#spirit alignment

[thefadecodex]

In DATV, our understanding of spirits deepens through two pivotal quests: In Memoriam and Spirits of the Dalish. These quests portray spirits as deeply empathetic entities shaped by emotions, capable of growth, distress, and healing.

The basic 'formula' can be used to figure out if a Spirit is going to become corrupted or return to the Fade: Purpose Disrupted → Emotional Distress → Catalyst Event → Mortal Intervention → Outcome (Corruption or Return).

In In Memoriam:

A Spirit of Compassion transforms into Eulogy through an act of remembrance.

This transformation highlights that spirits can evolve when guided by mortal intention.

In Spirits of the Dalish:

An Anxious Spirit, burdened by grief over the deaths of the Dalish, risks corruption.

Bellara observes that spirits overwhelmed by negative emotions are at risk of turning into something darker.

Spite identifies the Anxious Spirit as a Spirit of Comfort.

For the Spirit of Comfort to return to the Fade, it requires action, including: 1. Gathering mementos and 2. Holding a vigil.

This concept is briefly explored in DAI, but the encounter is so fleeting that it didn’t leave a strong impression on the creator, even after multiple playthroughs. However, it seems likely that this quest was laying the groundwork for a deeper exploration of the idea in DATV

In Burdens of Command (DAI):

A Spirit of Command struggles with the physical world’s refusal to obey its directives, unlike the fluid responsiveness of the Fade.

The spirit expresses frustration at its inability to exert control in the physical realm.

The Inquisitor aids the spirit by slaying the Rage Demon.

After receiving assistance, the spirit returns to the Fade with ease.

So, what does this tell us? Spirits are not static entities—they are deeply influenced by mortal intention, emotional states, and symbolic acts. Their stability hinges on fulfilling their purpose or finding resolution, without which they risk corruption or transformation.

1. Spirits Have a 'Threshold' for Emotional Distress

Implication: Spirits can endure negative emotions or experiences for only a limited time before risking corruption or transformation.

Significance: This suggests spirits have an internal tether to their purpose. When that tether is strained or broken, their identity unravels, leaving them vulnerable to corruption or transformation into darker forms (e.g., Comfort becoming Fear or Despair).

2. Spirits Require Resolution Through Action

Implication: The Anxious Spirit needed an act of closure (the vigil) to find peace, showing that spirits cannot simply "will" themselves back to their purpose—they require external, symbolic actions aligned with their nature.

Significance: Spirits rely on harmony between their emotional state and purpose, often needing external intervention to restore balance. This suggests they are not entirely self-sufficient and may depend on mortals or other spirits for stability.

3. Spirits Are Deeply Affected by Mortal Emotions and Experiences

Implication: The Anxious Spirit's distress stemmed from the violent, unresolved deaths of the Dalish, showing that spirits are deeply empathetic and can become trapped in emotional feedback loops tied to mortal events.

Significance: Spirits' emotional states are reactive and tethered to their surroundings, suggesting they can "absorb" ambient emotional energy, especially when it clashes with their purpose.

4. Corruption May Not Be Instantaneous, But a Process

Implication: Spirits do not immediately become corrupted when they encounter negative emotions. There is a window of opportunity to intervene, as seen with the Anxious Spirit.

Significance: This challenges the assumption that spirits are instantly corrupted by negative emotions.*

*Note: This is not including events where a spirit is bound against it's will and forced against it's purpose.

5. Action is Needed for Spirits

Implication: The vigil was not just a symbolic act for the Anxious Spirit—it was an anchor, grounding the spirit back to its original purpose.

Significance: Spirits often need ritual or symbolic acts to realign with their purpose after prolonged distress, highlighting their intrinsic connection to intention, symbolism, and the constructs of the Fade..

6. Time Is a Factor in Spirit Corruption

Implication: The longer a spirit exists in emotional distress, the closer they come to losing their purpose and becoming corrupted.

Significance: There seems to be an unspoken "time limit" during which intervention must occur. This "time limit" may different depending on the spirit as well--a more "simple" spirit, such as a Spirit of Comfort may have less time for an intervention vs a more "complex" spirit, such as a Spirit of Compassion.

