| | A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations | |
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valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:26 pm | |
| First topic message reminder :The Black Magister- Spoiler:
Deeply initiated occultists, most demonologists, some Abyss Mystics and all Infernalists know about the gruesome practices of the Baali, including their construction of pits filled with the remains from eviscerated victims to serve the purpose of various profane rites. Some of these pits became the stuff of legend. Even mortals had a glimpse of such horrors, when excavations near and in Carthage revealed the remains of infants and children in large numbers conscripted to a fiery pit. Other examples of these infamous abattoirs remain thankfully hidden from mortal eyes, including the Ashurite Well which reportedly was the cradle of the bloodline, hidden beneath the ruins of Ashur, and the Iblii-al-Akbar¬ beneath ancient Damascus. All of these are of potential interest to Abyss Mystics, because of these places’s connection to spiritual darkness and sinister mystical resonances.
But one pit has marked the story of both Lasombra and Baali, inspiring dread and an unholy curiosity, its infamy and importance second only to the ruins of Chorazin. This pit is the so-called “Hell’s Mouth” aboard the Dark Magister. By the end of the vampiric Long Night the Dark Magister was known to be a Moorish pirate ship, its hold filled with two centuries’ worth of victims and booty, manned by a crew of Baali and infernal Lasombra corsairs. The Dark Magister stalked the Mediterranean coast, and the most common rumors had the ship’s home port being somewhere along the North African coast, possibly near Tripoli – once a Phoenician colony. During the War of Princes, the Dark Magister was also known to spend a great deal of time ferrying individuals and correspondences among Infernalists in the coast of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, linking the accursed Baali cities of Tyre and Damascus. It is even rumored to have sheltered the infamous Mary the Black after she devoured the Patriarch of Constantinople, safely delivering her at the hands of Tanith in Tyre.
Some of those in the know speculate that the Dark Magister might have been even older than its medieval incarnation. Stories about a hellish vessel haunting the Mediterranean exist since the nights of Carthage, which was a powerful maritime power. If this is true, the alliance between Lasombra and Baali seafarers might be extremely old. Worse still is the evidence that the Black Magister continued its notorious pirate and infernal practices long after the Dark Ages. Rumors about its whereabouts and activities remain silent during the Inquisition and Anarch Revolt, but once the Age of Discovery rekindled sea travel, the Dark Magister is said to have returned. No more restricted to the Mediterranean, it took open sea and haunted the seven oceans.
Others say there is not one Dark Magister, but several. This theory is grounded on evidence that the Moorish ship was cursed by Assamite Sorcerers of Andalusia to never leave the Mediterranean waters. But it is said its infernal crew found a loophole by simply transferring the Hell Mouth to a new vessel. It is true that during the Great Navigations the Dark Magister preying on New World colonies was a caravel. Later, during the golden age of piracy, it was a pirate frigate tinting the Caribbean waters with blood. Nowadays, several ghost ships that could possibly be the Dark Magister haunt all of the world’s oceans with its metal hulls harboring death, darkness and decay inside.
Some Tzimisce Kolduns whisper that Infernal tainted Fiends were the responsible for the Hell Mouth’s transfer from the Mediterranean-bound Moorish ship to its other vessel hosts. These same rumors say that Vicissitude enabled the pit, full of organs and viscera, to be partially transferred instead of whole, actually creating new Hell Mouths through a process similar to parthenogenesis and mitosis. These rumors are substantiated by the fact that the Dark Magister of the Sargasso Sea was crewed by crustacean-like buccaneers and employed abominable sea monstrosities that could only have been flesh-crafted – a terrible sight, especially when coupled with the strangest Rituals of Darkness any Abyss Mystic has ever heard of, employed by the Lasombra Capitan of the frigate.
