In the Realm of Darkness, there is no foe more hated than those creatures who follow the Light.

The Light Burns--it does not heal.

The Light Blinds--it does not comfort.

Those who come from the Twilight Gates invade our lands, taking our treasures, killing all of us--men, women, and children alike--because we live where they cannot. We are the creatures of Shadow.

We descend from those who, for reasons of their own, first travelled through the Twilight Gates in the Grand Age of Exploration, settling in this realm of Shadows and Darkness, and changing in the thousand-thousand years since to live in harmony with our world. When the gates closed, we did not care, for what use had we for the creatures of the Light?

And now the Gates lie open again, and instead of welcoming us as brothers, as cousins, as family--as we truely are--they killed our first emissaries as monsters, and set upon our peaceful people with weapons of war and destruction. No more.

No more will we let them slaughter us. No more will we settle for defending our homes.

They believe us monsters.

Let us show them how right they are.

Morgoth is escaping.

Are you a bad enough dude to stop him?

>>14709145

>>14709145
Reminds me of the Asmodian angle from Aion: The Tower of Eternity.

>>14709145
Any more from this?

>>14709181
>>14709214
>>14709229

Well, umm, shit, I guess I can come up with some more stuff. Lemme write a bit and I'll post more.

>>14709151
FUCK YEAH I AM FUCK YOU FUCKER GIMME MY JEWELS BACK

>>14709145

This is your quest giver.

>>14709273

I stared down from my perch atop the cloud-tower, keeping a close eye on the war-party below. I'd been following them for the past three nights--sleepless, as always--in case they approached my home caverns.

There weren't many of them--only ten, perhaps--but they were lead by a Cleric, one of those horrid warrior-priests who wielded blinding light as easily as I wielded my own blood. I couldn't hope to take him in a fair fight, but that's why I had an ambush ready for them when they made camp, later in the night.

Shifting my weight, I took wing, gliding silently to another cloud-tower, keeping my primary eyes on the war party, letting my secondary and tertiary wander in case of predators. As they wandered, so did my mind, thinking of the past, before the opening of the Gates.

I had been a performer. A dracon, I was a large, flying creature, my body long and supple, supported by four thick limbs and two wings well-suited to navigating between the many towers that made up the sky of our realm. I had been well-trained in the Arts of Blood, able to bleed myself and control the bright-blue substance to form patterns, even sing music if the day was cold enough or I had a fellow performer who knew the Art of Frost. I travelled, learning new forms and patterns, until the day the gates opened, and my Art turned to violent means...

>>14709357

I shook myself from my reverie. Now was not the time to remember better times, I chided myself silently. There was work to be done. The war-party below me approached a small clearing, and I saw that they had began setting up tents and started a fire. Supressing a snarl, I focused my mind. A gash opened in my side, and my life-blood dripped out. A simple thought and it turned into a beautiful skim-bird, all gleaming carapace and shining wings. It swooped down into the rock-forest below, and soon a loud chittering filled my ears.

My face split in a reptilian grin. That chittering meant my plan had worked--the poor fools below had set camp right on top of a nest of gloom trillers. They would eat well tonight, and come the next moonrise, not even a scrap of armor would be left to signify the party's passing.

I took flight again. This done, my patrol was over--and the Captain would want a report of the Gate-On-Rivers-Pass being open still.

Well would you look at that. I only saved this picture a couple of hours ago.

>>14709097
Someone already did. See >>14709151

>>14709097
The characters are all already dead. They are warriors fallen in glorious battle. They are now on a cruise to the next world--but something is amiss; the demons of that world's underworld are invading through the same gate that normally leads such legends home to that world's heaven. The ship is attacked and the group finds their way back to earth--heaven forever barred lest more fiends escape to the material plane. The material plane is now filled with these dragons and a world that believes you, heroes of generations past, have abandoned them. You must revive the spirits of your nation now deserted by the gods while fighting the horrors that threaten to tear the material plane asunder whilest dealing with a people who hate your guts for no-god-damned reason (i.e. "I was fighting for you guys on a boat in heaven for the last few hundred years; I didn't even know you guys were being attacked!" won't cut it).

I suggest viking themed. Low/no-magic. Conan style. Maybe 2E?

>>14709470

How about making this an expansion to the Shattered Sun setting?

