Common Worlds

It looks like that movie gets US release--

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/ong_bak.html/

Perhaps a bit of Teshnos source material in the trailer.

Must learn the on-fire-leaping -thru-barbwire dance before going back to Teshnos...if I am still alive. :lol:

Here's a good article on colorful relationships for heroes.

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=13702

You are working on your teshnan heroes, aren't you?

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~dboyk/bollywood/

I'll post more of these tomorrow, as time allows.

Seljuret Patosh, Mistress of Starlit Leopards is the tenth of her line to hold the position of high priest of Velit Maniz the Invisible Leopard. Under her leadership this hunting cult has turned its attentions to a different "prey," the enemies of Teshnos. Some say she wants to replace the Brilliant Gold Hand with her Panthers of Diamond and Iron. Once engaged to Entrok, she quested for permission to break that engagement when she refused to be subservient to him.

Devivaesh, Resolute Shield of the Righteous coordinates the Ovansharu, the iron and gold armed regiments of Teshnos. He has many regional commanders to deal with, and more prestige than authority. He comes from Dombain, as does Seljuret Patosh, leading many people to believe they are in league together. He does not set policy, but enacts the will of Pubnashap and his priests.

Besdi Solf Du, the Seventh Little Destroyer, the Taker of Things

Worship of Besdi Solf Du is mixed, so does not benefit from concentration.

Affinities

Excess
Amazing Belch, Drink more than You, Eat more than You, Fight while Drunk, Make you want a Drink, Vomit, Eat Fast, Chew Through.

Stealth
Just another Peasant, Gone in a Blink, Step out of Shadow, Hide in Cess Pit.

Talents Conceal Item, Leap on to Balcony, Leap onto Roof, Motionlessness, Soundlessness, Scentlessness, Send away Guard

Getting too much inspiration from this one might take the game in a strange direction.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/bride_and_prejudice.html

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! :shock:

Hey guys,

I have an odd question for you, motivated by the desire to avoid spoilers:

What web sites, if any, do you read where I write things up? Aside from this one, that is.

There are web sites out there where ref's discuss their ongoing games with others who aren't in those games. I'm considering doing the same with the Teshnos game. But those other writers are less concerned about spoilers, usually because they're running a game for a few episodes rather than as part of an ongoing campaign.

So, what do you read?

Greetings,
So far I have not read anything with your name attached on any web site. I barely have time to visit yours and the source sites to which you refer.
Jonathan

Teshnan God of the Edge

• Mythos and History
Lord of the boundary between light and dark, Vaneesha Kan Sa is a minor god, called the "Edge Dancer," "Sharp Perception" and "Wandering Prodigal," among other odd things.

Teshans think he is a "son" of Zitro Argon, an emanation from Zitro Argon's eye when the god first looked into the Dark. If he has a mother, it is that darkness. This makes him younger brother to Somash, the Sun. He has strong associations with dawn, and particularly with dusk.

His stories are ones where cleverness and quickness allow him to win, rather than brute strength.

He invented the knife, when he explored a crack in Great Flint and broke a sharp shard off of it. Later he used this to draw a line between the gods and men when Somash's divan was in danger of pollution and the mortals who would have polluted it were in danger of immolation. Though most Chalites know of the Knife Drawn Line, they have to think hard to recall that VKS drew it.

He was a "Light in the Dark" during the Absence of Somash, the Great Darkness. He learned how to hide his light in that darkness, and survived to greet Somash with the first dawn.

• Worshippers
Few ordinary people want to live on the edge. VKS's cult attracts its full share of outcasts, loners, and those uncomfortable in normal society. These are the people who recognize they already live on the edge of something, be it society, the country, or life itself. The god's experiences and magics are also attractive to professional spies and a minority of couriers, functionaries and explorers. Ever a minor cult, many Teshnans have no clear idea on how VKS fits among the five great gods of the land.
Nevertheless, the Teshnan love of ceremony, temples and the country's support for its priesthoods means that temples to VKS exist in all major and most minor cities, as well as at several more rural holy places.
Temples of Zitro Argon in Matkondu preferentially employ initiates of VKS as outer temple guards and intermediaries to the outside world.

Center of Power, Holy Places
VKS's most holy site in Teshnos is the Grey Monastery on Obsidian Ridge of the Hachuan Shan near the border of Wokistan, which is the remaining piece of the First Knife made by the god.

