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jahaanofmenaphos · 5 years

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Of Gods and Men Summary:

When the gods returned to Gielinor, their minds were only on one thing: the Stone of Jas, a powerful elder artefact in the hands of Sliske, a devious Mahjarrat who stole it for his own ends and entertainment. He claims to want to incite another god wars, but are his ulterior motives more sinister than that? And can the World Guardian, Jahaan, escape from under Sliske’s shadow?

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QUEST 06: FATE OF THE GODS

QUEST SUMMARY:

The gods have returned to Gielinor, but something is preventing the arrival of Zaros. Jahaan is enlisted by Azzanadra to help bring his god back to their world, a task that would send him into the harshities of the Mahjarrat homeworld: Freneskae…

CHAPTER 2: FRENESKAE

Freneskae. A place nightmares are derived from. A hollow, empty plane of existence, where life comes in the form of threat and danger, and where nature actively works against all inhabitants, almost maliciously. Colour is absent; grey rocks protrude into a black sky, looming over an ashen floor. The only vibrant colour comes from the crackling slashes of lightning that tear through the foreboding sky, or the scarlets of lava and fire, hailing from the heavens or slithering across the ground.

As soon as Jahaan reemerged on the other side of the world gate, he tested the air on his tongue, and quickly realised how abhorrent it was compared to the glorious oxygen he’d left behind on Gielinor. Thick and cloggy, a blend of smoke and ash, with a pinch of copper, he gathered the air was at least slightly toxic to his human lungs. Quickly, he took out the cowl from his backpack and fashioned it into a face mask, something that took away the worst effects of Freneskae’s atmosphere.

Between coughs, Jahaan called out, “Hello?”

There was no reply, only the continuous rumbling of his surroundings.

“Is anyone there?” he tried again, pressing the cowl to his face. The heat of the lava pools beneath the rocky platform he’d landed on radiated upwards; he didn’t know how long he’d last before having to ditch his armour. Figuring that was a last resort, he pressed on ahead, carefully starting along the long and winding path ahead of him, hoping that Zaros was close by.

Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck a protrusion of rock hanging over the pathway, causing large pieces to crumble and fall, the weight of them breaking the apparently fragile pathway in front of Jahaan. Shocked, he fell backwards, clutching onto the ground under him for dear life, watching in horror as his lovely carved pathway suddenly became a lot more difficult to traverse.

Once his heartbeat calmed to a steadier pace, Jahaan clambered to his feet and carefully edged to the gap, peering into the fiery abyss below.

With a heavy heart, Jahaan realised he’d have to jump it. Sizing up the distance between the rock-face was promising - it wasn’t all that far - but considering how the pathway just crumbled moments ago, he didn’t exactly trust it not to break again under his weight. However, there were no alternate routes.

Gulping, Jahaan walked back a few strides and braced himself.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Jahaan bolted forwards, leaping over the distance and rolling to safety on the other side. Well, the safety was only momentary, for the ground protested at the shockwave of his fall and decided to start dropping chunks down into the lava below. These breakaways quickly chased Jahaan up the pathway, causing him to scramble forwards until he reached the comfort of a larger, thicker platform to collapse on.

Gasping for breath, Jahaan peered behind him and saw the ravine he’d created in his wake.

“No going back now…” he muttered to himself, picking himself up from the ground and soldiering on.

Jahaan didn’t know how long he trekked through the natural hazards of Freneskae, directionless and suffering under the heat. He walked on, not exactly knowing where he was going, hoping to stumble into something of note sooner or later, before the temperature took its toll too much.

All the while, he could feel a… presence. Something surrounding him, there but never there. Something watching him, stalking him, but he dismissed it as paranoia in this alien world. Occasionally, he thought he saw it manifest into a faint, flickering purple cloud. But again, he dismissed this as a trick of the light, or an afterglow from the flames surrounding him. But without even knowing it, he allowed it to guide him through Freneskae.

To the east, he saw what looked like a carved cave opening, and that purple light seemed to be guarding it. Jahaan blinked, but there it remained. He looked away and looked back, just to confirm it wasn’t a mirage. Still, it did not disappear. He felt it calling him towards the cave, mesmerizing him. There was only a rocky bridge keeping the two of them apart. Without removing his eyes from the purple glow, Jahaan carefully edged his way across the divide and followed the orb inside the cave.

Inside, architecture seemed to have breached the barren, empty world of Freneskae. There were carvings here, patterns painted into marbleized floors. Properly constructed bridges connected each area of the large chamber, with chains for railings, and stairwells that went beyond crude misshapen rocks. From the looks of it, Jahaan deduced it to be a temple of some sort. A sanctum, not unlike the one Azzanadra mentioned he contact Zaros in.

Realising the purple orb was likely Zaros himself, he felt safe enough to call out his name again. “Zaros? Did you lead me here?”

Alas, more silence, save for the swishes of lava Jahaan could hear in the distance behind him. At least this sanctum was cooler, protecting him from the harsh climate outside.

Not wanting to leave anytime soon, Jahaan made his way into the adjoining room, wanting to explore further.

Inside this new vast chamber were four crystalised pillars, shining like diamonds in the dimly lit cavern. However, Jahaan only got to marvel at their beauty for fleeting moments before an ominous hissing sound echoed around the chamber, sending chills down his spine. Gulping, he ventured, “Z-Zaros…?”

The sound did not sound like a god, nor did it sound like anything he’d ever encountered before, a low death-rattle submerged in the sharp, violent hissing of an otherworldly predator.

