aren`t immortals underpowered?

[Augustin du Payrat]

hi everyone! :)
i'm just wondering something:
in cerillia, there are a lot of immortal beings (i.e. elves, a lot of
ansheghlien,...)
why didn't they manage to reach such a power that no one could face
them?
think about athasian sorcerer kings from dark sun:
they used their immortality to become the masters of Athas and the most
powerful beings of the multiverse!! and they are only 2000 years old!
i know that elves can be argued as limited because of their particular
culture, but i guess that human influence could have led some
individuals to power lust, and most of the immortal ansheiglien are (or
were) humans.
the gorgon, for instance, is 'only' 25 level warrior, but he is 2000
years old!!!
his several weapon specialities are a light advantage for so much time
spent in trying to gain power!!
from a strategic point of view, the magian, who appears to be one of the
most powerfull ansheiglien, has gained as much power in 6 years than the
gorgon in 2000!!!
it seems quite strange to me!!

what do people think about it?
are immortals as strong as they should be?

Augustin du Payrat
Email: rachid.eljanati@galeode.fr

[dsbrown@is2.dal.c]

Well, near as I can tell, there are two main "immortal" entities on
Cerilia; elves and any blooded being with the long life ability. Now
as for why these creatures haven't amassed the power you might
expect, that depends mainly on their respective natures. Elves are
generally reclusive, and spend more time looking after themselves
than bothering with unobtrusive things going on around them. They
really haven't been portrayed as creature with a lust for power, and
thus, don't strive for it. As well, knowing you will live for such a
long time inevitably reduces your rush to accomplish things. If you
have 100 years to lean something, you might as well take the time a
get it right. Finally, elves have generally been portrayed as a
chaotic bunch, and quite possibly a large number of them just don't
have the attention span necessary to excell in any specific areas
(Note...there are ALWAYS exceptions...this is just a generality)

As far as immortal awnsheghlien go this amount of time thing is also
applicable. You can take 50 years to hatch a plot if you feel that
amount of time is necessary to do it. One thing that gets in the
way, however, is notoriety. Your example of the Magian is a god one,
however, don't forget he had the element of surprise when he first
started. His empire is nowhere near the size of the Gorgons, and as
for individual power, doesn't even come close. The Gorgon has a
reputation, and everybody is on the alert for what he may do next, so
he is limited in what he can get away with. Fianlly, as for
individual power, I personally wouldn't want to come up against a
25th level fighter, with AC-10, mastery in just about every weapon
you can name and able to kill me just by looking at me. I think
there is a limit to an individuals power, and this is fast
approaching it.

Sean

> hi everyone! :)
> i'm just wondering something:
> in cerillia, there are a lot of immortal beings (i.e. elves, a lot of
> ansheghlien,...)
> why didn't they manage to reach such a power that no one could face
> them?
> think about athasian sorcerer kings from dark sun:
> they used their immortality to become the masters of Athas and the most
> powerful beings of the multiverse!! and they are only 2000 years old!
> i know that elves can be argued as limited because of their particular
> culture, but i guess that human influence could have led some
> individuals to power lust, and most of the immortal ansheiglien are (or
> were) humans.
> the gorgon, for instance, is 'only' 25 level warrior, but he is 2000
> years old!!!
> his several weapon specialities are a light advantage for so much time
> spent in trying to gain power!!
> from a strategic point of view, the magian, who appears to be one of the
> most powerfull ansheiglien, has gained as much power in 6 years than the
> gorgon in 2000!!!
> it seems quite strange to me!!
>
> what do people think about it?
> are immortals as strong as they should be?
>
> Augustin du Payrat
> Email: rachid.eljanati@galeode.fr
> ************************************************** *************************
> > 'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.
>
>

[Darkstar]

- ----------
> From: Augustin du Payrat
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: [BIRTHRIGHT] - aren't immortals underpowered?
> Date: Wednesday, 11 June 1997 17:16
>
> hi everyone! :)
> i'm just wondering something:
> in cerillia, there are a lot of immortal beings (i.e. elves, a lot of
> ansheghlien,...)

Elves are not truly immortal, they can be killed, they just don't age thats
all. A True immortal is a being that can not be killed.

> the gorgon, for instance, is 'only' 25 level warrior, but he is 2000
> years old!!!
> his several weapon specialities are a light advantage for so much time
> spent in trying to gain power!!
> from a strategic point of view, the magian, who appears to be one of the
> most powerfull ansheiglien, has gained as much power in 6 years than the
> gorgon in 2000!!!
> it seems quite strange to me!!

Well seeing the Gorgon spends most of his time sitting in his castle
brooding, not out their fighting it seems about right. Remember the Gorgon
also holds Source Holding, meaning he must have magical abilities as well.
As for the Magian he was already fairly powerful before he arrived on
Cerilia.


Darkstar

E-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
Homepage: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss
Updates: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/update.html

We came from the Darkness,
And we will return to the Darkness.

[dsbrown@is2.dal.c]

> Elves are not truly immortal, they can be killed, they just don't age thats
> all. A True immortal is a being that can not be killed.

Not true really. An immortal will never die from the effects of age,
but can be killed, although it may take a bit more than necessary to
kill you or me :) eg. gods, elves, Tarrasque, etc


Sean

[Gregoire Alexandre Segui]

At 11:30 PM 6/10/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Well, near as I can tell, there are two main "immortal" entities on
>Cerilia; elves and any blooded being with the long life ability

Q: Are the Cerelian Dragons "immortal" entities, or do they just have a
life way past our lifetime?

[dsbrown@is2.dal.c]

> >Well, near as I can tell, there are two main "immortal" entities on
> >Cerilia; elves and any blooded being with the long life ability
>
> Q: Are the Cerelian Dragons "immortal" entities, or do they just have a
> life way past our lifetime?

For all intents and purposes, I would consider them as 'Immortal"
entities...their lifespan hasn't really been discussed, I think we
can assume its long enough that they're immortal to us :)

Sean