My boy Tim wrote:
> I think Darren's spelling of Ghul was intentional and appropriate. See Al-Qadim's complete Sha'ir's Handbook for the kit "ghul lord" and check darkstar's site for my interpretation in BR "the Socerers"<

Very much so. The Sha'ir's Handbook was a useful tool in my creation.
I also have Fritz Leiber to thank for my conception of this dude.

> Just to throw my own "IMC" stuff out here, this is my work in progress on the Lost Ones.<

Your work speaks for itself. I'll add my voice to the general praise!
:D

Interestingly enough (or perhaps not, considering I worship you!), this
post rings true to a lot of my scribblings that I did in Korea 2 years
ago. Especially making the Adurians technologically orientated (as
opposed to magically) - indeed, they are my Greek and Roman cultures and
a lot of the Imperial City technology comes from Adurian thought IMC
(although most knowledge of Adurian tech has been lost to Cerilians).

Moreover, painting Azrai as a "Fallen God" is very much like my idea on
Azrai; in the beginning, IMC, Azrai was very 'innocent', and its only
through his experience of life and interaction with his siblings (as it
were) that he comes to represent his later portfolio. He is my Darth
Vader type.

And lastly, that the Old Gods were very much a part of the everyday
lives of Adurians and the other races; this is probably a very widely
accepted view on this list, if not my own personal view. I have always
viewed the Old Gods (and now the New Ones) being very much like the
Greek gods: they mingled with the mortal heroes of old and taught and
loved them, or hated, despised and cursed them just like Zeus, Athena,
etc., did in Greek mythology.

> THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE LOST ONES
> The Nine Disciples of Azrai, The Chosen of the One God

I chose to make it 13 just because cliche and all that jazz (but mostly
I reckoned the Magian as being one of the Lost and because he had 12
riders, plus himself, and that I thought he was anything but original, I
would modeled His Lord's Brotherhood (as you so aptly stated) after The
Riders).

On a side note:

I deliberately chose NOT to make Atar one of the Lost, because I have a
very special role for him in my upcoming campaign. Instead, I've
assigned him the role of The Last Emperor of Aduria. Therefore, the
info in the BoP is actually pure mythology - Cerilian historians have
mistakenly assigned him as one of the Lost because they couldn't account
for one being (The Ghul Lord, IMC. They *knew* that the Brotherhood
consisted of 13 beings, but there is only record of 12 of the Lost being
present at Deismaar).

I did this because I really think that the designers made a huge
oversight in the scanty Adurian history we have in all the supps of BR.
I mean, we needed an Evil Emperor for the bad guys, no? I never
understood why this was left out in the Atlas. Nor the fact that the
Emperor of Aduria, the most powerful mortal dude on the planet by the
time of Deismaar, never ascended to godhood like the other champions (I
figured this guy had to be prominent, being as it was the *Adurians* who
created the exodus of the 12 tribes (or whatever number it was)). Its
generally held that the Adurians were Azrai's people, right?!? So, why
no famous Adurian?!?

Gah!!!

So, currently, Atar is THE Lich IMC. He makes The Magian look like a
dwarven magician. :) Atar is a super awnsheghlien; probably the most
powerful awnsheghlien in my game - he could give the Gorgon, Rhoubhe,
the Magian, and the Raven a good run for their money ... together. A
good analogy would be to compare him to the Emperor of Humanity in
Warhammer 40k. Indeed, he would most properly be called a god, but
unfortunately I rule that one just doesn't create become a god with a
snap of the fingers - there is a special 'investiture' spell that needs
to be cast in order to start benifiting from the actual *worship* of
your followers. And Atar hasn't figured it out yet.

Fortunately for the rest of Aebrynis, Atar is so ancient a being that he
is incapable of movement anymore - he has literally petrified on his
throne! His spirtual essense is also anchored to Cerilia, and therefore
he is stuck to this 'plane'. His decaying mind is so dark and devoid of
life that it is reflected in the subjects of his domain, and its for
this reason his people, the Adurians, have fallen back to the tool age
and haven't threaten Cerilia for millenia. However, IMC, something has
recently stirred Old Atar into life once more ...

:)

Cheers,
Me