Fearing the worst, Jahaan drew his swords and tried to calm his breathing as he entered a fighting stance, his eyes darting all around the chamber to try and pinpoint where the first attack would come from.

Haunting eyes glowed from the hollow entrance dead ahead of him, and before he could register what exactly was hungrily staring him down, it charged, spearing Jahaan to the ground. He just about rolled out of the way before it’s talons could rip his face off, not even managing to get a good look at the monster before Jahaan scrambled away, wildly swinging his swords in defence. Suddenly, a blast of magic smashed into his back, knocking the wind right out of him as he was thrown forwards, crashing into the marble pillar he’d admired so recently.

A crooked, crimson fist punched through the marble pillar above his head; Jahaan just about managed to duck in time, instinct taking over.

It was only after pushing off the pillar and gaining some distance between him and his attackers did he finally take in what he was up against. These monsters were the stuff of nightmares, like Freneskae embodied. Four of them, twisted and warped variations of the other. One a blood-red horror, contorted horns above its head. Another looked like it was made of ice, only nowhere as fragile. The next, purple with shadows dancing around its essence, its wings tattered and shredded. The last, in contrast, had rather beautiful wings, reminiscent of that of an aviansie.

One similarity linked them all, and it was their striking resemblance to Nex, one of Zaros’ most loyal soldiers, and a nihil by origin. Jahaan did not know much of the nihil - such creatures were not native to Gielinor, and Nex was the only one his world had ever encountered, as far as he was aware. He only knew them to be creations of Zaros, abominations forged from the warped life essence of other races. Extremely powerful, deadly pack animals. He’d have to take them on one by one if at all possible.

Shuffling backwards, Jahaan tightened the grip on his swords and braced himself for combat. As soon as he did so, they all disappeared back into the caverns on the wall, quick as a flash.

Wise to their charging tactics by now, Jahaan concocted a strategy. Well, ‘strategy’ makes it sound well thought out and tactical; this was more of a fleeting idea that Jahaan desperately hoped would work in his favour.

Readying himself, he waited, waited, until finally the crimson nihil charged him again - this one did not seem to favour magic, instead lunging with its dagger-like claws and a shrill scream.

In one fluid motion, Jahaan side-stepped its charge and spun around, the velocity of the twisting motion increasing the power of his sword swipe immensely. Before the nihil could turn or retreat, Jahaan had drawn a large gash down its back, causing it to wail out in agony. His second sword swung lower, aiming for the back of its knees, nearly cutting the limb clean off. The nihil staggered and stumbled forward, its patented charging attack literally cut off at the knees. It lunged forwards again, but buckled under its own weight, unable to cover much ground in the state it was in. With futility, it tried flapping its wings to gain height, but one remained static, while the other waved about weakly; Jahaan figured that he’d cut deep enough into the creatures back to break the wingbone, perhaps damaging the nihil’s spine in the process.

Not complaining, he raised his sword aloft to finish the wounded creature with a decapitating strike, but the sudden overwhelming coldness of his palms put pay to that. Dropping the blade with a shriek, Jahaan saw ice crystals splintering from his fingertips, starting to melt. Looking around him, he saw the ice sculpted nihil ready another charge. Shaking off the rest of the ice from his frozen hand, Jahaan swiftly picked up his sword and dashed behind the a marble pillar just as the next blast was fired.

He peered out behind the pillar, only to be met with another charge of ice that cracked his pillar defence.

I can’t get close to it, he concluded, dropping his swords and removing his shieldbow from around his shoulders and loading it with an arrow. Just as he stepped backwards to aim, he was startled by a roar to his left, and taken down by a barge from the avianse-looking nihil. Coughing, Jahaan quickly scurried back behind a pillar closer to the end wall, trying to collect himself. Okay, so they all do the charging thing. Right…

Seeing as the centre pathways seemed to be their dedicated charging territory - they ran from one hole in the wall to another opposite - Jahaan dubbed that a ‘no-go’ zone and focused on ranging from a distance.

The first few arrows were at least on target, but none of them connected with the nihil; its ice attack shattered them before impact. Then, an idea sparked in Jahaan’s mind, and he rummaged through his rucksack for a tinderbox.

The flaming arrows definitely gave the nihil pause, and any that connected with its flesh did considerable damage. They seemed to be frightened of the fiery ammunition hurling towards them.

So focused was he on ranging the ice nihil that he didn’t notice the crimson one that had crawled up to him until it grabbed onto his leg.

“SON OF A BITCH,” he shrieked, startled beyond words, instinctively stabbing the arrow he was about to load into his bow right through the nihil’s skull. Gasping for breath, he tried to shake off the vice-like claw that, even in death, the nihil had attached onto him, eventually taking to prising the fingers apart one by one.

After collecting himself, it only took a few more arrows to take down the ice nihil.

Two down, two left. Who’s next…

Delicately, he stepped into the ‘no-go zone’ in the centre of the room in an attempt to lure out one of the nihils. Instead of charging on land this time, however, the avianse made use of its beautiful wings and soared through the sky, causing Jahaan to duck and jump out of the way. The first arrow he fired from the ground didn’t come close to hitting its mark, and when he reached for another, he found the quiver empty.

“Shit,” he cursed, scanning the other side of the room to see all the arrows scattered out of reach. As too were his swords, which he’d abandoned in favour of his bow. Scurrying out of the way of the nihil’s blast of smoke - and instinctively tightening his face mask to protect from its choking effect - Jahaan unsheathed his dagger and tried to come up with a plan.

