The Bal'met event

Halos

Sigge said:

Has the demigod bit worn off yet? I was at CC in Cyrene soon afterwards and Lynara dropped three Holobombs on us. I honestly wish, as cool as it was, that it had just disappeared soon afterwards for various reasons...

I felt a little guilty for testing zap powers on her on Nish. Instantly evaporated when I read this.

Sylvance

Lodi said:

@Sylvance: 5 minutes... wow! I only got five seconds...

Yep, and that is a literal figure, not a lolxaggeration.

Tvistor

Xith said:

Well of course people started zapping each other. Making Achaeans Demigods is just like giving roman candles to high school students.

 

Tvistor said:

eprogkeprogksepromglsdfmg

Come now, you don't really mean that.

I meant every word of it.

Delphinus

Asmodron said:

Lodi said:

Asmodron said:

That is what worries me :P. Already the Divine in Achaea tend to have the mentality that they are in command of the cities and orgs (and players part of them) they are part of, with the concept of "No restraint" in how far they can go, makes me worry a bit about the future.

But they are in charge... they're Gods...

They're Gods, engimatic beings that are generally the representation of a realm. In realistic terms Gods shouldnt even see mortal affairs as important to have a hand in. I like the approach more of a God remaining  an engimatic mysterious being that is 'believed' to exist and prayers are sent to, rather than ones that shout provocations back and forth across the land and involve themselves in player lives.

In fiction, yes, I agree. In Achaea? It's less clear. Gods are required because the authors don't have ultimate control over the result, this being an interactive medium, and so they need a vehicle by which to exercise that control. If a city's veering off into something that's not engaging or just plain crap, they take the wheel.

I do prefer the Babel and Twilight sorts, the kind who use proxies to stay aloof, and the Cyrenian "gods are your friends" approach just kind of unnerves me. (No offence to Cyrene's own Phaestus and Scarlatti, who are, by the by, okay with this; it's just very "ungodly" to me.) But there is a middle path. When you consider that gods are players, too, the middle path is just fine.

Aerek

Plotline was fantastic, storytelling was epic, and the mark left on the game was lasting.

I've enjoyed this event from start to finish, it's exemplified every reason why I still play this game, and I'm going to enjoy recounting it for the next generations of players so that they come to know why they should keep playing it.

Bravo, kudos, well done, Garden. You guys take a break, you've all earned it. We can sweat out the little stuff for a while.

Verias

If I recall correction, and I think Sarapis can confirm this.

On the note of Pontus stinking up the place during the event.

I do believe there was a similar incident when the first mortal attained dragon, and it actually was directly addressed by Sarapis in the form of "By the Gods <whoeveritwas>, you stink."

Achilles

Verias said:

If I recall correction, and I think Sarapis can confirm this.

On the note of Pontus stinking up the place during the event.

I do believe there was a similar incident when the first mortal attained dragon, and it actually was directly addressed by Sarapis in the form of "By the Gods <whoeveritwas>, you stink."

First Dragon was Aringar.  So he was too busy to freshen up, well that's rude.

Lodi

Daeir said:

There's too many loose ends left as well. What about the Xoran? What about Ashaxei's Father? Can mortals still become Dragons now? There was even talk that Elara was heard screaming in Nishnatoba, or an otherwise unidentified female voice. What about Yggdrasil? Why is the flame still faltering if the Fire is being tended to by Sarapis? What happened to the Ormyrr? Will Lupus ever recover from his wounds? Is Artemis' disfigurement of any consequence whatsoever? What about Prospero? Is he alive? Who is watching over the Elements with Agatheis dead? What about the Shallamese refugees? What about Mhaldor? What about Ashtan and the conclave? The list goes on.

These things arn't bad. The possibilities they present for the future are almost endless!

Ruth

Doubtlessly this is something that will be explored in the future!

Synbios

Plot hooks are good. Especially if, in the long run, they lead to another awesome big event.

Aerek

Daeir said:

I really hope some of these loose ends get tied off at least some point in the future, preferably not months from now. Bal'met is finally gone, but this event still feels far from over for me.

Remember that one of our major complaints before this event started was always that, at the end of an event, everything went back to the way it was before the event. Don't complain now that things are different from what they were before; that was the whole idea.

