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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:33:08 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 12:33:08 GMT -5
Is it just me, or did it seem like Gary gave a lot of latitude with the lawful alignment? Robilar, Tenser, and Erac’s Cousin were all lawful, but they were all selfish, greedy, loner bastards. Even Tenser, who is lawful good, I sent Ernie something I wrote about Tenser for a CZ thing I was working on, and his reply was like, “Tenser is way greedier than that’. Lawful is group oriented. Chaotic is self oriented. It seems like all of these lawful characters should be chaotic. It’s the same way in my campaign. Two of the most successful characters, Maylin and Cedric, were both lawful, but they’re the greediest bastards you can imagine, especially when it comes to magic items. Cedric would acquire items he, as a cleric, couldn’t use, but rather than distribute them where they would be the most useful, he’d keep it. Maylin does tries hard to make sure no other magic-users are ever in the party because he would hate to not get an item. Cedric actually lost his spell casting ability for a while as punishment.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:45:32 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 12:45:32 GMT -5
Hmmm... you have a point. I play "Lawful" (good, at least), as way more "selfless". That's probably why most of my players were Chaotic! On the other hand, Zilchus is a Lawful deity of wealth, and so as long as he upholds "contracts" and "legal gain", I suppose it's OK for him to be "greedy"! ^__^
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:47:49 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 12:47:49 GMT -5
...Kinda like Devils, I guess: "to the letter of the deal!"
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:54:53 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 12:54:53 GMT -5
A desire for wealth, by itself, isn't chaotic, it's just when the character starts putting his own personal gain above thr group's that I start to notice. Maylin refusing to have other magic-users in the group, even though they could help the party succeed in its mission, out of greed for the magic items that might be found, and Cedric, the cleric, keeping a magic sword and more boots/cloaks/etc. then he could wear, while other party members were magic item poor, are what I'm talking about.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:55:18 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 12:55:18 GMT -5
I've never had reason to do this, but have you ever considered the difficulty of playing Primus (on Nirvana)? I re-read "The Metal Monster" by Merritt for inspiration, since that's where Gary got the idea from but even so...
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:56:22 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 12:56:22 GMT -5
Never considered it, but I can imagine, since lawful on a much more mundane level can be such a problem.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:56:24 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 12:56:24 GMT -5
Yes; Maylin is definitely tending at least Neutral there...
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 12:59:07 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 12:59:07 GMT -5
...and Cedric keeping swords is definitely Chaotic, unless said sword is a (honestly) percieved threat to his ethos.
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:00:58 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:00:58 GMT -5
Maylin is good for sure, I say LG(n) would be right. He's pretty lawful about most things, he just has a weakness for magic-items. I have a nice little 'Annatar, Lord of Gifts' idea on the burner for him.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:06:18 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 13:06:18 GMT -5
I sense an "anagram"...
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:08:58 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:08:58 GMT -5
I've told this before, but Cedric's greed was the cause of one of the more memorable player vs. player episodes in my campaign. Another player, Paul, I can’t remember his fighter’s name, got so pissed about Cedric hogging the magic items that he decided to turn evil. He hired an assassin to kill Cedric while he killed his henchman Diedric. The initial part of the plan worked. They killed the characters and robbed them, but he didn’t consider destroying the bodies, so Ferris got them raised, and together they tracked down and killed Paul’s fighter.
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:11:45 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:11:45 GMT -5
Annatar was a name Sauron used while in disguise. He came to the elves pretending to be a friend to teach them ring making, amongst other things.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:17:34 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 13:17:34 GMT -5
D'Oh!!! Your LoTR Kung Fu is superior to mine! ^__^
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:20:02 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:20:02 GMT -5
I had something like this in plan for Maylin: "For six hundred years, he (Sauron) pursued a dual strategy. In the guise of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, he tutored the Elves of Eregion, teaching them the secret things that only a Maia of Aulë's people could know. From his lore, the Rings of Power were forged, but while he worked with the Elves, he continued the fortification of Mordor to make it an unassailable stronghold." Maylin can expect a visit from some angelic, benevolent being in the future, stating that his good deeds have not gone unnoticed, and this being has been sent to help him create items to be used in the battle against evil. Maybe it will be Iuz, since Maylin has foiled his plans at least once.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:23:10 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 13:23:10 GMT -5
That would be a very "Gary-esque" plot! ^__^
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:29:17 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:29:17 GMT -5
DJ (Maylin) has a knack for detecting tricks though. I was telling Gary this Friday night, I’ve never played with a character that could recognize illusions like he can. We’ll see if his greed for magic items will blind him though.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:30:09 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 13:30:09 GMT -5
In terms of Tenser, I can perhaps see Gary's vision of him (as per "Isle of the Ape" & the Gord novels) as more LG than Ernie's actual play of him! ^__^
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:31:55 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:31:55 GMT -5
For sure, and that's what I based my original write up on.
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Wizard
Duke of Indiana, Knight Commander
Posts: 2,032
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:35:40 GMT -5
Post by GT on Nov 16, 2008 13:35:40 GMT -5
As regards Maylin, just don't come across as too "sickly sweet"-- maybe a bit gruff even: "You have served the cause of weal in good stead; nonetheless, you are not perfected! I bring you this gift in the hope that you will mend your minor transgressions!" He'll swallow that! my older PC's swallow the "good cop/bad cop" routine from a singular being of power, if only not to affront said being! Uhhh... he isn't reading this anonymously is he? ^__^ (Looks for "Hide Post" button)
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Lawful
Nov 16, 2008 13:58:31 GMT -5
Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2008 13:58:31 GMT -5
No, he doesn't read the boards.
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