Night Reign Discussion Thread

[Seraph]

This is a really neat idea.  I love the mythos and history.  I can't help but note the significance of the name Loth.  Is this a connection to Lolth, the Spider Queen, goddess of the drow?  You never said what happened to Loth after she took exile to mourn the death of Lissa (or if you did I missed it).  Could she have gone undergroung to found the Drow race?  Does her grieving leave her embitterred, leading her towards evil, resentment and desire for revenge?

[Fatum]

This is a really neat idea.  I love the mythos and history.  I can't help but note the significance of the name Loth.  Is this a connection to Lolth, the Spider Queen, goddess of the drow?  You never said what happened to Loth after she took exile to mourn the death of Lissa (or if you did I missed it).  Could she have gone undergroung to found the Drow race?  Does her grieving leave her embitterred, leading her towards evil, resentment and desire for revenge?

That is the idea behind what happens to Loth after the death of Lissa though I haven't written that portion of the history, only a general outline.

Sadly I haven't been able to work much on the setting in the past few weeks. Wife is pregnant and we are going to find out if it is a boy or girl this week so...yeah, preoccupied with other things.

[Seraph]

Congratulations!  There should be no sadness surrounding the birth of a child, even if that sadness is not actually about the child.  Perhaps a campaign world tribute to the babe is in order?  That would be neat.

[Fatum]

Thank you and we found out this morning that we are having a boy! So excited! I think a tribute would be a great idea. Creation of a world along with the creation of my child. Hmmmmmm

[Fatum]

Ug, way to long since an update. I have some new stuff I will be putting up. First is a map of the region (which is in post #1).

[Numinous]

Nice map, maybe not as pretty as others, but it serves it's purpose admirably.

In other news, is there anything specific you would like my thoughts on?  Any issues you need particular help with?

[Fatum]

Once I get the main write-ups on the different ages I would love feedback on their content (i.e. what needs better explanation, is it consistent, etc)

As an update, the timeline has been added to the first post.

[Epic Meepo]

How do nocturnal creatures fit into the mythos of this world? Presumably, they were created by the Sun. Is there any myth explaining why they choose to sleep while it is in the sky?

[Fatum]

Most certainly. After Illius rose to power, Loth left the Council of the Divine Races and went out into the world were she is noted for having created many creatures to keep her company. Because of her decent into anger and misery, she grew to prefer the darkness as the light of the Sun brought back too many memories to her of her lost child. The creatures with her also slept during the day so that they could be active during the night with the first sorceress. This foundation led to the current natural creatures that prefer the night (like owls and such).

[Tangential]

Very neat stuff.

What does the Iso'- prefix mean when it's in front of a city name?

[Fatum]

Iso is a term that came into common use at the beginning of the Age of Sorrows. It started as an honorary title for magi who have served with distinction during the Age of Heroes under Latarin. It has since grown to be an identifer for magi in general so instead of saying I'm Jack the Mage, he would say Iso'Jack.

In addition, several cities within the Nation of Latarin to have the prefex added to the city name. This signifies that their is a major arcane school located in that city.

[Tangential]

Ah. That makes my linguistic voices happy.

[Fatum]

Revised the timeline (age of heroes) due to revisions in history.

Added rough draft of Age of Heroes written history.

[Fatum]

Added the Cushani race to post #2

[Matt Larkin (author)]

It's high time I took a detailed look at this setting.

Intro
Very compelling.  I particularly like the "Can you fight the darkness?" line.  Very direct, and generally impossible, so it lends a kind of tragic desperation.  You mean to say, I believe:

the players are faced with a choice of fighting against the darkness or furthering spread

Creation Myth[/b]
Speaking of which, I don't believe there is such a thing as an "intercity carved rune" (I'm terrible with typos, too).  However, good use of a frame story for your story.

I like the twin dragons, Spring and Summer.  Good duality between Night and Sun, though it might sound more appropriate the use Night/Day.

How does Night imprison the mother?  Your opening lines led me to believe the mother was the earth, as with Kishar...Are we to take it she rather is a physical being on the planet?

With the shadows of the living cast, the Night devised a plan to create his own progeny. From the shadows of the living, Night harnessed their own power and created his own children, shadows twins of the dragons, which he named Autumn and Winter.

No mortal had been slain by another out of cruelty before and the earth shook as Ilius took the newborn child back to the beach, back to the Lord of Night.[/quote]Timeline[/b]
Every setting should have one of these.  What do the abbreviations stand for?  That is, "bi" and "ab" - it seems like we are talking BCE and CE, but I'm curious what they represent. (is it before Ilius?)

But wait, the Night Reign ended 2000 years ago?  I assume you intended to explain why the setting is called this later?  It sounds from the intro like it has just begun...Has it just started again?

Nicely detailed Age of Heroes.  Do you plan to write up the remaining ages in detail, as well?

Map
Very nice.  There's so many names it's overwhelming, but I think were I familiar with the setting, that would be very helpful.

So we are clear, Falamor is the name of the world?  The continent?  An empire?

Races
You've got a nice, condensed trinity of three races.  Do you believe the hybrids add anything in particular to the setting?  I'm not saying you should drop them, but I am curious if you had some specific intent in including them.

I'd change Loth's name unless you want to reference Lloth.  They are so similar, one cannot help but be mentally drawn to it. (I see you address this later, so nevermind).

A caste structure has an exotic feel to it; yours fits very well.  I like it.

Interesting take on dwarves as spreading love and cheer...That's different.  Also interesting that they are messengers of the Sun, since mythical dwarves avoided sunlight (in some stories it turned them to stone).

Cushani: A servant race, that's cool.  It allows you diversity without breaking the idea of a trinity.  I don't know if you intend it to be a PC race, but I'd say it is not properly balanced with other PC races without adding a LA.

I see you already answered the question about orcs.

Overall
On a side note, a setting like this seems like it should really play up vampires, shadows, werewolves, and other nightstalkers.

As to the setting itself, you've got some strong ideas.  I know you call it a work in progress, but it is still quite interesting.  I hope to see more, as your time allows.

Oh, and congrats on the child!