Righteous Fiends

Excession

Infohazard
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Look for groups
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
Genres
Horror, fantasy, sci-fi.

  • GENESIS

    Long ago when the world was young, the gods filled it with life in abundance, and looked upon it from outside, and were pleased.
    The mortals looked back across the void, and longed to know the gods, and built a moonlight bridge they could cross to enter the world.
    Thus the gods walked among mortals, primal and serene.

    But the mind of a god is alien, immortal and impossible. Cruel in their sport, destructive in their excess. Tyrannical in ambition, and selfish in thought.
    The mortals began to regret what they had done, but how can one bring war against a god?

    In this time of wonder and terror, the gods made Vasnok, Who Births Wonders. A Living God, Divinity in Flesh, loving and fecund. She and Her progeny loved and were loved by mortalkind, and spread throughout the world. The gods, unchanging and infertile, grew jealous but could not strike Her down.
    And so they cursed Her and Her children. Where once they brought life, now they could multiply only through death. Where once they were immortal, now they needed the blood of mortals to live. Even the sun was made to hate them, and burn them in its light.

    The gods, disgusted with the world they had made, returned across the moonlight bridge and destroyed it behind them. Many mortals now feared Vasnok, and so She, Her children, and Her faithful fled to the dark corners of the world.

    EXODUS

    To preserve Her flock, Vasnok slept and transformed. In this time, the adherents of the gods hunted Her people to the brink of annihilation, hoping to win back the gods' favour, for they had forgotten the gods had not loved them as Vasnok did.
    She awoke as That Which Hunts The Unrighteous On Umbral Wings, and protected Their flock in secret. They hunted the wicked in their beds and traveled between hidden shrines to join Their people together. In time, They found a homeland far from the other kingdoms and lead Their faithful there. For time, all was well.

    TRIBULATION

    Now Vasnok sleeps again. Their children and priesthood defend the faithful, and defend Their sleeping form, even as fanatics from a neighbouring land seek their destruction and foreigners call them blasphemers, monsters.
    Vasnok will rise again when the time is right, and He will be called Destroyer, That Which Scours Clean The World-Canvas.


  • The Night Caste, The Children of God
    Holiest of holies, the living children of Vasnok. Saints of the Sacred Blood, who are of the night and masters of flesh. Unseen by all, voices heard only by the Savaan. They tend to Vasnok's sleeping form and guide our people through the struggle.

    The Twilight Caste, the Savaan.
    Mortal families blessed by the Sacred Blood.
    Priests and warriors, scholars and doctors.

    Most Savaan are raised in comfort, but taught always of their duty to the rest of the flock. They are taught history and scripture, fine arts and complex crafts, and the secrets of the flesh. As they come of age, they learn the tools of war and power of fear. When they are adults, the Children present them with a gift, a birthright - their Armour. A living suit of peerless and beautiful form that bonds with the wearer. These Savaan are the Twilight Guard.

    Some, however, are born with a fragment of Vasnok's sacred power. They can know a body merely by laying their hands upon it. They can sculpt flesh with a touch and with focus. Thus they are taught the holy mysteries and deepest truths of the flesh, charged with the care of their kinfolk and upkeep of their panoplies. These are the Twilight Surgeons.

    The Day Caste, the Ker Viteur
    The ordinary faithful. Mortals like any others in the world, but who know the truth of the scriptures.
    Builders, craftspeople, and labourers, the Ker Viteur live and work in comfort protected by the Savaan. They work the farms and clean the temples, build homes and entertain the Savaan who are wearied by their duty. They are forbidden to take up arms and spared unnecessary, onerous teachings such as literacy. They serve, and are served, kept safe in Her embrace from the evils of the fallen world.

    The Chattel
    Do not be fooled by their human appearance. These creatures are no more than beasts, sustenance for the Children and grist for the war machine. The Savaan are few in number, and so they use the screaming hordes of the Chattel as shock troops to overwhelm the enemy. They harvest their flesh to build weapons and warbeasts. One day there will be no more need for the Chattel, but for now they are a necessary grotesquerie.


  • The faithful are surrounded and trapped on a tiny peninsula. In the south, the H'kaeri seek the total genocide of the faithful, the murder of their god. To the west is the vast, dark ocean. To the east are the barbarians of Kelen, superstitious and afraid, who are poisoned by H'kaeri lies to consider the faithful monsters. To the north are the primitive but promising Hrothgaard, likewise turned against Vasnok by lies and ignorance.

    We are running out of space, running out of land for food, imprisoned from seeing all the world's beauty, trapped in an endless war that allows neither respite nor mercy.

