10-24-2021, 08:43 AM
Modern Disclaimer: This is a repost of a Spires of Agartha Guide posted by the wonderful Dimmie. I miss them. This has been kept mostly preserved, so apologies for examples missing context. There are no longer V1/V2 versions of the sins; step 4 should be more looked at as an example of how to play a sin once you've achieved one.
Quote:Disclaimer: This guide is filled with my opinion on how Sin's come to be, why they come to be, how to play them, and how to obtain it etc etc. In short take everything within it with a grain of salt. In the end I've only legitimately played one sin, Gluttony.
The Cardinal Rules:
Rule Number One: Never make a character with the intent to go a sin. In fact, distance the sin as far as possible from your mind. The character should be able to stand on their own without their vice should they never be triggered into it. Build the character with an idea in mind, and go from there. Ryleigh for example would very much be a Rebellion PC right now if the appropriate triggers to fall into consumption had not happened. The character's original purpose was to protect their friends once they made them, and seek a way to become more than the monster their mother said they would inevitably become. Honestly, I believe I would have still enjoyed the character even if they hadn't fallen to sin.
Rule Number Two: Have Triggers that cause a character to fall into a corruption arc. When I made Ryleigh, I was discussing things with a friend and fleshing out their backstory and their 'Triggers' which would turn them into a bad person if left unchecked. It honestly had little to do with the idea of Gluttony and was meant just for a corruption arc, maybe a fall into ixchel worship and PD. That never happened and they became a sin instead.
Trigger One: Blood, whenever blood was spilled Ryleigh would excuse themselves from the room or the arena where it was spilled or try and help the person while giving them 'hungry kitty eyes', this was most notable around Chipp. Nobody really commented it other than Maximillius who was the main catalyst to m characters downfall.
Trigger Two: Stress, there wasn't many times in Bhalderaithe where Ryleigh was stressed. Maximilius was, once again, a main catalyst in that. I almost initiated my first dangerous on meeting Max due to how he pressed their buttons and made them immensely stressed. This was stopped thanks to the aid of friends.
Trigger Three: Meat, this one was a red flag to just about everyone that's ever RPed with Ryleigh, refusal to eat it, asking for vegetarian dishes etc. They always avoided meat and overeating, but meat the most. Because they were absolutely, 100% convinced by their Mother that if they ate meat, they'd turn into "A monster like Tizoc".
All three of these triggers occurred. Chipp constantly getting his head bashed into the table and blood everywhere in Bhalderaithe = Trigger One. Maximilius's words bringing Ryleigh down, and one other realization stressing them out (no details) = Trigger Two. Juno losing her arm, constantly trying to 'feed' Ryleigh a limb alongside their first taste of meat when talking with Amoxtli = Trigger Three. It was quite literally a series of unfortunate events, and after Trigger 3, Ryleigh was in a mental state where they were -convinced- that they were going through something horrible.
A nocebo effect essentially, Ryleigh than opted to try and starve themselves thinking that would help when it only exacerbate the effects. Progressively growing more and more unstable. Prone to lashing out at anyone or everyone should they be stressed enough, should blood be spilled, etc.
Rule Number Three: Have a backstory that supports these triggers or character development that supports these triggers if you start out young (As baby or 13-15). These triggers don't come out of nowhere, and they never should come out of nowhere. Not many if any people knew Ryleigh's backstory, all they truly knew was that they were a mommas boy. "Well mother said this... Mother said that.." Etc etc was something notably mentioned by the character frequently. Even to this day there are still moments where Ryleigh will mention their mother or have someone like Sui Yun make them think of their mother.
Ryleigh's life was centered around mistreatment and abuse due to their race. They were born an unwanted and unasked for child. They were refused proper nourishment and only given maybe half a meal or one meal a day and even then it was more of a vegetarian 'slop' made from raw ingredients. When they asked for more, their mother would beat them or lock them in a cage (Hence Ryleigh's home being a literal jail cell).
They were told frightening myths and fables of characters such as: Tizoc, Amoxtli, Perseus, Zaruma, Tragedy, Eiphraem, etc due to their mother's Shenghese heritage and hatred of them, revolving around Demonic Deception, Perseus 'mind controlling' people, Nagual's being little more than beasts/monsters and Gehennans being prone to sin. Whereas people such as Ikkaku were spoken of with reverence as a legend.
All of the triggers mentioned above were all caused by the trauma revolving around who they were as their backstory. When Ryleigh first met Amoxtli, they believed she had come to "eat them" Due to having been driven off of their mother's very strict hold involving their diet is just a small example.
Rule Number Three: Your character, is a monster. When your character becomes a sin, they are a monster. V1 may be a 'lesser' monster but they are a monster. You should NOT be rping an anti-hero. You should NOT genuinely believe your character is fit for sympathy. They are not. Ryleigh is a manipulator that preys on peoples generosity with the full intent of throwing them away if they get bored or aren't being fed enough. Lucilius is a monster that would put down a child if deemed too loud. Stella is unmerciful and more than willing to beat the ones she loves to flesh out their imperfections because she 'deserves' perfection.
When you become a sin, you should focus on embracing that monster. Because that's what you're roleplaying. DO NOT defend the actions of your character under ANY circumstance. That, is perhaps one of the most important things. Your role is a villain, and sure you may twist people to your whim as a villain but a sin lives for a single purpose and person- and that, is their own growth, and themselves.
