Do templar in Gulg defile ? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Do templar in Gulg defile ?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
maddreamer
Feb 01, 2011 0:33:21
Hi, i'll be DMing a darksun game for a group of templars of Gulg in service of the Oba and wanted to know what do you think, do you think a defiler sorcerer king pact warlock templar in Gulg is coherent?

The people of Gulg view the Oba as a goddess of forest and life, being a defiler in the context of an agent of Gulg is kinda weird in that sense. PCs are gonna fight the City of Nibenai and their nasty habit of cutting down the forest, so it's kinda strange that the PCs drain the life force from their protected land.

I really want to find a reason so that players could experience the defiling mechanic while playing agent of the Forest Goddess, any suggestion ?
#2
Alex_
Feb 01, 2011 1:43:20 "Of course the Oba can draw upon surrounding life to strengthen herself. She is a goddess who, in her infinite mercy, bestows the gift of life and verdency to the people of Gulg; and as the giver of life, she also possess the authority to take it back as she sees fit. Sometimes she will teach her most devoted followers how to draw upon the vitality of the world around, but it is a sacred privelege that must only be utilized in service to the goddess and not for personal gain."

-some random citizen in Gulg
#3
naxel
Feb 01, 2011 8:58:56 I think the folk of Gulg may not be entirely aware of what kinds of magicks the nganga employ, so very few people would have a 'problem' with those templars defiling. Those who do are probably more aware of such supernatural forces and most likely fight it, like the Veiled Alliance.

The nganga themselves may respect the jungles, but the Oba teaches that the lurking spirits are a blight that need to be extinguished. Defiling is just another tool in the kit for a templar. Also bear in mind not all templars are arcane magic users, and if not then they can only defile if they take a daily templar power.

Templars themselves may not be aware of how much damage they do (and they certainly won't do much unless they're in epic-tier) to the jungles, or just ignore the log in their own eye to rage against the splinter of Nibenay cutting down the rain forest.

Perhaps templars actively defile because they think that it drains the spirits of their power, and unconsciously/naively/ignorantly ignore the fact that grasses whither - if there are grasses at all. All the forests in the Tablelands are jungles, which typically can't house smaller plants. Perhaps their lower level defiling magic isn't enough to sabotage the centuries-old trees that grow in the Crescent
#4
angelus_obscura
Feb 02, 2011 11:17:20 I was under the impression that templars of Gulg were predominantly primal spellcasters, ie shamans and druids and that enslaving nature spirits were just flavor text.

But since the Oba is a Sorcerer-King, a defiling warlock is probably not uncommon. Another option for SK warlocks could be the fey pact feature, reflavoring it as the warlock capturing and binding the fey or other embodiments of nature into a forced contract.
#5
naxel
Feb 02, 2011 12:35:53 The fey pact thing actually fits. The DDI article on templars provides a slew of feats depending on your templar's allegiance. The second level of the feat progression provides bonuses to warlock encounter powers that, normally riding on another type of pact, now get a bonus rider for use with your fel might.

The Gulg feat progression provides warlock templars with bonuses to powers that innately have fey pact riders, so it fits!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 maddreamer Feb 01, 2011 0:33:21	Hi, i'll be DMing a darksun game for a group of templars of Gulg in service of the Oba and wanted to know what do you think, do you think a defiler sorcerer king pact warlock templar in Gulg is coherent? The people of Gulg view the Oba as a goddess of forest and life, being a defiler in the context of an agent of Gulg is kinda weird in that sense. PCs are gonna fight the City of Nibenai and their nasty habit of cutting down the forest, so it's kinda strange that the PCs drain the life force from their protected land. I really want to find a reason so that players could experience the defiling mechanic while playing agent of the Forest Goddess, any suggestion ?
#2 Alex_ Feb 01, 2011 1:43:20	"Of course the Oba can draw upon surrounding life to strengthen herself. She is a goddess who, in her infinite mercy, bestows the gift of life and verdency to the people of Gulg; and as the giver of life, she also possess the authority to take it back as she sees fit. Sometimes she will teach her most devoted followers how to draw upon the vitality of the world around, but it is a sacred privelege that must only be utilized in service to the goddess and not for personal gain." -some random citizen in Gulg
#3 naxel Feb 01, 2011 8:58:56	I think the folk of Gulg may not be entirely aware of what kinds of magicks the nganga employ, so very few people would have a 'problem' with those templars defiling. Those who do are probably more aware of such supernatural forces and most likely fight it, like the Veiled Alliance. The nganga themselves may respect the jungles, but the Oba teaches that the lurking spirits are a blight that need to be extinguished. Defiling is just another tool in the kit for a templar. Also bear in mind not all templars are arcane magic users, and if not then they can only defile if they take a daily templar power. Templars themselves may not be aware of how much damage they do (and they certainly won't do much unless they're in epic-tier) to the jungles, or just ignore the log in their own eye to rage against the splinter of Nibenay cutting down the rain forest. Perhaps templars actively defile because they think that it drains the spirits of their power, and unconsciously/naively/ignorantly ignore the fact that grasses whither - if there are grasses at all. All the forests in the Tablelands are jungles, which typically can't house smaller plants. Perhaps their lower level defiling magic isn't enough to sabotage the centuries-old trees that grow in the Crescent
#4 angelus_obscura Feb 02, 2011 11:17:20	I was under the impression that templars of Gulg were predominantly primal spellcasters, ie shamans and druids and that enslaving nature spirits were just flavor text. But since the Oba is a Sorcerer-King, a defiling warlock is probably not uncommon. Another option for SK warlocks could be the fey pact feature, reflavoring it as the warlock capturing and binding the fey or other embodiments of nature into a forced contract.
#5 naxel Feb 02, 2011 12:35:53	The fey pact thing actually fits. The DDI article on templars provides a slew of feats depending on your templar's allegiance. The second level of the feat progression provides bonuses to warlock encounter powers that, normally riding on another type of pact, now get a bonus rider for use with your fel might. The Gulg feat progression provides warlock templars with bonuses to powers that innately have fey pact riders, so it fits!