[inabigworld]

[marenwithanm]

I guess this is a Thing™ now cuz I keep finding more of these in my files lol.

Prev

[yourplayersaidwhat]

the party has just been (very poorly) conned into partitipating in an mlm

Goblin Rogue (speaks in 3rd person): "[rogue] did not sign up for this! [rogue] better get paid handsomly for this or he's going to find a way to get the payment himself!"

Warforge Paladan: "why do you need payment? is the good we will do not enough?"

Goblin Rogue: "[rogue] does not care about doing good, he is not a good person! [rogue] wants coin for his troubles!"

Warforge Paladan: "im sure you won't actually steal anything :)"

Goblin Rogue: "[paladan], look at [rogue], look at him- [ROGUE] IS A PIRATE!"

Warforge Paladan leans way down to be eye to eye with rogue, who is standing aggitated infront of them

Warforge Paladan, full confedence: "i don't know what a pirate is :)"

[logicpng]

at the risk of veering entirely off-canon, i had to at least try to put on paper that concept of dealer being a retired grim reaper (out of potentially many)

since god is dead, i like to think that nothing works anymore, making him out of a job.

i think the game isn't too far off from the position as a death entity, if that makes sense. same shit, different tools, only the unfortunate souls come willingly

[jacey]

new dbd meme just dropped

[mrs-trophy-wife]

Your desires are not miles away. They are vibrations away. Alignment collapses time. Miracles happen in an instant.

—Abraham Hicks

[bleue-flora]

i need ur opinion on angel cdream

I’ve literally had this for weeks and this is still all I got…

[bluesrrgents]

as overdone and rewritten and trashy as it can be i love the i-am-a-ghost-but-you-can-see-me trope and the often ensuing plot of figuring out how they died and why that person is so special that they can see them

[spirithunterfamily]

Hey there, spirit fam!! Do ya'll have a favorite type of unatural?? And what type of unatural do you hate most of all??

Well, it's certainly impressive for the younger ones to be this interested in spirits that way.

K*-fi

[cait-sith]

Day 14: Haunt

[thefadecodex]

One of the primary goals of The Fade Codex—at least to its creator—is to move beyond the rigid structure imposed by the Chantry and develop a flexible and nuanced classification system for spirits. Thus, the 'Spirit Alignment' classification system was created.

Spirit Alignment System:

Spirits are categorized based on their core ideals, emotions, or drives, rather than narrow, static definitions.

This approach provides a more adaptable and insightful exploration of their identities, behaviors, and transformations.

Spirit Evolution:

The Spirit Alignment system aims to address the evolution of spirits, showing how they grow from simpler forms into more complex, emotionally driven entities.

Example: Docktown's Spirit of Compassion evolving into Eulogy from In Memoriam in DATV

Now that we understand the goals of The Fade Codex, let’s explore its classification system and see how Spirit Alignment offers a different perspective on these enigmatic entities we call spirits!

Why Classifying Spirits is Helpful

Classifying spirits into 'Spirit Alignment' categories such as learning-based, hope-based, and others provides a structured framework for understanding their nature, purpose, and behavior within both the Fade and Thedas. Spirits are complex entities shaped by emotion, thought, and intention, making them inherently difficult to define. By organizing them into these thematic groups, scholars, mages, and Fade researchers can:

Identify Motivations: Each category highlights the primary drive behind a spirit's actions, whether it's the pursuit of knowledge, the will to survive, or the need to instill hope.

Predict Behavior: Spirits within a category often share behavioral patterns, making it easier to anticipate how they might interact with mortals or other spirits.

Assess Risk and Corruption: Different spirit types have unique vulnerabilities to corruption, and classification helps identify the potential demonic forms they might take.

Guide Interactions: Mages and mortals who deal with spirits can tailor their approaches based on a spirit's category, improving the chances of peaceful or productive interaction.

Preserve Knowledge: Organizing spirits into defined groups helps pass down knowledge more effectively, preventing misunderstandings or misclassifications that could lead to dangerous consequences.

