Campaign Related Questions

Is it feasible that powerful Eldritch spellcasters don’t seem affected by “the wasting disease” because they get more cautious and selective about when they use their magic? Going around casting Witchlight 24/7 might bring on the bodily harm faster than casting one Tier IV spell once a week.

If Eric Gorman is right that Elder magic doesn’t cause “the wasting disease”, that certainly explains why long-lived elorii and ssanu aren’t effected by it–though they, too, might learn to be more judicious about their use of magic.

As Sgt. Schultz would say “Very Interesting”. Actually the using souls as a power base makes me think of the gods stealing each others “essence” except on a much smaller scale. There might be something to this.

Any movement on an updated Campaign Guide?

So many options available, so few official ways to use them…

As someone who gives too much of a damn I’d be remiss in failing to ask if there’s been any single-appearance of any Belisardan dogma or lore.
Not Eloran per se, but specifically about Belisarda
So, I miss anything?
How about further news of the Skinless Lady?

Hello Zac,

As someone who gives too much of a damn I’d be remiss in failing to ask if there’s been any single-appearance of any Belisardan dogma or lore.
Not Eloran per se, but specifically about Belisarda
So, I miss anything?

Indeed there was…as least obliquely.

In the forthcoming Blessed Lands sourcebook, a group of very pacifistic humans (the Hunai) from the Sea of Grass far off to the west are known to worship the Three Sisters: the Eldest Sister Nayal, Goddess of the Night and the Final Sleep and the youngest Sister, Lyssandra, the green moon that shines in the firmament and finally, the middle sister: Life Goddess, Belisarda.

Is that what you were looking for?

It’s a hell of start!

Just re-posting all my questions that I have had about the world that haven’t been answered yet in the unlikely hope I’ll get answers

1) Are Primal casters considered hunted by the Ymandrakes? We know that Eldritch and Elder casters are–and to a much lesser extent Psions–but Primal Casters seem to be a little bit too far from the “Arcane Supermen” and more “Divine-lite” which I wouldn’t think it high on the Ymandrake menu.

This is still something which even the not-Henry writers seem to struggle with and argue about at times, and it isn’t consistent (that I’ve been able to tell) in adventures.

2) Is the city of Alieges in the Province of Balantica, Valentia, or the new Province of Nova Cormata?

The answer: Nova Cormata until Henry decides that it is not, as per “Pride Goeth Before a Fall”

3) Do the Solani Dwarves still have a presence on the border with Malfela? The Enclave moved an army down there before the Altharia-Entaris War.

I am still unsure of this point.

4) Are there any Tir Betoqi still operating out of their former Enclave or any other areas of the Western Lands?

I am still unsure of this point.

5) To what extent does the God’s Wall still exist? Is it now nothing but broken, vaguely mountainous terrain, or are we still looking at a range like the Rocky Mountains here? (A Question that has come up a few times from a few sources).

From various sources and comments, it appears that the Wall of the Gods DOES still exist, but it is a broken mountain range with many passes through which you may enter and exit the Unsealed Lands to the north.

6) Do any of King Osric IV’s kids manifest the val’Haupt powers? From what I hear the King Gerhardt is val’Ossan, but what about Annis, Lysa, and Willem?

I am still unsure of this point. val Holryn seems to think Willem is val’Ossan, but his nanny’s desire to see him on the throne could be just because he’s male.

7) We know where 3 out of the 5 Holy Pillars of Nier are found (Hunder, Erduk, and on the Isle of Ymandragore). Do we know where the other 2 are found?

According to data given to me, the five pillars are: Erduk, Hinder, Ymandragore, somewhere in the Khitani Empire, and somewhere in the Coryani Empire.

8) Do the major vassal families of the Vals also display traits similar to the Vals? Do the Otrecto’s tend to breed larger, more amazonian women than the average? Are the Gracchi’s blond and olive skin? Do the Balins have lots of hawkish noses?

I am still unsure about this, but there is some evidence that they have some traits. An example of this can be found in the adventure “To Die Alone”, as well as the revelation (until Henry choose to counter it) that Val + Val = Human, then Human takes “vassal family” name. This would mean that yes, the Vassal families would look like their ‘parent’ Val except for the eyes most likely.

9) As Coryani Legions are not organized directly like Roman Legions (1000 troops in 10 Centuries of 10 Deciums of 10 instead of 6 Cohorts of 6 centuries of 80 soldiers), do they serve similar non-combat roles and specialties that a Roman legion did? Are all the soldiers expected to also be engineers, making palisades and other fortifications every night when they make camp like the Romans did (Ancient Trench Warfare ftw!)?

I am still unsure about this, but from my read of the Coryani Legions is that the Empire does not follow Roman infantry tactics beyond the most superficial sense. Instead of the Legion being a heavy infantry formation in Rome, it is simply an organizational unit like a regiment or battalion is today, with such a unit being applied to different groups (ie: tank platoon vs. Infantry platoon).

10) If a Val were to become Psionic by being Silence-Touched, would they eyes turn ‘clear’ as if they were awakened naturally?

Don’t know if it has come up in the campaign yet.

11) We know that the Khitani and Uls have followed a more asian-style naming scheme even during the First Imperium when they were part of that world, and they were isolated from the rest of the Imperium since the events of the Blood War. Did the Khitani language and noticable difference in culture start then, or after the Dreaming of Larissa led them to the northwest corner of the continent? Speaking only from a linguistic point of view, I can’t see Khitani being at all related to Altheran, but that could just be me applying our world to Arcanis where Chinese is not related to the Indo-European languages that represent the rest of the ‘known languages’ in the Arcanis universe.

I am still unsure about this.

12) How does the ‘arcane wasting disease’ affect Elorii and other long lived races? We have it in the book that it is enough of a problem that human-kin fear it, meaning arcane power can damage a person in as little as a century of use. However, we have records of Elorii and Ssanu casters who are centuries–if not millennia–old who are using magic and show no known outside effects of using their magic. Are these races less prone to the ‘wasting’? Is Elder Magic ‘safer’ to use?

I am still unsure about this.

13) Do we have any in-character examples of Savosh that would be known to people of the known lands? For example, are any of the Myrantian Pheron’s ‘squater, with gold eyes’? How about the Priest of Aii from “Vexing Priests”? How about any of the various Death Mongers we’ve seen? How about the Pengik?

Perhaps we’ll see at Origins as we’ll have a chance to explore the Ossarions a bit more, but thus far I am still unsure about this.

And, because I continue to ask question:

14) Do the Black Talons (specifically the Church of the Fire Dragon) actively hunt Ghost Scales? We have a reference in “Sharper than a Serpent’s Tooth” that the Black Talons had a negative interest in the Ghost Scales, and now that we know that they exist beyond the sewers of Old Coryan they would pose more of a dogmatic threat to Black Talons.

My understanding of Elder magic is that it is the more refined version, but it takes a particularly alien mind to understand it. Humanity and Ss’ressen simply lack the mental discipline to truly understand (or the years to fully learn) the complex magical math to use magic ‘properly’ and are instead stuck doing the quick, dirty, and dangerous version of Eldritch magic. Ssanu, on the other hand, are much longer lived and have the patience that their more hot tempered Ss’ressen cousins do not have which allows them to fully master the arcane nature (pardon the pun) of Elder Sorcery. Elorii are kind of between them, with the years and the potential for Elder magic, though maybe not the natural gift that the Ssanu (may) have.

However, none of this has been clarified in the campaign to my knowledge, so it remains a questionmark. I would actually LOVE to see an in-game effect of the wasting disease. Maybe in the 2ed version of the game should one ever come out

Makes me glad I’m a Divine spell caster.