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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
549 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jan 2024 : 06:28:13
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The Dark God at the End of All Things: https://bit.ly/48EtOZB
The cold of winter brings the enigmatic and imprisoned god of eternal darkness and decay, known simply as the Dark God. Said to have been imprisoned long ago in order to preserve all of creation, mythology also presents it as a being that will preside over the destruction of all things when he is eventually released.
Jeff |
My 2nd Edition blog: http://blog.aulddragon.com/
My streamed AD&D Spelljamer sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/aulddragon/playlists?flow=grid&shelf_id=18&view=50
"That sums it up in a nutshell, AuldDragon. You make a more convincing argument. But he's right and you're not." |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3286 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2024 : 06:49:21
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| Perfect for a new year! |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 20:30:31
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quote:
Originally posted by AuldDragon
The Dark God at the End of All Things: https://bit.ly/48EtOZB
The cold of winter brings the enigmatic and imprisoned god of eternal darkness and decay, known simply as the Dark God. Said to have been imprisoned long ago in order to preserve all of creation, mythology also presents it as a being that will preside over the destruction of all things when he is eventually released.
Jeff
Ancient temples that served as active centers of worship for centuries or that have a number of undead guardians are often imbued with much dark magic. Dark mists and biting cold fill the sanctified area, reducing all forms of light, and many magical traps and curses fill the halls and chambers. In particular, the often have caches of rare black diamonds that are cursed to transform those who would rob these treasures into undead servants of the Dark God.
I love this in that it almost seems like you are making a tie to the Queen of Air and Darkness and how she became an unseen being or area of shadowy blackness on a throne. One thing Markustay came up with that I loved and felt like it would be great to use was the idea that the QoA&D had this "regalia of winter" as some form of "cursed artifacts" that were being used to corrupt divine entities, such that some of them turned exceptionally dark and others "went dark but are now repenting".
If we extended that a little differently and linked these things back to this god, and stated that he does THIS because he CAN'T act as a god and is corrupting the divine in order to use them somewhat like puppets or servants in hopes of eventually freeing himself. The instances where he temporarily manifests an avatar might be seen as extended if he's able to act through a god in the same way that the gods filled the bodies of mortals during the ToT.... or something like what happens with a 3rd edition binder who binds a vestige where an entity shares a body and can influence the being residing in it. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2024 : 21:54:06
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Ancient temples that served as active centers of worship for centuries or that have a number of undead guardians are often imbued with much dark magic. Dark mists and biting cold fill the sanctified area, reducing all forms of light, and many magical traps and curses fill the halls and chambers. In particular, the often have caches of rare black diamonds that are cursed to transform those who would rob these treasures into undead servants of the Dark God.
I love this in that it almost seems like you are making a tie to the Queen of Air and Darkness and how she became an unseen being or area of shadowy blackness on a throne. One thing Markustay came up with that I loved and felt like it would be great to use was the idea that the QoA&D had this "regalia of winter" as some form of "cursed artifacts" that were being used to corrupt divine entities, such that some of them turned exceptionally dark and others "went dark but are now repenting".
That temple description was drawn from Night Below, which was fairly explicit in naming the Dark God as Tharizdun from Greyhawk. The potential connection with the Queen of Air and Darkness was specified by Sargent as well, and he included a large number of cursed black diamonds in the Night Below adventure, so I think the Dark God being responsible (intentionally or unintentionally) is pretty clear.
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
If we extended that a little differently and linked these things back to this god, and stated that he does THIS because he CAN'T act as a god and is corrupting the divine in order to use them somewhat like puppets or servants in hopes of eventually freeing himself. The instances where he temporarily manifests an avatar might be seen as extended if he's able to act through a god in the same way that the gods filled the bodies of mortals during the ToT.... or something like what happens with a 3rd edition binder who binds a vestige where an entity shares a body and can influence the being residing in it.
