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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:45 am 

Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:46 pm
Posts: 1353
The thread Akira links to is well worth the read. As indicated there, within the living campaign it is impossible. Once the character is built, the Crisis of Faith that would precipitate the change cannot be resolved within the confines of the campaign. For one thing, there arguably isn't enough time. Now, you could probably build it into your background where the entire thing happened before the character starts play. Understand there are limits to making this work though.

1) Mechanically, the only spells you could take would be for the god you are transferring in to.
2) You could and should make sure to take any talents or weapon proficiencies as best as possible to reflect the god you started with along with the skill associated with the original god.
3) You may want to consider a background other than one of the faith based ones that help represent the time of the crisis where he walked away. So avoid things like Initiate of the Gods, Templar, etc. Not required, but may help reinforce the concept.
4) If you want to represent the growing into the new faith using the Devoted Path out of Codex of Heroes. At Tier 3 you could take Anointed Priest of the new faith.
5) If you want to RP through the final strengthening of faith that ignites the ability to cast and make use of Devout talents, consider starting play without using any of them and then pick an appropriate story event which is the final catalyst for igniting your faith.

My primary character went through a vaguely similar experience. While deeply religious he had faith, but not Faith. He acquired the weapon of his god Cadic, in a shrine devoted to him with a critical success on a perception check after being "rebuked" in the shrine of Illir. I had never intended the character to gain access to Devout talents or spells. Martial archetype with a 2 Charisma and no weapon proficiency with short sword. All of that changed with that in game event. My planned build for him went out the window. The next 8 ranks were used RPing and adding the mechanical pieces necessary to make use of the weapon and ignite his faith into Faith. It's been a blast. :)

I understand having too many character concepts. I have 4 characters built and played at least once. I rarely get to play #3 or #4 and if for some reason there was time, I'd probably build #5 or maybe play #4 more. The "problems" with a rich universe. ;)

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul


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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:46 am 

Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:46 pm
Posts: 1353
Lorebane wrote:
No Canceri characters, huh? That's too bad. Seems like there could be a lot of potential depth there.


Not for the Living campaign. Home games you're free to do what you want.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul


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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 9:52 am 

Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 4:12 pm
Posts: 1037
Lorebane wrote:
No Canceri characters, huh? That's too bad. Seems like there could be a lot of potential depth there.


You can download the campaign guide which is a little dated but includes the list of what's not allowed (from memory: Ymandragore, Canceri, and Tultipet). I had originally wanted Ss'kethis to be Ashen Hide but it's disallowed because they are technically from Canceri (even though they are mostly separate and do not follow the Dark Triumvirate (they worship Nier but don't (yet at least) fall in line with typical Dark Triumvirate)).

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Ss'kethis - Expert Holy Champion of the Fire Dragon 3.1
G'hyu'thyh Sungha - Martial Templar of Illiir 1.7
Eryk Bauer - Martial Awakened 1.2


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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 10:54 am 

Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:10 am
Posts: 22
Hat wrote:
3) You may want to consider a background other than one of the faith based ones that help represent the time of the crisis where he walked away. So avoid things like Initiate of the Gods, Templar, etc. Not required, but may help reinforce the concept.


I had actually envisioned this guy having the Former Secret Policeman background, which would be what ultimately led to his departure from Canceri. The way I figure it, he fervently believed in the necessity of his work, but as he worked on more and more common folk, he began to realize that even if he understood why they had to be corrected or punished, they generally did not - not in their hearts, and they were being punished for ignorance more than anything else. He decided that he could better serve the gods and the people by educating them, so he would support the creation of undead, but only with the corpse of someone who had been prepared for it. He supports practices such as self-flagellation, but believes they are pointless until the practitioner does so willingly and understands why they are doing so. He would instead commit himself to seeking out people in dire straights and rather than attempt to alleviate their plights, encourage them to accept, embrace, and grow from them, and to try and help them understand why they suffered.

EDIT: As I write this I think maybe he could still work as a priest of Neroth? His problem isn't so much with Neroth as it is with the Dark Triumvirates methods of enforcement.


