Re: [Adonthell-general] Sects and Factions

[Kai Sterker]

On Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:39:55 -0500 (CDT) Andrew Michael Phillips wrote:

> One of the main classifications of factions that I've come across is
> the religious sect. I've outlined the major objects of worship for
> each race, but I realized that before I can give names to these
> priestly orders, I should probably give names to their gods. As yet, I
> have only titles for the Mighty. Eventually, I'm going to have to name
> them all one way or another, but for now my question is as follows:
> We've established that the Dwarvish folk aren't terribly religious, so
> are they at all religious? Do I need to think about priestly orders
> for the Dwarvish folk? I've already kept their list of deities to a
> bare minimum.

Hm. Dwarves certainly have a number of traditions they practise. The
Rite of Passage and the yet-to-be-thought-of burying rite to name a few.
But I don't think that those traditions are motivated by religion. They
are simply practical.

So to answer your question, we wouldn't need any priestly orders for the
Dwarves. I imagine they'd rather honor their parents and forefathers
and the like instead of any abstract concepts.


> I'm making more progress on the non-ecclesiastical groups - Rangers, 
> Alchemists, Half-Elvish shamanic traditions, etc. I have little more
> than names for most of them, but that can change. In this area, the
> main problem I've come across is the Elvish schools of magic. Any
> suggestions would be appreciated, since I'm not sure how many to make,
> what they should do, or even what to call them.

Not really. One idea I had on this matter was that those 'schools'
aren't really connected to any organization, but more to individual
magicians. Basically, at a point in time, an Elf would research a
certain field of magic, and 'discover' a few spells that are sorta
similar. (Not neccessarily in effect, more in a philosophical way.)
Maybe he has some alcolytes and can pass on his wisdom. In that case
this particular school will survive for a while and grow as the former
alcolytes spread their wisdom further and further or do more research
work. But of course, knowledge can also get lost if the practicioners
of a particular school dwindle and die out.

Of course there might be some very common schools with useful spells
that won't be easily forgotten, as many mages would know them and pass
them on, no matter what school they belong to.

As such I think a school of magic would almost always be named after its
founder. Unless that school is so new that the founder is still alive
(and possibly the only person knowing these spells) or so generic that
it is nothing special any more.


Well, that covers more or less what thoughts I had on this topic. I'm
not sure whether it's practical or realistic or fun when it comes down
to gameplay. But I thought something different than the usual Mage
Guilds might be nice. I guess it's also based on the thought that Elves
are not neccessarily good or interested in team work. I think if they
are such great artists, they are also great individualists. In my mind,
even the Guild of Arts isn't an institution where members are working
together. It's merely a place for them to work and study on their own,
with access to all the knowledge produced by others.


I hope that is some inspiration and food for thought for you.

Kai