Post/Author/DateTime	Post
VampyresThrenody 04-13-08, 11:59 AM	Most of this is essentially fluff. I'm curious as to whether you think it is interesting enough to warrant inclusion in a game. I like each god to be unique and different. Also, help as to symbols for the gods are much appreciated! Also, I know that the names are from real mythologies as are a few aspects, but I couldn't think of good names and have come to like these two. Will consider others though. History of Badb Catha and Balatucairus In the world of Tuiena there is a strict code of conduct for gods and goddesses. They are expected to adhere to pantheon rules and regulations on how a god will go about their immortality. Unfortunately for the twins of the gods Qui Nole and Fahrur their lives were already destined to be ruled by strife. As the children of the gods of strength and battle respectively it was no surprise that the two turned out to be great warriors. Each had their own unique abilities that proved very successful on the battlefield. Badb Catha could shapeshift into a giant crow and call forth swarms of ravens upon her foes. Balatucairus had unnatural strength superior to that of all the other gods. It was also said that he could bring forth weapons made out of pure divinity to slay his enemies. Childhood During their childhood, these two were trained in the arts of war, leadership and sport. They lived and breathed the skills of war until they could surpass almost all the other gods. Their father, Fahrur, saw their power and grew jealous of his children. He saw that their might may soon replace him as twin gods of war and he was not pleased. This jealous grew and grew until he set about to ruin the two. He planned an assassination with great magicks to make the two mortal and do away with them. However, when the two were made mortal they defeated all who came against them, mortal or otherwise. Fahrur was furious but knew that his children could not now upset his throne and he forgot about them. Mortality The twins were a sight to behold on the battlefield. Although they had lost their immortality they did not lose their god-like powers. They were powerful heroes in their own right and came to be joint rulers of a nation. However, all was not well between the two. Badb Catha was not an attractive woman and when her brother found love in a mortal woman she became embitterred. Her brother spent less and less time honing his fighting skills with his sister and more time with a mortal lady who he soon married and made queen. Badb Catha was furious and claimed that no woman would be queen while she lived and ruled the country. Being the less liked of the twins for she had developed a cruel streak, Badb Catha was forced out of the kingdom. Balatucairus ruled with his queen in peace and soon the kingdom entered a golden age. Tablet of the Gods Badb Catha wandered the frosted ice lands of the world in her misery, anger and hatred. She finally found a way to regain her immortality by stealing the tablet of the gods which held all the true names of the gods and goddesses. She transformed into a mighty crow and claimed she was a warlord goddess to the tribals of the ice lands. A mighty army was crafted and she armed then with knowledge of weaponry that was fit for no mortal. The gods saw this and were angered. However, they argued over what to do about the Battle-Crow. This hesitation allowed the Battle-Crow to rise up against the heavens with an army mounted on ice chariots amidst swarms of giant ravens. In the confusion she stole the tablet of the gods and fled. She wrote her name upon the tablet and secreted it away in a place not even Carnit, the god of secrets, could discover. Balatucairus’s Quest Meanwhile, Balatucairus was growing old. His father, taking pity on his son and devising a plot to take care of his now immortal daughter went to his son. He offered to grant immortality to his son by a draught of his blood if balatucairus would go forth and find his sister. Balatucairus’s wife had passed away long ago and he was eager to regain his own immortality. Also, his sister had been a scourge on the land killing and maiming men, bringing war to peaceful peoples and leaving hundreds of ghosts behind. He took forth his immortality again and set out to find his sister. The Battle of Avis River Balatucairus discovered his sister at the bridge of the Avis River and challenged her to a fight. Badb Catha, now