It’s high in the air, and the arrows are right underneath it. I wouldn’t stand a chance. Maybe the swords? Ah but how can-wait a second…

Peering out from behind his cover, he noted the grooves on the wall next to the nihil looked like it could provide considerable purchase, if approached in the right way.

Just like Al Kharid, just like with Ozan…

The words repeated in his head in a comforting chorus, and his plan was decided upon.

Without allowing himself another second to talk himself out of it, Jahaan shot out from behind the pillar and dashed across the room, too fast for the charging nihil to register him, and just fast enough to avoid being it by the nihil’s smoke attack. It tracked him across the room, and Jahaan his to nimble maneuver in odd patterns to avoid being struck, but he made it to the wall. Leaping in the air, his foot connected with a groove and he ricochet off it, propelling towards the nihil, dagger poised and ready.

With a roar, he buried the dagger deep into the nihil’s neck, and the two of them tumbled to the ground. The nihil leaked weird fluid from the wound, but didn’t seem quite dead yet, and not wanting to repeat the same mistake he made with the crimson one, Jahaan stabbed the nihil a few more times for good measure until its hissing stopped.

Shaking the gross fluid from the dagger tip with a cringe, Jahaan sheathed the little blade and went to pick up his swords. He reminded himself to thank Ozan for the rooftop parkour training as soon as he got back to Gielinor.

Suddenly, the room darkened; a hollow rattle was all he heard before he was knocked to the floor. Quickly, Jahaan picked himself up and dashed for his swords, positioning himself in the corner of the room, breathless and aching. His vision was greatly impaired now as the light in the room kept dimming in and out, as if darkness had become sentient and was working against him. The shadows had taken over.

This was something Jahaan was all too familiar with.

Clenching the grip on his swords tightly, he tried to strategize on the fly the best way to combat shadow magic.

He drew a blank.

How do you fight an enemy you can’t see?

Jahaan was beginning to panic; darkness wasn’t something he was overly fond of, especially when he shared the company of a bloodthirsty monster. Panicking did him no good, as in his flurry of rapid breaths and erratic heartbeats, the nihil landed a winding blow on his chest.

Doubling over, Jahaan all but coughed up a lung.

If I can’t see it, maybe I can hear it…

To its detriment, the nihil was loud, a constant rattling and hissing from its foul excuse for a mouth. Jahaan could hear it scuttling at the other end of the room, no doubt preparing to strike again, and soon.

Jahaan could only see its shadow in the low light.

So, Jahaan steadied his breathing, tried to drown out his heartbeat, and moved towards the centre of the room. He closed his eyes, sacrificing vision in favour of his other four senses, particularly hearing - a crude variation of echolocation.

The scurrying gave it away, encroaching faster and faster and faster - until it was upon him.

The nihil was fast, dodging the first swipe of Jahaan’s sword… but it wasn’t fast enough for his second. Jahaan slashed a deep gouge through its midsection, causing the creature to roar in agony. Capitalising, Jahaan lunged forward and buried his other blade through its torso, twisting it inside, before slicing upwards as he removed it. This proved fatal; the nihil was dead before it hit the ground.

Catching his breath, Jahaan laughed breathlessly to himself as he examined the four nihil corpses. That was until he was startled back into sanity by the marble pillars glowing and humming around him. Then, at the other end of the cavern, a small doorway with ancient patterns carved into it opened, the heat of Freneskae flooding inside… and the mysterious purple cloud greeting him outside.

After collecting his arrows and various other pieces of equipment he’d scattered about the chamber, Jahaan headed for the doorway.

When Jahaan emerged through the other side of the door, and had climbed a cliff face immediately blocking his way, he noted he was now at the top of what appeared to be a volcano, where ash fell from the sky like snow. But he couldn’t have been prepared for the type of creature that he instantly met with.

It was… humanoid, in a sense. A collection of large rocks tied together through the bonds of molten lava, some which spilled out of its mouth as it breathed.

Breathed… slept, perhaps. It looked almost... peaceful, clawing fingers clenching slightly as if it were in the midst of a dream. It’s eyes - eyes that were bigger than the entirety of Jahaan twice over - were closed. That was all that Jahaan could see of it - a large head and one hand resting against the mountain-top, the rest no doubt extending deep into the rocks below.

Jahaan edged closer to inspect, but the purple cloud materialised in front of him. In a deep, echoed voice, it commanded, “Stop!”

Halting in his tracks, Jahaan let out a deep, shuddering breath as he knew exactly who he was face to… purple cloudy thing… to. “Zaros.”

“Yes,” the orb confirmed.

Feeling the pain in his muscles serve as a sharp reminder, he demanded, “Did you send those nihil after me? I know they’re your creations.”

“I did not,” Zaros assured. “I promise, I led you the safest way possible to reach this volcano.”

“That was the SAFEST route? Are you kidding?!” it boggled Jahaan’s mind how the Mahjarrat ever survived this place. Not sure where on the purple cloud Zaros’ eyes were, he took for looking somewhere near the top as he inquired, “Why have you led me here?”

“It was necessary,” Zaros was not an entity of many words, it seemed.

The sleeping figure beside them clenched its fist, its head lulling to one side as it croaked out an inhuman groan. Looking towards it, Jahaan inquired, “What's it doing?”

“She stirs in her sleep,” Zaros explained.

“She?” Jahaan choked. “That thing in the crater is a she?”

“She is the elder god, Mah... and her dreams can be violent. We should talk elsewhere. May we?”