When the gate was found, the people cried out in jubilation! After centuries living on a dying world they finally, finally had a way out. That this new land was terrible to behold and populated by monstrous beings from man's worst nightmares mattered little. They would overcome any hardship, any obstacle, any enemy to survive.

Mankind will overcome, and damned be any who stand in their way.


Might make an interesting skirmish game: explorers trying to map out the new realm, wielding shards of their shattered sun against the darkness against an unknowable people only trying to defend their homes.

Neither side is evil. Both sides are evil.

It would also open the door for OTHER alternate plains/worlds.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Shattered_Sun

>>14709643

You know, kind of a Yin and Yang thing, but replacing "good" with "light" and "bad" with "dark/shadow."

>>14709667

I think you meant to link to >>14709145

If so: I like this idea, and that's kinda what I was going for, anyway. Everyone is wrong, no one is right, everything is getting fucked.

>>14709681

I linked correctly, I think it fits in pretty well with Shattered Sun.

But whatever. /tg/ getting shit done works on majority rule in cases like this.

Either way it's a fuckwin! setting.

Excellent writing, by the way.

>>14709712

Fair enough, I just didn't see the connection at first.

Until I went and re-read the Shattered Sun stuff. My bad, sorry about that.

Maybe all three are connected? Man, I dunno. I'm gonna go do more writing or something. Once again, sorry for mistaking your intent.

>>14709726

No, it's cool. I wasn't very clear to begin with.

I love gray area games where all parties involved have valid reasons for doing what they do and no one is actually evil. They fight each other other out of necessity and/or misunderstandings, rather than actually wanting to rip and tear each other.

My only real worry is that connecting it to Shattered Sun might belittle the Realm of Darkness.

>>14709145
>>14709357
>>14709364

>>14709786

Aww crap. You're right! I DID link to the wrong thread w/ my first post.

My bad, bro. I thought >>14709470 was part of your writings for some reason.

How embarassing.

>>14709786
>>14709861

Hah, oh man. It's okay dude.

Anyway, have some writefaggotry.

----------------------------------------

An Account of the First Battle of Deeps-on-the-Detene, by the Historian Deter Yieru.

The forces of the Realm of Light had gathered on the banks of the River-Flowing-Blood, preparing for a final, lethal assualt on the grand cavern system of Deeps-on-the-Detene, the last metropolis-scale living system of our kind during the First Push. They had a great army--magic that called on the brightest light, war machines, weapons that burned flesh. We had only our Arts, peaceful forms of magic, and we had yet to master turning them to war.

It was in this Twilight Time, this time of great distress, that the savior of our people, Captain Detec, a Dracon spireship pilot and former wanted criminal, unleashed his grand inventions upon the forces of the Realm of Light.

From his ships flew rivers of blood and frost, and a living darkness that consumed the Light. Our people rejoiced, and joined into the carnage, giving revenge to those monsters who destroyed our families, homes, and lives. Flights of Dracons, for the first time as a concerted group, tore the forces of Light limb from limb, teeth and claws running red with the strange, alien blood of the land.

>>14709973

Myconids released their death-spores, usually used as defense against predators, choking the lungs of the invaders, killing them painfully as their bodies wracked with the crystalline weavings of the spores, bodies turning into quartz.

The Deep Folk, such as myself, erupted from the river in a grand wave, the great hooks and chains used to anchor their own cities to the deep floors and to guide the great swimmer-beasts they tamed wrapping around the invaders, breaking their bodies in twain, as the amphibious beasts of their nature-guides tore into the armored riders that tried to regroup.

More joined in, from the Spire Guards and their stony, winged forms, even to the smallest of our people, the Crawlerlings, swarming in tune to their own racial mind. Not a single bone of the enemy was left whole that day, that day of the Slaughter, where we proved that we could hold against the Light.

Now we move to turn this war around, to show those who struck at us what a mistake they made.

Alrighty then!
Whilst we wait for el fago de writo to return, shall we try and flesh out the Realm of Darkness?

What are the natives like, both physically and mentally (beliefs/morals/etc)?
What is the world like, exactly? How far does it go? What is the terrain like? That kind of thing.
The Twilight Gate. What is it like? How do people believe it works? Where in the RoD is it exactly?
How do Light and Dark interact, magically?
What is the government(s?) of the RoD like? Is there a governement or is individuality too important to the natives?
How do the natives survive? What do they eat?