On the other hand, the metallic Dark Magister of modern times was never reported to have flesh-crafted monsters, but its association with the practice of Abyss Mysticism is well-documented. That there is more than one has been implied by different sighting at the same time. These modern Dark Magister show evidence of being less powerful than their older counterparts, and at least one has been destroyed. No one has been able to explain why there are differences of vessel and crew between the many incarnations of the Dark Magister, and perhaps they are not merely continuations one of the other, but were all inspired by their predecessors. Thus, it might simply be that different captains have different tastes and inclinations on how to control the powers of darkness and express their evil. This is a dark prospect, because it is possible that there are not only several of these hellish vessels in the world, but that the older ones – perhaps even the original Carthaginian ship – are still in existence.
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Anda
Posts : 174 Join date : 2012-06-21
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Dec 09, 2012 7:33 pm | |
| Hey Peter and welcome onboard!
I think it's awesome that you wanna contribute! Since it's basicly me, Gattison and anarch who's active at the moment, we surely can need all the help we can get! I'm also very happy that you wanna take on the Dark Monastery!
I don't know if I remember correctly what anarch said, since I haven't read Giovanni Chronicles myself (currently playing it though), but I think he thought it was suiting cuz if the players for some reason would revisit the place later on in the story they would find that only Lord Alxander was still there, and that the place was roaming with moving shadows... something like that. Maybe you can find it in the books... I think it leaves open cool possibilities.
I also like your research on the closter, cool if you can tie it to something real. I'm sure Gattison (the boss) can supply you with our latest sample on the book where you can read what we have done with the locations so far, and maybe it can work as inspiration. | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Dec 10, 2012 1:40 am | |
| I am currently working on another update for the PDF, and when I send it out, I can also add urbanfractal/peter/petros to the list of recipients. I will need your email, if you are interested. Mine should be on this website somewhere, but to make it easy for you it's Gattison@gmail.com. Send me an email there and I can save your email address. Also, of course, Mr. Fractal, you can feel free to offer any feedback you have on the PDF/book once you see it. We're even pretty good at taking constructive criticism, so be honest. =) Also, feel free to comment on any other topic, too. Is the location of the Dark Monstery not exactly known? If it isn't, then you may want to consider placing anything that gives it an exact location in a side-bar, rather than the text itself. We have a thousand side-bars in our book, so feel free to play around with that option as well. Finally, if you have any "contacts" or "allies" or "retainers" who would want to help, go ahead and let them know we're always recruiting. Especially if you know an artist that works with colors (since Anda and I--who are the current resident artists--only work in black and white it seems. All the rest of the art in the book is so far "Used without permission." | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:36 pm | |
| Okay, I saw there was still a place that had not been covered, the Maasai tribe where Montano was Embraced, so I decided to give it a try. Let me know if you like it. - Spoiler:
Among modern Laibon domains, which have several vampires of Maasai ancestry, storytellers remember the tales of how many ages ago all the Laibon who preyed on the Falcon Maasai near the Kilimanjaro disappeared during a dark, starless night. After that, Laibon presence among the Maasai was absent for several mortal generations. Most Laibon fear the truth behind these tales, and avoid dwelling on them with the same fear their Sires and Grandsires avoided when they finally approached the Maasai again after their brothers and sisters were devoured by the night itself. Myths among the Maasai have survived, however, that complete this picture. They speak of a childless, terrible monster made of darkness and craving blood with a hunger only surpassed by its loneliness. Trying to placate both its physical and spiritual hunger the monster descended over the Falcon Maasai of the Kilimanjaro, crowning itself its King of the Night and choosing a Massai boy to be their King of the Day, to act as the monster’s son and representative during the daylight hours. Under the King of the Night’s orders, the Maasai had to attend to every demand the infant King of the Day requested, which made the child grow spoiled and cruel. The King of the Day became so presumptuous that he came to believe he could become King of Night and Day, and plotted