Adapted From Seeing Red and The Philosophy of Red
Red Devotion
Values passion, instinct, and personal liberty. Can manifest as fiery creativity and a fierce defense of individual rights, or as reckless impulsivity and a complete disregard for consequences.
Allied Devotions Black and Green
Rival Devotions White and Blue
Red Magic When spellcasters manifest White aligned spells, they may feel a sense of Faithful resolution and fraternity. Sometimes they feel a deep sense of sympathy for the weak and downtrodden and a longing for equality.
Red asks that you rely on your body and not your mind, meaning you should follow your heart, trust your gut, and don’t be led astray by your fears and doubts. For if you do, the cosmos’s true beauty will pass you by. We must get hurt, fall, and get back up to truly experience a full life. It is in every range of our emotions that we find purpose and true satisfaction within our limited time in the galaxy. So do not fear what might be and instead push forward with conviction, trusting that your heart will lead you to where you need to be.
The True Self
Think of a time in your life when you had that gut feeling, a decision that came to you instantly when confronted with a choice. Did you act on your feelings right away, or did you hesitate and make a different, safer decision in the end? This is what Red aims to avoid. In the end, we know what we want, but often we delude our intentions because of fear and doubt. To truly be Red means to completely give in to these impulses and accept the chaos of who you really are.
In our base state, we are driven by our emotions and our inner mind, the part of ourselves which reacts—our true nature. The hesitation that holds us back comes from a place of fear and doubt, and to Red, this is what slowly kills our true self. Simply be who you are and do not try to be anything else; accept the chaos.
The Red Utopia: Anarchy and Empathy
An ideal world to Red would be one where each person is free to live out the true expression of themselves. A place free from judgment and artificial restrictions; a world constructed with empathy instead of rigid laws, one that benefits sentient beings and not property. It would do away with the systems and laws that only benefit the few who create them. Of course, there would be a level of chaos here, as everyone’s intentions vary wildly, and yet the people within this world would find a rhythm, a place to be without fear.
Anarchy doesn’t always mean violence or destruction; it simply means organic systems that are dictated by the people within them, not externally forced upon them. In its purest form, Red would more often align with compassion because, when it comes down to it, most people are good. It is the arbitrary borders and class systems we place between ourselves that breed resentment for our fellow traveler. In the end, we all want to be ourselves and enjoy our lives.
A Red utopia would boil down to one goal: finding happiness within our time in this plane of existence instead of toiling away with nothing to show for it. A world where freedom of expression and freedom of emotion were the only laws. A place where compassion and camaraderie were the tools for keeping it on track.
Cosmic Relations
Let’s start with Red’s enemies to learn how pushing against their ideals forms Red’s view of the cosmos.
White: It could be said that Red gains its desire for freedom from its opposition to White. Red looks to White and sees a devotion that restricts sentient nature because it fears chaos, even though chaos is the one constant in the universe. White wishes to stifle freedom for control, which it parades as some higher calling for peace. Ifrits, who are born of cosmic flame and chaos, can never see themselves living in such a controlled way.
Blue: Red disagrees wholeheartedly with Blue’s desire to put thought before feelings. To Red, it would seem that Blue wishes to strip away its humanity and become more like a robot. To that end, Red stands in defiance of such ideas.
Now, for Red's allies.
Green: Green looks to nature's examples, in that it understands we are but creatures upon this plane, and thus it follows its instincts to find its purpose. Isn’t instinct another form of impulse? These two devotions help each other see that the answers we seek are right in front of us all along; we must simply look within to find them.
Black: Black is a devotion much like Red in that they both share a belief in the individual, in finding the path that is right for you, and in getting the most out of your life. While Black can take individualism too far at times, Red can find common ground with it, as they both reflect the desires we all hold deep within.
Red, simply put, is the devotion of freedom, passion, and emotional purity. If we look deeper into ourselves, we will see that Red is present. It is the pulse of the heart that wishes to be free; it is the visceral reaction to what excites us, or the deep love that binds us. We need to reconnect with the child inside of us, the one who gets excited, angry, sad, and happy at the drop of a hat. We must stop fearing our true nature and follow our heart wherever it may lead. Sure, we may get hurt, we may fall, or embarrass ourselves, but if we don’t put ourselves out there, then we will never fall in love, find fulfillment, or act upon our desires.
What Represents Red Devotion
Here are some things essential to red:
Emotion—If you're going to follow your heart, that means being in touch with your emotions. And not just some of your emotions, but all of them. Magic is a combat-oriented game, so we obviously focus more on anger and aggressive emotions that make sense in combat. But red is just as swayed by every emotion. Red also doesn't bottle up its emotions, it lets them out. Red loves action, and emotions are great motivators.
Mood Swings—Not only is red focused on emotions, it's always focused on many emotions all at once. This means that red is more prone than any other color to have emotional swings. Red can laugh one moment and be in tears the next. Others might see this as being unfocused and easily distracted, but red feels it's important to always stay in touch with your feelings—and if that means some emotional swings, then that is just what was meant to be.
Impulse—Red doesn't have time for thinking. Thinking takes way too long. Red's competitive advantage is its speed and the ability to make big decisions instantaneously. Red can accomplish this by relying on its impulses to make the right call. Your gut is just so much faster than your brain.
Might (Solving problems through brawn)—If red has to choose between letting its mind solve a problem and letting its body solve it, red heavily leans towards the latter. Red has a lot of practice using action to get things done.
Violence—Red prefers blunt answers. One blunt answer is physical violence. Someone gets in your way, hit them until they fall down. That usually solves it . . . for now. But that's good enough.