Personally, I see natives as being highly individualistic. They have 'leaders,' but their decisions are more or less considered to be good advice than anything else. Assuming that the Light has a foothold, it could be explained that they gained it because the Dark was too disorganized to fight back at first. But they're learning, and quickly too.

>>14709978
>>14709973
MOAR

>>14709973
>>14709978

>>14710104

I'd call it more pre-postmature? I'm still writing up some little pieces, so you're still waiting on me to show back up to finish them, so it's not really premature?

But go ahead and flesh it out, I'll keep a file of the general consensus of ideas and stuff, maybe throw it up on 1d4chan too. And here's my views of it, for what it's worth.

The natives are, more or less, people. Monstrous looking and perhaps a bit morbid, but people--they love, they hate. They don't have many metaphors involving the sun, or light, or stuff like that, though. There's monsters and saints among them, killers and healers. PHysically, there's a few different races that make up the people of the RoD, all different in what they're capable of, where they live, et cetera.

The world is, in my mind, alien. Forests of trees made of rock, clouds that sit atop unmoving pillars, rivers of a substance not entirely unlike blood, pools of pure darkness, caves that have cities pre-built into them. Most importantly, I think, is the sky. The sky goes on forever. No matter how high you fly, there's allways more cloud-pillars and float-platforms, cities and towns and odder things. Same with the seas--no matter how deep you go, there's allways more to see.

I'll continue in the next post.

In the grim darkness of the far absurd there is only a tunnel. At the end of that tunnel is a creepy door. And beyond that door is a room...WITH A MOOSE!

>ishnig near
capcha you trying to tell me somethin?

>>14710161

I think I should link to >>14710094 to finish off my opinions.

The Twilight Gate is a large, natural structure located in a flat plain, unique because generally speaking flat areas aren't common. Nor are plains. But it's huge--easily ten stories tall, and five times as wide. When viewed through, it shows a realm of light, blindingly bright to the people of the RoD. It opened once more, long ago, when people from the Realm of Light first came to this world and colonized it. No one's sure how it works, but there's alot of conflicting theories.

I haven't put much thought into how Light and Dark interact magically, except that Light follows a religious system of magic--clerics, paladins, such like that--whereas the magic practiced by the People of Darkness is more primal and elemental, called Arts, and is kind've odd in nature--you have the Art of Blood, the Art of Frost, but also things like the Art of Clouds and the Art of Crafts, or the Art of Breath and the Art of Time. THey're mostly for work and entertainment, but with the invasion, they're slowly being turned to war.

There was no original government, not really--each cavern-city or cloud-city or sea-city has a local government, but I see the people as being as you said--individualistic in nature, with the leaders being more advisors than anything else. THe War changed that, though--they aren't organized, but Captains and War-Leaders and Generals are the norm, now, and if you listen, you tend to live longer than if you don't. Especially if you listen to Captain Detec.

The natives survive on the blood-water and the animals and plants that live here. It's an odd ecosystem, but it works--though plants tend to be rock or fungus-like, and animals invariably bare some small resemblance to insects.

>>14710161

Excellent.
Sorry about deleting my post like that, I thought it was too confusing so I was writing one that made more sense, but you beat me too it. Sometimes I wish I never learned how to use that feature.

Any way, are we going with Shattered Sun being Realm of Darkness's brother reality?

Also, we REALLY need to flesh out one other thing: the origin of the RoD, the story of the first settlers.

Imagine that whatever their origin is, it had eventually become something akin to a religion amongst many of the peoples: they believed that one day the Gate would open again and that they would be reunited with their lost cousins. It would be a cataclysmic shock to their society and beliefs that not only are their cousins not the loving, caring kin they had thought, but their very presence is anathema to the Dark. Light was whispered for thousands of years to be the a wonderful, comforting thing, a great good. But the truth was the exact opposite. It hurts, it burns.

>>14710217

I like it!

So it seems they work like IRL pirates did, back in the day. Contrary to popular belief, most pirates were very democratic in terms of where they go, who gets what look, and so forth. The captain only had his position as long as he kept his men happy, and his authority was only absolute during battle.

Do you think it would be too Drow to have a large number of females in authority positions? Kind of a "mother knows best" sort of mindset for daily life problems.

Let me tell you a tale, younglings. A tale of our history.

We did not come from this world. No, the world we once called home was a land of peace and wonder, a land of light and happiness. A great Gate opened in that realm, leading to the Realm of Darkness, the land we now call home. People saw the gate, into a world alien to them, and were caught by wonder. They travelled through that gate, into these lands, and we still know the first thing they said, the first statement they made.

