DragonMech: Why the Moon Falls [Archive] - Wizards Community

DragonMech: Why the Moon Falls [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-04-07, 06:17 PM Here's my proposed reason for why the moon is falling down on Highpoint. It all goes back to when Sardior, Master of the Gem Dragons, destroyed Seradess, his obsidian thane, and banished the obsidian dragons from his court. The six thanes represent different aspects of Sardior's own mind. He was symbolically rejecting a part of himself. The thanes are akin to the little shoulder angels and shoulder devils. They represent certain views, but are not the source of them. As such, it was not enough to destroy Seradess. Sardior had to purge a part of his personality. Knowing that Sardior is a god of trickery, among other things, I propose the obsidian side represents treachery and malicious pranks. When this aspect of Sardior was removed, it took on a form of its own and escaped.

This Obsidian Aspect, whatever she calls herself (Seradess, representing this part, is female, so I presume the Obsidian Aspect is too. From now I'll call her Seradess), was angry at being purged, and seeks revenge. Representing malicious trickery and pranks, her revenge would not be forthright. Knowing Sardior's love of conversation, she engineered a plot to destroy not Sardior, but every mortal and deity Sardior could converse with, leaving him with none to speak to - nothing to do but think about what his action wrought. Somehow, Seradess engineered the falling of the moon and the attack of the lunar gods on the earthly ones. Maybe she tricked the lunar gods into believing something abominably foul about the earthly gods - enough to warrant their unity in wiping out both the gods of Highpoint and even Highpoint itself. Or maybe Seradess engineered it so Highpoint is falling on the moon. From Highpoint it would seem the reverse is happening, so we would not know the difference. But the lunar gods would, and they would know some earthly god is responsible. They would take this to be a full-out attack, and their siege is only a counterattack. They first demanded to know which god engineered this, but the earthly ones cannot say. The lunar gods take this to mean the Highpoint gods have unified against them in war. This possibility seems just in keeping with Seradess's love of trickery.

But how could a fragment of a lesser deity pull off such deception? Remember, she has had eons to plan. Generations upon generations of dragons have passed since her separation. And any good trickster knows the virtue of patience and planning . . .

So, what do you all think?
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-08-07, 10:47 AM :bump: Just in case the DragonMech fans haven't found this yet . . .
Novem
09-08-07, 11:47 AM I like it!
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-10-07, 10:37 PM I like it!

Well thanks. I have reached one more person with this idea. The thread's a success. However minor, it's still success. Btw, what do you think of the possibility that the moon might be a huge genius loci that uses Seradess as its one "thrall"? The pic from ELH does depict the moon as a genius loci, and it'd be neat if the entire moon were "intelligent," basing its desires and such off of Seradess, but in doing so leaving her trapped up there. Kinda neat. I might not personally use it, but it's still a possibility worth sharing.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-16-07, 09:28 PM I just thought of something more, now that I own the Shardsfall Quest adventure book. The Starshards were made to fix this war between the gods by making them all equally powerful and allowing mutually assured destruction to take care of the rest. But Seradess, being only a fragment of a deity, was not very powerful before. Only her mastery of trickery has allowed her to succeed so far. As such, the Starshards - the very things designed to stop her - are in fact going to help her succeed. They make her more powerful, so her tricks are better able to work, and her ability to conceal herself will increase with her new power. Additionally, the equaling of all deific powers will make their destruction even more likely to happen. It really fits Seradess's nature, to have tricked someone into believing a certain plan will stop her, when in fact it makes her stronger.

The only possible hitch would be Athuraz (who I don't believe is aware of Seradess per se - he only the falling of the moon and pantheonic war were coming). Once the powers are leveled, he will waken from his coma and ascend from a demigod to a greater deity (as all with divine rank become equal in divine rank). He then plans to be the voice of reason. So as a plot hook, the party needs to first discover that their quest to reunite the Starshards will in fact doom the world rather than save it. At least, if Seradess succeeds in disposing of Athuraz first. So they find themselves needing to save the shell of a demigod.

Also working with the Starshards theme, the L'arile nation is probably seeking it too. Tannanliel exists as a gift from the elven gods, but each week drains a year from Tannan's life to power it, and once he is dead, Tannanliel cannot run again. But the Starshards help to channel divine power. Maybe the gathering of them could save the elves. But could they knowingly doom the world?

