Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony
A fairly traditional version would be to turn the soulless into cinematic psychopaths -- smart, charismatic, and without conscience.
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Hmm, that is indeed more interesting than crippling them. Another fantasy example comes to mind, from the Dragon Age games. Despite pervasive magic, nobody in Thedas really knows much about souls our what happens after death. However, they do know that all sentients share a connection to the Fade, the resident dream-realm, and mages draw on dreamstuff to work magic - a fireball is actually the collective unconscious' idea if a fireball, ect.
Mages who break the law or cannot control their powers are often made Tranquil, a kind of magical lobotomy that's considered worse than death... but not by the Tranquil themselves! They are cut-off from the Fade permanently, lose their spellcasting, their passions and their emotions, but also cannot be possessed by the demons that stalk the Fade and mages in particular. They have no opinion on their new state, or, really, on anything, and speak in a slow, gentle monotone that makes people really uncomfortable.
In a subversion of soulless tropes, the Tranquil are not violent, callous or psychopathic. In fact, their newfound peace makes them quite placid, logical, focused and eager to please, like very mellow Vulcans. The Mage Circles rely on them for most administrative duties. More importantly, beings who don't dream (including dwarves) have an innate resistance to lyrium, a toxic mineral that's believed to be raw magic and is used in enchanting, one of the staples of the Circles' financial independence.
Now, the games portray Tranquility as the most horrifying fate imaginable (and frequently abused by overzealous Templars), but given that a Fade-connection opens you up to possession and, in the universe's metaphysics, is the root of all vices and virtues, the Tranquil have a bit of a buddhist monk vibe, transcending all earthly drives and vagaries of the flesh.
TL;DR version: "Maybe losing your soul makes you all zen."