Saibhon Dumein, Mendicant of a "True" Renunciation

[LiAlH4]

Saibhon Dumein

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Saibhon Dumein was my first character in EFU:CoR and my seventh or eighth overall in EFU. He was created in early January as a way to explore the server and play a character who would explore how a moral philosopher would handle the City of Rings. I wanted to portray a character who was confronted with a realistic crisis of faith, coming from a place of certainty in the absolute divinity and power of the gods, then having to rebuild an understanding of his place in the world built on reason.

He was from Athkatla in Amn, born to a family of expatriates from Calimport, who had spent several generations in the city but clung tight to their original roots. He grew up with a mix of Calishite, Amnian, and Tethyrian terms, leading to oddities like "ser'met" as an honorific. His chief character flaw, at least at creation, was pride -- his hubris at throwing himself into virtually any situation often got him and others into trouble just as it influenced his manner of speaking.

By the end, Saibhon  was a cleric of a heretical variant of the Renunciation that he called the "True Renunciation", a moral philosophy that emphasizes the Endurance of Suffering as a necessary part of sapience. In reality, its final form bore little resemblance to the Renunciation proper.

In Saibhon's view, the only moral acts in this world are those that inflict no Suffering and that the actor understands will not inflict Suffering at any point in the future. This requires, effectively, omniscience -- or transcendence of the Razor Web -- to achieve. The end goal would be to reject the world on his terms, achieving transcendence from the flesh either by undertaking no act of will (inflicting no active, direct Suffering) or by achieving a consciousness that is greater than a mortal one. The full details are in his annotated Twenty-Five Theses.

The progression of his belief system went something like this:

1) Ilmateri Do-Goodery and a Crisis of Faith; to
2) Renunciation with Ilmateri Views; to
3) Renunciation as a pseudo-Kantian categorial imperative with Ilmateri influences; to
4) Renunciation as a pseudo-Kantian categorial imperative with elements of Schopenhauer that increasingly conflict with his old Ilmateri roots; to
5) Withdrawal from traditional Renunciation doctrines and expansion of a heretical Renunciation with elements of humanism as a foundation for the later Schopenhauerite renunciations; to
6) Loss of memory due to the Feast leading to a loss of his a sense of self, placing emphasis on the Schopenhauerite elements of the heretical Renunciation, existing as a Boddhivista-esque vessel for the enlightenment of others; to
7) Regaining his sense of self with the death of the pig-dwarf and the end of the Feast's Curse, continuing as less of a Boddhivista-esque vessel but with vastly improved perspective on the nature of his existence.

tl;dr -- he had a lot to say and used larger words than he needed to in saying it.

I think it's an open question whether or not I was successful at portraying these shifts. It was a radical jump early on from Ilmater into a crisis of faith, then into the Renunciation of Want, but the jump from that to what became his "True Renunciation" was a subtler thing, even if by the end his moral philosophy looked very different from the source.

I think it came out best in the massive number of absolutely wonderful interactions I had with other characters. I maintain that interesting characters can't exist in a vaccuum. The fun of Saibhon wasn't so much in writing up pages and pages of bastardized moral philosophy (though that was fun), it was in all of his relationships and little interactions throughout his life in the rings, including the players of:

Acathos Nascira, Drusilla Peake, Cole Wakefield, Camilla Fairbrace, Domina Lucretia, Eleleth Embersol, Akechi, Arnbjorn, Beauxregard Winespill, Mandy Mank, Miriam Fontaine and all of the Lancers, Hoglund Korlay, Maerdelain Felgotrim, Kethryl Arishaul, Cornelia Minivah, Enfiro, Lykaon, Gathias, Galen Drenn, the indomitable Chester Chuff, Brighde, Elsbeth, Willhelm of Rivers, Jeor Layman and the Hive of Akaxxes, Jarl Steingrim Rathstone, Angvald, Solveiga Nygaard, Dorian Raventree, Padernig de Gaulle, Saint Outis, Valatina Felton, Paps Stone, Ormund Crowley, Thesputin Bobbynock, Petronela Ardelean, Peter Beirwood, Ilian, the Wayward, William Thorne (of the Eryngium Flame), Aethelwine Silver, Nazia ibnat Javad, Camille Fairbrace, Narkus Brogan, Maxwell Artfall, Bandit Dweeb, Aiseth Corvus, Istadae, Jouvander don Viscandas, Ailis Weaver, Horgan Bukkit (swim left), and naturally Eupraxia Pherenekoulou.

