A Practical Guide to Evil

[Calemyr]

Spoiler: Next Week on PGtE High

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The Alpha Witch and the Mousy Librarian go to war, rocking the school to its foundation quite literally, while the Star Sportsman and Saint of Shantraj form an alliance to stay out of their way. Meanwhile the Unseen Beauty continues to stalk the Charming Prince and remove her competition one by one. Heaven, hell, and hormones collide once again, next week on PGtE High!

[The Glyphstone]

I want this spinoff so much now.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Spoiler: sequel baiting

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I'm thinking... Erratic did start PGtE as high school shenanigans IN FANTASY LAND. Sure, it was a military academy rather than your typical Hogwarts kind of a place but the similarities are plentiful. Is writing super-powered high school adventures his one true passion? Is everything past book one simply him struggling to get the plot back to where he always wanted it?

[halfeye]

Spoiler: sequel baiting

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I'm thinking... Erratic did start PGtE as high school shenanigans IN FANTASY LAND. Sure, it was a military academy rather than your typical Hogwarts kind of a place but the similarities are plentiful. Is writing super-powered high school adventures his one true passion? Is everything past book one simply him struggling to get the plot back to where he always wanted it?

I think snappy one liners, or two liners at a push is his or her one true passion. We've just had two chapters of talking heads, and it's all been snappy retorts, even though the talkers basically agree.

[Tvtyrant]

Spoiler

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The push towards institutions and away from personal power continues with codifying the existing Drow cabals into permanent tribes with an enforcing priesthood. Not quite as brutally tyrannical as her original tact with the Drow but deliberately changes their society regardless.

[lord_khaine]

Spoiler

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Well yes of course.
The Drow shattered their society, leaving them with little more than murder in its place.
We were given direct indication of how far they had fallen, with Cat's musing on how to Rumena, they were all nothing but children squabling around.
So as such, the Drow are actually desperatly in need of Cat's reforms.

[Leewei]

For today's update, we have a generous helping of Cat roast followed by a sumptuous dessert of wham line.

[Tvtyrant]

For today's update, we have a generous helping of Cat roast followed by a sumptuous dessert of wham line.

The band breaking up and getting back together has been really good, I like the variety it added to their dynamics.

[halfeye]

I do want to know what the Bard wants.

[lord_khaine]

Well.. confirmation on the theory that the bard is there to protect the board.
As for what she wants?
That is a good question. I could imagine freedom myself.

[Forum Explorer]

Well.. confirmation on the theory that the bard is there to protect the board.
As for what she wants?
That is a good question. I could imagine freedom myself.

Spoiler: Book 5, Ch 68

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Freedom yes, but I think she wants freedom for everything. The 'And when the Hour is Mine, I seek the Story that will free Creation.'

It implies that she's trying to actually end the bet between the Gods, by resolving it.

[lord_khaine]

Good point. I had forgotten the specifics of her comment.
But while she is kinda unreliable in general. Then im not certain she were lying there.

She does actually continue being interesting.
In part on if she is was ever human, or not.

[McNum]

Spoiler: Book 5, Ch. 69

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Dread Empress Victorious? Yeah. Cat could convince me that she'd go that far if she had to. And yes. That would definitely be what she'd call herself.

Also good to see Cat already being back to her deicidal ways. I mean everyone needs a hobby, why not kill gods?

[Leewei]

This chapter, more than any other I remember, lives up to the title of the web serial. Amadeus has got to be the proudest papa, ever.

[halfeye]

Spoiler

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I wonder how this attempted coup will go down? Will Catherine care? Will the Pilgrim?

[The Glyphstone]

Spoiler

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I wonder how this attempted coup will go down? Will Catherine care? Will the Pilgrim?

Spoiler

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Catherine needs Cordelia because her authority is holding Procer together, and she needs a functional Procer to make the Liesse Accords stand up. If whoever the Proceran House of Light backs for Cordelia's usurper takes power, there won't be any dealing with the 'Arch-Heretic' and the whole thing erupts into flame.

