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Asilikos: Averting Disaster (Discussion Thread)

Started by Knight of Ravens, October 08, 2007, 04:49:24 PM

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Eclipse

#15
October 08, 2007, 09:23:24 PM
I like the bastardization. Are basilisks going to be playing any sort of significant role, even metaphorically, in the setting, or is it just going to remain a name?

(BTW, I could see a fun cult organizing around the petrification and thus stability the basilisk's gaze offers in the face of a consistently unstable world.)
Quote from: Epic MeepoThat sounds as annoying as providing a real challenge to Superman: shall we use Kryptonite, or Kryptonite?

LordVreeg

#16
October 08, 2007, 09:28:36 PM
Quote from: Epic Meepo
Quote from: KoRFurther, because most civilization is lumped close together, there is a high degree of cosmopolitan sentiment that would cause the ethnic differences fade away, and this may be how I'll delve into it.[/blockquote]  Yeah, I think you might need to go here.
VerkonenVreeg, The Nice.Celtricia, World of Factions

Steel Island Online gaming thread
The Collegium Arcana Online Game
Old, evil, twisted, damaged, and afflicted.  Orbis non sufficit.Thread Murderer Extraordinaire, and supposedly pragmatic...\"That is my interpretation. That the same rules designed to reduce the role of the GM and to empower the player also destroyed the autonomy to create a consistent setting. And more importantly, these rules reduce the Roleplaying component of what is supposed to be a \'Fantasy Roleplaying game\' to something else\"-Vreeg

Knight of Ravens

#17
October 08, 2007, 09:28:40 PM
Quote from: EclipseI like the bastardization. Are basilisks going to be playing any sort of significant role, even metaphorically, in the setting, or is it just going to remain a name?

(BTW, I could see a fun cult organizing around the petrification and thus stability the basilisk's gaze offers in the face of a consistently unstable world.)

Congrats. You are the first recipient of a cookie. That's brilliant, and I will (with your permission of course) use it.

But to answer your question, no. Basilisk means 'little king', 'princeling', sometimes (depending on the source) 'royal lizard' or somesuch; just used that idea as an application to noble dragons.
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

Eclipse

#18
October 08, 2007, 09:29:35 PM
Quote from: Knight of RavensCongrats. You are the first recipient of a cookie. That's brilliant, and I will (with your permission of course) use it.

But to answer your question, no. Basilisk means 'little king', 'princeling', sometimes (depending on the source) 'royal lizard' or somesuch; just used that idea as an application to noble dragons.

By all means, go ahead. It fits your setting much better than it would fit any of mine. :) Plus, I'm honored you like. :D
Quote from: Epic MeepoThat sounds as annoying as providing a real challenge to Superman: shall we use Kryptonite, or Kryptonite?

Knight of Ravens

#19
October 08, 2007, 09:32:10 PM
Quote from: Eclipse
Quote from: Knight of RavensCongrats. You are the first recipient of a cookie. That's brilliant, and I will (with your permission of course) use it.

But to answer your question, no. Basilisk means 'little king', 'princeling', sometimes (depending on the source) 'royal lizard' or somesuch; just used that idea as an application to noble dragons.

By all means, go ahead. It fits your setting much better than it would fit any of mine. :) Plus, I'm honored you like. :D

Many thanks. The honor is mine.
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

Knight of Ravens

#20
October 09, 2007, 01:20:07 PM
Human notes added
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

LordVreeg

#21
October 09, 2007, 06:22:43 PM
[blockquote=KoR]Kol Lilux
Sister in Shadow, Souldealer
Greater Goddess (Toma)
Symbol The outline of an eye made from finger bones
Alignment Lawful Evil
Portfolio Death, judgment, necromancy, trade, undead
Domains Commerce, Darkness, Death, Judgment*, Mercantile*, Undeath
Favored Weapon Red Strike (shortspear)

Kol Lilux is the flow of wealth and fate throughout Asilikos, dealing out the former sparingly and the latter magnanimously. But though she is evil, her interests remain tied to keeping a balance between the living and the dead, particularly if there is hope in rebuilding the world from the aftereffects of The Shearing. She is the least approachable, but perhaps the most reasonable of the evil members of the Toma. Her clerics directly or indirectly control most of the trade in Asilikos' more civilized regions, but as a whole their rates and conditions are set at a fair rate (fair being profitable to them, but not truly debilitating to common tradesmen).

As long as The Shearing's aftereffects keep the channels to the Realms Beyond closed, Kol Lilux is the only route for mortals not serving the Remnant to the Veil of Ghosts, the temporary rest for souls since the cataclysm. In the fortress-city of Grim Rock, she judges souls and dispatches them to the Veil as appropriate; to those that wish to deal or barter with her, there are always negotiable prices for undeath and/or continued existence, providing there is both reason and payment provided. In the Souldealer's belief, the closing of the planar connections is an extenuating circumstance to the rule of immediate judgment of souls. Kol Lilux is the patroness of judges and magistrates, merchants, and corrupt nobles.[/blockquote]


Ok, I might be overreacting.  Wouldn't be the first time, especially after I get into a good Barolo.  
I'm really digging the payment and trade of souls part of this, and i find the way you tie this to the the flow of trade (sort of like the balance of fate and the balance of trade) really interesting...but not evil.  Not close to evil.  And if merchants and honest traders are going to follow her, evil may not fly.