against its own pale monstrous parent. With the indignation of a mother betrayed by her children, the King of the Night destroyed the King of the Day and lashed it angst against the Falcon Maasai people. However, their wise shaman saw the truth behind the sad and lonely heart of the monster, and offered himself to become its loyal son, only if it would spare his people. The grieving monster accepted, and left the shadows of the Kilimanjaro content with its new child. The Maasai know they were saved from destruction by their brave shaman, and know that he has honorably kept his word to the pale King of the Night, for the monster has never again returned to plague the Falcon Maasai. The modern day Maasai have not forgotten how their ancestors have bravely fought against the depredations of the reaching darkness of the King of the Night eons ago, and how they were saved by one of their own through his complete surrender to the pale monster. Worse still, they know this tale to be true, because they are still haunted by the vicious pretender to the title of King of Night and Day. Its body destroyed, his mind survived out of pure spite for his own people and his monstrous parent, and worse still, out of jealousy for the wise shaman who replaced him. As the pale King of the Night fed on the blood of the Falcon Maasai, the King of Night and Day attached himself to the blood of his former people, and exists to this day as a curse running through their veins. As the wise shaman was born on the Kilimanjaro, the King of Night and Day makes his haven on that clouded heights, where he hides his blackened heart. He has control over shadows, darkness and storms, and delights in stealing and defacing his people’s bodies when he gets angry. Among the Falcon Maasai, the possessed are referred as being ‘visited by the King of Night and Day’. Every generation of Falcon shamans undergoes a initiation rite that involves confronting the King of Night and Day, but none has ever come close to destroying him. As the spoiled child that he is, the King actually delights in these confrontations. Among vampires, the legend of the King of Night and Day has reached some Laibon ears, especially the Xi Dundu, who believe the evil spirit is somehow connected to the same profane rites that once expelled the Legacy from their ancestral homeland of Congo. The Mla Watu have also heard of him, and believe him to be a dangerous ghost of unfathomable hate which fuels his powers. They wonder what has kept this vengeful specter from falling into nothingness and wonder if the powers over Darkness mentioned on his origin have something to do with it. Both Legacies try their best to keep away from the King of Night and Day, for he is not so amused by vampiric interlopers as he is by Maasai shamans. Most Abyss Mystics have never heard of these legends, although those of the Antitribu are more likely to know the story of the Embrace of their first member, Montano, and recognize him as the wise Maasai shaman. Some even whisper that after the destruction of the Lasombra Antediluvian Montano disappeared from Europe because he made a trip back home, where he discovered the existence of the King of Night and Day and confronted him with the news of the destruction of the King of the Night, the Lasombra founder. If this is true, both brothers must have surely reached a compromise, as victims of an abusive parent, and each has since left the other to their own designs.
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| | | Anda
Posts : 174 Join date : 2012-06-21 Age : 40 Location : Sweden
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:03 am | |
| Glad to have you back Valis, as always: really good work! For us ebony kingdom fanatics, this is a real treat! I also like to think that you have written this text with a touch of african storytelling, that is awesome! | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:09 pm | |
| Thanks!
Do you think it needs more abyssal connections? Perhaps an element that would attract Mystics to the place / creature?
I wasn't sure what exactly that could be...
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| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:52 am | |
| Not so much that, as I could use a bit more of a physical description, actually. I see why you proposed this idea though, originally, and I like it, but if I read that, it would sound more like something from "Abyss Mysticism in Your Stories."
For instance, according to Wikipedia, the Maasai people claim to have originated in Egypt and then began migrating south to present day Kenya and Tanzania. Mystics could end up up on wild goose chases just by walking around near Laibon in modern Maasai territory, and would all be fruitless in the end, a death trap even. ..anti-vampire shifters, too.
I mean, there's so much potential just in that, that I could go on. Players could track down a Maasai Laibon, find out their oral history and track down the birthplace of Montano... but I take deep breath and stay on-task, here, and digress.
