Hermetic Lore for FfH DI6

[Derf]

Alright divinities all, lets get started shall we?

This thread is intended exclusively for use of the deity players in the FFH DI6 game. None of this is FFH canon, and unless you are interested in this very game you will not find much of use here.

Posts that follow are addressed to the gods (diety Players) in that game. If you are the mortal player in that game (Ravus Sol), you should not read any further.

The Gods:

Spoiler :

Lugus - Angel of Light (Sun) - Selrahc
Sirona - Angel of Wisdom (Spirit) -
Nantosuelta - Angel of Faith (Enchantment) - zbelg
Sucellus - Angel of Growth (Life) -
Amathaon - Angel of Fertility (Creation)
Junil - Angel of Justice (Law) -

Kilmorph - Angel of Responsibility (Earth) -
Oghma - Angel of Knowledge (Metamagic) -
Cernunnos- Angel of Gradual Change (Nature) -
Arawn - Angel of Death (Death) - LPlate
Dagda - Angel of Balance (Force) - axecack
Tali - Angel of Irresponsibility (Air) -apenpaap
Danalin - Angel of Serenity (Water) -

Camulos - Angel of War (Chaos) - Derf
Aeron - Angel of Hate (Body) -
Ceridwen - Angel of Stars (Dimensional) -
Mammon - Angel of Greed (Mind) - Bad Player
Esus - Angel of Deception (Shadow) -
Mulcarn - Angel of Stasis (Ice) -
Agares - Angel of Despair (Entropy) -
Bhall - Angel of Passion (Fire) -

If you're interested in taking up an unclaimed God just let us know.
For those coming from DI5, I haven't filled in any of them (except mine) in case you change your minds before joining us.

The following posts are intended as a generalized overview of what's going on right now. I'll try to keep them up to date as best I can.

 

[Derf]

Quests
This will be a catalogue of the current and finished quests that have been given to Verdian.

Plots
Due to how much space this would take up especially if the last DI's Esus decides to drop in, I'm going to ask each of you to create a post where you can leave your plots, and update it when you change them. I'll link to each of them here once created.

Characters
Special characters or units that have been introduced in the game and their protectors and significance

Terrain features
A list of all specially labelled places on the map - and any known significance attached to them.
Standard FfH landmarks (Letum Frigus) are not included here.

Other ideas
If you've got an idea that doesn't fit your divinity or just can't be used yet, have a look through this little library of ideas for inspiration. Just ask to have something added to it.
LPlate's various ideas #1 - This post

AI Civilizations
Not to be confused with Ravus Sol's relations with them, this is more for our divine relations with them.

 

[Derf]

Divine Etiquette

1. Make sure to tell us when you have the save in whichever thread! If someone else takes the save and makes changes because you didn't let us know, you'll have an outdated save and your intervention might end up not happening!

2. After Interventions, save the game then play a dozen or so turns to make sure it doesn't crash. Make sure you don't upload a save after those 20 turns!

3. When adding units to the barbarians, check their racial promotions. By default, units without a racial are given the Orcish promotion, which causes trouble with the Clan of Embers world spell. Even if your created unit starts with a race, make sure it has the right one.

 

[Derf]

'kay, I'm done now . That's all the general stuff for all gods.

This here is the post I'll be using to store the plots of our dear enemy, Camulos.

Alright, this is what I got so far;
The Council Member representing Chaos, Camulos' attributed sphere of magic, is going to have close ties to Camulos that aren't apparent. S/he is likely to be corrupt, aggressive and quick-tempered, will push for conquest of other nations - or subjugation, paying tribute to their masters if not able to sway the council to full on war. The tributes they'll demand the council extort out of the subject nations will increase, citing the dominance of the Amurites and their clear superiority - they deserve to have these things, those lowlife dogs don't - that sort of thing.

Camulos himself isn't going to be as noticeable as he was in DI5. He'll listen when His name is mentioned be it by mortal, angel or God, but He won't answer any nation unless they have a Pagan Temple - and His actions will nearly always come with an unexpected side-effect. Owning Chaos Nodes will go down favorably with Him, lessening the side-effects, increasing the rewards, but also increasing the chances of Him taking a direct and personal interest in that nation, which won't be very healthy.

In times of conflict, the armies of most nations are fully expected to at least mutter a few brief prayers to Him, but He won't really be too inclined to respond to them unless someone with some power (an army commander, council member, or even a leader) appeals to Him - or unless he feels like it.

In general though, Camulos is likely to cause little things all over Erebus to try and poke people into war, then watch with delight when people fight.

 

[Lplate]

Hi,

I've not decided on a God, so I'm just throwing ideas out at this stage.

