Post by Arsulon on Mar 12, 2016 19:13:49 GMT -7
From Plato, through Theosophism, to the Disney movie, I'm fascinated by Atlantis. Below are a few different variations on Atlantis and the Atlanteans for Primeval Thule.
Given the likelihood that Atlantis was a thalassocracy, dependant upon the sea for her livelihood and dominion, to say nothing of Plato's account of their kings' descent from Poseidon himself, it struck me as odd that the Atlanteans worship the solar deity Asura. Surely their patron would be an aquatic god or goddess? Even if the GM accepts the narrow range of divinities presented in Primeval Thule, perhaps the Atlanteans worship Tiamat? While Tiamat is pigeonholed as "bad" if you subscribe to alignments in your game, consider that in the ancient world gods were not so much venerated as propitiated; worship comprised taking steps to ensure you avoided the divinity's wrath. Perhaps the Atlanteans abandoned Tiamat when their civilization reached its zenith and they reinvented themselves as the enlightened benefactors of the world? Plato suggests the doom of Atlantis was their impiety; perhaps the deluge was Tiamat's anger?
A variation on the above, in keeping with the setting's mythos elements, might be to make the ancient Atlanteans' patron none other than Great Cthulhu. Imagine their primitive island culture reaching an accord with the Deep Ones, waxing in wealth and power over the centuries, their divine kings or priestly caste secretly sea-blooded hybrids themselves. Self-congratulatory and enlightened, they forget their dreaming benefactor and eschew the trappings of their ancestors' fish cult; but Cthulhu, and his minions, think in millennia, and when the stars are right the ungrateful isles are broken and drowned. Naturally, some noble houses secretly continued their devotions and fled with them to Katagia, or perhaps rediscovered them in a quest to raise their lost home? What if Tiamat herself is actually a cipher? The three-headed water dragon is none other than the unholy trinity of Great Cthulhu and his chief priests, Father Dagon and Mother Hydra?
What if the Atlanteans incurred the wrath of the gods by abandoning them entirely, choosing to turn their backs forever on both arcane and divine magic? In this variation, Atlantean sorcery and artifacts are exclusive and mysterious by virtue of the fact that they are not magical at all. Atlanteans long ago discovered, refined, and harnessed the power of the mind; their use of psionics and psionic devices and materials (perhaps orichalcum stored psionic power and was used to fuel their sky chariots and war machines) ensured their dominion over the superstitious peoples of the world, grovelling before gods, spirits and demons for their lore and power. Did they have tutors? Were the earliest Atlanteans visited by allies from the stars: this is exactly the case in the prehistory of Alternity's Dark Matter setting, in which the Greys (or Fraal), fearful and uncomprehending of the arcane, set their primitive human hosts on the path of awakening their own minds. Or perhaps their tutors were more sinister? What if ancient Atlantis was originally a mind-flayer outpost, and when the world gates failed their most talented slaves took up the reigns of power and forged an empire?
Given the likelihood that Atlantis was a thalassocracy, dependant upon the sea for her livelihood and dominion, to say nothing of Plato's account of their kings' descent from Poseidon himself, it struck me as odd that the Atlanteans worship the solar deity Asura. Surely their patron would be an aquatic god or goddess? Even if the GM accepts the narrow range of divinities presented in Primeval Thule, perhaps the Atlanteans worship Tiamat? While Tiamat is pigeonholed as "bad" if you subscribe to alignments in your game, consider that in the ancient world gods were not so much venerated as propitiated; worship comprised taking steps to ensure you avoided the divinity's wrath. Perhaps the Atlanteans abandoned Tiamat when their civilization reached its zenith and they reinvented themselves as the enlightened benefactors of the world? Plato suggests the doom of Atlantis was their impiety; perhaps the deluge was Tiamat's anger?
A variation on the above, in keeping with the setting's mythos elements, might be to make the ancient Atlanteans' patron none other than Great Cthulhu. Imagine their primitive island culture reaching an accord with the Deep Ones, waxing in wealth and power over the centuries, their divine kings or priestly caste secretly sea-blooded hybrids themselves. Self-congratulatory and enlightened, they forget their dreaming benefactor and eschew the trappings of their ancestors' fish cult; but Cthulhu, and his minions, think in millennia, and when the stars are right the ungrateful isles are broken and drowned. Naturally, some noble houses secretly continued their devotions and fled with them to Katagia, or perhaps rediscovered them in a quest to raise their lost home? What if Tiamat herself is actually a cipher? The three-headed water dragon is none other than the unholy trinity of Great Cthulhu and his chief priests, Father Dagon and Mother Hydra?
What if the Atlanteans incurred the wrath of the gods by abandoning them entirely, choosing to turn their backs forever on both arcane and divine magic? In this variation, Atlantean sorcery and artifacts are exclusive and mysterious by virtue of the fact that they are not magical at all. Atlanteans long ago discovered, refined, and harnessed the power of the mind; their use of psionics and psionic devices and materials (perhaps orichalcum stored psionic power and was used to fuel their sky chariots and war machines) ensured their dominion over the superstitious peoples of the world, grovelling before gods, spirits and demons for their lore and power. Did they have tutors? Were the earliest Atlanteans visited by allies from the stars: this is exactly the case in the prehistory of Alternity's Dark Matter setting, in which the Greys (or Fraal), fearful and uncomprehending of the arcane, set their primitive human hosts on the path of awakening their own minds. Or perhaps their tutors were more sinister? What if ancient Atlantis was originally a mind-flayer outpost, and when the world gates failed their most talented slaves took up the reigns of power and forged an empire?