Zeboim, divine power of Strife

 After Morgion, and Chemosh, last in the series of divine refactoring is Zeboim.

The goddess is somewhere between Chemosh and Morgion: You know why people might follow her teachings, but she seems to be kinda... aimless?

I agree, Strife is a difficult divine power to qualify, but I believe the goddess can be modified so she becomes more active, instead of just being the goddess you placate when going at sea.

So, for my campaign... what to do with Zeboim?

Constraints

All gods of Krynn must have an active, inspiring contribution and teaching to soul's evolution and learning. This constribution/teaching does not need to be pleasant, but it has to make sense, even in a twisted way.

The corollary is that priests of all gods should have a philosophy/teaching that makes sense, even in a twisted way: No one should become priest of Chemosh by being coerced into it. If one thing, faith should be sincere.

The modified god (here, Zeboim) should remain recognizable, and, perhaps, from casual examination, should appear like the original version. Only when digging deeper will someone (a reader, or a character) would realize the difference.

Inspirations

For our rework of Zeboim, we need to look around to see if there are interesting concepts we could borrow.

Original Zeboim

Like for Chemosh, The wiki entry for Zeboim is quite extensive, but spends a lot of time in stories where she is not shown in her best light.

From the Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebook, we have the following attributes for Zeboim:

• Portfolio: Oceans, storms, jealousy, spite
• Worshipers: Sailors, pirates, evil druids, evil sea creatures
  
• Domains: Chaos, Evil, Storm, Water

What comes out, for me, is both chaos and nature, as well as, obviously, water and ocean. Also:

[Zeboim] admonishes the soul to unleash its deepest urges, acting fully in the throes of any pent-up aggression and frustration. In doing so, she foments unrest, anarchy, disorder, and rebellion. [...] Her driving need is to create anguish and volatility between the souls of the world, so that they remain vital and active, not stagnant or witless.

-- Holy Orders of the Stars, p107

The takeway of Zeboim's entry is that she is volatile, and regularly stirs up trouble... and that's all.

Eris, Greek goddess of discord

Like most Greek gods, Eris is more suited to a "Desperate Housewives of Olympus" than anything worthwhile. Let's not go there.

Set, Egyptian god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners

This one is heavy. First, Set should not be mixed with its caricature (i.e. Conan's serpent god). He was actually defender of Ra against Apep, the serpent god of chaos... until foreign invaders, the Hyksos, came to Egypt, and became real fans of Set. This didn't go well when said foreigners were ousted out. Set's worship didn't get easier in later periods, for similar reasons. And like that, Set was seen as... some kind of traitor god?

Vikings

The obvious source of inspiration is the viking raids who had plagued western Europe around the 9th century, or at least, our highly fictional, even romanticized, version of it: Fearsome and fearless warriors burning and killing.

No settlement was safe from such raids, even those who were deep inside land.

Also, Skyrim's Nords (despite their lack of relation to liquid water) and a Song of Ice and Fire's Ironborns (including their adoration for their Drowned God), because they themselves took inspiration from vikings.

Pirates

The difference between pirates and vikings lies only in the romanticized "freedom" the pirates were supposed to uphold. They, and the few ports they controlled, were free from any crown, living the good life, instead of submitting to others' control.

Berserkers

Assimilated to the vikings, berserkers are actually a bit different: Any warrior entering some kind of frenzy in the midst of battle can be considered a berserker.

The Barbarian class of D&D is actually well-fitted for this role. The Wildfire archetype for the Druid (found in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) might be a good fit, too, but the fire kinda doesn't mesh with Zeboim's water element.

Werecreatures

Werecreatures are just like Berserkers, but with less control, and more animals in them.

Problem: There are no werecreatures on Krynn, and even if there were, having three moons wouuld make the lives on those affected by moon phases very miserable.

Kaiju

How many monsters came from the seas, from the "here be dragons" of ancient maps, to the kaijus plaguing the Pacific Ocean for some reason. Monsters from the Greek mythology, like the Kraken, Charybdis, Scylla.

Partial conclusion

There aren't many satisfying inspirations.

Vikings, pirates and berserkers might serve as inspiration for various kind of worshipers for Zeboim, but these are "land-focused", which is a problem:

The sea

Zeboim being a goddess of seas, it makes sense she might have some influence on anything underwater... Also, the obsession of the gods and mortals with Ansalon might be explained by a forced isolation caused by hostile oceans surrounding it. Is Zeboim's mission to isolate Ansalon through tempests and currents?

Marine beasts

Beyond the normal dangers we can expect from high sea waters, there are some dread things lurking in deep waters, things you don't want to meet. So you pray Zeboim for her clemency and her favor, so the monster actually leaves you alone.

Any monster will do. Most notably, aquatic dinosaurs, but also dragons, and giant version of marine life, like octopuses, whales, or sharks (megalodons!).

Aquatic elves and civilizations

If Zeboim is the mistress of the seas, then I don't see how aquatic elves can live there without her permission. At the very least, unlike on the lands, the aquatic elves (mostly the deep sea Dargonesti) might be under constant threat of attack from a giant monster.

The strife

Perhaps we need to focus on the reasons for strife, and what strife can achieve. Beyond raiders like vikings, we have revolts, revolutions. When a population reaches a point where it can't bear much oppression anymore (whether real, or imagined), then the disorder coming from the revolt can topple leadership, governments, and possibly, whole nations.

The breaking point in the French 1789 Revolution was an elite trying to hold to its privileges, facing a population that was more and more oppressed, both by the political power of their elite, and by poverty, and several years of famine. Had the Habeas Corpus been integrated in France's monarchy, perhaps the 1789 Revolution would never had happened. The chaos and disorder (and lots of death, let's face it) were at this point necessary to induce a change that had been denied many times before when asked "nicely".

Sirrion might have been perfect for this role, but here, we are looking at something that suddenly breaks, and destroys everything in its wake.

Zeboim, divine power of Strife

Zeboim represents the divine power of strife, which enables souls to rise up, against anything that might inhibit, control or hinder it, by releasing their deepest, most shameful impulses, fully acting when one is overwhelmed by aggressiveness or repressed frustrations.

Unlike Sargonnas, who is focused against specific slights, Zeboim encourages unrest, lawlessness, disorder and rebellion, in a systematic attempt to counteract imposed order and law.

In this, she directly opposes both of her parents, Sargonnas, and mostly Takhisis, whose obsession for control opposes the disorder and resulting freedom favored by Zeboim.

Zeboim, through her priests, will inspire and support anything that will undermine a status quo, be it the power of the aristocracy, or of a dictator, or even a perfectly functioning and just society. This makes her the enemy of most of Krynn's gods, who usually favor lawfulness and order, no matter their pantheon.

