Avianmosquito
2013-09-29, 05:59 AM
Change has a pantheon (one of several) of eighteen deities related to the nine alignments of the game. The issue I'm having is naming them. I should probably explain the system first. Basically, there are two axis: ethics (order v. chaos) and personality (light v. dark). Now keep in mind that nobody is going to perfectly embody any of these alignments.
A character with ordered ethics is considered “order-aligned” or “lawful.” These characters obey strict and unyielding codes of conduct, following orders of their perceived superiors and ordering their perceived subordinates. They do not understand morality as anything other than “my rules are good, breaking them is evil” and cannot comprehend the idea that their rules might be wrong, or do harm. They are unable to question their rules, orders or beliefs, or to attempt to change them. They shut out all evidence to the contrary and refuse to listen to arguments against them. They seek to force others into their line of thinking and to silence those who speak against them. Those of this alignment are conformist and assimilate everything around them. These characters have +4 resolve as a factor of their strong, rigid mind-set, but -4 perception as a result of their intentional ignorance and lack of mental flexibility.
A character with chaotic ethics is considered “chaos-aligned” or “chaotic.” These characters care nothing for rules or codes, only follow orders if they have reason to do so and don’t expect others to do so either. They form their own moral codes and no two are alike. They are flexible in their rules and often will disregard their own rules, and do not understand why others will listen to them (or anyone) and follow their advice or rules without thinking about them, or without reason. They are especially baffled by the idea that others may follow rules to their own detriment, especially for no good reason. Although there is no universal truth with them, most strongly resent order and lawful individuals and will go out of their way to show their contempt for them. These characters have +2 perception and charisma as a factor of their flexible mind and lack of mental barriers, but -4 resolve as a factor of their lack of rigid codes or mental defaults.
A character with neutral ethics is considered “unaligned” or “neutral.” These characters are guided by rules and codes, usually following orders for no reason. However, unlike those aligned to order, they will not follow a rule that they have more reason to ignore than to obey. They are able (although not always willing) to question their rules, or attempt to change them. They may disobey their rules, and are not upset by those who disobey rules unless it causes trouble for them. (This can be indirect, such as harming an object of their affection.) They listen to reason, and are able to be swayed by arguments, but they have a certain amount of ethical inertia that must be overcome for them to change.
A character with a dark personality is “dark” or “cynical.” These characters take a dark and cynical, but accurate view of the world and things within it. They hone in on flaws and errors, and are good at finding their cause and source. Their attention to flaws and issues makes them unpleasant to be around, but they are also very informative and are more effective in most fields. +2 perception, -2 charisma.
A character with a light personality is “light” or “idealistic.” These characters have sunny and idealistic, but naïve view of the world and things within it. They ignore flaws and errors, and focus on the positive no matter how small it may be. They tend to accept rationalizations, and see things as evil and malicious only if it makes their lives easier to do so. Their wilful ignorance makes them uninformative and ineffective in most fields, but they are quite pleasant by most accounts. The only people that don’t tend to like them are dark individuals. -2 perception, +2 charisma.
A character with a normal personality is “normal” or “standard.” These characters tend to have a balanced worldview, with one foot in the ideal plane and one in the real world. They are not as pleasant as light characters, but are also not as ignorant.
These traits are paired to create a colour-coded alignment.
Dark/order is “Lawful Dark”, "The Enforcer" or "The Thug", and is indigo. This unusual alignment combines a cynical personality with a rigid mindset. They understand the world is broken and nothing is perfect, and simply enforce the law strictly even knowing when they cause harm. They are naturally amoral enforcers, even when they don't want to be, often doing things they don't like for no reason other than being ordered to do so. The simple truth is that no matter how much they want other things, they don't know what else to do, so they keep on as they are. Of all the lawful alignments, this one tends to be the least extreme and the most susceptible to change.
Normal/order is “Lawful”, or "The Hobbes", and is blue. This alignment combines strict coherence to law and a rigid mindset with general moral apathy. People of this alignment believe that people need the law to control every single aspect of their lives to function. Beyond that, they really don't give a ****. They believe the world will cease to function without law, but don't think of the law as being morally good or evil and don't care if it causes any harm. This alignment is dangerous due to its rigid devotion alone, and doesn't change simply because it doesn't care to.
Light/order is “Lawful Stupid”, "The Extremist" or "The Lapdog", and is cyan. This alignment is the most dangerous alignment on the table hands down. They combine a rigid and unquestioning mindset with an absolute, black and white worldview and idealistic lack of self-awareness. These characters not only believe the law is required for the world to function, but believe it is perfect and immaculate, blame any it wrongs for having been wronged by it, and truly believe everything they do is right no matter how unbelievably heinous it may really be. Be careful about these people, if their master orders them to do something they will do their best to do it without question, and will not feel the slightest twinge of regret or guilt even if it is (to the perspective of any other person) unthinkable to do so. The only bright side is that they are stupid and easily manipulated, and that they are still human so they do have *some* limits to their blind obedience, although that might be a fairly petty distinction.
