Post/Author/DateTime	Post
glorystain 11-07-07, 04:57 PM	My next character is going to be a Monk2/Swordsage 3/Shadow Sun Ninja (for those unfamilliar with the Shadow Sun Ninja, its a monk class that focuses on the dichotomy of light/dark, positive/negative, etc.), and I thought it'd be a good class for an Aerenal elf. The culture seems compatible with the dogma and flavor of the class. One of my main aspirations is to somehow acquire the deathless template. Normally one has to be dead to be raised as a deathless, a rather inconvenient caveat for a PC. I was thinking of modifying the Necropolitan template from Libris Mortis to apply the Deathless template instead of the Undead template. I'm looking for suggestions how people imagine the ritual being performed. I'm also looking for good background suggestions, as I don't really have any good ideas how my little elf-monk decided to tread that path, except that he grew up in Aerenal and so was raised in the midst of the whole ancestor-worship dogma.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 11-08-07, 12:33 AM	Well, I'm not sure that death really is a pre-req for deathless. I was under the impression that one of the major differences between undeath and deathless (aside from the whole positive/negative energy thing) was that you used the necromantic rituals on a living person. Still I'm not sure if I read that or assumed it. Still if your looking for a means of becoming deathless try making it part of your orders views. Just as one must accept the dark to see the light one must be able to accept death to understand life. Tie it into your progression within your order that those who reach a certain level are made deathless so that they may reach new levels of comprehension on the nature of life and death and that they may then pass that knowledge on to others.
KIDS 11-10-07, 05:49 PM	Heh, I'm playing an Aereni Elf Ninja/Druid. Fun stuff, I say, and great RP potential. As an Aerenal Elf, the key word is "esoteric". Not extravagant, but with a twist. Everything you do has some modification, less than visible reason, surprise or a shade of gray. Aerenal is a culture which puts a lot of faith into its ancestors but is incredibly open to various opinions and approaches to life and death. Philosophy is encouraged, orders and individuals thrive and exchange of information is much sought after. Pondering things is considered the first focus for everyone. Restrictions exist but freedom of thought is considered an important value, as well as imagination. There is one interesting side effect. In Aerenal, your ancestors walk beside you. Your faith fuels them and their faith fuels you. Most powerful, legendary titans of your race are still there, setting examples, but also benchmarks. With someone who has already seen all at your side, an elf there might fear being forgotten or not being able to ever rival his ancestor's deeds. As another analogy, in a land of dreams, there is little room left for your own dream - because someone has dreamed it already. However, the ancestors are not cruel. The motivations and morals are a thing they know well, having sprung up from those, so they cater carefully to the desires of their young descendants. An elf who tries to perform an epic deed and fails will not be scorned; in fact, his courage is likely to be kindled by his ancestors predicting this and providing more motivation, encouragement or a safety net. My character for example wanted to climb Primordial, the oldest and tallest tree in all Aeranal when he was young. He came up to some hundred feet of height and couldn't move anymore. But when he lost hope and realized this fact about being so small compared to everything, the ancestors haven't let him down; in fact, the Awakened trees surrounding the Primordial saved him from a deadly fall and told him to try again. If this sounds good to you, use similar examples. Unless you plan to be adventuring in your homeland though, I'd advise against Deathless Template even as a plan. As a Deathless, both OOC and RP nudge you towards staying home and sharing your power or knowledge with others there, not wandering the world. Still, a proactive Deathless sect or movement or a Council-sanctioned organization that seeks to spread out from the ancient home might be a good and fun approach. The important part is to have a DM open to individual imagination else all your ideas about philosophy and organization will be shot down.
glorystain 11-12-07, 12:05 AM	good, stuff, KIDS. As far as adventuring as a deathless goes, it also mentions in one of the books (I think Faiths of Eberron) that it takes a deathless elf many thousand years of existance before they're considered for admittance to the court. It makes sense (to me) that a deathless would continue adventureing during that time. Also, I've been thinking about monastic orders. I imagine whatever order he's a member of serves as spies for the undying beyond the shores of Aerenal, so he'd continue to have good reason to continue the work he does beyond becoming deathless.