Dice Godbound: Throne of the Azyrinth Extra Page

[Sizniche]

Sizniche Tachyon do you want our characters to have met before, or has fate just pulled three Godbound into a tavern in a tiny town seemingly by chance?

caecgirl give us more to work with! What draws our eyes to a musician who hasn't started playing yet? Why do we care about him? Do we see each other? Because I kind of feel like the huge shirtless scarred warrior-god, the divinely charming god of ostentatious wealth, and the faerie might command the attention of the room. I'm honestly a litle bit surprised they let Caesura in at all Faeries usually aren't well received in many settings, what with the murdering and kidnapping and whatnot. Maybe fae are nicer in this world.

Since Orrin is basically the hometown hero, he could just be someone you guys' characters meet here. I'd imagine you might actually be the only one that draws any real attention since Orrin is a known quantity in town, and Kritas can probably hide who he is :vP

 

[caecgirl]

if ur eyes are drawn to him , u must care. but that, ultimately is up to you. i will se4e what i can do, though. Cae could be in disguise.

 

[caecgirl]

u gotta ask him or someone else. thats how my other party figured it out.

 

[caecgirl]

u guys mind if i post a second time here in reply? don't want siz to unknowingly steal the bard's thunder... and possible pickup line.

 

[Sizniche]

u guys mind if i post a second time here in reply? don't want siz to unknowingly steal the bard's thunder... and possible pickup line.

Nawp, don't mind at all, lol. Reply when you feel the timing is appropriate.

 

[Sizniche]

Random Word question, How tall exactly is Caesura? Because it might help in the description of my post to know if she's taller or shorter than Orrin, and I've already determined how tall Orrin is in my own head :-P

 

[Random Word]

Uhh, let's say 7 ft. That seems about faerie-tall .

 

[Sizniche]

Uhh, let's say 7 ft. That seems about faerie-tall .

Okiedoke. Orrin is 6' 10", so almost as tall

I had to ask, since it sounded from your post that they'd be about the same height, and I was right lol

EDIT: Though now saying it out loud, I might bump it down to 6' 8". My goal is "Extremely large, but also believable for a normal person"

 

[caecgirl]

Uhh, let's say 7 ft. That seems about faerie-tall .

i picture faerie as shorter than humans/elves

 

[Sizniche]

i picture faerie as shorter than humans/elves

Maybe it's something special about being the Fae Queen

 

[Random Word]

oops. Uh, well, we can edit that right quick if you like. Fae in mythology have often had widely varying heights, but I figured (incorrectly, clearly) a Faerie Queen would probably be pretty tall. You tell me how tall Caesura ought to be, then - like really short? Just ordinary short?

 

[caecgirl]

oops. Uh, well, we can edit that right quick if you like. Fae in mythology have often had widely varying heights, but I figured (incorrectly, clearly) a Faerie Queen would probably be pretty tall. You tell me how tall Caesura ought to be, then - like really short? Just ordinary short?

uh i donno...5' for males? for females, uh less. that's about the size of dwarves too right?

 

[Tachyon]

Sizniche Tachyon do you want our characters to have met before, or has fate just pulled three Godbound into a tavern in a tiny town seemingly by chance?

Since Orrin is basically the hometown hero, he could just be someone you guys' characters meet here. I'd imagine you might actually be the only one that draws any real attention since Orrin is a known quantity in town, and Kritas can probably hide who he is :vP

Kritas also lives in the town, so it would seem extremely likely that Orrin and Kritas know each other. He doesn't hide who he is at this moment, or generally really.
I don't know how politically savvy Orrin is, but regardless he would know that Kritas serves as an advisor for whoever is in charge of Camblin. If he's more in-tune with things, he might now that Kritas has a bit more influence than usual, but it is all 'soft power'. He advises, and is very good at making his case in the halls of power, but he doesn't rule.

Perhaps Kritas has served as a sort of 'quest giver' to Orrin in the past? He's a wizard and good at finding things out. Perhaps Kritas has identified threats to the town and told Orrin about them, and then Orrin goes and kick the ass of whatever the threat it.

What would we know of Caesura? What is known about the Fae, and how are they viewed by others? Do we know what a Fae queen is? I'm not very familiar with D&D-esque settings in general, so you may have to clarify things a bit Caecgirl

Edit: I realized we started in the town of Tybor, not Camblin City. Still, perhaps Orrin is well-known enough that Kritas would have sought him out when ne'er do-wells of epic proportion were afoot?