Dark/neutral is “Dark” or "The Cynic", and is black. This alignment is basically the dark alignment at its purest. They pay attention to flaws and details, and tend to have their own goals as a result, and follow law and maintain structure only as it suits them. They tend to be sarcastic and caustic, but are insightful by nature and make great advisers as a result of their worldview, especially in lawful environments where they are lawful enough to work within law but chaotic enough to exploit its weaknesses.
Normal/neutral is “Apathetic”, "The Everyman", or "The Hedonist", and is grey. This alignment is pretty plain. These people are the type that really just don't care. They follow the law, when it suits them. They recognize flaws and don't have a black and white worldview, but don't pay much attention to them and don't give their worldview any more detail than they need. They generally pursue their own desires, and tend to isolate themselves from major world issues and decide anything not in front of them isn't their problem and doesn't matter to them. People of this alignment are pretty ineffectual as a result.
Light/neutral is “Light” or "The Idealist", and is white. This alignment is light at its purest. They ignore flaws and details, have a simple, black and white, absolute worldview. They tend to have their own "moral" goals and they will usually pursue it, following the law as it suits them, oblivious to any damage they cause in the process. These people are, like all light people, extremely dangerous due to their lack of self-awareness.
Dark/chaos is “Chaotic Dark”, "The Rebel", or "The Carlin" and is red. This alignment combines a free and flexible mindset with a detailed and cynical worldview. Of all alignments, this one is the most likely to take action against an authority, being unable to ignore damage they do and having no appreciation for any rules in place to hold them back. They are cunning and creative, and try to find ways to avoid punishment for their actions. Even when they don't take action, they are always aware of what goes on around them and do not feel compelled to hide it. They are, like dark characters, sarcastic and snide, but tend to make up for it by being witty and clever.
Normal/chaos is “Chaotic”, or "The Mercenary", and is orange. This alignment is a mixture of chaos and amorality. These people don't follow rules and don't care about morals one way or another. They don't tend to be intentionally hurtful or cruel, and usually won't harm others, but this is for practical or emotional reasons rather than moral ones. A chaotic character may refrain from hurting another simply because it makes them feel bad to do so, and they might actually help people for the praise, for reward, or just to feel superior. But they don't do moral things for their own sake because they don't care about morality, and they don't follow laws either unless they have to. These people may seem unreliable, but are actually good underlings if you can keep them motivated because they don't have moral or legal systems to restrict their actions as they do your bidding and if presented good reason to listen they will, whether this be to get a reward, to avoid punishment or both. That said, they probably won't like it if joining you wasn't by choice and/or they can't quit. Their added flexibility in carrying out tasks makes them overall more effective as well, although they come at a much higher cost.
Light/chaos is “Chaotic Light”, "The Vigilante" or "The Crusader", and is yellow. This alignment combines a flexible, unrestricted mindset with a simple, idealistic worldview and lack of self awareness. These people have an agenda, something they truly believe is right, and will do anything they have to in order to achieve it. They are individually more competent than members of the other light alignments due to their lack of restriction in their methods, but they tend to be disorganized and own chaotic nature allows them to freely and easily question themselves and their ideals, making them more likely to realise when they are doing wrong and stop. Of all the light alignments, this one is the least extreme and most susceptible to change.
These colours show on detect alignment spells and any circumstance where aura shows. Alignment spells also show the colour of their particular alignment.
Now, what I'm trying to do is name the 18 alignment deities that go along with these alignments. There are two for each spot, one male and one female. They each are shapeshifting divines, with a list of forms they can take that are all similar in overall shape to the various species that match up to their order/chaos alignment. These vary in age to help them maintain the same size as this setting conserves mass. Their default varies depending on alignment.
The names should be one word. They should represent a key aspect of the alignment.
Currently named:
(I should note the sexes assigned are not meant as a statement about either sex. I just started with the names I had, started with female and alternated, with no thought as to which sex got what name. I am absolutely disgusted that I have to explain that.)
Law (Female)
Order (Male)
These two have dwarf child, tierc child, orc child, sparrifiskr child, myrmidon baby and kobold adult forms. Their default is the kobold adult, although since kobolds are also shapeshifters I should note they generally use the humanoid form in day to day duties or when requiring endurance, the feykin form in melee or when needing force and the reptile form at range or when needing finesse.
Darkness (Female)
Cynicism (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Nature (Female)
Apathy (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Light (Female)
Idealism (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Chaos (Female)
Choice (Male)
These two have elf child, gnome adult, bugbear child, gremlin adult (enlarged), fey adult (enlarged), froll baby and skor baby (miniaturized) forms.