Gazing around them, Jahaan didn’t exactly know where this ‘elsewhere’ could be, or how it could be any safer than anywhere else on Freneskae, but he rolled with it. “O~kay…”

Suddenly, the purple orb shot towards him, burying itself in Jahaan’s chest. Crying out, Jahaan fell to the ground, and the world became black.

When he… ‘woke up’... Jahaan was…

Well, he didn’t quite know.

Everything was white.

Everything.

There was nothing around them, no volcano, no sleeping Mah.

Just… emptiness, and the purple orb of Zaros.

“Where are we?”

“Inside your mind,” Zaros bluntly replied.

Scrunching his brow, Jahaan asked, “How’d you get inside my mind?”

“Have no fear, World Guardian. I would not enter your mind without consent, nor could I. I have only brought you here. I am outside, looking in. We needed a safe place to talk where she could not sense me. That is all.”

“So we’re still on the volcano?”

“Yes,” Zaros gravely replied, “And when you awaken, we will have to deal with Mah.”

Zaros continued, as if he could read Jahaan’s mind (which in this place, who knew?), to say, “You have doubts. Know this - I will never lie to you. And in this place you would sense if I did. Therefore, whatever your questions, I would answer them.”

Jahaan couldn’t shake the terrifying reality of Mah just inches away from where his body had collapsed. “Are you sure we have time for a chat? I can’t really defend myself while I'm here.”

“Fear not, World Guardian. While we cannot idle here indefinitely, we have time. You have traversed this world for me; the least I can reward you with is knowledge.”

Well, that’s an offer I can’t refuse, Jahaan thought to himself, excitement building alongside his thirst for knowledge. A one-on-one conversation with one of the most powerful deities to ever set foot in Gielinor, and hopefully without this one being assassinated in the process. Where to begin...

The Zarosian religion was quite a mystery to Jahaan; he’d only really encountered it in the fanatical form of Azzanadra. He knew of the Empire, of the Zarosian-Khandrian War… but that was pretty much it. So, he started with the basics. “What’s your philosophy?”

“It is my belief that everything that occurs in life - both good and bad - should be used to forge oneself, to better oneself. If we give in to weakness, then we do not deserve the gift of life. Where Guthix sought balance in the world, I seek balance in oneself. One must strive to increase in power, but also in knowledge of how to wield that power. The younger gods have tended to fulfil only one of these things. You, World Guardian, fulfil both of these criteria.”

Jahaan felt oddly honoured, but he wasn’t about to let vague compliments cloud his judgement. “And what’s your plan? What do you strive for?”

Zaros did not falter in his reply, like it had been rehearsed. “First, I must obtain a new body and regain my divine status. With it, I shall return to my ultimate ambition.”

A worrisome remark. “...Which is?”

“I intend to claim my birthright and become an elder god. Only then will I be able to stand equal to the universe's creators and speak on behalf of mortals.”

Jahaan blinked. Zaros wanted to ascend beyond godhood? For the first time, Jahaan considered what Sliske had been saying about not blindly following Zaros’ commands, for he wasn’t too sure how he felt about Zaros becoming an ultimate power like that, a top tier god, with all the trimmings that entailed...

Hesitantly, he asked, “Why do you want to become an elder god? Don’t you have enough power already?”

“Not everything is about power, World Guardian,” Zaros’ tone was neutral, but assertive. “Power will mean nothing when the Great Revision is upon us.”

Zaros really didn’t help the image that he was an ominous being of darkness with casual comments like that. “W-What’s the Great Revision?”

“All in due time.”

Helpful. “And where are the other elder gods?”

“They are where they have always been since the creation of Gielinor. On Gielinor.”

On Gielinor? This was a lot for Jahaan to process.

Taking a deep breath, Jahaan decided to give Zaros a chance. No red flags had flown so far. Well, the whole ‘elder god’ and ‘Great Revision’ thing wasn’t all that comforting, but even so, he was inclined to trust the deity. For now, at least. He seemed to be honest, in his blunt assertiveness. “Okay, so what do you need me to do?”

Zaros then shapeshifted into the form of Guthix. “The power Guthix bestowed upon you before his death dampens divine magic and energy. It is my belief that this power will also shield my presence from Mah. If she were to sense me and fully awaken, that would have dire consequences... for everyone. Beneath her, at the planet's core, I will be able to create a new corporeal form for myself. I wish for you to take me there, or to go there in my stead.”

“Why’s it so important that Mah can’t sense you?” Jahaan inquired, still trying to wrap his head around it all.

“Mah is my creator,” Zaros explained. There was a hint of a sigh in his tone. “Without her I would not exist, but she is like a child. She is an elder god, the youngest of five. Yet the anima of this plane was not sufficient to nourish them all, and Mah was malformed. She was born without memory or knowledge, only instinct. After finally clawing her way to the surface, her first instinct was to pour what little energy she had into the creation of me and my companion. To her I was akin to a child's doll. She is mentally fractured, but I have intellect, and I could not abide her possessiveness. As soon as she started to weaken, I left. She will want me back. If she cannot have that, she will try to destroy me.”

Jahaan didn’t know how much time had passed since he’d been lost inside his own mind, but it had been long enough. A part of him was prolonging the inevitable, of facing whatever the consequences were for disturbing an elder god. Common sense dictates they would not be pleasant, and the nihil had already exhausted him. “One last thing… tell me about your connection to the Mahjarrat. I’ve only heard bits and pieces from some of your followers.”

