Need help fleshing out a story

[Persell]

I'm trying to get a new game organized and could use a bit of help. I'm still gathering players, so I've not got any characters yet but I'm going to restrict it to Solars and Lunars.


The basic outline of the story is this: Once the characters have been introduced (one or two sessions), I'll begin a massive beastmen invasion. Either the invasion will threaten people or places the group values, or an Elder Lunar mentor will request they check it out. The plan gets fuzzy here because my ST style tends to be very sandbox-y.


However the players deal with the invasion, I want it to come out that the beastmen are actually running from something. The something is...a First Age Solar, his First Age Chimeara Lunar mate, the Solar's personal DB legion and mobile city/fortress invading from the Wyld where he's been since prior to the Usurption. Basically a serious 'oh fuck!' opponent.


I've not exactly worked out why this Solar would have let Creation or how to work in the Deathlords (a request by one player).


Any and all suggestions would be great, especially from anyone that has used First Age Solars or Lunars as enemies.


Also, I'm typing this on my girlfriend's Blackberry, so I apologize if the typing or formatting is a bit off.

 

[Brickwall]

There's no way to reasonably make First Age Exalts appropriate antagonists for non-Elder characters. These are beings who could slay a legion (literally, thousands of soldiers with lots of DBs mixed in) with nothing but a single iced nipple (breasts not required), to say nothing of fully armed and prepared. It's generally not a good idea to have the players directly opposing anything like that. Anything above the Essence 5 level is a bad idea for the first story.


There's some other things, but I think it's best if you figure out how to address that first.

 

[wordman]

I've not exactly worked out why this Solar would have le[f]t Creation.

He might not have necessarily "left" Creation (if that was really the question). Four things could explain his presence out in the Wyld:

1. The Deliberative worked hard to expand Creation in all directions, but this "artificial extension" of reality collapsed when they stopped maintaining it. He could have been out there when it did, maintaining his own pocket by himself.
   
2. From Lands of Creation, pg. 11: "In the instant before Malfeas was sealed, the Yozi known as She Who Lives in Her Name made a last assault on Creation's fabric, burning away not merely places and peoples, but concepts and possibilities." It could be that your villian was stranded by this someplace, such that he was not only cut off from Creation, but missed the entire First Age.
   
3. Not all solars fell during the Usurpation right away. Some hid in the Invisible Fortress, for example. Could be your guy ran really far into the Wyld, and built his own reality there. I've thought about a plot like this for quite a while, and could expand on the idea if you are drawn in this direction.
   
4. Vastly less canonical: perhaps more than one Creation exists. This guy is a refugee from one that got eaten by the Wyld/turned into a Shadowland/destroyed by solar lusts/etc.

As for the power level mentioned by Brickwall, you can use this to your advantage. Don't focus on the solar himself, but rather his horde. It's a bit like a Star Wars thing, where, even though he is the Emperor, it is the Empire that is the villain through most of the movies. Run it like a rebellion game at first, where the circle tries to undermine this new order. At first, they might not even know the solar even exists, but find out over time. As they grow in power, and become a more serious threat... well, even then they're not going to have much of a chance toe to toe against a First Age solar.


That's why they need the Deathlords.

 

[Tedryn Nist]

Alternately one of the Deathlord might recognize your mad First Age Solar and have a serious beef with offering the party assistance in ordr to settle an old score. If you want the Deathlord as an antagonist perhaps he was an old ally of the Solar's and together they're kicking off their old plan for ruling all of Creation together.


As for power level the First Age Solar may have been young when the Usurpation happened and for some reason or another he was forced into a hibernative state similar to what Magnificent Jaguar did. He wakes up, finds out about the Usurpation and goes bugfuck crazy intending on wiping out the Realm after cutting a swathe of destruction to generate fear and chaos with the whole of his panoply leading to the beastmen running scared and the party getting involved.

 

[Persell]

Thanks for the responses first off.


As to the power level of the Solar, I wasn't really planning on throwing the Circle face first at him but the power level is definitely a problem. One thought I had was taking advantage of the time bending aspect of the Wyld. Even in a stable pocket of the Wyld, time could have run slower. Still be scary as hell with all the First Age gadgets, but not 6000 year old Solar scary. Could reasonably be a much lower Essence level.