Sure, some of those things should get wrapped up, explained, laid to rest, etc, but not necessarily right now, right after the big battle, and we all lived happily ever after. Solutions to some of those may take a while to become clear, and uncertainty in the short-term is fun.

Salvar

Asmodron said:

Lodi said:

Asmodron said:

Lodi said:

Asmodron said:

Sarapis said:

Halos said:

Azor said:

Maya was saying she'll have a mortal life--is there going to be a mortal Maya char or denizen or something? Or do we just picture her quietly retiring in obscurity?

Deucalion said "Use your powers for good. Go raid." We raided. A bit clumsily, but it felt good getting out and abusing all those cool powers. We died quickly of course. Prayed.

Looks about the same. Maya still there. Huge. Dispassionate. Chatty.

Who is in charge now that Maya gave up Godhood and Sarapis has departed to watch over the Fire Behind The Flame (FBTF)?

Nobody. It's all Lord of the Flies up in that universe now.

That is what worries me :P. Already the Divine in Achaea tend to have the mentality that they are in command of the cities and orgs (and players part of them) they are part of, with the concept of "No restraint" in how far they can go, makes me worry a bit about the future.

But they are in charge... they're Gods...

They're Gods, engimatic beings that are generally the representation of a realm. In realistic terms Gods shouldnt even see mortal affairs as important to have a hand in. I like the approach more of a God remaining  an engimatic mysterious being that is 'believed' to exist and prayers are sent to, rather than ones that shout provocations back and forth across the land and involve themselves in player lives.

No way. Its healthier for the IG environment if the Gods (or denizens controlled by them) interact with us mortals often and regularly. Also, there are plenty of myths from all across the world, telling of how Gods got mixed up in mortal affairs because they saw them as being important (or entertaining).

I guess I dont see it as good IG for gods to zap and push around players with curses and such for pretty much anything, for the game environment :P.

And hot damn we are are making a quote train!

@Asmodron, now now. Don't be too sore.  If memory serves you got zapped on CT for making inappropriate references to other Divine.  I'm reasonably certain this is a ubiquitous phenomenon across the lands and all the Garden insists on a certain base level of spoken respect about their colleagues.  Let's remember, these are unpaid volunteers who probably hear grousing and whining more than "Hey, thanks."  

#butiwantthingsmywaydamnit

Ginmund

The stinky person at Aringar's dragon ceremonty was named Fimbunazon. He has Sarapis's quote as his warcry.

Asmodron

Salvar said:

Asmodron said:

Lodi said:

Asmodron said:

Lodi said:

Asmodron said:

Sarapis said:

Halos said:

Azor said:

Maya was saying she'll have a mortal life--is there going to be a mortal Maya char or denizen or something? Or do we just picture her quietly retiring in obscurity?

Deucalion said "Use your powers for good. Go raid." We raided. A bit clumsily, but it felt good getting out and abusing all those cool powers. We died quickly of course. Prayed.

Looks about the same. Maya still there. Huge. Dispassionate. Chatty.

Who is in charge now that Maya gave up Godhood and Sarapis has departed to watch over the Fire Behind The Flame (FBTF)?

Nobody. It's all Lord of the Flies up in that universe now.

That is what worries me :P. Already the Divine in Achaea tend to have the mentality that they are in command of the cities and orgs (and players part of them) they are part of, with the concept of "No restraint" in how far they can go, makes me worry a bit about the future.

But they are in charge... they're Gods...

They're Gods, engimatic beings that are generally the representation of a realm. In realistic terms Gods shouldnt even see mortal affairs as important to have a hand in. I like the approach more of a God remaining  an engimatic mysterious being that is 'believed' to exist and prayers are sent to, rather than ones that shout provocations back and forth across the land and involve themselves in player lives.

No way. Its healthier for the IG environment if the Gods (or denizens controlled by them) interact with us mortals often and regularly. Also, there are plenty of myths from all across the world, telling of how Gods got mixed up in mortal affairs because they saw them as being important (or entertaining).

I guess I dont see it as good IG for gods to zap and push around players with curses and such for pretty much anything, for the game environment :P.

And hot damn we are are making a quote train!

@Asmodron, now now. Don't be too sore.  If memory serves you got zapped on CT for making inappropriate references to other Divine.  I'm reasonably certain this is a ubiquitous phenomenon across the lands and all the Garden insists on a certain base level of spoken respect about their colleagues.  Let's remember, these are unpaid volunteers who probably hear grousing and whining more than "Hey, thanks."  

