Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Disclaimer: This is an absolute, unmitigated, stupid nitpick. It's the sort of insignificant thing that DM's/reviewers love to get hung up on.
I have a hard time accepting the fact that the wind dukes, or any creature w/a strong association w/the elemental plane of air, would either bury their dead underground or, worse yet, choose to dwell underground for an extended period of time. Aren't air and earth opposing elemental forces? You wouldn't expect water-based creatures to burn their dead in funeral pyres or spend extended amounts of time in a desert, would you?
That's my nit-pick. I otherwise love the adventure, love the air elemental touches, and would like to run it. But I need some excuse or justification to allow for suspension of disbelief. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Sebastian
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I haven't read it completely, but as I think of it, the elementals had been bound as servants. It's not their will to be there.
The Whispering Cairn has a lot of air currents (don't know if this is the exact wording) which might make it easier for the elementals to stay there, if you rather have them not bound.
You always have the "feel" of air around you, even on the lower levels of the cairn.
What would Greyhawk (or any of the other worlds) look like, if the Wind Dukes would have decided to "burry" their dead afload in midair? ;)
As long as my players don't give this a thought (they won't - promised ;) I will as well don't give it a thought!
The Wind Dukes could easily go outside, maybe even with magical help. I, for a normal (what's normal anyway?) human don't dwell undergound as well. I love fresh air, and being outside (except when playing D&D) and chances are great, that I(when the time comes)will be burried underground...
One rationalization might go like this:
The Wind Dukes believe that those who die in battle should be celebrated in glory. They want everyone to know of the valor of the fallen. We already know the Wind Dukes choose to put their dead to rest close to where they fell in battle.
So in this case the Wind Dukes fell in battle on a terran world. In order for the terrans to learn of the valor of these fallen ones, they need to be put to rest in a traditional terran manner. Hence the glorious burial cairns.
We already know the Wind Dukes choose to put their dead to rest close to where they fell in battle.
Word.
There are indeed analogous real-world burial traditions, including my own.
One rationalization might go like this:
The Wind Dukes believe that those who die in battle should be celebrated in glory. They want everyone to know of the valor of the fallen. We already know the Wind Dukes choose to put their dead to rest close to where they fell in battle.
So in this case the Wind Dukes fell in battle on a terran world. In order for the terrans to learn of the valor of these fallen ones, they need to be put to rest in a traditional terran manner. Hence the glorious burial cairns.
Still, a cairn suspended in the clouds, but visible from the ground so it could be seen from miles around would be glorious indeed, and still be tied to the wind dukes elemental heritage. Of course, the magic and cost involved with creating such a wonder would be immense. Perhaps the heroes buried their aren't so glorious after all?
Still, a cairn suspended in the clouds, but visible from the ground so it could be seen from miles around would be glorious indeed, and still be tied to the wind dukes elemental heritage. Of course, the magic and cost involved with creating such a wonder would be immense. Perhaps the heroes buried their aren't so glorious after all?
Maybe that was just too much expenditure of resources so soon after the Wind Duke's war against the spider queen. Maybe they were holding back on expending all that magical energy because they were concerned the spider queen was plotting her return. Maybe we're looking at considerably scaled down cairns, and the Wind Duke's culture and the heroes themselves are twice as glorious as they appear :P
It seems to me that their choice of a cairn is one of circumstance and necessity as well as custom. You'll notice there are numerous feats of engineering throughout the cairn involving wind and elemental air (the tubes that create the "whisper" effect, the stone beds with air currents over them, the whirlwind in the actual crypt, the hurricane force winds from the Face in Darkness trap, etc.). I get the impression they tried to tie their favored element (air) with what circumstance forced them to work with. Cloud crypts and such are neat and all, but most likely very impractical.
Besides, it would be pretty tough to get to for 1st-level characters ;)
Anyway, just my take on it.
Yeah, I suppose the cairn has enough cool air elemental features to keep most people happy. Actually, the cairn sounds like one of those locations (hurricanes in rooms, and so on) that could be used for PCs of any level. You just have to modify the lethality of the traps and monsters, and scale up the treasure.
The forces of air are forever competing against the forces of earth. As part of their timless plan to sap power away from the earth elementalists, the soaring air elementalists are committing the ultimate insult against the earth. Aerial worshippers perpetually gouge deep holes in the earth's crust, clearing out vast chambers, destroying tons of dirt and rock only to refill these areas with -- air! Monuments to wind, air element relics, and crypts for dead air champions are constructed underground, lingering there forever, like permanent daggers stuck in the earth forces' side. Furthermore, the blustery forces of air are enchanting these air pockets with wind, magical gust effects, and other chaotic currents; all grave insults against the rigid worshippers of the everstill soils of unmoving bedrock. The air elementalists already rule the skies, and now they slowly blast away at the last frontier, the earth.