The Transformative Properties of Pain (Delving Into Zon-Kuthon, Slaanesh, and Others)

There are things that exist in our favorite fictional universes that can leave our skin crawling, and our minds rebelling. Things with mutilated flesh, who are seemingly unbound by moral precepts, and who are a dark mirror to many things we hold dear. They are not just monstrous, and not just evil, wicked, or blasphemous... they are alien. They are so removed from our experiences that the only way we can categorize them is to say they are insane... that only the mad would see logic in what these things are, and the actions they take.

Despite that, though, many of us feel drawn to them. We want to see more, to understand more, to experience more... and this is both the power of these things, and a cornerstone of what makes them what they are in many ways.

Because to desire, to want, is the gateway. And even if what lies beyond that threshold is pain, we will endure it precisely because of the want that made us open the door in the first place.

Come... I have such sights to show you...

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Pain and Transformation

Zon-Kuthon. Slaanesh. The Cenobites. The Godhand. Even my own god Tensa found in Gods of Sundara (available for Pathfinder as well as DND 5E). Our fiction, and our games, are full of creatures shaped by alien forces and impossible desires... things that corrupt you, twist you, and which bring their followers to the other end of madness.

And while that works well enough for antagonists in a story, things and people we want to see as cold, alien, and unknowable, it doesn't work as well for our characters. Because we need to understand them, and we need those around us to understand them. Which is why it's important to think of desire, pain, and the transformative nature of the experience that comes with these things.

Consider for a moment seeing someone in middle school or high school who is in their first official relationship. You've never seen anyone that happy, riding high on a fresh emotion that has them walking on air. And then when they have their first break up, it is devastating for them. They bawl, they kick, they scream, and they might even break things. To adults looking on, it seems so petty, and unimportant, because most of us have gone through this process many, many times before. We might remember what it was like when we went through this when we were children, but it's so far removed from who we are now that it often feels like it happened to someone else.

Going through that pain, and recovering from it, changed us. We shifted something in ourselves. Some of us heal, and some of us limp, but we continued on.

Alternatively, think of the original Little Mermaid. She was given legs, but every step was agony, akin to walking on razors for the rest of her life. A bargain she made with her eyes open because she wanted that so badly. She knew that to be changed would bring agony, but the change was worth the pain.

These are two halves of the same coin. On the one hand we have pain that transforms us, and on the other side we have transformations that hurt us. In either case, we will become a different person than who we were... and in some cases we may no longer even recognize what we've become. Or who we used to be.

This is a philosophical basis that can act as a starting point with characters attached to a philosophy of pain, darkness, or even depravity. However, it's important to remember that even in the case of a penitent being remade by the cenobites, or someone rising to become a member of Berserk's Godhand, the transformation doesn't begin with the dramatic final step... the transformation began down a long and winding road that led to where they wound up.

A Thousand Resurrections On The Path of Corruption

Even if you are not a drug user, you're familiar with the idea of building up a tolerance. The first time you take even the smallest dose, the drug hits your system like a freight train, and you feel it pretty intensely. And if you only indulge every now and again, that level of intensity will be your normal experience... but if you use a drug regularly, your body and mind will get used to it. You'll have to take more, and more, just to move the needle. It's why a child being allowed to have a normal caffeinated soft drink might be bouncing off the walls, while their aunt or uncle can drink 2 cans of Monster before they start to shake off feeling like they need a nap.

Alternatively, think of how muscles grow. When you exercise, you create a small tear, and when your body fills that small tear back in the muscle grows in size and power. This allows you to easily lift something that would have been far beyond your capacity even a few years ago, because you have slowly transformed yourself through regular rituals of suffering and self-inflicted pain.

And when we take these relatively mundane things, and apply them to a darker path, we begin to see how characters might walk into the shadows deliberately and with great purpose.

No one comes to sit where I do by an accident of fate...

Through a steady diet of pain, bloodshed, suffering, or even torturous rites, a character might become something new... something different than they were before. Perhaps they were seduced, as we see with hedonists who had exhausted earthly pleasures who pursued the Lament Configuration to experience the next level of sensation. Or they were told there was a way they could overcome an earthly weakness, but only if they followed the path of the Black Spiral, and reached the end.

If these characters simply swallowed a mouthful of this poison, it would kill them, or cripple them. But if they swallow a little at a time, over and over again, year after year, soon they would build up a functional immunity. This is how they might accept the early rites or requirements of these dark gods or strange philosophies, building up the tolerance, determination, and iron will that will see them through as they pass over the threshing blades that will tear them apart, and allow them to reborn anew.

Others may stare at them in horror. They may see what they're doing as an abomination, a desecration of morality, or a grievous sin. But they have not seen what the one on the left-hand path has seen. The naysayers have not walked where they've walked, and done what they've done. And while the dark pilgrim might try to explain these truths, there are certain experiences that words fail to properly convey. It is only through first-hand knowledge that one can truly understand what lurks beyond pain, and beyond the transformations it heralds.

And on a final note, those who haven't seen this article should check out my Pathfinder character conversion for the cenobite Pinhead!

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Changing Your Alignment is Like Changing Your Diet

For folks who've been listening to the latest news, it seems that (at least at Paizo), alignment is going the way of the dodo. Whether this becomes the industry standard or not is something I talked about a little while ago on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should subscribe to, if you haven't yet), but it seems there are a lot of folks who really want to keep the alignment system in their games going forward.

And it's for those folks that I thought I'd touch on something I've been noodling about for a while. Mainly that alignment shouldn't be something that just changes rapidly back and forth, or which is nothing more than ticks on a moral abacus.

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Giving Up Evil, and Eating More Salads

Most of us, at some point in time, have gone on a diet for one reason or another. Maybe you wanted to finally lose some weight. Perhaps you were diagnosed with a condition that meant you couldn't have as much sugar, fat, or red meat as you used to have. You might even have decided that you wanted to change your diet because you wanted to live a more cruelty-free life. These changes, though, require you to stick with them for the long-term, and to make permanent changes to who you are, and the way you live your life. A crash diet may get you some short-term results, but if you don't really commit to living in a different way, soon you're going to wind up right back where you were.

