Pathfinder 1E Evil humanoids and the seven deadly sins

[Matthias]

Putting a different spin on why there are humanoid races that sweep the good/evil axis and then there are races that seem to be mostly evil...

I was thinking that as part of a campaign world's mythos, these fallen races could have an origin in each of the seven deadly sins as defined in medieval Christianity, and perhaps some being characterized by the seven deadly poisons from Buddhism, and still others that violate specific major tenets of Islam, Confucianism, etc. These great religions need not be explicitly woven into the mythos itself, only that these vices or evil deeds appear as the major causes of the downfalls of these degenerate species.

Some suggestions-

Orcs: lust (being that there are more half-orcs than any other kind of hybrid short of maybe half-elves, this choice seemed quite appropriate)

Ogres: gluttony

Hobgoblins: wrath?

Goblins: sloth?

Kobolds: greed (they are related to dragons, after all)

How about the rest?

 

[SteelDraco]

That's a very interesting idea that could be a neat worldbuilding hook. Some thoughts - I'm trying to go from the seven sins to races that I think fit them well, rather than listing races and picking their sin.

Lust: I'd consider the drow here. They're often portrayed as creatures controlled by desire - for power, wealth, glory, or physical sensation.

Gluttony: I think ogres are an excellent fit for this, particularly Paizo's depiction of them, along with some of the Warhammer Fantasy stuff, where their whole religion is about food. They're huge and all-consuming. Fits really well.

Greed: Kobolds work well here. The sin of dragons would be pride, but they're very guilty of greed as well. Kobolds could be the representation of that greedy, petty side of dragons.

Sloth: I probably wouldn't put the goblins here. I view goblins as energetic creatures that just happen to be super-nuts. They're not lazy, though. I would think about lizardfolk - they're often stuck hiding in their swamps, and don't seem to be very active about going out and changing things. They're portrayed as reactive and still pretty primitive, worshiping old, inactive gods.

Wrath: Orcs fit better here, in my opinion. Though they are lustful creatures, I think of them as defined more by wrath. When I'm thinking about an orc, I think of someone who is always, always angry. Their culture falls apart because they can't keep internal violence in check or organize well.

Envy: I'd consider goblins here. They want what humans have - shiny things, safe homes, a secure place in the world. They just aren't willing to put in the effort and organization to earn it themselves, so they hang around the edges, stealing from other societies. If they can't steal it, they burn it down out of jealous spite.

Pride: I would associate hobgoblins with pride. They have a well-developed culture, and are physically superior to humans, and are smart and well-organized. Why haven't they taken over, then? Because they all think THEY should be in charge because they're the most worthy of all the hobgoblins. A whole race of Lawful Evil, militaristic schemers that think that they should be in charge, and views everyone else as a tool for conquest.

 

[Jester David]

Sloth I'd go with gnolls. They don't make or produce anything and really rely on slaves.

Kobold (greed) and ogres (gluttony) work nicely.
Orcs are better suited for wrath, as [MENTION=359]SteelDraco[/MENTION] suggests. You could try and squish goblinoids into envy as well, in varying degrees. Again, lust fits the Drow (or elves), but pride could work with them as well.

 

[Starbuck_II]

Sloth: I probably wouldn't put the goblins here. I view goblins as energetic creatures that just happen to be super-nuts. They're not lazy, though. I would think about lizardfolk - they're often stuck hiding in their swamps, and don't seem to be very active about going out and changing things. They're portrayed as reactive and still pretty primitive, worshiping old, inactive gods.

Troglodytes fit as well.

 

[paradox42]

Troglodytes fit as well.

Trogs actually fit better, since they (unlike Lizardfolk) are actually Evil. Lizardfolk are True Neutral by default, even though they are more often used as "monsters" than "NPCs."

 

[Tonguez]

Lust: Elf

Gluttony: Gnolls

Greed: Hobgoblin

Sloth: Trogs

Wrath: Orcs .

Envy: Goblins

Pride: Ogres = anyone remember the Irda?

 

[SteelDraco]

I do like gnolls a lot for sloth. I had forgotten that they're big slavers.

Ogres for pride requires a pretty big re-write of the race's backstory - the Irda aren't appropriate for every setting, after all. They work well in Dragonlance, though.

Giants might work well for pride too, depending on their racial backstory and connection with the titans. The Eberron giants would be good for pride, for example. They ruled an ancient empire until it fell apart.

 

[triqui]

That's a very interesting idea that could be a neat worldbuilding hook. Some thoughts - I'm trying to go from the seven sins to races that I think fit them well, rather than listing races and picking their sin.

Lust: I'd consider the drow here. They're often portrayed as creatures controlled by desire - for power, wealth, glory, or physical sensation.

We have to be carefull here. Lust for wealth, is greed. Lust for glory, is pride. Lust for food, it's gluttony. Lust for blood, it's wrath...

Lust should be physical attraction, sexual desire, and seek of pleasure. Drow might work, if you tweak them a bit.

I once did that, but used some PC characters as well, and I tweaked the races a bit. Sloth were the elves for example. They spent most the time reading and learning stuff, and did not any physical labor. They had golems to work for them and used spells to make the croop raise, and used Mickey Mouse's spells to clean the house.

Without going into heavy home-ruling of the races, I'd go like this:

Orc: Wrath
Ogre: gluttony
Troll: Sloth
Giants/Titans: Pride
Duergar: greed.
Drow: lust
Envy: Goblins or Kobolds.

 

[frankthedm]

Lizardfolk are True Neutral by default, even though they are more often used as "monsters" than "NPCs."

Because they are maneaters and cannibals. The Noble Savage BS recent game design has saddled them with isn't enough to get these Paragons of Coldblooded Neutrality off the sword fodder list IMHO.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

(Caveat: I have not looked at the Pathfinder races.)

I have to agree this idea is an AWESOME hook for worldbuilding. (But the nature of creatures might not make a single aspect of PEWSLAG* suitable for a race.)

For instance, I can't think of a race more Prideful than the Drow...but they probably score high in Envy as well. Still, I thnk they fit best with Pride, overall.

Envy could be seen in the militaristic designs of Hobgoblins.

Sloth can refer to all kinds of laziness- physical, spiritual, etc.- is there a race that had exceptionsl gifts and squandered them? A homeland they lost due to apathy or decadence? A fallen empire? Goblins could satisfy this in their lack of will to rule themselves.

Avarice- Dwarves & Dragons score high here. Are there evil dwarves in Pathfinder? How about something like Dragonborn or half-Dragons? Kobolds?

Wrath- Orcs, no question. Possibly Ogres as well.

Gluttony. This could be satisfied by ertain kinds of undead, but among the living? How about Gnolls? Lizarfolk or Trogs might work, too.

Lust...that's a toughie. Who has the most "Half-" offspring in the game?




* PEWSLAG: the acronym I learned for the 7DS.