Thoughts on...Arak

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Carrion Crow
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Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Carrion Crow »

As people may be aware, I'm not keen on the whole Shadow Rift/Shadow Fey re-working of Arak. I like the idea that there was a kingdom of Drow in Ravenloft, and am trying to reconcile this with 'canon' history up to the Grand Conjunction.

The problem I'm currently having is that the Drow are primarily described as an evil race (certainly in 2nd edition). So, what did the Darklord of Arak do that warranted the Dark Powers granting him (or her) a Domain?

The only real information on the Drow version of Arak is from the Black Box, supplemented by the description of the Sword of Arak, and the section on Tristessa in Darklords.

I'm currently leaning towards the Darklord of Arak being a Drow King named Arak. As the Drow are described as a matriarchal society, this suggests that maybe he wrested control of the kingdom from the female rulers, which could explain the whole banishment of Tristessa.

Obviously, Arak was absorbed by Darkon during the Grand Conjunction, which suggests that the Darklord was slain or lost his Darklordship, which could be the seeds of an adventure.

My current thoughts are that 'King Arak' lost Darklordship and then wandered the Core, possibly becoming known as the Black Knight, until he ended up in Sithicus, around the time that Lord Soth escaped/was redeemed. Rather than the gypsy brat becoming Darklord of Sithicus, I kind of like the idea that Arak became Darklord, possibly encased in Soth's discarded and cursed armour and is in constant fear that the elves of Sithicus will realise that he is a Drow and overthrow him, not realising that there are no Drow on Krynn, so the elves of Sithicus have no reason to instinctively hate him. He therefore manitains the charade that he IS Soth.

Obviously, this needs a bit more detail to make it workable, as in how he became Darklord of Arak in the first place and what did he do in Sithicus to warrant the Dark Powers resnaring him, but I think it will work.

Anyone care to contribute to the Saga of King Arak?
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by The Lesser Evil »

What will you have happening to Arak once he loses it?

I take it you're not going with the shadow rift, right?
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by brothersale »

Check out the Places section in the Alanik Ray's Library in Cemetery for one version, another version existed on Stu of the Kargatane's old site.
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by thekristhomas »

I kinda like the idea of Arak as an absolutely standard, to the point of being generic, fantasy domain above ground, with no hidden twists, and they live in near ignorance of the drow kingdom below, which is the most messed up version of a drow kingdom you could think of, constantly preparing for a war against the surface that never comes, tearing itself apart from the inside when it's days away from victory and having to start again from scratch.
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Carrion Crow »

I was planning on following the basic 'canon' timeline of Arak, so formed in 575, banished Tristessa in 588 and then absorbed by Darkon in 735, but expanding upon the official 2e version, whereby Arak is a kingdom of the Drow.

So, at the point of absorption, something major happens, which results in the Drow being wiped out, except for Lord Arak, who loses Darklordship and ends up wandering the Core.

I like KrisThomas' idea that the Drow kingdom is Drow to the max. I'm thinking that Lord Arak is the most paranoid Drow there ever was, constantly seeing plots against him and eliminating those he considers responsible, be it the priestess' of Lloth or anyone else. His war effort is to scour the surface of those he feels are poised to destroy his kingdom, but whenever he mobilises his forces below ground, he becomes convinced that whoever he has put in charge is trying to overthrow him, so arranges their assassination. It's a constant cycle, with a slow whittling away of the Drow population, as Lord Arak removes all those he considers a threat. Eventually he'll run out of Drow...
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Five »

Carrion Crow wrote:As people may be aware, I'm not keen on the whole Shadow Rift/Shadow Fey re-working of Arak. I like the idea that there was a kingdom of Drow in Ravenloft, and am trying to reconcile this with 'canon' history up to the Grand Conjunction.
I'm not keen on drow being in Ravenloft (they're overused as a race in D&D, IMO), yet I was always a fan of the Sword of Arak. I do, however like the idea of ancient alien civilizations/ruins (fantasy "gothic" sensibilities), so as middleground I propose the Sword of Arak as Arak itself. Well, kind of.

To its possessor the sword reveals the kingdom of Arak through combinations of memories and actual locations, all buried beneath other domains, but useless in and of itself (ancient occult magic/rituals aside), revealed as the possessor is slowly being taken over by King Arak (to tie in your concept). King Arak will eventually become conscious of this current timeline as he begins to dominate the possessor of his sword (via transposition) and being privy to knowledge of his kingdom being naught but dust and ash, he will eventually want to rebuild his kingdom and take power back from the "infidels".

How to tie that in to your link to Sithicus and the Dark Powers, I haven't a clue right now. Maybe he became darklord of Sithicus (after realm re-entry) while transforming its inhabitants into drow (through old and very dark, evil magic/rituals), his effort to rebuild his army and to eventually execute his plan on rebuilding 'his" realm...?

