| The Spirit of the City | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 3 2009, 02:35 PM (386 Views) | |
| kismetrose | Jan 3 2009, 02:35 PM Post #1 |
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The one thing that got me about the movie The Spirit was the idea of someone being a kind of embodiment of a city. "My city screams. She is my mother. She is my lover, and I am her Spirit." Someone who knows the true face of their city, someone who reflects essential aspects of their surroundings, someone who is in tune with their environment in a way most others are not. As a DM, I can't help but wonder: which characters simply embody their setting? Which characters have that essential connection to a city that makes them stand out? Are there PCs that just jive with the setting? Are there NPCs that are secret touchstones? And I wonder which characters my players think of as embodying particular places. For me, Mithras is the hidden, hardened heart of my Dark Ages London chronicle. Ancient beyond reckoning, a man of marble in more ways than one, a man of iron resolve and a labrynthine mind. He is more of a vampire than any other vampire on the island, which is to say that he is less of a person and more of an alien. No one ever really knows what he is thinking, not even me. He is a man of strategy and tactics, who sees all things as pieces to be moved. His way is THE way, and he accepts no refusal. He might have to bide his time, but his way WILL come. He is the ultimate embodiment of the facade of power and control that the people of London strive for. He is the logical conclusion to all of the games the Kindred of London play. He is practically invisible most of the time, but his presence is felt always. In my long term D&D campaign, different characters are the spirits of different areas. Senedana fled her homeland for nearly 20 years in order to save herself and her son, but she carried Calimport with her in her flawless manners and her careful manipulations of all around her. Enchanting as the city of her birth, she seemed altogether too fine for her new surroundings until she returned home to take her rightful place. The PCs got a hint of Calimport long before they went there because they knew Senedana. Nistlor, an elder on the council of my version of Nesme, is a caustic man who nonetheless continues to make a place for himself. Many people owe him favors that they wish he would cash in, but he prefers to have enough to hold over people's heads. He says mostly what he likes because what is anyone going to do? His grating presence reflects Nesme's grating presence in the area; he is as tenacious as his city. Nistlor feels perfectly at home in his city and his position, and will be perfectly content to die there. Sunniva, the oracle of Sune, embodies Silverymoon in her outstanding beauty and charm, as well as her sensitivity to others. Yet there is a hidden sadness in the woman, due to the things she sees that she cannot always help or change. Maerimydra is the twisted and darkened heart of the temple of Sune in the Neverwinter Wood, which two of the PCs helped to redeem. The temple was cursed by Sune for major transgressions against her. The priestesses were turned to things like nagas and medusae; Maerimydra, the high priestess, was made into the spirit of the temple. All were forbidden to leave and punished into madness. It is required of any who enter the temple that they must visit Maerimydra's chamber before leaving; one must enter alone and stay until she is done, and there are no exceptions. There, this bitter spirit shows the visitor things about the past, the present or the future, things that have to do with love in some fundamental way, and things that the visitor probably does not want to see. She is, in a way, tough love. Two of the PCs have visited her, one of them twice. More than one character embodies Thandell, the PC's home city. Commander Silverstrike is a dwarf who calls the place home, representative of the major dwarven presence in the city. He has the grit, humor, and salt of the earth good nature at the heart of the city. Eliora, the dwarven wife of one of the PCs, spreads a feeling of home wherever she happens to be. She fits in Thandell well and I know that she is one of the first characters the PCs think of when they think of home. Her cooking, her ability to bring everyone together, her solid wisdom, advice, and support all reflect the city. But then so does Akordia, the Commander in charge of training rogues and assassins, which are seen as necessary evils. The city will do what it must, but tries to keep to a certain line. Very few see Akordia and most like to pretend she doesn't exist, but she does. And she has more secrets than most would ever guess. |
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1:25 AM Jul 11