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Post by DM DeadlySprinkles on Oct 23, 2017 9:05:53 GMT
Hey everyone,
I have been building my own world over the course of time and I've started molding a region where people live and occult/evil-ish beliefs reign supreme; think Rakdos combined with Halloweentown.
The issue is I'd like to paint this place is a sympathetic light. I understand characters who are morally against such things will still be opposed but I'm trying to find a way to portray this place as where the rulers are just because they are but their forms of crime and punishment as well as entertainment are more on the superstitious and sadistic side. The citizens are pretty whole heartedly on-board since no one in the region is trapped or forced to live there.
How should I treat the optics for this area so my players are understanding that this place is a different culture not just evil?
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Post by 00dlez on Oct 23, 2017 15:52:05 GMT
I think you've already got it in a pretty good light, the people don't seem to mind the harsh and sadistic punishments. Those that do simply leave and those remain find them not only entertaining, but brutally effective.
A good way to introduce the players to it in advance might be having them meet an NPC from the evil place ahead of time. Have a public trial for a kidnapper (maybe one the PCs captured themselves) going on with the PCs standing next to a Evil Townian. The kidnapper is found guilty and sentenced to public lashings and a lengthy sentence. The Evil Townian scoffs - "In my land this man would have already been strapped to the rack." "Why is everyone so stern? Where is the applause? They aren't the strongest lashes I've seen applied, but the form is good at least."
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Post by randosaurus on Oct 24, 2017 4:48:28 GMT
Monstrous species.
Many intelligent MM creatures are uniformly evil, chaotic, etc.
There should be a distribution of ethics & morals in any intelligent culture, however.
Consider how orcs might have a range of personal beliefs or personalities, but viewed through the lens of human values they are almost all dropped in the Chaotic Evil bucket.
Human ethics of good/evil, or societal organization along chaos/law do not well project onto the mode of thinking or culture of a non-human intellect.
The difficulty is there are relatively few stable, expansive monstrous civilizations to draw inspiration from.
So what kind of examples can we find? I'll give it a shot.
Finite resource constraint - rulers of a region use fatal punishment for minor transgressions, as any population growth would destabilize the food or water source stability, harming the society as a whole. They need some means to sort out who lives, who dies.
Strict evolutionary culling - the culture values strength in all things as demonstration of fitness to continue and reproduce. Failures are treated as transgressions against the culture, that any individual who fails to contribute or thrive harms the culture as a whole.
Carnivale - individuals willingly engage in dangerous or destructive challenges or trials. They may do this to seek treasure or renown, or as trial by ordeal or combat. I'm not going to tell you to re-create the film 'The Running Man', but honestly why wouldn't you?
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Post by DM DeadlySprinkles on Oct 24, 2017 8:48:46 GMT
00dlez , I think that's an excellent segue, have an NPC on a pilgrimage that just finds other societies extremely soft and embraces the macabre. randosaurus , that's super informative, wasn't even thinking of analyzing real world examples but it will definitely be closer to Carnivale. On the subject of Carnivale, I think either a less corrupt Running Man or something like it would be a thing. I've even been toying with the idea of a death lottery where you win a huge amount of money but your death is now public entertainment, what do you guys think?
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Post by meribson on Oct 24, 2017 15:46:18 GMT
Another possibility is to go the Addams Family route. Their interests are...a little off of center shall we say, yet they are happy, cheerful, and just so darn pleasant!