Council Member (CM) Ideas:

Spoiler :

Spirit (Sirona) - CM is one who rivals Cassiel in authority. Does not attempt to form alliances or negotiate deals for their causes. They are respected for their wisdom and that wisdom is enough to sway unsure CM on many issues.
Enchantment (Nantosuelta) - CM opposes Cassiel in most things. "We slew a God with a magic sword. One day, one of mine will be used to slay a mere angel." Believes in perfecting weapons, people and society. Sees Cassiel's presence as an imperfection.
Death (Arawn) - CM is very anti-Gods. He's not satisfied with the Compact. Even if the Gods abided by the Compact and stayed out of Erebus, they're just waiting to enslave souls after death. He sees necromancy as a way to stop the Gods from enslaving souls. It allows people to continue to contribute to their society after death, as warriors, workers and sages. Sidar would ultimately abhor his activities but if they are met early enough, he'd travel to them to learn more of their approach to immortality. D'Tesh would be a second possibility.
Ice (Mulcarn/Empty) - CM didn't support Mulcarn but chose/liked his sphere, as it seemed the most powerful during the Age of Ice. Now, he feels, his influence is waning. He may encourage cult of White Hand to try and recover some of his power and influence.
Entropy (Agares) - CM welcomes the end of the Age of Ice. He sees decay as part of the natural cycle of life and thinks it vital that the normal cycle is reestablished after the stasis of the Age of Ice.

I liked the Os-Gabella idea. Chaos, Death and Dimensional are the Sheaim mana types and so they obvious choices. A different mana suits the deep cover approach. She's been around since the start and so could have mastered any field of magic. Shadow might be an appropriate choice to suggest why Cassiel/Kylorin were unable to penetrate her disguise.

Council Factions
I see council factions as tending to vote as groups but there's no party whip, so they won't always be unanimous in their support/opposition.

Spoiler :

• Obvious factions would be to have one or two voting blocks grouped around schools of magic, e.g. Elementalists
• Sibling/Related CM would tend to work together
• A love triangle or two would provide antagonists as well as allies within the Council
• Religious Faction. They believe the Gods are worthy of worship and that religions should be encouraged. Individuals might have a preference for specific religions but work together to encourage religious beliefs in general (could lead to strange alliances, Sun and Shadow working together to encourage Empyrean and/or CoE)
• Monarchist faction. Determined to re-establish the line of Kylorin. Will encourage searches for Kylorin but may settle for a son if Kylorin can not be found (enter Auric Ulvin stage left)
• Supremacist Magocracy Faction. They view those without magic as lesser beings who are only to be exploited. They'd view Gods as equals (given their magical abilities). They'd push for arcane techs and Slavery/Caste System civics. They'd have little respect for CM without magical potential. They might be divided in their opinions on Cassiel, who has power but refuses to use it.

Resurrection Ideas

Spoiler :

As its set just after the death of Mulcarn, Succellus body may not have been reassembled yet. One story could be about Nantosuelta trying to have the body gathered together. A second story could be Tali encouraging someone to take one of the body parts, just out of mischief to mess up Nantosuelta's plans.
Conversations between Sucellus and Arawn (prior to Succellus reanimation) could trigger Arawn to become more involved in Erebus than he traditionally is in the lore.
If Tali's efforts to mess with the reanimation are successful then Sucellus will not become the God of Life. Arawn might keep the dual Life/Death role or maybe give Life or Death precept to someone else (Basium always wanted to be a God).

Age of Ice Scenario ideas

Spoiler :

Ravus Sol has already mentioned the Illians and the Doviello in the main thread. I think the Illians should start at war with the Amurites and that the council should be divied between those who want to establish peace and build a better world and those who want vengence and extermination.
I think that the scenario had a choice between warrior (probably Belenus), a hunter and a sage as heroes. These (or their offspring) could be characters or members of the council.

RifE ideas

Spoiler :

RifE had a few civilizations that were off-shoots of the Amurites; Mekara, Kahdi and Legion of D'Tesh. The early development of one or more of these could be included in the DI story. That's why I requested the additional Amurite civilisations. I meant to request an Amurite civilization led by Auric Ulvin, so that it would be available for the monarchists but it's a bit too late for that now.

 

[Selrahc]

I'm considering playing a quest to elevate Brigit to godhood in place of Bhall. Obviously playing as one of the good gods, with quests for Ravus around creating a powerful unit, rescuing Brigit, and then possibly sacrificing her on the Pyre of the Seraphic. Lugus would seem like a good choice for this, since he took in a lot of the angels of Bhall who didn't fall with their mistress.

It would work better if I had a Bhall to scheme against.

EDIT: I'd also be willing to play Bhall, if somebody else thinks taking the role of plotting my destruction sounds good.

 

[Derf]

Updated the details above slightly.
Selrahc, I'm not sure exactly who you're claiming? Lugus, Bhall or both?

 

[Selrahc]

Updated the details above slightly.
Selrahc, I'm not sure exactly who you're claiming? Lugus, Bhall or both?

I'm claiming neither at the moment. Just stating a concept. If somebody has been playing Lugus or Bhall for the last five DI's, I can tweak around with the concept. I don't necessarily need to play Lugus, any of the good gods could fit.

 

[Lplate]

I'm considering playing a quest to elevate Brigit to godhood in place of Bhall. Obviously playing as one of the good gods, with quests for Ravus around creating a powerful unit, rescuing Brigit, and then possibly sacrificing her on the Pyre of the Seraphic. Lugus would seem like a good choice for this, since he took in a lot of the angels of Bhall who didn't fall with their mistress.

