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  1. #1

    Killing the Gorgon...

    Am I the only one who thinks Anuirea could do without a Mordor clone?

    So anyways, the possibility of the Gorgon becoming a God or simply turning to stone has been mentioned in the books. Has anyone had this happen?

    Such a thing, likely leading to the Gorgon's Crown descending into anarchy and civil war, could be the catalyst for an Avanil vs Boeruine showdown - neither would have to fear being steamrolled after defeating the other. (This would also free up Mhoried's forces... emperor Daeric Mhoried. I like the sound of that.)

  2. #2
    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
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    Actually I always saw the Magian as more of the Morder clone...

    The Gorgon becoming a god would have interesting repercussions

    1. His dragon probably escapes - the gods help anyone in Kal Saitharak when that happens, heck, Cerilia as a whole...

    2. Mur Kilad and Markazor have a long overdue reckoning - and that won't be pretty for anyone in the neighbourhood.

    3. The Gorgon seeks followers amongst the Vos, renegade Anuireans, Crown scum - holy war with Belinik's followers?

    4. The new leader of the Crowns seeks to prove that the Crown is still strong / the Crown dissolves into a major civil war

    5. The Swordhawk invades the Crown....

    6. The elves seek to rejoin Tuarheviel and the Sielwode, just some goblin scum in the way - and they may well flee north or south if attacked correctly rather than fighting for their land, what elf cares about the effect on the Anuireans/Rjurik?

    7. To become a god presumably he needs followers, RoE didn't mention 'the Dark Knights of the Prince' but that doesn't mean they don't exist, without the Gorgon to keep them in the Crown where will they go? To carve out their own realm? To serve the Raven?

    8. One thing restraining Rhoubhe / the Spider has probably been the fact that the Gorgon sees Anuire as his - with him gone it's open season on humans - and there is no unified empire to stop them...

    9. The Drake makes a move on the Crown / openly reveals himself as the god of the orogs - daddy's gone and Cerilia is his once more!

    10. Anyone else who has been hiding from the Gorgon comes out to play, such as the Fae, possibly the Water Maiden, long forgotten Awnies, interesting times methinks...

    11. What happens if the Gorgon consumes the Cold Rider? The Shadow world already presses closely in many parts and the Gorgon may well share Azrai's desire to merge the two together

    12. The Gorgon currently stops Anuire from readily accessing Brechtur, and to a lesser degree Khinasi (I have the Anuireans as lousy sailors but other campaigns may be different) - someone is bound to start thinking in terms of a reborn empire - either an Anuirean thinks about building one or one of the other tribes to stop one reforming.

    13. If like me you haven't had any gods since Deismaar (priests get magic just as wizards do - they just think its holy) things could get very interesting - as the Gorgon binds his will on reality he might for example choose to allow awnsheghlien to grow (a certain degree) by slaughtering people for the dregs of divine blood that run in nearly all (1500 years of the rich and famous being blooded would rapidly spread some touch of godhood throughout most of the population if the 'fizzle factor' relates only to usable bloodline abilities) would lead to a number of minor awnies running around for example - survival of the fittest Gorgon-style!

    14. How do you kill a god? Perhaps if the Gorgon ascends he becomes dependent on having followers - destroy them and he fades away, holy war beckons and any who subscribe to the Gorgon's might makes right philosophy is suspect (Ghoere, Oseorde, Boeruine if hyped correctly, etc) It may not be true but it's certainly plausible enough to whip the peasants into a war-frenzy.

    etc.

    Of course the Gorgon just ascending is a little tame, surely he needs some dread ritual? A great sacrifice in his name? Consumption of a great rival? etc. It's likely to get very messy before hand, although what his conquering hordes will do when the Gorgon suddenly vanishes leaving them deep inside Anuire / Rjurik / Brechtur surrounded by enemies is an interesting question, Darkness at Sethanon by Feist type scenario anyone?


    The Gorgon vanishing is only the start of your problems...

  3. #3
    Great ideas all around, Andrew.

    1) Has the dragon been confirmed? I'm looking for more info on him/her.

    3) I've never, ever thought that a Vos campaign would be a fun idea until now...

    8) It strikes me that Rhuobhe's raiding/invading could be the difference victory and defeat for Boeruine. That could certainly lead to some interesting situations. While Sword and Crown had some fairly implausible ideas, I do like the idea of underhanded Avanil/Elf dealings...

    10) Water Maiden? (forgive my incessant questions)

  4. #4
    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
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    1. Raizhadik, the Wyrm of Kal'Saitharak if I remember correctly. I think he was mentioned in a Dragon article which I probably have in the attic somewhere - if you are really interested I can dig it out and para-phrase it.

    3. Vos campaigns are limited by the minimal number of playable realms - but a nona vos realm slowly trying to show the benefits of the Nona way could be interesting.

    Personally if I had the mapping skill I'd break Cerilia between Khinasi and Vosgaard and push the Khinasi lands south (justifying the weather more), filling the space in between with some more Vos realms, perhaps a last outpost of the Anuirean empire (Aquitaine?), a client state from the Brecht league, a dwarf realm (hugely under-represented), etc to make a playable Vos realm or two. By making it a mish-mash realm you get the interaction and fluidity that makes a campaign great - some depth to Brechtur would also be a handy offshoot - currently you have a neighbour left and right to talk to and that's about it.

