Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Evil Monster Ancestries - Yay or Nay?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Theory of Games" data-source="post: 9287820" data-attributes="member: 7042201"><p>Yeah why's not?</p><p></p><p>Which classic heroic fantasy tradition? You mean like Classical Mythology? Or the Sword & Sorcery genre? Maybe Lord of the Rings? Take a closer look at those "heroes" and you'll see outright rogues, liars and bullies. All of them were capable of evil and some did evil deeds which they rationalized like people do. It's those flawed protagonists and idealistic antagonists that we end up loving because they remind us of us. Even Superman has killed and did it for the "greater good" but wasn't that the same song Thanos was singing? Ned Flanders is NOT who you think he is. But I get your point: it's easier to slip into character if the character's Sir Galahad instead of Conan.</p><p></p><p>But you wrote that the established narrative was based on classic heroic fantasy tradition, right? The stuff from mythology and literary fiction? Name me some "good" demons? Friendly sea-monsters not employed by Disney? Amicable giants? The old traditional stories had some really nasty monsters that did really nasty things. Hell even the ancient gods were sketchy cheating on each other, starting wars and changing people they didn't like into monsters. Evil monsters. Because you were better looking than a god. Traditional heroic fantasy is some murky naughty word when it comes to morality. </p><p></p><p>On goblin: that's a great storytelling opportunity: that little monster could explain what it is to be a monster and what morality truly is to those called monsters. It could help the PCs overcome their own prejudices and gives the players something interesting to discuss in-between their massacre of goblins. </p><p></p><p>Of course. Batman was just another caped weirdo until the Joker showed up. Then readers were wondering WTF was going on in Gotham City. Captain America vs. the Nazis. Holmes vs. Moriarty. The X-Men vs. Racism. There's no better way to explore true heroism than to expose it to true evil. It's when the PCs meet and overcome that evil that they shine not only in the NPCs' eyes but in the eyes of the players most importantly. If you haven't run Paizo's Wrath of the Righteous AP I recommend it: it really reveals how the battle between good and evil can be great rpg storytelling. </p><p></p><p>Dopplegangers and demons and undead will ALWAYS be naughty word evil. Amen.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Theory of Games, post: 9287820, member: 7042201"] Yeah why's not? Which classic heroic fantasy tradition? You mean like Classical Mythology? Or the Sword & Sorcery genre? Maybe Lord of the Rings? Take a closer look at those "heroes" and you'll see outright rogues, liars and bullies. All of them were capable of evil and some did evil deeds which they rationalized like people do. It's those flawed protagonists and idealistic antagonists that we end up loving because they remind us of us. Even Superman has killed and did it for the "greater good" but wasn't that the same song Thanos was singing? Ned Flanders is NOT who you think he is. But I get your point: it's easier to slip into character if the character's Sir Galahad instead of Conan. But you wrote that the established narrative was based on classic heroic fantasy tradition, right? The stuff from mythology and literary fiction? Name me some "good" demons? Friendly sea-monsters not employed by Disney? Amicable giants? The old traditional stories had some really nasty monsters that did really nasty things. Hell even the ancient gods were sketchy cheating on each other, starting wars and changing people they didn't like into monsters. Evil monsters. Because you were better looking than a god. Traditional heroic fantasy is some murky naughty word when it comes to morality. On goblin: that's a great storytelling opportunity: that little monster could explain what it is to be a monster and what morality truly is to those called monsters. It could help the PCs overcome their own prejudices and gives the players something interesting to discuss in-between their massacre of goblins. Of course. Batman was just another caped weirdo until the Joker showed up. Then readers were wondering WTF was going on in Gotham City. Captain America vs. the Nazis. Holmes vs. Moriarty. The X-Men vs. Racism. There's no better way to explore true heroism than to expose it to true evil. It's when the PCs meet and overcome that evil that they shine not only in the NPCs' eyes but in the eyes of the players most importantly. If you haven't run Paizo's Wrath of the Righteous AP I recommend it: it really reveals how the battle between good and evil can be great rpg storytelling. Dopplegangers and demons and undead will ALWAYS be naughty word evil. Amen. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Evil Monster Ancestries - Yay or Nay?
Top