PlaneShift
Gameplay => Guilds Forum => Topic started by: Duraza on March 23, 2007, 03:35:10 am
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A hand covered in dark flames reveals itself from under a cloak and grabs the head of another, "Do you wonder the point of your existence? Think that you lack true power? Want to Unlock your full potential? Well my child I can give you all that you ever wanted. I hold the key to fufilling your dreams.....all you have to do is stand still....remember all good things come at a price.."
Way of the Decayer
The Decayers of Light is a guild belonging to the Dark Hand Organization (http://www.freewebs.com/handofdarkness). They are a group of dark mages (few warriors are allowed) who believe dark magic is superior. They think the only thing that can stand against dark magic is the power of crystal magic and therefore to make only dark magic powerful they must decay its rival. They don't believe in killing the opponnent unless needed, feeling that torture is better.
Way of the Mage
To the founders of this organization it was believed that "Magic is Might." Those who follow the path of the warrior are looked down upon as inferior and/or weak. They believe that only a mage can match a mage. This leads to the conclusion that mages, whether friend or foe, are equals and all else are worthless. They only show respect for warriors within their own ranks, who they still may feel are inferior.
Ranking
Lost One- Those who are captured by the guild for whatever reason. The Necromancer's use them in tests while researching the dark arts. Those who live are allowed to serve the organization or be killed.
Shadow- Servants of the guild (whether lost one or hired). As the name implies you are to act only as a shadow, to be seen but not heard. If felt worthy you may be lucky to be accepted as a true guild member, most however are not.
Chaotic Invoker- Learner of the dark arts. You will be taught the ways of the mage and learn many dark secrets and forbidden techniques.
Necromancer- Dark mages who practice the art of Necromancy. They study the dark ways, and its magics. Since the magic they practice is illegal they opperate in secret, researching in private locations.
Chaotic Elite- High level mages with allowed to act freely in the guild. They may use a variety of different spells and ways. Only the guild master and Lords can command the Elite.
Black Guard- Warriors and mages who directly serve the guildmaster. They work as the guild masters personal guard and their only required job is to protect the guild master with their life.
Decayer- A member allowed to command all under them except the chaotic elite. They are dark mages who have mastered the arts of weakening and decaying. As such this torturers never kill but only drive the opponent to the point where death is desired.
Lord- Those who serve directly under the guild master. They take control of the guild in times of the guild masters absence, serve as generals in war, and act as a council for helping the guild master in making decisions.
Hand of Darkness- Master of the guild and the Organization. As the name implies the guild master is also the known master a special technique called the Hand of Darkness. When the time comes he/she must choose an apprentince to teach this technique and become the new guild master.
Purpose
Known as the first phase of the organization this guilds only purpose is to weaken the strength of light(the definition of light here is left to one's interpretation...they could mean the crystal itself or be using light as a word to represent good). They belive that like living things that can die and decay light can do the same.
More Information
Still craving for more? Lust for the power? Well you may be one of us. For more information check the guild website www.freewebs.com/handofdarkness . If you want to speak to us either talk to us ingame or go to the non-members area in the fourms http://z4.invisionfree.com/The_Dark_Hand/index.php . Post whatever questions you may have there or express your intrest to join.
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What happened to Unholy Guardians?
Personally I've always frowned upon powerful magic being RPed since it's very easy to go overboard .. but I guess people like being 'enslaved' and being evil without needing a reason :P So have fun with this!
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I think it will be fine, Zan, as long as Duraza keeps it under control, which I believe he can. Good luck with the guild
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I don't think Yliakum has necromancy.
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What happened to Unholy Guardians?
Personally I've always frowned upon powerful magic being RPed since it's very easy to go overboard .. but I guess people like being 'enslaved' and being evil without needing a reason :P So have fun with this!
I'm now only the assistant guild master in the Unholy Guardians. I'm currently waiting for the guild master to return to the game but I may start the teaching and stuff without him. As for the "powerful magic" part I'm trying to keep the strength of this magic down. I rather not have people going crazy with it and the actual enslavement spell will be handled with great care I promise. Besides there are going to be plenty of ways to escape it if rped correctly :). We do have a reason for all this "evil" as you say. You'd have to look at the website to find out about it though.