Perhaps location isn't the best spot for this. What about the newly formed Antagonists section at the end of the bestiary? They could go go in the mortals section. That also brings to mind Laibon--shouldn't we at least have the quick-stats for Laibon in there too?
Good grief.
Idk, I love the idea, but, placement could be up for discussion. Why did you originally suggest this as a Location? Any particular reason, because I do like the idea of it being a Location, don't get me wrong. | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:21 pm | |
| hmmm, I can put some frosting in that cake... wait to hear from me tomorrow! | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sat Dec 22, 2012 5:46 pm | |
| Wow, how long are days in your country? lol, j/k | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:12 am | |
| LOL! Yeah, I know. I should bite my own tongue for believing (and saying out loud) I could do something in such a short time. I'll try to finish this this week.AND I managed to finish it today! YAY! I actually just wrote a new introductory paragraph and two in the end. - Spoiler:
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa Even among the Antediluvian hating Sabbat, Abyss Mystics invariable turn back to the Lasombra Antediluvian as a source of inspiration for their powers over darkness. The circumstances surrounding the events in which The King of Shadows chose to Embrace its Children have become mythical tales among certain Mystic circles, which hope to grasp a glimmer of the Eldest Lasombra’s nature, and perhaps through it its secrets. Most such Mystics believe the Antediluvian had a mind toward what today would be called social engineering. The first signs of such a disposition ever unearthed are in the tale of Montano’s Embrace. During the Dark Ages Montano was second in power only to the Antediluvian itself, but he fell from grace to become one of the first Lasombra Antitribu after the Anarch Revolt. To the surprise of the largely Eurocentric Lasombra, Montano came from the confines of Africa, a member of the Maasai people. Those that have discovered Montano’s story also have uncovered many mysteries regarding the Antediluvian’s legacy. And those truly courageous, or stupid, to travel and see with their own eyes the lands where the King of Shadows has set foot in this world have come upon a place where both the land and its people remember the Abyss and its master very well. In Africa, the Massai have not forgotten how their ancestors have bravely fought against the reaching darkness of the Abyss eons ago, and how they were saved by one of their own through his complete surrender to the King of Shadows. Among modern Laibon domains, which have several vampires of Maasai ancestry, storytellers remember the tales of how many ages ago all the Laibon who preyed on the Falcon Maasai near the Kilimanjaro disappeared during a dark, starless night. After that, Laibon presence among the Maasai was absent for several mortal generations. Most Laibon fear the truth behind these tales, and avoid dwelling on them with the same fear their Sires and Grandsires avoided when they finally approached the Maasai again after their brothers and sisters were devoured by the night itself. Myths among the Maasai have survived, however, that complete this picture. They speak of a childless, terrible monster made of darkness and craving blood with a hunger only surpassed by its loneliness. Trying to placate both its physical and spiritual hunger the monster descended over the Falcon Maasai of the Kilimanjaro, crowning itself its King of the Night and choosing a Massai boy to be their King of the Day, to act as the monster’s son and representative during the daylight hours. Under the King of the Night’s orders, the Maasai had to attend to every demand the infant King of the Day requested, which made the child grow spoiled and cruel. The King of the Day became so presumptuous that he came to believe he could become King of Night and Day, and plotted against its own pale monstrous parent. With the indignation of a mother betrayed by her children, the King of the Night destroyed the King of the Day and lashed it angst against the Falcon Maasai people. However, their wise shaman saw the truth behind the sad and lonely heart of the monster, and offered himself to become its loyal son, only if it would spare his people. The grieving monster accepted, and left the shadows of the Kilimanjaro content with its new child. The Maasai know they were saved from destruction by their brave shaman, and know that he has honorably kept his word to the pale King of the Night, for the monster has never again returned to plague the Falcon Maasai. The modern day Falcon Maasai have kept this tale alive, and they know it to be true, because they are still haunted by