Oppressed people are, of course, much more likely to revolt with violence, and in this, the followers of the goddess will both inspire them, encourage them, and support them. But make no mistake, the ultimate aim of this divine inspiration and support is to replace the status quo with chaos, and nothing, including the well-being and self-determination of the population, will calm down the followers of Zeboim.

On the other hand, pirates and raiders couldn't care less about the goddess (if we except the mandatory reverence when at sea), but it doesn't matter, as she couldn't care less herself about them, as long as they do what they do best: Raid, kill, destroy, and undermine civilizations. In this, they will find the support of Zeboim's priests, bards, and barbarians.

Berserkers (i.e. D&D barbarians) are more than likely to attract Zeboim's attentions. They usually end up dead, finding their rage failing them at the most crucial moment, or succumb to their most base instincts and join bands of raiders and priests of Zeboim.

One unexpected side of Zeboim is represented by her druids. The exploitation of nature, and its taming by mortals and their little ordered societies, and thus, the lack of respect for it, isn't really something she appreciates. Unlike druids of Habbakuk, or even Chislev, Zeboim's druids won't shy away from the worst crimes to remind the mortals to not only respect, but fear nature itself.

Conclusion

I'm not really satisfied by this version of Zeboim. It's hard to keep the what exist of that goddess, and makes it interesting for my campaign while keeping the new version compatible with generic Dragonlance for other to uses.

But focusing on her role in inspiring revolt and chaos, and less on her personal problems and indulgences, I believe I made her a bit more proactive goddess, directly opposing most other gods, instead of skulking in a corner like a frustrated teenager whose smartphone was confiscated.

Chemosh, divine power of Permanence

Next in the series of divine refactoring, Chemosh.

While not as problematic as Morgion, or, say, Zeboim, Chemosh is still the "baddie" who apparently has nothing else to do in his eternity than torment and depress people.

Undeath is too much a fascinating concept to be left as it is now.

So, for my campaign... what to do with Chemosh?

Constraints

All gods of Krynn must have an active, inspiring contribution and teaching to soul's evolution and learning. This constribution/teaching does not need to be pleasant, but it has to make sense, even in a twisted way.

The corollary is that priests of all gods should have a philosophy/teaching that makes sense, even in a twisted way: No one should become priest of Chemosh by being coerced into it. If one thing, faith should be sincere.

The modified god (here, Chemosh) should remain recognizable, and, perhaps, from casual examination, should appear like the original version. Only when digging deeper will someone (a reader, or a character) would realize the difference.

Inspirations

For our rework of Chemosh, we need to look around to see if there are interesting concepts we could borrow.

Original Chemosh

The wiki entry for Chemosh is quite extensive, but spends a lot of time in stories where he is not shown in his best light, to be fair.

From the Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebook, we have the following attributes for Chemosh:

• Portfolio: Death, the undead, murder, false hope
  
• Worshipers: Crazed cultists, assassins, necromancers
• Domains: Death, Evil, Trickery, Undeath†

The really part I want to work with is that his portfolio/domains include both death and undeath.

Examples not to take inspiration from

Both Pathfinder's Pharasma and Exandria's Raven Queen are not sources of inspiration. These gods strive to maintain some kind of status quo between life and death, and undeath is not their focus (and is usually a problem for them).

In the same way, Death, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, the Grim Reaper, and Orcus (despite being as Chemosh-y as Tiamat is Takhisis-y) are not sources of inspiration.

The Necromancer Archetype

A necromancer isn't just a practitioner of dark, or demonic magics. A necromancer deals in the magics beyond life and death. While this knowledge is not necessarily "evil" per se, it is clearly violating classical and modern societal taboos about life and death.

This taboo is very interesting, if we can somehow integrate it in the narrative. The ultimate necromancer might be quite active, striving to irrevocably change known and accepted laws of life in the universe, for some reason (power over the dead, desire to mitigate the cruelty of death, etc.).

Partial Conclusion

There aren't a lot of satisfying inspiration.

Chemosh, divine power of Permanence

Chemosh represents the divine power of Permanence. That is, how a soul might resist change induced by external factors, and thus, evolve only in a way it wants, at its convenience.

The Cycle of Souls is imposed by the current law of Krynn's universe, and is, in Chemosh's viewpoint, by design messy and lossy: How many memories are lost to time? How much enlightenment has been cut short by a premature death, and reset to zero?

This cycle is deemed necessary, and even desirable, by most of Krynn's gods. But as far as Chemosh is concerned, it is widely inefficient. And Chemosh believes that, with his own divine power of permanence, he can cheat the process, and foster the souls Chemosh favors into an accelerated ascension.

To mortals learning about the truth of the Cycle of Souls, the mortality of their own identity, their own avatar is the real tragedy, and Chemosh offers a hope to fix that. This is why Chemosh favors necromancers, as they are the only one able to research necromancy, and push its limits beyond. Chemosh hopes that, with the right inspiration, and with the right necromancers, the god might unearth the secret to circumvent the limitations of the Cycle of Souls.

This is clearly the most outrageous violations of the Laws of Krynn, and Chemosh knows the others gods, no matter the pantheon, would not let that happen, for Chemosh would then be all-powerful, dwarfing both Paladine, Takhisis and Gilean.

So the god works slowly, through indirection, and showing less ambition, and more glee at witnessing the antics of the undead puppets shambling their way around Krynn.

Conclusion

I know, the moment I decided I wanted to do something like Death Knights of Krynn in my campaign, I needed more than just "Lord Soth wants to invade Solamnia".

In my humble opinion, the undead are the only "fiends" that matter, the universal creature opposing and/or feeding from life, that were universal in every culture, which automatically increased the importance of Chemosh in my campaign.

By giving Chemosh, something more than wanting to spawn undead, and seduce Mina, I make it (again, in my humble opinion) a very, very frightening god, worthy of being opposed by heroes, beyond the undead-rising monster of the week.

Morgion, divine power of Ordeal

By now, it might be obvious I'm not a fan of some of the choices done in Dragonlance.

One of them is having gods that serve no purpose but "be there".

In my humble opinion, Morgion is the most egregious on that subject: That god's modus operandi is to contaminate someone with a disease, and then promise them with the disappearance of symptoms if they become a priest of Morgion, and they start contaminating others... in a universe where Mishakal can heal diseases. You might be forgiven if you think such priests might be fools. I know I do.

So, for my campaign... what to do with Morgion?

Constraints

All gods of Krynn must have an active, inspiring contribution and teaching to soul's evolution and learning. This constribution/teaching does not need to be pleasant, but it has to make sense, even in a twisted way.