[lord_khaine]

I think its pretty clear that Cordelia is just about the only person around able to keep Proccer together in the face of the comming storm.
And it was a pretty impressive escape she pulled off. Both things require quite a bit of courage.

[Forum Explorer]

Spoiler: Interlude: Bone

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So we have confirmation! The White Knight's coin can come up as spare, and that person can have committed sins in the past to boot. Mind you, it does seem to be pretty rare.

[Leewei]

Spoiler: Interlude: Bone

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So we have confirmation! The White Knight's coin can come up as spare, and that person can have committed sins in the past to boot. Mind you, it does seem to be pretty rare.

Spoiler

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The looter was hungry and out of other options. The shopkeeper victim was killed, supposedly for previous sins. The captain, who was revolted by the violence she'd just committed, was killed. Sheesh, that Choir of Justice sure has the bar set high. I get the impression Balthazar will not like what happens if the White Knight happens across him.

[Lord Raziere]

Spoiler: Interlude: Bone

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So we have confirmation! The White Knight's coin can come up as spare, and that person can have committed sins in the past to boot. Mind you, it does seem to be pretty rare.

Spoiler

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And he basically says "change your ways while you still can." so there is room for redemption in his methods. good to know its not completely absent from them.

but yeah, this was an entire chapter of the White Knight being the terrifying judgment of Above in the middle of this chaos showing that just because you claim to serve a good nation and such doesn't mean your safe if your a bad person. the angels of judgment don't really care about politics, and it occurs to me that neither Above or Below actually care about the political landscape in general- humans care about it and they can identify with one or the other but ultimately that doesn't save you if a demon comes through a portal or if an angel finds you wanting, as has been shown time and again. the choir that kind of does care about it is Mercy.

Spoiler: Narrative Physics Theory

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I've been thinking about the narrative physics this world runs and I think I get the strategies being employed:
Good is trying to make the story as simple as possible. No compromise, no complicated considerations, no need to reconsider their actions. Why? because the simpler the story, the easier its resolved. the easier its resolved, the easier heroes win, and the faster they can wipe out evil and thus when evil is wiped out, they can make everything good, the end, ride off into sunset.

Evil is trying to make the story as complicated as possible. the more complicated the story, the longer the villain lives. thats why people like Dread Emperor Traitorous or Irritant was able to live for so long despite being so incompetent, because they were an endless source of needlessly complex plots that confused everyone and thus made the narrative into a bunch of kudzu they had to navigate while the villain just kept planting more plots to grow into something more complex while they were still trying to figure out the first one.

this means that in this world, complexity addiction is a survival trait for villains. because complicated narratives makes it harder for heroes to grab a handle on things that make something clearly good or evil to point to and thus simplify in their favor.

[lord_khaine]

Spoiler

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The looter was hungry and out of other options. The shopkeeper victim was killed, supposedly for previous sins. The captain, who was revolted by the violence she'd just committed, was killed. Sheesh, that Choir of Justice sure has the bar set high. I get the impression Balthazar will not like what happens if the White Knight happens across him.

So far i like the work Hano is doing in that town. It certainly could use some cleaning up.
The Captain was perhaps revolted by having killed a bunch of unarmed citizens, but had still done so. And were apperently also in with the silver knives.
All the same, do also hope Hano gets to the sick (censored) who flayed a man alive.

[Tvtyrant]

Hanno: "We will teach them our peaceful ways. By Force!"

[aguaracu]

Spoiler: Two sides of the coin

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Hanno has waded into lynch mobs, xenophobic looting and the aftermath of a slaughter by corrupt guardspeople and started flipping his coin. The surprise isn't that the coin came up swords a lot, the surprise is that it sometimes came up laurels. At least one person who was knowingly committing crimes against the weak and vulnerable got a chance to repent and reform.

