New Character Submission:

[Jon Heinrich]

Name: Mors Mortis Adentinus
Age: 24
Class: Wizard
Deity: Soul Mother
Alignment: TN
Race: Human
Bio:
"I am balance, balance is me, in death are all things equal"
Mortis's father was an evil man, a murderer, he was sick and enjoyed in the sadistic torture of others he was killed some time after his wife, he used to sneak out and murder people for his own sick enjoyment, he died when Mortis was 20 at the hands of a paladin who caught him in the act and then published details of his sick crimes Mortis and his mother didn't know about their father until after he was caught and killed. His mother died when he was 21. His mother was a good woman, she was slain by a cleric of Corath, she used to make food and give it to the poor every week, one night whilst feeding the poor she witnessed some dark men go into a house, one of them saw her and so they killed her. In this Mortis saw all things as equal, evil slain by good and good by evil. There was balance. He didn't care for his parents. They were merchants who during the day pursued a well to do lifestyle which he didn't care for. Mortis was taught magic by both of his parents; both his mother and father were gifted mages, although neither of them believed in religion at all. They taught Mortis a few cantrips and some minor magic; both would lecture him on their own particular philosophies on magic and its use, his father would tell him to use it to make something great of himself and be powerful, his mother told him to use it to help people. Being torn between the two he had the potential to go either way without much provocation, but in the end decided upon philosophies of balance and neutrality, standing between the philosophies of both light and dark.
Mortis heard of a strange occurrence at the death of both his mother and father. Mortis knew his parents had fallen before in their adventuring days, his curiosity was peaked as to why these deaths were their final deaths. He believed the force which took them served to kill both the good and the evil and restore things to balance and neutrality. Having two parents who were devout students of the arcane for a lifetime there was a wealth of knowledge and books in the family home. Having long believed this silent event to be the divine will of balance, above and beyond the gods, beyond the petty affairs of mortals he was passionate and dedicated in his research. He eventually stumbled upon information which called it the soul mother. To him death was as necessary and important as breathing and eating. Mortis does not wish for death, or wish death unto others, he believes that the balance is automatic, a passive act in which the soul mother claims them at a just time to balance all things. It is for her and her alone to decide when to claim them. ((The soul mother has never shown any divine presence/powers, he believes she is beyond that, so it is in essence an unsubstantiated cult))

The mages in spell guard attempted to show him a love in Lucinda after seeing his magical talent, but he didn't care for the greater good or evil for that matter. As long as all actions were balanced. He used to walk by and argue with them on morality often bored by their moral debates about responsible use and how magic has a greater good purpose. To Mortis doing evil by good, good by evil makes no difference; all that matters is that all things are equal and balanced. He holds no faith in the gods, believing all are too slanted and bias for his belief system. He believes in the neutrality and ultimate end of the soul mother, believing that when one dies, the true balance is restored and through her his faith in neutrality is affirmed.

Mortis wears a white, black or Grey simple robe as he feels these colours serve the interests of neutrality better than any others. He carries a scythe as he feels this is the weapon of the harvester, it is however far more symbolic to him personally then it is an actual weapon. As the farmer tends his crops and returns the harvest to himself, so to are the souls of the living returned to the soul mother, in death are all things equal.

[darkstorme]

Hi there.

While this is an interesting character concept, there are a few things that require expansion... and a few anachronisms/Lore conflicts that will have to be removed.

The conflicts first, to get them out of the way:

• If "Herr" is part of his name, that's fine. But it can't be an honorific. There is no linguistic equivalent to German in-game.
• There is no magic academy in Spellgard, unless you count the school run by the Church of Lucinda. There is no secular "academy", and the church would be less than totally pleased with an individual who steadfastly refuses their divine teachings. Regardless, the school is less a formal training centre as an organization which connects teachers to students.
• No one associated with death and the disposition of souls in Layonara carries a scythe.

I'd like to see a little further expansion on Mortis' training as a wizard (given the information presented above).

Additionally, I'm curious as to how the deaths of his parents came about. How is it that a person so vile that a Paladin strikes them down could be married to (and raise a child in the company of) a (as you say) good woman? If he were merely a bad person, she might seek his redemption, but a murderer, an evil man? It seems extremely implausible. Also, when did they die, and if it happened during his childhood, who raised him?