If you're looking for a way to think about alignment and how it shifts, I find that this metaphor works pretty well.

I know I said no more beheadings... but maybe one or two more before I stop completely?

Thinking of alignment as your morality diet may be helpful because, for your alignment to change, you have to actively alter the way you live your life, and to commit to it. It's hard to not fall into old habits, or to crave the things that used to be your go-to solutions, and this can be reflected in a character's attitude and struggles.

Lastly, while it's technically possible to use magic to shift one's alignment (through casting spells with the Good descriptor, failing the save against cursed items like the helm of opposite alignment, etc.) you could think of this as using extreme supplements, chemical treatments, or surgical solutions. Because while these things will work, they may not be able to stop you from falling into old habits, and dragging yourself back to the same place you were at.

Making a serious commitment to altering yourself is difficult... but more importantly, it can take a long time. And even if someone manages to take a shortcut through something like a sudden magical effect, they still have to maintain that effect. It's going to be tough, and occasionally frustrating, but it can make for a particularly rewarding character arc that's worth committing to.

Lastly, it's important to keep in mind that your actions still have consequences. Even if someone manages to alter their alignment to redeem themselves from evil to become good, they will still have to answer for the crimes they committed. And even if someone only dips from good to become evil for a brief time before they're redeemed, they'll still be held to account for any atrocities they were responsible for. And even evil characters who are doing good acts specifically to get a reward will still be rewarded for the good things they did.

While alignment might be the general state of one's morality, never forget that the consequences of your actions (good or bad) may always be coming around the corner.

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Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Daily Motion channel!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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"Book of The Wyrm Companion" Is Gross, Horrific, and Awful... Go Get It Now!

Of all the corners of the World of Darkness, the one inhabited by the Wyrm and its servants is certainly one of the darkest. Corruption, mutation, depravity, and awful, cosmic horrors lie at the bubbling, blistered heart of the Wyrm, and it warps everything that looks upon it. A tide of protoplasmic, inhuman, alien awfulness that stains the soul, and taints your very being just by knowing it's out there, it is a horror the likes of which mortals can scarcely contemplate.

It takes an enemy that inhumane, which is anathema to anything good or relatable, to make the garou seem like heroes, after all.

Bringing that kind of enemy across to your players, however, can be difficult. Not only that, but it's very easy to fall into the cracks and either become too unrelatable, too grim, or too uncomfortable for those around the table who came here to have fun. Which is why I would recommend that anyone who wanted to strike a better balance should immediately get themselves a copy of Book of The Wyrm Companion for their shelf.

Seriously... go check it out!

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What Is This Book All About?

As the introduction section says, this book is a collection of things that could have been their own, separate splats, but which the creators chose to put into a single volume. There's additional, specific fomori that are inhuman, advice for creating First Response teams from Pentex, an entire section about running PCs as fomori (described as a kind of dark X-Men game, which definitely caught my interest), and a lot of other stuff that walks a fine line between gross and satirical.

I am what they made me.

The book it put me most in mind of (and which I picked up a copy of from my Friends of The Library resale room a few years back) is Freak Legion. However, while there's still a lot of content in there that I think people who want that kind of body horror/cosmic horror in their games would find useful, Book of The Wyrm Companion just slathers on extra stuff. There's a dozen different flavors of horrific in this thing, and there's a double scoop of terrible in store for anyone who grabs it.

Now, with all of that explanation and praise out of the way, I would point out that this is also a book with a BIG content warning right up front. While the creators attempted to give it a darkly humorous polish in some places, and to make it feel more like satire in others, there's no mistaking this for anything other than what it is. This is a grimoire of the inhuman, the monstrous, and the disturbing. For folks like me, who want WoD games to feel like horror games, that's going to be exactly what you want in your tool box. For those who may want games with cleaner morality and less disturbing content, though, this may be a bridge too far.

Let the buyer beware, this is one of those WoD tomes that comes with a warning label. The creators put it on there, and I'm reminding folks that they know their business.

Consider Some Supplemental Stuff To Go With It

This volume has a lot of contributors who all put their sweat and effort into different parts of the project, but Clinton Boomer and Josh Heath are both on the list. Talented folks who work extraordinarily hard, I have worked with both of them on previous WoD projects. And since we're talking about the Wyrm and all the awful, nasty things it makes, I figured I'd mention some of them here.

Where my Glass Walkers at?

Company Picnic is a tale Clinton penned a while ago, and it came out as part of all the efforts in and around the Tales From The Moot collection. I know that he and I enjoy writing fiction set in the World of Darkness, and if we can boost the numbers on these tales we'd be happy to lay down some fresh text... perhaps even touching on other spheres of the setting while we're at it!

Another project Clinton and I shared was the 200 Black Spiral Dancer Kinfolk list. This supplement was the capstone to the 100 kinfolk project, which is currently available as a bundle if you like a good deal!

Lastly, if you need extra bad guys to go along with this book, consider grabbing a copy of Evil Inc.: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries. There's all kinds of corporate wickedness in there, and it pairs beautifully with the more obviously corrupt aspects of the Wyrm! There's even a sample audio drama from it below, if you want to take a moment to listen...

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Orcs, Vikings, and Bias Within Survivor Narratives

When I say the word Viking to you, chances are it conjures a very particular image in your mind. You probably picture a huge warrior with a flowing beard, bellowing battle cries while he lays about with his ax, slaying men, burning towns, and stealing anything not nailed down. Even if you have enough historical literacy to know they didn't have horned helms, or that they may have had red hair instead of blonde, this image of the defiling raider is firmly etched into our collective consciousness.

And while this sort of individual certainly existed in the historical record (a Viking is, by trade, often a pirate after all), this one aspect has grown to encompass an entire people in the minds of a lot of us. Even if you were a trader, a farmer, a skald, or a normal sailor, there was the fear of what the most dangerous and violent of the Norsemen had done when one laid their eyes upon you.

