 4 and 5 I agree on, 2 and 3 I think are more reasonable.

830 explicitly states that it's the divine part of the ritual that determines control of the gate; the arcane part mostly does the actual heavy lifting to move the damn thing. Furthermore, Xykon cannot know Redcloak's part of the ritual as it's given to him direct from his God and in any case doesn't have the necessary skills to understand it, hence Tsukiko taking a look.

I can't see a reasonable explanation for the RC/Xykon dynamic being as it is that doesn't imply that Xykon is largely oblivious to RC's actual plans.

[TRH]

Yeah, we shouldn't pretend we know exactly what the Dark One has in mind; with the Snarl at his disposal, he could get away with anything.

Some of my own:

1. Malack will die soon. After spending ~150 strips building up his character and all the ambiguity therein, I really don't see why so many people expect (or want) Malack to die immediately. Come on, people! He's just started to show us what motivates him and what he's capable of. Let the vamp have his time in the sun (pun indeed)!

2. Vaarsuvius will show up any moment. This was more of a problem when Belkar and later Durkon were fighting Malack, but I still feel compelled to bring it up. The last time we saw V, she was in the middle of a truly massive BSOD that's arguably the culmination of a character arc that goes back over 700 strips. Think about that for a moment, because this all started when V killed the Black Dragon in the Starmetal Cave. Whatever direction V goes from here, I for one would not want it to be rushed, not when so much time has been invested into it already.

I might come up with some more later, but those are what I've got off the top of my head.

[JackRackham]

I just got scared. So much sense was just made.

Yeah. I have that effect on people. :cool:


This one isn't so much an assumption, but I think people forget about he IFCC too. They at such a huge wild-card right now. That's really the point of this thread. However much we think we know where this is going, we don't. There's just too much we don't know yet. There's a lot of comic left. Hell, we don't even have the whole story on the OotScribble yet.

[Bird]

1 4 and 5 I agree on, 2 and 3 I think are more reasonable.

830 explicitly states that it's the divine part of the ritual that determines control of the gate; the arcane part mostly does the actual heavy lifting to move the damn thing. Furthermore, Xykon cannot know Redcloak's part of the ritual as it's given to him direct from his God and in any case doesn't have the necessary skills to understand it, hence Tsukiko taking a look.

I can't see a reasonable explanation for the RC/Xykon dynamic being as it is that doesn't imply that Xykon is largely oblivious to RC's actual plans.
Xykon wouldn't have sent Tsukiko in the first instance if he wasn't suspicious.

Consider, too, that this is a guy who loves belittling Redcloak, loves shoving his authority in Redcloak's face. When Redcloak iced Tsukiko, Xykon could have confronted Redcloak and owned up to sending her in. He didn't. He played it cool and decided to bide his time.

Xykon likes to travel, and Redcloak frequently doesn't know where he is. He spent all that time on the astral plane making a fortress for his phylactery. Is that all he was up to? We have no idea. He may have sources of information we don't know about.

Xykon's not as dumb as he acts. While I agree it would be surprising if he knew the totality of Redcloak's plans, there's some cat-and-mouse going on with his lieutenant.

[dps]

...that I think maybe we should be more cautious of:

1. The Snarl is not a threat. This may be true. It may have become a benevolent world building hug-machine. But it may have simply learned to bide its time. In other words, it may be waiting for the last gate to fall before it makes it's move.

I don't think that this is exactly a common board assumptions. Yes, no doubt some people assume this, but I think the more common view is that we don't really know the nature of the Snarl, and it might not be as it is depicted by the Crayons of Time.


2. Xykon cannot control the gate. What we KNOW is that the Dark One's plan would allow HIM to control the gate. Whether or not Xykon will figure this out in time and/or whether he will find a way to maybe change the arcane portion to maybe give him control, has yet to be seen.

This one, yes is the common assumption, and it seems reasonable to make.


3. Redcloak is manipulating Xykon. What we actually know is that Redcloak is attempting to manipulate Xykon. We cannot be sure how successful his attempt is.

As Jubal_Barca said, it's hard to see how there's a reasonable explanation for the relationship between Xykon and Redcloak unless Xykon is largely unaware of how Redcloak is misleading him. He is almost certainly somewhat suspicious of Redcloak's ultimate motives and plans, but that's probably just his nature without any specific reasons for it.


4. There will be another gate/the story is almost over. This stems from comments about how many books are left. Understandable. It seems to me, however, that there are other possibilities. The order may get transported to the works in the rift, or may have to go to Xykon's demiplane (as suggested elsewhere). Or they may have a side quest to get their party back up to strength. I'm sure there are possibilities I've not thought of.