"Here shall be our new home. We will live on these lands, tame these beasts, and in this Darkness, find a Light of our own."

And so they did. With powerful magic, they moved thousands of their own here. They brought with them families, animals, supplies, all they would need in this new, untamed land. But the land would not grow food they could eat, and the animals withered and died. The water here was not good for them to drink, and so the families grew smaller. But one day, a great sorcerer from the Realm of Light, which still sent people and supplies to the settlers, found an Art that would save the efforts here.

He came through the Twilight Gate, with a thousand of his followers and students. He set out among the people, and as he did, the Twilight Gate shuddered--and the portal to the Realm of Light vanished.

The people, the settlers, were caught in despair. Surely, they cried, without supplies from our homeland, we will wither and die in this strange, dark land! We will starve and leave naught but our bones for the predators to pick upon!

>>14710400

The sorcerer called a great gathering together, of all the settlers who still lived. At the base of the Gate they gathered--the people from the Shores came, and the people of the Caves. Those who had settled upon the Cloud-Towers climbed down, and eventually all were there. He asked them what they wished for.

They said they wished to live. Many had come to love the strange beauty of this land, and began even calling it home. They wished to live, but they could not, and they knew they could not.

But the sorcerer said he had a solution. That it was auspicious that the gate has closed as he came through, for he had an Art, a talent, that could change the settlers, at first only so that they could live off the native plants and animals of the Realm of Darkness, but over generations turn them into true dwellers of this land.

The settlers clamored that the sorcerer use these arts upon them, so that they may live until the gate opened again, to meet the brothers and sons they left behind.

>>14710408


The sorcerer and his students complied, changing the people so they might become what we have become today. But after the last child was given the gift, the sorcerer dissappeared, and could not be found. Some say he lives among us today, keeping an eye on the results of his Arts. Some say he went back to the Realm of Light, to find a way to open it so we may trade with our Old Brothers once again. Others say he was no sorcerer at all, but a God given form. None know the truth of what happened to him, but all know the last thing he said before he was never seen again.

"Remember, all. Though we now live in Darkness, it is from the Light we came. And from the Light will be our brothers, our sisters, our families. The Gate will open again, and when it does, we will once again be joined in unity, Darkness and Light combined."

-A tale told 'round the fire by Elder Dracon Teyge, a month before the Reopening. He has not told the tale since.

>>14710281

Well, there's the commonly-accepted origin tale for the people of the RoD. And I'm not sure on using it as a brother reality to Shattered Sun, as I personally didn't have anything to do with Shattered Sun. I suppose it depends on what /tg/ wants--I'm just the original writefag for the setting, I'd really like this to be a community endeavor.

>>14710379

I'm sure some things are matriarchal, but I'm also sure others are patriarchal, and others don't care. I'd put it at about even between women-led, men-led, and both-led groups, though, myself.

>>14710433
>And I'm not sure on using it as a brother reality to Shattered Sun, as I personally didn't have anything to do with Shattered Sun
>community endeavor

And that is the beauty of /tg/! I didn't find out about Shattered Sun until it was months old already, but partnered with those that were there from the beginning, I expaned the lore of the Darklands drastically. Expanding upon Magus Ogrady's denounced ideas from the first thread (which I found on suptg), we created a complex society with religous turmoil (and solidarity, at the same time), a detailed social structure, and options for their future.

However, I agree with you that this should be a collective descision. Power to the people! Anonymous reigns supreme! Blood for the Blood God!

The inhabitants of the Realm of Light should be utterly abhorrent to the inhabitants of our familiar Realm of Darkness. While the Darknesss People are alien in form, what with their giant flying lizard thing, they should be, I don't know, almost familiar in feel.

They have families, they have hopes, and so on. They're made of flesh and blood, or local analogues thereof.

The Light-Realmers are different. Imagine a scarab-shaped humanoid construct, carved out of an unknown substance.

The inhabitants of the Realm of Light are different. To the uncanny observer, they are unified, and might seen to be a hive-mind sort of thing at first glance. Closer inspection - and capture of individuals of their number, reveals deep cultural and political divides between the types of Lightrealmer.

Large, brutish creatures carrying unfamiliarly solid light-maces contend the field with smaller, more dextrous combatants, who latch on and grapple the flying Dark-realmers.