“The Mahjarrat did not exist when I left this place, but when I first encountered them I knew instantly that we shared kindred,” Zaros explained, taking the form of Wahisietel as he continued, “Their name means 'the children of Mah'. Their crystals mark their divine origin. They were unmistakably relations to myself.”

He began to shapeshift and cycle through the forms of Akthanakos, Lucien and Zemouregal as he spoke. “I saw them as sons and sought to protect them. Divine creations are more fragile than you realise. Their race is the epitome of potential, but their fate is also sealed.”

Then, Zaros took the form of Icthlarin, a jarring change from the Mahjarrat mould. “Had he known what he was truly dealing with, Icthlarin may never have brought them to Gielinor. He tried to reign in their nature, and it was not long before one of their number broke free. It was easy for me to convince that breakaway of my superiority.”

“Who was the breakaway Mahjarrat?” Jahaan inquired.

Zaros took the leering form of Sliske. “Sliske.”

Rolling his eyes, Jahaan muttered, “Of course it was Sliske…”

Jahaan recalled the book Wahisietel had given him, about the soldier in the Menaphite Pantheon’s service who encountered Sliske in the wars of the Second Age. Icthlarin had stolen Sliske’s wights and sent them to the afterlife, something the Mahjarrat did not take too kindly too. The rest, as they say, is history.

Taking the form of Icthlarin again, Zaros continued, “Not all Mahjarrat chose to leave Icthlarin's service, but the few that remained did not last long. In a desperate final act, the desert god Tumeken devastated his own lands to discourage me. I was given pause, and ended my campaign. I realised that I had become what I was fighting against. From that point on, I slowly started to remove my presence from the Empire I had created. I provided the Mahjarrat with the means to rejuvenate themselves on Gielinor - something of which Icthlarin was incapable, for he did not understand them. And I encouraged them to be less wasteful with their rituals. If they were to become leaders in the Empire, they had to endure.”

“And what of Sliske?” Jahaan pressed. Despite himself, he had a vested interest by this point.

Again, Zaros took upon the mantle of Sliske. “Sliske's loyalty has only ever been to himself. When our goals align, he can prove useful, but his recent exploits are not something I can condone.”

“Do you intend to kill him?”

“I cannot stand as both judge and executioner. I leave it to those he has wronged to bring him to any justice they feel he deserves.”

A loaded statement, Jahaan found. “Did you want him to kill Guthix?”

“I did not,” Zaros assured.

Jahaan did not sense any hint of dishonesty from Zaros, though he did have every reason to lie. Regardless, Jahaan stated, “I believe you.”

“I am glad.”

Suddenly, the ground started shaking, causing Jahaan to stumble.

“Enough talk, World Guardian,” Zaros’ voice remained stoic among the quaking. “Though Mah only stirs in her sleep, her nightmares will manifest and attack on sight, and her cries of pain will cripple you. You need only survive until her terrors subside. Only then will it be safe for us to proceed. But first, you must choose whether or not to allow me in.”

Jahaan hesitated. “Come again?”

“If you allow me in, I can lend you my strength to survive Mah's onslaught. I will not go beyond what you permit, and will leave once she is quelled or should you ask it of me. Do not let me in, and I cannot help. You put both our lives in jeopardy, and above that risk the fate of the very universe. Make your choice. We are out of time.”

Well, talk about a loaded choice, Jahaan thought to himself, then realised Zaros’ could probably hear him. “Okay, go for it.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” With that, the purple orb shot into Jahaan once more, causing his consciousness to falter. When he opened his eyes, the blasting heat and rocky mountain top of Freneskae greeted him. Picking himself up and dusting himself off, Jahaan secured the cowl tighter around his mouth and nose. He could feel a burdensome energy churning around inside of him, partly tickling, partly aching.

Nope, I’ll never get used to that...

“So where are we going?” Jahaan didn’t sound all that enthused about traipsing through Freneskae again, but needs must.

“To a place I refer to as the Elder Halls,” Zaros’ voice echoed inside Jahaan’s mind, rattling with purpose. “I require some of Mah's elder energy to be woven into a new corporeal form for me to inhabit. This new body must be a dark simulacrum! A light simulacrum will reject my essence.”

“Okay, Elder Halls, dark simulacrum, got it,” Jahaan repeated in confirmation. “Lead the way…”

DISCLAIMER:

As Of Gods and Men is a reimagining, retelling and reworking of the Sixth Age, a LOT of dialogue/characters/plotlines/etc. are pulled right from the game itself, and this belongs to Jagex.

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onlyawfulrpgideas · 6 years

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Railroading: Express Train Adventures or Leaves on the Plot Line?

“In gaming, the act of forcing a player to "choose to" do something they don't really want to in order to advance the plot according to the wishes or designs of the GM.”

- UrbanDictionary.com (other, unrelated definitions are available, but you have been warned)

Railroading your players is bad, right? It takes away agency, free choice and immersion in a game of unlimited imagination.

The term “railroading” is so often used in complaint – a negative descriptor applied to a more controlled style of game-mastering, often associated with pre-written modules. In published adventures, this feeling of being driven along down a pre-laid train track is – to a certain extent – necessary to make the game work. If the players are allowed unchecked freedom, it is almost certain that, at some point, their choices will cause events to diverge from the pre-determined story later on.

