"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

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Elethíus's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

"... I have become stronger."

Has been quite a while since I have been on Planescape.com. Though I have never been that active on this message board, my interests in the setting have never really lessened. Quite the contrary.

So, I returned here a few days ago, only to find that the marvelous cutters here at Planescape have focussed their attention on the Gith (and, of course, their purple, squishy friends).

Ever since I played Planescap: Torment (which really got me into Planescape; before PS:T all I had was the Manual of the Planes), I've had somewhat of a thing for the Githzerai. And how could one not, when Dakkon is the great character that he is.

Now, as you probably all know, Dakkon is a Zerth. And so my heart was delighted to see that the Zerth PrC has appeared. And I must congratulate Rhys and Mephit James in doing a marvelous job in not only creating a balanced class, but also in adding (or retaining, perhaps; I don't know if there has been a Zerth kit in 2e or that Zerths were simply multiclass Githzerai) flavour to it. I may even "accidentaly" kill my current character off to start a Zerth. But that is not really relevant right now.

What I wanted to ask is where I can find more information on Zerths, besides that which is te be *known* from PS:T and the class-information found here.

Also, perhaps you could correct a slight error in the class table. At 8th level, the second version of "The Karach Sings True" is missing.

And finally, I want to thank everyone at Planescape for doing what they're doing. And, of course, you've got to keep doing it. Otherwise, I'll send some bloods over to bash yer bone-boxes in (or something like that; the cant's still not sinking in).

"Endure. In enduring, grow strong."
May this be true for Planescape.

Fidrikon's picture
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Factor
Joined: 2004-12-19
"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

finally, another Dak'kon fan. Throughout the whole game, I though him the damn coolest npc of the group. although Nordon was a close second. I liked Ingnus, but then he attacked me. and made me sad.
but anyway, yea. It says that the Karach Blade is focuded by its users mind. Also, in PS:T the 'practicle' incarnaton played up the that a Karach Blade could be, quite possibly, the most powerful weapon in the multiverse, if used by the right person.

Also, while on the subject of PS:T, I have based the major villian of my campaign on the Trancendent one (if you havn't played the game yet, forget you heard that) Only I had to change him to a type of energy lich ( may try and post that later) and the fortress of regrets got moved to the astral. And while I did keep the uber shadow guards, I added in a few regular liches, mummy lords, and a couple nasty Blackguards into his service.
All in all, We will need many, many gallons of Mysterious Liqour before we storm the fortress. Or just an army of lvl 20 paladins. hmmmmm....
*note to self, create summon mysterious liqour spell.

ceratus's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

Wow...a Zerth prestige class :shock:
I've been waiting an eternity for that....
(*keeps staring*)
I don't think there's much information on the zerth, or the githzerai in general, anywhere....someone should make some, and then pass it on to the overseers at this site for approval...
If no one's already doing it, I could give it a try... Cool

Rhys's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

Well, the problem with both providing information on the Zerths, and with writing up the Prestige Class, actually, is that it seems that Zerths, as the appear in Torment, only exist as they appear in Torment. In the standard campaign setting, they are nothing more defined than "multiclass githzerai". They aren't knights of Zerthimon, they don't have karach blades, and they don't have a Circle of Zerthimon. So, technically, I borrowed some stuff that isn't Planescape product identity, but if it becomes a problem the class will have to be tweaked, sadly. Of course, there's little likelihood that it'll be a problem, since Black Isle went under.

I've decided, though, that as far as I and the section I manage are concerned, Zerths will exist as they do in Torment, if for no other reason than extreme fan support.

Glad you're such a fan of the prestige class! Be sure to show your love of githzerai by submitting lots of cool stuff to Rrakkma.

Elethíus's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

I would in no way like to bash the PrC as it is, but from Torment I pretty much concluded that Dakkon, along with his Karach blade, was one of a kind.

*Possible spoilers!*

The Practical Incarnation stated that the Karach blade was a weapon powerful enough to unmake the Planes themselves. Also, he (or the Nameless One, I can't remember) refers to Dakkon as the Last Wielder of the Karach blade. This seems to imply that the weapon was one of a kind (or at least the last enduring one). While the weapon may have been unique, Dakkons armor (funny how so very few people noticed this one) is, as he refers to it when you try to remove it, "the ceremonial armor of a Zerth."

Now, back to the Karach blade. Because Dakkons belief was broken when the Practical Incarnation first found him in Limbo, the Incarnation created the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon, in order to mend the spiritual damage that was weakening the Karach blade ("When a mind does not *know* itself, it is flawed. When a mind is flawed, the man is flawed. When a man is flawed, that which he touches is flawed. It is said that what a flawed man sees, his hands make broken.").

The Unbroken Circle was simply a tool to help repair a divided mind. However, the Practical Incarnation described the Circle as a forgery. This seems to imply that true Circles exist. Then, of course, the question rises if the original Circle(s) contain(ed) the same teachings as the forgery (the forgery's only purpouse was to mend Dakkons faith).

Is an Unbroken Circle perhaps even a collection of philosophical texts that difers from Gith to Gith, each focussing on glitches (and how to fix them) in the person's ideology? Perhaps Zerthimon himself once held an Unbroken Circle. That would be something for a Zerth to find. The original holy scripture of the Githzerai. The Pronouncement of Two Skies, perhaps?

Kaelyn's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

"Elethíus" wrote:
The Unbroken Circle was simply a tool to help repair a divided mind. However, the Practical Incarnation described the Circle as a forgery. This seems to imply that true Circles exist.

The game also mentions that the Nameless One gave Dak'kon "a circle of iron instead of chaos," or something similar to that (I was only playing the game the day before yesterday; you'd think I'd remember). I think the implication was that most Circles of Zerthimon are living, changing things, probably made from the raw stuff of chaos, rather than cold iron artifacts like the one the Namess One made.

Fidrikon's picture
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Factor
Joined: 2004-12-19
"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

While I hate to say it, I think Dak'kons blade was meant to be one of a kind. this does not mean that we can't have them, just that whatever ones we create will be signifcantly less powerful.
Just ask yourself, do you really trust your players with a weapon that can 'unmake the planes?'
I wonder, Dak'kon mentions that will is very important, do you have to make a will save or a concentration check to use the blade, beyond its mere slashing abilities.

dread pirate swan's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

Quote:
Just ask yourself, do you really trust your players with a weapon that can 'unmake the planes?'

hey fidrikon i got two words.....come on!.......hey! damn thats three, but counting never was my strong point.

Kaelyn's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

"Fidrikon" wrote:
I wonder, Dak'kon mentions that will is very important, do you have to make a will save or a concentration check to use the blade, beyond its mere slashing abilities.

Not normally, but if you're in a situation where your will is on the verge of breaking because of some stress or another, you might have to make a will save (or, more likely, a Wisdom-based chaos-shaping skill check) to prevent the blade from collapsing.

ceratus's picture
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"In *knowing* the teachings of Zerthimon..."

I shall now supply you with my long ago aquired, and udoubtedly flawed knowledge Eye-wink
As I remember...Dak'kon was a Anarch...who lost his faith and killed a lot of people because a section of a city collapsed.
And later when he spoke of the Zerth, it seems to me he spoke in the plural. And I believe the in the actual name of the weapon, the word "Zerth" appeared, implying that Zerth wielded it. I also believe that there was a short description about forging it.

Hmm....I think I'll go play PS:T now...it's been a while

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