There's been a ton of things that forshadow that we're going to see the climax of the story at Kraagor's Gate. This assumption, too, I think is reasonable.


5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.

There's certainly been speculation that the Dark One is misleading Redcloak as much as Redcloak is leading Xykon, and some of the speculation about what the Dark One is really planning posits goes in that direction. Not sure how common this is.

Of course, even assumptions that are reasonable can be wrong.

[Tebryn]

5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.


I've got another one. That the Dark One wants equality. That's a -huge- assumption. Not only that but Red Cloak has said he doesn't care if the world gets destroyed. He's working for his God and that's all that matters.

[Ellye]

I sometimes wonder how much does Redcloak himself truly knows about The Plan.

But I do think that "equality" isn't exactly what The Dark One has in mind.

[Thrillhouse]

Xykon wouldn't have sent Tsukiko in the first instance if he wasn't suspicious.

Consider, too, that this is a guy who loves belittling Redcloak, loves shoving his authority in Redcloak's face. When Redcloak iced Tsukiko, Xykon could have confronted Redcloak and owned up to sending her in. He didn't. He played it cool and decided to bide his time.

Xykon likes to travel, and Redcloak frequently doesn't know where he is. He spent all that time on the astral plane making a fortress for his phylactery. Is that all he was up to? We have no idea. He may have sources of information we don't know about.

Xykon's not as dumb as he acts. While I agree it would be surprising if he knew the totality of Redcloak's plans, there's some cat-and-mouse going on with his lieutenant.

So much this. The entire Tsukiko incident shows Xykon at the very least suspects Redcloak is up to something. He definitely does not trust him.

[skim172]

5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.

Actually, Redcloak addressed this in SoD. He said there was a good chance that the Snarl might get loose and destroy the world, but the Dark One would be included in the reconstruction process from the beginning and thus, protect the lot of the goblinoids in the new world. Far from surprising RC, he seems ready to give his life for the possibility.

[JackRackham]

No, I get that, but I think that may actually be the plan, not simply a possible consequence of failure. And RC has said that he accepts the risk, not that he doesn't care.

To clarify, by common I meant that it's come up several times, not that it's universal.

[sam79]

1. The Snarl is not a threat. This may be true.

There is a more extreme version of this; the Snarl doesn't even exist (even if it did at one time). I think the most we can conclude, like V, is that there is a lot we still don't know.




2. Xykon cannot control the gate. What we KNOW is that the Dark One's plan would allow HIM to control the gate. Whether or not Xykon will figure this out in time and/or whether he will find a way to maybe change the arcane portion to maybe give him control, has yet to be seen.

Not much to say on this one really, but there is probably a big difference between what Xykon (and Redcloak probably) think they can do with the Gate, and what they will actually be able to do.


3. Redcloak is manipulating Xykon. What we actually know is that Redcloak is attempting to manipulate Xykon. We cannot be sure how successful his attempt is.

Very much this. The events in SoD demonstrate more than anything that Xykon is a lot more savvy than he lets on. The cat and mouse between the two is fascinating, not least because it is not 100% clear who is the cat and who is the mouse. I'd put my ten gold on the Big X though.


4. There will be another gate/the story is almost over. This stems from comments about how many books are left. Understandable. It seems to me, however, that there are other possibilities. The order may get transported to the works in the rift, or may have to go to Xykon's demiplane (as suggested elsewhere). Or they may have a side quest to get their party back up to strength. I'm sure there are possibilities I've not thought of.

Wherever else the party go, before or after, I think it is a sure bet they will go to Kragor's gate. I think this is likely to be the setting for the final showdown. Whether there will be a large (i.e. book-length) interval between finishing up at Girard's Gate and moving off to Kragor's...well, it all depends on how things finish up in this arc. They'd be unwise, for example, to head for the final gate without a working cleric.



5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.

There is some basis for this assumption, as others have already said If memory serves, Red Cloak discusses the possibility of the world being destroyed in SoD, and comments to O-Chul in the main comic that he knows his plan is a long-shot and he accepts the risks. I think the Dark One's defintion of 'more equitably' = Goblins in Charge.


Malack will die soon. After spending ~150 strips building up his character and all the ambiguity therein, I really don't see why so many people expect (or want) Malack to die immediately. Come on, people! He's just started to show us what motivates him and what he's capable of. Let the vamp have his time in the sun (pun indeed)!