The corollary is that priests of all gods should have a philosophy/teaching that makes sense, even in a twisted way: No one should become priest of Morgion by being coerced into it. If one thing, faith should be sincere.

The modified god (here, Morgion) should remain recognizable, and, perhaps, from casual examination, should appear like the original version. Only when digging deeper will someone (a reader, or a character) would realize the difference.

Inspirations

For our rework of Morgion, we need to look around to see if there are interesting concepts we could borrow.

Original Morgion

The wiki entry for Morgion is a bit light, but already goes where I don't want to go: Decay and entropy are not "active forces", they are "expected statistical outcome".

From the Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebook, we have the following attributes for Morgion:

• Portfolio: Disease, famine, poison, vermin, suffering, madness
• Worshipers: Crazed cultists, ratcatchers, corrupt druids
• Domains: Destruction, Evil, Madness†, Pestilence
  

Also:

... spreading his unholy message: only the strong will survive, for to survive is to suffer, and to suffer is to know the truth.

-- Holy Orders of the Stars, p102

This makes Morgion someone whose modus operandi is to inflict pain and suffering, for its own sake. Psychological pain, physical pain, it doesn't matter. The question would then be: Why?

Pathfinder's Zon-Kuthon

© 2014, Paizo Inc/Yu Cheng Hong

In Pathfinder's Golarion universe, there's one god that stands out: Zon-Kuthon.

Zon-Kuthon share many similarities with Morgion, actually: Both are considered mad, and both seem to enjoy the pain and suffering of others.

Kuthites [followers of Zon-Kuthon] run the gamut in their origins and motivations for joining the faith, whether they be evil sadists, demented masochists, or those whose spirits are so wounded that only overwhelming pain distracts them from their sorrows. Others who immerse themselves in spiritual darkness often find themselves drawn to his anthracite embrace.

[...]

Clergy tend to take their fervor for pain and agony to higher levels than lay believers, but are also experts at blending in with normal society.

[...]

Temples of Zon-Kuthon are, for all intents and purposes, torture chambers, and often function as such even when not in use for religious ceremonies. Because of the unique and often disapproved-of practices that take place in the church, temporary temples in caves or basements are kept fairly simple with decorations and tools brought in especially for services. The tools are often disguised as farming implements, should the secret cult be exposed. In more remote areas, believers might make impromptu shrines in places where violence and pain have occurred.

[...]

Kuthites are not bookish worshipers, often choosing to experience their faith rather than study it in a text.

-- Source: Pathfinder Wiki, https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Zon-Kuthon

This clearly makes suffering a tool of enlightenment, at least, in the minds of Zon-Kuthon's followers.

Silent Hill

© Konami

The series of video games, Silent Hill, is known to its disturbing horror, self-inflicted psychological pain due to real or imagined guilt.

The first and third installments are all about a cult trying to bring back some kind of (genuine) paradise through inflicting pain and torture.

The second is actually a self-inflicted hell, by people who have, consciously or not, committed real (or imagined) crimes, and whose guilt (real, or imagined) is now torturing them. There's nothing binary there, only gray areas. In a way similar to Ravenloft's Dark Powers, Silent Hill seems to twist reality to trap its victims, amplifying their pain.

Then, there's the body horror, and the monsters. All you have to do is to google "silent hill monsters" (warning, explicit/disturbing content: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&safe=off&q=silent%20hill%20monsters), and you'll find the horrific, disturbing, and yet fascinating creations of Team Silent, the original developers of Silent Hill. (Also, the music... seriously).

Resident Evil

Despite what one may think, Resident Evil is about mutation. The "undead" zombies are a byproduct of a contamination with the T-virus or one of its variants. But the most important effects of these viruses and parasites are the exceptional and obscene mutations of some of the host bodies, turning them into a great variety of monsters, depending on circumstances.

You can find examples of these grotesque monsters in the following link (warning, explicit/disturbing content): https://www.google.com/search?q=resident+evil+monsters&tbm=isch&oq=resident+evil+monsters&safe=off

Unlike the other inspiration sources, the Resident Evil monsters are there only to provide a roster of creatures.

The Tzimisce Vampires

Vicissitude, by John Cobb

Created by White Wolf for their Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing games, the Tzimisce are demented, monstrous deviants, dealing with torture and body horror.

Their main power, Vicissitude, is all about body modification, both of the self, and others. And Tzimisce do enjoy experimenting on others, finding there some kind of crazy spirituality.

Tzimisce are the stuff of nightmares, even for other vampires (who are far from being angels themselves). One would rightly prefer Final Death to falling into the hand of a Tzimisce, and those unlucky to find themselves the subject of Tzimisce's experimentations (or art creation!) sometimes come out "whole", even if joining their torturers in their cruelty and spiritual beliefs.

Other Sources of Inspiration?

There are other potential sources of inspiration, but they all fall back into one of the examples above. For example, the Cenobites from the Hellraiser movies, which are, arguably similar to Zon-Kuthon, above.

Partial conclusion

All these inspirations lead us to a variant of Morgion, which (hopefully) is more "active" and has a clear motivation beyond ruining everyone's day.

Morgion, divine power of Ordeal

Morgion represents the divine power of ordeal: Only through pain and suffering can one soul find true enlightenment.

Any kind of suffering will do: disease, madness, physical and psychological torture. And it is best when self-inflicted, even if unwilling subjects can still profit from a fraction of their "beneficial" effects.

Mercy is, in the disturbing mind of Morgion or his followers, an empty lie, leading to a stagnation of the soul. It is much better to foster its growth and self-understanding by pushing its limits beyond what it can tolerate. Some will never recover from the ordeal, falling into catatonia that won't really protect them from further abuse. But others will ascend into a higher understanding of the soul, and will become true paragons of Morgion's philosophy.

A victim of Morgion's acts might search for Mishakal for relief... or might become so damaged mentally they now embrace their suffering. A sadist might find in Morgion's teaching some kind of moral excuse to indulge in their urges. A torturer or executioner might find solace in "knowing" their victims will grow spiritually under their "care". Truth is, Morgion doesn't really care about the original motivations: Both the tormenter and the tormented will learn from the ordeal.

Of course, from the outside, Morgion's small cult of followers are best described as a group of cruel, sadistic and masochistic creatures, enjoying inflicting pain on themselves, as well on others. There are also rumors of monstrous, aberrant creatures flesh-sculpted from victims (or even leaders?) of the cult.

Conclusion

Followers of Morgion are not anymore coerced into having faith. They are not unwilling victims (at least, not anymore). They are active believers in some kind of deviant spirituality that is pushed into extremes, that leads to horrific acts, all in the name of spiritual enlightenment and ascension.

