Arathoth, He Who Lurks in Night's page

*sigh*

Okay, you know what? I'm just done.

I submitted a character because this game sounded like fun. Azrael is a friend of mine and he was talking about how it was about creating a world and forming a pantheon and all that kind of stuff. That sounded like something that I would really enjoy. I read the gameplay thread and it read like a creation myth from a good fantasy book. I thought that it would be interesting to play if nothing else.

But it seems that I was mistaken. There's no player communication. People seem to be more interested in making other players do things their way than working together (or at least working things out) or having fun, and it's basically been either constant disappointment or constant arguments since I started playing. I don't even feel like I can play the character concept I was interested in without someone who disagrees with me stepping on me for daring to not do things their way. This is the opposite of fun and I want no part in it any longer.

I would like to request that everything Arathoth did (what little of it there was) be retconned out of the game so that I can be as removed from this as possible. Thank you for what little time I had here, even if I didn't enjoy it very much.

Point of order: You used a Scourge, which the rules explicitly call a direct, obvious divine intervention. So yes, you did directly intervene. Additionally, you have law and community as domains and call yourself the lord of reason. If order and law aren't your thing then I have no idea why they make up most of your portfolio. Additionally, you caused more chaos than my system ever did and destroyed a community at the same time.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I'm sure that things will be sorted out on their own in due time. I am god of darkness to my own understanding. You may call me Arathoth." He extends a hand, a pincer vaguely like a crab, a clawed beast arm, and a tentacle covered in eyeballs.

Arathoth laughs, a strange sounds like a mixture of a serpent's hiss, a dog's howl, and a man's malicious cackle. "Oh no, ancient one, I am not here to complain. I am here to thank you. For a god of order and non-interference, your decision to directly intervene in the affairs of a mortal race have fermented more chaos and rebellion than any system I've had time to devise. Your hypocrisy and oxymoronic nature make you far better at destroying order, toppling civilizations, and creating fear than I have yet to be! So I am here to offer my congratulations for such a wonderful show. Truly, I feel welcomed to this reality." He bows his head in a mockery of respect for the old man. "I only hope that I can surpass your show with my next."

The Dark Gods Amusement

But he also found turmoil. His people had not unified behind the leaders who he had chosen, nor had another risen to unite them. Instead they fractured into warring tribes who proved unable to unite and fulfill their oaths. And he felt the hand of another divine power in this. He raged at first, massacring a small band of his own children who had turned against his missives. But then a sudden thought came to him. His children now lived in constant fear. Fear of loss of power, of death in their civil wars, of his own anger at their failures. And in turn they inflicted their fears on others of their kind. Ironically, whoever had sent his people into total chaos had done his job better than even he had. The laughter of the Creeping Night echoed through the depths of the Earth for weeks. He would have to find this god and thank them. He would allow this to continue until it was determined which faction was strongest and who held the right to his blessing. Then he would turn his children back to a proper goal.

He smiled and found his children who still remembered their faith and drew the information on the god who had visited them from their minds. Then he slunk back through the tunnels to find this god of atheism (what a silly concept) and thank him properly. He came upon him as he entered into the realm of another god who he had not met, one who dwelled in water as he dwelled in darkness. Creeping between cracks of rock and the shadows of the trees, he came upon the two gods conversing, slowly melding into a vaguely humanoid form so they might speak. "Greetings god who is not a god," he rasped in his thick, echoing voice. "I hope I am not intruding."

Quick clarification. It's every real world week that we get AP, right?

Foundation of the Dark City
Since time is sort of mutable in this game, I'm assuming that I can have a few weeks go by in one post. That should be enough time for the Nithran to find a place to begin constructing their first settlement.

Arathoth flew through the nights, watching the humans from afar. He could feel their dreams and their nightmares. His body twisted involuntarily, taking the shape of whatever boogeymen their minds created. He smiled as new forms for beasts and abominations filled his mind. Truly humans were wonderful creatures. So eager to grow and to learn, but so fraught with emotions. What a delightful existence he'd been born into. He still needed time to regain his strength after granting so many boons to his first children, but once he was stronger, he would grant the mortals something truly wonderful to fear. He absently wondered if his children had found someplace to call home yet. Perhaps he should check on them. He dove down to find another entrance to the depth and slipped into the darkness beneath to earth to seek out his children.

He was not disappointed. Though they had but a few weeks, the Nithran had been busy. Driven by his edicts, they had scoured the underground, delving deeper and further as they sought out a place to build. Soon they came upon a great cavern, tall as the sky with caves and paths dotting the walls. Their leaders decreed that this would be their home. The caves would provide shelter and privacy while they hewed the stone from the depth to build stone houses and pillars to bear the weight of the earth above them for a hundred generations. Slowly they carved houses from rock and they began to learn of the world around them. They learned to use moss for bedding and which fungi and small beasts could feed their hungry bellies. Soon their city, though it was nothing more than a small village yet, began to take shape and they built an alter by which to offer thanks to their father so that he might know that they had found their place.

All my stuff should be listed out already.