 

[Tachyon]

Backstory
The Arcane Order of Gaardia - The last and best hope for the Low Folk of the world to reach ascendance and rise up against their monstrous oppressors. At least, as far as Kritas is concerned. He was anything but impartial though, seeing as he had spent his entire life within the Order. Both of his parents had been prominent members of the order, such pairings was not unusual considering the insular nature of many arcane practitioners, and as most people he followed in his parents' footsteps.

Letters and numbers came easily too him, as they do most who pursue a mage's career. He learned well and fully his esoteric lore, how to bend the arcane energies of the world to his will, choosing to focus on the arts of divination and fortune-telling. Although a promising mage, what truly set him apart from his peers and sky-rocket his career were his social graces. Were many mages were a bit eccentric and lacking of social finesse, Kritas was the opposite. Indeed, many were the times were his prophecies had failed him, yet his words made it seem like they had come true, turning a disgruntled customer into satisfied one. Prophecies are notoriously ambiguous, and with the right interpretation they can say anything.

A quickly calculating mind and charming smile made for a potent combination. His reputation as a nearly-flawless Seer quickly accrued him both wealth and influence in the city of Camblin. Support by his talents, the wealth he had gathered and his parents, he managed to climb the ranks of the arcane order as well. He would be recognized as an archmaster-Seer even a bit before his skills warranted it. Had he been a true archmaster, he would perhaps been able to foresee and avert the demise of his parents.

A magical undertaking gone wrong. That was all that was known about Etrius & Morgaine's, Kritas' parents, untimely death. The two had left Camblin city together and traveled east, taking with them a large number of arcane supplies as well as a few assistants and apprentices. A single assistant is all that returned, their mind broken and unable to utter more than a few words. The news devasted Kritas, and caused him to throw caution to the wind. He delved deeper into his arcane studies, looking further into unknown futures and murky pasts. Through bribes and lies he gained access to forbidden and dangerous knowledge hoarded by the order, not meant for mortal eyes. His magical powers grew, and he was on the cusp of true Theurgy.

But mortals cannot use Theurgy. It uses them. He found himself trapped in rigid visions of the future which he had to act out. Were once he had pulled the strings of destiny, now it pulled his. Unwillingly he traveled east in secret, following the path his parents took.

Exactly what happened is not known. Kritas returned to Camblin and resumed his life as if nothing had happened. His powers had grown, but he kept that a secret. Had an angel intervened on his behalf, blessing him with the might to wield theurgy without becoming it's slave? Or had he successfully deceived the world, convincing it that he since he was wielding theurgy he must be Godbound?

Description
Although he is a master of disguises and illusions, Kritas' has enough of an ego on him that he prefers to be viewed and recognized as himself unless the situation calls for something else. A man of means, he dressed in a way that telegraphs his exuberant wealth, numerous golden rings on each hand, exquisite clothing and exotic perfumes. He has a penchant for masks and is usually wearing a golden one that is more or less synonymous with his appearance at this point. He stands a few inches short of six feet at 5'8, with long dark hair, sharp features and green eyes.

Credit goes to Elena Kukanova for the art!


Edit: Last language will be Azyrithian

 

[Random Word]

What would we know of Caesura? What is known about the Fae, and how are they viewed by others? Do we know what a Fae queen is? I'm not very familiar with D&D-esque settings in general, so you may have to clarify things a bit Caecgirl

I don't know about Fae in this world, but in general faeries are rapacious and deadly trickster spirits of nature. In Godbound's traditional setting, from what I understand fae are some kind of ancient ascended mortal, nowhere near as puissant as a Made God but effectively magic transhumanists changing their own nature. In D&D they do some stuff with the Seelie and Unseelie courts - basically good-ish and evil faeries being separate but connected. In D&D fae also often have seasonal courts and a complex feudal hierarchy. I don't know if we're running D&D faeries straight here. Faeries can usually grant quite powerful blessings, but they'll try to trick mortals into getting what they want and offer very unfair deals. Since they have to abide by the deals they agree to, very clever mortals can outwit faeries and walk away with a prize. Faeries are often capricious and obsessive - if a mortal catches their eye because of beauty, wit, talent, etc, they try to entice the mortal to join them at court and trap them there for entertainment, or simply kidnap them by force.

Basically, your average peasant is terrified of faeries, and wants to ward them off or propitiate them so they stay happy and don't come knocking, and really doesn't want to make them angry. They're the sort of thing heroes test their wits against.

