Ruined Gates of Varos

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Solomoriah
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Solomoriah »

I had written a player's intro/GM's intro, presented below, assuming that Varos was "just" an adventurer.

Seems we have three choices:

1. Wizard leader of adventuring party who wished to avoid death and corrupted himself, or
2. King who wished to avoid death, corrupted by his wizard advisor, or
3. Wizard-King who wished to avoid death and corrupted himself.

Before we move on here, let's everyone vote for your preference, and throw in a little campaign speechifying if you want.

Player's Intro (Boxed Text)

This place was good, once. Varos was a hero of the kingdom, and of the people, a wizard of renown who traveled in the company of a great warrior and a priestess of the Forgotten Goddess. He built a tower, and when the space within it proved too limited, a dungeon was built beneath.

But what foes could not destroy, time erased. The warrior passed first, and was interred within Varos' dungeon. The priestess left, or so the stories say, and in time even the tower fell. What became of Varos no one knows, though many strange and contradictory tales are told.

GM's Intro

Varos refused to let time defeat him as it had the others, and in his zeal to defeat death he strayed from goodness, becoming first amoral and then properly evil. He would not allow even the god of the underworld to defeat him! He descended into his dungeon to research the secrets of death and undeath, and the world forgot him except as a seldom-retold cautionary tale for young wizards.

Unable to learn the secrets of becoming a lich, he instead became a zombraire. In time his flesh rotted away completely, as always happens to such creatures, leaving him a skeletaire as well as quite mad. Still he fruitlessly studies in the hope that he can somehow restore himself.
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Dimirag
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Dimirag »

Solomoriah wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:27 pm 1. Wizard leader of adventuring party who wished to avoid death and corrupted himself, or
2. King who wished to avoid death, corrupted by his wizard advisor, or
3. Wizard-King who wished to avoid death and corrupted himself.
Wizard King, it combines the crown with the spell thing, both being an important part of the character, its not a King that dwelt into unknown powers, nor a crown wearing Wizard. I like the idea that instead of him not wanting to die, he wanted to bring his companion to life, and then his kingdom, now its a sad, lonely and dangerous mad undead cursed to forever live without those he wanted to save, a truly cursed one.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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Rosisha
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Rosisha »

I support option 3 but seem to have lost all creativity today :D
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Solomoriah
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Solomoriah »

Dimirag: Very evocative description. Compelling.
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MinkyBoodle
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by MinkyBoodle »

Rosisha wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:32 pm I support option 3 but seem to have lost all creativity today :D
I also support option 3, but can't quite get those creative juices flowing tonight. Here's hoping I'll have something worth contributing eventually. Loving everybody else's descriptions so far, though.

EDIT: Have we determined if this map is underground or if it is some sort of standing ruins? I had a couple ideas about area 18, but nothing concrete yet.
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rredmond
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by rredmond »

Option 3 sounds good. And DANG good question MB, I assumed it was underground but you know what they saw about assuming! It can be a sunken ruin too.

Solo: the updated PDF in the first post will be how we keep track of progress?
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chiisu81
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by chiisu81 »

Correct, using our usual "-r[x]" release numbering.
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Dimirag
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Dimirag »

MinkyBoodle wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:26 am EDIT: Have we determined if this map is underground or if it is some sort of standing ruins? I had a couple ideas about area 18, but nothing concrete yet.
Judging by these...
Solomoriah wrote: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:27 pm -He built a tower, and when the space within it proved too limited, a dungeon was built beneath.-

-He descended into his dungeon to research the secrets of death and undeath, and the world forgot him except as a seldom-retold cautionary tale for young wizards.-
...I think the ruins are underground.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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rredmond
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by rredmond »

chiisu81 wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 8:21 am Correct, using our usual "-r[x]" release numbering.
Thanks Chii!
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Re: Ruined Gates of Varos

Post by Solomoriah »

rredmond wrote: Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:06 am Option 3 sounds good. And DANG good question MB, I assumed it was underground but you know what they saw about assuming! It can be a sunken ruin too.
It looked like a classic dungeon to me. If you can climb over the walls, someone will climb over the walls. So I think that's what it should be, unless Francisco disagrees.
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