Which brings me to orcs, and how we could have some fun examining them.

She was huge! Ten feet tall, with blood dripping from her tusks!

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What Contact Do You Have With Them, Really?

Despite the vast reach of Viking longships, which ranged from the shores of North America all the way to the heart of the Eastern Roman Empire, from the frozen Russian steppes to deep into the Muslim world, the Norse people weren't some huge players on the world stage in the way that empires tended to be. They were relatively small in number, came from a remote, frozen place, and though they did some very notable things (the raid on Lindisfarne and populating the ranks of The Varangian Guard as examples), they weren't some massive influence that was going to take over the world.

Probably the biggest thing about Vikings that has survived (we're talking specifically about the raiders and pirates, not Norse people in general) was the legendary fear they produced. Their raids were ruthless, they ignored the conventions that so many other cultures followed, and the sheer maneuverability of their ships meant they could turn up nearly anywhere. If there was water nearby (and even if the water was miles away) it meant the Vikings could reach you. And in the dark, with the fires barely holding the night at bay, it was easy to imagine dangerous pirates with minds full of murder and robbery, their hands tight on the hilts of their weapons as they drew ever closer at the behest of their strange, foreign gods.

Hope the waterfront property was worth it!

Because I've had orcs on the brain ever since my latest Species of Sundara dropped where I talked about several of the varieties of these creatures that populate my setting (available for both Pathfinder Classic and Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition), this has been a natural connection that I figured might be of-use to players and GMs alike.

To be clear, I'm not saying to pattern orcs off of the culture and/or pop culture we associate with the Norse (there's more than enough GMs and designers who've taken a stab at that already). However, as orcs and characters of orc heritage have grown and changed over the years we've had to re-imagine them, and expand on their place in our worlds and our games. Original orcs were the Tolkien model of monsters who served dark masters, and this is very much in line with the outlandish myths of Vikings told by those who survived their raids, or who merely observed the carnage left behind. The idea that the children of orcs with other species could only have been the product of violence or threats of violence is also much in-line with the sorts of tales told about the brutality of the Northmen.

As we expanded orcs further, we've seen that their violence toward towns and cities may be for more reasons than sheer wickedness, or raw personal gain. They might have been pushed off their old lands, and are fighting against resettlement. They might be fighting against prejudices that have led others to shun and mistreat them. They might even be fighting for the families and communities that those on the other side never even thought about, because to them there are no children or civilians among orcs; they're just a nameless, faceless hoard of roaring warriors because that's all they've ever seen, or all the legends have told of them. Yet much like the Norse people there was a vibrant, shifting, ever-changing culture that went beyond the Ulfbehrt and the Dane ax, and that was more than golden armbands and berserkers. Those things were a part of it, yes, but they were by no means what defined the whole of who they were. There were multiple nations, holds, and smaller clans within the larger whole, and examined on that small scale you could see stark differences between the myths of their culture, and who they really were at ground-level.

For GMs and players alike who want to bridge that gap between the orcs of older RPGs who were brutal, savage raiders at the behest of a violent, one-eyed god of battle and death, and newer RPGs where orcs are diverse and varied, each with their own cultures and interior life, this strategy might be worth thinking about.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Rage Against Capitalism: Pentex as a Werewolf Antagonist

If you've ever played a game of Werewolf: The Apocalypse, then you're already passingly familiar with a lot of the game's central themes and antagonists. For those who haven't, you are one of the garou, shape-shifting warriors who have fought on behalf of the Earth Mother Gaia since time immemorial. Once upon a time the three major powers of the world, the Wyld (representing nature), the Weaver (representing order) and the Wyrm (representing destruction) all existed in harmony. But the Weaver attempted to control the Wyrm, and the Wyrm has gone mad, rampaging across the world in an attempt to destroy everything. As Gaia's chosen you are the one who stands against the servants of the Wyrm and attempts to bring back balance... or at least prevent the apocalypse.

It's a really unique game, and perhaps one of my favorite parts of the World of Darkness setting... but there's also no other RPG I've played that has made it clear we all need to work together if we're going to stop capitalism from destroying the world.

Maybe the Red Talons had a few good ideas after all...

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Pentex: Capitalism As Antagonist

There are a lot of themes in Werewolf, but most of them can be boiled down to restoring the balance. Werewolves fight to stop the Wyrm from destroying everything, they struggle to maintain their Rage so it can be used against their foes without harming their loved ones, and they often have to balance between the physical and the spiritual worlds. There's the balance between pride in their actions, and the horror at the things they have to do, and attempting to hang onto themselves and their principles in the face of the yawning void that waits to swallow them up.

Pretty heavy stuff for a game about turning into a giant furry death machine and rolling handfuls of plastic dice.

So where does capitalism come into this?

Since Werewolf takes place in the World of Darkness setting, which is a grim modern fantasy, it was going to have to address capitalism sooner or later. And the game doesn't mince words when it comes to this financial system, either. Because at its core capitalism is about an imbalance of power, the impossibility of infinite growth, and reaping the planet for every penny that can be made. From dumping toxic waste into drinking water, to running child labor camps, to imprisoning people on meaningless offenses and stealing years of their lives just to turn profits, there is basically no corner dark enough that capitalism hasn't tried to turn a profit off of it. And though there are some aspects of the game that let you use the tools of capital to further your goals (the Corporate Wolves camp of the Glass Walkers, spirits like Easy Credit and Almighty Dollar, etc.), even characters who use these tools would be trying to use money, investment, etc., to oppose things like child labor, human trafficking, and environmental destruction rather than profiting off of them.

The game itself personifies the danger of capitalism as Pentex, a conglomeration of corporations that all share interests, and which are connected to each other by board members, mutual profits, love of money, and lack of scruples. And in a game that perfected the Ever Present Threat that can never truly be defeated once and for all in the form of the Wyrm, Pentex is a solid runner-up in terms of a villain. Because you can't kill a single CEO, blow up a particular construction site, or expose any one network of abuses and cover-ups to get rid of what Pentex represents... someone else will just step up tomorrow to try to do it again. The logo will be different, and the stationery has changed, but it's the same empty suits trying to finish the oil pipeline, restart the coal plant, sell you the toxic product, or get you to hand over your money in exchange for a false blessing from a mega pastor.

