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      Wind in the Flowers: Re-inventing a Game

    Affiliations

*R. Sean Borgstrom*

March 20, 2002

*Rated an A+ by 20 RPGnet readers!*

Rate this column!

For the sake of those who choose to adopt them, *Nobilis* presents five

key philosophies woven into the nature of the world. Heaven's Code

defines the angels' commitment to Creation. Hell's Code provides the

justification and the interpretation of Lucifer's philosophy. Other

Codes derive from the Light, which embodies the principle of human

survival; the Dark, an incarnation of the human tendency towards

suicide; and the Wild, a thread of free will and madness running through

Creation.

To avoid regimenting player character behavior, these Codes boil down to

three simple principles and some expository text later in the book.

Characters can freely have their own independent philosophy, but most

align to one of these five axes.

One goal of the new edition was to make these philosophies more

accessible. In particular, I wanted to make it clear how characters

following the Code of Hell or the Dark could fit into a group with more

human or humane morality. In *Nobilis*, Hell endorses both corruption

and suffering as virtues; the Dark, of course, seeks to arrange both

personal and communal human suicide. There was some concern among

readers of the first edition that such characters would prove unpleasant

companions.

One of the simplest steps taken here was assertion. In the newer

discussions of Noble lives and in the occasional excerpts from those

lives that appeared as quotes, characters of the darker affiliations

interacted freely with those of more beneficent morality. Assertion is a

marvelous tool, since, after all, the setting material defines how

people envision the game world.

To ensure that this led to a consistent world, however, I burned some

words laying out how this actually happens in practice. For the Code of

Hell, this begins with acknowledgment of its philosophical origins. In

*Nobilis'* Creation, the "physical" Hell embodies both corruption and

suffering; it is viable to assume that these things exist in every other

world only because Hell exists.

Hell also occupies a peculiar place in the cosmology, existing beneath

the roots of the World Ash. It is the only place in Creation not

directly affected by the glories raining down from Heaven. The theory

underlying the Code of Hell is simply that Hell---not the beauty of

Heaven, and not the ambiguous essence of the worlds in

between---represents the fundamental truth of Creation. In short, Hell

is the foundation stone on which everything else is built.

To proceed from here and create a sympathetic character in service to

Hell, one has two choices. First, one can make an obvious demonstration

that the character's motivations are philosophical. The key

recommendation here was self-abnegation. A character who inflicts

suffering to advance their personal agenda is classically "evil". A

character who embraces corruption and suffering but gains nothing from

it has a clear, if twisted, morality.

In addition, I recommended an exemplary career of service to Creation;

like its brighter allies in the setting, Hell wants Creation to survive.

Finally, I noted that one can minimize the "shock value" of the

character's service by inflicting suffering primarily on the deserving.

This hopefully laid out one path that allows characters in service to

Hell to coexist with a more humane group.

A second option for sympathetic characters serving Hell is a focus on

the less important aspects of Code. Treating its precepts as decadence

rather than corruption and harshness rather than cruelty makes the

character seem ruthless but not /monstrous/. This option was not fully

developed in *Nobilis* but is influencing several infernal NPCs in the

supplements.

The Code of the Dark---basically, the Code of helping humans destroy

themselves---has its own problems. Like the Code of Hell, it has a basic

philosophical orientation. *Nobilis* has always presented several

justifications for the basic idea of the Dark. My personal favorite is

the idea that the capacity for self-destruction must exist in humanity

to permit the capacity for growth. I'm not sure that it's true, but it's

a feasible and defensible philosophy, and that's all a character in an

RPG needs. Still, it's understandable if people feel a little concerned

about integrating a character serving the Dark into their game.

One of the steps taken here was establishing why the Light---the

principle of human survival---and the Dark can ally at all, even for the

purpose of protecting the world both live in. If you looked hard enough,

this has always been in the book to find, but the new edition makes it

explicit. The foremost principle of the Light is protecting /humanity/.

The foremost principle of the Dark is encouraging /individual/ suicide.

Even though the Light wants individual humans to live, and the Dark

wants humanity to destroy itself, the two are not diametrically opposed.

This also explains, more generally, why humane Nobilis can tolerate the

Dark. The actions of the Dark can lead to human death, but generally on

a fairly small scale; not one that a compassionate Noble /likes/ to

ignore, but one that many compassionate Nobles, principally concerned

with global affairs, /can/.

Naturally, serving the Dark from a clear position of philosophical

integrity has the same benefits as thusly serving the Code of Hell. A

Noble serving the Dark who clearly isn't getting any personal benefit

from it has a better chance of integrating into a group.