the vicious pretender to the title of King of Night and Day. Its body destroyed, his mind survived out of pure spite for his own people and his monstrous parent, and worse still, out of jealousy for the wise shaman who replaced him. As the pale King of the Night fed on the blood of the Falcon Maasai, the King of Night and Day attached himself to the blood of his former people, and exists to this day as a curse running through their veins. As the wise shaman was born on the Kilimanjaro, the King of Night and Day makes his haven on that snowy heights, where he hides his blackened heart. He has control over shadows, darkness and storms, and delights in stealing and defacing his people’s bodies when he gets angry. Among the Falcon Maasai, the possessed are referred as being ‘visited by the King of Night and Day’. Every generation of Falcon shamans undergo a initiation rite that involves confronting the King of Night and Day, but none has ever come close to destroying him. As the spoiled child that he is, the King actually delights in these confrontations. Among vampires, the legend of the King of Night and Day has reached some Laibon ears, especially the Xi Dundu, who believe the evil spirit is somehow connected to the same profane rites that once expelled the Legacy from their ancestral homeland of Congo. The Mla Watu have also heard of him, and believe him to be a dangerous ghost of unfathomable hate, which fuels his powers. They wonder what has kept this vengeful specter from falling into nothingness and wonder if the powers over Darkness mentioned on his origin have something to do with it. Both Legacies try their best to keep away from the King of Night and Day, for he is not so amused by vampiric interlopers as he is by Maasai shamans. Most non-African Abyss Mystics have never heard of these legends, although those of the Antitribu are more likely to know the story of the Embrace of their first member, Montano, and recognize him as the wise Maasai shaman. However, those Mystics who would unearth these tales by studying the Lasombra Antediluvian and seek to climb the Kilimanjaro would come upon a veritable treasure of Abyssal lore, for the King of Night and Day guards several belongings of the Eldest from its time spent among the Maasai. These items are beyond a veil of shadows, like the King of Night and Day they exist on the lands of the dead or a sinister resonance of the Abyss seeping into the very heart of Africa, still bleeding from the presence of the Eldest there. Such belonging vary from writings to ritual paraphernalia to personal effects destroyed by the Maasai when they fought the King of the Night for their lives. As if coveting these treasures were not enough to seduce Mystics, some Lasombra also note how little of similar items were ever found on the Castle d’Ombro in Sicily after the Anarch Revolt, and wonder if Montano had something to do with it. While most believe such objects simply fell into the Abyss, some whisper that after the destruction of the Lasombra Antediluvian Montano disappeared from Europe because he returned to his homeland with everything that ever belonged to his Sire being guarded in Sicily, and gave to the King of Night and Day to keep. One could wonder if Montano ever knew about his brother before, or if he discovered the existence of the King of Night and Day then and confronted him with the news of the destruction of the King of the Night, the Lasombra founder. In any regards, both brothers must have surely reached a compromise, as victims of an abusive parent, and each has since left the other to their own designs.
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| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Tue Jan 08, 2013 1:43 am | |
| And it's official, ladies and gentlemen! valismedsen is back! he's back ladies and gentlemen! [and the crowd goes wild]
Also: I approve.
Also also: I still think it could use a bit more physical description of Kilimanjaro itself, which I bet I could squeeze in there if you'd rather move on to something else... or go back on vacation, lol. j/k | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:35 pm | |
| I have NO IDEA how to describe the Kilimanjaro... Even Wikipedia did not help me much. Is it possible to climb it like people do the Himalayas? Is it steep, made of pure rock? All I know is that the snow caps supposedly never melt.
Perhaps add, to make perfectly clear, that there is a phantom hut where all things belonging to the Eldest preserved by the King of Night and Day are, sitting atop the mountain. | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:00 pm | |
| What do you mean "phantom hut?" Like, does it only appear in the Astral Plane or something? Also, is there a canon reference for the story you wrote, so we could quote a page number?