In the end, instead of dumb cultists to oppose our heroes, we can now have a wide range of either gory or sophisticated cultists, both primal and civilized, all hell-bent into sharing their vision of enlightenment with others, with of without their consent.

I sincerely believe this version of Morgion is more "believable" than the original one.

Divine Powers of the Deities of Krynn

Gods and Goddesses in standard fantasy RPG settings usually watch over a world, busying themselves with their portfolio (or acquiring someone else's portfolios).

This is actually desirable in a "theme park" setting designed to accomodate to every game master's campaign need. The pantheons themselves are not even closed, welcoming new gods without really changing anything (unless resulting in a portfolio transfer).

For example, D&D's Forgotten Realms or Pathfinder's Golarion are such settings.

But I feel Dragonlance is different.

First, the pantheons are closed: There a 21 deities, and that's all. Zeus, Isis, Sarenrae or Bane will never set foot on Krynn, and if for some reason their priests do, they would find themselves immediately without power (sorry for those liking to hop between worlds). And the reason is deeper than just hostility to outsiders: There's symmetry and geometry everywhere in Krynn's design, and that is something that is very "Dragonlance". Any change would break that.

Second, the first part result in a very interesting effect: Not all domains/vocations/portfolio are attributed (there are more than 21, after all), which means that you cannot "create a god from a portfolio/domain", but you must give that god itself its rightful share and responsibility in Krynn's mythology (e.g. creation of Krynn). One such share is the division between Good, Evil and Balance, each pantheon a pillar of creation, and giving mortals one specific gift.

But beyond the division between good, evil and balance, there is another concept that, in my humble opinion, really enrich the Dragonlance setting: The Divine Power...

 

Divine Powers

Divine Powers were first described in the excellent Holy Order of the Stars sourcebook.

Most of the Divine Powers below are the same, but the description has been "inverted" (you'll see).

And for those who has been changed, the reason is that Divine Powers should inspire souls to evolve, not drag them to entropy. Which means each deity related to a divine power is themself a force of evolution for souls.

In essence, divine powers both inspire the souls, and is a constant motivation for the deities embodying them: For example, in a dilemma, unless exception, Mishakal will choose the choice related to restoration, while Sargonnas will choose instead the choice related to retribution.

Divine Powers of the Good Pantheon

Discipline

This divine power enables souls to rise through focus on what matters, self-work, systematic practice, and austerity.

The discipline is embodied by Majere.

Inspiration

This divine power enables souls to ascend through imagination, and the sharing of that imagination.

Inspiration is embodied by Branchala, who encourages souls to rise through beauty and joy.

Majesty

This divine power enables souls to rise up by serving as an example or by following the examples of those with great nobility of soul.

Majesty is embodied by Paladine.

Persistence

This divine power allows souls to rise through trial confrontation, and struggle against adversity.

Perseverance is embodied by Habbakuk, who encourages souls to elevate themselves through perseverance for the common good.

Restoration

This divine power allows souls to continue to rise despite the damage suffered, to reconstitute themselves.

Restoration is embodied by Mishakal, who encourages souls to learn from their mistakes, and to diffuse and share regenerative energies.

Unity

This divine power enables souls to ascend through unification and cooperation and support into a larger whole for a common purpose.

Unity is embodied by Kiri-Jolith, who encourages souls to rise up through solidarity and brotherhood.

Vigilance

This divine power allows souls to rise by identifying obstacles and dangers, to avoid them, or possibly face them in the best possible conditions.

Vigilance is embodied by Solinari, who has since concentrated his efforts on magic, and on Orders of High Sorcery, in order to ensure their use in the greatest possible security, for the common good.

Divine Powers of the Balance Pantheon

Creation

This divine power enables souls to ascend through physical creation and of a lasting nature.

Creation is embodied by Reorx, who encourages souls to rise through the practice of craftsmanship, skill and artifice. It recognizes and promotes the will of mortals to shape, build and produce.

Instinct

This divine power allows souls to rise by freeing themselves from the constraints and heaviness of reason and conscious thought, by relying on the primordial impulse.

Instinct is embodied by Chislev.

Interaction

This divine power enables souls to ascend through communication and interaction with other souls.

Interaction is embodied by Shinare, who encourages souls to rise through exchanges, and entrepreneurship, stripped of ephemeral notions like desire or morality.

Knowledge

This divine power enables souls to ascend through the experience of knowledge in all its forms, without judgment or limitations.

Knowledge is embodied by Gilean.

Mystery

This divine power allows souls to rise through wonder and curiosity, and not fear, of the mystery and the unknown, to unveil and share them in a neutral way, through freedom of expression.

Mystery is embodied by Lunitari, who has since focused his efforts on magic, and on the Orders of High Witchcraft, in order to ensure the exploration and discovery of all its secrets.

Transformation

This divine power enables souls to ascend through constant change.

Transformation is embodied by Sirrion, who encourages souls to embrace a passionate and creative existence.

Wisdom

This divine power enables souls to ascend via enlightenment, to see the world around them as a fluid and continuous river of experience.

Wisdom is embodied by Zivilyn.

 

Divine Powers of the Evil Pantheon

Ambition

This divine power gives souls the desire to elevate themselves spiritually.

Ambition is embodied by Nuitari, who has since focused his efforts on magic, and High Sorcery Orders, in order to use their power without limitation.

Control

This divine power allows souls to rise through membership in an organization hierarchised by power, an organization emerging from the soul abandoning part of its freedom and power for the benefit of those who are more. important and more powerful; but also the acquisition of freedom and power to the detriment of others, less powerful.

Control is embodied by Takhisis, creating an unbroken chain of power and loyalty that is embodied in the spiritual fervor of his followers.

Exploitation

This divine power allows souls to rise at the expense of others, weaker.

Exploitation is embodied by Hiddukel, who encourages souls to turn every connection with another soul to their advantage.

Ordeal

This divine power allows souls to rise through the confrontation of painful and traumatic trials, in order to free themselves from their weaknesses, and to grow spiritually.

Ordeal is embodied by Morgion.

(for more information, please see: https://paercebal.blogspot.com/2022/01/morgion-divine-power-of-ordeal.html)

Permanence

This divine power allows souls to ensure their permanence and stability, resisting external influences, whatever they may be.

Permanence is embodied by Chemosh, who is particularly opposed to the changes brought about by the natural cycle of life and death, preferring an eternal existence to it.

Retribution

This divine power allows souls to rise up, through retaliation and retribution, against anything that damages it, in order to protect themselves, and to take back what has been stolen from them.

