The Diaspora of Azrai: Possible Campaign Idea

[InVinoVeritas]

Years ago, I played Grandia II. It's a CRPG where the various "body parts" of the chief evil god had been sundered, possess individuals, and are presently trying to reassemble themselves in the same person.

Then, I thought, what if this were applied to Birthright?

Blooded scions represent small, inconsequential portions of the old gods' existence. Awnsheghlien might represent organs or items of more substantial proportion for Azrai. Then, in a long, slow, unwitting, Highlander-style dance, Azrai is trying to reform.

I had worked out a possible list of how the parts of Azrai might be spread among the awnsheghlien. I don't see it as "if this part is in use, then scientifically, these other parts cannot," but as more of a thematic idea of how Azrai (and the other gods) have been split. It's only a partial list, but it might grow.

The Gorgon: The Body of Azrai
The Magian: The Mind of Azrai
The Raven: The Soul of Azrai
The Serpent: The Seed of Azrai
Apocalypse: The Breath of Azrai
The Siren: The Voice of Azrai
The Basilisk: The Bile of Azrai
The Leviathan: The Belly of Azrai
The Kraken: The Bowels of Azrai
The Spider: The Spinnerets of Azrai

Thoughts?

[irdeggman]

Don't forget the Cold Rider.

[InVinoVeritas]

Perhaps as The Will or The Shadow of Azrai?

The interesting thing about the campaign idea is that ultimately Azrai's goal is for the awnsheghlien to destroy each other--a goal that on the surface, most good people would also support.

[AndrewTall]

An interesting question is whether permitting breeding will increase or dilute Azrai's eventual strength and whether claiming the bloodline of scions of other gods may strengthen the reborn Azrai with the power of the other god or whether it risks polluting the eventual reborn Azrai...

Given that you presumably want a dynamic game with very active awnies I'd suggest that you take the former option in each case. In which case awnies would be keen to procreate - and avoid slaughtering offspring until they had grown sufficient power to warrant the feasting (giving you lots of little awnies for low level PC's to fight) - and would be keen to slay scions of other gods - particularly those with high bloodlines (giving you foes for powerful PC's).

[InVinoVeritas]

I would think that most awnsheghlien don't even know about the eventual goals of Azrai's reforming. A precious few (The Magian, The Raven, The Cold Rider) would know about it. I would also definitely see some as being completely against the idea (The Serpent).

But it might also be that Azrai wouldn't want to gather up all his scions yet--they hold a lot of power and that can't be ignored. Perhaps some aspects of Azrai haven't yet fully manifested--The Ears of Azrai, for example. Some might not even yet be known to be missing--The Stinger of Azrai, perhaps?

Ooh, maybe the Kraken should be the Tentacles of Azrai...

I'm trying to think how such a campaign would eventually build upon the actions to a final showdown preventing the reforming of Azrai.