The Light-Realmers mostly lack the natural flight abilities of the Dark-Realmers, and use enormous, light-powered ships.


The general belief revolves around a Grand Crusade, which sweeps through the various Realms of Darkness, cleansing them of their abominations. Some groups advocate the conversion of Dark-realmers, while others lobby for their destruction, and so on, in the political factioneering and infighting that fleshes out an opponent.

>>14710630

I imagined the denizens of the Realm of Light to be, well, normal fantasy races--humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, that sort. Perhaps a bit cliche, but well.

Anyway, have a short bit of a write-up on the races I've come up with so far. Feel free to expand upon the list, of course.

Dracons: Dracons are a reptilian race, four-legged (Though their front paws are sufficient to act as hands for all but very detailed work) and winged. Natural fliers, they often make their homes in the Cloud-Towers. They have redundant sense organs, and are the largest and most physically powerful of the races of the Realm of Darkness.

Myconids: Myconids are a race that is almost more fungus than animal. They are humanoid in shape--two arms, two legs, a head--but what sets them apart is their ability to brew various forms of spores inside their body--spores that can heal, kill, or even sprout builds. They are not particularly large or tough, but they can recover from the most heinous of wounds.

>>14710689

Deep Folk: Deep Folk make their homes in the seas and rivers of the Realm of Darkness, able to move swiftly between air and water. Natural swimmers and climbers, they are driven by a racial curiousity and need to explore. They Crare also good at taming the many and varied beasts of the Realm of Darkness, and there are few Deep Folk that do not have an animalistic companion of some kind.

Spire Guards: The Spire Guards are stone-like creatures, hunched over and menacing. They are solitary people, usually only one or two, and never more than four, living in an area. They can disguise themselves as natural rock formations, and never need to sleep. Their skin is hard as stone, and each Spire Guard is possessed of keen hearing. They do not generally speak often, but their voices are inevitably gutteral when they do.

Crawlerlings: Crawlerlings are odd, even for the races of the Realm of Darkness. Small individuals--each weighing no more than five pounds each--gathering together in herds or swarms that share one mind and one purpose. Each individual crawlerling is insectile, with four chitinous legs and gossamer wings allowing flight. They can eat anything--rock, metal, flesh--and tend to be quite inquisitive and industrious, producing many great wonders of Art and technology.

>>14710704
>>14710689

Agreed, in regards to the Lightfolk. Might work if we don't go with the Shattered Sun tie-in, but I do like the normal human thing better.

We/you should also add another group to the mix, composed of the most desperate of the RoD people (all races combined). They have given themselves over to the worship of Lovecraftian horrors, being darker and more terrible than mortal minds can comprehend. But powerful, and angred at the untrusion of light into their domain. Feared and shunned since their 'sleeping' forms were discovered by early generations of Dark Realmers, they were content to let the little creatures go about their business as long as they didn't fuck things up. It also helped that they adapted to their environment, which suites the horrors tastes and needs, instead of adapting their the environment to them (as humans and such are oft to do).

Little do they realize the price they will pay even if they manage to drive the lighters out.

>>14710787

Mayhaps the Creatures have something to do with the Twilight Gate? Perhaps they have a cycle of waking and sleeping--they sleep soundly, until it is time for them to wake and take care of some strange, arcane business. And their 'alarm clock' is the Twilight Gate. It's the only thing, really, that could rouse them from their sleep. And once their duty, as set by some force even stronger and strange than them, is done, the Gate closes and they can go back to their rest.

Of course, that could just be speculation...

But whatever the case, they're waking up, they're powerful, and they seem willing to share their powers with those Darkrealmers who are willing to grasp it. What could possibly go wrong, if it means driving back the forces of the Realm of Light?

>>14710851

The Cult of the Creatures-Who-Were

The Creatures-Who-Were were the original (sentient?) inhabitants of the Realm of Darkness. They are strange, powerful entities nearly beyond mortal comprehension--all that is known for sure about them is that they were awake when the Realm was first settled, but when the Twilight Gate closed for the first time, they settled into a sleep in which they remain to this day.

Or so is commonly believed.

But some people--desperate people of all races--realized the power that the Creatures-Who-Were have, and sought it out. They became the first Cultists dedicated to those beings, and today spread their faith outwards. Few join, but those that do are suitably rewarded, as it seems the Creatures-Who-Were hate the Light in all its forms, and wish to see it destroyed and driven out from the Realm of Darkness.