I think it will be fine, Zan, as long as Duraza keeps it under control, which I believe he can. Good luck with the guild
Thanks. I'm trying to keep it fun for everyone and anyones welcome to help me out to run this guild or any of the upcoming ones.
I don't think Yliakum has necromancy.
Necromancy in general is black magic or magic having to do with the dead. If you read the weakness glyph description it is a necromantic spell. Unless they changed the description :sweatdrop:
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Is it? I always thought it was specificaly to do with raising the dead. Necro=dead.
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It all depends. Necromancy is thought of a way to use dark spirits to use magic in some versions of the definition. As in a Necromancer would summon dead spirits and the dead spirits would cast spells. The version I'm using is just a statement that its black magic and the wielder is a dark magician. Guess you could be right too though.
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Actually, Parallo .. there is necromancy in the game, if I remember correctly. I recall something of a dark cult that stole bodies to perform necromancy but I can't remember where I found that reference. It is a craft that is performed in shadows and not accepted by society, in contrary to the other magic ways. So from what I gather necromancy is not exactly the same as the magic of the dark way.
Running two guilds must be tough .. and I'm glad you're going to be careful with your magics. I'm keeping my judgement until I actually RP with you or your guild members ;D
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But I thought that bodies went to the death realm?
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I don't like the word evil being used by evil people. I'm not too keen on concepts that see evil as the objective and not as something you get from following a reasonable objective. I also don't think Light and Dark mean Good and Evil in PS. Light and Dark have those meanings to us because we're humans. Krans, Klyros, Diabolis and other races that can see in the dark surely have nothing to worry about, and therefore give it no special meaning.
I think it would be more plausible if they (The Decayers) just considered themselves superior and their own ideals above peace, harmony and order because the power of their magic is so great that it can cope with chaos.
If you go around saying you're evil, people will think you're craving that kind of attention and might be reluctant of giving in to it.
It would make sense that the Decayers would like to recruit people, but not with the purpose of corrupting them. That would just be a side effect. :P
I like the Promotional Thread in itself. Very attractive.
EDIT: Obviously the first text represents my personal opinions and not a demand of any kind.
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bodies are discarded into waste ducts, they don't go to the death realm automatically.
Larger rubbish and bodies are simply thrown into almost vertical and apparently endless wells. Nobody seems to care about where all of this junk finally ends up, since the stalactite theory is only devised by some Xacha scientists and has not been proven yet. Dead bodies are eliminated the same way. Though discarding dead in such a callous fashion would seem rather shocking, neither of the two main faiths at Yliakum requires particular care nor reverence to dead bodies. To the people here, a body is simply a non-functional apparatus or an empty shell with no soul.
Whether those ducts end up in the death realm or not I wouldn't know. Either way ... I'm certain that they can be retrieved, perhaps resulting in permanent death for the former owner .. or a permanent 'undead' life of slavery? Still looking for that reference of necromancy ...
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I think the Dark Way description has a reference to necromancy.
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It speaks about controlling undead but it's not the reference I had in mind, I think I read something about necromancy in one of the in-game books.
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I don't like the word evil being used by evil people. I'm not too keen on concepts that see evil as the objective and not as something you get from following a reasonable objective. I also don't think Light and Dark mean Good and Evil in PS. Light and Dark have those meanings to us because we're humans. Krans, Klyros, Diabolis and other races that can see in the dark surely have nothing to worry about, and therefore give it no special meaning.
I think it would be more plausible if they just considered themselves superior and their own ideals above peace, harmony and order because the power of their magic is so great that it can cope with chaos. If you go around saying you're evil, people will think you're craving that kind of attention and might be reluctant of giving in to it.
That way it would make sense that they would like to recruit people, but not with the purpose of corrupting them. That would just be a side effect. :P
I like the Promotional Thread in itself. Very attractive.
EDIT: Obviously the first text represents my personal opinions and not a demand of any kind.