While a lot of STs are leery about using Pentex in their games, preferring to focus on the purely supernatural threats like vampires, Black Spiral Dancers, fomori, and corrupt spirits, this corporate villain works really well when it comes to defining the shape of the battlefield. Because Pentex is often a purely mortal threat, which can allow players to really cut loose and feel powerful as werewolves... but it also presents a lot of moral challenges to them. Do you use lethal force against the security guards, most of which are just working stiffs who need a job (any job) so they don't wind up on the street? Is the loss of the economic gain to the community created by destroying a dangerous project (coal mine, natural gas pipeline, fracking operation, etc.) going to affect their spirits just as badly as the pollution would affect their bodies? Can your message of balance, community bonds, and living in harmony counter generations of propaganda about how greed is good, money makes the world go round, and it's a dog-eat-dog world?

Though Pentex can (and often does) mix with elements of the supernatural from vampire investors and company officers, to mad scientists trying to mass produce supernatural templates, etc., it often represents a very mortal antagonist that is just as hard to defeat as any monster from myth. And that can often ground your game in ways that are hard to accomplish just fighting banes and fomori all the time.

Though The Written Material Often Falls Short of Reality

For those who haven't come across it, I recently put together my own supplement for STs who want to have their players go up against corporate interests. Evil Incorporated: 10 Pentex Subsidiaries was a particularly challenging piece for me to write because of a problem that I kept running into time and time again.

Namely that any time you end up trying to make some kind of super advanced monstrous version of capitalism, you just end up making something that already exists, or which has happened in the past. And trying to add vampires or Black Spiral Dancers into the mix just feels like you're working in metaphors to soften the blow, rather than letting the villain just be what they are; a stark testament to the atrocities that a lot of humans are willing to commit in the name of profit margins and personal gain.

The introductory story, dramatized over on the Azukail Games YouTube channel, says it all, really.

According to the soft canon, the idea that would become Pentex was born in the Texas oil fields sometime in the 1800s... but for those who are students of history, and are aware of the crimes of the East India Trading Company, Pentex can seem like a Johnny-come-lately. And while Pentex is often supposed to be this cartoonishly evil collection of villains that feel like something out of Captain Planet, is it really so unbelievable that people would poison huge swaths of the population or destroy the planet for money? That's no different than how cigarette companies fought for years to suppress widespread information about their products causing cancer, or how oil companies knew about global warming for decades and kept it wrapped up so they wouldn't lose money. Companies like Tesla and Apple have been accused of using child labor in their products, and the American military has been directed by corporate interests for decades to those familiar with the banana wars.

Hell, in my research for Can Large-Scale Telecommuting Save The Environment?, I found numbers that consistently said remote work increases corporate profits and productivity, increases worker morale, lowers overhead costs, and reduces emissions by millions of tons a year. But corporations are fighting tooth-and-nail to force people to come back to work in the middle of a pandemic, spending more money to be less efficient and to put their workers at-risk while making them more miserable. Why? Because the middle managers were exposed as mostly useless positions when they didn't have tiny fiefdoms of office workers to lord over, and pretend they were an asset to the company, and that loss of face (as well as the potential to cut positions that it turned out weren't necessary) was all it took to start the meat grinder up again.

So if you're going to run Pentex as part of your games, keep all of this in mind. Because it might feel close to home, but at the same time it might provide a unique catharsis that defeating a vampire lord or overcoming a great bane spirit simply won't.

More Werewolf Stuff, Anyone?

If Evil Incorporated is enough to get your mind going, I've got other stuff for an Apocalypse game you might find particularly useful. So if you're itching for shapeshifting stories, check these out too!

- 100 Garou Kinfolk Bundle: With over 1,500 NPCs (100 for each of the base tribes, plus 100 mokole' kin on top of that!) this will ensure that you're never lacking for support characters in your game.

- 100 Stargazer Kinfolk: The encore guide that came out after the bundle was set, this is for all the players and STs alike who want to bring this enigmatic tribe into your game... especially if these mystics intend to oppose what both capital and the state are trying to do to Gaia in their part of the world.

- Deadly Country: 100 NPCs of Central Florida: While a lot of these characters can be swapped around to other parts of the country, one might argue that there are few places in America more primed to be a stronghold of Pentex than Florida.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Villains of Sundara? What Makes Archbliss Such an Important Installment

For folks who are just now tuning in, I've been hard at work on my own fantasy RPG setting since the end of 2020. Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is written for both Pathfinder Classic and DND 5th Edition, and the goal with this setting it is to leave behind many of the associated tropes and artifacts that have clung to previous games, and that players have often complained takes them out of the experience. So there's no alignment, there's no monocultures, and large portions of the setting are focused on harnessing the natural resources that exist in order to progress and move forward.

In a game that's about forward-thinking, about progress, and about solving problems rather than cut-and-dried, black-and-white, good-and-evil, a lot of players kept asking me who the "bad guys" are? After all, if you're not fighting goblins because goblins aren't inherently evil, and you're not tripping over slavers and devil worshipers in every other town, then what is a heavily-armed group of morally-flexible protagonists supposed to do with themselves? Sure, there are disasters that need to be averted, mindless undead that need to be dealt with, or dangerous animals that need to be corralled, but what about those villains adventurers oppose in fantasy games?

Well, I never said there wouldn't be villains... just that they wouldn't be what we're used to.

And that is where these guys come in.

In case you were wondering, the flying city of infinite possibility that hides corruption, selfishness, abuse of power, and a rigid hierarchy where which rung you're on determines how much of a person you are is a breeding ground for the types of attitudes and actions that make you a villain in this setting.

