Official ICE Forums
Systems & Settings => Shadow World => Topic started by: Walt on December 28, 2007, 03:03:28 AM
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"Truth is a frail cause. Live to your own truth. But don?t molest me with it."
Fleshing out at the moment Elor once Dark as part of the Sea Drake campaign. Did anybody do some thinking about the reasons Elor joining the Dark Side?
And, much more important, reasons to leave it again?
I?m also looking for some ideas on Gul, the dark jewel of Plasidar, magnificent in the gloss of ancient evil teachings.
Chhers
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Check RMCI if you can, there is a conversation between Elore Once Dark and Lorgalis which basically deals with Elor joining the dark side, if I remember correctly.
We didn't even have him appear in that campaign.
Can't remember about Gul. However, the Nomikos Library of Vroomfogle is probably a very good place to start.
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Thanks Munchy, I?m aware of the conversation between Logarlis and Elor.
Still looking for more input. Perhaps the easiest motivation is the simple fact that even Half-Elves are dying once in a while.
And sorry, I mingled Gul and Sidar. (Both located on Plasidar). I?m scetching out Sidar as the dark pearl of evil learning in Jaiman.
Another thing springs in my mind: what happend to Elor? After relaxing for quite some time in Wellsbridge he puts on his dusty shoes, jumps to Vog Mur and steals the Heart of Agoth from friendly Vorig in 6036? Why?
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Who knows what goes on in his mind. I guess Terry is the right one to answer this.
However, I guess that he still has contacts to various sources and I guess that he got some information from someone about the heart. Or he is following his own agenda and just had to figure out where it was and that was what he did in his own small home, undisturbed because undetected by anyone.
Question also might be whether he really is that inactive during the time in between. Maybe it just something that is not that big as the heart of agoth or something Terry has not disclosed to the public yet.
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IIRC there's stuff too about Elor in Vog Mur and Jaiman. It might be worth rummaging through both.
maybe ( it's a far fetched maybe ) there's some stuff too in the flavour text at the start of the chapters in the early editions of the SWMA ( SWMA1, Emer Box, SWMA2 )
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You guys should realize that Elor is based on a character that Pete Fenlon ran for a long time in an old pure D&D campaign when we were all still at UVA together in the late 70's. He called himself Elor Once Dark. Everyone else called him Elor Duodeca Dark as he turned to the dark side and back just about every session. He was the essence of chaos. He does not have to have a real reason for anything. He just is.
One of my favorite Elor stories took place after he retired to become a farmer when the campaign ended when the GM moved away. Later on we heard that a group of new PC of levels 3-5 fancied themselves as evil and were feeling their oats and decided to pick on this farmer they saw in the fields to improve their evil bonafides. There were no survivors but apparently their expressions when the "farmer" opened up with a fireball and a few other spells were priceless.
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Thanks for this Bruce!! Now I?ve got a feeling about Elor!
(funny, in the mid 80?s we had a similar character starting in the old Vog Mur)
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*Try to imagine a bunch of bully boys in chainmail shouting "Hey You !" at a farmer and the farmer, stopping to do what he was doing, negligently tossing a fireball at the bully boys, then resuming his work*
Oh!!! Precious !!!
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What I thought exactely. Must have been a brilliant scene. :D
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And did the players ever pick on farmers again? A past group had a similar experience with a bartender (undercover 35th level mageant) and why they never pick fights in bars anymore.
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heh, the "What are the odds the old man I clubbed to steal his cloak to escape the guards turned out to be a greater vampire?" scenario.
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heh, the "What are the odds the old man I clubbed to steal his cloak to escape the guards turned out to be a greater vampire?" scenario.
Are you still breathing?
MDC
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When talking about Elor Once Dark (not the dude form the 70'ies ;) But the real deal) I believe there is more information to be found on Elor Once dark in the "Grand Campaign" pages 88 - 89....
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Thanks GM, I checked it. Didn?t read it for a while.
The best bits of Elor I found are in
http://www.textlog.de/20240.html
But it?s german, a little bit of Nietsche.
It suits quite well my version of Elor, a Halfelf, *@$*#* up a a little bit from life, who did see so many things in it?s unimaginable long live which would drive "normal" persons mad.