Now, I don't know about the human interpretations of the different aspects that make up Kol Liux.  I focus heavily on humanities inability to comprehend the myraid aspects of a divine being in my setting.   But in terms of what I have read here that is not the case.  Clue me in.  At least I'm taking the time to ask.
VerkonenVreeg, The Nice.Celtricia, World of Factions

Steel Island Online gaming thread
The Collegium Arcana Online Game
Old, evil, twisted, damaged, and afflicted.  Orbis non sufficit.Thread Murderer Extraordinaire, and supposedly pragmatic...\"That is my interpretation. That the same rules designed to reduce the role of the GM and to empower the player also destroyed the autonomy to create a consistent setting. And more importantly, these rules reduce the Roleplaying component of what is supposed to be a \'Fantasy Roleplaying game\' to something else\"-Vreeg

Knight of Ravens

#22
October 09, 2007, 06:46:04 PM
No, I see yor point on what is provided. I haven't delved into her viler aspects, but set up more or less the framework for how they attract and interact with their mortal adherents.

Alignment is often overemphasized, in my opinion; too much emphasis is placed on making sure a being or creature fits into the narrow abstractions of the two axes. Now don't get me wrong, alignment is also a useful tool, but with the Toma I'm trying to stretch the gods away from being wrapped around their alignments or forced to fit within them.

The Toma largely benefit mortals; they are relatively allied despite alignment differences, genuinely seek to keep the world from slipping further into destruction (failing that, find a way to let it slip...softly, I guess, into oblivion), and their conflicts lie more along their applications than their intents, a more political disagreement than emotional (in general, and keeping in mind that I haven't established all the pitfalls yet).

Kol Lilux is the most visible of the three evil Toma, and the most worshiped. Her role as the patroness of trade affords her church wealth and luxury far beyond what most achieve in a world fighting to survive.

Aha! There's the rub. For in that sleep of death, what deals may come?  :D

Lilux is a tyrant and monopolist, and anyone that deals with her to extend life or become undead is now a slave to her. I didn't quite establish how these deals go in the post, but they are certainly not 'cash on hand' sort of prospects. There is extortion, graft, and downright ruthless business policies rampant among the faithful and in her court.

Further, Kol Lilux is a merry purveyor of undeath. While the rest of the Toma (Raxhi Scoll in particular) finds this abominable, she keeps her animated playthings confined only to the realms of Curnush and H'Draal, where she is most influential. Thus far this grudgingly satisfies the other gods, but she is still looking for a way to spread the undead farther. In one respect, she may see a world wracked with the unliving as the most survivable possibility for mortals should an end be found.

Does that make it clearer? I'll be getting back to the Toma once I have a history together and flesh out the Keepers and the Remnant more.
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

MythMage

#23
October 10, 2007, 08:31:55 PM
Quote from: EclipseMaybe I missed something, but what is Annwn? the faerie realm? (Btw, that word could use another vowel)
As the project head for the material Knight of Ravens is drawing from (DF's Faerie Project), I'll explain this. Annwn (pronounced roughly "an-noon") is a Welsh word for one mythological location that is an appropriate equivalent to D&D's Faerie. Yes, Annwn is actually how it's spelled; the letter 'w' can be a vowel in the Welsh language.

Annwn is quite similar to the Plane of Faerie as presented in the Manual of the Planes; in addition, it allows travel between worlds much like the Shadow does in some cosmologies, and is also connected to a deeper layer of Faerie known as Ladinion. Annwn is typically the home of powerful (sometimes deifically) but reclusive Faerie Lords; a separate group exists for each mortal world's piece of Annwn. Like deities, the power (or presence) of Faerie Lords such as these vary from world to world. Knight of Ravens has indicated that the rulers of Asilikos's Annwn have likely been wiped out by the Shearing, but he hasn't made a choice for sure because he hasn't reviewed all of DF's Faerie material. For more on DF's take on Faerie, see the link in my signature.
Everything I wanted to know about the planes I learned at Dicefreaks.

-Member and Project Head of Songs of the Sidhe (Developing fey and Faerie with cohesive flavor and mechanics that extend from 1st level to high-epic)

Knight of Ravens

#24
October 10, 2007, 08:36:18 PM
Thanks, MM; I wasn't sure precisely what to say on the issue yet, given how little I've reviewed the material so far. Depending on how the week goes, I may tackle that over the weekend as a post concerning the cosmic forces that remain.

History should also be up by Saturday night, if I find the time.
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

MythMage

#25
October 10, 2007, 08:51:25 PM
No problem, KoR. By the way, there are some aspects of your world that are looking increasingly like they could make excellent use of Faerie material. I'll discuss the specifics with you once you actually know what I'm talking about, but suffice to say that you should be able to get a lot of mileage out of the Court of the Undying Season. And please hold off on delving far into that basilisk cult until then, too. ;)
Everything I wanted to know about the planes I learned at Dicefreaks.

