A Chaotic-Neutral Wizard's Association

[Gan The Grey]

What would something like this look like? Aspects of the guild I'm wanting to use:

1. Limiting the distribution of certain spells to the general public(at the behest of the government), but making their entire stockpile of spells available to guild members.

2. Allowing unique spells discovered or created by members of the guild to remain the sole property of the member, even if this means losing the new spell entirely should the member suffer an untimely death.

3. .....

Having a hard time thinking of the other ways this guild would function: rules and regulations, punishments and policing members, goals and general behaviors.

Any thoughts? EDIT And preferably thoughts on how to make this work with the information I've provided, as opposed to why it doesn't. I understand that it is initially a weird concept, but I believe it to be a valid one. I don't want to spend this entire thread defending myself, please.

[Callista]

I think it'd look like an arcane trickster's guild, without the rogue levels.

[Tvtyrant]

Its chaotic neutral, rules don't really work here. I would say have it be focused around experiential wizards; plane walkers and spelljammers and experimenters. The association wouldn't be about power or even sharing spells; its about swapping experiences and telling each other how to have them. So someone who discovers the Tsochari homeworld would tell the others how to get to it, or someone who finds a spell allowing survival in the negative energy plane would give it to the others.

Remember, chaotic neutral is the alignment of whim, so the organization should reflect that.

[Gan The Grey]

Its chaotic neutral, rules don't really work here. I would say have it be focused around experiential wizards; plane walkers and spelljammers and experimenters. The association wouldn't be about power or even sharing spells; its about swapping experiences and telling each other how to have them. So someone who discovers the Tsochari homeworld would tell the others how to get to it, or someone who finds a spell allowing survival in the negative energy plane would give it to the others.

Remember, chaotic neutral is the alignment of whim, so the organization should reflect that.

Not...necessarily. It's also the alignment of protecting individual freedoms, individual wants, individual desires. Rules can still work, they just have to focus on the most important aspects of the society only whilst still allowing for the individual to flourish is his/her own way.

I'm not saying your view is wrong. It is a valid interpretation. It just doesn't fit the two existing aspects of the association that I have already decided to use.

[Safety Sword]

A lawful guild would be better at restricting spells. They would have the rules set up and follow them.

A CN guild might just not bind together well enough to have a common goal such as this. But as you say, perhaps it's a group that protects individual rights. They would therefore tell the government to "stick it" and do whatever they want.

I can't seem to see how a CN guild would work at he behest of a government and retain it's alignment.

[Gan The Grey]

A lawful guild would be better at restricting spells. They would have the rules set up and follow them.

A CN guild might just not bind together well enough to have a common goal such as this. But as you say, perhaps it's a group that protects individual rights. They would therefore tell the government to "stick it" and do whatever they want.

I can't seem to see how a CN guild would work at he behest of a government and retain it's alignment.

Well, the way I see it, its a twofold benefit to themselves to go along with it.

1. It encourages new minds to join the guild and add their intelligence and viewpoint the group.

2. It helps keep the government off their backs, so they get to enjoy their own autonomy.

Remember, chaos doesn't completely avoid rules. It only follows them if they are to its advantage.

[gbprime]

More like they're working in common cause with the government because it is advantageous to do so. That could change.

1 - Keep all the innovative stuff for themselves.

2 - Members are not required to share.

3 - Punishments galore for non-guild wizards who grab any real limelight or wealth for themselves in the guild's territory.


Basicly 1 and 3 empower the guild members by making it an exclusive club. Join the club of Get the Foo Out. And it gives the government some semblance of "yes, they are licensed and controlled" to tell the populace about. (When in fact the politcal reality of it all would be... complicated.)

[Bosh]

The Unseen University?

[Gan The Grey]

The Unseen University?

What is this? Or where is it located?

[Aron Times]

I don't think "Chaotic Neutral" mixes well with "Association" or "Organization."

[Gan The Grey]

I don't think "Chaotic Neutral" mixes well with "Association" or "Organization."

So Chaotic people are incapable of forming associations based on common interests in order to further their own agendas? I agree that it is an initially strange concept, but I'm looking for ideas to make it work. There are enough alignment discussions on this forum to fill a small library, so I can imagine there are plenty of ways to come at this idea without resorting to 'it doesn't work.'

[Bosh]

What is this? Or where is it located?

Ankh-Morpork

[hamishspence]

So Chaotic people are incapable of forming associations based on common interests in order to further their own agendas? I agree that it is an initially strange concept, but I'm looking for ideas to make it work. There are enough alignment discussions on this forum to fill a small library, so I can imagine there are plenty of ways to come at this idea without resorting to 'it doesn't work.'

Don't think of it as "association of Chaotic people"- think of it as "association of people that happen to share a common interest"

This common interest, might happen to be associated with Chaos.

In a country where nearly everyone is Chaotic or Chaotic-leaning (for example Elven-land) it's not too hard to imagine elves grouping into loose associations based on common interests- like magic, or warrior skills, or "protecting the wild".

[Gan The Grey]

Don't think of it as "association of Chaotic people"- think of it as "association of people that happen to share a common interest"

This common interest, might happen to be associated with Chaos.

In a country where nearly everyone is Chaotic or Chaotic-leaning (for example Elven-land) it's not too hard to imagine elves grouping into loose associations based on common interests- like magic, or warrior skills, or "protecting the wild".

This. The only problem I'm having is determining how such a group would specifically function.