The Right Things, the Wrong Reasons [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Right Things, the Wrong Reasons [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Oduda
11-14-05, 03:40 AM A character concept I was piecing together...

Bianca, in her childhood, suffered a great deal of trauma, having been a victim of unspeakable cruelty, and having witnessed the most horrifying things. Afterwards was a life of nothing but suffering, where she lived homeless, helpless, and entirely alone in the slums of large cities. She prayed and prayed for the release of death which never came. This suffering caused her to lose her faith, and she grew agnostic and jaded.

Now, as an adult, she is an Urban Ranger who goes by the name Miasma, a name she earned by dealing poisons; in a way, she made a career out of assisting suicide. She has given up all hope and faith in the afterlife, and the one true heaven she sees is simply death; death is the sweet release from the burden and suffering that is life. Her idea of hell is immortality. She would have taken her own life, were it not for her desire for revenge. She craves revenge against not just those who wronged her, but all like them.

But she cannot simply kill them. She sees death as a release from life, a better state of being that life, a heaven, as it were. How can she give them this reward? She seeks to keep them alive; she plays their game, but she does not stoop to their level. She will not give them the release of death; death is too good for them. Indeed, it is the only good there is.

So in a way, she appears good. She seems to show mercy because she will not kill. But it is not compassion that causes her to do so. (Behavior vs. Motives: what alignment do you think suits her?)

First of all, I welcome any and all feedback and thoughts. I'd really like to keep developing on this character.

Second, there is the issue of how she appears to other characters. If they ask her about her past, it seems there are two options: 1) Her cynicism will take over, and she will be remarkably blunt as to her attitudes and beliefs (which may get her in trouble if she's working with Paladins and the like,) or 2) Her wisdom and experience cause her to hold her tongue, knowing this is probably the best course of action, and she carries this on the inside.

What are some ways you think I can express this side of Miasma, without her being loud and vocal and getting into trouble with the rest of the group?
shadowsofwhite
11-14-05, 04:29 AM She seems a tid evil to me. Maybe lawful evil or on the darker side of lawful neutral.
I say lawful because she adheres to such a strict code and tends to judge peoples' worth, as to whether they deserve death or not. I say evil because she despises so many people, but that could just as easily be neutral.
erbmjw
11-14-05, 11:15 AM I'd go with a dark shade of Lawful Neutral. It didn't seem to me that she despises lots of people - she just despises a particular subset of humanity that cause others to suffer greatly.

So if she is working against a group of cruel{?possibly evil?} people then it is her desire to ensure that they suffer for their sins that makes you claim she is evil. But by allowing them to suffer while living she could be redeeming them.

So - lawful neutral - and if she has a high wis and decent int then she would not tell many peope about the truth behind her actions - mot people would not have her understanding nor conviction and she would be aware of that.

Odura

I would suggest that you look into a weapon with the merciful enchanment- that way you can almost always keep them alive.

I look at her as a person who is not yet lost to evil but definately on a path that could easily lead to it ... or to greater glory as a GhostWalker - seems like a great character for that prestige class.

She could have a redeeming/altering moment herself later on - not just punish the guilty but protect/rescue the innocent.
G-man
11-14-05, 11:35 AM Based on the background you've described, your character will probably have considerable difficulty building and maintaining significant relationships with others because she's never felt safe or believed that she could trust other people. In fact, she sounds like a perfect candidate to become a serial killer.

The childhood of abandonment, abuse, cruelty, impoverishment and neglect coupled with her adult life of solitude, poisonings, and revenge, puts her at a tremendous disadvantage in any social setting. She won't know how to interact with others, will have a stunted or perverse sense of humor, and won't have a properly aligned moral compass to help her navigate through life.

I'd say she'll be greedy, self-serving, a vindictive liar, an opportunistic thief, and a completely unreliable/untrustable individual. A product of a ruinous life, she'll be comfortable with others like herself, probably suffer from nightmares, and have a drug or alcohol problem.

Based on her time spent as a ranger she may be able to trust animals because they don't lie and aren't cruel by nature. I'd anticipate a very strong bond between her and her animal companion, a stronger bond than any she'll be able to maintain with other people.

She'll be quick to react to stressors, strike first and ask questions later, have a very sharp tongue, and will be very quick to notice and take advantage of others weaknesses. If she sees someone is afraid of rats, she'll be the one who puts a rat in that person's bedroll for kicks. If she see's a prayer go unanswered she'll be quick to latch onto this as evidence that belief in spirits in the sky is a waste of time.