-Member and Project Head of Songs of the Sidhe (Developing fey and Faerie with cohesive flavor and mechanics that extend from 1st level to high-epic)

Knight of Ravens

#26
October 10, 2007, 09:01:06 PM
Um, okay. :-p

(Man, the selection of smilies here is great!)
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

Tangential

#27
October 11, 2007, 12:01:41 AM
Just for clarification: did The Shearing completely cut off Asilikos from the rest of the Cosmos? Are there any exceptions?

I must say I hate the name Dev'Vel, but then I never liked puns in serious fantasy.

Tell us more about the mad elementals, and elemental magic on the world.

What are the inverted peaks of Khrieg? I am dying to know.

Is any history or culture retained from before the Shearing?

What happened to The Creator of Asilikos?

What is the power scale of this world? This is a many-tiered question. How powerful is the most powerful mortal on Asilikos? How powerful could such a person be? What sort of CRs and HD are to be expected for the Gods and Cosmics?

Not that I disapprove, but why Wrath above the other sins as the surviving Nether power?

Are the hosts themselves confined to the Astral or does this just apply to the Captains?

I'll stop there for now.
Settings I\'ve Designed: Mandria, Veil, Nordgard, Earyhuza, Yrcacia, Twin Lands<br /><br />Settings I\'ve Developed: Danthos, the Aspects Cosmos, Solus, Cyrillia, DIcefreaks\' Great Wheel, Genesis, Illios, Vale, Golarion, Untime, Meta-Earth, Lands of Rhyme

Knight of Ravens

#28
October 11, 2007, 06:34:29 PM
Quote from: JaercJust for clarification: did The Shearing completely cut off Asilikos from the rest of the Cosmos? Are there any exceptions?

I must say I hate the name Dev'Vel, but then I never liked puns in serious fantasy.

Tell us more about the mad elementals, and elemental magic on the world.

What are the inverted peaks of Khrieg? I am dying to know.

Is any history or culture retained from before the Shearing?

What happened to The Creator of Asilikos?

What is the power scale of this world? This is a many-tiered question. How powerful is the most powerful mortal on Asilikos? How powerful could such a person be? What sort of CRs and HD are to be expected for the Gods and Cosmics?

Not that I disapprove, but why Wrath above the other sins as the surviving Nether power?

Are the hosts themselves confined to the Astral or does this just apply to the Captains?

I'll stop there for now.

Well, I probably shouln't answer someone who doesn't know which thread to post in, but...


 :D  Just kidding, Jaerc.

As I indicate above, I may leave Annwn partially or completely open. But pretty much all transplanar junctions beyond the 'Near' Ethereal, Astral, and Shadow are closed. Detailing this will follow the Keepers a bit, since they're part of this scheme.

Dev'Vel: Eh. I'll think on it more, but I rather like it.

Mad Elements: Oh, that's a surprise. Not a cop out, but it's still a bit in development.

Khrieg: The SHearing's tumult changed and warped the landscape. This is connected to the mad elementals, in that unlike a wild magic zone it could be called 'wild land' (no cutesy, hip name coined for it yet). The Khrieg lance through a large portion of Channan, the largest continent, and are exactly as i state: inverted mountains. A series of high, suspended tablelands thousands of feet above sea level, held in place by this warped dynamic of elementalism.

History: Well-preserved in general; the gods walk among mortals, and those that don't hold themselves aloof (such as, say, Tam Ammar), have had no general qualms about filling in history's blanks. But there are still many mysteries (see below) that the gods, Keepers, and cosmics don't know; secrets such as the true nature of The Shearing.

Culture: Varies. Some of the more insulated and undamaged realms  (Ohir Kha, the dwarven realm/Endriss and some parts of Reanhe, both generally human realms/a few others) maintain at least some superficial remnants of former glory and culture. But even these are strongly and undeniably fading away. No real details yet.

The Creator: This also qualifies as such a historical secret, but it is known that he (nameless at the moment) vanished after the March of Dawn, the earliest age when the Firstborn were created, and left behind the power that caused other gods to ascend later. Other than being believed as a force behind both the Creed and the Stormborn on some level, there is no other hint of his fate.

Power Level: General highest-level NPCs range in the low 30's at highest (no more than perhaps a dozen), but because of the survival orientation there is a higher demographic of PC levels across the board (I suppose it could be said that 10-15th level might be called fairly normal in Asilikos). I haven't decided on god and cosmic power levels; there will be some definite differences between the base incarnations (such as the LotN as presented in GoH) and their 'echoes' here.

Nethers: With the revamping of the other beings in the Remnant, there will likely be a major change to all cosmics that are similarly non-original, including renaming and reordering. Wrath had been chosen in regards to the question of which Nethers would be the worst possible to strand on the Prime (similar with both demons and devils).

The Hosts: All are stranded. There is limited ability to enter and affect Asilikos, but they must return quickly. The angels are in a unique position of being forced into a 'guerilla' style role.
Campaign Setting: Asilikos

Epic Meepo

#29
October 11, 2007, 08:32:18 PM
Quote from: Knight of RavensDev'Vel: Eh. I'll think on it more, but I rather like it.
on the way!"

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