Souls and the Pits of Endless StrifeSouls that did not follow a deity, or were not picked by one when waiting to be judged by the Harvester, will migrate towards the Thread.To reach the Thread however, they will need to go through the Pits of Endless Strife. The nefarious creatures of the Pits will always want to capture souls to gain more power. The more souls one has, the larger the Pit, the more powerful the creature dominating the Pit in question.A master of a Pit always has competition from the others in that same pit so any soul passing through the Pits of Endless Strife is highly likely to be devoured.
How much of this is known in game, particularly by the characters, and specifically this rather daunting section:QuoteSouls and the Pits of Endless StrifeSouls that did not follow a deity, or were not picked by one when waiting to be judged by the Harvester, will migrate towards the Thread.To reach the Thread however, they will need to go through the Pits of Endless Strife. The nefarious creatures of the Pits will always want to capture souls to gain more power. The more souls one has, the larger the Pit, the more powerful the creature dominating the Pit in question.A master of a Pit always has competition from the others in that same pit so any soul passing through the Pits of Endless Strife is highly likely to be devoured.
b. No deity claims the soul and it is cast into the Binding (which also borders the Binding Void) by the Harvester when the three day period is up. There the soul will then migrate through the elemental planes and the Pits of Endless Strife towards the Thread which will absorb the soul.
Does someone returning (via resurrection and the like) from the Binding Void retain any knowledge/memory of their (up to) 3 day stay?[/quote[ No, they do not recall a thing.QuoteSo there is no soul mother that collects soul strands and that is just a superstitious explanation of a soul strand snapping. But because people don't really know what happens, any superstition works really.QuoteA soul strand snapping is just a natural event that could occur on the stress of death. Yep, but again, who would know for sure? (IC I mean). We put the document there to inform the players, I'd like to ask everyone to keep in mind their characters do not know such details, so can believe that something/somebody cuts them, or that some creature eats them, or that some invisible boomerang flies around that cuts them. QuoteWhen your soul leaves your body and there are no strands still attached the soul goes into the process of judgment.There is no soul mother collecting souls. Well, there -is- a Soul Mother and there -is- the Harvester of Souls. The question you all have is "What does she do then?" but there's only two people that know in the full and we're not telling QuoteSo maybe the soul mother and the Thread are the same (I dont know) but it is clear from his description that the soul mother does not snap/collect soul strings nor does she come collecting souls.Correct, the Soul Mother does not snap/collect souls, however, I point out that Pankoki's post is also valid: there were incidents that included both the Soul Mother and the Harvester in different capacities. I also point out that I am not saying she cannot collect souls. I'm saying she does not in the process I put up.
So there is no soul mother that collects soul strands and that is just a superstitious explanation of a soul strand snapping.
A soul strand snapping is just a natural event that could occur on the stress of death.
When your soul leaves your body and there are no strands still attached the soul goes into the process of judgment.There is no soul mother collecting souls.
So maybe the soul mother and the Thread are the same (I dont know) but it is clear from his description that the soul mother does not snap/collect soul strings nor does she come collecting souls.
You gave us an OOC explanation of death and did not put the soul mother in it.
But then said there is still a soul mother and we are not telling what she does
So does that not mean that the OOC explanation (which as I noted fits perfectly with the death system and I think that is great!) is incomplete
and subject to change based on whatever the whole soul mother things finally turns out to be?
The soul mother does not snap souls.
If you follow a deity your soul is "safe" from "collection".
It is my personal suspicion that the Soul Mother doesn't just take souls, but that she recycles them and redistributes them into the new bodies created via mortal procreation. Hence why she is called the Soul Mother and not the Soul Eater. After all, we keep asking about death, but what of birth? Those souls don't just pop out of nowhere. The Harvester takes, the Soul Mother gives. Two separate entities, one of death, the other of birth. Look at the etymology of their titles... Harvester: he gathers for a purpose. One doesn't harvest a crop to just burn the grain. Mother: birth. if she is mother to souls, then she must logically be infusing them into the new bodies.Souls might be much like matter and energy, neither created nor destroyed but changing form. Some cling to Gods' realms to add to their power, others get stolen by hungry demons to feed their own realms vampirically. keep in mind that resurrection occurs only with divine magic; some god's agenda being served. They are very picky about this and tend not to easily allow the raising of those sworn to enemy gods. Competition for soul power?But then what of population booms and more souls being around than before? Well... there are less dragons, elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc in the world than in the olden times. (and don't get me started on the near extinct centaur, unicorns & Tolelf'lor!) And wouldn't such a long lived being have a rather stronger soul than normal, possibly a dragon being able to feed 100 elves and an elf soul feeding 2 or 3 human ones? Some things to ponder... Bloodstone did kill a whole lot of dragons, and then a whole lot of people afterwards. Those souls didnt just vanish, they merely migrated.None of this could/would be confirmed nor denied, just my own suspicions. And fiends... willful souls that strayed from the path of the thread to avoid rebirth/losing their consciousness in order to become "soul bandits" and further their agenda? Possibly. I bet souls like Bloodstone are still lurking out there. That Bloodpool could have been just his version of the eternal Bindstone. Look at the massive explosion that happened when he died. That doesn't happen with just anyone. It was like when the EPA guy shut down the nuclear reactor powering the Ghostbusters' confinement chamber. KABOOM! Even Obi Wan could feel it when Alderon died. And the conditions left in the world after Bloodstone's death (the Dark Ages) could very well have been responsible for more deaths via starvation and strife than the multitudes he relocated in life. Maybe his agenda was not all that malevolent? He died, and suddenly we were swarmed by vengeful dragons in hiding. Soul mongers. He could very well have been acting in the best interests of humanity.This would also imply that both the Harvester and the Mother have a great disdain for the undead and fiends, who disrupt the natural cycle in order to live forever in the mortal realm after their time has come.I think that the Soul Mother gets way too much bad press. She does allow a select few die at least 10 times via bindstones. Maybe these souls were intended to help her and the Harvester flush out the demons and undead clogging the system? Toranites could be the plunger, and Aeridenites the Drano of this cosmic scheme.Things to ponder.
And the conditions left in the world after Bloodstone's death (the Dark Ages) could very well have been responsible for more deaths via starvation and strife than the multitudes he relocated in life. Maybe his agenda was not all that malevolent?