A character with ordered ethics is considered “order-aligned” or “lawful.” These characters obey strict and unyielding codes of conduct, following orders of their perceived superiors and ordering their perceived subordinates. They do not understand morality as anything other than “my rules are good, breaking them is evil” and cannot comprehend the idea that their rules might be wrong, or do harm. They are unable to question their rules, orders or beliefs, or to attempt to change them. They shut out all evidence to the contrary and refuse to listen to arguments against them. They seek to force others into their line of thinking and to silence those who speak against them. Those of this alignment are conformist and assimilate everything around them. These characters have +4 resolve as a factor of their strong, rigid mind-set, but -4 perception as a result of their intentional ignorance and lack of mental flexibility.
A character with chaotic ethics is considered “chaos-aligned” or “chaotic.” These characters care nothing for rules or codes, only follow orders if they have reason to do so and don’t expect others to do so either. They form their own moral codes and no two are alike. They are flexible in their rules and often will disregard their own rules, and do not understand why others will listen to them (or anyone) and follow their advice or rules without thinking about them, or without reason. They are especially baffled by the idea that others may follow rules to their own detriment, especially for no good reason. Although there is no universal truth with them, most strongly resent order and lawful individuals and will go out of their way to show their contempt for them. These characters have +2 perception and charisma as a factor of their flexible mind and lack of mental barriers, but -4 resolve as a factor of their lack of rigid codes or mental defaults.
A character with neutral ethics is considered “unaligned” or “neutral.” These characters are guided by rules and codes, usually following orders for no reason. However, unlike those aligned to order, they will not follow a rule that they have more reason to ignore than to obey. They are able (although not always willing) to question their rules, or attempt to change them. They may disobey their rules, and are not upset by those who disobey rules unless it causes trouble for them. (This can be indirect, such as harming an object of their affection.) They listen to reason, and are able to be swayed by arguments, but they have a certain amount of ethical inertia that must be overcome for them to change.
A character with a dark personality is “dark” or “cynical.” These characters take a dark and cynical, but accurate view of the world and things within it. They hone in on flaws and errors, and are good at finding their cause and source. Their attention to flaws and issues makes them unpleasant to be around, but they are also very informative and are more effective in most fields. +2 perception, -2 charisma.
A character with a light personality is “light” or “idealistic.” These characters have sunny and idealistic, but naïve view of the world and things within it. They ignore flaws and errors, and focus on the positive no matter how small it may be. They tend to accept rationalizations, and see things as evil and malicious only if it makes their lives easier to do so. Their wilful ignorance makes them uninformative and ineffective in most fields, but they are quite pleasant by most accounts. The only people that don’t tend to like them are dark individuals. -2 perception, +2 charisma.
A character with a normal personality is “normal” or “standard.” These characters tend to have a balanced worldview, with one foot in the ideal plane and one in the real world. They are not as pleasant as light characters, but are also not as ignorant.
These traits are paired to create a colour-coded alignment.
Dark/order is “Lawful Dark”, "The Enforcer" or "The Thug", and is indigo. This unusual alignment combines a cynical personality with a rigid mindset. They understand the world is broken and nothing is perfect, and simply enforce the law strictly even knowing when they cause harm. They are naturally amoral enforcers, even when they don't want to be, often doing things they don't like for no reason other than being ordered to do so. The simple truth is that no matter how much they want other things, they don't know what else to do, so they keep on as they are. Of all the lawful alignments, this one tends to be the least extreme and the most susceptible to change.
Normal/order is “Lawful”, or "The Hobbes", and is blue. This alignment combines strict coherence to law and a rigid mindset with general moral apathy. People of this alignment believe that people need the law to control every single aspect of their lives to function. Beyond that, they really don't give a ****. They believe the world will cease to function without law, but don't think of the law as being morally good or evil and don't care if it causes any harm. This alignment is dangerous due to its rigid devotion alone, and doesn't change simply because it doesn't care to.
Light/order is “Lawful Stupid”, "The Extremist" or "The Lapdog", and is cyan. This alignment is the most dangerous alignment on the table hands down. They combine a rigid and unquestioning mindset with an absolute, black and white worldview and idealistic lack of self-awareness. These characters not only believe the law is required for the world to function, but believe it is perfect and immaculate, blame any it wrongs for having been wronged by it, and truly believe everything they do is right no matter how unbelievably heinous it may really be. Be careful about these people, if their master orders them to do something they will do their best to do it without question, and will not feel the slightest twinge of regret or guilt even if it is (to the perspective of any other person) unthinkable to do so. The only bright side is that they are stupid and easily manipulated, and that they are still human so they do have *some* limits to their blind obedience, although that might be a fairly petty distinction.