I'll see if I can't dig up a physical description of Kilimanjaro, for you too. | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Wed Jan 09, 2013 10:49 pm | |
| well, montano's write up in children of the inquisition tells the story of the maasai falcon tribe, the experiment of Lasombra to find a perfect child that was to be raised with every need attended by the tribe, and montano, a shaman that ended up becoming his playmate/torture victim.
CotI says the man grew so spoiled that Lasombra destroyed him, and would try again if montano did not offer himself to become his perfect loyal child.
the idea that the spoiled brat might have survived as a ghost or a creature of darkness is mine. I also added the treasure trove (why in a hut? I guess that Lasombra had to stay someplace during the day while among the Maasai. I visualized a hut, very big, where he conducted his Abyss rituals). This place, and everything inside it, would be an appetizing price for any mystic, since it is the equivalent of entering your mightiest mentor's office. I added the idea of Montano also delivering the things that belonged to the Eldest in Castled'Ombro to put more sparkle in the prize.
But I think these ideas are enough to inspire a ST...
Do you know the book Diablerie Awakening: Britain? The one dungeoncrawl (LOL) for Vampire which has the tomb of the Ventrue Tiamat?
Perhaps we could quote that sourcebook as inspiration for a raiders of the lost ark theme story to use with this.
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| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:51 pm | |
| My bad for not responding until now valis. Thanks for the reference. =)
I ended up not citing Diablerie Awakening Britain as an inspiration for theme because I figured it would have to be in a teeny-tiny side-bar with just that in it. Didn't seem worth it to me, but if anybody else really thinks that I should add that to the book, then I will. I've just never read Diablerie Britain before so didn't think it would be missed if it wasn't in the book. | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:23 pm | |
| That's okay. Thanks for coming back to this, anyways! | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:44 am | |
| Not a problem.
I just hope you're able to stick around and keep offering help, so just because I don't respond doesn't mean I don't appreciate your input. =)
Screw IRL! Write something else, valis! | |
| | | Anda
Posts : 174 Join date : 2012-06-21 Age : 40 Location : Sweden
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Thu Feb 28, 2013 3:29 pm | |
| Any progress on the Black Monastery Peter? | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Mar 18, 2013 6:22 pm | |
| Apparently not, =)
So, Mr. Smedsen, I noticed we have no page references for the Dark Magister. This is something you could probably find easier, so I hope you don't mind providing the page numbers for it. Thanks. | |
| | | valismedsen
Posts : 75 Join date : 2012-06-11 Age : 41 Location : Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Fri Mar 22, 2013 1:07 am | |
| Clanbook Baali p 30
Road of Sin p 37
Ta-da! | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:27 pm | |
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| | | urbanfractal
Posts : 8 Join date : 2012-12-08 Age : 42 Location : Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:54 am | |
| Edit: Changed the Hardestadt Elder-Younger spoiler. Let's not reveal too much! Also, words from the author (wow!!)
The Black Monastery
It was in the 15th century, at the end of the Anarch Revolt and specifically at the Convection of Thorns that Sabbat was formulated as an answer to the oppressing and never forgiving Camarilla, the brainchild of Hardestadt the Elder. The nascent Sabbat was all about violence and payback, but soon its spiritual leaders understood evolution was imperative in order for it to survive. They had fallen too deep in the clutches of the Beast by shedding their Humanity, now left vulnerable to losing everything, forever. Eventually, around the middle of the 17th century, more than a handful of Sabbat’s most bright thinkers decided to shun themselves from the outside world and begun developing Paths to satisfy both the sect’s mentality and the Beast’s urges [1].