#butiwantthingsmywaydamnit

toot toot.

Vasool

@carmain what new leafy powers did you get when you became a demigod?

Nellaundra

Vasool said:

@carmain what new leafy powers did you get when you became a demigod?

He got overwatered a bit when they put him in the pool.

Mizik

Don't close the loose ends all at once! Gives us plenty to have fun with before going back to regular Achaea.

We have so much to do still

Idelisa

Ok so. I -love- all the loose ends. They will make for amazing little mini events, additional history being found, etc. I know I would love to stumble across so more journal pages or something.

I am one of those people that feels sad when a book ends and when major events like this happens, oftentimes it's just -finished- and people are expected to go back to their lives as if nothing happened.

With things the way they are now, we could happen upon the father dragon somewhere, healing and grief stricken. Alchemists could find some information that leads to additional curatives or some experiments.

As someone said earlier the possibilities are endless and I love that they left it that way rather than having them give us an awesome climax then leave in the middle of the night without so much as leaving their number on the nightstand.

Yay for ongoing, interconnected storylines!

Asmodron

I think this whole thing isnt over yet.

Sure Bal'met is dead and the threat on creation gone, but alot of effects are occurring from the outcome. If anything, it seems Sky and Sea are getting riled up again, and without Maya to hold those two back, well, gl Achaea ^.^.

Great sacrifices are undertaken in the cities of Lothos, Scyros and Phocia, as
priests of the many cults of Neraeos call the faithful to muster. Divided in
many ways, the common hatred of the Sky brings to them common cause.

Verias

Achilles said:

Verias said:

If I recall correction, and I think Sarapis can confirm this.

On the note of Pontus stinking up the place during the event.

I do believe there was a similar incident when the first mortal attained dragon, and it actually was directly addressed by Sarapis in the form of "By the Gods <whoeveritwas>, you stink."

First Dragon was Aringar.  So he was too busy to freshen up, well that's rude.

Hehe, it wasn't Aringar that was stinkin. It was someone who showed up for the whole hoodoo.

Rangor

You know. I never considered going on the forums during the event. Was too busy deffing up and rping.

Also a thank you to sarapis for bugging everyone else so i could check my powers without spam.

Jamethiel

Just because the God of the Christians, according to many, has not spoken Himself for thousands of years doesn't imply that gods in games do not speak with people or associate with them - that's putting the assumption that Achaea's pantheon has to act the same as real life. This is plain silly, were we to take this argument to its absurd conclusion, because I can't staff cast horripilation in real life, it shouldn't be allowed in Sapience.

If we look, though, to the Greek pantheon it is clear that humans believed that their Gods did interact with humans. Some stood back and watched. Others actually came down and married humans and even had children by them. Or, if you look to other ways to perceive Gods, some human religions believe that the gods we perceive are simply avatars or manifestations of the one single God. Then you have the Buddhists whose concept of what is a 'God' again is significantly different.

In short, don't assume that the pantheon of Gods in Achaea has to conform to any particular type of pantheon of a polytheistic religion, or like one of the monotheistic religions or like the religions where it is harder to discern if there is a 'god' as Christians do. The theology of Achaea is thoroughly Achaean. Currently, Lord Phaestus and Lord Scarlatti clearly interact with those within their community and the city in which they live. It is true that they are quite friendly and interactive. Fine, you might not like it - but you're not them. In character it's possible that a Phaestian or a Scarlattan might decide they don't like how their deity interacts and that is fine. It's a perfectly sane way to play one's character (although I'm not sure I'd walk up to Lord Sartan, say, and say something like, "Lord Sartan, I dislike your interaction with Your order" - He might get a little, well, annoyed with you) but you might find the particular deity might kick you out of the order (or you might not even make it into the order).

It would be interesting to study the 'theology' that underpins the whole Achaean pantheon and each individual god/goddess. I actually suspect someone studying comparative religion, philosophy or even theology could submit it as a suitable thesis for an undergraduate paper, honours, masters or even a doctorate. No doubt it's been done before (maybe not with the Achaean pantheon but others).

