Faction/group thought

Started by RIPnogarD, October 07, 2008, 05:24:53 PM

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RIPnogarD

Maybe you guys can help me out...

I’ve had this idea for a faction or group of four or more stuck in my head and have been trying to figure out a way to get it to work. One of each of the elemental gods earth, wind, fire and water all working together as a team. Not necessarily getting along all the time but they need something to tie them together as a unit (maybe a fifth element). They could be clerics or maybe even monks or sorcerers, or whatever. I think the only must would be Kossuth (fire), as I don’t know that there is another fire deity, (might only be Grumbar too). So from there it would be a matter of finding the other three that wouldn’t all try to kill each other. Once we get this we need to figure out a way to bind them all together, maybe a fifth element or they are all siblings or something.

What do you guys think, could it work? Wouldn’t a group of PC from each element be awesome as a group?

putrid_plum

Sounds cool but I think that somewhere I read that a few of the elemental churches violently oppose eachother.  Like, Auril's dogma says to put out flames whenever they are seen, etc.

Oroborous

I've seen the Captain Planet idea attempted several times, I've never seen it actually work though.

Jayde Moon

Auril is actually not one of the elemental dieties.  Cold is not traditionally an element.

The four elemental Gods would be:

Akadi - Air/Wind
Grumbar - Earth
Istishia - Water
Kossuth - Fire

As one might imagine, all of the elemental dieties are True Neutral.

All are greater dieties, though Kossuth is the most well known.

However, Kossuth aggressively pursues a doctrine that Fire is the greatest element and he has a particular disdain for Istishia, whom he views as pathetic and weak.  As a result, Istishia has a doctrine of directly opposing Kossuth's ambitions..

Meanwhile, Akadi, who is flighty and everchanging opposes implacable, unchanging Grumbar and vice versa.

By canon, these dieties oppose their 'opposite' at every turn.

Garem

If you wanted to do this, perhaps you could create the group with the intention of competition instead of cooperation. So as to prevent overly diluting the sides, you should probably limit it to Grumbar vs Akadi or Istishia vs Kossuth instead of 1v1v1v1.

BUT, the dynamic of four seperate and largely opposing forces pitted against each other would be pretty awesome.

Thomas_Not_very_wise

I've had an idea similar to this for awhile now, except all were going to be APP characters, with elemental heritage. (Genasi basically) and they banded together etc...


It was cool, but barely practical.

dragonfire9000


RIPnogarD

I know the issues with the opposing elemental deities, hence the reason for starting the thread. Kossuth also has an issue with chaotic alignments, limiting this idea even more. Is there another deity besides Kossuth with the fire domain?

What I think is needed the most would be a way to cement them together somehow. Perhaps a druid of Talos trying to tie the elemental forces together for some reason, (what I don’t know). Or an item or state of being that they are all after (long term goal) yet it is impossible to obtain without at least one of each of the other elementals. Maybe even something as boring as they are all siblings and even though they disagree they would never kill one another and were asked by their dying mother to stick together. The enemy of my enemy is my friend point of view.

Might even be able to push this a step farther if we got into racial pantheons. Not only one of each element, but one of each race. Dwarf/earth, halfling/wind, elf water, human/fire (or whatever). That idea is probably pushing it to far though.

I’m looking for people that actually like the idea and want to help with constructive input and ideas to make this work. I know it could work somehow, I was hoping with all the creative people on this site we could make it happen.

erglion

Heart

A super-hot Sunite priestess that they are all vying for.

RIPnogarD

Quote from: erglion;91595Heart

A super-hot Sunite priestess that they are all vying for.

Yet this priestess has vowed that if any one of them were to kill the other or intentionally let one of the others die without helping she would hate them for the rest of her life.

This idea also doesn’t force a leader, they all still stand on equal ground no matter their levels.

Now we're getting some place. :-D

Oroborous

I'm not sure if the DMs have made it canon here yet or not, but Kossuth, Akadi, Grumbar, and Ishtishia are not gods in v4. They are Primordials instead who are ancient and ancestral enemies of the gods, who have made a temporary peace with them to avert the destruction of everything.

If that is canon, you could work with the DMs to create a concept with an actual coherent goal that would allow these normally antagonistical beings to work together.

Thomas_Not_very_wise

...


Wait, so they still have clergy?

9lives

4E is not EFU canon.

Ommadawn


Jayde Moon

4E is about 100 years post 3.5.  Unless the Archipelago has some sort of temporal thing going on... entirely possible!

I don't know where the Kossuth /= Chaotic thing comes from.  He's a Neutral Deity and considering that Fire is both a Lawful (it has set properties) and Chaotic force (ever try to predict which way a wildfire will go?), it seems natural that he'd not frown on one over another.  Combined with the Canon note that Clerics of Kossuth can be Chaotic Neutral and it seems to me that he has no restrictions against that side of the Law/Chaos axis.

I think that the rigid hierarchal structure of his Church may promote the idea that he is predisposed towards Law and I'm certainly open to the probability there is Canon material on Kossuth that I have not read that specifically states he is.

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All that said, the idea of a competitive thing sounds good.  Just because the Gods themselves harbor strong feelings against one another doesn't mean their followers are quite so tempered.

A good natured competition between the elements could make for interesting RP, even if there is a mean streak.

Constantly trying to show one another up and pushing the loser's nose in it...