Back to Depth Tiers

Philosophies    What is the most important aspect of a sentient being? Lur-Asko has ten major philosophies, each of which attempt to answer this fundamental question. At some points in history, philosophies have seemed almost totally irrelevant, while at other points they have created the mightiest civilizations and provoked the worst of wars.

    Beginning at 4th depth tier, you must choose the philosophy that your character adheres to. This does not mean that you cannot choose a philosophy before that tier; you are free to have whatever beliefs you like at any tier, and can even gain the effect of adhering to a philosophy immediately upon creating your character. Without aligning with a philosophy, you cannot obtain the 4th or any future depth tier; characters in Lur-Asko cannot reasonably become complex personalities without engaging with the continent's ideological landscape on some level. Even amongst 1st- and 2nd-tier commoners, most people in Lur-Asko adhere to a philosophy at least subconsciously, with the remainder mostly being young people or the unusually apathetic or simple.

    All philosophies offer a beneficial effect for adhering to them, and also determine certain options for Attributes later. Even if your character does not know all the details or seems indifferent to such matters, their outlook will still fit most closely into one of the listed philosophies. Additionally, a character may believe that multiple philosophies are accurate or acceptable; the one they are considered to adhere to is the one that most closely or most often aligns with their beliefs. If you are having trouble choosing a philosophy, odds are you actually fit into one that prizes individual expression (such as Prismatic Unity, Dark Path, or even Rationalism), or into Nihilism if you truly "just don't care."

    Most philosophies also have optional subschools, which may expand or contradict various minor points of the "baseline" philosophy. You may choose a subschool when first adhering to a philosophy, or anytime afterward (but you are never required to). Subschools include a replacement effect, which you have the option to take instead of the listed effect for adherents given by the baseline philosophy. The effect is an entire replacement, and cannot be combined with any part of the baseline effect; if you prefer the baseline effect, you may keep it, even if you accept the beliefs of the subschool. Subschools do not affect any other rules relating to philosophy adherence, such as Attribute favoredness or Appeal Abilities. Draconic philosophies do not have subschools, as core doctrine is strictly enforced by the dragons (though each dragon's emphasis varies; see Dragon Lore). Prismatics likewise lack subschools - perhaps due to the philosophy's young age, perhaps because every adherent is arguably their own subschool.

    Philosophies are listed in order of their historical age in Lur-Asko, though such ranking is imprecise due to the gradual evolution of philosophical thought.

Philosophy		What is the most important aspect of a sentient being?	Subschools
	Nihilism	There is none; importance is meaningless.	Survivor's Code, Enlightened, Mysticism
	Rationalism	Their capacity for reason and intellectual progress; their ability to understand the universe via logical thinking.	Vanguard, Ethical
	Heritage Ascendancy	Their ability to fulfill their role within society, in service to the greater good of the State, creating a national legacy.	Cevelkian, Magi
	Red Draconic	Their inner struggle between good and evil, and their ability to choose good by means of orderly disciplines which promote virtue.	None
	White Draconic	Their inevitability; the certainty that they will serve destruction, which is their true nature and destiny.	None
	Dark Path	Their desires, and the self-honesty to acknowledge and pursue them, free from fictional fixed ideas such as society or morality.	The Eclipse, the Will
	Methodianism	Their honor and common sense, and the ability to protect the liberty of others via practical actions and systems.	Chthonic, Chivalric, Sehrishian
	Preamblianism	Their inalienable rights to freedom and property, which must be respected by all others, even alleged authorities.	Shared-Values, Cooperative
	Post-Declarationism	Their collective solidarity, able to enact societal change via revolutionary action against exploitation and oppression.	Centralist, Continuist
	Prismatic Unity	Their amazing diversity, and the ability to value multiple perspectives for a richer understanding of the world.	None

Changing Philosophies     Converting to a new philosophy is an extremely important development in a character’s life, and represents a marked change in worldview. Only a few adventurers and even fewer commoners experience such a drastic change after they have already formulated their beliefs, and the shift is simply too profound to reasonably occur on a frequent basis. Players should carefully consider their character’s development when adopting a new philosophy after 4th tier, and the GM should do likewise with all NPCs. Remember that some Attributes, Study Backgrounds, and tiered conditions are tied to particular philosophies; conditions can be lost, and Backgrounds or Attributes might be changed.

Voluntary Change     A player who wishes to change their character’s philosophy must clear this decision with the GM. This is because the philosophy a character adheres to is not a matter of what they say or what the character would like; it is a matter of which philosophy actually describes the character’s actions, beliefs, and motivations. Typically, a philosophy change is not a sudden decision, but the reasonable result of a gradually changing character.

Forced Change     As a philosophy describes the actual character and not just their surface claims, the GM may forcibly change the philosophy a character is considered to adhere to. Typically, this occurs when a character’s behavior repeatedly contradicts their current philosophy. Examples include:

    -A Dark Path adherent who consistently and positively mentions concepts such as honor or self-sacrifice.
    -A Red Draconic adherent who kills the innocent without remorse, or who makes a habit of suppressing their conscience or living without discipline.
    -A Prismatic adherent who attempts to silence dissident voices and enforce a dominant culture.
    Philosophies, of course, are not scripts - it is not expected that a character will always live up to the perfect ideal of their philosophy. Philosophies should not be forcibly changed for minor or isolated deviations, or peculiar quirks which can be reconciled with the philosophy by the character. Examples include:
    -A Dark Path adherent who uses words like “deserve” and “evil,” but makes it clear that they understand the subjective, desire-centered nature of such things under their philosophy.
    -A Red Draconic adherent who performs a distinctly immoral act but displays regret, or perhaps has a vice they struggle with.
    -A Prismatic adherent who simply misses their home culture on an emotional level.
    Because a change in philosophy is such a huge event, and because it can jeopardize other aspects of the character such as Studies and Attributes, the GM should provide a player with plenty of warning when their character is in danger of a forced change.
Subschools    Forced changes of subschool are only necessary if a replacement effect will be lost, as this is the only mechanical consequence of subschool rules. Because characters may accept a subschool without choosing its replacement effect, it is never necessary to force a change into a subschool.
Demographics     If players wish to randomly select a philosophy based on which ones are popular in their character's home culture (or, more frequently, if GMs want to do so for a random NPC), roll a d100 and compare the result to the following chart:

Back to Depth Tiers