Once you've addressed some of these concerns, post again to this thread for review.

Thanks!

[Jon Heinrich]

Bump for justice

[darkstorme]

This submission is under discussion. We'll get back to you as soon as possible.

[Jon Heinrich]

k
thx
bai

[darkstorme]

Sorry for the delay on this submission - a great deal of discussion had to take place.

The Soul Mother, as far as most non-adventuring individuals are concerned, is, at most, a rumour or ghost story. She doesn't make Her presence felt in everyday life in the manner that the Gods do. As such, if you intend for Mortis to be a "Cult of One", so to speak, we'll need to see a little more development into how he came to learn of the Soul Mother, and why he views death as a balance devoutly to be wished.

The other small concern we'd just like to see ameliorated is that, in thinking that balance can only be achieved through death, Mortis would set out to grant balance to everyone he could. Forcing this balance on those who don't share his views would not be a Good or Neutral act. If you could just confirm that this is not your intent with this character, it would go a long way towards approval.

Also, you list his mother as dying before his father was caught and executed - and yet she "found out" about his evil deeds. A little clarification there would help.

Thanks!

[Jon Heinrich]

Originally Posted by darkstorme

Sorry for the delay on this submission - a great deal of discussion had to take place.

The Soul Mother, as far as most non-adventuring individuals are concerned, is, at most, a rumour or ghost story. She doesn't make Her presence felt in everyday life in the manner that the Gods do. As such, if you intend for Mortis to be a "Cult of One", so to speak, we'll need to see a little more development into how he came to learn of the Soul Mother, and why he views death as a balance devoutly to be wished.

The other small concern we'd just like to see ameliorated is that, in thinking that balance can only be achieved through death, Mortis would set out to grant balance to everyone he could. Forcing this balance on those who don't share his views would not be a Good or Neutral act. If you could just confirm that this is not your intent with this character, it would go a long way towards approval.

Also, you list his mother as dying before his father was caught and executed - and yet she "found out" about his evil deeds. A little clarification there would help.

Thanks!

*I fixed the issue with his mother finding out, to make her die later, was just an oversight.
*He doesn't force his views, but believes balance is almost always a passive act.
*He believes that when one dies, one is no longer good or evil...just dead and that death itself is a necessary thing in the world, thus balance is achieved in this act, he believes the soul mother claims them at a time, in which the balance is always maintained. But that only she can determine this time.

[darkstorme]

Just seeking confirmation on a point of your submission. It should be dealt with later today. Thanks again for you extra work on this!

[EdTheKet]

Originally Posted by darkstorme

Just seeking confirmation on a point of your submission. It should be dealt with later today. Thanks again for you extra work on this!

And that seeking of confirmation was with me and I was out of the country for a while.

Contrary to the permadeath animation we had (or maybe still have, but I think it's out), the Soul Mother does not come to claim the soul personally (or even be visible if she did).
Next to that, it's all in the Harvester of Souls' hands now but he also doesn't just appear and gets souls.

So, the point is with the phantasm.

Also, as a side note, the Soul Mother doesn't determine when somebody dies or not (or when it is their time).

[Jon Heinrich]

Edited:

*Changed from phantasm to their 'final' death as the research trigger.
*Never stated that the soul mother determines death, stated as a passive act.

[Jon Heinrich]

Any word, been like 12 days or somethin aight

[darkstorme]

Sorry for the wait.

With the understanding that anything he believes about the Soul Mother (and he would have heard very little) is as much supposition as fact, and some of it is purely fiction...

Your character has been approved.

Server address is west.layonara.com
Password is layoplayer

Some final notes on character creation:

• Please note that racial adjustments for players with subraces are skin based and thus get applied after getting in game.
• Only two ability scores can be less than 10 and only one can be less than 8 after racial adjustments
• Brownies, when selecting a head, the head you choose on the halfling selection will correspond to that numbered head for elves (for example, clicking right 6 times on the head selection during character creation will take the 6th head when clicking right on the elf creation)
• Half-giants and ogres, please ask for a GM (type /dm Anyone here?) if you would like to change to a custom skin.

Good luck.