If I had taken the Word of Desire and made Caesura more socially inclined, she would be more in line with a traditional faeries, but I could still play her as a traditional faerie.

I don't know if Caesura was born a faerie in a community of faeries, or if whatever empowered her transformed her - either way works for me and I left it ambiguous - but I've decided she has a compulsion to build and grow in a world where cities of any size and infrastructure are ruthlessly razed to the ground by horrors in the night. The fragment of divinity that empowered her was obsessed with growth, evolution, and cultivation. It laments its great works left unfinished.


So putting it all together, I expect that if you've heard of Caesura it's probably one of the following tales:

An evil and malicious spirit who commands the unquiet dead and lures innocent peasants in with feast tables laden to breaking with food and drink. She bewitches heroes and skilled artisans to help build and defend her dark palace. Those foolish enough to follow their stomachs or ensorcelled by her fell magics are inevitably caught when the horrors from the dark descend to destroy this offence against the natural order of things. She works with the horrors to weaken communities by drawing away their best and brightest into her trap.

A strange and pitiful spirit cursed by some power to endlessly build beautiful gardens overflowing with food in a palace filled with fine things and courtiers living and dead, only to watch it all reduced to ashes by the encroaching darkness again. Stay far away if you know what's good for you, but if you must accept her gifts, take them and run before the horrors come. If you let her bewitch you into staying, you'll burn with the fields, or worse: join her undying host, cursed to follow her forever.

 

[caecgirl]

Mighty Quinn by Manfred Mann - 1968
changed the lyrics a bit
"Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Orinn"

 

[Sizniche]

Since we're talking rumors the other characters may have heard, Orrin is the kind of person that kind of gets mentioned around Camblin like an urban legend; he's not legendary in the sense of having epic poems or mythological tales written about him (yet!), but instead you'll occasionally hear someone in someplace like Camblin City insist there's an unbeatable boxer who lives in Tyvvor and someone else saying they'll believe it when they see it. This leads to a lot of people travelling to Tyvvor to fight him and seeing his ability firsthand, which may or may not be the cause of more people insisting on the legend.

Of course, the town of Tyvvor knows him and knows he's a good fighter in a brawl, though very few know his true nature since he doesn't go out of his way to out himself and doesn't go too hard on people who challenge him. At their discretion, Tachyon can have Kritas have witnessed one of his fights yesterday, and, being a divinely empowered being himself, know there's something more to Orrin.

 

[Random Word]

Ah, oops. I assumed Orrin wasn't keeping such a low profile. 'Is good at boxing' probably wouldn't be enough to attract Caesura's interest, but maybe? I was more thinking, 'Can defeat a hundred men in the ring without breaking a sweat.'

 

[Sizniche]

Ah, oops. I assumed Orrin wasn't keeping such a low profile. 'Is good at boxing' probably wouldn't be enough to attract Caesura's interest, but maybe? I was more thinking, 'Can defeat a hundred men in the ring without breaking a sweat.'

That's fair, I shoulda clarified :vP

to be fair, he can do the latter thing. Hell, maybe he pushed his luck recently with a particularly spectacular brawl ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Random Word]

Or people are telling very tall tales about him, and they've gotten out of hand They're now accidentally telling the truth.

 

[Sizniche]

Or people are telling very tall tales about him, and they've gotten out of hand They're now accidentally telling the truth.

After a few days of adventuring together

"I still don't know what you want with me, I'm just a humble boxer"

"You just defeated a tavern filled with elite soldiers... with a single punch."

"... Just a humble boxer "

 

[Random Word]

This all started because some peasant two towns over told Caesura Orrin had defeated a hundred men in the ring without breaking a sweat. His cousin one town over had actually told him Orrin had defeated a hundred men in the ring and never broke a sweat, but didn't mention it was over the course of a hundred matches, because he assumed that was obvious.

 

[Sizniche]

Random Word I can't help but imagine the servitors as looking like the clockwork soldiers ftom Dishonored 2 even though im pretty sure from the description they're supposed to be some form of undead

 

[Tachyon]

"'Hero' might be a bit of a strong word, don't you think?"

And Orrin knows a thing or two about Words of strength! huehuehue

 

[Tachyon]

I experimented with using colored text for speech. I'm using dark mode so it's very readable on there, but not sure if that's true for the rest of you? I can change it back if it's annoying.

I like your inclusion of internal thoughts in italics, Random Word ! I'll aspire to include some of my own in future posts.