With his first children well on their way, Arathoth wandered through the mountain's shadows. He could feel that there was much to see in this world, and many mortals to draw inspiration from. Lurking around in the middle of nowhere was pointless if he wanted to really see what made them tick. He smiled as his form began to warp and change again, his body flowing like water until he fell into the body of some horrible abomination that seemed to mix the traits of lion, horse, and falcon. The powerful limbs pleased him, and would be an awe-inspiring and frightening sight to anyone who looked upon him. A twisted half-smile crossed his lips and he set out across the land to find where mortals dwelled and to peer into their hearts so he might find inspiration for his next masterpiece.

Well, being new, I'm probably not the person to make suggestions. But the easiest solutions looks like just exploiting exact words. The Cosmic Decree says that "so living things die and be born", but you can make the argument that undead aren't alive and are therefore exempt from that rule. It would probably p*ss off some of the other gods, but if you're playing the bad guy, that might be inevitable.

A whisper on the wind and a hint of darkness fall on an isolated mountain range. From the darkness between the rocks, a figure creeps forward, slowly coalescing into shape. It twists and writhes, seemingly unsure of its own form for a long time. Then it slowly grows out, with tentacles and claws appearing from the mass and heads of strange beasts that do not exist yet forming momentarily only to melt away in an instant. The being slowly draws itself together, becoming a tall vaguely humanoid figure seemingly made of darkness. Tendrils ripple on his back and his featureless face shows only blank white eyes as he takes in his surroundings. In his mind he hears the whispers of mortal fear and comes to a sudden realization.

He reaches out and with one of his claws severs the tentacles on his back. They tumble to the ground and dissolve into black dust. Then he anoints the dust with a drop of the black ichor that is his blood. Slowly the grains of dust swell and grow, becoming flesh once more. The new beings resemble their maker, hairless with ebony skin and milky eyes. They seem to grow more distinct as he allows them to grow and shift until they settle into three forms. A small number are tall and lethe, but have wide eyes and a curious look that shows obvious understanding. The second are stouter and ripple with muscle, their gaze dull and a bit cruel. The last resemble slim humans, with little to distinguish them other than their coloring.

"I am Arathoth," he murmurs, his voice a grating echo that sends shivers down the spine. "And you are my children of night, my Nithran. You are born of my flesh and I send you forth to carry out my purpose. Others will follow you in the same way, but know that you are the first of my children and will spread and grow as all mortal races do, so you might be part of this world forever. You will live in the shadows and allow fear to spread through this world. Each of you is born with purpose. You..." He points to the ordinary looking ones. "Will be the workers and artists. Makers, builders, and all things that you will need to build your lives. You..." He points to the muscular ones. "Will be the warriors. You shall spread fear and fight those who oppose you. And you..." He points to the tall, clever ones. "You will be the leaders who will guide your people once I am gone. You five..." He points to the first five darklings born of his flesh. "You five who were my first children will be the first among them. As long as you live, you and your descendants will rule. But should another prove more worthy and cast you down, they shall take you place."

He looks over his new race as they stare at him with a mixture of understanding and fear. Yes, yes this would do. "You will dwell in darkness and those who do not may shun you. But I will give you three gifts. First, I give you faith. Know that as long as you hold yourself to my decrees that I shall favor you and my future children will not hunt you. Second, I give your power. I grant you the power to warp the mind and senses and to inflict pain and fear on those who would harm you. Third, I give you my blessing. So long as you work in my name, my favor shall be with you and your prayers will reach my ears." Understanding seems to dawn on the beings and they begin to whisper in raspy words to each other as the gifts laid upon them awaken their minds. They are only a few hundred for now, but they will grow and multiply rapidly. Soon they will be strong enough to stand with the other mortals whose fears whisper at the back of his mind. He raises his hands and gestures to the gaps in the rocks. "Now, go forth into the lands beneath and find a place where you are safe to build and grow. In time, you shall be great." The Nithran disperse, disappearing into the caves and crevices of the rocks to find their homes beneath the earth. Arathoth smiles. They'll be an interesting surprise in a few generations. How fun this playing the long game thing will be.

Create Sentient Life (Nithran): 2 AP
Create Society (Nithran Caste System): 1 AP
Form Order (Nithran Lords): 2 AP
Create Mundane Concept (Fanaticism): 1 AP
Create Magical Concept (Dark Magic): 3 AP
Divine Covenant (Nithran): 5 AP
I have only 1 AP remaining, but I think that's a decent first outing as god of fear and monsters.

Underground dwelling, inherent fearmongers who were born from me severing parts of my body and growing them into ebony skinned humanoids that live in a rigid caste system I devised and use dark magic. They're mostly drow but without a connect to elves in anyway.

Cool. Then here come the drow (sort of). No reason not to start of big. I can make some beast monsters to terrorize some towns and villages once I get to know the lay of the land better.

Also, do basic concepts like war, government, etc exist for everyone or do I have to grant those to my new race myself?

Posting in to dot the thread. I have a few things that I'm going to be creating right away, so my gameplay post may take a bit...

Has anyone created Dark Magic, Fanaticism, Mortal Sacrifice, or Phobias yet?

Also, brief question. Should we post in right away? Should we just post in our birth and first actions? Just want to make sure I know what I'm doing.