DM Nagging: It's pretty much my job

[Corwin]

That aside, I think both approaches are entirely valid. It is your divine realm, you can do whatever you want with it as long as it doesn't break the few rules those have. I like the contrast the realms have, as I was expecting you to expand for lands outside of the actual volcano rather than expanding that.

Anyways, I have plans here, whether they pan out is something to check back on circa DvR 6.

What plans do you have, anyway?

The Cauldron will be broken up into three layers, and if I can't manage that with my power alone I'll figure out the means for it. The slopes, the terraces and the vast space in between.

The 'lands outside' are Astral, where space and time hold no meaning and linear navigation on a macro scale doesn't exist. There is absolutely no point in grabbing more of infinite air than what I have. That said, I might expand the section of the slopes once the Astral dragon collective is befriended thoroughly.

What extra days off do you have? Lemme know, planning better never hurts.

Let's see. I'm off Sep9-11th, 18-19th, and will return early on the workdays of 23-30th. It's like our golden week, except for a month!

[Anastasia]

Seira

Vayley's Itinerary

Heh, heh. Recent edit?

-Making spells with Donald

More than you've already made?

-Tor Salinus

Never forget, huh?

Also the rest of it looks good. Everyone's topics look good and are useful. Thanks, all of you.

[Corwin]

Vayley's Itinerary

Heh, heh. Recent edit?

[/quote]

Yes, actually. That's why I hired her!

[Anastasia]

Well, becoming an Authority is a bit of a trick. Would you like to know more?

Sure. I imagine it isn't just a "wave your hand a boom there it is" but it's definitely on his mind.

First of all the, basic writeup from the template.

Authority of Celestia

The Authorities of Celestia are a special rank within Celestia. They are the direct servants of the Hebdomad and the deities of Lawful Good, roughly akin to the Dukes of Hell, lesser Demon Lords or the 77+7 Archangels of Elysium. It is said that seven serve each member of the Hebdomad save Zaphkiel. The last seven serve the seven virtues instead of Zaphkiel.

An Authority follows one of the Hebdomad or a lawful good deity. As these two groups exist in cooperation and harmony, they share servants in these matters. No matter who they serve, each Authority is associated with one of the Hebdomad and layer of Celestia. For example, Vel Custos worships Tyr while he serves Barachiel and Lunia. Despite being associated with a layer, the duties of an Authority take them far and wide across Celestia.

Only lawful good celestials are granted this station. Should a mortal be chosen to take this station, they are first converted into a high ranking celestial, such as a planetar, throne archon or rarely a solar. Dragons, fey and other immortal creatures may be converted at the discretion of the deity or member of the Hebdomad sponsoring the ascension. For instance, it is known that Bahamut has sponsored a silver dragon Authority. The dragon was allowed to keep its form, but this is rare.

Authorities must have at least 21 hit dice. That said, Authorities are generally 27 to 40 hit dice. Authorities of higher layers tend to be stronger than those of lower layers, though this is no hard and fast rule.

The rank of Authority may co-exist with other deity specific ranks (including proxy status), but the Authority cannot also be one of Elysium's Archangels.

- There are 7*7=49 Authorities.
- Authorities can have divided loyalties so long as they're all dedicated to lawful good forces. There's a great deal of overlap, understanding and support amid the deities and planar lords of Celestia.
- Mortals become outsiders if they are made into an Authority, though immortal creatures can keep that form if they're promoted. After all, the important part is what you are and what you do, not your exact form. All can reach Chronias if they walk the path of the Holy Mountain.
- It's possible to also be a proxy or anything else deity specific and be an Authority of Celestia. However, true DvR0 or higher disqualifies from the template. If you get that, you've outgrown the role of Authority.
- While the highest 7 Authorities serve Chronias, they are not seraph. Namely, they have not passed into Chronias or gone beyond the Empyrean Gate.

What the Authorities deal with depending on which layer they serve:

Lunia: Deals with the defense of Celestia, the absolution of mortal sin and rebirth, oceans.
Mercuria: Deals with eternal life and the afterlife, death, undead and temperance.
Venya: Deals with knowledge, generosity, guidance.
Solania: Deals with insight, chastity, mind, psionics.
Mertion: Deals with holy war, zeal, healing, purification.
Jovar: Deals with defense, pilgrimages, humility, the approach to Chronias.
Chronias: The seven virtues.

A list of Authorities and a few examples of who the current holders of those offices are.

Lunia

Wardens (Vel Custos), Absolution (Cerulean Joy), Rebirth (Raquiel), Defense, Oceans, Loyalty, Armies.

Mercuria

Eternity, Death, Rest, Liberation, Life (Mythan Eversight), Balance, Slayers.

Venya

Wisdom, Learning, Gifts, Sages, Knowledge, Libraries (Timeless Prince), Revelations.

Solania

Psionics, Mind, Inner Strength (Vashael), Purity, Introspection, Holy Wisdom (Lo of Lestos), Self Control.

Mertion

Crusades (Holly Warmheart), Healing, Purification, Passion, Peace (Dajasiel), Paladins, Holy Fires.

Jovar

Guardians, Pilgrimages, Glory, Light, Skies, Truth (He-Who-Rose), Hope.

