(Holy) Symbol for Levistus (cult) [Archive] - Wizards Community

(Holy) Symbol for Levistus (cult) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
wreintein
11-26-07, 06:18 PM Hello all,

In my current campaign my PC's will have to face off against a cult of Levistus. Of course this cult (with at the head an aspect from FCII) schemes a lot, and thus I would like that it took a while before they found out what is actually going on. But they did meet a number of cultists so far. Now I would like to have a symbol / marking which they display. It should be related to Levistus of course, but to keep the confusion, I'd like it to be something easily mistaken for something else.
So far I thought of:
*A styled 2 colour version of the head of Levistus in the ice (as from BoVD).
*Something with a rapier (maybe in a block of ice)/two crossed rapiers.

But the problem with both of them is that in my opinion it would quickly indicate Levistus.
Since they encountered a cleric with this emblem, they suspect it's religion related, so they asked a clergy to look into it. So this might be a nice way to find such a distraction. We use both FR and PHB deities. Any they got the "hint" the cleric wasn't good.

Thanks in advance for any idea's.
Kiioro
11-26-07, 07:06 PM The unholy symbol could be based on the one that's described in the Book of Vile Darkness, but modify it, as Levistus is never even near the material plane, he only gets out when Asmodeus needs to talk to him and then gets him back to the icy prison. That distance could've led them to depict the symbol incorrectly.

And you could try to see the gods in the Frostburn book, any related to arctic civilizations and make sure that a first impression renders them quite alike.
Zousha_Omenohu
11-26-07, 10:32 PM Levistus's symbol is in Frostburn as well, though I have difficulty taking it seriously. It looks more like something I'd drop in a martini, than something I'd flourish to cause the snivelling peasants to draw back in fear.
CryoSilver
11-27-07, 01:25 AM That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish.

How about a snowflake made of rapiers?
Zousha_Omenohu
11-27-07, 01:33 AM That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish.

How about a snowflake made of rapiers?

A snowflake made of rapiers? Those must be some damn tiny rapiers!
wreintein
11-27-07, 07:37 AM That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish.

How about a snowflake made of rapiers?

I actually found the symbol as well in Frostburn after Kiioro's post. But I have to agree with CryoSilver, that I have seen better art.

I really like your idea of the snowflake. Type in "snowflake" in google and look for pictures gives a lot of different designs. This simple one:
http://www.sandscripts.com/catalog/business/gif/snowflake.gif
Could easily be made with 6 rapiers, and then easily mistaken for symbols of wargods. Of course more complicated designs are also possible using ever smaller sword.

Really nice idea, thanks.
CryoSilver
11-28-07, 10:28 PM A snowflake made of rapiers? Those must be some damn tiny rapiers!

Or a giant snowflake of DOOM.
Zousha_Omenohu
11-28-07, 10:39 PM But you can't make an evil snowman out of snowflakes that big!
CryoSilver
11-28-07, 10:47 PM Yes you can. You can make a titanic snowman the like of which the world would tremble to have unleashed upon it. A snowman of such proportion and sheer malice that its magical top hat would be a helmet made of the frozen blood of a thousand orphans. Two eyes made of the fiery brimstone of Hell itself. A carrot nose stolen from the Monty Python rabbit. And the children would laugh and play as their god ravaged the land and brought eternal winter down upon the world.

So basically, you're making a snow-Chthulu.
Zousha_Omenohu
11-28-07, 10:55 PM :gah:
Kiioro
11-29-07, 10:46 AM I should rephrase what I said, I re-read it and found it wasn't as clear as I had thought.

Maybe the clerics got the unholy symbol wrong, after all, Levistus doesn't come out to play often. So they heard the basics of the symbol, then saw the holy symbol of another cold-based diety that was somewhat alike and thought

"Wow, these idiots really got it wrong!"

They changed the deity's simbol to something more Levistus-like but, since they got only bad channeled information, it's neither symbol per se.

The snowman sounds like the Pilsbury guy from the Ghostbusters movie. "OMG, it's a giant... uh... snowman?"
Sarella Starshine
11-30-07, 09:20 AM A very minor quible: it was the Stay-puffed marshmallow man, not the Pilsburry dough boy that was transformed into the giant monster of DOOM!!.

If this Levistus guy is barely around due to his imprisonment, why must his holy symbol be some rip-off of some other God? If these are true cultists of Levistus, they should have a true holy symbol. Just have the DC to figure out who it belongs to really high.

