Reading Between the Lines

Supplicants of Braismois

As we reach the end of the month of October and our Halloween theme we have on last truly evil god. Whereas monsters, witches, and cults might be scary, nothing is quite as frightening as those humans who seek to take advantage of others. Today we take a look at Braismois, the Daemon Harbinger of broken deals, fine print, and unfair bargains.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Braismois. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the Toxic Quill. What character do you make?

For more information on Braismois

Braismois’ Pathfinder Wiki Page

Braismois’ Archives of Nethys Page 

The Black Weasels

Although they are considered a sect of Braismois worshipers, the Black Weasels are also a gang in the Ustalavic city of Leidstadt. This group of thugs specializes in protection rackets. They start with what seems like fair dealings and slowly but surely change the parameters of their contracts with local business. Eventually, the businesses are protecting themselves from the Black Weasels and not from imagined outside sources.

Membership in the Weasels is fairly easy to come by, it is staying alive afterward that is the hard part. Since few outside the gang know that they are actually a cult to the Daemon Harbinger of Broken Deals, those who join must either convert or perish. The leadership of the gang is made of three senior clerics of Braismois, although competition for these posts is fierce and only truly devious devotees keep their position – and their heads – for long.

The Brokerage

In Taldor when one wishes to make a formal contract the red tape is almost impossible to navigate. Even nobles keep an army of scribes and lawyers on hand to make sure that the ‘I’s are dotted and the ‘T’s are crossed. But not everyone likes to play fair in their deal making. When you absolutely need the best possible outcome for your contract you contact the Brokerage.

The Brokerage is a group of Braismois worshipers who are masters of legal jargon. They have insinuated themselves in the bloated bureaucracy of Taldan empire for decades. Although few know that they are devotees of a Daemon Harbinger, no one questions the masters of fine print as long as the job gets done.

The Coin Tenders

When you need money right away but cannot obtain it through legal means you can always borrow from the Coin Tenders. These usurers have taken up shop in the city of Magnimar although they will lend money almost anywhere on Avistan. These calculating merchants may seem cold and emotionless, but they are brutal and vicious when it comes to collecting their returns.

Membership into the Coin Tenders is by invitation only. The group has a way of knowing who has already been corrupted by the toxic touch of Braismois. Once a fellow worshiper is found, his business acumen and fortune is weighted carefully by other members of the sect. If he is deemed rich enough and cunning enough, he is offered a place among the money lenders.

When the letter of the law does not match the spirit, there you will find followers of The Toxic Quill. Who is your follower of Braismois? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the Daemon Harbinger? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

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Cult of Personality

Alignment, one of the biggest divisive issues in gaming. Argued about, not just in games that use the alignment system, but among all gamers. The thing is, I think a lot of people have a very narrow view of what alignment represents. They see alignment as a cage that traps a player into being a certain thing all the time. Personally, I think that misses some fundamental points and I’m going to touch on few of them today.

The first thing I want to talk about is the fact that a lot of people think your alignment determines what you do. The truth of the matter is that what you do determines your alignment. This is one of the reasons  the first thing I do is determine how he would react to certain situations when working on a new character. Seeing what he would do when tough choices need to be made helps me make a determination as to what alignment he might be.

I really enjoy one of the alternate methods proposed in Pathfinder Unchained.  These alternate alignment rules start all players at True Neutral, except in cases where the class has alignment restrictions. From there the character’s actions determine their placement on the alignment scale. This allows the player to settle into the alignment that closest suits the character’s actions.

Speaking of actions, some think that every little action determines alignment movement. Really, it is the tough moral challenges and dilemmas. Not paying your fine once doesn’t change the fact that you’re lawful. Turning yourself in for a crime you didn’t commit to try and prove your innocence would shift you toward being lawful. The tough moral decisions, the things that could be detrimental to you even if you do them, these are the things that make us who we are.

The last thing I want to talk about is alignment and personality. Too often people feel you can only play an alignment one way. As much as I hate the sentiment, because usually it means people want to be a jerk to the rest of the party, Lawful Good does not equal Lawful Nice. Your chaotic evil character is allowed to love animals. He’s allowed to have a wife and kid. Your alignment does not equal your personality; it may in cases influence it but it does not determine it. I’ve even already taken a stab at non-psychotic ways to play Chaotic Neutral.

Alignment may not be for you and that’s fine. There are plenty of games that don’t use it. And the same alternative rules sections posits ways to remove alignment. But if you do want to use the alignment system or you’re even on the fence about it, maybe these musings will help you get a better grip on how you can use alignment in your game.

Do you use alignment? Would these ideas make you reconsider using alignment if you don’t? How have you used alignment in your game? Do you enforce alignment shifts only on major moral dilemmas, or for every little action?

Looking at gaming ideas from another angle is what the CRB is all about. If the CRB has helped you look at something new and differently then please consider contributing to my Patreon. And don’t forget to check out the video message from me to you on the Patreon homepage. If you’d like to chime in with the rest of the CRB community check us out on Google+, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Feel free to ask any questions, I’m more than happy to give more personalized advice on any gaming topic.

Path of Least Resistance

Alignment: one of the biggest sticking points in any D&D or Pathfinder game. Many other games choose to use a different morality system, if they use one at all, but alignment still takes hold in all the D&D iterations and offshoots. Personally I’m not against alignment; I find it useful in the game itself—but then again I also play tons of games that don’t use alignment and like them just fine. For the remainder of this article I will assume our table has agreed on using alignment in the game.

Of all the alignments, Chaotic Neutral is probably the one that gets most GMs up in arms. Many players, though not all, use Chaotic Neutral as an excuse to do evil things without being Chaotic Evil. Even more play them as some kind of demented psychopath, equating chaotic with crazy. This can get mighty annoying very quickly to GMs and other players alike. It’s about as hated as players who try and bring Kender into the group, more disruptive than fun.

As a side note I actually like Kender, commence with the berating.

So let’s take a look at the Chaotic Neutral write up:

“A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those others suffer). a chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as he is to cross it.

Chaotic neutral represents freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal.”

I read this to mean, at the very least, that a chaotic neutral person does what is in his best interests most of the time. He may have a sudden pang of conscience or an overwhelming need for vengeance but for the most part he does whatever makes his life easiest. In general the easiest path to getting what you want without having to face being chased out of town is to be the a nice guy who mostly sticks to the rules. This is basically, nine times out of ten, the easiest way to further your own needs.

That says to me that in those nine times out of ten a Chaotic Neutral character will act in a Lawful Good manner. An argument could be made for Neutral Good I suppose but personally I think the path of least resistance is the path that is laid out more orderly than not. That, however, is only nine times out of ten. It’s that tenth time that makes the Chaotic Neutral character so volatile.

When the path of least resistance starts showing resistance, that is when the Chaotic Neutral character will do whatever it takes to get his way. I imagine that break a leg or smashing a skull to get results is nothing the Chaotic Neutral character is a stranger to, and in the face of too much resistance he will resort to these methods. He doesn’t care that it isn’t right, just that it’s effective.

And this is just opinion, but next time you consider playing a Chaotic Neutral character, take a long hard look at why you are playing it. Remember that brutal psychopaths are more along the lines of Chaotic Evil than Chaotic Neutral. Keep your character’s best interests in mind and follow the path of least resistance to get it. Whether that’s playing nice with the guard or smashing his head in will depend on how cooperative he is.