In addition, the new edition contains a modest number of excerpts from

"Principles of the Dark", a book written in-setting to explain said

principles. Some of the key notions presented here---few of which I

agree with, but all of which I consider feasibly arguable by a Power of

the Dark---include:

    * Human success rests on subverting the natural order; human

      existence derives from the natural order. Self-destruction is

      therefore intrinsic to the human way of life.

    * One can hurt or kill others, such as humans, without ceasing to

      love them. "Love inspires greatness; it does not prevent venality."

    * Suicide and self-preservation arise from the same aspect of human

      nature.

    * In suicide, a human achieves absolute control over their life. Any

      other form of death robs them of this.

With these principles, and others, I hoped to make the Dark---if not

well-loved by its peers---a philosophy that one can argue with rather

than hate.

R. Sean

      What do you think? <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88>

Go to forum! <http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=88>

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 Topics 	Author  	Date 	Latest Reply

 James and the Small Caps

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=81&t=81> (2) new 	Kibo 

08-20-2002 16:29  	02-10-2003 01:23 new

 Art <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=77&t=77> (1) new 	Lxndr 

04-26-2002 07:36  	04-26-2002 07:36 new

 The Original Nobilis Club

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=76&t=76> (3) new 	Bret Gillan 

04-17-2002 11:28  	03-17-2003 17:48 new

 Questions & Thoughts

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=64&t=64> (3) new 	Pyske 

03-20-2002 18:31  	05-01-2003 13:03 new

 Noble Buddhism?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=61&t=61> (9) new 	Tlaloc 

03-20-2002 12:17  	12-10-2004 01:20 new

 Noble Suicide <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=58&t=58> (9) new

Eric Christian Berg  	03-20-2002 07:43  	01-18-2005 16:27 new

 Art Notes <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=54&t=54> (4) new 	R.

Sean Borgstrom  	03-14-2002 16:31  	03-21-2002 03:44 new

 Ack...you just lost my sale

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=45&t=45> (10) new 	SteveD 

03-14-2002 04:06  	03-15-2002 06:29 new

 Onomastikon working URL

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=36&t=36> (4) new 	Jorge

Hernández  	03-06-2002 12:51  	08-20-2002 16:10 new

 Why do angels change names ?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=33&t=33> (10) new 	philippe

tromeur  	03-06-2002 10:13  	12-10-2004 01:34 new

 R. Sean, some examples?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=32&t=32> (3) new 	Arref 

03-05-2002 08:17  	03-13-2002 20:28 new

 Sounds great, BUT...

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=28&t=28> (2) new 	Kane 

02-27-2002 16:43  	02-27-2002 17:30 new

 Sort of backwards?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=21&t=21> (8) new 	Eric Finley 

02-20-2002 14:25  	02-28-2002 09:35 new

 Programmer nature slips out!

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=20&t=20> (2) new 	Sean

McCarthy  	02-20-2002 13:18  	02-21-2002 10:30 new

 Object Lesson Damage

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=15&t=15> (1) new 	Darren

Miguez  	02-13-2002 12:45  	02-13-2002 12:45 new

 How about this?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=12&t=12> (2) new 	Kristian

Lund  	02-13-2002 11:30  	02-14-2002 01:17 new

 Now, this was strange!

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=9&t=9> (7) new 	access.denied 

02-13-2002 07:44  	02-16-2002 21:44 new

 Briefs on the other two?

<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=5&t=5> (5) new 	Eric Finley 

01-31-2002 18:39  	02-13-2002 10:36 new

 Forum now works <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=4&t=4> (1) new

Sandy Antunes  	01-31-2002 17:36  	01-31-2002 17:36 new

 limited series <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=88&i=1&t=1> (2) new

Sandy Antunes  	01-21-2002 17:41  	01-31-2002 17:36 new

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------------------------------------------------------------------------

    * Editing, Development, and Production

      </news+reviews/columns/wind27mar02.html>

      March 27, 2002

    * Affiliations </news+reviews/columns/wind20mar02.html>

      March 20, 2002

    * How to be a Hollyhock God </news+reviews/columns/wind13mar02.html>

      March 13, 2002

    * Naming Conventions </news+reviews/columns/wind06mar02.html>

      March 6, 2002

    * Art Notes </news+reviews/columns/wind27feb02.html>

      February 27, 2002

    * Dynamic Nobilis </news+reviews/columns/wind20feb02.html>

      February 20, 2002

    * Systems Change </news+reviews/columns/wind13feb02.html>

      February 13, 2002

    * Treachery </news+reviews/columns/wind06feb02.html>

      February 6, 2002

    * The Emperor to Come </news+reviews/columns/wind31jan02.html>

      January 31, 2002

    * The Changing of the Guard </news+reviews/columns/wind21jan02.html>

      January 21, 2002 

      Other columns </news+reviews/columns.html> at RPGnet

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