Rule Number Four: This one is likely the one everyone will struggle with. Being obnoxious, but consistent. Your vice shouldn't just 'appear' when you're in the mood. A glutton should always engorge themselves dangerously. A pride should try to shift the blame onto others almost every single time. A wrath should be consistent in their rage and having little things set them off. So on, and so fourth. The vice controls their life, and fulfilling it is the most satisfying feeling for a sin.
With my personal four rules of being a sin out in the open, I'll move onto my personal progression that I went through that lead me to V1 Gluttony, and than V2 Gluttony.
The Steps of Sin:
Step One: A lack of intent. Much like how I didn't plan to go Gluttony originally, and much like how Stella didn't plan to go pride originally. There should be a lack of intent. Should the triggers that you've personally set up be procced, than the intent should become clear. It took me a bit before I came to the realization that the moment had passed where Ryleigh would not be salvageable.
Step Two: Once you've come to the realization that your character cannot be 'saved' from their vices, that is when you should start focusing on being obnoxious, but consistent. For me, I threw in the idea that Ryleigh DID NOT want to become this. They were scared of it, they feared the repercussions of it. However, that did not stop me from pushing it when I needed to and antagonizing people MUCH stronger than me. I had to remain consistent and set up a few rules that would initiate a frenzied state, blood being spilled, witnessing someone dying, being too stressed out, or eating meat were mine. This was pre-Gluttony V1. During this phase of any pre-sin's life, they should be ruining the lives of both friends and enemies alike, or hurting them in some regard.
This is where the 'consistent' part comes in. Nobody, is safe from a pre-sin enveloped in a vice. Not people your character loves or is friends with, and certainly not people they hate. They should be actively antagonizing both parties and sometimes it is simply sheer luck if you're fortunate enough to have ICly befriended people that can take the abuse. There were many, many moments where my character's death was extremely validated, but either the people around them took pity on Ryleigh's self-pitying ploy or saw use of a 'beast' that could be used. Admittedly this is much easier to do as a manipulative pre-sin such as Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust, whereas Greed, Pride, and Wrath may be manipulative but they're also very much more 'in your face' about what they are and what they want.
Step Three: This is the step where you've obtained your V1 of the sin, likely through a narration from an Admin. This, is a time for growth, aggression, denial and acceptance. Depending on how you play it, your sin should by now be enveloped in their vice- perhaps in denial as well and questioning what they are, and how they got there. For Ryleigh this section came by rather quickly and was immediately exacerbated by two factors: Eiphraem, and Perseus. Eiphraem offered to fix Ryleigh, to teach them self control and to have them seek help. What was the catch? Ryleigh wasn't to eat human meat, nor consume bits and pieces of themselves. This mortified them, to a Sin, excluding a portion of their vice should be unacceptable and terrifying. For Ryleigh, the mere thought of removing one possible avenue of consumption was Eiphraem's attempt at 'starving' them. For a long time, Ryleigh feared Eiphraem because of that. Whereas Perseus tested Ryleigh to see if they were redeemable, and ended up proving to Ryleigh that they actually loved feasting. During this journey, you'll be establishing the irredeemable aspects of your character.
This, is also where your character should start to have a dawning realization.... That it feels GOOD to sin. That when Pride proves themselves arrogantly right, it feels GOOD. That when Wrath submits to their anger and strikes someone down for the smallest offenses, it feels GOOD. That when Envy drags people down to their level it feels GOOD. That when Greed steals and takes for themselves, it feels GOOD. That when Sloth watches the world move by without bothering to intervene, it feels GOOD. That when Lust ruins a marriage and has all eyes on them, it feels GOOD. And, for when Gluttony takes a bite out of anything deemed edible, it. Feels. Good.
Step Four: This is when most, if not all morals are thrown out the window. By the end of Step Four, a sin should be well on its way to becoming a V2. As I've established in Step three, the realization has come that indulging in their vice is something that feels euphoric and delightful. It brings a satisfaction that cannot be replicated by any other means. Most consequences are damned by their vice and the Sin should be actively getting into trouble because of it, but the Sin should not be blaming their vice at this point, instead they should be shamelessly indulging in it as if it is the most important thing in their life. That 'indescribable high' is more important than family, friends, lovers etc.
Goals should be morphed by now. Pride seeking to make the perfect kingdom with the perfect Leaders and the perfect servants. Wrath seeking to end all nuisances and annoyances that bother them. Gluttony seeking to extend their palate beyond the simplicity of tangible foods- seeking the consumption of the intangible such as mana, essence, and souls. Etc etc, are just a few examples of Ryleigh's goals and how I perceive the other Sin's thinking process. These goals are arguably very 'simple' in nature, but Sins are very simple beings, and each goal can have a differing measure of complexity to them.
These are my four, personal experience steps into playing a sin.
Heck this might not work for you, or it might just be a load of bad advice. Buuut...
To reiterate my disclaimer...
Disclaimer: This guide is filled with my opinion on how Sin's come to be, why they come to be, how to play them, and how to obtain it etc etc. In short take everything within it with a grain of salt. In the end I've only legitimately played one sin, Gluttony.