I think it is exactly because he has started to show who he is and what he is capable of that means he will die soon. His arc has been to go from 'friendly and (apparently) Evil-Lite companion of Tarquin' to 'Frickin' Scary Super-Evil Abomination Who Killed and Vamped a PC'. The comic does not need any more recurring villains, especially powerful ones. And if there is to be any hope of getting something that ressembled the old Durkon back on the team, Malack's death would be a necesssary and (for me at least!) very welcome step on that path.

[Raineh Daze]

I think it is exactly because he has started to show who he is and what he is capable of that means he will die soon. His arc has been to go from 'friendly and (apparently) Evil-Lite companion of Tarquin' to 'Frickin' Scary Super-Evil Abomination Who Killed and Vamped a PC'. The comic does not need any more recurring villains, especially powerful ones. And if there is to be any hope of getting something that ressembled the old Durkon back on the team, Malack's death would be a necesssary and (for me at least!) very welcome step on that path.

'Doesn't recur' does not equate to 'must die'. His interests are bound up in the western continent, what reason would he have to go traipsing to dwarf lands?

Also, the latest strip suggests Durkon will be free to do what he wants when they get back to the palace, so Malack doesn't have to die in order to progress.

[sam79]

'Doesn't recur' does not equate to 'must die'. His interests are bound up in the western continent, what reason would he have to go traipsing to dwarf lands?

Also, the latest strip suggests Durkon will be free to do what he wants when they get back to the palace, so Malack doesn't have to die in order to progress.

I don't know about you, but ever villain I ever encountered in D+D came back to haunt me later, unless I made sure they were dead. Sometimes even that wasn't enough. :smallwink: But you are right that there are scenarios in which Malack could continue his existance and not be a direct problem for the Order. But given his programme for the Western Continent, I'd prefer to see him ended.

I don't know enogh about vampirism in D+D to know if not under direct control=Free to do what he wants. Even so, this is only to happen after 'they all return to Bleedingham' after achieving the party's goals. That could take...some time, depending on how long-term these goals are. And this assumes that Malack a) is being honest about his intentions here and b) doesn't change his mind.

[Bulldog Psion]

5. The Dark One's plan would not destroy the world. Wouldn't equality for the monster races almost require the re-writing of the laws of the universe? Wouldn't that imply remaking the world? I think it's entirely possible that his plan is to unleash the Snarl on the Gods (or simply threaten to) in order to force the destruction of OOTS world and reconfiguring it more equitably. This would be a great irony for RC.



That is alarmingly plausible. :smalleek: In that case, would Redcloak continue to aid the plan, or would he turn his back on his god?

[factotum]

There is a more extreme version of this; the Snarl doesn't even exist (even if it did at one time).

My view is that it doesn't exist now and never did at any time--all the information we have about the thing is at best third hand, and the Gods could have lied about it for their own reasons.

[CoffeeIncluded]

My view is that it doesn't exist now and never did at any time--all the information we have about the thing is at best third hand, and the Gods could have lied about it for their own reasons.

No, we know SOMETHING is there that kills people and destroys their souls (see Mijung). Also, I have no clue who's going to get the upper hand in the Redcloak vs Xykon struggle. They're not playing a game of cat and mouse, they're playing a game of cat and cat.

[Flame of Anor]

They're not playing a game of cat and mouse, they're playing a game of cat and cat.

That's a great way to put it.

[hamishspence]

No, we know SOMETHING is there that kills people and destroys their souls (see Mijung).

Still third-hand: Shojo's account of Soon's account of what happened.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Still third-hand: Shojo's account of Soon's account of what happened.

There's no reason for that to be unreliable, and we also know from Girard's illusion (first hand, meant for Soon), that Kraagor died in the rift, and that they couldn't bring him back.


That's a great way to put it.

Thank you!

[hamishspence]

There's no reason for that to be unreliable, and we also know from Girard's illusion (first hand, meant for Soon), that Kraagor died in the rift, and that they couldn't bring him back.

True- Girard's illusion does corroborate some of Shojo's story.

[Kish]

There's no reason for that to be unreliable, and we also know from Girard's illusion (first hand, meant for Soon), that Kraagor died in the rift, and that they couldn't bring him back.
I hate to say it, but we actually only know that Kraagor disappeared in the rift and they couldn't get him back. Kraagor could yet turn out to have been trapped on the world in the rift all those years ago.

[Carl]

I always assumed that the reason the statue is there at the last gate is because it turned him into the statue.