The gifts of the Creatures-That-Were are powerful and varied. Some cultists grow in size and become monstrously strong. Others can use unique Arts that do not exist outside the cult. Yet more are simply gifted with unnatural charisma.

Yet more never live through the initiation to use those gifts. Many die, wracked with horrid mutations and unnatural tumors, their bodies cast into the seas to be eaten by the many predators that lurk there.

To the Cultists, though, such is a necessary sacrifice. The forces of the Realm of Light have invaded, and they must be driven out.

No matter the cost.

One day Ra got really drunk and lent his boat to a group of hobos, aka the players. He claims that his boat is good enough that even these pathetic slobs could get around the universe in 80 days.

Hi-jink ensue.

>>14711098

I came.

>>14711139
I've never seen that picture without the words I CAME on it.

>>14711197

http://drunkweeaboo.com/img/reactions/

Reaction image heaven.

>>14711098

Allright, well, I have class in the morning, so it's time for me to head to bed, /tg/. I've got all my writefaggotry saved in a file and I've got this thread archived on sup/tg/. Keep on discussing and working on things, and if this thread isn't here come the next time I get enough free time to spend time browsing /tg/, I'll make a new one.

Probably after making a 1d4chan article-cum-infodump-cum-writefaggotry center.

G'night!

>>14711347

G'night, mi amigo. Thank thank you for the wonderful writefaggotry.

>>14711098
I'll have a crack at it.

Generating writefaggotry...

There's a true grandeur to the Gate. Nobody would ever dream of touching it while it was closed, of course, out of reverence or caution. Now that it's a target of revulsion and terror, it's avoided entirely.

But before, when people still held that it was a holy portal to long-lost brothers, it was the subject of art and philosophical discussion.

The gate is not made of the same substance throughout. Its hinges are invisible, on the “far” side of the threshold. Its doors are blocks of marble, or something that looks just like it, with inlaid chips of granite, each chip having inner flakes of discoloration. The inlaid tiles are arranged such that the higher on the doors they go, the brighter they are, so it looks, on misty days, as if the Gate is rising from nothing at all.

The frame is not solid; the side posts are white, with rippling waves of white rock reaching from top to bottom. The posts are square, though the corners are twisted and bent oddly, with shadows cast on the depths of small indentations. From a distance, this has the effect of making the rock look like frozen pillars of turbulent water.

The top is far more ornate, stretching high beyond the actual portal. The top is decorated with exotic imagery, and huge arcs of stone cover its upper portions. Sharp spires cover the very peak, with a symbol carved in the middle, just above the portal: a broken circle.

Obviously, that doesn't fit the picture of the Gate in the OP image, but the OP image is very clearly from The Silmarillion, so yeah...

A world of darkness has no concept of colour. What remains of their eyes, therefore, "see" shape and texture, rather than light. Light distrupts this process, something about the hated warmth tries to reach the vistigial remains of their once-sight. It is an extremely painful experience.

Most creatures in the darkness have a sense of hearing that boarders on the supernatural. It is said that the Deep Ones' bodies are so sensitive to virbrations and pressure that any inch of their skin is as powerful as the ears of any other race, and that they can sense attacks even as the attacker thinks of them.

>>14711462

I rather like it. Good job.

>>14711573
Thank you. I might make more if my other thread is unproductive.

>>14709643
This guy, here. This thread has been awesome.

I'm done for tonight. See ya'll later.

bump

Bumping this thread for more ideas.

Especially as to if the Realm of Darkness is a brother reality to Shattered Sun or not.

>>14715657

bump

The Arts of the Realm of Darkness

General: The magical styles practiced by the denizens of the Realm of Darkness are many and varied in nature, and all are termed 'Arts'. Any could, with practice and dedication, learn an Art, and it is the rare individual who does not know at least the basics of one. Learning more than one art is rare, but not unheard of, though it is said that without full dedication to an Art, you will only achieve basic mastery of it. Here are a few examples of the most common Arts practiced in the Realm of Darkness.

The Art of Blood: The Art of Blood was a performance Art, though it did, of course, have use in healing. By controlling the blood of themselves and others, practitioners of this art wove beautiful patterns, and on cold enough days, could even make their blood sing. Overuse of this art would lead to weakness, of course--even the denizens of the Realm of Darkness only have so much blood in them.

