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Progenitor
Dec 8, 2007, 6:09:13 AM12/8/07
to Virtusaga
I like it, but do have a few notes.
Is Bylun a pagan priest? I presume so.
Where is Gützkow, and who is preaching there? Was it Stribog the
White?
The Order of Perun is fine, but the details of the pagan religion you
give slightly problematic. Here are some options:
- You may want to transger your allegiance to Walpurga, a gooddess of
spring and summer growth. The winter-summer cycle is brone out of her
cyclic battle with Woden, The Wild Huntsman, which may have links to
the Master of the Kennels.
- Alternatively, we can use the Jarilo/Morana myth, but with slight
changes. Morana, daughter of Perun, would not be a goddess of nature;
she would remain a goddess of witchcraft and death. Her marriage to
Jarilo (in the summer solstice) guarentees abundance and peace within
the sky and underworld realms; it is mediated by Radegast. This tale
doesn't affect the seasons themselves, that is the domain of Walpurgia/
Woden; it affects the fertility and abundnace of the land.
- You may wish to adopt one of the three primary deities - Veles, god
of the (wet and lush) Underworld, serpents, and chaos; Perun, god of
the sky, lightning, leadership, and war; or Radegast, god of
agriculture, civilization, metalsmithing, and the patron of mankind.
Cyclic Magic: I don't think Summer & Winter are appropriate given
Morana's tale; I could see Summer and Autumn (when she comes to age,
marrying Jarilo, and after his death until she dies), or Spring and
Summer (while she is young and free, and while she is married). I
can't see Winter, when she dies and is reborn at the winter solstice
and is young throughout the season, as a season for her to be in
power.
Plagued by Supernatural Entiry: You mean the Master of the Kennels? Or
do you have something else in mind, or are just leaving it blank?
Visions is a story flaw (even though it's a Supernatural one as well),
and you may not have two story flaws. (I personally perfer Visions to
PbSE, but either would be fine.)
Mythic Charm: I'm worried that it is too strong, but I'm going to
allow it, with the following caveats:
- You must state the new state focibly while starting into the
victim's eye; using the Ex-Misc supernatural ability always and
obviously involves a non-Hermetic method of casting magic.
- The effect has a different Ease Factor depending on the task
desired; your Presence + Mythic Charm is opposed by the victim's
Stamina + Bonus, as you described. Particularly applicable personality
traits may also affect the victim's roll.
- The effects' Penetration is your roll plus Penetration and possibly
sympathetic connections; it is lowered by the Ease Factor/victim's
roll, and the opponent's Magic Resistance against Mentem effects.
- Determine penetration before checking to see if the duration is
extened; the extra (+penetration +symapathetic connections) doesn't
come into calculating the excess for extra duration.
- An "abnormal/strong" effect counts as a powerful mystical effect for
the purpose of warping - it grants 1 Warping Point.
Is Bylun a pagan priest? I presume so.
Where is Gützkow, and who is preaching there? Was it Stribog the
White?
The Order of Perun is fine, but the details of the pagan religion you
give slightly problematic. Here are some options:
- You may want to transger your allegiance to Walpurga, a gooddess of
spring and summer growth. The winter-summer cycle is brone out of her
cyclic battle with Woden, The Wild Huntsman, which may have links to
the Master of the Kennels.
- Alternatively, we can use the Jarilo/Morana myth, but with slight
changes. Morana, daughter of Perun, would not be a goddess of nature;
she would remain a goddess of witchcraft and death. Her marriage to
Jarilo (in the summer solstice) guarentees abundance and peace within
the sky and underworld realms; it is mediated by Radegast. This tale
doesn't affect the seasons themselves, that is the domain of Walpurgia/
Woden; it affects the fertility and abundnace of the land.
- You may wish to adopt one of the three primary deities - Veles, god
of the (wet and lush) Underworld, serpents, and chaos; Perun, god of
the sky, lightning, leadership, and war; or Radegast, god of
agriculture, civilization, metalsmithing, and the patron of mankind.
Cyclic Magic: I don't think Summer & Winter are appropriate given
Morana's tale; I could see Summer and Autumn (when she comes to age,
marrying Jarilo, and after his death until she dies), or Spring and
Summer (while she is young and free, and while she is married). I
can't see Winter, when she dies and is reborn at the winter solstice
and is young throughout the season, as a season for her to be in
power.
