Hello fellow PlaneShift fans!

Well people seem to be eager to share their character history. But what I'm interested in is the context of PS. As an occasional DM of roleplaying games, that's what I prefer. Now I know the devs have their ideas on Yliakum's history, but I think there is a way we players can contribute.

There is one thing that is never defined by historians and such alike, and that is folklore. By definition it is the voice of the people. So I tought we could put in this post every piece of Yliakum folklore we run across, such as sayings, old stories, bedside stories, nursery rhymes, etc. Use your imagination! Or we could also list interesting RP lines, such as: "May the crystal ever shine on you."

The aim is to create a context that would be specific to Yliakum (living in a stalactite does that to societies ) and promote RP by giving players tools to use. I'm not saying we should write the history of PS, just add a little touch we can all relate to. I'll give an example with this rhyme I wrote, inspired by celtic "series", which associated numbers with ideas.


[RP ON] The Dodecalogue is an old rhyme that mothers used to teach their children. It is therefore also known as Old Mother's Words, although scholars prefer to refer to it as The Rhyme of Structure. It lists the important aspects of life in Yliakum, but some verses have been twisted by many retellings and have become obscure.

The Dodecalogue

One realm of beings
By divine force carved
One stone of azure
To bring life and strength

Two beings like no other
None the wiser, none the brighter
By love and hate bound by fate
For endless years of sorrow and glory

Three ages you shall see
Miss not one for fear of grief
Add no days to the count
Or at peril prolong them

Four doors to reach
Two are open, one is closed
One backwards will bring you
Think wisely, take not the last

Five winds of beauty
Inspiration, fascination
Practice, knowledge
Add love for good measure

Six parts of a single power
Ever divided, ever united
To wield it set your mind
Brace yourself, embrace the one

Seven ways of gaining coin
Riches great and rewards high
But periless is every one
Live honest, die old

Eight worlds to inhabit
A miracle unscrutable
Share them, preserve them
Means of death create not

Nine walls of the mind
Thrice founded, thrice destroyed
Thrice rebuilt by patient labour
Greet others, respect their friendship

Ten knights in gleaming armour
Swords raised poised to strike
Ten guardians of solid stone
Shields unbreakable bourne for ever

Eleven gems from water drained
Each brighter than the other
Ever they escape your grasp
Envy their tinkling sound

Twelve rhymes of wisdom ancient
By all and none composed
Rules of conduct, tales from the future
Learn and repeat, forget them not

So, what d'you reckon?