I understand what you mean. Like I said when I say "light" and "darkness" I do it because I want it to be unclear to players what they are talking about. Kind of leave it in mystery. Thats why I said when we talk about weakening light it could mean anything (weakening the crystal, or maybe the "light of life" in people if you get my meaning. By darkness we could literally mean make the world "forever dark" things like that. Not gonna tell you our true reference though) I can assure you I'm not the kind to go around saying "I'm evil so I'm gonna kill you" and I'm going to make sure my guild members do not as well. As for the part about us doing evil things because its evil thats not true. We do deeds we know are considered evil by the public to reach our goals for the fact that its the only way. In a way by corrupting people we feel we can bring Yliakum a greater "enlightenment." We feel that things like power, revenge, etc are things that should not be shunned by the public. Its hard for me to explain this right and I don't think what I'm saying is real clear so if you want a more specific question for me to answer would be prefered :sweatdrop:
By the way we don't corrupt all members. There are 3 specific ranks for those who are corrupted but its not everyone in the guild (Infected, Tainted, Decay).
As for all this about the necromany topic I'm wondering whether you think the necromany has to do directly with the corruption/enslavement art. If so no. Necromany is a form of the dark arts that I believe is in the Dark way. That specific rank is for Necromancers and for learning Necromancy. You are right that in Necromancy its the use of living spirits inorder to preform different dark spells. How I think it works is that when something dies it soul goes to Death Realm, not both body and soul for that to make sense. But either way as I said its just a dark art that you must learn inorder to achieve Decayer rank. It also serves as another way of limiting those who can use the corruption art (more time spent and more rp having to be done before hand).
Running two guilds must be tough .. and I'm glad you're going to be careful with your magics. I'm keeping my judgement until I actually RP with you or your guild members ;D
Well the other guild is mainly just like a school plus its not going to be active ingame yet. As for rping with us I hope you enjoy it. I'm trying to take people in who are not new to the game or to rp and trying to make sure everyone's rp is believeable. If you do find someone you belive to be god rping or rping out of the settings from my guild please contact me. I'll make sure to set them straight. :)
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As for the part about us doing evil things because its evil thats not true. We do deeds we know are considered evil by the public to reach our goals for the fact that its the only way. In a way by corrupting people we feel we can bring Yliakum a greater "enlightenment."
I find that quite contradicting. If you believe you are bringing people towards a greater enlightenment then you shouldn't consider your actions corruptive or evil.
Therefore saying things like "Feel The Touch Of Evil" and accepting that you corrupt people would be out of place when you actually consider that your actions, evil as they might look to those with lesser minds, are what will bring people to a higher plane.
I'm just saying that if you consider yourselves to be doing what is best, then you should acknowledge it as such. And completely shrug off labels (evil, corruptive) that other people might stick on you. That would imbue to your guild a special feeling of its own, rather than have it stick with the clichés that the words "Evil" and "Corruption" usually bring about.
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I wrote the above with the intention of attracting you to an original way of approaching that sort of disruptive behavior guild. If you check around you'll find some other guilds that put emphasis on Evil, Darkness, Corruption and Chaos, and you'll soon get fed up with all of that.
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Now I get what your saying. Ok let me explain this the right way, sorry for the confusion :sweatdrop:. See theres a reason why I made the references to free and enslaved members. Not everyone who joins us is going to be enslaved. Actually how it works is that specific people are going to be enslaved to unleash their dark sides. However thats because they are servants. They don't join the guild of their free will. They decide whether they want to join OOC but IC their character is being put into a forced enslavement. Those who join us of free will are those we "enlighten" by giving them things like power and advancing their dark arts. We accept we corrupt those people because we corrupt their minds inorder to enslave them. We purposely awaken their dark dreams and such so they forget the person they once were. Instead they become our servants but really they are nothing more but servants each rank for them just telling you how twisted they have become because of their servitude. Actual members who join of free will (even good guys who wish to join our cause) help us fufill a purpose hidden from the city people (which is why I don't make many references to it). Everything about us corrupting Yliakum is only applied to our enemies (and what we want to be seen as inorder to keep our enemies from knowing are true purpose). We don't feel ourselves as evil or corrupted but we do corrupt our enemies inorder for them to join our side as servants. Not as if they actually understood our purposes. Get what I mean now or still not clear?