Brutality—Some other colors draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not. Red blurs that line. Red prefers amicable resolutions—but if it finds other, more direct solutions, red has no problem using them.
Destruction—Red likes easy-to-remember plans of action. If a thing is a problem, there's a simple universal answer: Destroy the thing. To red, destruction is an art unto itself, and those who master the art have a lot fewer things bugging them.
Chaos—This is white's word, not red's. Red just wants things to run the way they want to run, and as we're dealing with humans, it's messy. But that mess contains the beauty red sees in the world. Each individual is living the life determined for them, and as different people's lives crash into one another, we start to understand the impact individuals have on the group. It seems disjointed from afar, but as you dig in deep you find that the inconsistencies, the variance, the flaws all add that extra layer of humanity.
Randomness—Life isn't orderly, so why should people act as if it is? Part of finding happiness is recognizing that things don't always happen for a reason; red has embraced randomness as an inevitable component of life.
Spontaneity—Red recognizes that one of the great joys of life is the ability to do what you want to do in the instant you want to do it. In order to allow this to happen as much as possible, red embraces the idea that things don't have to be planned ahead but rather can be created in the moment.
Humor—Red loves to laugh, and as such is the color that most actively creates and appreciates humor. The other four colors all have their own form of humor, but none are as blunt, as broad, or as entertaining as red's.
Mischievousness—Red enjoys doing things to entertain itself. One of those things is messing with other individuals. It's really funny when things don't go as others have planned.
The Elements of Fire and Earth—Red values the volatile side of these natural elements (lightning, fire, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.), and quite often uses them as the source of its direct damage.
Fighting (Brawling)—Red does not back down from a fight but note that these fights are much more unstructured brawling than any formalized combat.
Romance—Red's a lover and a fighter. Just as red won't back down from a fight, red is also not afraid of letting others know how it feels. Red isn't scared of relationships. It knows that through close bonds with others, some of life's happiest moments happen.
Hedonism—Red embraces following your feelings. Most of the time, that means doing things you want to do because they're things you'd enjoy. Red sees no shame in delivering on this basic need.
Barbarism—The offshoot of valuing action over thought is that many times you act in a more primitive manner.
Emotion—If you're going to follow your heart, that means being in touch with your emotions. And not just some of your emotions, but all of them. Magic is a combat-oriented game, so we obviously focus more on anger and aggressive emotions that make sense in combat. But red is just as swayed by every emotion. Red also doesn't bottle up its emotions, it lets them out. Red loves action, and emotions are great motivators.
Mood Swings—Not only is red focused on emotions, it's always focused on many emotions all at once. This means that red is more prone than any other color to have emotional swings. Red can laugh one moment and be in tears the next. Others might see this as being unfocused and easily distracted, but red feels it's important to always stay in touch with your feelings—and if that means some emotional swings, then that is just what was meant to be.
Impulse—Red doesn't have time for thinking. Thinking takes way too long. Red's competitive advantage is its speed and the ability to make big decisions instantaneously. Red can accomplish this by relying on its impulses to make the right call. Your gut is just so much faster than your brain.
Might (Solving problems through brawn)—If red has to choose between letting its mind solve a problem and letting its body solve it, red heavily leans towards the latter. Red has a lot of practice using action to get things done.
Violence—Red prefers blunt answers. One blunt answer is physical violence. Someone gets in your way, hit them until they fall down. That usually solves it . . . for now. But that's good enough.
Brutality—Some other colors draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not. Red blurs that line. Red prefers amicable resolutions—but if it finds other, more direct solutions, red has no problem using them.
Destruction—Red likes easy-to-remember plans of action. If a thing is a problem, there's a simple universal answer: Destroy the thing. To red, destruction is an art unto itself, and those who master the art have a lot fewer things bugging them.
Chaos—This is white's word, not red's. Red just wants things to run the way they want to run, and as we're dealing with humans, it's messy. But that mess contains the beauty red sees in the world. Each individual is living the life determined for them, and as different people's lives crash into one another, we start to understand the impact individuals have on the group. It seems disjointed from afar, but as you dig in deep you find that the inconsistencies, the variance, the flaws all add that extra layer of humanity.
Randomness—Life isn't orderly, so why should people act as if it is? Part of finding happiness is recognizing that things don't always happen for a reason; red has embraced randomness as an inevitable component of life.
Spontaneity—Red recognizes that one of the great joys of life is the ability to do what you want to do in the instant you want to do it. In order to allow this to happen as much as possible, red embraces the idea that things don't have to be planned ahead but rather can be created in the moment.
Humor—Red loves to laugh, and as such is the color that most actively creates and appreciates humor. The other four colors all have their own form of humor, but none are as blunt, as broad, or as entertaining as red's.
Mischievousness—Red enjoys doing things to entertain itself. One of those things is messing with other individuals. It's really funny when things don't go as others have planned.
The Elements of Fire and Earth—Red values the volatile side of these natural elements (lightning, fire, earthquakes, mudslides, etc.), and quite often uses them as the source of its direct damage.
Fighting (Brawling)—Red does not back down from a fight but note that these fights are much more unstructured brawling than any formalized combat.
Romance—Red's a lover and a fighter. Just as red won't back down from a fight, red is also not afraid of letting others know how it feels. Red isn't scared of relationships. It knows that through close bonds with others, some of life's happiest moments happen.
Hedonism—Red embraces following your feelings. Most of the time, that means doing things you want to do because they're things you'd enjoy. Red sees no shame in delivering on this basic need.
Barbarism—The offshoot of valuing action over thought is that many times you act in a more primitive manner.
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