I really like the idea of a Deathlord offering his assistance to the Circle. I assumed the players would seek allies, but I was thinking more of Lookshy, Bull of the North or the Hasiantic(sp) League. It will add a fun wrinkle if a player wants to play a Sidereal.


@Brickwall: Besides the issue of the Solar being a First Age survivor, you mentioned other issues. Care to elaborate?

 

[cyl]

There is also a fifth solution for the reappearance of a FA solar:


Solar circle spell Pressed Beyond The Veil of Time. Time there passes (essence of the caster) times slower than in creation.


Roughly if the Usurpation took place 1500 years ago and a solar essence 8 had fled to his secret lair Elsewhere, he would have only aged by 187 years...

 

[strawberryleaves]

The Silver Pact would definitely act against the Lunar if she is a full-blown chimera. If she's salvageable, tattooing her would be a high priority.


Have you decided on a motivation for the Solar and Lunar yet? Why are they sticking in the Wyld and scaring beastmen? Do they intend to move against any of the established powers? Who (or what) are they in contact with?

 

[wordman]

Another alternative to the "scary" problem.


Consider the city (or whatever) where your solar has been all this time. You can imagine a microstate of sorts, led by the solar and a council of dragon-blooded, maybe a sidereal is around in there someplace. Say that it's been totally isolated from Creation, since even before the Usurpation.


Trouble is, it's not isolated from the Great Curse.


Over time, the solar slowly goes nuts. Eventually, maybe after a few failed attempts, he gets put down by his council (which has been breeding ever more dragon blooded in the interim).


Trouble is, whatever is keeping the city protected from the Wyld also somehow acts as a "trap" for the solar shard, so it flits around the city until it finds a worthy mortal to inhabit. Let's say the dragon blooded council figure this out, but for one reason or another (maybe they need solar aspected essence for some reason), they nurture this new solar, sort of like a "the king is dead, long live the king" thing.


Eventually, the Great Curse takes this new guy over as well. Again, the council puts him down. Again the shard inhabits someone else. Again he is nurtured.


This cycle repeats for thousands of years.


Eventually, the lunar mate, now chimera from being in the Wyld all this time, figures out a way to break into the city. This upsets the cycle and now the current solar decides to invade (for whatever reason).


Under this plan, it would make sense for the solar to be a lot younger, maybe Essence 6 or so.

 

[Persell]

The Silver Pact would definitely act against the Lunar if she is a full-blown chimera. If she's salvageable, tattooing her would be a high priority.

This was my hook for any Lunar PCs in the Circle. Once the Circle learns the reason behind the Beastmen invasion, the Silver Pact Elders would certainly view the long lost Lunar as a high priority target. I've not really decided if the Lunar will be a chimera yet. Any technology or spells that protect the city would have protected the Lunar from chimerism....provided said Lunar didn't venture out of its borders much.

Have you decided on a motivation for the Solar and Lunar yet? Why are they sticking in the Wyld and scaring beastmen? Do they intend to move against any of the established powers? Who (or what) are they in contact with?

I'm not really certain what the reason will have been for leaving. My original thought was some slight (real or perceived) by the Dilberative lead the Solar to leave Creation. Basically he's been pouting over the incident for a few millenia. This is kinda weak, I know, but its not fully fleshed out yet. Maybe he was forbidded to pursue some particular line of research, and he's now ready to return and prove them all wrong.
As to the Solar's intentions, I thought that when he finally reenters Creation and discovers it in such a state of disarray and confusion he would march his legion against any that oppose him in an effort to re-establish Solar rule. He wouldn't know anything about the Usurption, the Great Contagion, the Scarlet Empire or the Deathlords. As he learns more and more about Creation today, he could either ally himself with one of Creation's major powers and focus more specifically on one or more of the others, or the Solar's appearance might force old enemies into alliances to oppose him. Not sure yet.

 

[cyl]

Then I strongly suggest you use the spell above mentioned. You can combine it with the "land disappeared into the Wyld after the Balorian Crusade" touch easily.


The guy went to exile for his own reason (to be revealed later in the story), maybe he was waiting for an old rival to die, maybe he wanted to disappear for some time (to avoid a legal punishment and play on the prescription)... and came back one day.


To make things interesting, the lunar may be one of the lost castes...