Also, if you want to stay on top of all my releases, don't forget to subscribe to my weekly mailing list to get them all sent right to your email. And if you want to help me keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron as well! Even a small donation can make a big difference.

What is Archbliss?

Archbliss (which is available both in a Pathfinder version and in a DND 5E version if you haven't gotten your copy yet) is one of the great wonders of Sundara. A floating city, Archbliss was created by a massive cooperative effort of disparate sorcerers more than a thousand years ago. Outcast from fear, mistreated by the populace, and finding solace in one another, the sorcerers combined their power to create a place where the impossible could happen. And then when they were threatened by their neighbors, who saw what the sorcerers were capable of and could only imagine being put under their collective boot heels, they raised their city into the sky to escape that kind of judgment and prejudice more completely.

This began the golden age of Archbliss, which is still spoken of in myth. Great sorcerers would descend from the city to save towns and cities from war, plagues, and droughts, only asking to take with them those who displayed a knack for magic. Those who were not born in the heights, and who had no sorcerous powers, were rarely allowed into Archbliss. And so it remained a legend, able to be seen from below, but far beyond the knowledge of most people.

Every myth hides a truth.

Though Archbliss ceased wandering to float above a plateau centuries ago, and while it is now far more possible for non-sorcerers to enter the city, the city's facade covers much of what it's become. The glimmering spires, the everyday miracles that line its streets, and the mastery of magics that puts so many other places to shame, makes it seem like it's truly part of another world.

But those who rule Archbliss are mortal, and it is their mortal flaws that make many of them villains.

Because there was no, single sorcerer responsible for the creation of the flying city. It took the combined efforts of all of them, from the great to the small, to achieve this impossible feat. The longer they were cut off from the world, however, the more clannish the sorcerers became. In time they formed into Great Houses, and attempted to keep their ranks pure. While there was new blood trickling into the city with fresh sorcerers seeking teachers, they found the hierarchy was already in place. So rather than attempting to dismantle it, they simply started climbing over one another as fast as they could.

Over centuries this led to the flaws that are rotting Archbliss from within. Many of the sorcerers are entitled, assuming their comforts are conjured from the ether with no cost. Others are selfish, refusing to expend any of their own efforts to help others, even if it would take nothing more than a small spell to set someone or something to rights. Those in power hoard their resources as surely as their position, using it to exert force over those beneath them. And while there are those who might be able to challenge the arcane might of the sorcerers who lead the city, the agents of the Black Tower ensure they disappear before they could ever raise a rallying cry against those who have an iron grip on the reins of power... even if that grip is going to cause Archbliss to tumble from the clouds rather than remain a proud beacon of what cooperative efforts can achieve.

This is Why There Aren't Other Aristocracies (So Far, At Least)

One of the common threads running through the other installments of my Cities of Sundara series is that they're generally organized around commerce, the common good, invention, or a confederacy of allied interests. Ironfire, for example, is a city that's driven by industry, but it also knows that in order to achieve long-term prosperity it has to train the next generation, provide room for experimentation, and make sure there's security for its citizens. Moüd is a desert-bound metropolis whose existence is only made possible by the copious use of the undead, and it is ruled over by a guild that manages the city with the same goals and ideals it manages its other affairs. Silkgift is a city with a robust safety net for all its citizens, and whose main industry is ideas, creativity, and invention. Even Hoardreach is predicated on mutual aid and shared territory, with the central pillar of its governance being the stewardship of the five dragons that founded the city in the first place.

Archbliss is a magistocracy that, over time, has twisted itself to put the wants of those at the top of the hierarchy over the needs not just of those at the bottom, but of those anywhere in the world.

It's all crumbling down... bit by bit.

The issue is not, strictly speaking, that those with magic run the city. It's that the ideals that founded the city have been lost, and the Great Houses now play games of appearances and influence rather than fixing problems. Those in charge are more concerned with how much of the city's power grid can be used to maintain their own comfort, how much influence their words have, and how important they appear to others in the city. Worse, when they do attempt to solve issues (such as the shrinking amount of power in the veins of sorcerer's quartz that keeps the city afloat) it's usually through the most inhumane solutions that will preserve their own power and position (such as imprisoning sorcerers, wizards, and witches in cells that will drain them of their powers, instead of actually rationing energy or giving up any of their own power to contribute to the good of the whole).

Archbliss is not some universally evil place, like we see in a lot of fantasy settings. It is a place that has good people in it, and a place that is full of genuinely amazing things. But it's also a place where the established power structure is slowly choking it to death, and those around it have been socialized to see it as normal. Conditioned to believe that change cannot be made through tearing down the old order (something that is very possible given how many sorcerers there are in the city), but only by submitting to the process and trying to climb the ladder themselves. A ladder that those in the power structure have control of, allowing them to stymie any change that they deem unwanted, or a threat to them. Even if refusing to change means they may be dooming themselves and those around them to a dire fate when the city eventually starts to lean, to list, and then to fall.

Despite the potential of Archbliss, and how steeped in sorcery it is, it represents a very real, very familiar, and very banal evil (with a lowercase "e"). And it's why even as places across Sundara are rising in power through cooperative efforts, sharing resources, and helping one another that Archbliss is fading as the few powerful individuals at the top refuse to do anything that inconveniences them and their position even for a moment.

There are no devils in Sundara. No monstrous species you can just slay without worry or thought. But there are still villains that must be opposed, and systems that need to be dismantled. Archbliss is one of the clearest representations of those I've provided in the setting thus far.

Sundara So Far

Speaking of my setting, the first 5 of the Cities of Sundara series have dropped. I'm switching gears after this to Gods of Sundara next month, and then after that delving into the species of the world and what makes them unusual and unique. If you're looking for a setting that's about progress, fresh solutions, and where the old conceits of alignment are thrown right out the window, then Sundara might be for you.