Chronias

Charity, Chastity, Generosity (Talinalinas), Humility, Patience, Temperance, Zeal.

One must understand that new Authority roles aren't created. Rather, when openings happen, a new person takes that role and ascends to it. Practically speaking, each Authority has duties and matters to attend to, but also direct the exact focus of their efforts. For example, the previous Authority of Truth (Skamesh) focused on the revelation of truth above all else. The current Authority of Truth (He-Who-Rose) focuses more on the preservation of already revealed truths.

[Anastasia]

The Cauldron will be broken up into three layers, and if I can't manage that with my power alone I'll figure out the means for it. The slopes, the terraces and the vast space in between.

Do you mean three layers in the mundane sense, or like layers ala Avernus, Dis and so on?

The 'lands outside' are Astral, where space and time hold no meaning and linear navigation on a macro scale doesn't exist. There is absolutely no point in grabbing more of infinite air than what I have. That said, I might expand the section of the slopes once the Astral dragon collective is befriended thoroughly.

Good to know.

Let's see. I'm off Sep9-11th, 18-19th, and will return early on the workdays of 23-30th. It's like our golden week, except for a month!

Okay, so noted. I'm leaning towards the week of the 9th at the moment but this could change.

[Nephrite]

So noted on the Authorities. I'll have to consider my options then.

[Corwin]

Like Celestia but with three layers, yes.

[Yuthirin]

Tryll

Okay, this week has pretty much covered the start of this dungeon adventure. It's a good week and lemme get into why.

First off, the first encounter was purely a 'do you suck' check. If you struggled with that one or otherwise had to use meaningful resources to get through it, it's a sign your node isn't ready for this adventure yet. Fortunately between new members of the node and Debonah being along as a guest, you all made quick work of it. As mentioned in chat, it's nice that Tryll has more support now. Dana's solid but she's not an offensive juggernaut. So Miranda for ranged support and Benyen to crush people in melee both really help expand your versatility.

Beyond that, hitting the no fly zone was about was I expected. It's a nasty little trap but one I laughed out loud at with the solution you came up with. That's 10/10 amusing and awesome, gladly enjoyed and hope you keep that sort of thinking around. It's a good a way as any to deal with that trap considering none of you had super-solid wall spells like wall of stone or wall of iron. That wasn't intentional, just a quirk of how the party worked out. It also highlights you all could use a full caster to round out the node, maybe a jack of all trades to take some pressure of Tryll there.

The water trap's amusing but yeah, in the future just let me know outright if I'm making a mistake. I'm running 4-5 nodes a day and a small thing like that can completely slip through the wickets. Be interesting to see how you approach the encounter coming up, it's a pretty nasty one that uses terrain to put the PCs on the back foot. I'm hoping Rocket Squid continues, thank you very much.

Rocket Squid wins all encounters.

[Yuthirin]

Also, a general question for everyone. How much of other people's nodes do you read and keep up with? There's no right or wrong answer, I'm merely curious.

0%. I have very little time to catch up and honestly it sort of feels like both prying and metagaming to read someone else's node when I shouldn't know what's going on.

[Nephrite]

Also, a general question for everyone. How much of other people's nodes do you read and keep up with? There's no right or wrong answer, I'm merely curious.

0%. I have very little time to catch up and honestly it sort of feels like both prying and metagaming to read someone else's node when I shouldn't know what's going on.

I do feel a bit of this way too which is why I don't generally read them verbatim.

[Anastasia]

It's perfectly okay to read other nodes, so long as you don't metagame about it. If that was a concern, I'd set it up so that each node was only viewable by myself, moderators and each PC for it.

[Yuthirin]

Tryll

Makaril has information on a psionic grimoire! What the heck!? Someone help me decode this thing. It's got a mind of its own and is terrible at naming things!

It really is. It's a willful grimoire on top of it, there may be a reason it was forgotten. Grumble, grumble.

Everyone likes attention. Even books!

It's time to make our own Medicant. With blackjack and lasers! Also, it needs to be made out of crystal, shoot lightning, and look like a giant flying brain. Because REASONS.

So what you're saying is you want Medicant with Canderella attached, right?

Depends, is she free? Always liked her.

Baby psychic squids are happening! Yay!

Those could use a dropin once you have some free time.

Noted.

We're gonna need a team! Let's start with a dedicated scout! The planes are an ever-changing place and we need to keep our finger on the pulse! This'll be a non-combat role, so we should get plenty of takers! Someone like Tannin!

Miranda can cover some scouty things, though not the things you're thinking of, I think.

Yeah, I was thinking a purely non-combat role.

[Yuthirin]

It's perfectly okay to read other nodes, so long as you don't metagame about it. If that was a concern, I'd set it up so that each node was only viewable by myself, moderators and each PC for it.

Yes, but I do not trust myself.

[Anastasia]

Oh, fair enough. I'm just sayin', don't feel like you have to avoid reading them on my account.

[Anastasia]

So noted on the Authorities. I'll have to consider my options then.

Total honesty, that's really the sort of thing you should ask Erathaol or someone like that the next time you see them. One simply doesn't become one purely because they want to.