Need insight into The Blood of Vol - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Need insight into The Blood of Vol

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
black_saint
Sep 05, 2010 12:58:11 In a nut shell, The Blood of Vol revere the undead for achieving immortality. So how do they feel about Vampires?

Vampires are undead, so they should revere them right? But Vampires suck blood and blood is the basis for the whole belief system of The Blood of Vol. That their blood gives them their strength and their powers (again, in a nut shell). So it's like Vampires should be the most hated creature since they steal the strength of others. Right?
#2
ranadiel
Sep 06, 2010 3:34:08 To the best of my knowledge, undead are not reverred for having obtained immortality. In fact they are revere for the exact oppisite reason. Sentient undead, who are followers of the Blood of Vol, are reverred for having giving up their chance at immortality in order to assist other followers of the faith for generations to come. Undead have "lost their blood" and are therefore incapable of obtaining the true immortality preached of in the faith.

As for vampires, it would like depend on the individual vampire. If it was a vampire outside of the religion who was feeding on and killing random people, it would likely be seen as a threat by the followers. A vampire who is affiliated with the faith and feeds only a small amount from willing people would likely be revered as much as any other undead similarly affiliated.
#3
Hellcow
Sep 06, 2010 20:02:36 Per canon, Ranadiel is correct. The undead are martyrs, not the BoV ideal. They have sacrificed their spark of the Divinity Within for greater power and span in this world, but that is trivial compared to the potential of the Divinity Within. The belief is that the undead will act as champions and mentors to help other Seekers attain that full potential. So undead tied to the faith are revered, but it's for their sacrifice and their efforts on behalf of the faith.

Vampires are the same as other undead in this way. One of the reasons Seekers give their blood is so it can sustain vampiric champions (who they assume are working for the good of the faith). Thus, far from hating them, the Seekers freely give the blood the vampires need. But this is the point: the vampire has no blood of his own, and thus has no divine spark.

With that said, the UNDYING COURT hates vampires. However, they feel that the vampire is simply the most obvious example of something that is true of all negatively-charged undead - that liches, spectres, etc all ultimately consume the lifeforce of Eberron.
#4
Hellcow
Sep 08, 2010 9:58:30 One important side note: The Seekers don't revere UNDEAD. They revere undead who have chosen to serve the goals of the Blood of Vol. They revere their own undead champions. A rogue vampire who preys on innocents for his own greedy purposes is a monster and should be destroyed. In fact, I think it would be very interesting to have a Seeker Ghostbuster squad trained to deal with rogue undead or dangerous hauntings; given their personal experience with necromancy, they'd be very good at this.
#5
Gurv
Sep 09, 2010 19:39:14
In fact, I think it would be very interesting to have a Seeker Ghostbuster squad trained to deal with rogue undead or dangerous hauntings; given their personal experience with necromancy, they'd be very good at this.

Wow.
#6
Hellcow
Sep 09, 2010 19:46:22
Wow.

As an aside, I had a BoV paladin PC in my campaign whose story arc was based on the idea that his aristocratic father had been in the Emerald Claw and been disgraced and killed; that he'd been raised in the Lhazaar Principalities & given guidance by Erandis, who sensed his (PC) potential; and his goal was to avenge his father by overthrowing Kaius. The player knew very well that Erandis was using him; the PC believed in the Queen of the Dead, and considered Kaius a traitor to his people.

The heroic arc for him was simply building his skills, allies, and influence - getting a powerbase together (starting in Stormreach) with which to challenge Kaius. Essentially, filling in for the Swords of Karrn.

His paragon arc was going to culminate with him bringing down Kaius... only to realize that Erandis had been misleading him and didn't have the best interests of the Seekers or Karrnath at heart.

His epic arc would them be dealing with Erandis and restoring the purity of the Emerald Claw.