[Kish]

So did lots of people, for some reason. (Making it a fitting thing for this thread, I suppose.)

[Poppy Appletree]

2. Vaarsuvius will show up any moment. This was more of a problem when Belkar and later Durkon were fighting Malack, but I still feel compelled to bring it up. The last time we saw V, she was in the middle of a truly massive BSOD that's arguably the culmination of a character arc that goes back over 700 strips. Think about that for a moment, because this all started when V killed the Black Dragon in the Starmetal Cave. Whatever direction V goes from here, I for one would not want it to be rushed, not when so much time has been invested into it already.

Regarding the BSOD: I strongly suspect Vaarsuvius has shifted to a Good alignment from a Neutral one in response to their actions.

EDIT: Relevant to this thread because people seemed to be assuming V was taking a swing to other side previously due to their actions, but the BSOD we're seeing is about Vaarsuvius rejecting such actions and feeling regret for them.

EDIT 2: Vaarsuvius's prior neutrality is also a common assumption which is relevant to this discussion.

[martianmister]

This disscussion reminds me Vodnuth's Metaphorical Snarl (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12928483#post12928483) thread and my weird post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12928483&postcount=11):



And what happened to Soon's wife if the Snarl is not a real entity?

Soon killed her in a hotly debate about alignment differences. Soon blamed his wife's chaotic tendencies for her own death. Snarl is an obvious metaphor for chaotic alignments and chaos in general. Killed six eastern gods are representing non-chaotic six alignments:

LG = Zeus
NG = Apollo
LN = Poseidon
TN = Demeter
LE = Ares
NE = Hades

Aphrodite is representing Soon's wife and other delusional people who believed the goodness of Chaos.

[Snails]

They're not playing a game of cat and mouse, they're playing a game of cat and cat.

Huz-ZAH! Inspired turn of phrase there.

Redcloak is very fortunate that Tsukiko was so stupid as to force his hand, while giving him a perfect excuse at the same time. Now Xykon has no plausible replacement for Redcloak, and vice versa.

[Kish]

EDIT 2: Vaarsuvius's prior neutrality is also a common assumption which is relevant to this discussion.
1) Not an assumption. Word of the Author.
2) Someone who committed mass murder and didn't regret it would be thoroughly and unambiguously evil. Vaarsuvius committed mass murder. Regretting it is an absence of conclusive evidence that Vaarsuvius is now evil; it's taking a great deal more than is indicated to presume that s/he is therefore all the way to good.

[The Pilgrim]

There is a more extreme version of this; the Snarl doesn't even exist (even if it did at one time).

I've always been a defendant of the theory that the Snarl not only doesn't exists, but also has never existed.

[Flame of Anor]

Thank you!

Frankly, I'd be surprised to see one of your comments not be right on the mark.


This disscussion reminds me Vodnuth's Metaphorical Snarl (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12928483#post12928483) thread and my weird post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12928483&postcount=11):



And what happened to Soon's wife if the Snarl is not a real entity?

Soon killed her in a hotly debate about alignment differences.

I doubt it. Unless there's a lot more to the story, he would probably have fallen for that.

[Kish]

I've always been a defendant of the theory that the Snarl not only doesn't exists, but also has never existed.*spluf* Unless you mean that said theory is prosecuting you for a crime, y'might want to edit that to "defender."

[Thrax]

This disscussion reminds me Vodnuth's Metaphorical Snarl (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12928483#post12928483) thread and my weird post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=12928483&postcount=11):

Wait, what? Zeus the notorious cheater and psycho as lawful? Ares the berserker as lawful? Um...

If there is no Snarl, Soon's wife may have just fell to the world inside, just like Kraagor later. They couldn't resurrect them because they were still alive, in a sealed-off plane.

[CoffeeIncluded]

I hate to say it, but we actually only know that Kraagor disappeared in the rift and they couldn't get him back. Kraagor could yet turn out to have been trapped on the world in the rift all those years ago.

Perhaps, but again, there's Mijung to deal with. Of course Soon would hide exactly what killed her, but with his position of power in Azure City, there is some public record/memory/whatever of her death. People know when the powerful dude's wife dies, even if they don't know the exact reason why. Shojo had no reason to lie about that, and I don't think he even could have lied about that.


Huz-ZAH! Inspired turn of phrase there.

Redcloak is very fortunate that Tsukiko was so stupid as to force his hand, while giving him a perfect excuse at the same time. Now Xykon has no plausible replacement for Redcloak, and vice versa.


