Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

9 posts / 0 new
Last post
Charles Phipps's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2007-11-14
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

I think it might be interesting to depict the Athar splitting into two factions with the end of the conflict. This might allow the disjunction I found between the various groups of the Athar to be reconciled.

It'd be pretty cool if the Athar became something like this....

Seekers of the Divine

A group of Athar that have found the existing Powers in the Multiverse to be not worthy of worship. The Seekers of the Divine primarily are looking for a purpose and unity to the universe that they can revere. All of the Priests of the Greater Unknown come from this faction but also individuals that revere other cosmic and non-anthromorphized forces (Good, Evil, Death, etc). The Seekers of the Divine are less hostile to existing gods but simply don't view them as worthy of worship.

These would probably make their headquarters on Mount Celestia or openly in the Outlands as the gods no longer really OBJECT to their presence. They'd probably be allied with the Mind's Eye and Fraternity of Order.

The Godless

This is made of the Court of the Godslayers merged with a lot of the people that don't want to join up with the Seekers of the Divine. They'd probably be allied with the Bleak Cabal, Doomguard, and the Sodkillers. The Godless are people who reject all Gods and many actively work to thwart their efforts across the Multiverse. They're genuine atheists as much as people who know that powerful beings who control afterlifes exist can be.

The militant faction of the Godless is inspired by what they've done and mostly attempt to target the worshippers of weakened Gods or screw with other races across the Cosmos. Ur-Priests (From the Book of Vile Darkness) might fall into this place as well. Most members just openly express their disdain for gods.

I think it'd be cool if they gain the Faction Ability to be immune to direct divine retribution (but can still be hunted by servants of deities).

Iavas's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2006-07-12
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

I would be a bit wary of making all atheists into a separate faction, at least officially. Even without the whole Hellbound Asmodeus-feast, it is rather iffy to take a real-life minority and set them, practically unchanged, into a fantasy world and write a story surrounding them without offending numerous people.

Charles Phipps's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2007-11-14
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

'Iavas' wrote:
I would be a bit wary of making all atheists into a separate faction, at least officially. Even without the whole Hellbound Asmodeus-feast, it is rather iffy to take a real-life minority and set them, practically unchanged, into a fantasy world and write a story surrounding them without offending numerous people.

I don't know, is it less offensive than the Atheists are the Same faction as the Monotheists? Cause, that doesn't make any sense. They're ALREADY the Faction of Atheists, Agnostics, and Believers in One God (which again---doesn't make any sense).

IT might also be a good idea to fix what was a PLANESCAPE problem in that the Athar are the "Atheist faction" when they should actually be the Anti-Gods faction.

Besides, aren't Planescape Atheists/Athar so utterly and bizarrely removed from real world atheists that it's not even remotely applicable? I mean, they have proof positive Gods exist yet choose to deny them. I think Richard Dawson would look at them like they were idiots.

Ironically, they're also the faction that I as a Catholic would join.

Iavas's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2006-07-12
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

I think it's that odd combination that makes them so interesting. I mean, they have real live breathing gods rubbing shoulders with them and they think they're bogus, but many of them still believe that there is a greater true montheistic power. They can't be called atheists or montheists or even much of a combination of the two until you split them on that fault line. Until then, they're just a faction with seemingly self-contradictory but cohesive beliefs.

Charles Phipps's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2007-11-14
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

You raise a very good point. Still, I can't help but think the Faction is need of reform because they're not terribly well motivated. They mostly stand around and **** about the gods. I think giving some of them a more clear goal and dividing them is a good idea.

The question is on what grounds then.

Clueless's picture
Offline
Webmonkey
Joined: 2008-06-30
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

I think it was fairly clear in previous material that that dividing line was violence.

Terrance was *never* in favor of god-killing. He respected the gods, just didn't worship them. He felt that abandoning worship was a personal decision of the worshiper - something to be done consciously and with grace. He used words to convince others of this.

As opposed to the more offensive (militarily speaking) sects of his faction that actively worked to destroy temples, faiths and gods if at all possible. They were the ones who would research something like Vast's Leech machine, or desecrate temples. Or start small wars over attempts to rebuild temples on the sites of destroyed ones, such as that over the site of the Shattered Temple vs. the head priest of Hades in Sigil.

As for motivation: Plain old survival at the base of the Spire is certainly one. There's bound to be lingering hate for the gods as well as a belief that it's the fault of the powers that the faction is literally back-to-the-Spire. (True or not). So add revenge to the mix there. Desperation. Feeling more trapped than they were in the Cage. The faction sits at the base of the Spire - on land claimed by the rilmani, and rocky sloped land at that. Looking for motivation in that situation? Very easy: Hunger

Charles Phipps's picture
Offline
Namer
Joined: 2007-11-14
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

Very good depiction, Clueless.

I do hope that the Athar regain some semblance of their former glory in the canonical ending to Shattered Mirrors. It just doesn't seem like they're quite as much fun to play as they were while in the Shattered Temple.

FYI, can I suggest that at some point in the adventure that the Temple of Hades is blown up?

Perhaps in a manner that consciously resembles the original Shattered Temple?

Smiling

Iavas's picture
Offline
factotums
Joined: 2006-07-12
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

That would be a nice way to divide the faction. Milaristic Athar wish to destroy all gods yet hide at the base of the spire until the opportunity presents itself. A more peaceful group (Agnar?) are content with a quiet contemplation and search for a greater divine or a simple atheism. They are trying to distance themselves from their warlike ex-factionmates so that they are not grounded to the Spire by fear.

Clueless's picture
Offline
Webmonkey
Joined: 2008-06-30
Athar Post-Shattered Dreams

The big problem of course being the Power's and their followers may not know the difference. Now the even better thing about this division is it's not a new division either - this is something grounded on the implications of the faction write-ups already existent in canon. So it'll be a piece of cake to integrate into the existing work as a seamless continuation.

Given the desperate circumstances the division will just deepen.

And re: explosion at the Temple of Hades? Heck yeah! I think that was already set up to be ready to use in our module in Chapter 7 of the PSCS. There's open objections to the Hade's temple bing built on the grounds already. That just screams PC's hired to guard or PC's hired to plant explosives... Eye-wink

(It's a set of modules - we gotta keep the spotlight where it belongs: on the players.)

Planescape, Dungeons & Dragons, their logos, Wizards of the Coast, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are ©2008, Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. and used with permission.