Also, you can slot these locations into existing settings to use on their own, if you're just looking for something to plug into an empty spot on your campaign map! So in addition to Archbliss, consider grabbing the following:

- Ironfire: The City of Steel (Pathfinder and 5E): Built around the Dragon Forge, Ironfire is where the secret to dragon steel was first cracked. The center of the mercenary trade in the region, as well as boasting some of the finest schools for teaching practical sciences, Ironfire is a place where discovery and danger walk hand in hand!

- Moüd: The City of Bones (Pathfinder and 5E): An ancient center of trade and magic, Moüd was lost to a cataclysm, and then buried in myth. Reclaimed by the necromantic arts of the Silver Wraiths guild, this city has once again become a place teeming with life. Despite the burgeoning population, though, it is the continued presence of the undead that helps keep the city running, ensuring that Moüd is not swallowed up once more.

- Silkgift: The City of Sails (Pathfinder and 5E): Built on the cottage industry of Archer cloth (an extremely durable material used for sails, windmills, etc.), Silkgift is a place that prizes invention and discovery. From gravity batteries that store the potential of the wind, to unique irrigation systems, to aether weapons, the city positively churns out discoveries... and then there's the canal they cut through the mountains that makes them a major center of trade across the region.

- Hoardreach: The City of Wyrms (Pathfinder and 5E): A center of power across an entire region, Hoardreach is ruled over by a Cooperation of five different dragons. A place for refugees and outcasts of all sorts, Hoardreach boasts some of the most unusual citizens and creations from across Sundara. Infamous for their sky ships, which require the cast-off scales and unique arcane sciences of the Dragon Works to take to the air, one never knows just what they'll find in this city built atop a mountain.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

The Farm Boy Paladin

"Every one of you will bow your heads," the snarling figure in the black iron helm bellowed as he walked among the gathered people of the square. The voice was deeper than it should be... more awful than any human throat could produce. "The Lord of Shadows will be merciful. You will be allowed your lives, in his service. Those who do not accept his terms will receive no others."

Men and women shrunk back from the figure as it stalked along the ranks. All but one. Dann Tanner stood tall and proud, his hands folded atop the hickory walking stick he always used when he made the journey into town. His rough woolens were patched with dirt and stained with sweat, his thick hair held back by a leather cord. He had his lips pursed thoughtfully, watching the creature. There wasn't a single line of worry, or fear on his face. The shadowy figure turned, and glared through its helm at Dann, but the farmer's son spoke first.

"Got to say, I don't think much of your master, or his terms," Dann said, shaking his head. "But I don't want people thinking I can't be fair. So you take your men, and you get on out of here. Show me a clean pair of heels, and we can all forget this ever happened."

"Or what?" The creature asked, a bloody laugh in its voice.

Dann lashed out, reversing his stick in his hands and putting his shoulders into the blow. The creature had ignored arrows and blades alike, but the knotted head of Dann's stick dented the side of its helm, and sent the figure sprawling into the dirt. It howled in agony, clutching at the steel, trying to roll to its feet. Dann kicked the figure with the strength of a mule, and the sound of bones cracking was audible to those who stood nearby. He hammered his stick down one more time, and the figure juttered before going still. Black blood poured from beneath the helm, smoking and scorching the ground where it touched. Dann looked round at the others, slapping the head of his stick into his meaty hand.

"You all heard my terms," he said, glancing around. "You accepting? Or are we going to have ourselves a disagreement?"

I'm ready whenever you all are.

More Than Knights in Shining Armor

When many of us think of paladins, we think of members of knightly orders with flashing blades and shining shields. Even if they were raised in another fashion, we usually think of them as leaving that old life behind once they hear their divine calling.

The Farm Boy Paladin is in direct opposition to this idea/aesthetic.

How in the hell does anyone see out of this damn thing?

Rather than simply being a character raised on a farm who then goes on to become a knight, the idea is that this origin defines not just who the character was, but how they continue to be. Because while a childhood of hard work in a remote area would give them strength, endurance, knowledge of how to survive in the wilderness far away from a town and neighbors, while also teaching them to use a variety of tools, it could also set their personality in meaningful ways. Everything from maintaining the values of hearth and home, to a reliance on one's neighbors, to honest work and helping those in need, it shapes a character in interesting ways.

And as I mentioned in 5 Tips For Playing Better Paladins, this makes for an ideal organic paladin (which is to say a character who hasn't joined any organizations, formally taken oaths, etc.). While the character might be raw and untutored, they still have all the power of any other paladin to throw around.

For those who want to go all-in on the idea, you can even apply the aesthetic to their weapons, armor, and mount. Maybe they start off with leather armor that looks more like a butcher's robe, and a quarterstaff. Since smite ignores all DR on evil enemies, it's entirely possible for a paladin to lay some serious hurt onto anything wicked with a stick, a thrown rock, or even just a boot in the ribs. The stocky plow horse they ride might be seen as just a common animal, but much like their master that horse could have a spark of the divine power within them that lets them ride into battle, trampling the corrupt and wicked under their hooves, allowing them to fulfill the paladin's mount feature if the player goes that route. The longbow he carries might be the same one he used to hunt game for the stewpot back home, and the raw Charisma he boasts could allow him to make friends and earn trust wherever he goes.

The idea behind the Farm Boy Paladin is that it puts his class all the way in the background, allowing the character's personality and mannerisms to stay in the foreground. In fact, if you don't actually tell the rest of the table that you're playing a paladin, you might be able to go half a dozen sessions before one of them finally puts the pieces together and realizes you're not a fighter, a ranger, or an unusually friendly barbarian.

For those who'd like a bit of comedy to go with this week's concept, take a moment to check out The 5 Awful Paladins You Meet in Your Gaming Career... I have a feeling we've all shared a table with at least one of them. And for those who love little tidbits of obscure history, or who want some insight into how this class became what it is in our popular fiction, take a moment to read What is a Paladin? to delve into the etymology of the word itself!

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned For More!

That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat noir novel Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my most recent collection of short stories The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Industrialized Necromancy in a Setting With No Alignment... "Moüd: City of Bones" is Waiting For You!