The Art of Frost: The Art of Frost was an Art that found much use in many areas--entertainment, around the home, or fighting against predators. By controlling ambient temperature, practitioners of this art could cause things to slow or even freeze.

>>14718452

>>14718452

The Art of Clouds: The Art of Clouds controls moisture. It can cause water to boil or chill, form fog-banks or dissipate them. This Art found much use for healing, as it could even effect the moisture in people's bodies--not to the degree of finesse as the Art of Blood, but enough to aid in the healing process.

The Art of Crafts: The Art of Crafts is one of the more utilitarian arts, though it found some use in entertainment. It is the art of building and creating things from the materials in the area--shaping rock-trees into statues, altering cave walls into living spaces, even altering (temporarily--anything larger than a building tends to revert over time) local geography.

The Art of Breath: The Art of Breath controls air. It creates gusts of wind, forces air into places, forces it out of places. It is common among the Spire Guards and Dracons, but even other races of the Realm of Darkness find great use for this Art--it even allows the wingless races to fly, given enough mastery.

>>14718540

The Art of Time: The Art of Time is the newest of the Arts, recently developed, and with one idea in mind. It is an Art of War. With it, the practicioner may speed up and slow down time--to themselves or to others--rapidly aging an enemy, or providing an ally that needed split second to dodge an attack. Such great power takes it's toll, however, and it is the only known Art that drains the user of vital life energy.

There are other Arts, of course, but these six are the most commonly found, and some would say the most useful, in the Realm of Darkness.

Also, anyone who wants to drawfag up the Twilight Gate or any of the races of the Realm of Darkness would be appreciated, as well as any input on a final decision on if this setting is linked to Shattered Sun or not.

deep folk or sth else?

>>14718707

I personally imagined the deep folk to look more like sahuagin from DnD. Pic related.

>>14719078

Damnit captcha!

I still vote for Shattered Sun tie-in. Who agrees with me and who disagrees?

>>14719314

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a tie-in, to be honest. I'd want someone else to handle the shattered sun half of the tie in, at least the major parts of it, as I'm not that familiar with the setting myself. And if we do carry on with that, we should do that next--at least, the Shatter Sun people's POV of the initial opening of the gate/meeting the people of the RoD/up to the attack on Deeps-on-the-Detene before working out more on the Realm of Darkness itself. Catch up both halves, as it were.

>>14719314
I disagree, the settings should remain distinct. The Shattered Sun setting is chaotic and complicated enough without this, and I think there's enough here to stand alone.

>>14719449

Also a good point. Hrm.

Perhaps the best thing would be to leave the option open, perhaps in a sidebar-format (POSSIBLE ORIGINS FOR THE REALM OF LIGHT?) or something. But then we can't really define what the invaders from the Realm of Light are like, which could be Problematic... hrm.

I'm going to go back a neutral stance for now.

>>14719487
I'd also like to point out that half the point of Shattered Sun is that it's in the middle of trying to survive the end of the world, and most of the population is nomadic. How would they even mount the sort of forces needed to try to conquer an entire planet?

>>14719549

Also a fair point. Anyone else have any input?

I think once we figure this out, it might be best to put what we've got on 1d4chan and start a new thread, maybe. This one's not close to autosage, I don't think, but some more input could be nice, and maybe we can get some more attention that way.

>>14719549

Well that's kind of the point, now, isn't it? They are trying to survive a catastrophe, to the point where they'd be willing to do almost anything to survive. Their world is too chaotic and unpredictable to make a denent life anywhere but the city-belt place, and you can bet your ass that it's getting crowded. Not to mention the fact that the only viable place to grow crops would be the same area, so they'd have to choose between living in very uncomfortable conditions or starve to death.

Then, all of a sudden, a doorway appears; a gateway to another world. The realm it leads to may be dark and unpleasant, but at least it seems more consistent than where they are now. Plus, they can always take large Shards with them to help convert the area in something akin to liveable. In finding a new place to go, to have ANY additional options to the meagre few they started with... hell, they'd be so focused on colonization that they wouldn't notice the natives trying to be friendly if the concept was being beaten into their skulls with a hammer. They'd hardly be listening to reason, by that point.

"Sweet, more room to live! Fuck! What the hell are these things? Of course there's monsters, the gods obviously hate us, so why would the give us a break? Come on lads, all we need to do is wipe out these... things and we're home free!"

