After hearing Mag labeled as 'evil' for like the third time today, I started to wonder what people actually think about the city, ICly. None of my alts are hardcore enough to feel the vibe of an entire Org, so I made this dinky poll. People who have their "mains" in Magnagora shouldn't vote.

Military. Powerhungry. Dark. Royalty. Without conscience if it fits their purpose. Do anything for achieving the goal, no matter what it takes.

.. That's just basically what promptly came mind when I read the thread title. Whether it's accurate or not.. it's what I associate with Magnagora.

If I where to judge from just the general stuff and not the population, evil.

It is a simple link between 'angels' being good and 'demons' being evil, also the entire undead thing is mainly used as evil in fantasy genres.

Where's the "like a bug I want to squash" option?

Ah, the IC side of myself is leaking out...

Seriously, though, I think it used to be very militaristic with no regard to life, but now it's getting closer to the 2nd option... not good, not evil, just tainted.

Powerhungry, and willing to goto any ends, but not neccessarily evil. Nil was created with Kethuru as the guiding force, before the Taint became quiescent, so to speak. People who go there now just don't have any morals, and there's a nice mix of absoloute nutters and evil folks. And the odd person with a gram of compassion and right.

Oh, and me, but I'm just a force of nature with my sexiness. I really can't be blamed for any incidents that pop up.

From an IC point of view, Rika hates the Taint, so hates Magnagora, believing it is a totally evil place.

From and OOC point of view, I think Magnagora is just another city made up of text.

To be honest, Magnagora is a mix of "classic" evil with a little bit shades of grey. The city was designed to fit the classic evil archetype. They may be bright spots in that city of darkness, and they may be able to diplomatically negotiate peace with their neighbors or ally with others, but the poverty, the experimentation, and the evil Cosmic beings and the influence of Evil Elder Gods, all pretty much paint the picture. At the very least I think they are meant to be totally amoral.

(In character, Tully is so kind because (1) for all of Magnagora's evil they didn't mistreat him while other characters not of Magnagora treated him kindly while he was a bondsman, and (2) he believes in redeeming individuals, so he tries to be nice to anybody. He's not blind and dislikes what the Taint does and some of the dictates the city believes).

Magnagora fits the classic archetype of evil but with an extra layer that gives it an actual reason to be that way.

Magnagora runs on an uneasy truce between the "chaotic evil" types (Gung-ho, let's-kill-everything-we-see nutters like Revan and Murphy), "lawful evil" types (Manipulative villains who respect the power structures but want to use them for their own ends, like some Geomancer guildmasters whose names escape me right now, or like Verithrax) and "amoral" types, the people who aren't really cruel or immoral, but don't mind cruelty or immorality - the random jobsworths, really. It seems very focused on "evil as a means to a goal" rather than "evil for evil's sake". While some people in Magnagora are sadists, most of them make furthering a cause - Magnagora, the Taint, their own personal power - more important than just being cruel or mean to people.

And the irritating 'more evil then you' type that just keeps rambling about torturing and skinning babies and sh*t like that with absolutely no context. Those were usually newbies though.

A city of people able to recognize that using the Taint properly is very benefital to society and only causes harm if used improperly. Sort of like how nuclear power is treated today. My character doesn't belive that the city or it's goals are evil, but instead we are helping the people of the basin whether they want our help or not.

I vote for "high society" and that is why I call it evil

I agree with Verithrax, though I'd love it to be more like a masked ball full of insane people who only care about aesthetics (hence why all the ugly, old viscanti are shipped off to Angkrag).

Moi? CHAOTIC EVIL? Never.

Since my main is in Mag, I don't count as an outsider sharing her impression -- but I've always loved this concept of Mag in a sense. It's what Linaeve is somewhat based from, being a very eccentric artist obsessed with impeccable taste and etiquette, etc. But I've always loved the idea of the masked viscanti, which can also be seen whisking about Mag in the ambiance, and how they are the ugly, less-than-beautiful and perfect specimens of the race forced to hide their faces.

Lenalith fully believes that the Taint is a god-given blessing and that the unTainted are ignorant, bordering on heretical. Magnagora, to her, is like a religious congregation, where she can revel and learn together with people who share the same views as her.

I like the militaristic view, as if they're all a bunch of sinister paladins. And the elegance thing. The Houses are just the icing on the cake, personally. A scheming, plotting aristocracy is just what every city needs.