Also, I figured Sardior's banishing of Seradess is probably a custom combination of Personality Parasite + Fission.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-20-07, 07:24 PM You know, a bump in case anyone else has thoughts to add. Especially since I've got new thoughts in my last post.
ArgulFraster
09-20-07, 07:35 PM I'd discuss it if I knew anything about the setting. DragonMech fascinates me, but I don't own any of the books, nor can I afford them.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-20-07, 09:39 PM I'd discuss it if I knew anything about the setting. DragonMech fascinates me, but I don't own any of the books, nor can I afford them.

The DragonMech homepage (http://goodmangames.com/dragonmech.php) should help out. There's plenty of free previews to help you out. Amazon has some cheap but high quality used ones. Heck, I got DragonMech, 2nd Age of Walkers, and Shardsfall Quest all for under $30. And only the first two are really needed to play. Steam Warriors could have been named Player's Guide to DragonMech, so it's handy, but not strictly necessary. Unless someone really wants to play a steamborg. That class was initially about as useful as a bard. Steam Warriors includes a revision of the class and several PrCs and feats.

And now that I actually own the core DragonMech book, I realize it slightly conflicts with the standard mythology. Slightly. Seradess's only role would have been making the God of Lunar Dragons covet the earth and unite two lower deities. And maybe disguising the whole planning to catch the earthly gods by surprise. Neat. She was a mercenary, offering information and other shady dealings.
ArgulFraster
09-22-07, 02:15 PM Fascinating. I've had a look at some of the DragonMech stuff, and perhaps I should grab some of the books off Amazon while I have solvent cash. I have a character planning to create a mech (or mekk as he calls it), and I think I can apply DragonMech rules to his creations.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-23-07, 10:41 AM Fascinating. I've had a look at some of the DragonMech stuff, and perhaps I should grab some of the books off Amazon while I have solvent cash. I have a character planning to create a mech (or mekk as he calls it), and I think I can apply DragonMech rules to his creations.