    8. Rhoubhe is to Boeruine what the Spider is to Avanil - a potential raid by an ancestral foe at just the wrong moment. Thier war is likely to be catastrophic and indecisive regardless, if Avanil is cruising to victory Ghoere or Diemed will undermine him, if Avanil is getting stomped they will support Avanil. If they do unify then the next generation sees all sorts of splits - can you really rule both and not Taeghas? If you rule all three can you do so effectively or do you need a vassal to hold the lands of the defeated duke? How long before that vassal declares independence given the strength of their realm?

    10. Unless I mis-remember the Water maiden was an ehrshegh who was hunted the Gorgon, and may have turned into an aquifer to hide from him...

    And don't worry about the questions - that's one of the things a forum is for.

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    In the last BR campaign I played in, the Gorgon ascended to godhood. It left a huge hole of power to be filled and the bad guys of the world all focused on taking over the Gorgon's stuff.

    The idea, honestly? Scared the living %%$$ out of me. The Gorgon as a god. (shiver)

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    Senior Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    I've had the Gorgon killed by Khinasi cannons (divergent Cerilia!!!), and I've had him return as a Spectral Awnsheghlien (even more Sauron-like!), and I've had the Black Prince not turning into a horrible stoney monster, but something sneakier.

    However, there tends to be SOMETHING in that area, since it's a nice horrible rugged piece of terrain. Sometimes its Old Stonebutt; other times its a mix of horrible dwarves, goblin communes, crippled ancient dragons, and less statuesque awnsheghlien.
    John 'Trithemius' Machin
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    Senior Member Trithemius's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewTall View Post
    13. Vos campaigns are limited by the minimal number of playable realms - but a nona vos realm slowly trying to show the benefits of the Nona way could be interesting.

    Personally if I had the mapping skill I'd break Cerilia between Khinasi and Vosgaard and push the Khinasi lands south (justifying the weather more), filling the space in between with some more Vos realms, perhaps a last outpost of the Anuirean empire (Aquitaine?), a client state from the Brecht league, a dwarf realm (hugely under-represented), etc to make a playable Vos realm or two. By making it a mish-mash realm you get the interaction and fluidity that makes a campaign great - some depth to Brechtur would also be a handy offshoot - currently you have a neighbour left and right to talk to and that's about it.
    You could extend the Zhainge too, and make it more like the principal axis on which Khinasi society is built?
    John 'Trithemius' Machin
    The Other John From Dunedin (now in Canberra)
    "Power performs the Miracle." - Johannes Trithemius

  8. #8
    1) No need to go that far.

    3) I've made the Khinasi lands a bit more like Anuirea - I dislike the idea people have of the Middle East as a giant desert, after all. I can simply attribute their darker skin to Masetian influence.

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    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trithemius View Post
    You could extend the Zhainge too, and make it more like the principal axis on which Khinasi society is built?
    Certainly - it gives a very easy way into the heart of the realm and so makes diplomacy and trade much easier - everyone is neighbours as they are all affected if one realm closes the river to traffic.

    Although the Basarji were horse nomads, they must also have been very good sailors (they came far further across open ocean than the Adurians). I would expect that the Zhainge was the focus of the colonisation of the nation away from the coast and I see it as the dominant route between the heart of Khinasi and the Sun Coast. I'd add a branch into the Tarvan Waste (unless Tarva was purely fan made it would have needed a major river as water supply) extend the sprue into Novgorik and Highvale up into the Lamia's realm giving her some added influence in the region, and so on.

    On the down side the city on the coast should as a result be vast and only Ariya really has the historic clout the justify the role.

    I would suggest mirror imaging Ariya and Aftan about the north-south line running down the western Kafrin, Asarafif, Azedas border. That puts the city of Ariya on the Zhainge and explains why it was the lead realm in weakening the hold of the Anuirean Empire - it was the natural leader by size, wealth and history. A lesser river between Zikala and Aftane would allow Aftane itself to remain coastal without being just a few days north of the city of Ariya - although great rival cities just a few dozen leagues apart is intriguing and hardly without historical parallels.

    An interesting point about the Khinasi lands is that its not really desert - as I understand the position scrub plains and the like are more common (not surprising given the latitude). By extending it south you can get the classic dune-swept desert (to keep the arabs=sand folk happy), have the north more home to horse nomads and spread the Awnies out a bit more - the Khinasi seem to have a double helping, while the Vos, who should have the most, are mostly free aside from the Raven - a few more non-human realms would also help make the Vos distinct from the Rjurik in campaigns which hype up the Rjurik=Viking theme (as opposed to Rjurik = tree hugging celt).

  10. #10
    Site Moderator kgauck's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by prince_dios View Post
    3) I've made the Khinasi lands a bit more like Anuirea - I dislike the idea people have of the Middle East as a giant desert, after all. I can simply attribute their darker skin to Masetian influence.
    This matters of interpretation are sometimes fun to play with. Have Anuireans and Brechts describe these lands as a great desert, and the PC's prepare for a trek across the Sahara, and what they get is more like Kansas. I mention here the early 19th century references to the Great American Desert, which refered to the the high plains, or a land like the Ukraine. Vast steppes or plains with Khinasi horsemen could be described as a desert either because 1) you use an archaic definition of "desert" (see link) or 2) you have Brecht and Anurian observers making exagerated comparisons to their own more familiar homelands.

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