Since they took the symbol to some NPC clergy member and not try to figure out who the symbol belongs to themselves, the NPC could give them false info. Which, will make a great plot idea. Is the NPC in legue with the cult and there doing it deliberately, is he doing it out of fear, or does he really just don't know?

If your players go 'oh its the symbol of Levistus', and try and prepare accordingly, smack them for metagaming.
Kiioro
11-30-07, 11:02 AM That sounds way better than my idea, indeed.

In my defense, I thought it was the Pilsbury outsider guy because here in Maztica (eh... Mexico) we don't have those baatoric Stay-puffed nor Pilsbury things. I do know their cousin, the Michelin guy, though.
Dam_Eht-karp
11-30-07, 12:41 PM not having access to frostburn at the moment, I've no idea what his symbol looks like there, but I'm greatly in favour of the holy symbol of levistus being an ice cube. Like the clerics actually cart around ice cubes.

"Wait, why aren't the undead doing my bidding? Oh crap! My unholy symbol, it's melting!"

"Father Lestus, Father Lestus! The unholy symbols are melting! Curse this unseasonably warm weather!"
CryoSilver
11-30-07, 08:13 PM Would Pelor's clerics actually have carry around suns, then? That'd be pretty awesome. You wouldn't even have to turn undead, because every undead (and everything else not fire immune) within billions of miles would already be incinerated.
Zousha_Omenohu
11-30-07, 11:13 PM not having access to frostburn at the moment, I've no idea what his symbol looks like there, but I'm greatly in favour of the holy symbol of levistus being an ice cube. Like the clerics actually cart around ice cubes.

"Wait, why aren't the undead doing my bidding? Oh crap! My unholy symbol, it's melting!"

"Father Lestus, Father Lestus! The unholy symbols are melting! Curse this unseasonably warm weather!"

Not if they're made of "blue ice", a substance introduced in Frostburn. It's basically unmeltable ice, and is serviceable as raw materials for building, armor and weapons, as well as a means of refrigeration. People even make cups out of it to keep their drinks cold!:cool:
Zousha_Omenohu
11-30-07, 11:15 PM Would Pelor's clerics actually have carry around suns, then? That'd be pretty awesome. You wouldn't even have to turn undead, because every undead (and everything else not fire immune) within billions of miles would already be incinerated.

Including yourself.:bored:
CryoSilver
11-30-07, 11:26 PM Including yourself.:bored:

But the zombie would be dead, too, and isn't that what really counts?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
wreintein 11-26-07, 06:18 PM	Hello all, In my current campaign my PC's will have to face off against a cult of Levistus. Of course this cult (with at the head an aspect from FCII) schemes a lot, and thus I would like that it took a while before they found out what is actually going on. But they did meet a number of cultists so far. Now I would like to have a symbol / marking which they display. It should be related to Levistus of course, but to keep the confusion, I'd like it to be something easily mistaken for something else. So far I thought of: A styled 2 colour version of the head of Levistus in the ice (as from BoVD). Something with a rapier (maybe in a block of ice)/two crossed rapiers. But the problem with both of them is that in my opinion it would quickly indicate Levistus. Since they encountered a cleric with this emblem, they suspect it's religion related, so they asked a clergy to look into it. So this might be a nice way to find such a distraction. We use both FR and PHB deities. Any they got the "hint" the cleric wasn't good. Thanks in advance for any idea's.
Kiioro 11-26-07, 07:06 PM	The unholy symbol could be based on the one that's described in the Book of Vile Darkness, but modify it, as Levistus is never even near the material plane, he only gets out when Asmodeus needs to talk to him and then gets him back to the icy prison. That distance could've led them to depict the symbol incorrectly. And you could try to see the gods in the Frostburn book, any related to arctic civilizations and make sure that a first impression renders them quite alike.
Zousha_Omenohu 11-26-07, 10:32 PM	Levistus's symbol is in Frostburn as well, though I have difficulty taking it seriously. It looks more like something I'd drop in a martini, than something I'd flourish to cause the snivelling peasants to draw back in fear.
CryoSilver 11-27-07, 01:25 AM	That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish. How about a snowflake made of rapiers?
Zousha_Omenohu 11-27-07, 01:33 AM	That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish. How about a snowflake made of rapiers? A snowflake made of rapiers? Those must be some damn tiny rapiers!
wreintein 11-27-07, 07:37 AM	That's because they had Crabapple do the art for that section, and his work is (in my opinion) universally subpar and cartoonish. How about a snowflake made of rapiers? I actually found the symbol as well in Frostburn after Kiioro's post. But I have to agree with CryoSilver, that I have seen better art. I really like your idea of the snowflake. Type in "snowflake" in google and look for pictures gives a lot of different designs. This simple one: http://www.sandscripts.com/catalog/business/gif/snowflake.gif Could easily be made with 6 rapiers, and then easily mistaken for symbols of wargods. Of course more complicated designs are also possible using ever smaller sword. Really nice idea, thanks.
CryoSilver 11-28-07, 10:28 PM	A snowflake made of rapiers? Those must be some damn tiny rapiers! Or a giant snowflake of DOOM.
Zousha_Omenohu 11-28-07, 10:39 PM	But you can't make an evil snowman out of snowflakes that big!
CryoSilver 11-28-07, 10:47 PM	Yes you can. You can make a titanic snowman the like of which the world would tremble to have unleashed upon it. A snowman of such proportion and sheer malice that its magical top hat would be a helmet made of the frozen blood of a thousand orphans. Two eyes made of the fiery brimstone of Hell itself. A carrot nose stolen from the Monty Python rabbit. And the children would laugh and play as their god ravaged the land and brought eternal winter down upon the world. So basically, you're making a snow-Chthulu.
Zousha_Omenohu 11-28-07, 10:55 PM	:gah:
Kiioro 11-29-07, 10:46 AM	I should rephrase what I said, I re-read it and found it wasn't as clear as I had thought. Maybe the clerics got the unholy symbol wrong, after all, Levistus doesn't come out to play often. So they heard the basics of the symbol, then saw the holy symbol of another cold-based diety that was somewhat alike and thought "Wow, these idiots really got it wrong!" They changed the deity's simbol to something more Levistus-like but, since they got only bad channeled information, it's neither symbol per se. The snowman sounds like the Pilsbury guy from the Ghostbusters movie. "OMG, it's a giant... uh... snowman?"
Sarella Starshine 11-30-07, 09:20 AM	A very minor quible: it was the Stay-puffed marshmallow man, not the Pilsburry dough boy that was transformed into the giant monster of DOOM!!. If this Levistus guy is barely around due to his imprisonment, why must his holy symbol be some rip-off of some other God? If these are true cultists of Levistus, they should have a true holy symbol. Just have the DC to figure out who it belongs to really high. Since they took the symbol to some NPC clergy member and not try to figure out who the symbol belongs to themselves, the NPC could give them false info. Which, will make a great plot idea. Is the NPC in legue with the cult and there doing it deliberately, is he doing it out of fear, or does he really just don't know? If your players go 'oh its the symbol of Levistus', and try and prepare accordingly, smack them for metagaming.
Kiioro 11-30-07, 11:02 AM	That sounds way better than my idea, indeed. In my defense, I thought it was the Pilsbury outsider guy because here in Maztica (eh... Mexico) we don't have those baatoric Stay-puffed nor Pilsbury things. I do know their cousin, the Michelin guy, though.
Dam_Eht-karp 11-30-07, 12:41 PM	not having access to frostburn at the moment, I've no idea what his symbol looks like there, but I'm greatly in favour of the holy symbol of levistus being an ice cube. Like the clerics actually cart around ice cubes. "Wait, why aren't the undead doing my bidding? Oh crap! My unholy symbol, it's melting!" "Father Lestus, Father Lestus! The unholy symbols are melting! Curse this unseasonably warm weather!"
CryoSilver 11-30-07, 08:13 PM	Would Pelor's clerics actually have carry around suns, then? That'd be pretty awesome. You wouldn't even have to turn undead, because every undead (and everything else not fire immune) within billions of miles would already be incinerated.
Zousha_Omenohu 11-30-07, 11:13 PM	not having access to frostburn at the moment, I've no idea what his symbol looks like there, but I'm greatly in favour of the holy symbol of levistus being an ice cube. Like the clerics actually cart around ice cubes. "Wait, why aren't the undead doing my bidding? Oh crap! My unholy symbol, it's melting!" "Father Lestus, Father Lestus! The unholy symbols are melting! Curse this unseasonably warm weather!" Not if they're made of "blue ice", a substance introduced in Frostburn. It's basically unmeltable ice, and is serviceable as raw materials for building, armor and weapons, as well as a means of refrigeration. People even make cups out of it to keep their drinks cold!:cool:
Zousha_Omenohu 11-30-07, 11:15 PM	Would Pelor's clerics actually have carry around suns, then? That'd be pretty awesome. You wouldn't even have to turn undead, because every undead (and everything else not fire immune) within billions of miles would already be incinerated. Including yourself.:bored:
CryoSilver 11-30-07, 11:26 PM	Including yourself.:bored: But the zombie would be dead, too, and isn't that what really counts?