If a party decides to let her join them, they'd do well to sleep with one eye open and sit with their backs to a wall.

She'll be Chaotic for sure, unles she's a obsessive compulsive, which could make her Lawful. However, it'd be her own twisted sense of order that she'd follow, not some bureaucrat's or noble's notion of law and order.

I'd say she's Evil -- not because of her past, but because she's chosen a life of revenge and poisonings. Good and evil exist in everybody, but the choices we make determine if we get to wear the white or black cowboy hat.

If she lives long enough, she'll become a fantastic assassin someday.

I remain,
G-man
Oduda
11-14-05, 05:22 PM It didn't seem to me that she despises lots of people - she just despises a particular subset of humanity that cause others to suffer greatly.

Yes and no. The sole focus of her revenge is those who cause suffering to others (cruel/evil). I don't think she'd hunt down someone she perceived to be an innocent person.

However, she does despise some innocent people. I don't know if she'd openly attack them, but she has a great deal of contempt for them.

She despises the apathetic. After all, in all of her suffering, no one showed her compassion or caring; indeed, those that were not inflicting it upon her were completely callous and ignored her predicament. This kind of thing angers her because if the good people did more, there would be less evil. Instead, the good are inactive, and evil flourishes.

As for people who are deeply pious, she certainly doesn't think much of them. She doesn't hate them, per se, but she is more than a bit disgusted by what she perceives as their ignorance. She thinks of gods as a stupid excuse to not take matters into your own hands, and a source of false hope.

This is a case of wounded love on her part; when she prayed for death, her prayers fell on deaf ears. She perceives the pious as much like her former self, because she was very spiritual as a child before her life took a turn for the worse. She thinks of them as children believing in Santa Claus. :raincloud

She doesn't make a point of being charitable or compassionate. She would avoid harming the innocent if at all possible because she doesn't want to become the very thing she resents. However, her hate for the cruel overpowers her sense of compassion for the weak. Also, her twisted idea of "compassion" is encouraging suicidal tendencies, euthanasia, and generally "putting people out of their misery". It's probably a good thing she doesn't focus on her "compassionate" side. :allalone:

