Eldath

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Okay, I want to get something straight.

Yes, Eldath is the Goddess of Peace.

Yes, She is the pansy god of ponds, streams, and lakes.

Yes, her followers don't eat meat (Or most don't.)

But this is not to say she isn't awesome.

Of all the gods, she is the one who will take you the furthest by not questing, or hardly at all. Her message of peace and pacifism might seem out of place in the harsh world of EFU:A, but the goddess of Singing Waters is perhaps a god who will allow you the bridge two sides of EFU:A in a unique, and totally new spin on things, The Natural, and the Ziggurat.



Let us begin by examining her Dogma

Peace can only come from within and cannot be taught or imposed. Seek stillness and thereby find peace. Plant trees and green-leafed things and tend such things when they need it, wherever they may be. Nurture and aid, and do not restrict or punish. Work violence only to defend, and slay no thing of the forest except to prevent it from slating themselves or another under their protection. Swear to take no thinking life except in direst need. Share with all beings the beneficial things that grow in or come from running water that all may know of and praise Eldath.

Right off the bat, you can come up with a myriad of plots.

Peace can only come from within and cannot be taught or imposed

That first sentence might give sway to an anarchist, seeking to destabilize government and their martial imposition of order, proclaiming that humanity can seek peace through their own personal autonomy.

It can also give way to the Armsman, seeking to find other solutions other than his sword in keeping the peace, by finding compromise with the people he is protecting.

Seek stillness and thereby find peace.

A person who dislikes change because of the chaos it brings might also worship Eldath. She is the Goddess of STILL WATER, or of Fresh Water. He seeks peace by maintaining the status quo.

Plant trees and green-leafed things and tend such things when they need it, wherever they may be.

Farmer, or druid.

Nurture and aid, and do not restrict or punish.

Your character can oppose the concept of prisons, seeing that those who commit crimes are the ones who need help in the first place, and you can push for reintegration of criminals instead of execution or the lash. Your character can oppose slavery by finding a peaceful way to end it, not become a freedom fighter.

Work violence only to defend, and slay no thing of the forest except to prevent it from slating themselves or another under their protection. Swear to take no thinking life except in direst need.

This is perhaps the most important line of her dogma, and a hundred concepts could perhaps come to mind to more...original folks. But LoveTheSuit has based his character off these lines. WORK VIOLENCE ONLY TO DEFEND. AND KILL NO INTELLIGENT BEING EXCEPT IN DIREST NEED. Eldath has two monks orders that have dedicated themselves to this concept. A knight might also fit in this concept, men who dedicate themselves to peace by learning the sword, and would use dialogue before resorting to swords.

he monastic order of Eldath is the Disciples of the Yielding Way, sometimes known as the Brothers and Sisters of the Open Palm. These monks guard sacred sites where many peacemen and peacewomen dwell and travel the countryside gathering information for isolated groves and fastnesses. They do not ever seek to provoke violence, but are quite deceptively deadly when defending themselves, their charges, and their holy sites.

Just to give you an idea.

Share with all beings the beneficial things that grow in or come from running water that all may know of and praise Eldath.

A cleric, obviously, I don't know what concepts come to mind there.


Eldath doesn't need to be taken literally, I had a Gondite who's dream was world peace, by building a weapon so powerful that other people would have no choice BUT to accept this peace. While He was a Gondite, I could imagine an Eldathyn taking this road as well.

I could imagine a man who wishes to stop a war so he murders the politicians before they signs the papers declaring war.

I could imagine a diplomat who believe that diplomacy should stop war, and make it so that both cities benefit, or both people, benefit, from a compromise or arrangement. Indeed, such an organization is official.

The church of Eldath has a circle of a few peacewomen and peacemen who have formed a group known as the Arbitrators of the Quiet One. They freely go to areas of conflict and attempt to serve as mediators in longstanding disagreements that have led lo violent acts. They listen to both sides and try to find a middle ground without polarizing the issues through overt statements of moral judgment. They prefer to find resolutions that get at the heart of a problem so that once dealt with it does not flare up again in months or years.

Playing an Eldathyn, for many of us, will present a new, and interesting challenge. No longer will we be able to go out and grind quests (Well, we can grind a few, or unless you took a diff meaning to her dogma) But have to stay on the Ziggurat and develop a philosophy around this peace. Eldathyn's often work close with druid circles, but by no means get along with them. The Followers of Eldath are TENDERS OF DRUID Groves, and if that doesn't give you a concept, I don't know what will.

Many of you tease Eldath because simply she seems like a goddess of hippies, and I could very well imagine a hippy following her, but this will also might make it more difficult to have a DM help you with plots simply, as Beggar put it, and I paraphrase, "There a few things more exciting than watching a character mow down ranks of Orcs with great cleave."

We simply have to prove to folks that pacifists can rock out as well.

[The Crimson Magician]

Eldath can't quest.

Fuck you.

[Luke Danger]

I'm all for peace, but seriously, horde of ravaging orcs coming to pillage, THEN burn, I'm going to be turning to Tempurans and Red Knight followers over Eldath. Seriously, when the war comes, Eldathyns is fairly screwed. [/sarcasim engine]

Still, don't let that discourage you! Trying to negotiate a peace with the Orcs (good luck) is intresting and may actually work!

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy4AwQgWX78&feature=PlayList&p=62F3DFC8F86C4BA9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42

[lovethesuit]

Eldath. Hell yeah. If you're up for a challenge make an Eldathyn. You'll have some people to RP with at least.

[Caster13]

Interesting analysis, Thomas.

[Pestilence]

Your a hippie

[Egon the Monkey]

I'm all for peace, but seriously, horde of ravaging orcs coming to pillage, THEN burn, I'm going to be turning to Tempurans and Red Knight followers over Eldath. Seriously, when the war comes, Eldathyns is fairly screwed.

Swear to take no thinking life except in direst need

Talk to Thomas about his concept, I did when I wondered how he'd ever get gold or supplies. And it comes down to (in a nutshell) that you can lay the smack down on undead, golems, giant bugs etc. til the cows come home if you can't easily divert them, and hold off orcs, but violence has to be a *last* resort.

So, an Eldathyn should be defensively minded. You could go to defend the city against the horde of orcs offering violence, Great Cleaving through them and grimacing at all the killing. You could take the fight to unliving Nightrisers and call a group to attack them. You could *not* go and assault a Gnoll camp just to kill monsters for being eb0l and steal their cool shit.

You need a lot more justification for a fight than other PCs, but it doesn't rule it out or make the PC a wimp who will run. They'd rather run and avoid violence, but if they have to, they'll fight. Luca's an Eldathyn, and that PC punches things like a freight train driven by Mike Tyson.

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

Thank you Egon.

While I've been playing Morachi, I've ran into some pretty...interesting situations. There are situations where an Eldathyn might choose violence over peace, but these are rare. Undead, golems, large number of insects, are all viable targets for an eldath to lay the smack down on, but again, they'd rather go straight for the source of the problem, rather than risk fighting them all.

Throw me an IRC PM. private message if interested.

[lovethesuit]

Definitely, part of being a pacifist is knowing when the open palm should become the closed fist. Just as Tempus believes in the power of war and accepts peace (he tells his followers not to seek conflict with Eldathyns), Eldath believes in the power of peace and accepts war (there are conditions on the dogma of pacifism, invoking dire need and the like rather than being a hard-and-fast Never rule).