How Spirits are Classified

Spirits are categorized based on their core essence and purpose, which reflects the emotions, ideals, or drives they embody. Each classification represents a fundamental aspect of mortal existence, as spirits themselves are shaped by mortal emotions and thoughts.

These categories are not rigid but serve as a flexible guide, acknowledging that spirits often overlap across multiple classifications depending on the circumstances. For example:

A Spirit of Passion, which is classified in the Spirit Alignment system as a survival-based spirit, it might also overlap with other alignments depending on what fuels its 'passion.'

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The Fluid Nature of Spirit Alignment: A Case Study of Spite

Spite as a Spirit of Passion:

In datamined notes from DATV, Spite was originally described as a Spirit of Passion before being later redefined as a Spirit of Determination.

Spite was drawn to Lucanis because of his unwavering will to live.

Over time, Spite evolved into a Spirit of Obsession.

Spirit Alignment Classification:

This connection led the creator of The Fade Codex to classify Spirits of Passion under survival-based spirits.

Fluid Alignment of Passion Spirits:

The alignment of a Spirit of Passion can vary depending on what fuels their passion.

They might align with chaos, love, or strength, depending on their purpose and connection to the mortal they are drawn to.

Case Study: The Evolution of a Spirit – From Compassion to Eulogy

Stage 1: Spirit of Compassion

Purpose: A Spirit of Compassion manifests in Dock Town during a series of demonic murders, offering comfort to the fallen.

Awareness: It senses a connection between the victims, but lacks the knowledge to fully understand it.

Stage 2: Transformation into Eulogy

Catalyst: The repeated loss and a growing awareness of manipulation behind the deaths drive the spirit to evolve into Eulogy.

Purpose: Eulogy vows to remember the dead and protect others from demonic threats, gaining a clearer sense of purpose and identity.

Stage 3: Eulogy’s Role in Dock Town

Action: Eulogy actively protects Dock Town’s residents and seeks to prevent further manipulation.

Analysis of Spirit Evolution

Emotional Catalyst: Exposure to suffering and injustice pushed the Spirit of Compassion to evolve.

Outcome: Eulogy combines its original compassion with a clear mission of protection and remembrance.

Significance: This evolution highlights how spirits can grow from simple embodiments of emotion into complex entities with distinct goals.

Eulogy serves as an example of spirit evolution shaped by emotional resonance and purpose, showing how a spirit can adapt to meet the needs of those it watches over.

[brodorokihousuke]

Something that remains hidden to the player is the fact that one of Ga'ran's royal guards is animated to throw open the door... but is never actually shown doing so, being obscured by said door.

The one guard in the front also lets go of his rifle in a rather... unique way before he comes into view.

There are three other guards behind these, but I have them hidden to help with performance. they sort of just stand there, for the most part.

[marenwithanm]

Found this in my files lol. Sort of a sequel to this, now including the four swords links and botw

[yourplayersaidwhat]

Don't feed the wildlife

The party has just managed to pacify half the undead stewards of the library with the fresh corpses of recently defeated enemies, while the other half launched themselves at us in FOMO-induced hunger and (unfortunately) had to be killed.

The dhampir currently hopped up on undead roids, constantly trying to bite people: Okay, now let’s go kill the rest of them.

The guy who used to be a monster caretaker: What? Why? They haven’t done anything to us! The others were just hungry, we can’t blame—

Dhampir: They eat people!

The automaton who has no skin in the game on account of having no concept of hunger or flesh to be eaten: …that we have just fed them.

Monster Caretaker and Automaton both give Dhampir a ‘I Know What You Are’ (and that’s a hypocrite) kind of look but are too polite to introduce pot to kettle.

Monster Caretaker, still trying to be diplomatic: Look…all living, and unliving, things need to sustain themselves, so it’s okay to eat people—

The dragonkin, seemingly the only person in the party with a functional moral compass: No. It really, really isn’t.

A pause as everyone looks at Dragonkin with various levels of guiltiness

Dragonkin: …but Caretaker is right; we should not be going around picking fights if we can avoid it. So, you stop going around trying to kill everything we meet and you stop sneaking corpses into the bag of holding for future monster snacks.

A dejected 'Awwww man…’ rings out among the assembled.

[urloveangel]