Retribution is embodied by Sargonnas, who is the lord of revenge and retribution, the patron of wars fought for passion, anger, and broken promises.

Strife

This divine power enables souls to rise up, against anything that inhibits, controls or hinders it, by releasing their deepest, most shameful impulses, fully acting when one is overwhelmed by aggressiveness or repressed frustrations.

Strife is embodied by Zeboim, who encourages unrest, lawlessness, disorder and rebellion, in a systematic attempt to counteract imposed order and law.

 

Divine Prayers & Favors

Gods and Goddesses of Krynn are much, much more meddling in Krynn's mortals' affairs than other deities in their own mortals' worlds.

This home rule is designed to reflect that.

Divine Favor

Once per day, a character can pray to a deity for a favor in relation to some aim related to the deity's divine power or domains, vocations or portfolio.

This needs a success in a Persuasion (Charisma) skill roll (or it could be another skill, if better adapted, as decided by the game master), whose difficulty is to be determined by the game master, with a bonus/malus related to the wording of the prayer itself. If successful, the character gains a divine favor.

Unless exception, one can only have one divine favor at a time.

This Divine Favor works as a Bardic Inspiration (and can stack with it), with the caveat that the deity might decide, at any moment, to deny it, no matter how successful (game master's choice).

Considerations

Divine Favor will usually acts like a level-1 Bardic Inspiration, but should the relation between the character and the deity be special (e.g. a priest and their god, or someone wearing that god's symbol for moral, ethical and/or philosophical reasons), this might act like an higher level Bardic Inspiration.

Fun Facts about the Divine Favor

Most mortals will pray for favor, and will receive it or not, resulting in some change, or not. It is part of life for the mortals of Krynn. But some mortals have the power to affect things beyond their own person, which means these mortals' prayers also can have the same reality changing effects.

Amusingly, no matter if the prayer is successful or not, it can might attract the deity's attention to the character, and what he's doing (the higher the roll result, the higher the probability).

Also, when the Divine Favor itself is used, it means the deity's attention has definitively been attracted, even if the favor is denied at the last moment (or its effects cancelled).

Please note that Krynn deities are not judgemental over who prays for favors, as long as the favor is related to the deity's divine power. A Knight of Solamnia praying Sargonnas for revenge against the murderer of their family would be as likely as Dragon Highlord to receive that favor, with no strings attached, even should the guilty party be a priest of Sargonnas.

Last, but not least, one doesn't need to explicitly name a deity: A strong wish for something related to a divine favor might be enough to attract the favor of the deity embodying it. (If that happens, the deity usually leaves a sign behind...)

In the end, the character itself will never know if they were successful thanks to the prayer or not: A character might fail to attract a deity's attention, and yet succeed in the task, and then might believe they succeeded through divine help. Such is the nature of the mortal mind.

 

Is that all?

I'm not really happy with each individual principle, because some have overlap (e.g. Instinct and Strife, or Ordeal and Persistence). In some cases, the overlap is welcome, in others, it makes differentiating them difficult.

So, you can expect updates on this post.

Conclusion

Divine power is an awesome way to give Krynn's deities a flavor not found in other worlds/settings, and also to blur the distinctions between pantheons good/balance/evil borders.

The Divine Favor gives their divine power an actual effect from a gameplay perspective. Which, for a character, makes being a faithful, or "atheist" (in the sense of denying the gods the legitimacy of their self-proclaimed rights to affect the life of the mortals) something important.

This might become handy, later...

😉

Select Concept: The Cycle of Souls

Select Concepts is a series of blog posts where I will describe concepts specific to my campaign, but which could be reused in other settings. Their point is to explain (lampshade) some RPG Tropes into believable occurrences, or offer alternative sources of conflict/help for our heroes to face/enjoy.

The River of Souls was described  by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis in their War of Souls trilogy.

It does leave the universe of Krynn open-ended (the souls go somewhere beyond Krynn and its gods, in the end), which might be want you want. But for me, as a DM, it failed to explain a few basics of a D&D fantasy settings. Also, I don't like it.

So I devised an alternative version called the Cycle of Souls.

Inspiration

Andy Weir wrote in 2009 a small story called The Egg, which is a fascinating story about how every human alive is actually a reincarnation of the same soul, across time.

You can read it here: http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html

... and while I won't reuse it as-is, I find it a marvelous inspiration for a setting's creation myth.

Anyways...

The needs

These are my needs:

• I need to make "naturally occurring" reincarnation possible
• I need to make resurrection possible, up to a certain point (i.e. if too much time passed, then it becomes impossible
  
• I need mortals to be able to join their gods after their death, if they want it
• I need to explain why ghosts and revenant might linger beyond their "death"
  
• I need to explain how someone with an actual brain would prefer to serve Takhisis and end in some hellish forever, instead of giving flowers to widows and orphans, and join eternal bliss
• I need the gods to need to nurture souls, for some reason. Of course, each god might have their own definition of nurturing
• I need to have Raistlin wait for his twin, after death.
  
• I need to explain why souls are important for gods, all the while gods having a relative interest in any random mortal
• I need to explain why undeath might actually be a viable, if dreadful, alternative (instead of "how can you be so stupid to do the obvious wrong choice?")
• Fistandantilus
  

Also, bonus: 

• No diabolic pact, no demon eating souls. Because, f*ck demons and devils up to Uranus.

 So, with that, let's start...

Souls vs. Spirits

Souls

Souls are supposed to more or less come from the sparks of Reorx striking Chaos to slow it down and enable creation.

But, being free and unconcerned, souls do not "experience". So they evolve very, very slowly, if at all.

Also, souls may, or may not, experience time. It might even be possible they experience time in a distinct way than mortals.

The gods were tasked to nurture them, so they could grow (possibly into some kind of divinity?).

So the gods gave them gifts:

• Gods of Good gave them physical form, so they could affect and experience the physical universe around them
• Gods of Evil gave them suffering and mortality, so they could feel the consequences of their action, and/or need to react to external events, and then die.
• Gods of Balance gave them freedom to choose (and immunity to any kind of soul damage or coercicion)

By giving them these gifts, gods gave the souls a way to experience reality, through a spirit.

Spirit

When a mortal is born, lives and dies, their consciousness, memories, and experiences is the spirit, created mostly blank from a specific soul.

Upon death, as consciousness fades away, these memories and experiences, or variations, will be replayed, again and again in the fading spirit's mind, as if in a dream, to be slowly absorbed into the soul of that mortal.

The spirit thus fades away in a dream-like state, so the soul can grow.

This is the cycle of souls.

Souls vs. Spirits

The same soul can produce very different spirits. For example, the same soul could produce a Lawful Good paragon spirit, then a Chaotic Evil renegade spirit.

