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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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Found one reference but not the one I looking for. 3.5, Faiths and Pantheons. I don't remember family members being mentioned (although Kanisatha has read more Faerun novels than I have and is probably correct) Those wishing to access the Adumbral Calyx must first contact
Rimrus, who instructs them to bring a live captive to his ship. Once
they have arrived on the isle, prisoners and supplicants are taken to
the lighthouse and the main access point to the Plane of Shadow,
found in the tower’s lantern chamber. Upon a person’s first visit to
the Calyx, he or she is expected to take their prisoner to the Black
Aljibar, a pool at the center of the shadow pocket. There, the peti-
tioner slits the prisoner’s throat, draining the blood into the dark
well. When the prisoner has expired, the body is tossed into the
Aljibar, where it is consumed by swirling shadowstuff.
Anyone unwilling to take the ceremony to its final conclusion is
sacrificed, as well. page 167
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2023
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Now it would be nice if we could ask Shadowheart about her past, but she has conveniently lost her memory. Well, I guess it's more cause for suspicion, but she's not any less interesting for now.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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Now it would be nice if we could ask Shadowheart about her past, but she has conveniently lost her memory. Well, I guess it's more cause for suspicion, but she's not any less interesting for now. You can ask her.its how you learn shes mind wiped in the firstplace
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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Shar's holy days. Faiths and Pantheons 2e Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: As so many devotees of Shar
keep their faith secret (and this secrecy is encouraged by senior clergy),
the Sharran faith has no set holy days aside from the Feast of the Moon.
To Dark Followers (the faithful of Shar) this holiday is known as the Ris-
ing of the Dark. They gather on it under cover of the more widespread
venerations of the dead to witness a blood sacrifice and learn of any plot
or aims the clergy want them to work toward during the winter ahead.
The most important Sharran ritual of worship is Nightfall, the coming
of darkness. Clergy hold this ritual every night. It consists of a brief invo-
cation, a dance, a charge or series of inspiring instructions from the god-
dess spoken by one of the clergy or by a raven-haired female lay wor-
shiper, and a revel celebrated by eating, drinking, and dancing together.
Lay worshipers must attend at least one Nightfall (or dance to the goddess
themselves) and must perform-and report to their fellowsóat least one
small act of wickedness in salute to the Lady every tenday. On moonless
nights, Nightfall is known as the Coming of the Lady, and every congre-
gation must carry out some significant act of vengeance or wickedness in
the Dark Ladyís name.
The most important ceremony of the priesthood of Shar is the Kiss of
the Lady, a horrific night-long revel of slaying and doing dark deeds in the
name of the lady that ends with a feast at dawn. Kissmoots are scheduled
irregularly, whenever the priests of Old Night decree. Increasingly the
rival clergy of the Embrace have been proclaiming that this ritual be cel-
ebrated at different times than those decreed by the temple of Old Night
Last edited by KillerRabbit; 30/07/23 07:46 PM.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Who thinks up such stuff? It's incredibly cliché, almost a caricature. I mean, yes, it's religion, no guardrails against jumping off the deep end, but I can't take it seriously. They could at least try to make things make sense from the perspective of Sharran theology, but what do we get: EEEEEVILLLLL, HARHAR.
Last edited by Ieldra2; 30/07/23 08:05 PM.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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Who thinks up such stuff? It's incredibly cliché, almost a caricature. That's early d&d for ya.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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I can't help but love it. Admittedly I was 9 or 10 when I first started playing DnD.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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I find there is some charm to Classic AD&D Good and Evil - if you tailor the campaign to it. An AD&D Paladin walks into a bar.... Detect Evil.
Ah. Right then.
You, you and you. Evil. SWORD.
Fear my wrath, for it is great indeed.
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journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Nov 2015
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I'd partake in a ceremony called "kissmoot" :>
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2013
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Who thinks up such stuff? It's incredibly cliché, almost a caricature. I mean, yes, it's religion, no guardrails against jumping off the deep end, but I can't take it seriously. They could at least try to make things make sense from the perspective of Sharran theology, but what do we get: EEEEEVILLLLL, HARHAR. I think the purpose was to get clear antagonists you didn't have to second guess killing. If you meet a Sharran cult you don't want to be worrying any of them are just confused or lost people who have suffered and been seduced in without understanding what Shar is all about. Good or bad that was what D&D was built for, at least back in the early days.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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I'd partake in a ceremony called "kissmoot" :> Since this was written Sharess stole all the fun stuff from Shar. Now Sharess is charge of the holy orgies and such.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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I'd partake in a ceremony called "kissmoot" :> Since this was written Sharess stole all the fun stuff from Shar. Now Sharess is charge of the holy orgies and such. She can also give you magical gender conformation with a kiss.
