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
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I have decided on the ultimate dnd heresy
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="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8720209" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>In fairness, the vast majority of "staple" BA creatures are like this. Devils are supposed to be terrifying masterminds of purest evil, disturbingly successful at corrupting the world. In practice, they're outright idiots who actively cultivate a reputation that makes their jobs harder and makes people never ever ever want to deal with them. Meanwhile, demons are colossal idiots who can be distracted with a single emotional outburst, ruining whatever they were pursuing for petty and foolish reasons. Fiends in general come across as easily-exploited fools, too caught up in their "for the evulz" Stupid Evil machinations to actually pose a real threat.</p><p></p><p>Which is why the one devil that has thus far appeared in my home game is nothing like that. He is smart, diplomatic, respectful, and above all <em>scrupulously</em> honest. He doesn't make contracts that he doesn't want to see fulfilled; mortal souls are a lame consolation prize, not a desirable outcome. A mortal soul is at best a bargaining chip. A successful contract means you can present the mortals who concluded it as your agents, and their success as a demonstration of your literal and symbolic power. Having many successful contracts means having great power and many servants, raising your position within the devilish hierarchy (or perhaps it is a Lowerarchy, as Screwtape put it?)</p><p></p><p>I consider dragons in a similar light. They are not <em>cowardly</em>, but they do a lot of work to ensure their position of power is as absolute as they can make it. In fact, I would say they have an attitude similar to a 1e PC: violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, power and control and resources are what truly matter, success is measured in gold gained or power acquired, never willingly engage in a conflict you aren't already confident you can win, etc. The black dragon trying to take over Al-Rakkah is operating from the shadows because they understand that humanoids are stupid, foolish creatures who won't immediately recognize the superior authority of a dragon, they must be taught their place. Slowly, the dragon has built a financial and infrastructural power base. Soon, it will be time to step from pure soft, economic power and into actual political power. And then, in a generation or two, the truth can be revealed—once the population has had their psychology soft-shaped to accept a draconic overlord. Making sure a significant portion of the population carries a small amount of dragon blood (through an alchemical infusion derived in part from the dragon's own blood) is part of this process. They will feel a natural loyalty to their draconic progenitor.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8720209, member: 6790260"] In fairness, the vast majority of "staple" BA creatures are like this. Devils are supposed to be terrifying masterminds of purest evil, disturbingly successful at corrupting the world. In practice, they're outright idiots who actively cultivate a reputation that makes their jobs harder and makes people never ever ever want to deal with them. Meanwhile, demons are colossal idiots who can be distracted with a single emotional outburst, ruining whatever they were pursuing for petty and foolish reasons. Fiends in general come across as easily-exploited fools, too caught up in their "for the evulz" Stupid Evil machinations to actually pose a real threat. Which is why the one devil that has thus far appeared in my home game is nothing like that. He is smart, diplomatic, respectful, and above all [I]scrupulously[/I] honest. He doesn't make contracts that he doesn't want to see fulfilled; mortal souls are a lame consolation prize, not a desirable outcome. A mortal soul is at best a bargaining chip. A successful contract means you can present the mortals who concluded it as your agents, and their success as a demonstration of your literal and symbolic power. Having many successful contracts means having great power and many servants, raising your position within the devilish hierarchy (or perhaps it is a Lowerarchy, as Screwtape put it?) I consider dragons in a similar light. They are not [I]cowardly[/I], but they do a lot of work to ensure their position of power is as absolute as they can make it. In fact, I would say they have an attitude similar to a 1e PC: violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, power and control and resources are what truly matter, success is measured in gold gained or power acquired, never willingly engage in a conflict you aren't already confident you can win, etc. The black dragon trying to take over Al-Rakkah is operating from the shadows because they understand that humanoids are stupid, foolish creatures who won't immediately recognize the superior authority of a dragon, they must be taught their place. Slowly, the dragon has built a financial and infrastructural power base. Soon, it will be time to step from pure soft, economic power and into actual political power. And then, in a generation or two, the truth can be revealed—once the population has had their psychology soft-shaped to accept a draconic overlord. Making sure a significant portion of the population carries a small amount of dragon blood (through an alchemical infusion derived in part from the dragon's own blood) is part of this process. They will feel a natural loyalty to their draconic progenitor. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I have decided on the ultimate dnd heresy
Top