Vos(gaard) - history and present

[Rey]

I've had an idea about writing some additional material on Vos(gaard). The information in 'Tribes of the heartless waste' doesn't say much and the Vos are the most mysterious of the denizens of Cerilia.
So I wanted to take it a little back to the old days in Aduria, corruption by Azrai, migration to Cerilia and finally to the "present day" with some more info on present day situation.
In the TotHW it says that Uvna Farzeb, regent of Zoloskaya, is an old old oooold wizard that even witnessed the BoD with his own eyes, and has a mysterious aura of surviving all these years in the shadow. So, maybe to use him as a narrator of that story? What do you think? Is anybody already writing (or has written) about it?

[AndrewTall]

I don't think that I've seen anything else - I look forward to reading it...

[Birthright-L]

At 04:48 AM 3/26/2009, Rey wrote:

>I`ve had an idea about writing some additional material on
>Vos(gaard). The information in `Tribes of the heartless waste`
>doesn`t say much and the Vos are the most mysterious of the denizens
>of Cerilia.
>
>So I wanted to take it a little back to the old days in Aduria,
>corruption by Azrai, migration to Cerilia and finally to the
>"present day" with some more info on present day situation.
>
>In the TotHW it says that Uvna Farzeb, regent of Zoloskaya, is an
>old old oooold wizard that even witnessed the BoD with his own eyes,
>and has a mysterious aura of surviving all these years in the
>shadow. So, maybe to use him as a narrator of that story? What do
>you think? Is anybody already writing (or has written) about it?

To answer your questions in reverse order:

First, I know of no one who has tackled that particular subject
before in any particular detail. The closest thing would be a few
references to the stuff already mentioned in the original
materials. For example, I wrote up an article for BR based on a
character who was a member of the Lost, and he`d have lived at
approximately the time your talking about. Other folks have done
stuff along those lines, but I don`t recall anyone doing much more
than that, so it`s a pretty much unexplored area of the setting.

I think it`s a brilliant idea. That aspect of the Vos really
_should_ get some exploration not just because it could be used to
flesh out our understanding of that race, but also because it could
be used to fuel adventure hooks in a contemporary BR campaign. An
entire campaign (8-12 adventures) could be easily centered around
rediscovering the lost knowledge of the ancient Vos.

Uvna Farzeb sounds like a perfect narrator for such an exploration. Kudos.

Gary

[Rey]

Right now I'm exploring some geography on Aduria and trying to find any reference to Vos or humans. And basically all other stuff about Aduria, because later I'd like to do something about it, too. But that's another story.

I'm using the material that Ian Hoskins and others wrote. It's from some site, I don't remember where, but I've downloaded it all and converted into a .doc file. The same thing exist on BR wiki, Andrew did it.

The idea was not to make up all anew, but rather to use what already exists, not to spoil the work of the good people and not to do the same thing twice and then argue whose version is better. Maybe some re-writes if it doesn't fit or feels awkward.

Also, I'm waiting for my missing link in Birthright novels, War, to arrive from the UK. May be something to find in there.

So, bottom line is to make a document and regularly post it somewhere here for proof reading and corrections. Later it can become a part of wiki. Or any other way you suggest.

[kgauck]

The whole project sounds great!

[Rey]

I only wish to find enough time to do it all in a decent time period.

And one thing that I hope will come to be, I wanted it to be a surprise. I've asked a friend of mine to make me some Vos drawings, oldschool BR style. Hope he delivers! I've got one more friend that's into drawing, they're both pretty good. We'll see if they'd like to participate.

[Birthright-L]

At 03:35 PM 3/26/2009, Rey wrote:

>I only wish to find enough time to do it all in a decent time period.

I know it`s kind of hard to predict, but how big do you imagine it to
be? That is, how many word/pages of text?

>And one thing that I hope will come to be, I wanted it to be a
>surprise. I`ve asked a friend of mine to make me some Vos drawings,
>oldschool BR style. Hope he delivers! I`ve got one more friend
>that`s into drawing, they`re both pretty good. We`ll see if they`d
>like to participate.

Graphics definitely make a huge difference. If your friend doesn`t
come through then there are some pretty good, public domain artists
that I might suggest.

Gary

[Rey]

I know it`s kind of hard to predict, but how big do you imagine it to
be? That is, how many word/pages of text?
Beats me. I would certainly not want it to be less than 50 pages. But then again...


Graphics definitely make a huge difference. If your friend doesn`t come through then there are some pretty good, public domain artists that I might suggest.
Thanks. I'll bear that in mind.

[Birthright-L]

At 05:38 AM 3/27/2009, Rey wrote:

>>I know it`s kind of hard to predict, but how big do you imagine it
>>to be? That is, how many word/pages of text?
>
>Beats me. I would certainly not want it to be less than 50 pages.
>But then again...

Ah, OK. A whole "Ruins of Empire" sized thing then. Cool. Have you
thought about an outline? At that scale, I`d imagine it`d contain
things like the whole migration period, maybe even some stuff about
the Vos before they migrated. Their intellectual rise and various
civil societies. The coming of Azrai would, of course, feature
prominently. A cultural "decline." Etc.

We already know an awful lot about the other Cerilian human races,
but the Vos often get sparse treatment, so there`s a lot of room to
maneuver there....

Gary

[Rey]

As I often like to exaggerate it, I've already pondered about history before history. About how Vos came to be.
For now the guideline is the nomadic tribes of traveling merchants that amused the folk with minor magics. As we know, Vorynn was originally their patron. Eventually, they've got powerful, grew in numbers and decided to settle. Then came the calling of the Dark One. And so on,... just a thought for now. Any comments?

[Thelandrin]

I think that this sounds like a great idea! (Sorry about the spammer previously - he has been terminated with extreme prejudice.)

[Rey]

Please, any suggestions or ideas are welcome. Don't be shy now.

[Green Knight]

In my Epic BR campaign, that is set mostly in Aduria, I had the Vos originate in the far south of the continent. They were driven out of their homeland, the reason was never specified but some vicious dwarves are likely suspects, and took to wandering the world. This is around 3000 or so BD.

During the course of the many wanderings they pick up a little magic here and there, eventually accumulating quite a bit of collective knowledge. Their patron god becomes Vorynn, which is not only a moon and magic god, but something of a trickster as well (but a good sort).

They eventually settle down among the humans of many other cultures, being both respected for their powers (and feared, even hated). In time Azrai's star is in the ascendant and he brooks no magical competitors, and so hits the Vos hard.

They flee north to the mountains of north-central Aduria. Here some go to Vosgaard by a magic portal - I'm sure they were aiming elsewhere - but others stay. Those that go become the Vos of Cerilia. Those that stay -that's another story.

I had a load more, but not in a useful format.

[Rey]

Sounds like a nice complement to what I had in mind so far.
So, you were aiming on magical portals, that could be a better idea than walking. :)
If you have anything else, just write it.