Coming to a game where you’ll be running a published module or adventurers league or whatever, expecting to have sandbox levels of freedom is rather unrealistic. Expecting the GM to accommodate your every maverick whim in this situation is, in my opinion, a little bit selfish. There will be inexperienced players who bring these expectations to the table from time to time, but the joy of our social-based game is that it thrives on patience, understanding and learning. In pre-written adventure scenarios, one cannot really hold the GM responsible for “railroading” because the book is railroading them!

So what does constitute the evil sin of “railroading”? That rather depends where we draw the lines between maintaining a cohesive plot, “railroading” and just being a narrator of your own story. Somewhere on this scale we also encounter the fabled curse of “being a dick”. For now, let’s leave pre-written adventures behind and focus on homebrew campaigns.

Giving your players the ability to make choices that genuinely influence the world around their characters is a key component of what makes D&D so special. There’s nothing wrong with video game PRGs, but there is only a certain amount of things you can do: parameters that you can’t venture beyond, because the programming isn’t infinite. We all know the three pillars of adventure are one third Exploration, one third Role-playing, one third Combat and one extra quarter of Sheer Craziness. It’s in the moments of zany plans and “you can certainly try’s” that push the limits of game mechanics, where some of our most memorable stories originate.

Letting these events play out and dealing with the consequences is the mark of a good GM: allowing your players creative freedom with their characters. Automatically shooting down unlikely attempts, without even allowing someone to make a roll for it, is a big source of “railroading” complaints. Especially when a GM overrules the description a player gave for their character’s actions, in order to force a desired outcome – whether positive or negative. It robs the player of their satisfaction.

When a player wants their character to do something that is fundamentally impossible and a roll would be pointless, consider allowing a roll to be made anyway. The outcome, of course, is unsuccessful; but it creates an illusion of choice and possibility. Through your description, place emphasis on the characters’ determined attempts to the best of their ability, even in the face of “almost” certain failure. This can do wonders for the players’ perception of the game and we’ll look at this in more depth later.

For now, an example:

When I first started GM-ing at college, I ran a sandbox-y story set on an island separated into a north and south area by an impassable stone wall with an ancient, giant-made portcullis gate in the centre. The logic behind this was that I had two groups whose stories took place on opposite sides of the wall. They could communicate and pass small items to each other through the gate, but not get directly involved in events on the other side (since they played at separate times).

Eventually the south team decided to try what had been implied to be impossible and bypass the gate. Despite being enchanted and over a foot in diameter, they weren’t going to let them metal bars keep them out. Against the advice of almost every NPC, they requisitioned as many cutting implements as their money could buy and set to work sawing, filing and axe-swinging away at the portcullis.

Being largely inexperienced, I thought to myself “this is stupid, they know it’s not going to work”. I declined to even narrate the attempt, streamlining the action into a simple statement of “you can’t do it: it’s impossible”. To my surprise, the group were rather quite disappointed, and after the session I had time to ponder why. They knew full well that their attempt was futile, why make the gesture?

Perhaps the two player groups spoke to each other, I don’t honestly know, but sure enough during the next session, the group on the North side of the gate attempted to do the same. This time, I tried things a little differently.

Their monk’s player was, frankly, a complete nutcase and this showed through in his monk-turned-pirate character with an extreme stubborn streak. He made his way down to the wall with every saw blade the island could muster and began to cut at the 12-inch-thick metal bars. I decided to let him roll a general strength check, just for the hell of it. Of course, he rolls a natural 20. Now, this was supposed to be an impossible task…

Without giving an outcome, I asked him how long he would like to spend making the attempt to cut through. He replied “until I drop”. So I had him roll Constitution checks to represent each hour passing, until he had failed three and collapsed from exhaustion. By this point, the table was lost in gales of laughter and cheering him on in the obviously fruitless endeavour. The following morning, the monk awoke where he had passed out, aching all over, surrounded by a heap of blunt saws, to inspect the small, shallow scratch he had made.

Both outcomes were the same: the gate was impassable and no mundane means could truly penetrate it. But one group left the table feeling cheated, “railroaded”, and the other tells the tale of the scene to this day. While the rolls were being made, they held onto the comically absurd notion that somehow, against all the mounting odds, success was possible and the effort was worthwhile, if foolish. Above all they enjoyed being given the chance to try and lamenting/ridiculing the outcome, even if that chance was only an illusion.

In more long-term perspectives, “railroading” is used to describe the instances where no matter what the players do, eventually the story catches up with them just the same as if they had done nothing and the party’s efforts are rendered pointless. This can leave a very firm sense of disappointment and dissolution, where the players wonder why they bother to interact with your world at all, if ultimately, you have already pre-destined what is going to happen. There’s nothing wrong with wider events moving on around the characters if they do not have any direct influence, but be wary of nullifying their actions.

A storytelling technique I’ve learnt and try (as best I can) to incorporate into my GM prep is the “Yeah but, No but” pattern. Having alternate outcomes in mind enables you to give the players scope for influencing your story, while keeping them firmly on the rails of your longer plot.

Perhaps the PC’s cleverly thwart the villain’s evil scheme too early through some logic you overlooked… YEAH, they succeeded, BUT... the villain is able to escape, or the plan is delayed and not stopped altogether. Our heroes have their victory: they saved the day for now. But they go forward knowing that the danger is far from over.

Alternatively, they valiantly attempt to stop the villainous plot and fail… NO, they didn’t succeed, BUT… they discover some kind of clue or blessing that will help them be more prepared next time. Even in defeat, the players can take some measure of victory and look forward to the inevitable rematch.

Either way, the long-term story remains unchanged. The journey to it, however, just got a lot more interesting and gave opportunity for character development – whether that be through revelling in victory, or a hardening of resolve in defeat.

