Mask

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FoamBats4All
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Mask

Post by FoamBats4All »

So what's the deal with Mask on ALFA? Is he dead and Shar is bluffing her way as being Mask? Unsure where we diverge from FR canon on this issue.
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dergon darkhelm
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Re: Mask

Post by dergon darkhelm »

From what I understand is pretty much everything is static starting from the Time of Troubles. None of the god issues beyond that are incorporated.


I *think*
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Zelknolf
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Re: Mask

Post by Zelknolf »

Well, Mask dies in 1374 DR, and our start is 1375 innit? (ALFA2's live date was April 2009?)

Unless we have that exception recorded somewhere?
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Re: Mask

Post by Zelknolf »

dergon darkhelm wrote:From what I understand is pretty much everything is static starting from the Time of Troubles. None of the god issues beyond that are incorporated.


I *think*
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Re: Mask

Post by HEEGZ »

Zelknolf wrote:Well, Mask dies in 1374 DR, and our start is 1375 innit? (ALFA2's live date was April 2009?)

Unless we have that exception recorded somewhere?
Subject: ON TIME WITHIN THE REALMS
Veilan wrote:In case anyone needs to re-engineer, ALFA started April 15th 2008 - which was Greengrass (April 30th) 1375 DR.
That said... I have always assumed and even RP'd that Mask was alive and well in ALFA. Had no idea he might have died. Also, I did not double check Zelknolf/Veilan maths and they seem to be a year off from each other? I prefer Mask to still be alive.
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kid
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Re: Mask

Post by kid »

Well, sense he's in ALFA for lots of year and it's been a pretty wide concensus (for whatever reason), I'd suggest we don't poof him dead.

I would however, suggest it might be a good idea, if some DM/HDM would come up with a way for Mask to end up dead(or gone) in the future as part of some cool plot or other.

Player characters need not be involved directly(though they could be-awesome), but we at least should establish some grand ALFA narative (that should be based of FR's real narative) that would explain how'd that happened.
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Re: Mask

Post by Zelknolf »

Amusingly, I had the real year of ALFA2's start wrong and the game year right. Sorry about that. Mask's death would still indeed be 1374 DR (2007 our time), and ALFA2's start was Greengrass 1375 (2008 our time). It is now six years later, in 1381, with the major events that are specific to our represented regions, or which would affect them, having not happened (unless a DM specifically ran them).


I'm not sure that either answer for Mask would be particularly disruptive to existing play, in any case-- Mask is dead by canon because he got eaten by Shar, who typically uses the domains of gods she's destroyed to pretend that they're still alive (as the canon tells it, "for the lulz"). And our poor misguided faithful PCs wouldn't much be able to challenge that, because I hear Shar is good at tricking people. May be that plots to follow would merely reveal Mask's death to mortals (perhaps also "for the lulz").
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Re: Mask

Post by Brokenbone »

Figure DC bazillion Knowledge checks for mere mortals to realize stuff that even other deities are tricked about. I always liked little uncertainties in past editions like "so, Leira, deception/illusion goddess, did she fake her own death or what?", or the moderate period of time Waukeen was on ice due to a deal with Grazzt. Stuff like that.

Mask is cool but I guess Shar can play a credible Mask-lookalike. And probably some other dead powers too, there may have been more than just Eshowdow (some Chult tribal god bad guy) on her list.
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Re: Mask

Post by Rumple C »

Poor mask. One of the cooler gods.
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Re: Mask

Post by hollyfant »

dergon darkhelm wrote:None of the god issues beyond that are incorporated.
Don't we have Amaunator too? :chin:
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Re: Mask

Post by Zelknolf »

hollyfant wrote:
dergon darkhelm wrote:None of the god issues beyond that are incorporated.
Don't we have Amaunator too? :chin:
... sort of.

In theory Greasemang (Fenrick) was on point for the plot that would have established Amaunator's revival. Today we just have tangent PCs who aren't actually priests of Amaunator (a couple Selûnites and a Lathanderite, specifically)-- but we have indeed had a priest of Amaunator who got spells and could be raised from the dead. So if we're not ICly on track to a Lathander -> Amaunator transition, we have some retconning to do.
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Re: Mask

Post by HEEGZ »

What is the canon source regarding Mask?

I'll continue RPing as usual that he is alive and well until the DM team comes up with a good solution. I don't recall any conversation ever about Mask being gone, or surely we would not have added him as a deity option when we launched NWN2.

As for Amaunator, I had a cleric a couple of PCs ago who was headed that route, and assume such a transition for Lathander could conceivably happen, with no retconning needed.
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Re: Mask

Post by shad0wfax »

HEEGZ wrote:What is the canon source regarding Mask?

I'll continue RPing as usual that he is alive and well until the DM team comes up with a good solution. I don't recall any conversation ever about Mask being gone, or surely we would not have added him as a deity option when we launched NWN2.

As for Amaunator, I had a cleric a couple of PCs ago who was headed that route, and assume such a transition for Lathander could conceivably happen, with no retconning needed.
In terms of canon, he is dead at this point, although it is left ambiguous whether or not he's actually gone for good in the 4e timeline later on. Shar is involved and she's deceitful.

But none of that matters. His followers can still wander around worshiping him and his priests can even still pay homage to him and possibly even be granted spells. Of course, the actual spells would come from whatever deity assumed Mask's portfolios, but as they revolve around deception, it's plausible that said deity would actually grant spells as if they were Mask, and not let the followers know, thus continuing the deception.

That's an alternative we can explore if we wish, since we're not marching down the 4e timeline. I'm no Lore-Fiend; this is something we can consider, if you like.
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Re: Mask

Post by boombrakh »

This and this.
pragmatic (adj.)
The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best."
From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were
concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions. A pragmatic person
is sensible, grounded, and practical.
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Re: Mask

Post by shad0wfax »

boombrakh wrote:This and this.
Good stuff, but neither mention Mask directly.
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