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Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:51 am
by brilliantlight
I think I am going to make something for the satyr half , an ideas on what it should look like to fit a Mideast theme? I don't think I will replace the demon. As far as I know all CEs wind up in the abyss wherever they are from unless you make something up. You do in Oerth and Faerun.
Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:16 am
by Bluebomber4evr
Actually, I was doing some thinking on that, I believe I might have a solution that can work that won't upend everything you came up with yet still stays faithful to Al-Qadim.
The darklord should actually be a Silat:
http://www.lomion.de/cmm/silat.php (note their description: "giant female humanoid with pale green or blue skin and
curved ram’s horns curling from each side of her head" and "evil silats prefer human or demihuman flesh") Silats have shapechanging powers, but it takes them centuries to master that ability. Until they mature, they can't shapeshift their entire body. Normally, the body part they can't change is their feet, but I was thinking the darklord could instead be cursed to not be able to hide her ram horns.
The idea I had was basically that this silat came up with a false identity, "Malbus" when appearing in public, to hide her nature -- she lets the people think she's a male half-fiend instead of a shapeshifting hag. The people are more frightened of the idea of a demon.
Your female/male imbalance idea could relate to her curse as well. Normally a silat requires a male ogre magi to mate, but maybe this one sought a human man instead. In order to be a darklord, it would have to be a real horrible betrayal somehow, maybe involving a violation of the Zakharan hospitality rules (based on the traditions of real-world Arabs) -- like she was gave a married couple shelter and then lusted after the man and murdered his wife -- that would be a gross violation of the code of conduct of a host in Zakharan culture. Now her curse is that she must consume a man every so often, but only if they are unmarried -- something that's hard to do when there are so few men and the majority of them are already married. She could use her "Malbus" disguise to order to have any unmarried men delivered to her palace when her hunger strikes her.
Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:43 am
by Gonzoron of the FoS
You're definitely on to something with the Silat, and I was with you until the lust and mating bit. Based on recent discussions about Althea, I think a female darklord would be a welcome twist, but yet another one based on mating, seduction, etc. wouldn't be.
I'd rather see the existing male Malbus stay, with his satyr half replaced with a Silat half. He could be the offspring of a Silat and an incubus, or even better, we could find the arabian equivalent of an incubus.
An extremely quick googling turns up this possibility:
"In Turkish culture, incubus is known as Karabasan. It is an evil being that descends upon some sleepers at night. These beings are thought to be spirits or jinns. It can be seen or heard in the nightmare and a heavy weight is felt on the chest. Yet people cannot wake up from that state. Some of the causes are sleeping without adequately covering the body (especially women) and eating in bed."
Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:51 am
by brilliantlight
Bluebomber4evr wrote:Actually, I was doing some thinking on that, I believe I might have a solution that can work that won't upend everything you came up with yet still stays faithful to Al-Qadim.
The darklord should actually be a Silat:
http://www.lomion.de/cmm/silat.php (note their description: "giant female humanoid with pale green or blue skin and
curved ram’s horns curling from each side of her head" and "evil silats prefer human or demihuman flesh") Silats have shapechanging powers, but it takes them centuries to master that ability. Until they mature, they can't shapeshift their entire body. Normally, the body part they can't change is their feet, but I was thinking the darklord could instead be cursed to not be able to hide her ram horns.
The idea I had was basically that this silat came up with a false identity, "Malbus" when appearing in public, to hide her nature -- she lets the people think she's a male half-fiend instead of a shapeshifting hag. The people are more frightened of the idea of a demon.
Your female/male imbalance idea could relate to her curse as well. Normally a silat requires a male ogre magi to mate, but maybe this one sought a human man instead. In order to be a darklord, it would have to be a real horrible betrayal somehow, maybe involving a violation of the Zakharan hospitality rules (based on the traditions of real-world Arabs) -- like she was gave a married couple shelter and then lusted after the man and murdered his wife -- that would be a gross violation of the code of conduct of a host in Zakharan culture. Now her curse is that she must consume a man every so often, but only if they are unmarried -- something that's hard to do when there are so few men and the majority of them are already married. She could use her "Malbus" disguise to order to have any unmarried men delivered to her palace when her hunger strikes her.
Maybe a descendent of the Silat and a human. From what you said that would probably be considered perverted behavior by her people and as punishment from her evil gods instead of a hag she gave birth to a hybrid between human and Silat. This mother abused her son and started to hate chaos and to some extent women. As he grew older he had the normal male human lust mingled with hate . He saw Bel as someone who could help him in his war against chaos. IIRC Bael was a Mesopotamian god of wealth in real life.
Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:01 pm
by Bluebomber4evr
Sure, a half-silat would be a fine alternative, I think.

Re: I updated Al Kathos
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:20 pm
by brilliantlight
I finished if you want to look at it.