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Jhe'stil Kith'rak
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Jhe'stil Kith'rak
Joined: Oct 2021
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I'd partake in a ceremony called "kissmoot" :> Since this was written Sharess stole all the fun stuff from Shar. Now Sharess is charge of the holy orgies and such. Well, Shar ing is caring
Remember the human (This is a forum for a video game):
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2023
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Who thinks up such stuff? It's incredibly cliché, almost a caricature. I mean, yes, it's religion, no guardrails against jumping off the deep end, but I can't take it seriously. They could at least try to make things make sense from the perspective of Sharran theology, but what do we get: EEEEEVILLLLL, HARHAR. I think the purpose was to get clear antagonists you didn't have to second guess killing. If you meet a Sharran cult you don't want to be worrying any of them are just confused or lost people who have suffered and been seduced in without understanding what Shar is all about. Good or bad that was what D&D was built for, at least back in the early days. I recall this kind of stuff being one of the reasons why I've always disliked D&D. What kind of roleplaying is it if you don't have to make a decision about who to kill, just about how to kill? And why? "Everyone knows they're all evil". I don't want to play in a world where that works.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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What kind of roleplaying is it if you don't have to make a decision about who to kill, just about how to kill? And why? "Everyone knows they're all evil". I don't want to play in a world where that works. One in which there are forces outside of yourself and you are part of something larger than yourself. There's a celestial war taking place -- your struggles reverberate on the outer planes. Your decisions help form the planes of existence your efforts matter in the greater scheme of things. Otherwise 'fantasy' just becomes a series of boring, predictable analogues for historical battles **cough cwitcher cough*
Last edited by KillerRabbit; 30/07/23 09:28 PM.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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What kind of roleplaying is it if you don't have to make a decision about who to kill, just about how to kill? And why? "Everyone knows they're all evil". I don't want to play in a world where that works. One in which there are forces outside of yourself and you are part of something larger than yourself. There's a celestial war taking place -- your struggles reverberate on the outer planes. Your decisions help form the planes of existence your efforts matter in the greater scheme of things. Otherwise 'fantasy' just becomes a series of boring, predictable analogues for historical battles **cough cwitcher cough* Implying "if you are this race you are evil" isn't any more boring or predictable? That era of d&d died with Drizzt
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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Well we were talking about a cult not a race but, sure, let's talk about evil races 🙂
As I read the Drizzt books he (and Lirel) are the exceptions to the rule. The matron mothers want to bring our hero down because his existence is anathema to their worldview and an insult the Spider Queen herself. They are evil and, through great effort, Drizzt managed to forge his own path -- with some help by Mielikki and a blind ranger.
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Oct 2020
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Well we were talking about a cult not a race but, sure, let's talk about evil races 🙂
As I read the Drizzt books he (and Lirel) are the exceptions to the rule. The matron mothers want to bring our hero down because his existence is anathema to their worldview and an insult the Spider Queen herself. They are evil and, through great effort, Drizzt managed to forge his own path -- with some help by Mielikki and a blind ranger. Lolth sworn drow are a cult too.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2023
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What kind of roleplaying is it if you don't have to make a decision about who to kill, just about how to kill? And why? "Everyone knows they're all evil". I don't want to play in a world where that works. One in which there are forces outside of yourself and you are part of something larger than yourself. There's a celestial war taking place -- your struggles reverberate on the outer planes. Your decisions help form the planes of existence your efforts matter in the greater scheme of things. Otherwise 'fantasy' just becomes a series of boring, predictable analogues for historical battles **cough cwitcher cough* What you are supporting is a world where people have no individual agency, but only insofar they are part of some collective. Consider, say, Middle Earth. Orcs are always evil, for reasons explained in the lore, and....they're actually not individuals. They're a faceless horde. Wherever a group consists of individuals, they're also not all evil or good. The Ainulindale tells us that this holds true even for the highest tier of beings - who were, in spite of being created directly by this world's creator god for a good purpose, not all good. Do you really like a world where supernatural forces channel people into becoming part of a faceless horde? To me, this "everyone knows they're all evil" comes across as an excuse to not have to think about pesky morality but get on with the action. After all, they're a faceless horde, so not really people. This is why I insist so adamantly on judging people as individuals. Now of course a cult *can* be a faceless horde. But you'll only ever know that in hindsight. And not that this is a factor in practice most of the time, since most of the time they attack you and the point of whether you might kill them or not is moot. But being pro-active about killing because "cult", I would say, is in itself evil.
Last edited by Ieldra2; 30/07/23 10:56 PM.
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veteran
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veteran
Joined: Mar 2020
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Lolth sworn drow are a cult too. That's a weird Larianism - Lolthsworn isn't a race in DnD. I get why Larian did it -- it's a weird consequence of Larian trying implement alignment while WotC is trying to ditch it. But, yes, the drow can forswear Lolth and serve other gods. The drow are a bit different than other evil races - orcs, goblins and the like were created by their gods to serve them as slaves. The drow are a fallen, corrupted people.
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