It would work better if I had a Bhall to scheme against.

EDIT: I'd also be willing to play Bhall, if somebody else thinks taking the role of plotting my destruction sounds good.

If we've a story to replace the Goddess Bhall with Brigit, then we might consider making replacement of Gods one of the focuses of the whole DI story. As in, the Age of Stasis is over, now is the Age of Great Change.

• Mulcarn is just gone, so we can look into replacing him with Barnaxus, Taranis, Auric Ulvin or someone else.
• Laroth trying to replace Arawn.
• Someone trying to take the position of God of Life, if Sucellus is not successfully raised.
• Danalin awakening to reclaim back his precept from the OO. We'd have to emphasise the chaotic, OO influence in the early part of the game by having lots of sea monsters close to shore, destruction of coastal improvements and terrain changes at the coast and in the ocean. A pilgramage to the Aifon Isle (surroundedby sea monsters) might be required to wake Danalin. Once he's awoken, all existing OO temples are destroyed and the city the the pilgrim returned to becomes the new OO founding city (actually the founding city of Danalin's calmer religion).
• Multiple powerful demons claiming (and believing) that they are the real Esus and working against each other.
• Someone (or God) trying to track down the Godslayer and then use it in a Vault to slay one of the other Gods.

@Selrahc, If no other player claims Bhall/Lugus, I'd suggest you actually run with both of them. I'd see Bhall as still in recovery mode and it's this weakness that allows Lugus to make his move.

---

A possible character for Nantosuelta would be Kylorin. If monarchists are looking for him to put him back on the throne and others are looking for him to revere him as a God and yet another group are looking for him so that they can get the Godslayer, then he may be trying to lie low. He's either constantly on the move or wiping the mind of those who get close. If the former, then each God turn a new village/tribal village/barbarian city with some other improvements around it could be created in the wilds to reflect where Kylorin has recently been and has exerted an influence on the people. If going with the latter then any units that go to certain tiles are lost (until a suitable quest is completed which would allow someone to approach Kylorin safely).

 

[axecack]

.....

 

[apenpaap]

Hmm, not sure who I want to be in this one. Ceridwen is great fun, but I want to try someone else for this one. Tali was my first idea, but axecack just snatched him away. I might play a good god... Does anyone know what Sucellus and Amathaon are like?

 

[axecack]

.....

 

[apenpaap]

Oh, that's not what I meant I just thought it was funny you claimed him (I think... Or is Tali a goddess?) just as I had the thought of it. Don't worry, you got there first, I'll get someone else.

 

[axecack]

.....

 

[apenpaap]

Well, if you'd rather play Dagda than Tali, I'll happily be Tali, but again, you have the first choice and you shouldn't switch just to let me play Tali. There's plenty of other gods I'd enjoy being.

 

[Derf]

First post updated with your respective deities - if nothing else to stop you both trying to give up Tali to each other

 

[zbelg]

I think I'd like to reserve Aeron if nobody else snatched him up (I wasn't monitoring the DI5 thread as closely when Veridian began to go AWOL). I haven't been able to find a lot of lore about him, but from what I understand, he can appropriately serve as a traditional devil, correct? His story seems to be more or less a version of Lucifer. A traditional devil, in the sense that he is a true enemy of civilization and mankind, but will bestow power and blessings as a gambit to ultimately corrupt. Somewhat like how Lplate was playing Esus, but with a goal to encourage mankind to indulge primal desires and regress to a more feral state.

 

[Derf]

Aeron is yours.
For all others considering playing a god, I'm keeping the list of gods in the first post as up to date as I can - but I'm going offline in about half an hour - about 11pm in Britain - and won't be back until 9-10am, same time.
I'll go through all posts made overnight and update as necessary, except where there's a conflict - you get to play between yourselves if two or more of you want a god.

 

[zbelg]

Thank you. I may change my mind if it isn't lore appropriate for what I want to do. Aeron's called both the God of Hate and the God of Rage, which conjure up subtle, yet significantly different ideas to me. Doing more research, Aeron seems more like Dionysus, which could also be very fun. The impression I've got is that Aeron would be less of an enemy to man and more of an enemy of civilization, which, obviously, in a game called "Civilization" would be ultimately detrimental to the player. I mostly just want the opportunity to play as a trickster god, but feeding more off of temptation than outright deception.

As a frame of reference, I started thinking of ideas for playing an evil god during the last game because I was also playing through the old 90s game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and thought it would be fun to play a manipulative, malevolent god sort of like the supercomputer AM. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it would be too convoluted to explain in an off topic and obscure tangent, but here's this- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw-88h-LcTk

The scenario of Benny is what may be especially appropriate for Aeron. To quickly summarize and avoid spoilers- AM starved a strong man, placed him in a village with luscious fruit that he could not eat, subtly encouraging him to kill and cannibalize the weaker villagers so he would become a beast.

 

[axecack]

.....