Edit: Also, because she's generally a very cynical person, she may not perceive many people as innocent or worth helping, as she tends to see the worse side of people.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Oduda 11-14-05, 03:40 AM	A character concept I was piecing together... Bianca, in her childhood, suffered a great deal of trauma, having been a victim of unspeakable cruelty, and having witnessed the most horrifying things. Afterwards was a life of nothing but suffering, where she lived homeless, helpless, and entirely alone in the slums of large cities. She prayed and prayed for the release of death which never came. This suffering caused her to lose her faith, and she grew agnostic and jaded. Now, as an adult, she is an Urban Ranger who goes by the name Miasma, a name she earned by dealing poisons; in a way, she made a career out of assisting suicide. She has given up all hope and faith in the afterlife, and the one true heaven she sees is simply death; death is the sweet release from the burden and suffering that is life. Her idea of hell is immortality. She would have taken her own life, were it not for her desire for revenge. She craves revenge against not just those who wronged her, but all like them. But she cannot simply kill them. She sees death as a release from life, a better state of being that life, a heaven, as it were. How can she give them this reward? She seeks to keep them alive; she plays their game, but she does not stoop to their level. She will not give them the release of death; death is too good for them. Indeed, it is the only good there is. So in a way, she appears good. She seems to show mercy because she will not kill. But it is not compassion that causes her to do so. (Behavior vs. Motives: what alignment do you think suits her?) First of all, I welcome any and all feedback and thoughts. I'd really like to keep developing on this character. Second, there is the issue of how she appears to other characters. If they ask her about her past, it seems there are two options: 1) Her cynicism will take over, and she will be remarkably blunt as to her attitudes and beliefs (which may get her in trouble if she's working with Paladins and the like,) or 2) Her wisdom and experience cause her to hold her tongue, knowing this is probably the best course of action, and she carries this on the inside. What are some ways you think I can express this side of Miasma, without her being loud and vocal and getting into trouble with the rest of the group?
shadowsofwhite 11-14-05, 04:29 AM	She seems a tid evil to me. Maybe lawful evil or on the darker side of lawful neutral. I say lawful because she adheres to such a strict code and tends to judge peoples' worth, as to whether they deserve death or not. I say evil because she despises so many people, but that could just as easily be neutral.
erbmjw 11-14-05, 11:15 AM	I'd go with a dark shade of Lawful Neutral. It didn't seem to me that she despises lots of people - she just despises a particular subset of humanity that cause others to suffer greatly. So if she is working against a group of cruel{?possibly evil?} people then it is her desire to ensure that they suffer for their sins that makes you claim she is evil. But by allowing them to suffer while living she could be redeeming them. So - lawful neutral - and if she has a high wis and decent int then she would not tell many peope about the truth behind her actions - mot people would not have her understanding nor conviction and she would be aware of that. Odura I would suggest that you look into a weapon with the merciful enchanment- that way you can almost always keep them alive. I look at her as a person who is not yet lost to evil but definately on a path that could easily lead to it ... or to greater glory as a GhostWalker - seems like a great character for that prestige class. She could have a redeeming/altering moment herself later on - not just punish the guilty but protect/rescue the innocent.
G-man 11-14-05, 11:35 AM	Based on the background you've described, your character will probably have considerable difficulty building and maintaining significant relationships with others because she's never felt safe or believed that she could trust other people. In fact, she sounds like a perfect candidate to become a serial killer. The childhood of abandonment, abuse, cruelty, impoverishment and neglect coupled with her adult life of solitude, poisonings, and revenge, puts her at a tremendous disadvantage in any social setting. She won't know how to interact with others, will have a stunted or perverse sense of humor, and won't have a properly aligned moral compass to help her navigate through life. I'd say she'll be greedy, self-serving, a vindictive liar, an opportunistic thief, and a completely unreliable/untrustable individual. A product of a ruinous life, she'll be comfortable with others like herself, probably suffer from nightmares, and have a drug or alcohol problem. Based on her time spent as a ranger she may be able to trust animals because they don't lie and aren't cruel by nature. I'd anticipate a very strong bond between her and her animal companion, a stronger bond than any she'll be able to maintain with other people. She'll be quick to react to stressors, strike first and ask questions later, have a very sharp tongue, and will be very quick to notice and take advantage of others weaknesses. If she sees someone is afraid of rats, she'll be the one who puts a rat in that person's bedroll for kicks. If she see's a prayer go unanswered she'll be quick to latch onto this as evidence that belief in spirits in the sky is a waste of time. If a party decides to let her join them, they'd do well to sleep with one eye open and sit with their backs to a wall. She'll be Chaotic for sure, unles she's a obsessive compulsive, which could make her Lawful. However, it'd be her own twisted sense of order that she'd follow, not some bureaucrat's or noble's notion of law and order. I'd say she's Evil -- not because of her past, but because she's chosen a life of revenge and poisonings. Good and evil exist in everybody, but the choices we make determine if we get to wear the white or black cowboy hat. If she lives long enough, she'll become a fantastic assassin someday. I remain, G-man
Oduda 11-14-05, 05:22 PM	It didn't seem to me that she despises lots of people - she just despises a particular subset of humanity that cause others to suffer greatly. Yes and no. The sole focus of her revenge is those who cause suffering to others (cruel/evil). I don't think she'd hunt down someone she perceived to be an innocent person. However, she does despise some innocent people. I don't know if she'd openly attack them, but she has a great deal of contempt for them. She despises the apathetic. After all, in all of her suffering, no one showed her compassion or caring; indeed, those that were not inflicting it upon her were completely callous and ignored her predicament. This kind of thing angers her because if the good people did more, there would be less evil. Instead, the good are inactive, and evil flourishes. As for people who are deeply pious, she certainly doesn't think much of them. She doesn't hate them, per se, but she is more than a bit disgusted by what she perceives as their ignorance. She thinks of gods as a stupid excuse to not take matters into your own hands, and a source of false hope. This is a case of wounded love on her part; when she prayed for death, her prayers fell on deaf ears. She perceives the pious as much like her former self, because she was very spiritual as a child before her life took a turn for the worse. She thinks of them as children believing in Santa Claus. :raincloud She doesn't make a point of being charitable or compassionate. She would avoid harming the innocent if at all possible because she doesn't want to become the very thing she resents. However, her hate for the cruel overpowers her sense of compassion for the weak. Also, her twisted idea of "compassion" is encouraging suicidal tendencies, euthanasia, and generally "putting people out of their misery". It's probably a good thing she doesn't focus on her "compassionate" side. :allalone: Edit: Also, because she's generally a very cynical person, she may not perceive many people as innocent or worth helping, as she tends to see the worse side of people.