The city was once lost to the annals of history, the ruins forgotten in the dust and sand of an ever-expanding desert. The tumbledown stones faded into legend, and the legend became myths spoken of in hushed tones by the nomads who traveled the rim of the empty quarter. It wasn't until someone stumbled across the ruins, and managed to survive the dangers that lurked there, that the place was discovered again. And once it was discovered, the Silver Wraiths descended to claim it as their own.

The guild of necromancers used their arts to reclaim the city, and to rebuild it. Not only that, but it is through their endeavors that the necropolis has become a metropolis where the living and the dead now exist cheek-by-jowl. From the massive sand trains pulled by skeletal mammoths (with gray-robed necromancers sitting in the rib cage as their drovers), to the undead servants who clean the gutters, haul the garbage, care for crops, and more, the bodies of the dead were the tools used to build Moüd into the city it is today.

- Historian Demarcles Heralds, "The History of Great Cities"

The City of Bones has spun the raw stuff of death, turning it into a necessity for life.

For those who didn't see the announcement when it first came out, the second city in my fantasy RPG setting Sundara: Dawn of a New Age is finally out! Moüd: The City of Bones is available in both a Pathfinder Classic version, as well as in a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition version, whichever suits your style of play. And while this supplement made a bit of a splash when it first dropped, I wanted to talk a bit about some of what's going on between the covers, and how it fits into the overall vision I have for the setting as it develops!

Alternatively, if you're a DIY sort of person when it comes to world building, I'd recommend taking a look at 5 Tips For Creating Fantasy Towns and Cities, which gets into the process of how I've been building all these unique locations!

As usual, if you haven't signed up for my weekly newsletter, consider doing that to get all of my updates and fresh content as it drops. Also, if you missed the first supplement that introduced this new setting Ironfire: The City of Steel is also available both in a Pathfinder Classic and in a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition format!

Treating Necromancy as Just Another Tool

As I mentioned in What is "Sundara: Dawn of a New Age" All About?, one of the signature elements of this new setting is that it completely jettisons the traditional alignment system. While I have a more detailed guide regarding how that changes the rules (particularly for Pathfinder Classic, where alignment is so intimately tied to a lot of classes, spells, and concepts), the starting goal was to throw out the white hats and black hats that so many players reflexively reach for when they tell their stories.

This should be especially appealing for players who never get to really dig into all that necromancy has to offer, because so much of the really fun stuff comes with an Evil label on the spells.

This desert will strip your hide. Bess, here, don't got to worry none about that.

To lay the foundation for a new perspective on necromancy, I used the Silver Wraiths guild from my 100 Fantasy Guilds supplement that dropped a while back. Traditionally employed to stop random upsurges of undead, and to deal with angry spirits as exorcists (since necromancer is a profession, and one held by a wide variety of classes), the guild also put their magic to use in unexpected ways that have proven quite beneficial to commerce in general. Preserving the corpses of slaughtered animals for long journeys, ensuring they remain fresh, is one example. When the guild has needed to use corpses to complete its tasks (such as disaster relief, search and rescue, and more), they have strict rules about how bodies are acquired, what compensation must be rendered (inspired by The Taskmaster Necromancer), etc.

Moüd takes this idea of necromancy as a tool, which can be used for positive or negative ends, and ratchets it up to an industrial scale.

At first it was because the expertise of an entire guild of necromancers was needed to undo the remnants of a disastrous ritual that had been performed in the depths of the ancient city centuries ago (more on that in the history section), but once the immediate danger was passed the Silver Wraiths found themselves uniquely suited to solving the issues presented by the inhospitable environment surrounding Moüd. Because the city was still located in the midst of a forgotten trade route, but it was far too dangerous for living creatures to make the journey.

To reinvigorate the ancient trade route, the guild used undead beasts of burden to haul first supplies, and then passengers, across the wastes (similar to what I put in The Veterinarian Necromancer). The heat and dangers make labor dangerous for living men, so teams of undead workers handle menial tasks efficiently and effectively. The amount of labor means the guild declared it their new headquarters, which means apprentices are now trained there. The city grows, with new industries and new trade coming in every day, until Moüd is nearly as prosperous now as it was in its ancient days.

Digging Deeper Than Alignment

The key to remember with the City of Bones, and with Sundara as a whole, is that cultural beliefs will vary widely across the setting. For some people, and even some faiths, the body is sacred and must be respected. For others it's an empty husk once the soul has departed, no more holy than any other inert matter. Even individuals within an organization like the Silver Wraiths will have differing views and opinions regarding these subjects.

While I included a tracking system with consequences for over-use of certain spells (and of negative energy in general), that is meant as a way of showing the effects of living people dealing with energies that are antithetical to life; a purely physical toll, rather than a spiritual one. For folks who want necromancy to still have that edge of danger, but who would rather see it treated like radiation poisoning instead of a corruption of the soul.

What, me? No, I haven't been casting necromancy spells today... why are you asking?

The idea is that players and game masters should have the freedom to explore these ideas, traditions, and beliefs through that lens of differing cultural views, rather than with a single, divine rule that decided which actions are inherently good, or inherently evil across all cultures, species, and religions. Because, as so many folks have said, necromancy spells (even the dread and dire ones) could be used as tools to achieve good ends. Even the "harmless" spells could be used to perform some dire deeds, used to seriously hurt people. Alignment isn't concerned with motivation and uses in many cases, though, because things that are inherently good or inherently evil are good or evil in the moment the act is performed rather (or often in addition to) the ends they were meant to achieve.

And in this dawn of a new age, I'd like to see all of us choosing to think outside the boxes we've so often been stuck inside when it came to limits on our stories and character options.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my cat noir thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

The Difference Between "Bad" Characters and "Evil" Characters

I've been dwelling on alignment a lot recently, but judging from the reactions my article The Punisher is Evil received, it's a topic that folks are interested in seeing more of. This week, though, I wanted to touch on the difficulty of shades of gray when it comes to our characters. When we want them to have a bit of an edge to them, but to stay out of darker realms.