Almost reminds me of… a railroad.

You have your Main Line: the express route. Full steam ahead down the easiest track from A to B. Everything unfolds just as you planned; the characters behave like archetypal heroes with one goal in mind and the campaign unfolds like a slick action movie. Nothing wrong with that, it’s perfectly fun and rewarding. This is often how some of the more heavily time-depended modules are written.

When time is less of a pressure, you might take your players to a junction or the “points” as we call them here. An opportunity presents itself to switch to another narrative track, taking a different direction to the main plot and exploring something new. No matter how many places you visit on that journey, the route you took still links back up to the main line: the over-arching plot.

Maybe your players take it upon themselves to go in a direction you hadn’t anticipated and explore a branch line. You weren’t as prepared for this, so the track might be a little bit wandering and there might not be quite so many significant things down there, but it’s a nice way to explore the fictional world you have created none the less. Not every bit of the adventure needs to be full pace towards a climatic confrontation.

Some sessions might feel more like a shunting yard. You’ve laced the story with plot hooks that seem obvious to you, but it’s taking the players a while to figure out what it is you want them to do – if indeed you have any specific plans at all. They might deliberate backwards and forwards for a while, exploring smaller avenues of adventure in the hopes that something will fall into place and open up the main line that’s laid ready for them.

Dead ends are a thing. Literally. And I don’t mean making characters just die because you don’t like them.

“Railroading” your players into failure can make them feel like you are just mean-spirited or don’t want them to have freedom to try. Equally, don’t try too hard to save them from themselves. If they know the stakes and take risks that might prove fatal for their characters, LET THEM. It’s their story as much as yours and if they are willing to put their characters’ lives on the line for their own reasons, LET THEM. Should they put all their effort into hurtling down the tracks towards a set of buffers, try to minimize damage without some contrived deus ex machina that saves them all at the last minute. Unless it makes sense for that to happen and even then, don’t do this more than once. They can always roll a new character if one of them dies or if the whole party is killed… Then that’s an awesome story!

You and your friends created a world in which to play, characters who brought it to life and who, in the end, chose to risk everything for something bigger than themselves. That’s Epic. The lovingly-detailed world they never got to see doesn’t disappear: it’s still yours and always will be, waiting for the next generation of adventurers to unlock its secrets and plots.

I think it’s time we gave the “railroad” analogy a new lease of life and a better definition. A length of straight track isn’t a proper railroad – it doesn’t have branches or diversions, tunnels or junctions, sidings or stations.

As GM’s we are ALWAYS railroading the players. No matter where it is that their adventures take them, whatever choices they make. There should always be options for different routes that connect back to a familiar narrative – however that takes its shape.

#d&d #rpg #Dungeons and Dragons #roleplaying #5e #3.5e

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rivka · 4 years

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The failure of parents to establish attachment dominance seems to be escalating, due in part to contemporary parenting practices and the devaluation of parenting intuition. It seems that many parents put their children in the lead, looking to them for cues on how to parent. Some parents hope to avoid upset and frustration by doing everything in their power to make things work for their children. Children parented in such a manner never come up against the necessary frustration that accompanies facing the impossible. They are deprived of the experience of transforming frustration into feelings of futility, of letting go and adapting. Other parents confuse respect for their children with indulging their wants instead of meeting their needs. Still others seek to empower their children by giving them choices and explanations when what the child really needs is to be allowed to express his frustration at having some of his desires disappointed by reality, to be given the latitude to rail against something that won’t give. Still other parents look to their children to fulfill their own attachment needs. Many parents in today’s highly unstable socioeconomic climate are present for their children physically but are too preoccupied with the stresses of their lives to be fully present emotionally.

Excerpt From Hold On to Your Kids Gordon Neufeld & Gabor Maté, M.D. books.apple.com/us/book/h…

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mastcomm · 5 years

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U.S. Faces Tough ‘Great Game’ Against China in Central Asia and Beyond

KHIVA, Uzbekistan — Inside the ancient walls of the Silk Road oasis town of Khiva, China has put down a marker of its geopolitical ambitions. A sign promotes a Chinese aid project to renovate a once-crumbling mosque and a faded madrasa.

Outside the town’s northern gate — also rebuilt with China’s help — a billboard-size video screen shows clips of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan meeting with world leaders. President Xi Jinping of China features prominently, but there are no shots of President Trump.

That China is advertising its aid efforts so boldly in this remote outpost linking Asia and Europe — where camel caravans once arrived after crossing the Kyzylkum and Karakum Deserts — is the kind of action these days that sets off alarm bells among American officials. The Trump administration is trying with greater force to insert itself into the political and economic life of Central Asia to counter China’s presence. And American officials see the countries in the heart of the continent’s vast, arid steppe as critical battlegrounds in the struggle with China over global influence.

“Whenever we speak to countries around the world, we want to make sure that we’re doing what the people of those countries want,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week at a news conference in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The Uzbeks want a “good, balanced relationship,” he said.

“They have long borders,” he added. “They sit in a region where China and Russia are both present.”

Leaders of the five Central Asian nations that became independent republics after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — are used to walking a regional tightrope. The area was contested during the so-called Great Game of the 19th century, when the British and Russian empires competed to establish influence and control.

Now a new game is underway. And officials in Central Asia, like many of their counterparts around the world, are hedging their bets when it comes to aligning with Washington or Beijing.