But you also need to figure out how his armies are going to survive the Contagion (of course if he's an experienced doctor, should be no problem)... because it IS still present in Creation (it was one of the major turns in the Autochtonians possible campaigns).


And above all you need to determine how his curse works, because he will go crazy real quick in this world and while he could do miracles at first (razing shadowlands... maybe even making deathlords flee...) he will eventually go crazy one day.

 

[The zombie cat]

Then I strongly suggest you use the spell above mentioned. You can combine it with the "land disappeared into the Wyld after the Balorian Crusade" touch easily.
The guy went to exile for his own reason (to be revealed later in the story), maybe he was waiting for an old rival to die, maybe he wanted to disappear for some time (to avoid a legal punishment and play on the prescription)... and came back one day.


To make things interesting, the lunar may be one of the lost castes...


But you also need to figure out how his armies are going to survive the Contagion (of course if he's an experienced doctor, should be no problem)... because it IS still present in Creation (it was one of the major turns in the Autochtonians possible campaigns).


And above all you need to determine how his curse works, because he will go crazy real quick in this world and while he could do miracles at first (razing shadowlands... maybe even making deathlords flee...) he will eventually go crazy one day.

the contagion /may/ still be in creation. the version of the contagion listed in the main book is an attenuated (weakoned) strain. not as deadly as it was. only only in one of the 3 plot lines in the autothonians book did they catch the contagion.


so you dont need to explain why it dosnt get them

 

[Persell]

How does Pressed Beyond the Veil of Time work? It slows down time by a factor of the caster's Essence, correct? Even if the Solar was only Essence 5 several centuries would have passed, more than enough time to reach at least Essence 8, and if he was high enough Essence to make time pass slower he's already passed the level that the Circle could possibly handle. Still, you're probably correct about it being the best option.


How would the point of origin be impacted by falling into the Wyld? When the Solar ends the spell would everything snap back into reality along with any Wyld shaping technology with no problems? Or would the lack of solid anchor cause a more spectacular result?

 

[cyl]

I suggest you take a peek at the White Treaty it's in the Adamant Circle part p.93.


If you do not have the book here are the basis.


- it can affect a dominion of Magnitude (Essence -2)


- you need a complex ritual to build a perfect miniature replica of the dominion in Malfean porcelain and to burn it.


- the whole area then disappears, sent Elsewhere, and the landscape "grows back" where it used to be.


- a small token (made by the sorcerer) allows its wearer to enter and leave the dominion at any time.


- the dominion reappears every hundred years in Creation (this is where the "the land was absorbed by the Wyld kicks in... it could have reappeared through eons, but it was a secret hideout, on the bordermarches of the First Age Creation... now far far in the Wyld, so no one has ever found the place).


- time in Elsewhere passes differently. The formula is (essence of the caster) days of Creation = 1 day in Elsewhere.


So if your guy was Essence 5 back in the day, and assuming some 2000 years passed between the usurpation and nowadays, that just means he aged 400 years, merely enough to get to essence 7.


There's no necessary impact on the change of landscape for the dominion (I suppose a protection against all sorts of shaping effect would make sense as well as the use of Solar Sanctuary). But of course if he decided to wait and got out 400 years later, that would be a surprise for him... nothing he couldn't handle though...

 

[Persell]

I do have White and Black Treatises, I just hadn't looked up that particular spell before. Having looked at the text, it says that the spell replaces the displaced area with a landscape appropriate to the area with a hidden portal to the sanctuary. It doesn't mention what happens if the area is changed drastically (like falling back into the Wyld) while the spell is active. Any Reality engines or wards would either go with the Dominion or have been destroyed by the Fae after the Contagion, so I'm not really sure what would happen.

 

[cyl]

Well the landscape would obviously change under the influence of the Wyld of course, but that's rather irrelevant for the dominion.


You just need to state that during those 400 years, the solar knew that the Wyld had taken over the land, and protected his dominion.


Considering how time flies and if you maintain him at essence 5... from his point of view it's been only 160 years (800/5) that the Wyld has taken over, and the Wyld threatened the city only 8 times (every 20 days... 800/100 years for the reappearance cycle), so I think he would have figured a way to solve the problem rather easily (most likely charms against the wyld/artifact)


Now of course you need to make the area within the middlemarches at best (but that's far enough for anyone not to go there), in deep chaos, the connection with Creation is completely lost and there wouldn't be any anchor...