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Author Topic: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres  (Read 1263 times)

Neonivek

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Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« on: January 08, 2016, 03:51:06 pm »

Now it is a simple suggestions

-Undeath: Because the game currently features a large number of undead creatures it would be a good idea to include undeath as a sphere POSSIBLY as a child of death or rebirth. Undeath is a bastardization of death and rebirth after all yet not necessarily evil.
-Monsters: A child of animals and makes sense this was RARE but there are gods of monsters in mythology, yet it also fits here. They don't have to be the god of a specific monster just monsters in general.
-Magic: Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian all had a god who specifically ruled over magic. Even if magic is never added, it is kind of odd not to include it in the spheres.

I know that currently the game considers Death to be the same as Undeath. But I feel that is sort of a incorrect mix.

As Death is often the sphere where a god will absolutely make sure nothing interferes with someone's death and travel to the underworld.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2016, 04:28:16 pm by Neonivek »
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Urlance Woolsbane

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2016, 07:46:50 pm »

As Death is often the sphere where a god will absolutely make sure nothing interferes with someone's death and travel to the underworld.
Which is how it currently plays out, in Vanilla. Necromancers only raise bodies, not souls.
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Neonivek

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2016, 08:15:42 pm »

As Death is often the sphere where a god will absolutely make sure nothing interferes with someone's death and travel to the underworld.
Which is how it currently plays out, in Vanilla. Necromancers only raise bodies, not souls.

Except it also does include that.

Either way separate them. Death like Baldr is not the same as Death ala Lich God.
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IndigoFenix

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2016, 11:19:56 am »

I think part of the problem is that 'undeath' (in the zombie sense) is a pretty rare concept in mythology.  It is mentioned once in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but as a side-effect of a goddess (unrelated to death) throwing a fit and knocking down the gates of the underworld, and of course there's the original Haitian zombi, but they don't seem to be connected to any particular god so much as a stand-alone magic trick.  *Revival* of the dead to true life is pretty common in folklore, but that falls clearly under the sphere of rebirth.

I usually use 'Wisdom' as a stand-in for 'Magic' and 'Deformity' as a stand-in for 'Monsters', when the concept is specifically the unnatural aspect of the creature (as opposed to 'Animals').

Neonivek

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2016, 11:24:15 am »

It is why I added Undeath to the list because it isn't a rarity for this game. The spheres in this game should reflect the reality of it as well. If Fluffywamblers were a absolutely vital part of everyday life then there should be a Fluffywamblers sphere.

As for Wisdom = Magic... Loki (God of Trickery, Evil, and magic), Hecate (Goddess of Roads, Dogs, Witchcraft, and magic), and Isis.

The whole Wisdom = Magic is more of a bastardization created by giving Wisdom gods magic in other forms of fiction (for example God of War)

As for why I don't consider deformity to be Monster... well... because Monsters are a scourge on "humanity as a whole".
« Last Edit: January 09, 2016, 11:59:01 am by Neonivek »
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Tristan Alkai

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2016, 06:11:15 pm »

I agree that "Death" and "Undeath' should be distinct.  In fact, I generally see them as opposed.  This opinion has been expressed by others in this thread on "Organizing the Spheres".

As Death is often the sphere where a god will absolutely make sure nothing interferes with someone's death and travel to the underworld.
Which is how it currently plays out, in Vanilla. Necromancers only raise bodies, not souls.

I have to disagree with Urlance Woolsbane on this one.  I don't see any functional difference between raising the body and raising the soul.  Both fall under the heading of "Undeath," and both are equally opposed by "Death," which in this context refers to dead things staying dead and buried.  Perhaps we should call it "Funerals" to make that part more explicit?

I usually use 'Wisdom' as a stand-in for 'Magic' and 'Deformity' as a stand-in for 'Monsters', when the concept is specifically the unnatural aspect of the creature (as opposed to 'Animals').
As for Wisdom = Magic... Loki (God of Trickery, Evil, and magic), Hecate (Goddess of Roads, Dogs, Witchcraft, and magic), and Isis.

The whole Wisdom = Magic is more of a bastardization created by giving Wisdom gods magic in other forms of fiction (for example God of War)

I lean more toward IndigoFenix on this one: magic is very diverse, and I don't think collecting all of it into a single "Magic" sphere will work well.  I generally see "magic" as something that can be supported by nearly all spheres to one degree or another.   That said, I did search the current list of spheres for ones that would likely lead to emphasis on magic (including the effects available from other spheres), and found SCHOLARSHIP, WRITING, SPEECH, TRICKERY, CHAOS, and WISDOM. 

Particular examples here would be UNDEATH (the current necromancers and zombies); WEATHER (and all its more narrow child spheres); and FIRE.  Possibly also STARS to represent astrology (predicting events by the positions of the planets). 

Monsters:
As with magic, I see "monsters" as a broad category that can be supported by most spheres to one degree or another.  In fact, most magic in the current game is not represented by wizards and spells; it is represented by monsters of various types (animated dead and other night creatures; the various giant animals and animal people; the various inorganic "element men"; titans, FBs, and clowns; the various magma creatures; many of the special creatures of evil surroundings; and more). 

Still, I suppose there are a few spheres that might have especially strong tendencies to lead to monsters:
+ UNDEATH (animated dead, including zombies and mummies);
+ MOON (werebeasts);
+ a cluster that includes DEFORMITY, MISERY, NIGHTMARES, and TORTURE (monsters created by deliberate sorcery, likely including night trolls that transform "spouses"; possibly vampires and werebeasts as well, since they are created by divine curses and can spread their curse to others);
+ another cluster that includes VOLCANOES, CAVERNS, and possibly FIRE (the various nasties native to the deep caverns and magma sea);
+ CHAOS, possibly clustered with the "heroism" spheres COURAGE, VALOR, and STRENGTH (powerful monsters that cause lots of mayhem, such as the megabasts, semi-megabeasts, titans, FBs, and maybe demons and angels).
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Neonivek

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Re: Undeath, Monsters, and Magic added as Spheres
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2016, 03:52:18 am »

Spheres can be diverse and vague

But remember "Animals" is vague and diverse.

Undeath I want to be included because it is very setting specific

Monsters and Magic I want to be included because they are
1) Actual Spheres actually gods had in real mythology.
2) Are relevant to the game.

Now Tristan... as for your objection in the tune of "Monsters and Magic are too vast to EVER contain it!"

The game allows "Child" and "Friend" spheres. Thus if you want to break monsters down into multiple that is fine.

But more importantly Tristan you are forgetting one thing... Combinations...

The God of Trickery AND Magic means more then "The God of Trickery who knows magic"
The God of the Moon and Monsters... means more then the Moon God.

The nature of the nightmares suddenly takes on a new form when it is the god of Nightmares and Monsters. Versus just a god who is one of nightmares.

Just by including Monsters suddenly every single sphere you listed as being "better for it" is suddenly a lot more sinister and clear.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2016, 03:54:04 am by Neonivek »
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