Non-Malevolent Idigam: How Would You Make Them?

Well, I got Night Horrors: Wolfsbane yesterday despite my unwillingness to get Werewolf, and I must say, I'm quite enthralled.

Check out the Qualismalim from Promethean, throw in some of the Numina and abilities of the Idigam and things are more agreeable but still very alien.

Why does the OP's description of a benevolent Idigim remind me of mood-slime from Ghostbusters II?  Anyway...

There's no easy answer to your question unless you're looking for a specific example.  A non-malelovent Idigim would simply be a (likely) strong, alien spirit that, in the course of its normal day-to-day behavior, doesn't bother anyone.  I'm not sure that any spirit can be truly harmless, as you point out, because even a spirit of happiness or laughter can be dangerous if left unchecked and given too much influence.  But if the target of its efforts don't generally target anyone or any thing that would normally be harmful, then I suppose an Idigim would be as you described.

As for the reaction of werewolves...I suppose they would probably take note of it and watch it and make sure it doesn't do anything bad, but otherwise leave it alone so long as it leaves them alone.  A particularly zealous or paranoid pack might try to take it down due to its nature as one of the Idigim, for precautionary reasons.  But I don't think most packs can afford to look for trouble where there isn't any to begin with.  So I think most would ignore it or maybe try to drive it off or reason with it (if such is possible).  I don't know if they would treat it much differently than they would most other spirits that aren't harming anyone.

Not to hijack the thread, but why won't you get Werewolf?  And what prompted the purchase of Wolf's Bane?

Yeled:

Not to hijack the thread, but why won't you get Werewolf?  And what prompted the purchase of Wolf's Bane?

Yeled:

As for the reaction of werewolves...I suppose they would probably take note of it and watch it and make sure it doesn't do anything bad, but otherwise leave it alone so long as it leaves them alone.  A particularly zealous or paranoid pack might try to take it down due to its nature as one of the Idigim, for precautionary reasons.  But I don't think most packs can afford to look for trouble where there isn't any to begin with.  So I think most would ignore it or maybe try to drive it off or reason with it (if such is possible).  I don't know if they would treat it much differently than they would most other spirits that aren't harming anyone.

leaving a Idigim alone is akin to leaving a Mage who is a Master of Spirit alone.

you can leave it alone for a little while as you deal with more pressing issues (like that Pure pack that is trying to bite off a piece of your turf) but eventually an issue will come up that will make you regret ever leaving him alone in the first place.

Shock:

you can leave it alone for a little while as you deal with more pressing issues (like that Pure pack that is trying to bite off a piece of your turf) but eventually an issue will come up that will make you regret ever leaving him alone in the first place.

Which would eliminate it being a 'benign' Idigam. The premise that the original poster was presenting in the first place. Keep in mind exactly how difficult it is to eliminate an Idigam, a single pack is not going to be able to destroy it. Which assumes that you even recognize what this thing is in the first place. A truly benign Idigam is more then likely going to be completely invisible to everything.

Fact: spirits arent "malevolent" they just are. It would be like calling malevolent a baby because it wants to be feed by the breast of his mother. The milk would be the essence, which they hunger for, deprive the poor baby enough and the cries will be felt on the whole building. Every spirit may be considered antagonistic just because it doesnt cares about balance, it cares only to get its figurative belly filled up nice and tight. Any spirit out of control can ruin lives easily.

Considering the forsaken's role in the universe, it would have to be an idigam that doesn't mess with the physical world, or the forsaken would never be non hostile to the spirit.

StSword:

Considering the forsaken's role in the universe, it would have to be an idigam that doesn't mess with the physical world, or the forsaken would never be non hostile to the spirit.

I don't buy that, probably because I don't see the Forsaken as having a clear cut role in the universe.  And because every spirit effects the physical world on some level.  That's just the nature of the Shadow.  The physical effects it and it effects the physical.

Forsaken would likely ignore or leave alone any spirit that doesn't harm their physical territory, with harm being defined as "effecting it in such a way that isn't to the liking of, or threatens directly or indirectly, the pack in question."

At least one of the Idigam described in Wolfsbane could be said to not be malevolent.  The one that was interested in stasis versus chaos.  Its long term effect was "harmful" to the people that died and were resurrected but it isn't actively seeking to increase its power, or hunt down werewolves, or warp people's souls and turn them into Duguthim.  I don't remember its name but it was the angelic Idigam, I particularly liked its write-up.

That would be Gamugur.

Prax:

Shock:

you can leave it alone for a little while as you deal with more pressing issues (like that Pure pack that is trying to bite off a piece of your turf) but eventually an issue will come up that will make you regret ever leaving him alone in the first place.

Which would eliminate it being a 'benign' Idigam. The premise that the original poster was presenting in the first place. Keep in mind exactly how difficult it is to eliminate an Idigam, a single pack is not going to be able to destroy it. Which assumes that you even recognize what this thing is in the first place. A truly benign Idigam is more then likely going to be completely invisible to everything.

There is no such thing as a truly benign spirit. Spirits by their nature are beings of imbalance, they single mindly promote their aspect. For an example check out the spirit of "Happiness" Detailed in the Book of Spirits life cycle of a spirit section. Benign for spirits is a way of saying "kept in check", they don't have to be destroyed, they need to be managed. I agree with Prax, you can't ignore anything that powerfully affects the shadow or reshapes the material world to affect the shadow without your territory falling out of balance. Ideally the spirit scape will have a cyclic change to it so no one spirit is there all the time to grow too large. If there is a Idigam likely it'll ruin a packs reputation among its peers because their territory will fall into imbalance and start to adversely affect their neighbors. The near by packs will take the territory from the one pack, work together to fix the problem and then slit the territory among the surviving packs. Most likely it might not even be destroying the Idigam, perhaps just hassling it enough so it moves far enough away to be someone else's problem.

You're actually agreeing with Shock, not me.

Which isn't to say that I don't share that opinion, I just wasn't the one stating it in this instance.