12-14-2011, 05:51 PM
Okay, just a correction of the many confusions here:
@Cam: I think your idea is really cool, and definetely doable if you make use of a different supernatural concept than the spirit guide. You can use a ghost for this purpose, for example? It would be really interesting to see what you could do with that concept, because as it is less prominent, it gives more opportunities for the ghost's effects, at least I think so ;D
- Spirit Guides have always been able to speak, this has never been changed. However they can communicate with vague impressions in addition
- There has always been some guidelines for how spirit guides should be played, though these have been developed further in time, this is true. However its main concept has always been available in definitions - the expansion has been created simply because of the very many misunderstandings of the concept, and the many questions.
- A darker personality does not necessarily acquire a dark spirit guide - there needn't be a mirror here. The main point about the spirit guide is that it cannot be malevolent in its guidance. It acts on its own judgment in relation to AniWayan culture, law and set of values. Hence Maska's guide's guidance would be percieved as "evil" to some, while he in reality simply had a very strict interpretation of traditional AniWayan values. Hence, he was not evil, though the actions he led Maska on to could be said (by 'Souls very humanistic set of values) were immoral actions. To reiterate: A guide cannot be malevolent, but its guidance does have a specrtum in which it is possible to play around (in the interpretation of the AniWayan values - liberal or conservative?)
- The Spirit Guide's manner of being does not necessarily have to reflect on its function. Hence Gvihita is quite snappy and harsh, directly cold, to Dawali, yet she still fulfills her role. So their nature may be darker, that is correct, but their guidance cannot be intentionally dark.
- The point about there being a balance between guide and wolf is something I haven't considered: that they may not harm the bond between them. So far this has happened a lot (f.ex. with sulky guides or inharmonious guides' personalities), but it's certainly interesting!
- I have been trying quite hard to separate the spirit guides from the daemon concept from His Dark Materials. They are nothing like daemons, unfortunately.
@Cam: I think your idea is really cool, and definetely doable if you make use of a different supernatural concept than the spirit guide. You can use a ghost for this purpose, for example? It would be really interesting to see what you could do with that concept, because as it is less prominent, it gives more opportunities for the ghost's effects, at least I think so ;D