Hanno's whole story is evidence that the Above - including even the choir of judgement - is:

• Willing to reform and redeem evil doers (maybe even Evil doers?), albeit with rather stringent standards.
• Heedful of the danger that smiting a wrong doer could be worse than not smiting them (Hanno's visions in his name transition).
• Not impressed with much of what is done in their name; as Sister Marie found out.

The latter should worry the Holies. If Hanno had started chopping heads earlier he might not need to chop so many now and this delay leads to the questions: "Why wait till now? What does the Above intend?"

Previously, the Holies and the Saint of Salami Slicing intended to secular Procer down and replace it with something Good. My guess is that the Above may agree on the need for destructively reforming old, corrupt institutions; but have another target in mind...

Spoiler: Worse than a crime

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Spoiler: Discussion of fantasy ethnic cleansing

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The Holies and Balthazar find it expedient to start an ethnic conflict in the capital, against a minority whose homeland was the first loss in an invasion by the undead (who are coming for them all). This is a vile and unspeakable crime which - if allowed to develop - will end Procer both as a country and as a domain for Good. Once hatreds have been stoked like that they won't just go away and Procer's internal divisions will now do the Below's work for them. Mistake

Catherine was warned about how dangerous Eudokia is and now we see it. Presumably Amadeus is now able to call her off and she is leading the "hatchets" to ameliorate the damage she's caused? That's the only theory I can come up with.

This is all IMHO of course.

[lord_khaine]

This is all IMHO of course.

I think its a very thoughful analysis. I cant really find anything specific i disagree with.

Catherine was warned about how dangerous Eudokia is and now we see it.

It was fearfully subtle. The right crumbs of information to let the treacherous spymaster get the information he needs, so that he would suddenly disable the one counter to whatever Eudokia might have been plotting.

The latter should worry the Holies. If Hanno had started chopping heads earlier he might not need to chop so many now and this delay leads to the questions: "Why wait till now? What does the Above intend?"

He has likely just been busy other places?
Either been on his way to deal with either The Tyrant, The Dead King or Catherin. All of whom are major threats.
When suddenly it becomes nececary for him to go back and do something about the rebelion in the capital.

[McNum]

Spoiler: Interlude: Mirror

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Goblinfire. Of course there'd be Goblinfire.

Cat is going to be really annoyed when the city burns green and no one will believe it wasn't her fault.

[Malphegor]

Wow is it confusing with this anime or whatever existing with a similar name to a book about a supervillain's consultant, haha

[lord_khaine]

So. We finally got to see why it is Hano is actually in charge, even if he doesnt entirely understand it himself.
Above gave him the ungrateful task of herding super-powered cats. But he manages it though god-tier diplomacy.

In particular i was impressed with how he handled the Magister.
He saw though the bluster, and got her to open up about the real issue.

[Excession]

So. We finally got to see why it is Hano is actually in charge, even if he doesnt entirely understand it himself.
Above gave him the ungrateful task of herding super-powered cats. But he manages it though god-tier diplomacy.

In particular i was impressed with how he handled the Magister.
He saw though the bluster, and got her to open up about the real issue.

Another thing I got from that chapter is how much these heroes need Cat's school. They're bad at stuff, like really bad. A few courses on teamwork, conflict resolution, and management would help a lot. For more concrete stuff, the Repentant Magister could benefit from learning proper magic so she's not working with half of the toolbox that Stygia taught her.

[Forum Explorer]

Another thing I got from that chapter is how much these heroes need Cat's school. They're bad at stuff, like really bad. A few courses on teamwork, conflict resolution, and management would help a lot. For more concrete stuff, the Repentant Magister could benefit from learning proper magic so she's not working with half of the toolbox that Stygia taught her.

I feel like I missed a chapter. When did the White Knight meet the Repentant Magister?

[Lord Raziere]

I feel like I missed a chapter. When did the White Knight meet the Repentant Magister?

The latest one. Winter I. we're still in interludes.

but yeah Hannos proving to be a relatively reasonable hero, he isn't doing anything thats worse than the Grey Pilgrim, which is the closest to true good we might get.