Van Richten and The Time Of Unparalleled Darkness

[Brandi]

I tend to agree with Wiccy-- it certainly would explain some of the darklords who, while less flamboyantly evil than someone like Drakov nonetheless have their hopes pretty well thwarted too ("So, this panther thinks he's human and yet turned into an inhuman being trying to cope with his animal side. Interesting.").

[Ryan Naylor]

So to me they are not evil, they are devoid of all form of alignment, or at least to our reckoning

Ba bah! That's what I like.

[Grigg_Deadbreaker]

Observation:


If the DP are indeed like Lab Scientists, would make Azalin the Lab Rat that wants them dead?

At least thats how I've interpreted his plans. He realizes that escape is impossible if the jailers are capable of reeling him back in. So, kill the jailers, and leave the prison.

Unless of course you decide to become the new Warden.

IMO, the ToUD could possibly be tied to a power struggle between The Dark Powers, The Gentleman Caller, and Azalin. I can see the DP wanting to protect their experiment, the GC wanting to wrest control of the experiment, and Azalin wanting to end it and destroy all records of it.

Could you imagine the amount of suffering such a clash could cause?

And van Richten's role in all of this? Well, somebody needs to protect the innocents caught in the crossfire.

[Wiccy of the Fraternity]

If the DP are indeed like Lab Scientists, would make Azalin the Lab Rat that wants them dead?

Would you not slip your favourite lab rat an extra piece of cake now and then? I think Azalin, like his domain is a maze unto themselves. They both form two halves of the maze and Azalin's constant escape attempts in fact form his maze. By slipping an extra piece of cake, I mean that they frustrate him more by altering his maze whenevr he makes another escape attempt

[Gemathustra]

If the DP are indeed like Lab Scientists, would make Azalin the Lab Rat that wants them dead?

Would you not slip your favourite lab rat an extra piece of cake now and then? I think Azalin, like his domain is a maze unto themselves. They both form two halves of the maze and Azalin's constant escape attempts in fact form his maze. By slipping an extra piece of cake, I mean that they frustrate him more by altering his maze whenevr he makes another escape attempt

"So, Azalin, what are we going to do tomorrow night?"
"Same thing we do every night, Squalimous... TRY AND ESCAPE FROM THE DEMIPLANE!!!"

[Rotipher of the FoS]

While I don't personally subscribe to the "lab rat" hypothesis, those who do might be interested to hear that behavioral experiments on rats and other animals show that they respond better to conditioning (= training) if rewards for obedience are provided only *some* of the time. Slipping Azalin his "extra piece of cake" (i.e. signs that he's getting closer to his ultimate escape) inconsistently could, in fact, be a better way to keep the lich baited than to *always* convince him that his bids for freedom are making progress.

By that argument, I suppose, you could plausibly decide that "Lord of the Necropolis" is *canon* IYC ... but that the whole thing was a scam by the DPs, to make Azalin THINK he's figured out what they're up to. Instead, it's just extra icing on the lab-rat's latest nibble of cake.

[Ryan Naylor]

Had you ever seen Deauth Undaunted, you would be able to explain the end of LotN quite easily as Azalin's delusion. Unfortunately, you haven't, so you can't.

[Gemathustra]

Had you ever seen Deauth Undaunted, you would be able to explain the end of LotN quite easily as Azalin's delusion. Unfortunately, you haven't, so you can't.

Thank you for giving us our piece of cake.

[Charney]

Speaking of Death Undaunted, does anybody still has the outline that JWM had made. He put it online shortly after the Karg closed down.

I want to use it for eventual inspiration when I will send my PCs to Necropolis.

[Shoon VII]

perhaps i'm being too cynical, but i think the Time of Unparalleled Darkness is a marketing ploy, kind of like that halo around the head of people who switch internet providers.

[Brandi]

More like the Kargatane didn't intend to formally write up the ToUD, but left it as an interesting seed for the readers.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if among the many conflicts the K seem to have had with White Wolf was that WW wanted an actual metaplot built around the ToUD and the K couldn't convince them that that wasn't the point of it.

[Mangrum]

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if among the many conflicts the K seem to have had with White Wolf was that WW wanted an actual metaplot built around the ToUD and the K couldn't convince them that that wasn't the point of it.

Our conflicts with WW were more along the lines of our increasing doubt that they knew what the ToUD *was*, much less had incompatable plans for it.

"Include a prestige class for each domain in Gaz III" -- that's about the sum total of setting direction we received after our initial developer handed off the reins.

[Steve Miller]

More like the Kargatane didn't intend to formally write up the ToUD, but left it as an interesting seed for the readers.

As the guy wrote that Time of Unparalled Darkness reference in "Bleak House," I can confirm that this was indeed the original intention.

(Although I while I never was part of the Kargatane, David Wise, Bill Connors, and Andria Hayday did declare me a late-arriving member of the Kargat. )

[Reginald de Curry]

(Although I while I never was part of the Kargatane, David Wise, Bill Connors, and Andria Hayday did declare me a late-arriving member of the Kargat. )

Eh, it's all good.

[Brandi]

Thanks for the clarification, John-- and Steve, my mistake for not realizing you'd planned the ToUD as well. I only remembered that you came up with the other deliberately-left-vague plot device known as the Gentleman Caller....