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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Michael Morris" data-source="post: 4717396" data-attributes="member: 87">Here is the first page of the chapter on Ethoses which lists the powers linked to each ethos. It explains in brief what they are and might help those unfamiliar with my setting or MtG to see what is being driven at here.------------------------------------------------Chapter 4: EthosThe alignment system put forth in the Player’s Handbook is, at best, primitive, with the vast majority of characters and philosophies labeled as “unaligned.” Undescriptive to the point of being utterly useless, the 4E alignment system is not used in Dusk. Instead characters have an ethos. This system serves the same purpose but accomplishes it in a more dynamic, fluid and interesting way.  You can use this system alongside the 4E game’s alignment system if you wish, but there isn’t much point in doing so.A character’s ethos describes what philosophies and values that character holds pre-eminent.  It answers such questions of what the character is willing to kill for, or die in the name of. It is not a system for judging good and evil though. There are five ethoses. All five are capacle of good or evil in the name of the values and principles they espouse and engender. The five are:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Abora, which represents the natural world and its eternal cycles. It’s adherents see themselves as stewards of those cycles and act according to what their instinct tells them is best. At its best Abora is a calming and introspective ethos that sees how the world is interconnected, at its worst it is unthinking and instinctual in its responses to those things it sees as a threat to nature.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Balcra is the ethos of thinkers, philosophers and dreamers. It is the ethos of those driven to learn everything they can no matter the consequence imposed by acquiring that knowledge. At its best Balcra is curious, creative and clever. At its worst Balcra is stoic, cold and dispassionate, not caring in the least about how its actions hurt people and their feelings.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shunra is the ethos of passion and emotion. Its adherents do not think – they feel. The do not ponder, they act. Theirs is a world where emotion holds more sway than logic. At their best Shunra’s adherents are loving, passionate and free spirited. At their worst they are thoughtlessly destructive in their unchecked rage.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sodra is the ethos of the individual and self. Its adherents believe that everyone should be free to find their own path without restriction. At its best Sodra is driven, independent and resourceful. At its worst Sodra is selfish and paranoid.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Valra is the final ethos and it espouses community and the complicated laws, moral and ethical systems which keep them bound together with the goal of creating a world where everyone lives together in peace. At its best Valra is fair, just and kind. At its worst Valra is tyrannical and oppressive destroying the lives of the individuals of its community in the greater interest of the community.</li> </ul>Each ethos has two ethoses that are sympathetic to it, and each ethos has two ethoses that are antithetic to it. Each ethos also tends to label the values and principles of the antithetic ethoses as “evil” and it’s own values and principles as “good.” In truth good and evil is a evaluation of the methods used uphold the ethos, not the ethos itself.  To further muddy the waters the evaluation of those actions are going to be affected by the character’s own ethos. Each ethos has the capacity for good or evil in the name of the values it champions (which is why it is possible, though not advised, to use this system alongside the alignment system).In short, there are no absolutes. In the Dusk setting powers that normally work on alignment instead affect a character based on their ethos. This, combined with the nature of ethoses means that spells and powers cannot in and of themselves determine friend from foe – though they might determine likely friend from likely foe. They can also mislead.Almost all powers and rituals in the game are associated with an ethos. This is because each ethos approaches problems in a different manner from the others. A character’s choice of methods directly reflects their ethos. An extension of this is some classes are more compatible with certain ethoses than others.However, the ethoses are not exclusive. Nothing prevents a character from having more than one ethos, or even all five. A character can also follow two antithetic ethoses though such characters are almost always internally conflicted (which can make them interesting to play).A character counts as all the ethoses he has. A character with all five ethoses is therefore vulnerable to all powers and rituals that affect creatures based on their ethos.In this chapter we will present the ethoses and powers that any class can take so long as the character meets the ethos requirements (the character’s first ethos powers will come from his class).Purity BoonsEach ethos has a ‘purity’ boon. This is an ability that the character can use if he has no powers drawn from other ethoses.------------------------------------------------The Purity Boons I have in mind are as follows:Valra -- When you use second wind the +2 bonus to defense persists for the remainder of the encounter. This is a morale bonus.Shunra -- When you use second wind you do not gain a defense bonus. Instead you gain a +2 bonus to attacks for the remainder of the encounter. This is a morale bonus.Sodra -- When you use second wind you gain an extra hit point for each foe you have defeated since the start of the encounter up to the maximum value of your healing surge (effectively doubling it).Abora -- When you use second wind you regain an extra amount of hit points equal to your constitution score.Balcra -- You may use a Balcra encounter power an additional time per encounter instead of using your second wind.</blockquote>

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