Their place of choice was an almost abandoned Augustinian monastery built in the 13th century. It was established where the borders of Switzerland, France and Germany met, in the outskirts of the city of Basel. Perched on the side of the Alpine mountainside, heavy forest and jagged crags surrounded the fortress-like monastery. No horse or carriage moved past a certain point, providing the safety and isolation that the group needed at the time. [2] The chilling winds, the torrents of rain and the ghouled monks were the only companions of those Cainites, during the seemingly endless nights of introspection and struggle (perhaps apart from random packs of vampires seeking refuge or enlightenment on their way to tamer lands). But even they dared not to travel further than the Monastery’s immediate surroundings, since a quite large pack of aggressive Garou patrolled the surrounding forest, waiting for a chance to strike upon the Wyrm-tainted Leeches.[3]
Among the Sabbat ancillae was a manipulative and tempered Lasombra named Lord Alexandre.[4] He was the child of the infamous Lord Marcus, the original creator of the Path of Power and Inner Voice.[5] The Corsair Lord, falling far from the bloody average of his clanmates, spent his nights in the Monastery defining the finer points of the Path, as well as cultivating a rather unusual garden. What begun as a hobby of Lady Meridie de Chancie, a Brujah antitribu[6], Lord Alexandre managed to take under his personal care. It was one of the least alarming ways to experiment with his Abyssal powers, while not raising any suspicions from the other residents. Although not so successful at first, through trial and error, he managed to produce some results.
But in his subterranean chambers, even darker experiments took place. Shadows waned and waxed although no draft of air disturbed the candlesticks. Behind the closed doors he summoned, killed and dissected denizens of the Abyss, furthering his understanding and reporting his findings to his sire, Lord Marcus. There were times when his control over them would deteriorate and they would escape, but he would hunt them down and obliterate them, perhaps carelessly using the dark art. Fortunate for Lord Alexandre, the infernal pursuits of the Setite Intisar on the Path of Evil Revelations took the spotlight[7] and allowed him to work through the rest of the Sabbat ancillae, pitting one against the other and finally claiming the Black Monastery for his own base of operations[8].
If one was to travel to that almost forgotten place now, she would be greeted by unnatural shadows that would brush through her clothes, always caressing, not unlike a blind man trying to realize the shape of an unfamiliar face. Some would also find part of their thoughts momentarily forgotten, their train of thoughts derailed, just wandering around aimlessly, pondering. And if one was to reach the Monastery itself, she would have to hack through a dense grove of wild rose bushes, emerging covered in thick, black sap, finding herself lacking in Vitae. Past the thicket one would find the once sturdy wooden doors slightly unhinged, one resting on the other, pitch blackness oozing from the crevice between them.
A brave soul could explore the interior and find it empty, abandoned as if in a hurry, with shadows everywhere trying to smother all light sources. And if that person dared to enter the largest one of the cellars, she would encounter a sole survivor, struggling at the mercy of his creations. Only a husk remains now of what used to be Lord Alexandre[8], suspended in the air like a puppet on strings made of shadows, always muttering to himself. Black holes instead of eyes, his flesh wrapped around his bones and cranium, a weathered old cape hanging over tattered, once regal, clothes. Scattered beneath him, mummified bodies, laid one on top of another, all with a terrible expression of pain and suffering on their faces.
No one has escaped the Cellar of Murmurs, but those who had the willpower to resist the Monastery’s dark allure still suffer from harrowing nightmares of shadows trying to pull them apart, pull them towards nothingness, towards Oblivion.
"Facts" are in italics Personal Fiction is in Yellow
References: [1] Giovanni Chronicles 2, page 8 [2] GC 2, pg 41 [3] GC 2 pg 38 [4] GC 2, pg 42 [5] GC 2, pg 66 [6] GC 2, pg 43 [7] GC 2, pg 52-54 [8] GC 3, pg 16-17
I would like to apologize for being non-existent all this time, but as the weather gets better here in Greece my hobby store sees more action and I try to manage everything by myself. Unfortunately my personal time took one for the team. This is the gist of a 1200 word essay that I had to edit several times, while sacrificing willpower. I could write a whole travel guide for the area (given enough time).
Aaaaaaaaanyway, here it is.
