Kin someone gimme a definition of evil? And no one start in on that deviant of society blah blah horse puckey! (dern soc majors)
Amish,
Churnin gone too far.
AMISH
CLYNCH6
Re: Define evil!
07/29/2004 06:06 AM CDT
The absence of good?
Define evil? I'll give it a shot, but that's a tall order, especially in Elanthian society.
IRL, evil is defined as intent to harm or acting against the morals of the society in which you reside. Some cultures would consider other cultures standard living evil (see: Western Cultures vs the former Taliban).
A person, or thing, can also be evil our of greed or maliciousness, or characterized by bad luck (In Casinos they're called Chillers j/k). Basically, anything that dampens or prevents one from seeking happiness. This is hard to pin down, since we usually look at the intent of an action, not the action itself, to define whether one acted for good or evil. For example, my friend's mother was recently bitten by a brown recluse (one of the most poisonous spiders in the US, quite common here in the South). The bite was tended to and we thought all was well, then 5 days later, the poison resurfaced in the glands under her arm and swelled up. By the time they got her to the hospital less than an hour after it was first noticed, the skin had started to turn black, blah blah blah, surgery, took out a piece of her underarm as large as a honeydew melon (and she's a small woman). Is the spider evil? The poison? The action: the biting? It definently falls under the definition of evil, impairing her hapiness, causing injurt, but the spider had no malicious intent except to guard its territory/young.
Then there's evil in Elanthia, which is much different. When murder is so common place that it's called hunting, and a murder within provincial justice results in a short time in a jail cell and a small fine, evil has to be on a grander scale. And that's what we expect from the fantasy genre. The larger the evil, the better the Hero or Villain will shine when the story is retold (or told for the first time even as we playact our character's responses). Evil in Elanthia is a fine line, and depends on who you ask. To the goblins, every hunter in the realms is evil, but to the eleven races, what is evil? I hate to say it, but I think the definition is going to differ quite a bit from one player's perspective to the next. To a lawfully good (sorry, used to play DnD) paladin, any murder not in self defense down to the failure to guard the gates during an invasion can be considered evil. To a cutthroat, theft and murder are a means of survival and advancement, but to the moon mage that he just stole 5 plats from... You get the meaning.
Evil and Dark are two seperate things. A cleric, or any character, that worships a dark aspect isn't evil... or I should say doesn't have to be evil. I only have one character that I play as being evil, though probably half of my other characters are 'dark' in some ways. Even the evil one has their soft spots, particularly kittens and children. So cliche, I know.
Visionary Heroiklim Zortal
AetherDR: I couldn't make that jump because my skinning sucks
HeroiklimDR: well, we are clerics. our survivals are supposed to suck.
Define evil? I'll give it a shot, but that's a tall order, especially in Elanthian society.
IRL, evil is defined as intent to harm or acting against the morals of the society in which you reside. Some cultures would consider other cultures standard living evil (see: Western Cultures vs the former Taliban).
A person, or thing, can also be evil our of greed or maliciousness, or characterized by bad luck (In Casinos they're called Chillers j/k). Basically, anything that dampens or prevents one from seeking happiness. This is hard to pin down, since we usually look at the intent of an action, not the action itself, to define whether one acted for good or evil. For example, my friend's mother was recently bitten by a brown recluse (one of the most poisonous spiders in the US, quite common here in the South). The bite was tended to and we thought all was well, then 5 days later, the poison resurfaced in the glands under her arm and swelled up. By the time they got her to the hospital less than an hour after it was first noticed, the skin had started to turn black, blah blah blah, surgery, took out a piece of her underarm as large as a honeydew melon (and she's a small woman). Is the spider evil? The poison? The action: the biting? It definently falls under the definition of evil, impairing her hapiness, causing injurt, but the spider had no malicious intent except to guard its territory/young.
Then there's evil in Elanthia, which is much different. When murder is so common place that it's called hunting, and a murder within provincial justice results in a short time in a jail cell and a small fine, evil has to be on a grander scale. And that's what we expect from the fantasy genre. The larger the evil, the better the Hero or Villain will shine when the story is retold (or told for the first time even as we playact our character's responses). Evil in Elanthia is a fine line, and depends on who you ask. To the goblins, every hunter in the realms is evil, but to the eleven races, what is evil? I hate to say it, but I think the definition is going to differ quite a bit from one player's perspective to the next. To a lawfully good (sorry, used to play DnD) paladin, any murder not in self defense down to the failure to guard the gates during an invasion can be considered evil. To a cutthroat, theft and murder are a means of survival and advancement, but to the moon mage that he just stole 5 plats from... You get the meaning.
Evil and Dark are two seperate things. A cleric, or any character, that worships a dark aspect isn't evil... or I should say doesn't have to be evil. I only have one character that I play as being evil, though probably half of my other characters are 'dark' in some ways. Even the evil one has their soft spots, particularly kittens and children. So cliche, I know.
Visionary Heroiklim Zortal
AetherDR: I couldn't make that jump because my skinning sucks
HeroiklimDR: well, we are clerics. our survivals are supposed to suck.
ENOTS
Re: Define evil!
07/29/2004 10:03 AM CDT
Heroiklim's right in what he said about Elanthian evil being somewhat slippery. For instance, sparring is common, and so are deaths from spars to the point where it can be taken as a joke. But grave-robbing- which some think is a fine source of fun- is considerred evil, and graverobbers are considerred the lowest of scum.
Yet, what if the seeming-graverobber is recovering an item that had been stolen from someone else? Could he then be considerred evil? Or is he simply doing a service for someone who can't do it himself for whatever reason?
In my mind, evil- at least in Elanthia- can be defined more by intent than anything else. If an action is performed with selfish intent specificly to make another miserable so you can enjoy watching that other person be miserable, then that action is evil, and so is the one performing it. But an action performed in self-defense, while it might be regretable and even deplorable, is not evil.
Of course, not all evil is the in-your-face variety. Some can be a bit more insidious, with the full results of the action only becoming apparent when it is too late to readily reverse it.
Thos are my thoughts on the subject. Make of it what you will.
Ryeka Wolfsdaughter of Damaris
Sometimes the key to happiness is not assuming it is locked in the first place- Ziggy
A journey of a thousand SMILES begins with a single step- Ziggy
Yet, what if the seeming-graverobber is recovering an item that had been stolen from someone else? Could he then be considerred evil? Or is he simply doing a service for someone who can't do it himself for whatever reason?
In my mind, evil- at least in Elanthia- can be defined more by intent than anything else. If an action is performed with selfish intent specificly to make another miserable so you can enjoy watching that other person be miserable, then that action is evil, and so is the one performing it. But an action performed in self-defense, while it might be regretable and even deplorable, is not evil.
Of course, not all evil is the in-your-face variety. Some can be a bit more insidious, with the full results of the action only becoming apparent when it is too late to readily reverse it.
Thos are my thoughts on the subject. Make of it what you will.
Ryeka Wolfsdaughter of Damaris
Sometimes the key to happiness is not assuming it is locked in the first place- Ziggy
A journey of a thousand SMILES begins with a single step- Ziggy
AMISH
Re: Define evil!
08/01/2004 06:11 PM CDT
Really? Taking note of what has happened recently in the folders, I would have thought the consensus of the mob would be anyone who reports or writes feedback over anything.... is the lowest form of scum.
I certainly do not think thats the truth, and if you want a lawless game, the fallen awaits you.
Amish.
Roll that beautiful bean footage.
I certainly do not think thats the truth, and if you want a lawless game, the fallen awaits you.
Amish.
Roll that beautiful bean footage.