What is the difference between a character who's bad, and one who is evil? I don't have an absolute answer to this question, but I have found some shadowy places that I think might be of interest to my fellow players out there.

The wearing, or not wearing, of skulls is not always an indicator.

While we're on the subject, though, are there any other characters you'd like to see me do a deep dive on their likely alignment? Or any particular alignments you'd like a 5 Tips post for, such as my 5 Tips For Playing Better Evil Characters? If so, toss a comment to let me know!

Where Do You Draw The Line?

Before we go too deep into this, first thing's first. Alignment by its very nature depends on absolutes in a setting. Moral relativism does not work with alignment because it's tied to games that have literal heavens and hells, angels and demons, etc. In these worlds there literally is a divine checklist and a neutral arbiter who decides whether your actions were good or evil.

How your character thinks about those issues, whether they feel justified, etc., is completely irrelevant. Whether they believe evil is good, or good is evil, doesn't matter. The divine laws of the cosmos have decided what is good and what is evil in many cases.

If there were no absolute goods, traditional LG paladins wouldn't be a thing.

Now, with that out of the way, the first thing you need to look at are what actions are considered inherently evil in your setting. This will vary from game to game and group to group, but we're not talking about small potatoes here. We're talking capital "E" evil actions.

Some of the more common options here include:

- Murder for profit (as well as just murder in general)
- Propagation of slavery
- Deliberate casting of evil spells
- Torture

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Evil actions are inherently bad things. Whatever your reason, whatever the character motivation, whatever the end result, it's fruit from the poisoned tree.

So, the first important consideration here is what actions are evil. Not just bad, or selfish, or harmful, but things that are outright evil. Because while it is true that characters who have committed evil acts in the past can redeem themselves and attempt to change their alignment, it takes a lot more work to climb out of that hole.

And if you commit more evil actions, it just means you dug yourself back into the hole again.

What Do Bad Actions Look Like?

Our morality as players tends to vary pretty widely. I've yet to be at a table where everyone agreed completely on what is good, and what is evil. However, a useful question to ask when it comes to characters who are bad, rather than being truly evil, is to ask what damage their actions do overall? Who is hurt by the things they do?

I said git out of my forest!

As a solid example of a "bad" character, take the classic thief. Your pickpocket, your burglar, etc. These individuals steal for a living, no question. They are breaking the law (as if that ever stopped an adventurer), and they are committing an act that most of us would really rather not have happen to us.

But under normal circumstances, I'd argue that action falls into the category of "bad" rather than "evil."

Why is that? Well, at its core, theft is a property crime. You are stealing a thing (gold coins, jewels, magic items, etc.) from another person. And in the case of pickpockets and burglars, the theft is usually the extent of the act. You might break a window to get into a home, for example, but at the end of the day you took a thing. There are going to be certain circumstances where this act is made more or less problematic (you knowingly stole the last savings from someone who then starved on the side of "makes it worse," to snatching food from a cart because you were starving and broke on the side of "well, that's not so bad"), but generally speaking property crimes aren't in the "evil" category.

What else might make you bad, but not evil?

Well, we've agreed that murdering people is generally an evil act. Murder is the deliberate killing of another person with malice aforethought, meaning that you set out to kill someone else deliberately after making the decision beforehand. However, most of us would agree that defending yourself from someone or something trying to kill you is not murder. Defending someone else is also okay, and often seen as a good act. A more questionable, "bad" thing to do might be to deliberately put yourself in a situation where someone will try to kill you, thus forcing you to defend yourself.

It's not evil, because they were actually trying to kill you. They could have chosen to walk away, and not attack you. You did provoke that response, though, which is... shady, shall we say.

Tangible Harm Versus Cultural Norms

There are dozens of different actions that might be considered unscrupulous, duplicitous, selfish, blasphemous, or otherwise "bad" that never cross over into real evil. A character might tell lies to hide their own actions, or to gain rewards they don't deserve. Someone might use threats and intimidation to force cooperation from those who don't want to help them, or to force someone else to back down from a fight. Someone might rob graves, commit adultery, burn down empty buildings, gamble illicitly, break religious covenants, or commit all sorts of other immoral acts.

But at the end of the day, it's important to ask if their actions cause tangible harm. And if so, what was the purpose of that harm?

This is where that divine slide ruler comes into the picture.

Let's go back to the thief. Did they need to steal whatever they stole in order to provide for themselves? If not, was the person they stole from tangibly harmed by that theft?

If a thief was starving and took bread from a merchant, they certainly broke the law. But did the loss of that one loaf of bread do the merchant any real harm? Probably not. But what if the thief stole a noble's jeweled ring instead? Well, given that the ring serves no real purpose other than ornamentation, the result is that some of the noble's wealth is now in the thief's hands. The noble may lose some face, and have to wear a different ring, but there hasn't been any true, tangible harm done to them. And if the thief broke into a crypt and stole the jewelry from the dead? Barring setting rules that involve the dead rising in wrath, dead people don't need money. Taking it from them harms no one, as it was just sitting there in the ground, unused and mostly unaccounted for.

Again, that doesn't make these actions good. It does, however, put them into that gray area of bad.

Anytime there's a question of whether an act should be labeled as bad or evil, it's important to ask what harm comes of it, and if the action is being taken to defend oneself against harm. And if you want a character who is bad, but not evil, don't try to justify them regularly committing evil acts. Try on someone who is irreverent, non-conformist, spiteful, or who is a little crass, vulgar, or illicit.

You'll have a lot fewer arguments, and you'll have to do way fewer mental gymnastics.

Also, as a pro tip, remember what I said back in The Risen Antipaladin. You get a lot more mileage out of someone who committed evil acts in the past, and who is trying to be a better person now. So when we meet them, they've managed to plateau at "bad" instead of being actively evil. That reputation might still be following the character around, but they don't create the friction of actively committing atrocities in team-based environment when some of your companions may feel morally obliged to stop what you're doing. Even if it might solve current problems.

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That's all for this week's Fluff post! If you've used this in your games, share a story down in the comments!

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