called War’s Cruel Mistress by her followers, agreed to the challenge and immediately attacked. Not being one to believe in honor, she led her army against her brother hoping to defeat him. However, Balatucairus was ready for this and had brought forth his own army. The two sides clashed amidst a great thundering of hooves, the roar of soldiers and the cacophony of swords. It is said that the battle was waged for three days and three nights without end. Finally, Balatucairus dealt his sister a horrible wound and she transformed into a crow and fled the battle. Her followers were in disarray and soon surrendered. Badb Catha flew from Tuiena and into the Astral Sea, seeking to escape her brother and father. Balatucairus was given the choice of bringing her back or being killed by the gods. The New World On the year 47 N.R of the New World, Karthin a giant black bird appeared over the City of Haven and flew over the mountains disappearing into the sunrise. Not three weeks later this event was mirrored by a great thundering of hooves and a tall, muscular man entered the air above god Laris on a great white chariot. Balatucairus approached Laris and told him of his difficulty. He pled with the god to allow him to dwell in this place until he could bring his sister home. Laris, being a god of light and generally benevolent, saw the threat Badb Catha offered his world. He said that Balatucairus, as an honorable god, could not only stay in this world until the sister was found but could also gather followers to his cause while there. As such, the god Balatucairus became a god of war amongst the people of Karthin. Unfortunately for Laris, Balatucairus forgot to mention his sister's more treacherous nature and her skill at stealth. This was not done purposefully, but rather as an aspect overlooked by the honorable twin. Badb Catha Titles: Battle-Crow, War’s Cruel Mistress, The Deciever Goddess of War Portfolio: War, Treachery, Ambush, Guerilla Warfare, Slaughter Personality: Badb Catha is a treacherous goddess who favors war filled with the death of innocents, violent ambushes and poisoned weapons. She encourages her followers to do combat in this way in addition to convincing others to do as they do. Description: Badb Catha appears as a tall, dark haired woman with harsh eyes. Her features are best described as plain; for she is neither beautiful nor hideous to look upon. Her hair is a series of long dreads with the bones of defeated enemies and the feathers of ravens knotted within. She wears a breastplate of silver upon which a black raven resting on a tower has been inscribed. This symbol is the symbol matched by her followers. She wears a leather battle-skirt that swirls about her thick legs leading to heavy, black leather boots. On her back sits a cloak of raven feathers and a human skull painted upon it. Her weapon of choice is a harsh spear with thick barbs dripping with poison. Balatucairus Titles: Soldier of Light, Shining Knight, Knight of Honor, The Sweeping Hawk God of War Portfolio: War, Honor, Strength Personality: Balatucairus is a god of honorable war. He believes that war is a necessary part of life. He believes that honor still has a place on the field of battle in that the use of poison and other vile methods should never be used. He is a proponent for rightful combat and encourages his followers to do the same. He does not however, believe that war should be fought without planning or well developed tactics. He accepts ambush and surprise attacks as part of war, but not in the violent nor treacherous way his sister does. He does not condone assassination, overly cruel traps or paying soldiers to turn on their allies. Description: Balatucairus appears as a tall, beautiful man with short blond hair and sharp features. His eyes are a deep blue and are typically beneath a silver sallet bearing two wings from either side. He wears gleaming armor of white with details of soldiers and honorable truths engraved along it. On his back is a cape of velvet blue with a golden spiral moving to the right. This symbol done in gold means both victory and worship to the Shining Knight. In battle, Balatucairus wields the Ionitish, the Sword of Victory and his shield, Autur. Ionitish is a silver long sword with a gold handle filled with sapphires. Autur is a gold and silver shield upon which Balatucairus’s symbol has been inscribed along with a swooping hawk, another symbol for the god.