Major Temples
Unattended votives to Vaneesha Kan Sa exist at the borders of many things and places, often no more than a figure of a black and white painted boy balanced on some precarious ledge at the edge of a village's farthest fields. In actual towns with streets and walls, a formal shrine to the Lord of the Edges often sits somewhere ajacent to the town's main gate, while the god's likeness decorates corners of city walls and guards buildings dedicated to Zigtro Argon. The black and white tiles in alternating bands typical versions of these ordinary shrines

• Ebony Walk Temple, Zanozar
Making up the outer bailey wall of the Golden Palace of Five Purifications, the Ebony Razor Walk allows followers of VKS to protect the Zitrs within from the world's pollution. Their speacial weapon is the horn and heartwood bow. Within its confines on the Azure Anvils of Chal's Word the blue-eyed smiths of the cult make the best arrows and darts to be found in the country.

• Shrine of the Fires of Dawn and Dusk, Dombain
High on the peak of Mount Dombrana the Shrine commands the best view of the east and western horizon to be found along the south coast. Here the priests call out the dawn greeting and the paen of sorrow to the coming of night. Like most residents of their city, they treat members of the Night caste very harshly.

• Hole of the Nosy Bastard, Gio
With a congregation notable for its headstrong and rash attitude, most other temples think of their brethern from Gio as immature and adolescent examples of their faith. The Gioans may be wild and disliked, but no one can dispute their ability to see things others overlook.

• Hanging Temple on the Precipice, Chalabash
Built out over the cliff overlooking the Gali River, the Hanging Temple attracts only those with no fear of heights. The Slate Door into Darkness lies in the floor of this temple's Tomb of the Noble Outsiders. Initiates know that the All Night Fire ceremonies keep that dread Door properly guarded and closed.

• Holy Gorge of the Knife Drawn Line, Zio
The Bearers of Knives from the Holy Gorge of the Knife Drawn Line maintain that knives alone are the weapons holy to Vaneesha Kan Sa. They don't allow visiting worshippers of VKS to bring other weapons into their shrines. In Zio, the Weaponsmiths of Calyz's White Fire believe the priests of Vaneesha Kan Sa stole their weapon enchantment secrets. The followers of this temple do know how to enchant knives, but maintain their magics are their own. Many of their members came up through the Grey Monastery on Obsidian Ridge.

• Temple of Secrets Undiscovered, Location Unknown
Rumored but never reliably located, some high initiates claim the only way to reach the Undiscovered Secrets is to recognize it while in the midst of some newly unravelled secret. Though no one knows how to reach the temple, everyone knows that the Gate to Every Secret Place stands open within it. If you can find it.

Notable Members
Though usually a circumspect cult whose members avoid the spotlight, the exploits of some followers of the Lord of Edges stand in such sharp relief that even the common folk know their reputation.

Veddaresh the Balancer in Grey
Master of the Obsidian Ridge Monastery, Veddaresh's influence extends throughout all levels of the cult because so many worshippers spent their formative years under his tutelage. As a youth he won the Kurushah Festival games when he crossed the river running on a rope made from the hair of all the maidens in Wokistan. This fact causes him embarrassment to this day.
• Priest of Vaneesha Kan Sa 20W2, Revered Mentor of his Cult 20W, Embarrassing relationship with women of Wokistan 12W, Manage Monastery 12W2

Hindevar, the Hand of Light and Dark and Light
Known among his brothers as the cult's foremost expert on the World Beyond Light, Hindevar knows the names of a thousand demons, all of whom owe him favors or fealty. He also knows how to reach the leaders of the Solfite criminal underworld.
• Priest of VKS 10W2, Underworld Knowledge 15W2, Summon Hell Demon Spell 13W2, Friends among Solfites 5W

Garevashenay, Whispers in Light
A cousin of the Prince of Eagles and fixture at the Vessel of Light's court, Garvashenay knows the ins and outs of the turning of the Wheel of Governance. Everyone knows of his weakness for young sitriva players. He worships at his own private shrine, rather than at the Ebony Walk Temple.
• Priest of VKS 8W, Connections in the Wheel of Governance 10W2, Politics 8W2, Lusts for Sitriva Players 10W, Wealthy 18W, Loyal to his Cousin Garusharp 2W.

Waveshra Returns the Key
Bane of Solfites everywhere, Waveshra earned his position as high priest of the Ebony Walk Temple due to his fanatical devotion to the safety of the Vessel of Light. Most visibly, this devotion manifested in his youth when Waveshra broke the Black Snake Circle in order to return the Key of Heaven's Chance to the Lords of Celestial Glass.
• Priest of VKS 10W2, Hated by Solfites 11W, Persecutes Solfites 5W, Devoted to Pubnashap 12W2, Tough for an Old Guy who Drinks too Much 8W, Famous for his Youthful Exploits 12W.