I would mostly handle the Dark God as having very little agency and no solid plans because his prison is so very tight. But what he can do is create "seeds" that he hopes have negative effects that further his goals. For example, the Black Diamond of the Queen of Air and Darkness was essentially just a generically corrupting artifact of great power, and it just happened to find its way into her hands by circumstance, sort of like how the One Ring just happened to find its way into Smeagol's, Bilbo's, and Frodo's hands rather than intentionally trying to get into their hands specifically. To spice things up, I created the idea that the Dark God's prison may periodically (over periods of hundreds of years, with planetary conjunctions or when ill-omened comets appear, etc.) weaken just enough for him to reach out a finger and touch the Prime briefly, and in this time his goal tends to be to just lay more seeds like the Black Diamond, but of various power levels, with the goal of increasing the rate of destruction of the multiverse. I think players would be operating against the plans of the followers of the Dark God rather than the Dark God's own plans. :)
Jeff |
My 2nd Edition blog: http://blog.aulddragon.com/
My streamed AD&D Spelljamer sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/aulddragon/playlists?flow=grid&shelf_id=18&view=50
"That sums it up in a nutshell, AuldDragon. You make a more convincing argument. But he's right and you're not." |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jan 2024 : 15:01:37
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I never have read through Night Below, but I've always heard good things. I have skimmed it though when there were references. It seems I need to look. I know a year or five back we were discussing here this idea of the black diamonds and Markustay's idea of the "regalia of winter", but there was also a lot of discussion of Tharizdun and the 4e idea of the formation of the Abyss by a "Shard of Pure Evil" used to corrupt the elemental chaos. There was also a "primordial" who was imprisoned and known as Timesus the Black Star also included in 4e lore as being made of black crystal that was imprisoned and broken into pieces, but killed during the dawn war. We also have this idea presented in a lot of the 5e adventures of "black/dark crystals" that are hinted to have some ability to enable time travel and a lot of other things... so I agree having these things as some form of "tool" that "the Dark God" / Tharizdun has been somehow
Along these same lines, we've noted a lot of similarities between Kiaransalee, the Raven Queen, the QoA&D, Auril, and Ereshkigal ... and perhaps rather than relating them as "the same being", because there are similarities but differences... it might perhaps be better to give them all some links back to these kind of corrupting artifacts. We might even find out that the "Tenebrous" that "brought Orcus back" was in fact something where Orcus used one of these black diamonds in some form of "contingency" should he be killed so that he could then resurrect his own godly nature. Basically, a lot of death / winter / darkness gods may have been touched by these "black diamonds" ... at which time the Dark God took advantage of this to use them to try and advance his goals... possibly acting to speak to them in a way similar to how Fistandantilus spoke to Raistlin or how binders get influenced subtly. Some of them embrace this... some break away eventually.
All of that to somewhat say that it could be interesting to link this crystal in a lot of other ways besides the divine as well. We could for instance find out that "the death moon orb" that had a corrupting influence that turned people steadily more evil.... was perhaps made of this "black diamond" material. Since Larloch supposedly made the "death moon orb", we might find out that he himself had some kind of involvement at some point with these materials as well and was possibly corrupted at some point.
SIDENOTE: sorry to hijack the thread just a little... its just this topic made some ideas come to mind and I wanted to jot down my thoughts.
If "The Dark God" / Tharizdun were linked to the black diamond references and they did corrupt a lot of other beings... it occurs to me that both the Raven Queen and Kiaransalee are noted as having worked against orcus in the past (and Kiaransalee specifically used magic to erase Orcus' references, which removed him, and later same was done to her). Both also would seem to fit the bill of having been influenced by such things. So, perhaps these instances were not the gods being destroyed, but rather imprisoned... using power of Tharizdun... and giving Tharizdun some temporary respite from his own prison. This might change the nature of these "black diamonds" and provide a good explanation/mechanic to explain how some storylines have happened, in that these times when the gods are forgotten they are being imprisoned near or in the place where Tharizdun is held temporarily. Perhaps some free themselves as Orcus did. Perhaps others can only be held until some planar conjunction happens and then they get released....... which could also be used as an explanation in FR for the disappearance of a lot of gods suddenly and their return ala spellplague/second sundering |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 03 Jan 2024 16:22:26 |
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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2024 : 23:53:14
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Ben-hadar, the Prince of Good Water: https://bit.ly/48WXHVR
The third of the good archomentals is Ben-hadar, an arrogant and provincial ruler who many believe pushes the boundaries of what is considered good. While he does care for the well-being of his followers, he has little interest in what happens beyond the borders of the Plane of Water.
Jeff |
My 2nd Edition blog: http://blog.aulddragon.com/
My streamed AD&D Spelljamer sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/aulddragon/playlists?flow=grid&shelf_id=18&view=50
"That sums it up in a nutshell, AuldDragon. You make a more convincing argument. But he's right and you're not." |
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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
549 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2024 : 20:48:47
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Zinzerena the Hunted: https://bit.ly/49yWDYu
A recent addition to the drow pantheon, Zinzerena is an outsider even among that chaotic and fractured group of powers. Once a figure in heroic legends, she managed to ascend through trickery, and has been avoiding other members of the pantheon and causing chaos among drow cities ever since. I emphasized her more neutral aspects, which I think would be coming to the fore with her recent loss of power to Lolth.
Jeff |
My 2nd Edition blog: http://blog.aulddragon.com/
My streamed AD&D Spelljamer sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/aulddragon/playlists?flow=grid&shelf_id=18&view=50
"That sums it up in a nutshell, AuldDragon. You make a more convincing argument. But he's right and you're not." |
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Brimstone
Great Reader
USA
3286 Posts |
Posted - 02 Mar 2024 : 07:10:32
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| I like this last one. |
"These things also I have observed: that knowledge of our world is
to be nurtured like a precious flower, for it is the most precious
thing we have. Wherefore guard the word written and heed
words unwritten and set them down ere they fade . . . Learn
then, well, the arts of reading, writing, and listening true, and they
will lead you to the greatest art of all: understanding."
Alaundo of Candlekeep |
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AuldDragon
Senior Scribe
USA
549 Posts |
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[2e] Monster Mythology Update Project