Plagued by Supernatural Entiry: You mean the Master of the Kennels? Or
do you have something else in mind, or are just leaving it blank?
Visions is a story flaw (even though it's a Supernatural one as well),
and you may not have two story flaws. (I personally perfer Visions to
PbSE, but either would be fine.)
Mythic Charm: I'm worried that it is too strong, but I'm going to
allow it, with the following caveats:
- You must state the new state focibly while starting into the
victim's eye; using the Ex-Misc supernatural ability always and
obviously involves a non-Hermetic method of casting magic.
- The effect has a different Ease Factor depending on the task
desired; your Presence + Mythic Charm is opposed by the victim's
Stamina + Bonus, as you described. Particularly applicable personality
traits may also affect the victim's roll.
- The effects' Penetration is your roll plus Penetration and possibly
sympathetic connections; it is lowered by the Ease Factor/victim's
roll, and the opponent's Magic Resistance against Mentem effects.
- Determine penetration before checking to see if the duration is
extened; the extra (+penetration +symapathetic connections) doesn't
come into calculating the excess for extra duration.
- An "abnormal/strong" effect counts as a powerful mystical effect for
the purpose of warping - it grants 1 Warping Point.
jeang...@gmail.com
Dec 10, 2007, 8:57:56 AM12/10/07
to Virtusaga
Hi!
Thanks for your comments!
> Is Bylun a pagan priest? I presume so.
Yes, probably also linked to Morana since it is through her
intervention that she finds Darko.
> Where is Gützkow, and who is preaching there? Was it Stribog the
> White?
All my references/knowledge to slavic pagan myth and religion come
from wikipedia. Here are a couple of the links I checked:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_%28Slavic_tribe%29
Where you can find the location of the temples, including Gützkow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_mythology#Jarilo_and_Morana
Where you can find all about the "Morana cycle" ;).
I'm not sure how Norse and Slavic myth are connected, but as I
understand they are separate mythologies. As far as I can understand
from a brief lookup Walpurga or Woden/Odin are not part of the slavic
pantheon.
However, I'm more than happy to admit my ignorance and adapt to
whatever pantheon you decide we should use. Since my character is a
pagan worshiper it is important that he has a basic understanding of
the different gods and their domains, that's all. Out of the three
options bellow, I feel the Morana only godess of witchcraft and death
is the more suited for the character.
> The Order of Perun is fine, but the details of the pagan religion you
> give slightly problematic. Here are some options:
> - You may want to transger your allegiance to Walpurga, a gooddess of
> spring and summer growth. The winter-summer cycle is brone out of her
> cyclic battle with Woden, The Wild Huntsman, which may have links to
> the Master of the Kennels.
> - Alternatively, we can use the Jarilo/Morana myth, but with slight
> changes. Morana, daughter of Perun, would not be a goddess of nature;
> she would remain a goddess of witchcraft and death. Her marriage to
> Jarilo (in the summer solstice) guarentees abundance and peace within
> the sky and underworld realms; it is mediated by Radegast. This tale
> doesn't affect the seasons themselves, that is the domain of Walpurgia/
> Woden; it affects the fertility and abundnace of the land.
> - You may wish to adopt one of the three primary deities - Veles, god
> of the (wet and lush) Underworld, serpents, and chaos; Perun, god of
> the sky, lightning, leadership, and war; or Radegast, god of
> agriculture, civilization, metalsmithing, and the patron of mankind.
> Cyclic Magic: I don't think Summer & Winter are appropriate given
> Morana's tale; I could see Summer and Autumn (when she comes to age,
> marrying Jarilo, and after his death until she dies), or Spring and
> Summer (while she is young and free, and while she is married). I
> can't see Winter, when she dies and is reborn at the winter solstice
> and is young throughout the season, as a season for her to be in
> power.
I picked the seasons for the cycle from the tale of her mariage from
wiki (see the link above). I thought the two high points of the cycle,
that would have more significance to worshipers, where when her
mariage brings fertility to the land (summer) and when she murders her
husband: " (...) in the upcoming winter she turns into a terrible,
old, and dangerous goddess of darkness and frost, (...) ".
