JNeighb934@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 04/01/99 18:29:03 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> GeeMan@linkline.com writes:
>
> Shadow World seems to have a lot to do with death. The Shadow World was once
> a place of great beauty, a magical world of fairie that paralleled the mortal
> world. But this power has gradually turned it into an underword of undead
> and decay.

I really like this idea. Certainly SOMETHING is powering the Shadow World.
Something pretty diddle-danged powerful too, and since that thing is probably
pretty closely tied to the Negative Material Plane given the number of undead
that reside on the SW, why not a god of death?

Personally, I don't much like the idea of Neserie taking over death as part of
her sphere of influence. I know her background has something of that in it, but
I really see her "mourning" aspect canceling out her becoming a goddess of
death. It's hard for me to justify her mourning the deaths of the Masetians and
yet being the embodiment of death itelf. Sure, you could rationalize it, but it
just seems shaky to me. (Most religious things do, but that's another matter.)
Aside from that, she's already the goddess of the seas, which is a pretty big
deal. Making her the goddess of the oceans AND death is kind of a lot, and not
necessarily complementary to her existing portfolio.

Anyway, since this thread sprang from the "sons/daughters of the gods" thread,
mightn't it be interesting to combine these two lines of speculation? Here's
what I mean: I think Azrai should definitely be dead. The fact that his
"bloodline" got spattered all around at Deismaar is pretty good evidence of his
godly demise, plus his "corpse" is floating about on the Astral plane if one
wants to go check. I'd rather not just ignore those two things. Also, if he
isn't dead it kind of vitiates the significance of the gods' sacrificing
themselves at the Big D, and I'd prefer not to rewrite such a fundamental aspect
of the campaign setting. There is, however, the Shadow World and the Cold Rider
running around, and the absence of a really good candidate for the god of death.
What if the Cold Rider is the son of Azrai and some sort of undead/shadow
demon/whatever and he is building his base of power on the Shadow World until he
can take his place in the pantheon without having to worry about getting scragged
by the already existing gods?

Interesting adventure potential:

1. It would set the stage nicely for a huge Shadow World/Cerilia crossover.

2. It would drive the Gorgon crazy, given that I think he desperately aspires to
godhood and feels he has (again) been slighted by having this "upstart son of
Azrai" ascend to power while Raesene still can't manage to take over Anuire.

3. It could involve a huge, multi-national force against hordes of undead. Lots
of potential diplomatic issues, military, etc. which is what BR is designed for.


Laters,
Gary