Last edited by urbanfractal on Mon Apr 01, 2013 2:18 pm; edited 5 times in total | |
| | | urbanfractal
Posts : 8 Join date : 2012-12-08 Age : 42 Location : Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Mar 31, 2013 7:00 am | |
| References will be provided later tonight :-) | |
| | | Anda
Posts : 174 Join date : 2012-06-21 Age : 40 Location : Sweden
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Mar 31, 2013 1:53 pm | |
| That's awesome, I loved every single bit of it! Nice work! | |
| | | urbanfractal
Posts : 8 Join date : 2012-12-08 Age : 42 Location : Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:48 pm | |
| bump for references and small changes | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Apr 01, 2013 4:47 pm | |
| Hmm. I really, really like how you footnoted your references like that, and it gives me an idea.
How would you feel about a side-bar to accompany your text, that quickly explains that the Black Monastery text does have some non-canon stuff in it, but the facts are pointed out directly. It'd be a shame to waste the work you've done explaining yourself, and it'd be a shame to change the text at all. I also think we should always clarify what is canon and what isn't, for those like me, who have never read or played the Giovanni Chrons.
Thanks again Pete. =) | |
| | | Gattison Admin
Posts : 306 Join date : 2012-06-03 Age : 44 Location : New England, USA
| Subject: Re: A World of Darkness: Abyssal Locations Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:37 pm | |
| Peter: - urbanfractal wrote:
- He was the child of the infamous Lord Marcus, the original creator of the Path of Power and Inner Voice.[5]
So I'm editing for grammar and punctuation and stuff, and as I go I'm looking up all the references so I can familiarize myself a bit, and I must say, this fact looks like it may be off. The reference states that Lord Marcus originally created the Path of Power/Inner Voice, but does not state that he is Alexandre's sire. I Googled it, too, and didn't find anything. Is there some other source that made you say this? EDIT: Also, I noticed you didn't mention the pack of black-furred lupines that he seems associated with. This can also tie into other things we have in the book... is there a way we could sneak that into the text somewhere? (The NPC I made, Cardinal Reyes, was associated with a Shadow Lord werewolf who wanted to help her extinguish the sun, both of which are based upon canonical motivations.) | |
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Legalese: The Small Printing | Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:27 pm by Gattison | The following text was copied and pasted directly from the only source I could find it using Google-fu. If you know of a more official source or a more up-to-date release, please let us know. Don't "suggest" I contact WW themselves... that's on my to-do list, lol. =)
General Source: The Carpe Noctem website.*
Main Source: The Carpe Noctem Reference Guide: [url=http://carpenoctem-online.com/wiki/index.php?title=Reference_Guide%3A_WHITE_WOLF_SITE_GUIDELINES]White Wolf Fan-Site …
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Like a Pack of Grey Jackals | Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:16 pm by Gattison | So far we don't have that many friends, but we seem to be steadily expanding, albeit slowly, so hopefully this list will eventually get much bigger. =)
Allies of the Grey Jackals:
Steve Markley's The Howling Void
Echoes of Empires
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Memories: We Were So Young and Stupid... | Sat Jun 23, 2012 7:43 pm by Gattison | This is the original version of our mission statement/greeting/recruitment attempt, posted here for posthumous appreciation, enjoy!
Gattison, valismedsen, and I have decided to combine our abilities and formed 'Grey Jackal Fan Productions'. We’re going to be constructing a compendium, book by book for Vampire. As we complete supplements they’ll be edited and slotted into the greater …
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The Grey Jackal | Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:07 pm by Gattison | Firstly, it all started here, so go ahead and check that out if you actually haven't yet. =)
And, I suppose you're all wondering why I've summoned you...
Welcome, to Grey Jackal Fan-Supplements, a group of creative and enthusiastic fans of the Classic World of Darkness. So far, our members from the boards are valismedsen, Anda, DanielPLanman, Gattison, Drkcv, and Ihatealllife.
We have …
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