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As for the reason we call it "The Touch of Evil" its because of more or less a name it already had before the organization started using it. When Duraza used it that was what it was called when he learned it (also refered to hand of darkness because your hand is surrounded by dark energy). We keep the name just for the fact that its what the teqnique is called.
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I get what you mean. But I am still not sure if you get what I mean. And what I mean isn't something better than what you have in mind. It's just different and I am merely trying to see if you like it.
There are guilds that, in my opinion, appeal to a very vulgar way of interpreting evil. Vulgar and boring. This way is when your character assumes he is evil, works always on an evil basis and sees the corruption, twisting and pain of others as something nice. But without any visible reason. I'll try to use examples. I'll lean a bit on your guild's topic, I hope you don't mind. It won't have much to do it, besides the fact that is has to do with magic.
Not so original way: A group of Dark Way mages sees global corruption as the only way to set a world of true pleasures (this motive is usually left out. People don't usually mind explaining why they want to corrupt. Unfortunately). They use their magic and intellect to bring people to their ranks, forcing them into servitude when necessary. Those that join usually become compliant, either for fear of the repercussions or because they come to enjoy powers. They spread terror.
This is often the approach taken. Corrupting as the objective, everything else comes as a bonus. It may sound nice, but it's really something vulgar. It points out to a certain light mindedness of the leaders who are either war hungry, bored or insane. Members enjoy being called evil, they revel in the hatred shown in the expressions of those that surround them.
An original way would be like the following example: A guild of mages that considers the Dark Way and Red Way the most pure forms of energy available. But they have no patience for constructing complex hierarchies and rule sets and such. No, they're too busy with becoming powerful and studying deeper into their arts. They still need people though, so they tempt them with the power they have to offer. Those who become ambitious stay and slowly drift away to unsocial behavior as they're drawn to themselves and to power. Those who want to leave afterwards become intimidated. Kept as slaves and obeying because they fear for they lives, it's clear that they'll be used as guinea pigs if they voice their lack of motivation.
As you see this way still makes them look evil. But they're focused on something. Their acts have a justification: they seek more power. Corruption, fear, evil... all that comes as a bonus. And they don't care for it. They see themselves superior, impervious to the sight and opinions of the lesser.
As you see one is not better than the other. That's what I tried to make clear, though my favoritism is obvious. But the last approach is less taken, where the first is just too common.
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Thanks for that clear explanation. I too prefer the second one and its more so what I'm trying to bring about in my guild. I see what your saying though. By my saying that I am "corrupting" people it leaves the thought that I and my guild would fall under the first category. Evil with no true purpose. From what you say both categories do the same thing but one does it with a purpose and feels itself right in doing it, not evil or wrong. Now this is what I'm trying to do (have not completely got it to a straight forward plan but its my thought). When I was trying to plan this guild I noticed that many guilds who are considered "evil" by the public (like thieves guilds) are secret or "underground." It makes sense because it keeps people from easily finding out the specific guilds plans and such, keeping them from always being attacked by the public. My guild however will be a very public evil but I wanted to do it in a way that even though we are public its hard to easily infiltrate it with things like guild spies etc (not saying there are actually any but its possible rp). So I thought what if the guild was to be shown as if it was full of people who were "just evil to be evil" with no real purpose. This would hide our true purposes and help to truely keep us secret even though we are public. So I made the Dark Hand Organization to help with that. See if you look at it as seperate guilds you only see people who want to be evil for the sake of being evil, no goal in sight. However you have to look at it in terms of being part of an Organization. The Organization claims its purpose to corrupt all those who are good, still making it seem as if the first method you described is true. But there are those in the Organization (higher up trusted members) who know the real purpose of the organization. See you can be a high ranking member of the guild but not of the Organization or vice versa. High rank Organization members are the ones who act as evil with purpose. Low rank Organization members would act as evil for the sake of being evil. And to make sure the public thinks we all are like this we do not openly reveal our purpose but act as if we just are evil for the sake of being evil. I try to hint this on but I don't say it because that ruins the fun sometimes. I'm not trying to say that there is something wrong with either way either but I think the way I set this guild up works for both ways. Like I said its not completely worked out which is another reason I didn't mention it yet but thats the intention.
