I let Muhadin go.

I have to say, there are presently some quality immortals empowering the goods, though they are more lenient than I would be. I am toying with another immortal face, though nothing is up for consideration at the moment.

I am willing to accept thoughts and ideas of what folks would like to see in a new immortal face. I enjoy the input and such things foster the creativity spark in me.

Eshval's email (I actually read my emails and answer them!)
eshval@carrionfields.com
BlackMarquessa@gmail.com

Eshval's slightly off-center (unofficial) blog.
http://blackmarquessa.blogspot.com/

Like I said, I liked the take you took with Muhadin, even if the name itself sparked some controversy.

Personally, I always liked "troubled" or flawed goodies- even gods. The greek Gods are often cited, but really, most gods of the ancients had some character flaws, especially when dealing with human beings. My personal dream, if I was to become a goodie immortal, would be to portray a god who was both bitter and depressed- but determined never to give up the fight against evil (which he considers to be a losing battle). He wouldn't be incredibly inspiring, or even very nice, but more stoic and brooding. A god of sacrifice, but sacrifice knowing that it only serves to delay the inevitable- and doing it anyway.

If you think of gods as representing a perfect being, for whichever set of principles that they represent, then this can't work very well. But if you think of them as powerful, omniscient, but still flawed then I think you could make it work.

P.S.

Consider a God of Opposites, these are pretty common in mythology too. Something like the motherly interpetation of Kali, if you know of her. She is a fierce goddess who is both a terrible destroyer and also a protector. Wikipedia has some good information on her, but here's a quick passage: "Kali again defeated her enemies on the battlefield and began to dance out of control, drunk on the blood of the slain. To calm her down and to protect the stability of the world, Shiva is sent to the battlefield, as an infant, crying aloud. Seeing the child's distress, Kali ceases dancing to take care of the helpless infant. She picks him up, kisses his head, and proceeds to breast feed the infant Shiva." (All this after having killed a bunch of demons by sucking out their blood and eating them).

Anyway, just rambling some thoughts since you asked.

For the most part, immortals in the CF universe are intended to offer one basic face. Much like some mortals, we inhabit a cookie-cutter aspect and it is up to each to push the envelop if desired. An immortal cannot be evil and express a fondness for puppies in theory.

I enjoy the idea of good or evil imm person sees a mortal doing something that the imm thinks is cool and so they want to woo them over to their way of thinking or use them as a valued instrument of their intentions. It can be done, but it pretty much penalized the player for going with immortal interactions as they lose specs and spells. I think if they were to be valued, the god in question would imbue them with some perks, sups, spells and in general protect them from the rages of other gods.

In rl, religions conflict with language as well as weapons, even if they follow the same god or are considered goodly. Much depends on where the person is standing.


Eshval's email (I actually read my emails and answer them!)
eshval@carrionfields.com
BlackMarquessa@gmail.com

Eshval's slightly off-center (unofficial) blog.
http://blackmarquessa.blogspot.com/

And it is fun. I don't know if it would work as an imm but it could. You should try it as a mortal healer or pally. The only trick is to get a lot of mortal sympathy.

Also, not to kiss your butt Esh, but Muhadin was really promising.

I don't have a problem with conflicting views of "what is good." From my perspective there are variances, and just because Good A thinks Good B is a wimp and "culls the masses" of the weak-willed goods so only the strong goods survive and breed, it suggests moral validity.

When you have varying degrees of good on measured on a scale, the median is often reset so the ultimate good thinks those who are less good, are effectively evil. You could quote many current mythologies as well as those of earlier times, citing examples of good vs good. With CF, the tendency is to try to force a fantasy world's morality and belief system to fit contemporary views...and this creates a flaw in the system.

Often, those who inhabit the virtual environment forget functionality and feasibility of that which they force into the fantasy world. To suggest that good does not fight good for supremacy in the heavens and in the mortal world is naive and suggests the individual(s) wear blinders. I would expect much more scheming, backstabbing and politicking for religious positioning than is found in CF. To say that there are not differing definitions of what is considered "good" is to dismiss thousands of years of human history and multitudes of written works in the fantasy genre. To propose God of (Goodly Peace gets along great with the God of (Goodly) Smack the Evil is a stretch for the imagination. Then to further suggest when Good triumphs (assumption), their views of "heaven" won't be in conflict is rather silly. Consider, why would Peace God want War God next door, wherever 'next door' is, since we don't really have definitive afterlives.

We tend to ignore the subjective and objective viewpoints of religion in CF and are guided by the mainstream Judeo-Christian myths and the failed concepts of high chivalry and notions of romantic love as a hold over from White and Scott's medieval romanticized novels. If we read Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, we find Arthur as the symbol of the virtues of high chivalry from which much of our (CF) paladins' code has its basis. Not bad reads mind you, but it would be more realistic to utilize the concept of low chivalry and low fantasy for the conflict-ridden world of Thera.

But this is just a rant by me. Take it as you will.

Eshval's email (I actually read my emails and answer them!)
eshval@carrionfields.com
BlackMarquessa@gmail.com

Eshval's slightly off-center (unofficial) blog.
http://blackmarquessa.blogspot.com/

Chiming in!

One thing I have always thought was lacking in CF's religions (even the best), and even cabals, is some kind of enforced adherence to specific ritualistic behaviors. I don't see Maran holidays being observed, where some great battle (or perhaps Shokai's ascension) is celebrated. I don't see the Village fasting (or doing something similar) on the days when they were, according to ancient history, first betrayed by magi. Of course it could be argued that they celebrate every time they kill a mage - but that's not for this discussion.

Let's see Amaranthe's druids do something when seasons change that can cause a global echo. Or, how about we see Beroxxus' badass general (ahem) cackle and cause the moon to become crimson on the anniversary of some particularly vile deed?

What this is all driving towards is depth. Depth, depth, depth. The infrastructure is there. Anyways, maybe there isn't enough interest for this.