From: Ian Ward Subject: [WFRP:1200] Arianka description Hi, folks. I've been fairly quiet while the discussion on Arianka has been going on, but I've been following it closely and working on a cult description which I hope is acceptable to most of you. On the whole I've tried to keep my own personal view of her and the cult out of the main description, but my own views can be found in a section at the end. Seeing as the discussion seems to have tapered off now, here it is. Oh, and this is the second attempt to send it - the first sending must be lost somewhere in the deep dark depths of buddha... *ARIANKA - Goddess of Law and Discipline >Description: Arianka, sister of Solkan and Alluminas and consort of Solkan, is the embodiment of law and discipline. In the distant past, Tzeentch, changer of the ways, saw Arianka as a great threat to his plans and imprisoned her in a crystal coffin which is said to lie in Praag, Kislev. The coffin can be opened only by a set of keys, hidden somewhere in the world but whose whereabouts are unknown. Many Old Worlders believe Arianka is nothing more than a legend. >Special Note: Ariankas' cult collapsed when she was imprisoned, and I am aware that opinions on the mailing list differ over whether (and how) her cult persists today, whether it was totally absorbed into that of Solkan, etc. This description cannot cater for all these views and makes no attempt to do so. Also, a quest for Ariankas' keys is a good campaign hook, so I'm leaving out details like the number of keys, etc. as GMs can then decide on them as fits their campaign. This description assumes the character worships Arianka alone (as opposed to being in some joint Arianka/Solkan sub-cult) and is meant as a sort of generic template to put the scalpel to as you see fit. My personal view on these matters, however, is at the end of this description. Where my personal view has inevitably found its' way into the main description, the relevant bits have been made suitably optional or put in a relatively harmless part of the description (eg. Ariankas' sword, Laihtendrung, as her symbol). >Alignment: Lawful. >Symbol: Ariankas' symbol is a crystal sword, point down, with which she is said to dispense her punishment. The sword is said to be called Laihtendrung and made of a magical crystal shining with an intense inner light. Cultists believe that on the day of her release she will take up Laihtendrung and join Solkan in taking revenge upon the chaos god who imprisoned her. >Area of Worship: Members of the cult come from all over the Old World, but are few in number, and tend to come from the south of the Old World. Local cults in a particular area generally get together with others on Ariankas' holy days to meet in prayer and discuss any leads found in the search. >Temples: All Ariankas' old temples have long since crumbled to ruins. Few cultists are willing to give up the quest for the keys to oversee the rebuilding of the temples, and, where a cultist has been willing to do so, the new temples have reportedly collapsed on placing the last brick/stone. Services are usually held in shrines built in cultists homes or property bought by the cult for the purpose. >Friend and Enemies: The cult is contempible towards the majority of Old World religion, because its' weak stance against chaos, but Ranald in particular is an enemy for his constant belittling of authority. Not surprisingly, The cult is vehemently hostile to the chaos gods. Relations are friendly with the other gods of law. >Holy Days: Holy days are the first and last day of each month and since her imprisonment, the day believed to be the anniversary of her imprisonment is also held holy. >Cult Requirements: New cultists must never have broken the law, except where allowed by Ariankas' scriptures. >Strictures: - Oppose chaos and its' minions whenever they are encountered. - Oppose weak and foolish laws which make a mockery of law and dicipline. - Never let a crime go unpunished. - Obey and enforce the letter of the law unless this would break any of the above strictures. - Never pardon others who question or disobey an order from a superior, or do so yourself, unless to obey would break any of the above strictures. >Spell Use: Before imprisonment, Arianka granted all petty and battle magic spells. Being currently imprisoned, however, Arianka has no power to grant magical aid to clerics. >Skills: None. >Trials: Trials to Arianka are never set, as the quest for the crystal keys and coffin is considered too important. When a trial is indicated, the character must accumulate another 100 EP and try again. Were Arianka not imprisoned, a typical test might be to thwart a group of criminals that were currently evading the authorities. >Blessings: Arianka favours tests based on Cool and WP, especially Loyalty, resistance to bribes, etc., although she has no power to grant blessings (or curses) while she is imprisoned. >Personal View (long): I see the cult of Arianka as being alive and well. When Tzeentch defeated her, he imprisoned her in a crystal coffin which does indeed lie in Praag, Kislev. The nine keys to the coffin are hidden somewhere in the world, but noone knows where - they change location randomly at the whim of Tzeentch. Her cult collapsed on her imprisonment, but some remnants survived. Many cultists were disspirited and never quite recovered. Some were totally absorbed in the cult of Solkan (who took up the torch of discipline when she was imprisoned), while some were partially merged in the cult of Solkan and persist as a sub-cult worshipping both gods (they are subject to both sets of cult requirements and have to follow both sets of strictures, holy days, etc. but receive magic and blessings from Solkan for their dedication). Others still remained loyal to Arianka alone and this sub-cult of hers also persists today. This sub-cult is itself composed to two groups. The first group knows of the true location of her coffin and go to great lengths to ensure that the world at large does not find out, a few members of the joint sub-cult with Solkan are also trusted with this sensitive information. The other group is generally not trusted enough to be told and will be told only in times when there is no other choice. Arianka also has an order of knights templar, the Knights of the Holy Quest. Not only is her cult alive and well, but so too is Arianka herself. She is alive and semi-conscious in her coffin, and considerably weakened in her godly powers by the chaos magic surrounding it. This magic, however, is not perfect and its' strength ebbs and flows with the tides of the warp. Arianka has the power to grant magical spells and effects to cultists with D6-2 yards of the coffin (reroll every round, minimum of zero) and can grant blessings within the same range, although these too end when the subject leaves the range of Ariankas' influence. Ariankas' crystal sword, Laihtendrung, is in fact made of Laihtero crystal, the law counterpart of chaos warpstone (I see no reason why something like this shouldn't be possible). I'm not sure what properties this crystal would have, apart from being lethal to chaos creatures and radiating some intense inner light (perhaps Alluminas' light). No Laihtero crystals have yet been reported found. Laihtendrung lies beside Arianka in her crystal coffin. TTFN. Ian Ward aca95idw@sheffield.ac.uk