In the end, the whole point is for the eternal soul to learn and evolve by experiencing reality from different viewpoints and situations through transient spirits, each one with a distinct identity and personality.

Fun fact: There is an eerie, but coincidental, parallel between the relation soul/spirit in Krynn and the relation player/character in RPGs.

Can a Spirit endure?

Actually, yes, as during some time after its death, while the spirit is slowly fading away, it is still there.

Fading away...

For example, during this time, the spirit can still be brought back to life, in a way or another (e.g. Raise Dead). It can also be contacted, for example, through spells like Speak With the Dead. The "afterlife" so dear to mortals may be nothing more than the spirit blissfully (or not) fading away, perhaps in the home plane of their god, or some kind of demiplane of their own creation...

Undeath...

Also, the spirit can remain willful and/or powerful enough to remain part of the physical reality.

For example, ghosts, or revenants, whose emotional state either enables them to remain there voluntarily, or forces them to remain there despite a desire to move on. On the other hand, magic rituals might tie the spirit down. For example, mummification, or lichdom. Some accidents or contamination might also happen (e.g. ghouls, vampires). Last but not least, curses (mostly divine) can tie a mortal into the material plane as an undead monstrosity, forcing them into a seemingly neverending hellish existence.

In all cases, the spirit remains, albeit altered by the condition it is forced to remain as.

Ascending...

Last but not least, some spirits can endure longer, because their souls have grown enough (*). These might join their gods as agents, or remain outside observers, and free agents (think "ghost", but without the drama).

(*) This could be considered as a transitional state, where the soul has grown enough its spirits will start to share personality, moral and belief similarities... or even strange memories.

Some Caveats

Apart from what is described above, nothing can keep a dead spirit from fading away into its soul, not even divine intervention.

Also, there is no way, even for a god, to identify the soul of a specific spirit. For example, should the soul of Raistlin reincarnate, it could reincarnate as a tinker gnome spirit, with no memories whatsoever of their past lives, and Takhisis would not suspect a thing.

Last, but not least, souls are totally immune to gods, or any other creatures (like, demons, etc.). The only way to affect a soul would be through the experiences and memories of one of its spirits.

Bonus: Tenacious Souls

I don't really like that concept, and won't be using it personally in my campaign, but it remains compatible with what is written in this post.

Gods and Souls

Unless exception, beyond curiosity, gods care little for spirits, for the same reason someone usually care little for most characters of a fiction (even a RPG or LARP one): Most of them are, in the grand scheme of things, interchangeable, forgettable people.

Gods only really care about nurturing souls, i.e. educating them into becoming, potentially, divine servants, or even gods, of similar moral outlooks.

But, as noted above, the only way to affect a soul is through their spirits, which means creating societies and civilizations to educate them en masse. This explains why the gods of Krynn are warring over mortals: Mortal spirits living in the middle of a civilization that follow that god's teaching is a good way for converting souls into their ways: If Takhisis succeeds in conquering Ansalon, then every mortal on Ansalon will only thrive by becoming more like Takhisis herself (the others will be dealt with later, and serve as fodder in the mean time).

Some spirits, though, might be noteworthy (usually because of their capacity to have faith), and gods sometimes enjoy observing their existence, possibly even discreetly affect it. Sometimes, a god might suspect and interesting spirit might be from the same soul that spawned an interesting spirit in the past, and might see it as a recurring investment (or danger).

Gods of Good

The gods of Good are mostly concerned with nurturing souls into communities of equals, where everyone is caring for everyone else. In this, "together we are stronger" might be their motto.

Of course, for all their care and loving, like overbearing parents, Gods of Good are convinced they know much better than the souls and mortals they are nurturing about what is good for them, which sometimes lead them to be overly possessive of their flocks, sometimes even against their flocks' wishes.

Gods of Evil

The Gods of Evil believe that not all souls are equals, and that some will ascend much faster than others, if correctly nurtured. They favor ambition over everything else, and see caring as something that should not be overly sanctified, as it inevitably leads to the weakening of the souls, as well as squandering resources over many unworthy souls, while they could have been focused on worthier ones.

In other worlds, war and challenges are there to help the best of the souls to ascend, usually by exploiting others, less talented ones, or at the very least, by not being weighed down by them.

Gods of Balance

The gods of Balance have always worked to let souls grow at their natural speed, trying to not affect them too much, to avoid biasing them in any way of another, and working to make sure the influence of the other gods does not smother down the souls into a mold.

This, until the Age of Despair, have led them to some kind of balancing-through-alliance, joining one or another side to keep everyone from becoming too powerful. As this has not prevented the causes for the Cataclysm, some of the gods of Balance are now arguing against that doctrine.

Cheating The Cycle of Souls

The Cycle of Souls is a tedious, but necessary step for the souls to evolve into a higher divine form.

Chemosh

One god, though, believes the process is flawed and inefficient: Too much time is spent by the soul "absorbing" the spirit, and even this "absorption" loses too much information.

The god of death believes he can nurture more souls for his own side, by offering a few select ones a way out of this cycle: By giving them a specific kind of immortality, he is now sure some souls will thrive, and evolve faster through one's spirit's experience.

This is why Chemosh had been researching, and sponsoring research on necromancy and undeath. In theory, every lich, every mummy, every vampire, has the potential to grow ten times faster than regular souls in the same time frame. In practice, this doesn't happens enough, which means more research is needed.

The other gods have misinterpreted Chemosh's obsession for undeath into some kind of morbid fetish, which is, as far as he is concerned, how he likes it. Some barely care, as long as the undead don't overwhelm the living, but others oppose any tampering with the Cycle of Souls, on principle.

The Bloodstone Pendant

The bloodstone pendant enables its wielder to absorb al the experiences of the victim into the wielder. In addition to the life span increase of the wielder, its practical effect is that the victim's experience is absorbed and digested by the wielder's.

Thus, the victim's soul lost an opportunity to grow, while the wielder's spirit instantly accumulates experience by absorbing the victim's soul, which, in the end, will be absorbed back by the wielder's soul.

As Raistlin was the last one to use the pendant, absorbing Fistandantilus in the process, one might say Fistandantilus soul lost the potential of thousands of years of experience. Raistlin's soul, on the other hand...

What about Raistlin and Fistandantilus challenging the gods?

By trying to become gods, Raistlin and Fistandantilus weren't just challenging gods. They were challenging some very fundamental laws of creation.

As spiritss, they had tried to circumvent the Cycle of Souls, and ascend by themselves. In some way, it's like a character taking over their actor, and suddenly controlling their destiny. This was, at best, madness, an aberration.