Frankly, I'd be surprised to see one of your comments not be right on the mark.

Heheh, thanks. :smallredface:

And yeah, someone had to be the mouse in this game, and it turned out to be Tsukiko, who thought her and Redcloak's roles were reversed.

[ReaderAt2046]

Wait, what? Zeus the notorious cheater and psycho as lawful? Ares the berserker as lawful? Um...

Well, it's possible that the Eastern Gods are a blend of aspects from the Greek and Roman pantheons. Zeus and Ares weren't particularly lawful but Jupiter and Mars were. (Mars was patron of the legions, the protector of civilization and home. Juptier was the Divine Emporer, making the laws for the gods. Also, Rome in general was a very lawful society, far more so than Greece).

[Carl]

So did lots of people, for some reason. (Making it a fitting thing for this thread, I suppose.)

Well i assumed it was more a case of the prison being formed as small as possible around the breach, assuming anything physical inside the spell cannot be crushed down the appearance of it leads me to believe that it would take on the form of Kragor who is larger than the rift.

Though i do have an interesting question. What was Kragor even doing in range of the hole in the first place?

Complete crackpot theory. Thanks to the fact that the denzin's of this world are effectively made of threads, they can actually fight the snarl and it's just a really nasty epic level threat rather than a god killing abomination. They're made of the same stuff, only smaller amounts.

As for Soon. He's a paladin, whatever he told to the Sapphire guard is the truth as he knows it. He might be able to lie by omission, but since Shojo was there for the first telling and has a lot of ranks in Paranoia i think he'd have spotted them and mentioned them if he knew. My guess is Soon and co made a bunch of assumptions/guesses/e.t.c. based on what they could find out, but that what they worked out/found out isn't necessaraly the whole story.

[Kish]

since Shojo was there for the first telling
Uh? Soon transferred leadership of the Sapphire Guard to Shojo's father when Shojo was "but a boy." Shojo inherited "all of the secrets" from his father.

That doesn't lead me to think Soon personally explained everything that happened to the boy Shojo.

[Carl]

Uh? Soon transferred leadership of the Sapphire Guard to Shojo's father when Shojo was "but a boy." Shojo inherited "all of the secrets" from his father.

That doesn't lead me to think Soon personally explained everything that happened to the boy Shojo.

It was my understanding that Soon only explained everything to someone outside the paladins when he transferred command. Shojo was there for that.

Also another crackpot theory, assuming for a moment that the sealing conformed to Kragor, who wants to bet breaking him might just let him out?

Would be epic, (pun not intended), to see his reaction to events afterwords, something makes me feel like he might have been the only sane man, (in a manner of speaking) that helped hold the group together.

[glissle]

Another common assumption is that Xykon was telling the truth when he said that he doesn't want to destroy the world. He might be bored with un-life, and having his soul undone by the Snarl might seem like a good way to permanently "avoid the big fire below".

I don't think Xykon actively wants to destroy the world, including himself, but he might be tempted to.

[rodneyAnonymous]

Also, "Hades is evil" is an extremely modern and Western interpretation. He was arguably the most neutral god in the Olympian pantheon, from the mortals' point of view.

[Kish]

Shojo was there for that.
That's quite an assumption.

"Now I'm going to tell you secrets which my paladins committed mass slaughter to ensure remained secrets. No, you don't need to send your seven-year-old away first."

[Tragak]

He might be bored with un-life, and having his soul undone by the Snarl might seem like a good way to permanently "avoid the big fire below".

Wait, but if Redcloak also wants to destroy the world so that the Dark One can be involved in rebuilding the new one, are they -in spite of their best efforts- secretly on the same side? :smalleek:

[Thrax]

Also, "Hades is evil" is an extremely modern and Western interpretation. He was arguably the most neutral god in the Olympian pantheon, from the mortals' point of view.

Hades was arguably lawful neutral, because he was all about oaths and natural order, though the whole kidnapping of Persephone business may make him true neutral.


Well, it's possible that the Eastern Gods are a blend of aspects from the Greek and Roman pantheons. Zeus and Ares weren't particularly lawful but Jupiter and Mars were. (Mars was patron of the legions, the protector of civilization and home. Juptier was the Divine Emporer, making the laws for the gods. Also, Rome in general was a very lawful society, far more so than Greece).

You have absolutely no reason to believe so. They were given the Greek names and unless we get any sort of hint they have anything from the Roman versions, I'm going to judge them for personalities present under the names we do have.