As a potential Dread Possibility:

He can be a unique darklord in that he can be mobile, for perhaps he can be the first dual darklord of RL: Arak as it is still technically in existence (albeit in ruins), and Sithicus as the usurper. Due to the nature of his darklord status, he can only become physical in either Sithicus or Darkon (probably even a weakened version while in Darkon given the conflict of rulership). With character knowledge, he can easily allow his physical form to be "destroyed" (PC hollow victory ;)), where he can then become one with his sword again, thus allowing him to travel by proxy to the other domain where he can again reform through the current sword carrier and continue his conquest/crusade. In other words, classic against the clock adventure(s) for the PCs, across multiple domains, until they can find a way to destroy Arak (the sword). Insidious "allies" from Darkon, frustratingly apathetic "allies" from Sithicus...it's a madhouse for the morally-driven.

Or some such thing.

You could also take the darklordship from King Arak and let him wander the Core, plotting, rebuilding, etc...or you could ignore this entire post. haha :)
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Five »

Five wrote: Maybe he became darklord of Sithicus (after realm re-entry) while transforming its inhabitants into drow (through old and very dark, evil magic/rituals), his effort to rebuild his army and to eventually execute his plan on rebuilding 'his" realm...?
Make "drow" "dread elf". It is Ravenloft, and the taint should be delineated. ;)

Perversions of the drow that once walked Arak, a blend of shadowstuff (tie-in Nuitari's disappearance into an extremely obscene ritual ceremony where it is now some sort of lazarus pit/pool?) and half-remembered faces, mixed and moulded by King Arak's sick, twisted mind...
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."

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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Five »

It could also be possible to weave Arak's "canon" timeline into Sithicus'. There is a 145 year spread between Arak's appearance (575 BC) and Sithicus' (720 BC).

Streamlining further, perhaps Soth, on his arrival, actually filled the void that was left with King Arak's disappearance, and Arak became Sithicus (through the Dark Power's "personality adjustment"). When Soth left/escaped, another void was created (and filled), etc., until the time came when King Arak reappeared and took back the domain (which could still be changed from his original as the DPs redefined King Arak's new prison term/contract/whatever).

All, well most (some? haha), "canon" could theoretically remain intact. Unless I'm missing something. And yes, it's flawed: there would have to be something fluffed about the drow becoming extinct (Soth and his death knights?) and being replaced by elves (immigrants from Darkon/it's war with Falkovnia?)...all within a short time period (living memory, concerning elves).

Just more food for thought. All disposable. :)
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by The Lesser Evil »

If it might give you any ideas, Jacqueline Montarri has been to Arak. She stole her (in)famous vorporal sword from one of the "drow" of that domain. Perhaps his transgression came with betraying his own kind in favor a deal with outsiders of some kind?
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

Post by Carrion Crow »

Thanks for all your input. I really like the idea of Lord Arak becoming one with the sword named after him - this suits the paranoid personality I have in mind for him, that he would have some kind of contingency in mind, should he ever be 'overthrown'.

I'm thinking that the Drow Kingdom of Arak and Arak's descent (or ascent) to Darklordship is similar to the tale of Macbeth, in so far as his rise to power was influenced by a seers pronouncing a prophecy that he would rule. His wife, Lady Arak, encouraged him to self-fulfill this prophecy, not realising his fragile mental state and paranoia, and became horrified at the acts Lord Arak performed to ensure the 'prophecy' was fulfilled. As his paranoia grew, arranging the deaths of all who stood in his way, he became suspicious of his own wife and his final act of betrayal that granted him Darklordship of Arak was slaying his own wife.

This then created the insular, paranoid Drow Domain of Arak, which began a slow decline as Lord Arak continued to remove all those he felt were a threat to his continued rule. As a contingency, he ensorcelled his own blade, so that should the unthinkable happen and he was slain, his soul would enter the blade and anyone wielding it would gradually be taken over by him, via transposition.

Tristessa, priestess of Lloth, was a dissenting voice in the Kingdom, preaching that the Drow had strayed from the path of the Goddess and that Lord Arak was cause of the rot within their souls - so she obviously had to be removed.

Although paranoid to the extreme, Lord Arak was a cunning individual, and engineered the 'disgrace' of Tristessa, causing her followers and the rest of the populace to turn against her, causing her to be ejected from Arak and left to perish on the surface.

Eventually a group of adventurers came into conflict with the Mad King of the Depths and Arak was slain, his essence transferring into his sword, which was carried off by the adventurers. As this occuured at the time of the Grand Conjunction, as Lord Arak had been effectively cut off from his Domain, the land was absorbed by Darkon.