If your name isn't there and it should be, that is my error -- message me and I'll edit it in. Thank you, everyone, you made this a wonderful story. :)

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Screenshots can be found here! Over one-hundred in total!

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[Random_White_Guy]

Splendid work at always.

If there's an old man healer around spouting philosophy, you know it's that Lyle brand Old Man healer.

A++

[Bearic]

Alphonso was so sad when he thought Saibhon lost his memory in the Feast.

The one thing he was glad that Saibhon never got rid of for want was his plethora of information.

Ironically, the one pc that would have listened endlessly to his sermons and histories didn't really talk to him much. XD

[Poolson]

You were razor sharp with philosophical talking points. I genuinely liked Saibhon as a character. He was well written, with consistency in what he believed in and with some flesh and blood that made a mundane viewpoint come to life.

Stellar work, buddy. Stellar work.

[sankarul]

I think we had very different time zones, but I still remember the 3 priests in the lizardfolk cave! One talking about reason, another about greed, and a third about... knowledge and burning lizards to gain it. Really made me want to up my play on Larken, back when I saw that.

Sucks I didn't run into you much more in the later characters I have had. Hope to see you do fun DM stuff!

[Red Moon]

We had many a conversation, and all of it was pleasant. My favored one, was about Lucretia's belief in Redamancy. What it was, and how it associated with Saibhon's own belief. I wish we could have returned to it at some point, but Saibhon was a busy old man.

Lucretia was the only character I knew him by, but she trusted him with nearly all of her darkest secrets, and her life as well!

Also: Never did get to riddle out that ring. But the ritual stuff was amazing.

Sad to see him retired, but thanks for playing him.

[merrychase]

You invited so many to play and play well. Great, inclusive stories.

Also, uncompromisingly hardcore.

Thank you for all the hours of fun.

~Hail~


~Farewell~


~To Follow ~

[SN]

Made us better people.

[Gordan]

I meeted you with Dart, we spoke a few time when he lefted Velstra, i realy wanted join you and the reninciation, but as a new player i was afraid of the idea of play with no gold and- well  play the renunciation as a all, and soo the plan blowed up.

Player like you ae the reason why i continuye play this server, i hope you enjoyed your run as much as we enjoyed been a part of it, and i wish you good luck for your next

[Mushroom Mushroom]

I wanted to join the Renunciation on Peter as some sort of bandit stealing from the rich and throwing away the wealth intoi a fire.

[Jubek]

Your character was a splendidly accomplished rendition of its role. I consider this character a reference to anyone who wishes to play such a type, be it in other nuances or not.

Congratulations, and well done!

[The Rat Queen]

Bravo!

Saibhon was an absolute joy to encounter. From Aiseth to Dorian, I had nothing but quality conversations! He will be missed.

[Cat]

I sadly never got to really interact with you much but Saibhon was a character I heard about so often. I had hoped to finally get to interact more but alas it was not meant to be!

[in hoc signo vinces]

He was an inspiration to my cleric, and I am certain, shall be an inspiration to clerics to come.

Renounce thy Renunciation!

[SamB123]

Saibhon was one of my favorite philosophical types. I loved debating Saibhon on Padernig. He also saved Padernig's life the first time.

Sadly, didn't have much interaction with him on Modares.


But excellent character, sir!