I remember the mekks! Ask and Aberration with Thiloq and Dragx!
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi
09-27-07, 06:56 PM Well, no new posts in four days. During which it was 1st page. I guess this thread has accomplished all it will. But just in case it hasn't . . . I suppose DragonMech doesn't have much a fan base here. But I like to think I'm extending it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-04-07, 06:17 PM	Here's my proposed reason for why the moon is falling down on Highpoint. It all goes back to when Sardior, Master of the Gem Dragons, destroyed Seradess, his obsidian thane, and banished the obsidian dragons from his court. The six thanes represent different aspects of Sardior's own mind. He was symbolically rejecting a part of himself. The thanes are akin to the little shoulder angels and shoulder devils. They represent certain views, but are not the source of them. As such, it was not enough to destroy Seradess. Sardior had to purge a part of his personality. Knowing that Sardior is a god of trickery, among other things, I propose the obsidian side represents treachery and malicious pranks. When this aspect of Sardior was removed, it took on a form of its own and escaped. This Obsidian Aspect, whatever she calls herself (Seradess, representing this part, is female, so I presume the Obsidian Aspect is too. From now I'll call her Seradess), was angry at being purged, and seeks revenge. Representing malicious trickery and pranks, her revenge would not be forthright. Knowing Sardior's love of conversation, she engineered a plot to destroy not Sardior, but every mortal and deity Sardior could converse with, leaving him with none to speak to - nothing to do but think about what his action wrought. Somehow, Seradess engineered the falling of the moon and the attack of the lunar gods on the earthly ones. Maybe she tricked the lunar gods into believing something abominably foul about the earthly gods - enough to warrant their unity in wiping out both the gods of Highpoint and even Highpoint itself. Or maybe Seradess engineered it so Highpoint is falling on the moon. From Highpoint it would seem the reverse is happening, so we would not know the difference. But the lunar gods would, and they would know some earthly god is responsible. They would take this to be a full-out attack, and their siege is only a counterattack. They first demanded to know which god engineered this, but the earthly ones cannot say. The lunar gods take this to mean the Highpoint gods have unified against them in war. This possibility seems just in keeping with Seradess's love of trickery. But how could a fragment of a lesser deity pull off such deception? Remember, she has had eons to plan. Generations upon generations of dragons have passed since her separation. And any good trickster knows the virtue of patience and planning . . . So, what do you all think?
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-08-07, 10:47 AM	:bump: Just in case the DragonMech fans haven't found this yet . . .
Novem 09-08-07, 11:47 AM	I like it!
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-10-07, 10:37 PM	I like it! Well thanks. I have reached one more person with this idea. The thread's a success. However minor, it's still success. Btw, what do you think of the possibility that the moon might be a huge genius loci that uses Seradess as its one "thrall"? The pic from ELH does depict the moon as a genius loci, and it'd be neat if the entire moon were "intelligent," basing its desires and such off of Seradess, but in doing so leaving her trapped up there. Kinda neat. I might not personally use it, but it's still a possibility worth sharing.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-16-07, 09:28 PM	I just thought of something more, now that I own the Shardsfall Quest adventure book. The Starshards were made to fix this war between the gods by making them all equally powerful and allowing mutually assured destruction to take care of the rest. But Seradess, being only a fragment of a deity, was not very powerful before. Only her mastery of trickery has allowed her to succeed so far. As such, the Starshards - the very things designed to stop her - are in fact going to help her succeed. They make her more powerful, so her tricks are better able to work, and her ability to conceal herself will increase with her new power. Additionally, the equaling of all deific powers will make their destruction even more likely to happen. It really fits Seradess's nature, to have tricked someone into believing a certain plan will stop her, when in fact it makes her stronger. The only possible hitch would be Athuraz (who I don't believe is aware of Seradess per se - he only the falling of the moon and pantheonic war were coming). Once the powers are leveled, he will waken from his coma and ascend from a demigod to a greater deity (as all with divine rank become equal in divine rank). He then plans to be the voice of reason. So as a plot hook, the party needs to first discover that their quest to reunite the Starshards will in fact doom the world rather than save it. At least, if Seradess succeeds in disposing of Athuraz first. So they find themselves needing to save the shell of a demigod. Also working with the Starshards theme, the L'arile nation is probably seeking it too. Tannanliel exists as a gift from the elven gods, but each week drains a year from Tannan's life to power it, and once he is dead, Tannanliel cannot run again. But the Starshards help to channel divine power. Maybe the gathering of them could save the elves. But could they knowingly doom the world? Also, I figured Sardior's banishing of Seradess is probably a custom combination of Personality Parasite + Fission.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-20-07, 07:24 PM	You know, a bump in case anyone else has thoughts to add. Especially since I've got new thoughts in my last post.
ArgulFraster 09-20-07, 07:35 PM	I'd discuss it if I knew anything about the setting. DragonMech fascinates me, but I don't own any of the books, nor can I afford them.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-20-07, 09:39 PM	I'd discuss it if I knew anything about the setting. DragonMech fascinates me, but I don't own any of the books, nor can I afford them. The DragonMech homepage (http://goodmangames.com/dragonmech.php) should help out. There's plenty of free previews to help you out. Amazon has some cheap but high quality used ones. Heck, I got DragonMech, 2nd Age of Walkers, and Shardsfall Quest all for under $30. And only the first two are really needed to play. Steam Warriors could have been named Player's Guide to DragonMech, so it's handy, but not strictly necessary. Unless someone really wants to play a steamborg. That class was initially about as useful as a bard. Steam Warriors includes a revision of the class and several PrCs and feats. And now that I actually own the core DragonMech book, I realize it slightly conflicts with the standard mythology. Slightly. Seradess's only role would have been making the God of Lunar Dragons covet the earth and unite two lower deities. And maybe disguising the whole planning to catch the earthly gods by surprise. Neat. She was a mercenary, offering information and other shady dealings.
ArgulFraster 09-22-07, 02:15 PM	Fascinating. I've had a look at some of the DragonMech stuff, and perhaps I should grab some of the books off Amazon while I have solvent cash. I have a character planning to create a mech (or mekk as he calls it), and I think I can apply DragonMech rules to his creations.
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-23-07, 10:41 AM	Fascinating. I've had a look at some of the DragonMech stuff, and perhaps I should grab some of the books off Amazon while I have solvent cash. I have a character planning to create a mech (or mekk as he calls it), and I think I can apply DragonMech rules to his creations. I remember the mekks! Ask and Aberration with Thiloq and Dragx!
Omnirahk, half-Rahkshi 09-27-07, 06:56 PM	Well, no new posts in four days. During which it was 1st page. I guess this thread has accomplished all it will. But just in case it hasn't . . . I suppose DragonMech doesn't have much a fan base here. But I like to think I'm extending it.