Idelisa

Jamethiel said:

If we look, though, to the Greek pantheon it is clear that humans believed that their Gods did interact with humans. Some stood back and watched. Others actually came down and married humans and even had children by them. Or, if you look to other ways to perceive Gods, some human religions believe that the gods we perceive are simply avatars or manifestations of the one single God. Then you have the Buddhists whose concept of what is a 'God' again is significantly different.

If Achaean Gods start doing this, I totally want @Scarlatti babies.   :x

Lodi

Idelisa said:

 I totally want @Scarlatti babies.   :x

He got a very BIG slap for falling in love with a mortal ages ago.

Fendo

Verias said:

If I recall correction, and I think Sarapis can confirm this.

On the note of Pontus stinking up the place during the event.

I do believe there was a similar incident when the first mortal attained dragon, and it actually was directly addressed by Sarapis in the form of "By the Gods <whoeveritwas>, you stink."

Man I remember that, It was Fimbunazon, quoted off as: 'Sarapis says, "Damn it Fimbunazon, you smell."'

He actually kept this as his warcry. 

Idelisa

@Lodi - silly rules.  My poor alt is literally in love with him.  He deserves a harem, damnit.   8->

Talonia

Jamethiel said:

Just because the God of the Christians, according to many, has not spoken Himself for thousands of years doesn't imply that gods in games do not speak with people or associate with them - that's putting the assumption that Achaea's pantheon has to act the same as real life. This is plain silly, were we to take this argument to its absurd conclusion, because I can't staff cast horripilation in real life, it shouldn't be allowed in Sapience.

If we look, though, to the Greek pantheon it is clear that humans believed that their Gods did interact with humans. Some stood back and watched. Others actually came down and married humans and even had children by them. Or, if you look to other ways to perceive Gods, some human religions believe that the gods we perceive are simply avatars or manifestations of the one single God. Then you have the Buddhists whose concept of what is a 'God' again is significantly different.

In short, don't assume that the pantheon of Gods in Achaea has to conform to any particular type of pantheon of a polytheistic religion, or like one of the monotheistic religions or like the religions where it is harder to discern if there is a 'god' as Christians do. The theology of Achaea is thoroughly Achaean. Currently, Lord Phaestus and Lord Scarlatti clearly interact with those within their community and the city in which they live. It is true that they are quite friendly and interactive. Fine, you might not like it - but you're not them. In character it's possible that a Phaestian or a Scarlattan might decide they don't like how their deity interacts and that is fine. It's a perfectly sane way to play one's character (although I'm not sure I'd walk up to Lord Sartan, say, and say something like, "Lord Sartan, I dislike your interaction with Your order" - He might get a little, well, annoyed with you) but you might find the particular deity might kick you out of the order (or you might not even make it into the order).

It would be interesting to study the 'theology' that underpins the whole Achaean pantheon and each individual god/goddess. I actually suspect someone studying comparative religion, philosophy or even theology could submit it as a suitable thesis for an undergraduate paper, honours, masters or even a doctorate. No doubt it's been done before (maybe not with the Achaean pantheon but others).

Jokes about the arcane shit people tend to study in PhD programs aside, I'm still pretty sure the Academy is not going to let anyone get a doctorate for writing about a made-up religion that is part of an online text game.  Don't anybody quit your day job.

Xith

Okay, so somebody give us a list of all the Departed gods.

Delphinus

@Jamethiel: It has nothing to do with comparing Achaea's deities to real-life ones; that is a pretty ridiculous strawman. The role within the game's context is far more important.

In Achaea, we already have adventurers. We don't need "adventurers whose pronouns are capitalised", but we do need sources of wonder and awe. This is sorta the absolute point of fantasy, and the gods, being gods, are in a unique position to fill the role.



@Xith:
Aeon
Aeyr
Agatheis
Apollyon
Daedalus
Hermes
Indrani
Kastalia
Keresis
Lorielan
Lupus
Matsuhama
Maya
Melantha
Mithraea
Miramar
Oneiros
Pandemonium
Pentharian
Sarapis
Selene
Shaitan
Tarah

Katzchen

Lodi said:

Idelisa said:

 I totally want @Scarlatti babies.   :x

He got a very BIG slap for falling in love with a mortal ages ago.

Yup, He tried to marry one after being denied permission, then vanished.

Sometime later we received Scarlatti 2.0.