wraithstrike 04-13-08, 02:01 PM	Most of this is essentially fluff. I'm curious as to whether you think it is interesting enough to warrant inclusion in a game. I like each god to be unique and different. Also, help as to symbols for the gods are much appreciated! Also, I know that the names are from real mythologies as are a few aspects, but I couldn't think of good names and have come to like these two. Will consider others though. History of Badb Catha and Balatucairus In the world of Tuiena there is a strict code of conduct for gods and goddesses. They are expected to adhere to pantheon rules and regulations on how a god will go about their immortality. Unfortunately for the twins of the gods Qui Nole and Fahrur their lives were already destined to be ruled by strife. As the children of the gods of strength and battle respectively it was no surprise that the two turned out to be great warriors. Each had their own unique abilities that proved very successful on the battlefield. Badb Catha could shapeshift into a giant crow and call forth swarms of ravens upon her foes. Balatucairus had unnatural strength superior to that of all the other gods. It was also said that he could bring forth weapons made out of pure divinity to slay his enemies. Childhood During their childhood, these two were trained in the arts of war, leadership and sport. They lived and breathed the skills of war until they could surpass almost all the other gods. Their father, Fahrur, saw their power and grew jealous of his children. He saw that their might may soon replace him as twin gods of war and he was not pleased. This jealous grew and grew until he set about to ruin the two. He planned an assassination with great magicks to make the two mortal and do away with them. However, when the two were made mortal they defeated all who came against them, mortal or otherwise. Fahrur was furious but knew that his children could not now upset his throne and he forgot about them. Mortality The twins were a sight to behold on the battlefield. Although they had lost their immortality they did not lose their god-like powers. They were powerful heroes in their own right and came to be joint rulers of a nation. However, all was not well between the two. Badb Catha was not an attractive woman and when her brother found love in a mortal woman she became embitterred. Her brother spent less and less time honing his fighting skills with his sister and more time with a mortal lady who he soon married and made queen. Badb Catha was furious and claimed that no woman would be queen while she lived and ruled the country. Being the less liked of the twins for she had developed a cruel streak, Badb Catha was forced out of the kingdom. Balatucairus ruled with his queen in peace and soon the kingdom entered a golden age. Tablet of the Gods Badb Catha wandered the frosted ice lands of the world in her misery, anger and hatred. She finally found a way to regain her immortality by stealing the tablet of the gods which held all the true names of the gods and goddesses. She transformed into a mighty crow and claimed she was a warlord goddess to the tribals of the ice lands. A mighty army was crafted and she armed then with knowledge of weaponry that was fit for no mortal. The gods saw this and were angered. However, they argued over what to do about the Battle-Crow. This hesitation allowed the Battle-Crow to rise up against the heavens with an army mounted on ice chariots amidst swarms of giant ravens. In the confusion she stole the tablet of the gods and fled. She wrote her name upon the tablet and secreted it away in a place not even Carnit, the god of secrets, could discover. Balatucairus’s Quest Meanwhile, Balatucairus was growing old. His father, taking pity on his son and devising a plot to take care of his now immortal daughter went to his son. He offered to grant immortality to his son by a draught of his blood if balatucairus would go forth and find his sister. Balatucairus’s wife had passed away long ago and he was eager to regain his own immortality. Also, his sister had been a scourge on the land killing and maiming men, bringing war to peaceful peoples and leaving hundreds of ghosts behind. He took forth his immortality again and set out to find his sister. The Battle of Avis River Balatucairus discovered his sister at the bridge of the Avis River and challenged her to a fight. Badb Catha, now called War’s Cruel Mistress by her followers, agreed to the challenge and immediately attacked. Not being one to believe in honor, she led her army against her brother hoping to defeat him. However, Balatucairus was ready for this and had brought forth his own army. The two sides clashed amidst a great thundering of hooves, the roar of soldiers and the cacophony of swords. It is said that the battle was waged for three days and three nights without end. Finally, Balatucairus dealt his sister a horrible wound and she transformed into a crow and fled the battle. Her followers were in disarray and soon surrendered. Badb Catha flew from Tuiena and into the Astral Sea, seeking to escape her brother and father. Balatucairus was given the choice of bringing her back or being killed by the gods. The New World On the year 47 a great, giant bird appeared over the City of Haven and flew over the mountains disappearing into the sunrise. Not three weeks later this event was mirrored by a great thundering of hooves and a tall, muscular man entered the air above Laris on a great white chariot. Balatucairus approached Laris and told him of his difficulty. He pled with the god to allow him to dwell in this place until he could bring his sister home. Neither Balatucairus nor Laris thought that the twins would still be present in the world decades later. Badb Catha Titles: Battle-Crow, War’s Cruel Mistress Goddess of War Portfolio: Slaughter, War, Strength Description: Badb Catha appears as a tall, dark haired woman with harsh eyes. Her features are best described as plain; for she is neither beautiful nor hideous to look upon. Her hair is a series of long dreads with the bones of defeated enemies and the feathers of ravens knotted within. She wears a breastplate of silver upon which a black raven resting on a tower has been inscribed. This symbol is the symbol matched by her followers. She wears a leather battle-skirt that swirls about her thick legs leading to heavy, black leather boots. On her back sits a cloak of raven feathers and a human skull painted upon it. Her weapon of choice is a harsh spear with thick barbs dripping with poison. Balatucairus Titles: Soldier of Light, Shining Knight, Knight of Honor, The Sweeping Hawk God of War Portfolio: War, Honor, Strength Description: Balatucairus appears as a tall, beautiful man with short blond hair and sharp features. His eyes are a deep blue and are typically beneath a silver sallet bearing two wings from either side. He wears gleaming armor of white with details of soldiers and honorable truths engraved along it. On his back is a cape of velvet blue with a golden spiral moving to the right. This symbol done in gold means both victory and worship to the Shining Knight. In battle, Balatucairus wields the Ionitish, the Sword of Victory and his shield, Autur. Ionitish is a silver long sword with a gold handle filled with sapphires. Autur is a gold and silver shield upon which Balatucairus’s symbol has been inscribed along with a swooping hawk, another symbol for the god. At the risk of sounding stupid, explain the new world section. If Balat is a twin why is he surprised unless that statement means he thought his sister was dead, and who is Laris(did not appear before this point). If he is just some random god he does not really need a name. P.S. I do like the story, very mythological in nature.