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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 11:32 am 
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Location: Central Alberta
If this is a home campaign, go for it! We presently don't have a huge amount of material on Canceri in ARPG (it's on the list from what I'm told, but it is not near the top of the list to do), and if you wanted to make your character a Cancerese Nerothian "Secret Policeman" Priest, the role you want to go for would be what are called Abjurers. These are religious hit-squads which act kind of like Inquisitors, and typically move around in groups of 3 (one Nerothian, one Nierite, and one Sarishan). They tend to wear obscuring masks, and are feared by much of Canceri as the enforcers of dogma. For more information, please see this product: http://drivethrurpg.com/product/20781/T ... _45322_0_0

Now, if this is meant as a Living Arcanis-Legal campaign character, I'm not sure the character concept will really work. As stated, Canceri is not a playable nation, and outside of Canceri itself the Dark Triumvirate is not worshiped. You probably COULD make a case for a character coming from the Hinterlands who follows a very Cancerese-like worship of Neroth, but by and large even the chaotic religious area of the Hinterlands finds Cancerese (especially the Nerothians) repellent.

Neroth is, however, not exclusively worshiped in Canceri, which means you do not have to be tied to that nation! One of the first "commandments" of Illiir in the Canticle (the holy book of the Pantheon of Man) is that "All Gods must be given their due", and this includes Neroth. In Coryan, Neroth is worshiped as the God of Disease and Medicine (not necessarily healing, I should point out, but medicine), as well as being the caregiver of the mentally infirm. They perform burial rights and are also the undertakers and morticians, and are given the bodies of the dead after the Beltinian clergy deals with the souls of the dead. By and large, Neroth is still thought about with fear and a little disgust by the 'common folk', mostly out of the ancient fear of death and the dead (and the pollution it is thought to bring), but he is venerated there. The most prominent Nerothian Holy Order in Coryan is the Order of the Deathbringers of Neroth, who are almost the most "Lawful Good" order out there, believing that it is there Neroth-given mission to hunt down all evil in the world due to a mistake made by their Lord in killing Illiir (who got better) in a very Pandora's box-like myth. It should be noted that while the Mother Church of Coryan isn't necessarily AGAINST the existence of undead (or the raising of the dead as minions), it is considered rather gauche and is a continual sticking point between the followers of Beltine and Neroth, and such activities would almost certainly be frowned upon by the common folk.

In other nations, Neroth is viewed in much the same way as in the Coryani Empire, with greater or lesser influence being given to some of his more extreme aspects (read: undead and disease). Milandir is probably the LEAST tolerant of Neroth due to their history of war with Canceri, and the worship of Neroth is pretty much exclusively restricted to his role as mortician and undertaker with Beltine taking over most of his medicinal roles.

Also of note: Neroth is not the God of Suffering, but the Lord of the Dead, Disease, the Body, and to an extent the Mind. Anshar is the comforter of the Suffering and the patron of the outcasts.

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Haakon Marcus val'Virdan, Divine Holy Judge of Nier
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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:53 pm 

Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 1:10 am
Posts: 22
Right, but isn't the necessity of mortal suffering one of the chief tenants of the Dark Triumvirate? That's the impression I got from Codex Arcanis, at least.


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 Post subject: Re: Can you help me understand the setting better?
PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 8:19 pm 
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Location: Portland OR
Lorebane wrote:
Right, but isn't the necessity of mortal suffering one of the chief tenants of the Dark Triumvirate? That's the impression I got from Codex Arcanis, at least.

Yes.

All the gods have "good parts" and "bad parts." What really sets the Dark Triumverate apart is their belief that the world is evil and only through suffering and wallowing in evil acts that the soul sickens of the world and can escape reincarnation to dwell amongst the Gods. That philosophy could (in theory) have taken root in any of the different temples ... but the DT is in Canceri which is mostly home to The val'Mordane, val'Mehen & val'Virdan (so you get Neroth, Sarish, Nier). It's also a major factor that Canceri has been a dumping ground for malcontents so by the time of Bercherek the three temples there are also oppressed outlawed and/or disfavored.

By contrast modern Ansharans are respected in the MC & MOC if not exactly politically powerful. The Ansharans want to alleviate suffering, or help the suffering shoulder thier burdens, or even inflict suffering on the wicked. They aren't really the same thing as someone who thinks the world is evil and you need to make others suffer for your souls salvation.

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