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By your concern I can see that it works :)
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Well, that sounds like a plan. I can see some problems in it, but I might as well not mention them, since they're of an IC nature. *evil laughter*
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Nice. Now I have to worry about someone trying to defeat me.
Anyways though I wanted to say the guild is officially made ingame and to join contact Duraza. If you are looking for information OOC contact is ok but if your looking to join IC contact is prefered. Even an IC tell as long as you make it convincing (like saying you sent your groffel with a message, etc.). Not accepting any OOC invites and anyone in the guild OOCly will be booted.
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Nice. Now I have to worry about someone trying to defeat me.
Anyways though I wanted to say the guild is officially made ingame and to join contact Duraza. If you are looking for information OOC contact is ok but if your looking to join IC contact is prefered. Even an IC tell as long as you make it convincing (like saying you sent your groffel with a message, etc.). Not accepting any OOC invites and anyone in the guild OOCly will be booted.
Hehe, that's not what I meant. Just that it will have to be Sangwa giving you that information.
Anyone in the guild OOCly will be booted? I don't understand this very well.
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As in people who enter the guild from an OOC invite. This goes more to members of the guild with the power to invite not to do any mass recruiting, or put someone in the guild because they were intrested in it. Things like that. People who join have to first make IC contact and express their intrest and will be accepted based on some other things. If someone was to invite a person in the guild just because they know the person ooc or because its an alt it wont be accepted. If its an alt then you still have to rp your way in is my only point. OOC members would just make things confusing.
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By the way where do you get one of those special guild banners and things like that? I have no idea but see lots of guilds with their own custom ones.
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Usually one member of the guild does them. Jekkar does ours. And we appreciate it very much.
I think there was a thread at the Fan Art forum where a person offered to do banners though...
About the OOC invite things, having a trial rank/period will help to make sure those to be invited have enough in character contact to be accepted.
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Now to the addition of the website a fourms page was made for guild/organization members. Not a lot of information on it yet for fourm guest but soon there will be and the website is
http://s4.invisionfree.com/The_Dark_Hand/
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Duraza alone in Hydlaa's plaza. Suddenly Lanele speaks from behind him
"You've been gone a long time," she says.
"Yes I had work to do. Many things that I discovered on my trip away."
"I tried to keep the guild alive but by myself it was usless."
"I noticed. I haven't seen any them for a long time. I'm actually surprised to see you. I expected all of you to have left instead of wait for my return."
"Maybe we should start again? Rebuild it all?"
Duraza laughs "That would take too long. I doubt I even have enough life in me."
"Then pick another to take your place? Start to rebuild and then allow those who join to carry on for you."
Duraza thinks for a while before nodding in agreement, "I might as well not let my goal die with me. I already have an apprentice. I suppose when he is ready he will take my place. Till then its time to start the Decay."
[Were back..... :devil: The guild is already ingame and while there is only a few members the guild is open for recruitment. Since I am putting my efforts into another guild at the moment as well someone else will be taking Duraza's place as head as time passes on. For now though I'm still leading.
I made some ajustments to the guild (which can be viewed in the first post). Fixes on the rankings and guild purpose a little. Also I've completely removed the enslavement aspect of this guild (because many felt it too powerful, including myself) and replaced it with a dark mage theme if you hadn't noticed :P
We are mainly recruiting people who want to be dark mages, as we will teach you the ropes, but warriors are allowed. It just takes longer for you to be accepted and get anywhere if your not intrested in magic.
I will be changing the website to add the new information but you can still view it as well as go to the fourms. The non-members area is free for anyone to post there expressing any issues, questions, or wantings to join.
I don't like the word evil being used by evil people.
Yeah and that right there has finally been changed... ;) ]