Why weren't they stopped? For many reasons, but the main ones being gods being divided, even within the same pantheon. The points of discussions go from the necessity or even legitimacy of such an intervention, to what to do exactly to solve the problem, all the while taking each god's personal interest in these specific spirits' growing power.

And, as in the end, Fistandantilus simply screwed up, and Raistlin sacrificed himself, the non-intervention angle seems to have been the right one...

In game terms, how does all of this changes everything so far?

That's the beauty of it: It doesn't change anything in any measurable way.

In the original setting, each soul passes the Gate of Souls and is out of reach for all concerned in Krynn.

In this variant, the spirit is dissolved into the soul, and is out of reach for all concerned in Krynn.

The important difference is one I wanted from the start: Every god has a vested interest in nurturing eternal souls, and yet, remains aloof of transient spirits.

What about Crysania's Death and Resurrection?

The only problem might be Crysania, who died in the present, to be raised back to life in the past by the Kingpriest. The relation of the gods and characters of Krynn with time is strange indeed, and the same goes for souls. In the books, it was as if the soul of Crysania remained attached to her body, and thus, was sent back in time with it. Weird, but why not?

The devil is in the details: I wrote above:

"Also, souls may, or may not, experience time. It might even be possible they experience time in a distinct way than mortals."

And by distinct, I really mean distinct.

Having gods and souls experience time in a distinct way than mortals/spirits enables such time-traveling events. This might be the subject for another post...

Conclusion

By defining souls and spirits, as done here, we can explain a lot of what seems illogical: How resurrection really works, how undeath relate to souls, and why gods can seem detached from mortals, all the while caring about their souls.

P.S.: Test of the Twins

What if Caramon and Raistlin were actually two spirits of the same soul?..

🤯

Food for thoughts...

😋

Sciences of the Wizards of High Sorcery

“Long ago, during the Age of Dreams, when magic-users were respected and magic flourished upon Krynn, the five Towers of High Sorcery stood as beacons of light in the dark sea of ignorance that was this world. Here, great magics were worked, benefiting all. There were plans for greater still. Who knows but that now we might have been riding on the winds, soaring the skies like dragons. Maybe even leaving this wretched world and inhabiting other worlds, far away … far away.…”

His voice grew soft and quiet. Caramon and Crysania held very still, spellbound by his tone, caught up in the vision of his magic.

He sighed. “But that was not to be. In their desire to hasten their great works, the wizards decided they needed to communicate directly with each other, from one Tower to another, without the need for cumbersome teleportation spells. And so, the Portals were constructed.”

Legends - War of the Twins
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Twins

 

In the extract above, Raistlin Majere describes how, prior to the Third Dragon War, the Orders of High Sorcery were searching for application of magic, to the benefit of all.

In the case of portals, they botched the experiment, but this extract hints at something much more important, in a storytelling context: Knowledge of magic evolved with time...

Magic

In retrospect, this is logical. The first wizards didn't come with a spellbook with all D&D spells in it, to be given to an organization that would then remain stagnant for millennia.

Instead, there was, at some time, an era of marvels and discoveries. An era when previously unknown schools of magic were discovered, and researched, and spells discovered and categorized, magic artifacts created.

On Earth, we have Pythagoras, Newton, Einstein, Bohr, Feynman. Who are the Pythagoras, Newton, Einstein, Bohr, and Feynman of Krynn? On Earth, we have mathematics, biology, relativity physics, quantum physics, some of these having been discovered a mere century ago. What are the equivalent, on Krynn?

Magic, as an evolving research domain?

Giving a sense of progression on magic is a wonderful opportunity of enriching the lore of Krynn, as well as making Krynn a living world. It also leverages on existing D&D material to empower non-player characters.

This would mean that every field of magic, potentially every school of magic, has something like a date of discovery, then an evolution (e.g. perhaps at one time, Conjuration and Invocation were the same school, until mages discovered they were actually distinct). And that this timeline might have affected Krynn's history as a whole. It might hint at future discoveries, future spells...

It would also mean wizards that would be famous for their contributions!

Instead of Mordenkainen's Manor, one could learn Fistandantilus' Manor!

(Not Scanlan's Hand, though... No matter your fantasy universe, Scanlan's Hand remains Scanlan's Hand)

 

Examples of Fields

In my reformed Dragonlance Setting, I see at least 3 magic domains that would have evolved from almost nothing in the historical past, to the state we now have in "modern" Dragonlance campaigns.

Space

This magic domain is about spells of instantaneous teleportation, moving through space. Spells like Teleport, Teleportation Circle, but also Demiplane and Dimension Door are the spells related to Space.

In my reformed Dragonlance Setting, Fistandantilus is the wizard who researched and created such spells, as well as contributed to the creation of the portals mentioned in the quote above. You can expect to have "scientific articles" written by this wizard on the subject of space travel in the libraries of the Towers of High Sorcery.

Chaos Magic

In the Dragonlance Setting, the universe of Krynn was created from the Chaos, when Reorx stuck it with his hammer, slowing it down. Non-divine Magic itself was introduced back into Krynn by the Graygem, with its chaotic manifestations and mutations. Also, there was an order of renegade Brown Robes, active during the Third Dragon War, around 1000 years before the Cataclysm, that embraced chaos magic, following their leader, Galan Dracos.

In my reformed Dragonlance Setting, Galan Dracos is the wizard who researched chaos magic, and accumulated a dangerous amount of knowledge and spells of that domain, among them Confusion, Crown of Madness, or Chaos Bolt. Of course, practicing it gives a wizard a great amount of power, and spells unknown by the Orders of High Sorcery but at the cost of random (and sometimes cataclysmic) events, and mutations.

Necromancy

Necromancy is the magic of death, of the dead, and of the undead.

In my reformed Dragonlance Setting, Necromancy was initially a sterile, failed school of magic: At best, through Animate Dead, it animated a corpse, or even a skeleton, relying on automation, and not much else. It was gross, dangerous, and mostly useless.

And this went well with the idea that only divine magic could heal, or have any life effect, in any meaningful way. The undead were either anomalies (ghosts, or revenants unable to let go of their mortal regrets), or curses from the gods.

It was (wait for it...) Sylvyana who, after turning her back to the Silvanesti, revolutionized necromancy, by determining its major fields, and researching the undead.

Her articles and discoveries reinvigorated the research on Necromancy among the Orders, much to the chagrin of the White Robes who rightly thought that, if revealed, it would damage the standing of the Orders among non-wizards. But it was too late when they realized her experiments went well beyond the articles and spells she shared with the Orders, and her creation had already escaped all over Ansalon.