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I'm currently using Elor as a scattered powerful nutter (a forced ally) in the Grey Ring which he is mentioned in Eidolon.
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He does appear in the Shadowstone Chronicle as well, if you'd like more on the Shadow World version of Elor.
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Now thanks for all this ideas.
The dialogue in the Shadowstone Chronicle was the basis for this thread.
I?m only trying to give Elor a darker profile. In the sense of him being tired of being a chesspiece of gods and higher powers. (was this Engisch grammar?)
So he?s for example adivising Kier to be reasonable and to live an insignificant life instead of chasing some old crowns. Because power attracts power and so on...
And in this respect there really fantastic Nietsche citations like:
"Ich beklage die F?rsten: es ist ihnen nicht erlaubt, sich zeitweilig im Verkehre zu annullieren und so lernen sie die Menschen nur aus einer unbequemen Lage und Verstellung kennen; der fortw?hrende Zwang, Etwas zu bedeuten, macht sie zuletzt tats?chlich zu feierlichen Nullen. -- Und so geht es Allen, welche ihre Pflicht darin sehen, Symbole zu sein." (sorry for the german. perhabs somebody can translate this better than me)
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In Rolemaster Companion VI there is a conversation between Lorgalis and Elor, that perhaps could give som more clues to this elusive character?
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The last thing I read about Elor said that he had retired to a small house in NW Jaiman. How did he end up in Emer mucking around with the grey ring???
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How did he end up in Emer mucking around with the grey ring???
I bet he asks himself that alot, too.
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Is that VI, got to check that, there is one definitely in RMC I.
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It's on page 47 in RMC VI. I did not know Elor was mentioned in RMC I??
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Nah, right, I confused that with the Black Reaver story bit in RMCI. Sorry about that.
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Thinking about overpowered farmers, in a bad campaign once we found a red dragon lairing in a barn ...
But characters like Elor could be understood maybe as a ranch owner or something like that. Though the shock on the players face when they are boomed out of there by a mage who appears to be a farmer? I wanna do that one day :D
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He is high in this august order, and yet one who chooses to wander the world rather than become involved in the bureaucratic heirarchy. He is considered by his peers as one of the wisest yet most unpredictable Loremasters. His title refers to when he allegedly fell to evil for a time. This tale is completely unsubstantiated, however. To some he is known as Elor Duo-deca Dark.
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Elor is hardly what I would call an over powered NPC. High level, yes. But his skills, spells, stats, abilities and the like are all very reasonable. In fact, for a 45th level NPC, he is a little weak on they physical side. But then, he sorta should be. He is a MYSTIC, not a brutish fighter. For spying and info gathering mixed with very reasonable offensive spell ability, a Mystic is great, but no knock down the wall Mage or Sorcerer.
Elor has some real personality. A bit of a caraciture perhaps, but much more fun than another ALL POWERFUL NPC that leaves the players wondering why doesnt this guy just take care of the problem(s)?
lynn
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Thinking about overpowered farmers, in a bad campaign once we found a red dragon lairing in a barn ...
Wow. I am assuming that was a giant's barn..... ;D
But characters like Elor could be understood maybe as a ranch owner or something like that. Though the shock on the players face when they are boomed out of there by a mage who appears to be a farmer? I wanna do that one day :D
Personally, I do not like the uber-mage/farmer. It sort of reminds me of Tom Bombadil in LotR - pointless. Not to say there can't be high-level mages as farmers, just don't care for it myself (unless my player's are being particular butt-heads at the time ;)).
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Elor has some real personality. A bit of a caraciture perhaps, but much more fun than another ALL POWERFUL NPC that leaves the players wondering why doesnt this guy just take care of the problem(s)?
Hmm, who could you be referring to? There are so many. ;-)
As for Elor, yes I rather like his character. He is based slightly on Pete Fenlon's character (and on Pete) but then most of the NPC personalities in the Shadow World are partly based on real people I know.
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ALL POWERFUL NPC that leaves the players wondering why doesnt this guy just take care of the problem(s)?
You don?t live some thousand years standing in the front line - for this there is canon fodder like player characters.
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You don?t live some thousand years standing in the front line - for this there is canon fodder like player characters.
Correct. And any player I know will also know this, but I have yet to meet ONE that agrees with this line of reasoning when THEY are fodder for the cannon ;)
lynn