Why is the Gorgon so powerful?

[Master Spaz]

yea
really it is funny
my gorgon was even greater
at time of its death, he was slashing 7 attacks in 2 round like...
lol
and had a -12 ca
and i think likes... more than 200 hp lol
F 25 wizard 26


but did your players ever noticed at fighting gorgon with a mirror shield (old jedi trick) lol
it is really comforting to see all the world birthright community I loves you all...

Birthright is THE game for the real players

[ArchScarlettie]

From the original boxed set, first line of the card on the Gorgon: "The Gorgon began life as Raesene, the oldest child of his father, the Lord of the First House of the Andu. From an early age, it seemed clear the he would help to shape the future of Cerilia. However, as a bastard child, the glory and attention went to his two legitmate half-brothers, Haelyn and Roele. Though his outward demeanor never betrayed him, Raesene envied them this attention and coveted it. Nonetheless, he taught them what he knew of swordplay and horsemanship, and his tutoring gave them an excellent grasp of the fundamentals of warfare - fundamentals that would prepare them well and earn them praise."

Consider that one of his brothers ascended to be the heir to Andurias, the Ruler of the Gods; the other to found the greatest human empire ever known in Cerilia. It makes perfect sense of the Gorgon's level of ability. He is not really meant to be defeated. His story, his glory (as it is) has not yet been written down. Think of the heroic levels Michael Reole achieved, the heroic deeds he accomplished, to yet fail to kill the Gorgon. A hero second to none, with a bloodline to rival the Gorgon's.

"Anuireans say the awnshegh harvests bloodlines like a vintner harvests grapes- with great care and deliberation. He helps the scions of an individual line grow ever more powerful, and then subtley encourages them to seek him out. Only a few have provided even modest entertainment, but all have nourished his personal bloodline."

Think of the amount of power the Gorgon would have recieved, had he been able to claim bloodtheft of his brother's (Reole) line. As a True bloodline, with Michael Reole being the last heir to it, the Gorgon would have significantly increased his own bloodline, probably to the point of absorbing enough essence to ascend into Godhood. In a way, the Gorgon doesn't need to conquer the world to get what he wants. He already has it, literally outside his home fortress, where he fought the last Reole. When Michael Reole grounded his bloodline, it took the very thing the Gorgon desired and had planned so long to achieve: his Godhood. Killing a dozen or more scions of Great lines probably would not have near the effect of the bloodtheft of a True line. So the Gorgon waits in home. Why?

Everything he wants he already has, right where he is. All he really needs is a powerful, foolish hero (like Michael Reole) to come to Battlewaite and claim the bloodline of the Reole's - so that he may finally kill that scion and thus claim the line, getting what he desired hundreds of years ago.

Time and time again, he is mentioned as the first, the most powerful, of all of the awnsheghlien, the first to discover bloodtheft. He is in all respects, the heir to Azrai. In the original boxed set, he is mentioned as "keeping in contact with the two new Gods of Evil, Belinik and Kriesha - and envies thier power, but has yet to find a way to take it."

Consider that the Spider, and the Manslayer, were never themselves defeated nor conquered - even when the Reole's ruled an entire empire. Awnsheghlien are meant in many ways to provide the DM with a final, last challenge to present to PC's. Let's remember that the Birthright world, and the regency itself, was centered around the AD&D game, which is based upon adventures. Defeating any major awnshegh could be the focus of an entire campaign, as characters search and find and make artifacts needed to confront "a great evil in the land". In many ways, Awnsheghlien replace the "ancient, big, bad, horribly evil dragon in the cave over the hill."

In summary, the Gorgon is really the last card of the DM in a long campaign. Any storyline or villian can be merely a pawn of the Gorgon, thus continuing the adventure. And after a long, long campaign where the PC's have conquered Anuire, the chamberlain can place a nice, pretty Gold Crown on thier heads and direct them off to the ancestral enemy. After years of gathering forces, artifacts, and heroes by their side, they can go to face a demigod in a final climatic blood challenge, either claiming the line of Reole and becoming the true Emperor, or dying at the hands of it's ancient enemy, and creating, more than likely, a new Azrai.

Just a thought.

[irdeggman]

Pretty good summary.

But IIRC the Spider was the one credited with "discovering" bloodtheft.

[Doyle]

<snip>...
"Anuireans say the awnshegh harvests bloodlines like a vintner harvests grapes- with great care and deliberation. He helps the scions of an individual line grow ever more powerful, and then subtley encourages them to seek him out. Only a few have provided even modest entertainment, but all have nourished his personal bloodline."...
<snip> ... And after a long, long campaign where the PC's have conquered Anuire, the chamberlain can place a nice, pretty Gold Crown on thier heads and direct them off to the ancestral enemy. After years of gathering forces, artifacts, and heroes by their side, they can go to face a demigod in a final climatic blood challenge, either claiming the line of Reole and becoming the true Emperor, or dying at the hands of it's ancient enemy, and creating, more than likely, a new Azrai.

My nasty suspicious mind was at work while reading the above essay and overlaid the thought "the chamberlain sending the Emporer hopeful off to probable slaughter, ... perhaps that's his payment to the Gorgon ... for immortality?... perhaps a virtual empire?..."
A bit of a departure from the canon (the best way to sneak things onto the PC's), but would still work with some of the rumours about his longevity. As chamberlain, Dosiere is second only to the Emporer in political influence - there is no emporer - Dosiere is top of the pile for as long as he can live and thwart any real contenders. Raesene is happy enough where he is, probably does not want the empire to unite against him (the war would send Cerilia back into the dark ages and undo all the schemes and plots he's had running for centuries) and he wants to harvest the best bloodlines. I see a business relationship here!
It could even be slotted into most currently running campaigns; every time the chamberlain has seemd to assist the PCs or asked them a favour, could it not have been part of the grand plan to keep a real contender off the throne and to eventually deliver the lambs to the slaughter?

Just a paranoid thought.