The point being, this story would end with the paladin and his allies fighting Erandis and the corrupt (and largely undead) inner circle... So a big Seeker vs Undead plot.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 black_saint Sep 05, 2010 12:58:11	In a nut shell, The Blood of Vol revere the undead for achieving immortality. So how do they feel about Vampires? Vampires are undead, so they should revere them right? But Vampires suck blood and blood is the basis for the whole belief system of The Blood of Vol. That their blood gives them their strength and their powers (again, in a nut shell). So it's like Vampires should be the most hated creature since they steal the strength of others. Right?
#2 ranadiel Sep 06, 2010 3:34:08	To the best of my knowledge, undead are not reverred for having obtained immortality. In fact they are revere for the exact oppisite reason. Sentient undead, who are followers of the Blood of Vol, are reverred for having giving up their chance at immortality in order to assist other followers of the faith for generations to come. Undead have "lost their blood" and are therefore incapable of obtaining the true immortality preached of in the faith. As for vampires, it would like depend on the individual vampire. If it was a vampire outside of the religion who was feeding on and killing random people, it would likely be seen as a threat by the followers. A vampire who is affiliated with the faith and feeds only a small amount from willing people would likely be revered as much as any other undead similarly affiliated.
#3 Hellcow Sep 06, 2010 20:02:36	Per canon, Ranadiel is correct. The undead are martyrs, not the BoV ideal. They have sacrificed their spark of the Divinity Within for greater power and span in this world, but that is trivial compared to the potential of the Divinity Within. The belief is that the undead will act as champions and mentors to help other Seekers attain that full potential. So undead tied to the faith are revered, but it's for their sacrifice and their efforts on behalf of the faith. Vampires are the same as other undead in this way. One of the reasons Seekers give their blood is so it can sustain vampiric champions (who they assume are working for the good of the faith). Thus, far from hating them, the Seekers freely give the blood the vampires need. But this is the point: the vampire has no blood of his own, and thus has no divine spark. With that said, the UNDYING COURT hates vampires. However, they feel that the vampire is simply the most obvious example of something that is true of all negatively-charged undead - that liches, spectres, etc all ultimately consume the lifeforce of Eberron.
#4 Hellcow Sep 08, 2010 9:58:30	One important side note: The Seekers don't revere UNDEAD. They revere undead who have chosen to serve the goals of the Blood of Vol. They revere their own undead champions. A rogue vampire who preys on innocents for his own greedy purposes is a monster and should be destroyed. In fact, I think it would be very interesting to have a Seeker Ghostbuster squad trained to deal with rogue undead or dangerous hauntings; given their personal experience with necromancy, they'd be very good at this.
#5 Gurv Sep 09, 2010 19:39:14	In fact, I think it would be very interesting to have a Seeker Ghostbuster squad trained to deal with rogue undead or dangerous hauntings; given their personal experience with necromancy, they'd be very good at this. Wow.
#6 Hellcow Sep 09, 2010 19:46:22	Wow. As an aside, I had a BoV paladin PC in my campaign whose story arc was based on the idea that his aristocratic father had been in the Emerald Claw and been disgraced and killed; that he'd been raised in the Lhazaar Principalities & given guidance by Erandis, who sensed his (PC) potential; and his goal was to avenge his father by overthrowing Kaius. The player knew very well that Erandis was using him; the PC believed in the Queen of the Dead, and considered Kaius a traitor to his people. The heroic arc for him was simply building his skills, allies, and influence - getting a powerbase together (starting in Stormreach) with which to challenge Kaius. Essentially, filling in for the Swords of Karrn. His paragon arc was going to culminate with him bringing down Kaius... only to realize that Erandis had been misleading him and didn't have the best interests of the Seekers or Karrnath at heart. His epic arc would them be dealing with Erandis and restoring the purity of the Emerald Claw. The point being, this story would end with the paladin and his allies fighting Erandis and the corrupt (and largely undead) inner circle... So a big Seeker vs Undead plot.