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Post by randosaurus on Oct 25, 2017 3:47:29 GMT
On the subject of Carnivale, I think either a less corrupt Running Man or something like it would be a thing. I've even been toying with the idea of a death lottery where you win a huge amount of money but your death is now public entertainment, what do you guys think? I seem to remember a thread of yours where you had a lot of Celtic lore. It may be apocryphal practice, but I recall in 'Jitterbug Perfume' Tom Robbins refers to a King's Cake ritual from Celtic culture in pagan times (I think the tribe was Germanic in the novel to avoid historical libel). Basically, that coin or bean in the King's Cake at Mardi Gras determined the 'King' who would be lauded, feted, showered with treasure and then ritually sacrificed for a good harvest. Mardi Gras OriginsThe character in the novel finds the bean in the cake and thinks, oh, how wonderful. Hijinx ensue. That could be just what you're looking for, and may just fit into your existing lore. |
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Post by Mariok Soresal Hillick on Oct 30, 2017 4:54:08 GMT
You could also make it so that even the prisoners on trial don't mind... but that wouldn't make a lot of sense.
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Post by DM DeadlySprinkles on Oct 31, 2017 10:04:27 GMT
Alight guys, I think I have a good working draft of what I want to do with this place. I'm probably gunna throw a little NPC hook my party's way as well but here's an entry from a history book my party could find if they were curious about it. (Little context Izel is the God of Slaughter and Creativity in my world) The inhabitants of Witch Blood Hollow are known for two things: culinary skill and showmanship... actually, make that three things: culinary skill, showmanship, and sadism. Witch Blood Hollow was founded near the end of the Age of Expansion by followers of Izel fleeing the persecution of the Jettesian Empire. Sadly for the new found region, they quickly learned governments and economies don't function well fueled only by hopes, dreams, and blood sacrifice. This lead to the rise of the Witch Queen. It's said she was once an aspiring account but took it upon herself to sustain her religion and her nation. She established Witch Blood Hollow as the primary exporter of the finest food, drink, and exotic entertainment that money could provide. The Witch Queen then opened The Crow's Nest, which to this day is the foremost basic college in Risias. With this market effectively cornered Witch Blood Hollow was able to maintain its sovereignty. The economy of the region stabilized; the inhabitants happily took mantle under the Witch Queen affectionately referring to themselves as The Brood.The Witch Queen then proved herself both cunning and devout proclaiming herself wife of Izel and setting up a number of holidays; the largest of which being the week long Festival of Crowning. The week is full of indulgent foods and public execution spectacles, tourism is highly encouraged so residents of other lands can worship Izel as well as date some of their darker urges.This is a glossed over version of the customs and things to explore in the region. All your ideas have been invaluable in cracking my DM's block as it were  , thanks so much! |
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Post by randosaurus on Nov 1, 2017 3:08:42 GMT
Alight guys, I think I have a good working draft of what I want to do with this place. I'm probably gunna throw a little NPC hook my party's way as well but here's an entry from a history book my party could find if they were curious about it. (Little context Izel is the God of Slaughter and Creativity in my world) The inhabitants of Witch Blood Hollow are known for two things: culinary skill and showmanship... actually, make that three things: culinary skill, showmanship, and sadism. Witch Blood Hollow was founded near the end of the Age of Expansion by followers of Izel fleeing the persecution of the Jettesian Empire. Sadly for the new found region, they quickly learned governments and economies don't function well fueled only by hopes, dreams, and blood sacrifice. This lead to the rise of the Witch Queen. It's said she was once an aspiring account but took it upon herself to sustain her religion and her nation. She established Witch Blood Hollow as the primary exporter of the finest food, drink, and exotic entertainment that money could provide. The Witch Queen then opened The Crow's Nest, which to this day is the foremost basic college in Risias. With this market effectively cornered Witch Blood Hollow was able to maintain its sovereignty. The economy of the region stabilized; the inhabitants happily took mantle under the Witch Queen affectionately referring to themselves as The Brood.The Witch Queen then proved herself both cunning and devout proclaiming herself wife of Izel and setting up a number of holidays; the largest of which being the week long Festival of Crowning. The week is full of indulgent foods and public execution spectacles, tourism is highly encouraged so residents of other lands can worship Izel as well as date some of their darker urges.This is a glossed over version of the customs and things to explore in the region. All your ideas have been invaluable in cracking my DM's block as it were , thanks so much! Planning to lift this in its entirety, bwahaha. |
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, thanks so much!