VampyresThrenody 04-13-08, 06:05 PM	At the risk of sounding stupid, explain the new world section. Oh my, you don't sound stupid at all. You simply pointed out a big flaw in my presentation ^^. If Balat is a twin why is he surprised unless that statement means he thought his sister was dead, I do not completely understand what you mean by this statement. Do you mean why is he surprised that the twins are still on the current plane of existence? If so, it is because he thought he would have easily captured his sister and returned home. She's proved a much harder person to find and restrain then formerly thought. and who is Laris(did not appear before this point). If he is just some random god he does not really need a name. Laris is the god of light for the New World Campaign setting. I met a few people who were looking for another DM for their game world to detail it out and to run a PbP game in it. I love working within another person's game world so chose to set my 2 city-based 4E (when it comes out) games in their setting. Until I came along they only had three gods, tsk tsk! So being the enterprising young artist I am (sarcasm :D ) I decided to make some stories for new gods to enter their domain in the way they want new gods to join their world.
wraithstrike 04-13-08, 06:55 PM	I do not completely understand what you mean by this statement. Do you mean why is he surprised that the twins are still on the current plane of existence? If so, it is because he thought he would have easily captured his sister and returned home. She's proved a much harder person to find and restrain then formerly thought. Here is how I read it Finally, Balatucairus dealt his sister a horrible wound and she transformed into a crow and fled the battle. Her followers were in disarray and soon surrendered. Badb Catha flew from Tuiena and into the Astral Sea, seeking to escape her brother and father. Balatucairus was given the choice of bringing her back or being killed by the gods. Balat defeated his sister and she fled. On the year 47 a great, giant bird appeared over the City of Haven and flew over the mountains disappearing into the sunrise. Not three weeks later this event was mirrored by a great thundering of hooves and a tall, muscular man entered the air above Laris on a great white chariot. Balatucairus approached Laris and told him of his difficulty. He pled with the god to allow him to dwell in this place until he could bring his sister home. Neither Balatucairus nor Laris thought that the twins would still be present in the world decades later When you mentioned a specific year I assumed this was years after the first last confrontation even though you never said so outright, and if she stole something, and hid it so well the the god of secrets could not find it then she must be very sneaky, so it should not be a surprise that she can't be found easily. You might want to make her a goddess of treacherous war(or something similar) since she seems to do everything underhanded.
VampyresThrenody 04-13-08, 07:06 PM	Here is how I read it Balat defeated his sister and she fled. When you mentioned a specific year I assumed this was years after the first last confrontation even though you never said so outright, and if she stole something, and hid it so well the the god of secrets could not find it then she must be very sneaky, so it should not be a surprise that she can't be found easily. You might want to make her a goddess of treacherous war(or something similar) since she seems to do everything underhanded. Hmm good point. I'll change that. With the year bit, it was just a mistake on my part. That year is on the calendar of the plane they entered for the other DM's knowledge. I like the idea of her as a treacherous god of war. Works very well with the story and further differentiates the two twins. *goes back and makes editions*
Kuros81 04-13-08, 11:15 PM	This is pretty damned good.
VampyresThrenody 04-14-08, 05:52 PM	After reading a bit on the Shadar-Kai they seem ideal followers for a treacherous god of war. Good idea or bad? I may write up a small group of Badb Catha followers that can present a possible future plot hook for the PC's. I plan on plopping them down within the city and watching the fun as they either discover plot hooks, or don't.