Dark/neutral is “Dark” or "The Cynic", and is black. This alignment is basically the dark alignment at its purest. They pay attention to flaws and details, and tend to have their own goals as a result, and follow law and maintain structure only as it suits them. They tend to be sarcastic and caustic, but are insightful by nature and make great advisers as a result of their worldview, especially in lawful environments where they are lawful enough to work within law but chaotic enough to exploit its weaknesses.
Normal/neutral is “Apathetic”, "The Everyman", or "The Hedonist", and is grey. This alignment is pretty plain. These people are the type that really just don't care. They follow the law, when it suits them. They recognize flaws and don't have a black and white worldview, but don't pay much attention to them and don't give their worldview any more detail than they need. They generally pursue their own desires, and tend to isolate themselves from major world issues and decide anything not in front of them isn't their problem and doesn't matter to them. People of this alignment are pretty ineffectual as a result.
Light/neutral is “Light” or "The Idealist", and is white. This alignment is light at its purest. They ignore flaws and details, have a simple, black and white, absolute worldview. They tend to have their own "moral" goals and they will usually pursue it, following the law as it suits them, oblivious to any damage they cause in the process. These people are, like all light people, extremely dangerous due to their lack of self-awareness.
Dark/chaos is “Chaotic Dark”, "The Rebel", or "The Carlin" and is red. This alignment combines a free and flexible mindset with a detailed and cynical worldview. Of all alignments, this one is the most likely to take action against an authority, being unable to ignore damage they do and having no appreciation for any rules in place to hold them back. They are cunning and creative, and try to find ways to avoid punishment for their actions. Even when they don't take action, they are always aware of what goes on around them and do not feel compelled to hide it. They are, like dark characters, sarcastic and snide, but tend to make up for it by being witty and clever.
Normal/chaos is “Chaotic”, or "The Mercenary", and is orange. This alignment is a mixture of chaos and amorality. These people don't follow rules and don't care about morals one way or another. They don't tend to be intentionally hurtful or cruel, and usually won't harm others, but this is for practical or emotional reasons rather than moral ones. A chaotic character may refrain from hurting another simply because it makes them feel bad to do so, and they might actually help people for the praise, for reward, or just to feel superior. But they don't do moral things for their own sake because they don't care about morality, and they don't follow laws either unless they have to. These people may seem unreliable, but are actually good underlings if you can keep them motivated because they don't have moral or legal systems to restrict their actions as they do your bidding and if presented good reason to listen they will, whether this be to get a reward, to avoid punishment or both. That said, they probably won't like it if joining you wasn't by choice and/or they can't quit. Their added flexibility in carrying out tasks makes them overall more effective as well, although they come at a much higher cost.
Light/chaos is “Chaotic Light”, "The Vigilante" or "The Crusader", and is yellow. This alignment combines a flexible, unrestricted mindset with a simple, idealistic worldview and lack of self awareness. These people have an agenda, something they truly believe is right, and will do anything they have to in order to achieve it. They are individually more competent than members of the other light alignments due to their lack of restriction in their methods, but they tend to be disorganized and own chaotic nature allows them to freely and easily question themselves and their ideals, making them more likely to realise when they are doing wrong and stop. Of all the light alignments, this one is the least extreme and most susceptible to change.
These colours show on detect alignment spells and any circumstance where aura shows. Alignment spells also show the colour of their particular alignment.
Now, what I'm trying to do is name the 18 alignment deities that go along with these alignments. There are two for each spot, one male and one female. They each are shapeshifting divines, with a list of forms they can take that are all similar in overall shape to the various species that match up to their order/chaos alignment. These vary in age to help them maintain the same size as this setting conserves mass. Their default varies depending on alignment.
The names should be one word. They should represent a key aspect of the alignment.
Currently named:
(I should note the sexes assigned are not meant as a statement about either sex. I just started with the names I had, started with female and alternated, with no thought as to which sex got what name. I am absolutely disgusted that I have to explain that.)
Law (Female)
Order (Male)
These two have dwarf child, tierc child, orc child, sparrifiskr child, myrmidon baby and kobold adult forms. Their default is the kobold adult, although since kobolds are also shapeshifters I should note they generally use the humanoid form in day to day duties or when requiring endurance, the feykin form in melee or when needing force and the reptile form at range or when needing finesse.
Darkness (Female)
Cynicism (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Nature (Female)
Apathy (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Light (Female)
Idealism (Male)
These two have human child, elf child, halfling adult, goblin adult, lizzie child, naga baby, mer baby and spinner baby forms.
Chaos (Female)
Choice (Male)
These two have elf child, gnome adult, bugbear child, gremlin adult (enlarged), fey adult (enlarged), froll baby and skor baby (miniaturized) forms.