    Fight on, oh sacred kin. May the time of awakening draw nigh, that we may witness the terrible majesty of our god marching to war.


An RPG for five players - ideally four Twilight Guard and one Surgeon.

A story of hardship, faith, intrigue, war, and moral compromise. Fight on the frontline of a war without end. Practice unique martial arts. Transcend humanity with biological grafts. Go behind enemy lines to weaken the foe. Travel to strange lands to find lost artifacts and ancient weapons. Preach to unbelievers and grow cults in the dark.
Serve your god. Save your people. Or fall to heresy, for revelations await in the shadows.

Post if you're interested, and please ask questions! Anything you want to know about culture, aesthetics, system - don't hesitate.

Vasnok needs you; slip into your Living Armour, take up your khopesh, and bring the freedom of endless night to the world.
 
Gosh, I'd love to play this. I've never gotten to play a Savaan before in all the previous games.
Doesn't look like anyone has seen this thread though! :<
 
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Hm, curious...and very interesting. I think I'll be keeping an eye on this.
 
Gosh, I'd love to play this. I've never gotten to play a Savaan before in all the previous games.
Doesn't look like anyone has seen this thread though! :<

Some things pick up slow.
But if you have any burning questions about life in the shadow of the Tower, now's a good time to ask; maybe'll entice more folks.
 
Pixel's Big Block of Questions Power Hour:

1. Can Savaan operate in daylight? No bursting into flames?
2. Are they vampiric in the sense they have to drink blood? Can/Do they eat at all?
3. I can only assume there are several fighting styles we can choose from if it gets up and running, kind of like versions of the Eotran Monks?
4. Cullture wise, things that are considered praise worthy, and things considered heresy or merely gauche and frowned upon?
5. Visually I imagine they're kind of like a darker paletted egyptain themed, crossed with the Conqurer Skins style from League. Or have I completely misread that?
6. Naming conventions?
 
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Pixel's Big Block of Questions Power Hour:

1. Can Savaan operate in daylight? No bursting into flames?
2. Are they vampiric in the sense they have to drink blood? Can/Do they eat at all?
3. I can only assume there are several fighting styles we can choose from if it gets up and running, kind of like versions of the Eotran Monks?
4. Cullture wise, things that are considered praise worthy, and things considered heresy or merely gauche and frowned upon?
5. Visually I imagine they're kind of like a darker paletted egyptain themed, crossed with the Conqurer Skins style from League. Or have I completely misread that?
6. Naming conventions?

1. Yes, it is at worst a bit irritating and harsh on the eyes.
2. They can and do eat. They don't need to drink blood and honestly it'd be kind of unhealthy.
3. Yeah, they've got... four, looking at my notes. I'll go over 'em in brief below.
4. Knowing your place is very important. Savaan are meant to be good examples and not sticking to protocol when dealing with lower castes is very frowned upon. Casual cruetly is a big no. Being well read and a good speaker is highly prized. Taking pleasure in killing is considered ugly. Good parenting is considered very admirable and any parent who doesn't pay a lot of attention to their children loses a lot of respect.
5. That's not too far off. Let me think about it. Definitely a bit gribblier, especially in armour.
6. I'm still mulling this one over to find something that doesn't come off racist.

Martial Arts:
Awakened Titan Style, focusing on unarmed strikes and grappling, putting yourself between danger and allies.
Laughing Blade Style, a dueling school using a khopesh-style sword, based around tiring your enemy before dealing the deathblow.
Loving Mistress Style, a surprisingly less-than-lethal style which uses a whip to disarm and control opponents without hurting them too much.
Flickering Shadow Style, using short blades or claws for evasive counter attacks, flurries of blows, and weakening attacks.
 
Hey, this seems pretty neat. I've been keen for a smaller group for a while now, too. But I do have a couple of questions first:
1) How often are you wanting posts?
2) How much are you wanting for the length of posts?
3) Any other OOC rules I should hear before deciding if I want to jump on? What is your general plan for running this?
4) Speaking of plans -- do you have much of one for the IC?
 
Hey, this seems pretty neat. I've been keen for a smaller group for a while now, too. But I do have a couple of questions first:
1) How often are you wanting posts?
2) How much are you wanting for the length of posts?
3) Any other OOC rules I should hear before deciding if I want to jump on? What is your general plan for running this?
4) Speaking of plans -- do you have much of one for the IC?

1. Once a week at most, my day job is draining.
2. As long as they need to be. I don't care for padding.
3. Nothing specific I can think of. Mostly the plan is get a party made with room for personal and political drama, send you on a mission, and let things evolve naturally from there. There will be dice but I'll be beginner friendly.
4. I have a rough arc plotted but player choice can deform the shape of that.
 
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