Also, the Shards perfectly explain why their light hurts the natives so badly; fire and such was bad enough, but this is honest to god sunlight! The natives have no pigments or other defense against solar radiation, so any its effect on their persons would be devastating.

>>14720964
But then why do the Shattered Sun people not know that there's a Gate to begin with? They should be acting like they've never seen the Gate before, OR know exactly what it is before it even opens. After all, the darksiders know what it is, why would the light-siders not?

>>14721152

Maybe because the Gate last opened a million years ago (IE, a thousand thousand), and while the Darksiders have kept tales of it alive via religion (and the fact that it physically exists), for the Lightsiders it passed into ancient history, and may not have had a physical boundry on the Lighted side, being just a huge magical portal.

I'm mostly being the devil's advocate here, admittedly, as I'm honestly not fully sold either way, but i can see where the shattered sun arguement can come from.

You know guys, I think we oughta leave the Shattered Sun setting out of this. It's bad enough that the Shards and their Light in its world is in short supply as it is, why would its people go through a gate into a world composed of nothing but darkness if they're already clinging to the Light left over in their world in the first place? Sure, they would probably bring Shards with them in such an instance, but they would make for a Strobeland-type settlement as a best case scenario.

Not to mention most of the civilized peoples who matter worth a hoot are trying to put the Sun back together in the first place, as far as I reckon.

Also, I would have put in a pic, but apparently pics ain't being uploaded tonight.

>>14721152

Because the last time it opened was thousands upon thousands of years before the sun shattered. Many records were lost or forgotten as people had to focus on much more immediate matters such as survival for a few hundred years before things started to 'settle down.' That's not to say that everything became fine and happy, but a few cities were established and numerous other groups formed their own cultures and societies.

Any surviving memories would be stories passed down verbally. They, They being The People:
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Shattered_Sun#The_People
or at least Their priests and rulers, may know something about the Gate as Their society is based upon the formerly dominant religion of the planet, and follow doctrines written directly after the shattering by priestly scholars (+ any documents they managed to save from their archives).

At best the Gate may be remembered as a doorway to hell that swallowed up those foolish enough to venture through; but it would be much, much more likely that everyone (except for Them, but They hate everyone already and don't converse with them much) has just forgotten about it (or, in other words, never learned about it in the first place).

Allright, once again I'm having to crash, as I have classes tommarrow, too. The thread's still getting updated in the archives, so I'll see everyone tommarrow. Let's try to come to a consensus on if the Realm of Darkness is or is not connected to the Shattered Sun setting before we start a new thread. I'll probably do a bit more writefaggotry while I'm gone, too.

bump

bemp

You are a dragon. You fucking hate flying boats. God damn flying boats! They keep coming through some portal into your shit. It's up to you and your identical buddies to fuck up boats before they make it into your shadowy realm.

The dragons of the abyss has taken the Doors of darkness.
No mortal can't dream now, sinking in deep sleeps which drive them more and more insane as their minds fill with nightmares.
The gods had chosen their champions for sail the eternal ship of the titans, The Golden Tree into the
Doors and bring fight to the dragons, but the Mist of Oblivion found in the realm of Night may be a hint the Lord of Nothing is behind all.

>>14725570
lold

>mfw shantaks.

>>14719314
No. Stop it.

Okay, so, it seems like there's a roughly equal call for doing this as stand alone and for doing this as an expansion to shattered sun.

Anything think a new thread should be made, maybe get some more people to voice opinions that way?

>>14727509
make it a hub plane. like the elemental planes or some such. any time the gate opens it opens somewhere 'else'. explains why there wouldn't be permanent proof of the gate on the light side(s), and let's people mix and match what they want.
or not. my ideas are really hit or miss.

I still vote for leaving Shattered Sun out of it. There's still plenty of kinks to work out of that setting without introducing a whole new dimension to it, really.

Yeah Shattered Sun is it's own entity, which I really like. I suppose you could just go "Gate opens on different planes" and do most of the fluff with Shattered Sun in mind but it'd ruin the Shattered Sun setting for me if we made this canon for it. Besides as other people have pointed out it makes little sense for the people from the Shattered Sun setting to enter a world of darkness.

These guys should be in there somewhere

Something like planescape with gates everywhere except every one knows about them

or Stargate fantasy edition, the PC are gatejumpers, dial the address and jump thru to whatever on the other side

Bumping an epic thread.