The Sword of Arak passed from hand to hand, with several possessors owning it long enough that they initiated the 'transposition'. Initially they believed that the longer they owned the sword, the more of its abilities they 'unlocked', not realising that they were gradually being taken over by the malevolent Drow.

Having been carried around the Core for a lengthy period, the Sword finally found its way to Sithicus, possibly drawn there by the large population of elves.

Due to their innate resistance to magic, the elves of Sithicus were able to resist Lord Arak's possession, and his hatred of these 'lesser' elves began to fester. However, it was only a matter of time before he found a suitable 'host', someone whose bitterness and hatred was directed against the current ruler of the Domain, Lord Soth.

In the final moments of Lord Soth's reign, prior to his redemption, Lord Arak's host was present and whilst his host did not survive the conflict, Lord Arak's soul found itself drawn into the cursed and discarded armour of the Knight of the Black Rose, rather than returning to the sword. Finally free of his parasitic existence and restored into a mobile 'body', Lord Arak reclaimed his sword and struck down the gypsy brat who dared to claim ownership of the land.

Lord Arak, The Black Knight, was now Darklord of Sithicus.

Now began the work of rebuilding the glory of Arak and the transformation of these 'lesser' elves into the one true race...the Drow.
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Re: Thoughts on...Arak

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Carrion Crow wrote:Thanks for all your input. I really like the idea of Lord Arak becoming one with the sword named after him - this suits the paranoid personality I have in mind for him, that he would have some kind of contingency in mind, should he ever be 'overthrown'.

I'm thinking that the Drow Kingdom of Arak and Arak's descent (or ascent) to Darklordship is similar to the tale of Macbeth, in so far as his rise to power was influenced by a seers pronouncing a prophecy that he would rule. His wife, Lady Arak, encouraged him to self-fulfill this prophecy, not realising his fragile mental state and paranoia, and became horrified at the acts Lord Arak performed to ensure the 'prophecy' was fulfilled. As his paranoia grew, arranging the deaths of all who stood in his way, he became suspicious of his own wife and his final act of betrayal that granted him Darklordship of Arak was slaying his own wife.

This then created the insular, paranoid Drow Domain of Arak, which began a slow decline as Lord Arak continued to remove all those he felt were a threat to his continued rule. As a contingency, he ensorcelled his own blade, so that should the unthinkable happen and he was slain, his soul would enter the blade and anyone wielding it would gradually be taken over by him, via transposition.

Tristessa, priestess of Lloth, was a dissenting voice in the Kingdom, preaching that the Drow had strayed from the path of the Goddess and that Lord Arak was cause of the rot within their souls - so she obviously had to be removed.

Although paranoid to the extreme, Lord Arak was a cunning individual, and engineered the 'disgrace' of Tristessa, causing her followers and the rest of the populace to turn against her, causing her to be ejected from Arak and left to perish on the surface.

Eventually a group of adventurers came into conflict with the Mad King of the Depths and Arak was slain, his essence transferring into his sword, which was carried off by the adventurers. As this occuured at the time of the Grand Conjunction, as Lord Arak had been effectively cut off from his Domain, the land was absorbed by Darkon.

The Sword of Arak passed from hand to hand, with several possessors owning it long enough that they initiated the 'transposition'. Initially they believed that the longer they owned the sword, the more of its abilities they 'unlocked', not realising that they were gradually being taken over by the malevolent Drow.

Having been carried around the Core for a lengthy period, the Sword finally found its way to Sithicus, possibly drawn there by the large population of elves.

Due to their innate resistance to magic, the elves of Sithicus were able to resist Lord Arak's possession, and his hatred of these 'lesser' elves began to fester. However, it was only a matter of time before he found a suitable 'host', someone whose bitterness and hatred was directed against the current ruler of the Domain, Lord Soth.

In the final moments of Lord Soth's reign, prior to his redemption, Lord Arak's host was present and whilst his host did not survive the conflict, Lord Arak's soul found itself drawn into the cursed and discarded armour of the Knight of the Black Rose, rather than returning to the sword. Finally free of his parasitic existence and restored into a mobile 'body', Lord Arak reclaimed his sword and struck down the gypsy brat who dared to claim ownership of the land.

Lord Arak, The Black Knight, was now Darklord of Sithicus.

Now began the work of rebuilding the glory of Arak and the transformation of these 'lesser' elves into the one true race...the Drow.
If you go that route maybe you can give him the power to change one surface elf to a drow 3Xday. Originally they are as evil as normal drow and totally devoted to King Arak but as time passes their original personality reasserts itself until they have the exact same personality as before in 6 months and lose their devotion unless they were originally evil. You might also want to have the elves of Sithicus a higher birth rate so they don't die out.
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