I have found other links mentioning Morana as a goddess of Death,
Winter and Nature. I thought winter was particularlly appropriate for
a goddess of death (and winter!) that dies in winter. For me, it's
clearly a very relevant moment where she is full of power.
But, like I said, I'm happy to adopt your interpretation as long as it
makes sense. Just name what 2 seasons you find more appropriate, I'll
stick to that.
> Plagued by Supernatural Entiry: You mean the Master of the Kennels? Or
> do you have something else in mind, or are just leaving it blank?
Yes. I left how he's plagued vague in case you had any ideas. Here are
some of mine:
- the master of the kennels considers him part of his pack, and as
such expects him to join it for the full moon hunt.
- If need arises, he could probably ask/demand favours from Darko.
- he uses Darko to get information about possible targets or to lure
people into his domains at appropriate times.
- supposing he learned of the heartbeast mystery, he might want Darko
to learn it so he gets an intelligent companion for his hunts (whether
it's possible or not is another matter).
etc...
> Visions is a story flaw (even though it's a Supernatural one as well),
> and you may not have two story flaws. (I personally perfer Visions to
> PbSE, but either would be fine.)
Yes, indeed. Missed that one! I need to think how to replace it.
> Mythic Charm: I'm worried that it is too strong, but I'm going to
> allow it, with the following caveats:
I built it mainly based on entrancement. Personally I think
Entrancement is much more powerfull, but I guess that's a matter of
taste. All such supernatural powers used intelligently at high levels
can be very powerfull: wistling up the wind at high levels is HUGE for
example.
PS: in a way, making the arts lower boosts the relative powerfullness
of supernatural abilities. For example, under these house rules it is
extremelly difficult to duplicate the effects of high level wistling
up the wind with hermetic magic. It'll be interesting to see where
this leads, but I certainly expect supernatural power users to be more
of a challenge to magi.
> - You must state the new state focibly while starting into the
> victim's eye; using the Ex-Misc supernatural ability always and
> obviously involves a non-Hermetic method of casting magic.
Fine. Same as Entrancement then.
> - The effect has a different Ease Factor depending on the task
> desired; your Presence + Mythic Charm is opposed by the victim's
> Stamina + Bonus, as you described. Particularly applicable personality
> traits may also affect the victim's roll.
Of course. That's included in what I meant by "alien" emotions:
forcing cowardy into a legendary hero should be harder than into a
common peasant.
> - The effects' Penetration is your roll plus Penetration and possibly
> sympathetic connections; it is lowered by the Ease Factor/victim's
> roll, and the opponent's Magic Resistance against Mentem effects.
Yes, same as Entrancement or other similar supernatural abilities. I
don't expect it to be easy to use against magi or supernatural
creatures.
> - Determine penetration before checking to see if the duration is
> extened; the extra (+penetration +symapathetic connections) doesn't
> come into calculating the excess for extra duration.
Logic.
> - An "abnormal/strong" effect counts as a powerful mystical effect for
> the purpose of warping - it grants 1 Warping Point.
Yes, sounds reasonable when compared to similar rego mentem effects.
Ciao
Jean-Gustave
Thanks for your comments!
> Is Bylun a pagan priest? I presume so.
intervention that she finds Darko.
> Where is Gützkow, and who is preaching there? Was it Stribog the
> White?
from wikipedia. Here are a couple of the links I checked:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_%28Slavic_tribe%29
Where you can find the location of the temples, including Gützkow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_mythology#Jarilo_and_Morana
Where you can find all about the "Morana cycle" ;).
I'm not sure how Norse and Slavic myth are connected, but as I
understand they are separate mythologies. As far as I can understand
from a brief lookup Walpurga or Woden/Odin are not part of the slavic
pantheon.
However, I'm more than happy to admit my ignorance and adapt to
whatever pantheon you decide we should use. Since my character is a
pagan worshiper it is important that he has a basic understanding of
the different gods and their domains, that's all. Out of the three
options bellow, I feel the Morana only godess of witchcraft and death
is the more suited for the character.
> The Order of Perun is fine, but the details of the pagan religion you
> give slightly problematic. Here are some options:
> - You may want to transger your allegiance to Walpurga, a gooddess of
> spring and summer growth. The winter-summer cycle is brone out of her
> cyclic battle with Woden, The Wild Huntsman, which may have links to
> the Master of the Kennels.