The Secret Master of Secrets
Considered by some to be an amalgam of all the cultists who could not quite keep their activities a complete secret, others say the priests of VKS have a single special agent tasked only with those missions critical to the safety and advancement of the cult. But they won't say who that agent might be.
• Keep Identity Secret 16W2, Devotee of of VKS 15W2, Know Embarrassing Secrets about Everybody 12W2, Often on Scene in the Background 9W.

Other Side, Afterlife
• The Precipitous Palace of Light and Dark
Also called The House on the Edge, a vast palace of delights and horrors which includes the Balcony over Hell, Windows Looking Out and the Hundred Thousand Stairs Up. It exists near the Gate of Dawn, the Gate of Dusk, or both. Some say VKS's palace rings the whole of the mortal world, but only his initiates can find their way there or sense it if they pass over it. Some maintain that the House is actually the Horizon Circling Star, which though almost never visible moves around the sky dome at the dividing line between Heaven and Hell.

Keyword
• Skills
Balance, Climb, Knife [or other edged weapon, usually per temple] Fighting, Hide in Darkness, Move Quietly, Notice Flaw, Short Bow, Throw Knife, Watch Carefully.
Affinities
As a minor god, Vanesha Kan Sa has no secret. Or if he does, no one has discovered it.
• Edges
Hide in Crack, Run on Edge, Sharpen, Endure Light, Endure Dark, See in Bad Light, Find Secret
Cross Barrier?

"Did someone say 'Temple'?"

famous saying of The legendary Temple Raider Jaskaran Neeraj the Greasy Eel. But you already knew that.

I will have to keep my eye on this Vaneesha Kan Sa Cult.

Seems to me that the greasy eel and several other people, for that matter, are already keeping an eye out for worshippers of VKS! :shock:

or maybe just one worshipper in particular!

Great visual sources

http://www.terragalleria.com/theravada/myanmar/myanmar.html

http://www.himmapan.com/himmapan_creatures.html

Shaolin Soccer!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/shaolin_soccer/

A hero, a crippled mentor, Team Evil, visible magic when it gets powerful enough, Soul Vision revelations and completely hilarious!

Kirsten even liked it.

Seriously, I've got this through NetFlix and anyone who can watch it in a day or so is welcome to borrow it then put it in the mail.

And the provocative question: Do you think "many brothers" was on the hero's sheet to start, or did he buy them one at a time?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41259855@N00/47418261/

Shaolin Soccer was amazing! Now I gotta go see KungFu Hustle.

By the by Mike I dropped the DVD in the mail today.

http://differentcomputers.com/differentgames/glass.mov

Not safe for dial up.

Requires QuickTime.

:shock:

Holy crap..that was great!

How did you do that?

Greetings,
I trust that everyone enjoyed the show last night. The DVDs that Brad loaned us have been worth sharing with my family and friends. No doubt, we will see Serenity this weekend as will a friend and his family.
Why is http://differentcomputers.com/differentgames/glass.mov not safe for dial up? That's all I have. Thanks.
Jonathan

it's not safe for dial-up because it's HUUUGE. 5 MB or so in size.

http://www.manager-bp.com/images/DRAGONSKY-high3000.jpg

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Always a favorite artist of mine, Elvis Costello's album Brutal Youth has a great song called This is Hell that I thought had some relevance to Garusharp's return home.

This is hell, this is hell, this is hell.

"My Favourite Things" are playing
Again and again
But it's by Julie Andrews
And not by John Coltrane
Endless balmy breezes and perfect sunsets framed
Vintage wine for breakfast
And naked starlets floating in Champagne
All the passions of your youth
Are tranquillised and tamed
You may think it looks familiar
Though you may know it by another name

what makes the elephant go crazy? where is Zhen?!?!

by the way, the flower that the man in red garb is holding, is truly a lotus blossom!

Hey... Leave my War elephant alone you bunch of meanies!

Greetings
What's the plan, man?
Jonathan

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/ift03.htm

http://www.4to40.com/story/katha/default.asp?article=story_katha_index&counter=10

Change the seven daughters to 900 and the "raja" to "zitr" and you get a myth for some hero of Gajandiri Sa at http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ift/ift05.htm

Read this story at that link. You'll understand more when you understand that while the seven daughters were questing, so were the seven Princes. But since this is the story of the wise daughter, we learn nothing of the trials the seven Princes went through.

http://www.rahoi.com/2006/03/may-i-take-your-order.php