I see your point, but if we have a bunch of different definitions of the same, damned thing running around, things get confusing, moreso than they already are. If we allow a ton of different demons, someone will make an anti-demon weapon, ability, or whatever. Then, when that char goes to use that, they'll consistently get something along the lines of, "That doesn't work on MY kind of demon trololololol!" Then, the char learns to assume that said anti-demon widget is useless, so when an NPA throws that char a bone by sending some demon against which that widget WILL work, the char will still assume that it won't work. It'll be considered as a waste of time, so the char will use other stuff, and it'll all just be a waste and a lot of sporadic considerations with no real benefit.
It also doesn't address the "originality" issue. Like I keep saying, everyone and their mothers use demon-this and angel-that. It gets painful to watch, especially given how inconsistent and poorly-planned people are with them. Everyone rides the demon/angel bus because they are too lazy/dumb to come up with their own, bloody concepts. Archetypes are one thing, but angel/demon status offers up a bullshit explanation for everything, when we allow loose concepts of them. See option 2 in the first quote in my last post. "I'm an angel, so I can control this, do that, summon those, get out of these, surpass all of those other things..." Comparatively, Leilani has reverse-polarization (a more definite concept, at least in context) to explain most of her things, but has it operate in different processes for different things, and she has variety beyond that; it's not just, "I use reverse-polarization to put junk together. HERE'S MY STUFF TROLOLOL!" You know what I mean? If Leilani has to be logical and put two cents together, it's not fair that someone else can just say, "I'm my own kind of angel/demon/whatever, so I can do all this crazy stuff!" It ends up that not only do angel/demon/whatever chars perpetuate an already abused cliche`, but they do so in such a manner that is rude to those whom put some actual effort and thought into things.
Angel/Demon/Whatever Characters
- Learpabru
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Well by what I said I meant that they go about following the rules of the "demons" and "angels" of wherever they take it from or make it up to be from and refer to themselves as such. Giving different names is definitely something that should be done with self-made demon and angel types but for demons and angels referred to as demons and angels in a story or video game should be specified to be based within said story or game so as not to be confused with the kind of biblical stories.
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Yeah, that's basically what I'm getting at. Like, I don't mind the gods/demons stuff in Okami or Inuyasha, 'cause those are stories that are meant as stand-alone fictions, and they're based on Japanese mythology. They clearly state what their bases are and have their own deviations that make them their own stories. Sure; that's fine, but those are their own stuff. How their storylines and definitions go only affect their own stories and those who listen/watch/play. This is a multiplayer game that is collectively programmed, though. If definitions are loose, there are storyline and gameplay inconsistencies. No one really knows what pattern, if any, to go by, so the demon/angel/whatever explanations run dry, proving just how cheap they are. It'd by like someone making a lilith character and saying that liliths are strictly physical chars and almost never work in storm-related abilities. Well, that's basically the opposite of how they are really defined, so just what kind of an explanation is "I'm a lilith, so blahblah-this and yadayada-that," anyway? In that case, there is a clear right-and-wrong matter: Liliths are called as an eponym of the archdaemon, Lilith, for their semblance to artists' depictions of her. Across just about every mention of them in every myth, they have some storm-related magic. If so-and-so says otherwise, there's a clear error on so-and-so's part, so that person must revise some sort of explanation, while mine is cohesive. If there was no adhesion to even a general trend for liliths, though, neither of our explanations would have any credibility, and "lilith" would just be a meaningless term. If we're going to each just make up the details on our own, why don't we use our own terms? To further illustrate this, allow me to give another comparison with some contrast.
If you piece these together, it should be clear that this is a potentially disastrous fallacy of logic. As was clear to everyone but Bill (whom hears what he wants to hear) from the start, this is not simply a matter of “religious convictions,” but what I think to be a necessary regulation on logical standpoints.
Oh, and in case this wasn't clear enough, no one minds if you make your own demon/angel/whatever-like race. If your character has horns, bat wings, pale skin, and whatever else that makes it look like the typical artist's interpretation of a demon, but you make up your own race with its own name (even if you make some trends, like personality or statistical trends, similar to the typical interpretation of demons) and its own definition (again, even if it is strikingly similar to the common concept of a demon), for example, there is NO problem WHATSOEVER with that. In fact, we like to see people make up their own races/hybrids. We just don't want you to ride the angel/demon/whatever bus that everyone else uses as a poor excuse of an explanation for things. We want you to make it interesting!
Oh, and in case this wasn't clear enough, no one minds if you make your own demon/angel/whatever-like race. If your character has horns, bat wings, pale skin, and whatever else that makes it look like the typical artist's interpretation of a demon, but you make up your own race with its own name (even if you make some trends, like personality or statistical trends, similar to the typical interpretation of demons) and its own definition (again, even if it is strikingly similar to the common concept of a demon), for example, there is NO problem WHATSOEVER with that. In fact, we like to see people make up their own races/hybrids. We just don't want you to ride the angel/demon/whatever bus that everyone else uses as a poor excuse of an explanation for things. We want you to make it interesting!
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Never understood the idea that using iconic monsters, folklore, whatever is a bad thing. Especially if you are going to use an analog of it anyway. A blood sucking monster that is hurt by sunlight that is called bzjgsjagav is still a vampire.
I always felt angels were shamefully underrepresented in fantasy. They are so cool and interesting, and can be interpreted in so many different ways; anything from staunch grimdark merciless anti-heroes to overly naive comic-relief utopians who genuinely can't understand why we all just get along, or basically anything in between.
Regardless, they are just one step below godhood, which means they are a serious force to be reckoned with, and however you choose to depict them will reveal a lot about the cosmology of your world as a whole. Angels and demons are cool inherently. Use them.
I always felt angels were shamefully underrepresented in fantasy. They are so cool and interesting, and can be interpreted in so many different ways; anything from staunch grimdark merciless anti-heroes to overly naive comic-relief utopians who genuinely can't understand why we all just get along, or basically anything in between.
Regardless, they are just one step below godhood, which means they are a serious force to be reckoned with, and however you choose to depict them will reveal a lot about the cosmology of your world as a whole. Angels and demons are cool inherently. Use them.
In your own fiction, go ahead. Here, you have to play a fair character. You have to start at Lv1 and work your way up to being stronger, but still fair along with others at the same level as you. You don't get to just define yourself as an immortal, ultra-powerful being that can never lose and requires ultra-powerful demons to even temporarily hold back.
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