> - Alternatively, we can use the Jarilo/Morana myth, but with slight
> changes. Morana, daughter of Perun, would not be a goddess of nature;
> she would remain a goddess of witchcraft and death. Her marriage to
> Jarilo (in the summer solstice) guarentees abundance and peace within
> the sky and underworld realms; it is mediated by Radegast. This tale
> doesn't affect the seasons themselves, that is the domain of Walpurgia/
> Woden; it affects the fertility and abundnace of the land.
> - You may wish to adopt one of the three primary deities - Veles, god
> of the (wet and lush) Underworld, serpents, and chaos; Perun, god of
> the sky, lightning, leadership, and war; or Radegast, god of
> agriculture, civilization, metalsmithing, and the patron of mankind.
> Cyclic Magic: I don't think Summer & Winter are appropriate given
> Morana's tale; I could see Summer and Autumn (when she comes to age,
> marrying Jarilo, and after his death until she dies), or Spring and
> Summer (while she is young and free, and while she is married). I
> can't see Winter, when she dies and is reborn at the winter solstice
> and is young throughout the season, as a season for her to be in
> power.
wiki (see the link above). I thought the two high points of the cycle,
that would have more significance to worshipers, where when her
mariage brings fertility to the land (summer) and when she murders her
husband: " (...) in the upcoming winter she turns into a terrible,
old, and dangerous goddess of darkness and frost, (...) ".
I have found other links mentioning Morana as a goddess of Death,
Winter and Nature. I thought winter was particularlly appropriate for
a goddess of death (and winter!) that dies in winter. For me, it's
clearly a very relevant moment where she is full of power.
But, like I said, I'm happy to adopt your interpretation as long as it
makes sense. Just name what 2 seasons you find more appropriate, I'll
stick to that.
> Plagued by Supernatural Entiry: You mean the Master of the Kennels? Or
> do you have something else in mind, or are just leaving it blank?
some of mine:
- the master of the kennels considers him part of his pack, and as
such expects him to join it for the full moon hunt.
- If need arises, he could probably ask/demand favours from Darko.
- he uses Darko to get information about possible targets or to lure
people into his domains at appropriate times.
- supposing he learned of the heartbeast mystery, he might want Darko
to learn it so he gets an intelligent companion for his hunts (whether
it's possible or not is another matter).
etc...
> Visions is a story flaw (even though it's a Supernatural one as well),
> and you may not have two story flaws. (I personally perfer Visions to
> PbSE, but either would be fine.)
> Mythic Charm: I'm worried that it is too strong, but I'm going to
> allow it, with the following caveats:
Entrancement is much more powerfull, but I guess that's a matter of
taste. All such supernatural powers used intelligently at high levels
can be very powerfull: wistling up the wind at high levels is HUGE for
example.
PS: in a way, making the arts lower boosts the relative powerfullness
of supernatural abilities. For example, under these house rules it is
extremelly difficult to duplicate the effects of high level wistling
up the wind with hermetic magic. It'll be interesting to see where
this leads, but I certainly expect supernatural power users to be more
of a challenge to magi.
> - You must state the new state focibly while starting into the
> victim's eye; using the Ex-Misc supernatural ability always and
> obviously involves a non-Hermetic method of casting magic.
> - The effect has a different Ease Factor depending on the task
> desired; your Presence + Mythic Charm is opposed by the victim's
> Stamina + Bonus, as you described. Particularly applicable personality
> traits may also affect the victim's roll.
forcing cowardy into a legendary hero should be harder than into a
common peasant.
> - The effects' Penetration is your roll plus Penetration and possibly
> sympathetic connections; it is lowered by the Ease Factor/victim's
> roll, and the opponent's Magic Resistance against Mentem effects.
don't expect it to be easy to use against magi or supernatural
creatures.
> - Determine penetration before checking to see if the duration is
> extened; the extra (+penetration +symapathetic connections) doesn't
> come into calculating the excess for extra duration.
> - An "abnormal/strong" effect counts as a powerful mystical effect for
> the purpose of warping - it grants 1 Warping Point.
Ciao
Jean-Gustave
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