Indeed, while spiritual undead like ghosts and banshees were known on Krynn, as well as physical undead like revenants, skeletons and zombies, Sylvyana, in her quest for immortality and power, researched and brought into Krynn the first ravenous undead: The ghouls... And later, the vampires.

Some of the spells she contributed are False Life, Vampiric Touch, Create Undead, and Clone.

Conclusion

Of course, this needs not be limited to Necromancy, Chaos Magic, or even Space Magic (!!!).

By selecting a subset of "common" spells accessible to all, and then gathering the remaining spells by theme, it is easy to attribute them to one wizard, or one "school" of wizardry led by a wizard and their apprentices.

This way, finding such rare spells is not only "loot" in game terms, but also part of the history of Krynn.

And when someone finds a lost spellbook authored by Sylvyana, they know it won't probably be about lightning bolts...

Philosophies of the Wizards of High Sorcery

As part of my work to "modernize" the Dragonlance Setting to my tastes, the first, most obvious, target, is, of course, the Wizards of High Sorcery.

Good, Neutrality, Evil?

At first glance, having 3 orders of white, red and black robes is awesome. But having "good", "neutral" and "evil" mages seems a bit too much on the nose.

Looking at the excellent Holy Orders of the Stars sourcebook (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3239/Holy-Orders-of-the-Stars-35e), one can discover very interesting things about the gods of magic.

Indeed, all gods were given a "divine power". For example, Paladine has the "divine power" of "Majesty", while Takhisis has the "divine power" of "Control".

And if you take a look at the gods of magic, you see that even them, before becoming what they are now, had a "divine power":

• Solinari:  Vigilance
• Lunitary: Mystery
• Nuitari: Ambition
  

... and, reading that, I realized that I'd found the seed for my reformed Orders of High Sorcery!

Vigilance, Mystery, Ambition!

If we take these principles, and apply them to Magic, then we get something much more profound. Something that can translate, for the common people, to the famous "good, neutral and evil mages", but that is much, much more nuanced if one actually study their organization.

The Orders of High Sorcery were founded by three patrons to make sure magic would be both used, used correctly, and kept under control. Each mage of High Sorcery must then have specific qualities:

• Curiosity: A need to research, and unveil the mysteries of magic, for its own sake
  
• Vigilance: A need to make sure magic is not used lightly, nor irresponsibly.
• Ambition: A need to go beyond the common, to reach farther, and reap the rewards
  

... and, as each divine patron of the Orders has a natural affinity for one of these qualities: 

• Curiosity: Lunitari (as need to unveil Mystery)
  
• Vigilance: Solinari
• Ambition: Nuitari

... an tripartite organization naturally emerges, embracing their divine patron's philosophy (and color)

Consequences

This is why mages of one Order will always respect a mage from another Order: They both value the same things, even if not with the same priorities, and the mage of the other Order is indeed working for the betterment of magic itself, in their own way:

• Red Robes: Research, without limitation, and knowledge sharing
  
• White Robes: Prudence in research, and diplomacy with external organizations, and the people
  
• Black Robes: Increasing the power and prestige of the Orders
  

Is it surprising, then, for the common people, to see the White Robes as the "politically correct" wizards, while the Black Robes are the evil schemers?

The Test of High Sorcery

The test should comprise of at least tests of the candidate's loyalty to the Orders and to Magic, as well as a test of what is the candidate priorities among Vigilance, Curiosity or Ambition.

Testing Skills/Talent

Of course, the Test must test the skills and the talents of a candidate, when under stress, or not, to make sure the candidate is able to think and research. Combat, duels and research for a specific thing in libraries are usually the kind of tests a candidate has to pass.

It has already been discussed in Dragonlance books, so I won't elaborate here.

Testing Loyalty to the Orders

Also, the test is about loyalty: Is the candidate loyal to the Orders, including when this loyalty seems to violate their own moral limits?

In D&D terms, morality is simplified into an alignment of two axes: Law/Chaos and Good/Evil.

So, a good approximation of this test would be to confront the alignment of the candidate against their loyalty to the Orders.

For this, three tests can be devised:

• Loyalty vs. Good: Would the candidate be able to sacrifice innocents, if needed by the Orders or Magic?
  
• Loyalty vs. Law: Would the candidate be able to breach Law, if needed by the Orders or Magic?
  
• Loyalty vs. Evil: Would the candidate be able to sacrifice oneself, if needed by the Orders or Magic?

Failing all of them would mean failure in loyalty, and thus, of the test. Failing 2 would fail to impress. Failing one would be welcome, and failing none would really impress.

Er... Good, Law, Evil, ok... But what about Chaos?

There's no Loyalty vs. Chaos test described above, as the Orders are a very organized (i.e. lawful) organization. It is thus implied that Loyalty vs. Chaos is actually a test that a candidate is going through their whole career as apprentices and mages.

In other words, a chaotic-aligned character would have to be able to convince the Orders, during their whole apprenticeship, that, despite their tendency for chaos and freedom, the Orders and Magic are still their first loyalty.

Testing Priority/Affiliation

The Test can be used for the candidate to help them decide their own affiliation, by proposing to the candidate difficult choices:

• Curiosity vs. Vigilance: For example, is it better to make a copy of a dangerous scroll to make sure the knowledge is preserved for future research, or is it better to destroy it to avoid risking for this knowledge to spread with dire consequences?
  
• Ambition vs. Curiosity: For example, is it better to use a magical artifact immediately, to increase one's power, or is it better to dismantle it, hoping to gather is secrets and to be able, perhaps, to reproduce it later?
  
• Ambition vs. Vigilance: For example, is it better to risk one's current position in a military or diplomatic conflict to try to gain a better position? Or is it better to fortify oneself?

In most of the cases, the choices will reveal and highlight one principle that seems more natural and important for the candidate, thus naturally directing them into the right Order. In case of doubts, more tests can be done (including a tripartite test when the candidate must choose between three options: Ambition, Vigilance, or Curiosity).

And what about alignment?

The interesting part is that all imposes little on the candidate's own alignment:

You could be ambitious, while remaining good. And you can be prudent while remaining evil.

But one can't deny that most good-aligned characters will join the White Robes, and that ambition without a strong "Good" compass leads naturally to evil.

So, while this says nothing about the mage's alignment in rule terms, it is easy (and often correct), when coming from outside, to use the simplistic, approximated approach of considering a White Robe to be good, and a Black Robes to be evil.

Conclusion

Using this variation on the Orders of High Sorcery, you can both enrich the concept behind the Orders of High Sorcery, and make it more palatable for those bored by a naive "good vs. evil" concept, while still keeping the traditional Good/Neutral/Evil approach that had always be part of the Orders of High Sorcery in Dragonlance.