“I’d like to once again note that we want to see Central Asia as a region of stable development, prosperity and cooperation,” said Abdulaziz Kamilov, the foreign minister of Uzbekistan. “And we would really not like to feel on ourselves unfavorable political consequences in relation to some competition in our region between large powers.”

The State Department released a Central Asia strategy document on Feb. 5 that said the top priority was to “support and strengthen the sovereignty and independence of the Central Asian states” — a reference to warding off the influence of China and Russia.

It is a tough mission for the United States. The nations are in China’s and Russia’s backyards, and there have been decades of close interactions among them. Mr. Xi has made multiple state visits to the countries since he took power in 2012, most recently last year.

The Trump administration has hit major setbacks in its attempts to build a global coalition against projects by the Chinese government and by Chinese companies. In fact, Britain said on Jan. 28 that it would not ban technology made by Huawei, a Chinese telecom giant, from its high-speed 5G wireless network, despite intense pressure from American officials.

On Jan. 30, Mr. Pompeo made London his first stop on a six-day trip to Europe and Central Asia, and he said there that the Chinese Communist Party was “the central threat of our times.” The next day, he spoke about China with leaders in Ukraine.

But words go only so far. The Americans fail to present an economical alternative to Huawei. And the Trump administration is discovering that its belligerent approach toward allies has a cost when it comes to China strategy. Withdrawing from the global Paris climate agreement and the landmark Iran nuclear deal, starting trade conflicts with friendly governments and berating members of NATO make those nations less likely to listen to Washington’s entreaties on China.

A recent policy report on China by the Center for a New American Security said “critical areas of U.S. policy remain inconsistent, uncoordinated, underresourced and — to be blunt — uncompetitive and counterproductive to advancing U.S. values and interests.”

Some analysts say the constant hawkish talk on China by Mr. Pompeo and other American officials paradoxically makes the United States look weak.

“And that last point is just the core of it for me. A central problem of US foreign policy today, not just in Central Asia, is that it feels increasingly reactive to me — back footed and on defense, not least in the face of Chinese initiatives,” Evan A. Feigenbaum, a deputy assistant secretary of state on Central Asia and South Asia in the George W. Bush administration who is now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote on Twitter.

“To wit, the secretary of state just made the first visit by America’s top diplomat to Central Asia in five years — five! — but spent a hefty chunk of it talking about China,” he tweeted. “The challenge for the US is to get off its reactive back foot and be proactive and on offense.”

The United States did not pursue serious partnerships in Central Asia until after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when the Pentagon needed regional bases for the war in Afghanistan.

China has taken a different approach. Beijing says it will help build up the region under what it calls the Silk Road Economic Belt, which is part of the larger Belt and Road Initiative, a blanket term for global infrastructure projects that, according to Beijing, amount to $1 trillion of investment. The Trump administration says the projects are potential debt traps, but many countries have embraced them.

The economic liberalization of Uzbekistan under Mr. Mirziyoyev, who took power in 2016 after the death of a longtime dictator, has resulted in greater trade with China.

China is Uzbekistan’s largest trading partner, and trade totaled almost $6.3 billion in 2018, a nearly 50 percent increase from 2017, according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency. Chinese goods, including Huawei devices, are everywhere in Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent and other Uzbek cities.

Uzbekistan is also committing to being part of rail and road networks that China is building across Central Asia.

Since 2001, China has worked with Central and South Asian nations as well as Russia in a multilateral group, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to address security issues.

China’s People’s Liberation Army has gained a new foothold in the region, in the form of a base in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains. For at least three years, Chinese troops have quietly kept watch from two dozen buildings and lookout towers near the Tajik-Chinese border and the remote Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan. It is a strategic strip of land whose borders were drawn by Britain and Russia during the original Great Game as a buffer zone.

The United States has hundreds of troops at an air base in Uzbekistan that it operates with the Uzbeks. But it wants to move the relationship well beyond the military.

“We want private investment, American private investment sector, to flow between our two nations,” Mr. Pompeo said.

He added that the United States had committed $100 million to programs in Uzbekistan last year, and that it would give $1 million to help develop financial markets and another $1 million to increase trade and “connectivity” between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

On his trip, Mr. Pompeo also made a demand regarding human rights in China as he met with officials in Tashkent and Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. He raised the issue of China’s internment camps that hold one million or more Muslims and urged the Central Asian nations, which are predominantly Muslim, to speak out against the camps. In Nur-Sultan, he met with Kazakhs who have had family members detained in the camps.

Yet, as in other predominantly Muslim nations, Central Asian leaders have remained silent on this. (Mr. Trump himself has said nothing, and Mr. Pompeo has been accused of hypocrisy by excluding Taiwan, the democratic island that China threatens, from a religious freedom alliance.)

In December, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, denounced Washington’s prodding of Central Asian nations on the Muslim issue: “If the United States once again tries to get up to its old tricks, it will certainly still be futile for them.”

Trump administration policies perceived as anti-Muslim undermine trust in Washington. On Jan. 31, Mr. Trump added Kyrgyzstan and five other nations, all with substantial Muslim populations, to a list of countries whose citizens are restricted in traveling to the United States. In an interview in Nur-Sultan, a Kazakh television journalist, Lyazzat Shatayeva, asked Mr. Pompeo, “What do you think that signals to the other countries and other governments in Central Asia on why it happened?”

Mr. Pompeo said Kyrgyzstan must “fix” certain things: “passport issues, visa issues, visa overstays.”

“When the country fixes those things,” he said, “we’ll get them right back in where they can come travel to America.”

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