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I have a Vudrani Dhampir (his father is a vetala, his mother a classic dhampir) who traveled to the River Kingdoms and found himself in a drow-run trade city beneath it in a campaign. He's a jongleur and gladiator (technically a fighter, but with bardic pretensions), and put on the spot in a game to play a song, I wrote one on the fly based on some of the gods of Vudra.
It was played on a veena, a lute-like instrument from India with three resonating, or drone strings and four strings upon which the melody is played. The drone strings were used to create an echoing, distant effect, the melody plucked and plinked like dripping water. I wanted to share the song, written on the fly:
"Echoes.... echoes... they say her voice it echoes... in the darkness... down below.... echoes.... echoes... her cry, oh how it echoes... in the darkness... down... below...."
"Oh Matravash, lifebringer... who guides the Matra on.... winding through the canyons... to the Obari beyond... she found herself asunder... stolen away as plunder... by Gavidya the Numberless, who dragged her away down under..."
"Echoes.... echoes... they say her voice it echoes... in the darkness... down below.... echoes.... echoes... her cry, oh how it echoes... in the darkness... down... below...."
"Ashukharma, she'd been betrayed... by Dinehdal on high... he courted the cloud sisters... and let the flame of his old love die... Ashukharma, she was bitter, as she gazed up from her home... but down below she heard a cry... and soon her sight did roam..."
"Echoes.... echoes... they say her voice it echoes... in the darkness... down below.... echoes.... echoes... her cry, oh how it echoes... in the darkness... down... below...."
"Ashukharma, god of canyons, of cliffs and of ravines... she followed those haunting echoes... down where the water careens... she found Matravash in despair... the asura's prisoner caught... and she stepped into the darkness... and that demon fought..."
"Echoes.... echoes... they say her voice it echoes... in the darkness... down below.... echoes.... echoes... her cry, oh how it echoes... in the darkness... down... below...."
"Ashukharma struck him down, that asura he roared... she cut him with her wit and she cut him with her sword... she swept away Matravash, and found a lover new... and Matravash to Ashukharma has ever since been true...."
"Echoes.... echoes... they say her voice it echoes... in the darkness... down below.... echoes.... echoes... her cry, oh how it echoes... in the darkness... down... below...."
It ends on the refrain, played over and over, softer and softer, as if fading away like an echo.
Anyhow, thought folks might enjoy seeing what can be done with some of the world setting on Golarion.
You did that on the spot? What amazes me is that you knew enough about Vudrani gods to be able to rattle that off. That's seriously getting into character! That's really neat.
Good job, I love it!
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You did that on the spot? What amazes me is that you knew enough about Vudrani gods to be able to rattle that off. That's seriously getting into character! That's really neat.
I'm a bit of a method actor, I admit. My wife, before she was my wife, over 20 years ago, was amazed when I showed up to her game after the first session with my character's whole family tree plotted out. heh.
I made a point of going through and figuring out things like which of the gods my dhampir would know and approve of, what he'd call his version of many of his weapons, so on. So a veena instead of a lute, and his Shatterspike is his Diomazulkhaang, or "Diomazul's Fang", after the god of war Diomazul. His warhammer is a hathuada, based on the Chinese chui warhammer in design (China and India have often traded cultural aspects), the hand crossbow is a thodafaakdhenu (he uses a hand crossbow in the ring to draw out the match, for flare), the double-bladed scimitar (though the blades on his are straight) is a talwar-parashu, and his trident is a trishula. Given Vudra is based heavily, though not precisely, on South Asian culture, I tried to incorporate many elements into him. It helps that I have a encyclopedic mind for this sort of thing.
I had spent the last week or so figuring out his background and connection to his homeland, so that was all there at the forefront of my memory and mind. Good timing. This was also done via online play, in a chatroom, so I could type it all out and see it as it was created, and that helps me quite a bit to visualize, so on. So I basically wrote it over the course of several posts and about 10-15 minutes.
On the other hand, I can't keep track of time to save my life and get telephone numbers and equations jumbled in my head and really have to see them, as I have a touch of dyscalculia. Having it all down on sheets to see makes it far easier for me, but I still sometimes get the numbers jumbled when adding things up in my head, just the way my mind works. The advent of online sheets you can program to do the work for you is so very helpful; THAT I can definitely do. Play to your strengths, know your weaknesses.
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Good job, I love it!
Thank you. I had so much fun writing it I wanted to share what their game had inspired in me.