Noodling

[jayphailey]

Okay.

I am noodling here. I have the Omoikane and a Shard battlegroup at the ruins of Oron.

There is tension over who owns Oron - The Shard claims it. The Federation doesn't want itself or any allies excluded.


Someone discovers a portal in an ancient tomb

Out of it steps one of the Gods of Oron, sidelined early in the war of the Gods, he is horrified at the death of his homeworld

Of course he wants to recover the place and return it to its former glory.

These guys are like Apollo - they can tap into vast power. They're also like Lokai and Bele in "Let that be your last Battlefield" - they are infused with super high tech that looks like magic and over bears "mortal" technology.

This guy's name is Azarimus.

In a draft I wrote yesterday, he goes on a violent rampage to take over the Shard ships - They say they're the surviving part of the Empire - Azarimus says "Great, that means you're my servants and we will re-establish the Empire under my rule."

BUT

I wanted to do something more... psychological.

One idea was for him to just psionically barge in on selected characters and force their back story out of them. He wants to know about this time period and the people in it and he learns this by viewing things through the POV of various characters.

I also thought he'd kidnap the Orion descended members of the Omoikane crew because he claims their "Blood" anyone of Orion descent is his servant.

I also thought that behind his portal is a virtual elysian fields - Azarimus and his followers were banished to a virtual reality following him getting his ass kicked in The War of the Gods.

The Ane have met some of these Oron Overlords and the relationship is a bit "tense". They had a deal. You stay on your side of the line and we'll stay on ours.

But the line and the agreement are long in the past.


I also thought of Azarimus taking everyone NOT of Orion descent - putting them into the virtual elysian fields and taking the Omoikane as his new flagship...

The problem is that Ireymalan, the RI would have things to say about this.


H3 and co would have to go face mythology based challenges to get to the root level of the virtual environment and try to undo it and get out -

I have a mess of ideas, but no coherent story there.

Mind you, this hasn't stopped me before. I set up the problem and then play it out.

The Problem with the Apollo episode of TOS - they solved it by the ship phasering Apollo's temple and Kirk beating him up.

....

Oooo.

I might have something

Nope, that won't work.

Dennis ran a game where the PCs had to gather "The Keys of La'ariel."

An evil diety was locked away and the pieces of the key were hidden in puzzles that were tests of character. A Death Knight - the former Paladin of the party that locked away the evil diety - he used the PCs to get the keys because he could no longer pass the tests of character

A similar plot runs through Discovery Season 5 - a McGuffin of amazing power is hidden - the people who had it left clues but only in ways that would reward the true of character. Asshole would get themselves killed trying it.

Azarimus prison might be like that - the way out of it is to be a good person and not an asshole and that's why it trapped Azarimus the whole time


BUT

All of Star Trek is a series of tests of character - we learn nothing new about them by subjecting them to this sort of thing.

If the Virtual Jail hides it's exit behind your deepest pain...

That's an interesting idea.

The last Marvel Movie did that. A yutz was given godlike powers - and so he externalized his pain. The heroes had to enter a virtual, mental space and experience not only their own pain, but his, and help him walk out of it.

Literally they defeated a city destroying menace not by fighting, but by loving and accepting Bob. (The Yutz) enabling him to reset himself and undo the problem.

-*-

How does Azarimus go about persuading the Shard ships to adopt him as their new god-like ruler?


In the first draft, he did this with excessive violence and the promise of lots more where that came from.

But the Shard folks decline because Oron is dead because of guys like him, indicating that he wouldn't do The Shard any favors. They put the Shard ahead of any one God.

Apollo tried to be persuasive with Lighting bolts and slapping people around. Moderate for the Greek Gods. Zeus might turn you into a rabid ferret who turns people into ravoli when he bites them...

Work calls

[jayphailey]

Work un-called

So how does Azarimus try to persuade The Shard onto his side?

Also, I have not worked up the Theme of Azarimus. Is he a god of storms? A God of fish? A god of ravioli?

In order to persuade you must have something to offer.

He could offer The Shard power in terms of advanced technology to crush their enemies.

He could offer extended life and health to Shard elites.

He can elevate people to being young, young, healthy and super human, but by so doing you tie yourself to Arazimus irrevocably.

The problem there is - most of the people on Starships and on a deep space archaeological mission are young and healthy enough for this offer not to be as tempting to them as it might be for you and I.



Like I say lots of ideas - not enough story to hang them off of right now.

[Innkeeper]

I'm thinking the crowns they wear are is portal to them. Make him less inflexible. Is it possible the old gods are maybe not so bad? Does every powerful ancient thing have to be terrible? Don't do Momra Pt II.

The thing is the Ane will remember that agreement.

[jayphailey]

Sure, once someone says "A God of Oron!" then the All will go "Hey, we remember."


I have no objection to three-dimensionalizing Azarimus.

But he's where he is because he pursued power - for both good and ill. Power is a very very serious game.

Azarimus believes he IS a god. He believes he deserves to be worshipped.

He's closer to being an Epic Level Wizard Maybe, if you squint, a techno-lich.

But he is absolutely convinced that he is elite, better than you and deserves political power and followers.

-*-

Or...

Maybe he's trapped in the virtual elysian fields?

Maybe some of the PCs get drawn in and the rest of the crew has to go in there after the lost ones?

Maybe Azarimus is on a marble throne, surrounded by loyal worshipful servants saying "I fucked up and this isn't worth it."

[jayphailey]

So I come up with a story

I'm napping and dreaming and the story feels good.

Azarimus is in Oron-Tartarus - this is a virtual world he made to be a flavor of hell. He threw dissenters, resisters, rebels and enemies in there.

Then when he got his ass kicked in early stages of the War of the Gods, they threw him into his Oron-Tartarus.

Over thousands of years - the people there broke out, slaughtered the demons and devils and took the place over. Azarimus is chained in the basement with eagles eating his liver.

The Gate of Oron-Tartarus eats some unsuspecting people and the PCs have to go in, thread their way through mythological traps and problems to recover the abductees.


And you know what I just did here? Can you see it?

ITS GRAMPS with the Polarity reversed!


GGRRRRRRR!

[Innkeeper]

So I come up with a story

I'm napping and dreaming and the story feels good.

And you know what I just did here? Can you see it?

ITS GRAMPS with the Polarity reversed!


GGRRRRRRR!

You need to give YAGLAs a break.