Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 6 Feb 2006 to 9 Feb 2006 (#2006-22) From: MYSTARA-L automatic digest system Date: 10/02/2006, 19:00 To: MYSTARA-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 2 messages totalling 120 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Bruce Heard on the MMB 2. Fw: [MYSTARA] Alphaks (was: Flaems...) ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 09:43:45 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Bruce Heard on the MMB Hi all, for those who don't read the MMB as well, there's a post by Bruce here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8431226&postcount=23 Bye, GP ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 10:55:08 +0100 From: Francesco Defferrari Subject: Fw: [MYSTARA] Alphaks (was: Flaems...) Ville V Lahde wrote: > Alphaks the Immortal isn't "evil" in the conventional AD&D-style. His > own evil is grown in the soil of bitterness, misperceptions of self > and wish for revenge on those who rebelled against him (Alphatians) > and let him (Flaems). Anyone else is just a tool. I agree with you. I'd add something more, some personal motivations for = the actions of Alphaks, thinking on my work about the cultures of Old = Alphatia: Why Alphaks hates Alphatia. Alphaks was the son of an Atlantean (Air) emperor and a Cypric (Fire) princess. Growing with an uncaring father and a loving mother, he came = to hate him and deeply love her. His mother dreamed a restoration of the ancient Cypric culture, and she was a secret member of The Storm of = Fire, the ancient faction of the cypric empress that wanted the destruction of Atlantea and escaped in the Plane of Fire many centuries before (see my = Old Alphatia history). Alphaks was sympathetic to the ideas of the Followers = of Fire, and had many friends among them, but even his mother feared the consequences of a civil war in the Empire, and so when he became = emperor, she always recommended patience and moderation. But when his mother = died, Alphaks was shattered and grieved, and he became to think that to = promote a peaceful "victory" of the Followers of Fire in the century-old = debate was the perfect funeral gift to his loved mother. He waited = patiently for two years, reading and examining all the philosophical = material of the two sects, and in the end he was sincerely persuaded = that the Followers of Fire had won, and that he had to sanction their victory with the full = force of an imperial decree. Really, Alphaks had a political and historical motivation too: Air magic was the school of the Atlantean culture, who = had dominated the Empire for centuries but was clearly in decadence now, = engaged in pointless philosophical quarrels and drugs addiction. A victory of = the Fire faction, Alphaks thought, would have bestow a new energy to the = Empire and its subjects, and give birth to a new era of equality between the cultures of Alphatia. What he didn't anticipated following his = proclamation was the violent reaction of the air followers: Alphaks was astonished = and enraged, and took this as another sign of the arrogance and the = imperialism of the Air culture, the Atlantean culture, the culture of his cold and uncaring father. He decided to outlaw the Followers of Air, but what he didn't anticipated again was the violent actions of the Followers of = Fire, his friends and allies, who felt that now was the time to win over the = Followers of Air with imperial support. When the Air wizards began to = say that Alphaks was a "bastard emperor", son of "a cypric bitch and her = lovers", he decided to punish them for their rebellion and insolence, = and a full-scale war started. As we know, Air magic proved itself = stronger and won, and in the last days of Old Alphatia the Followers of = Fire betrayed their emperor and banished him, to no avail because the = Followers of Air destroyed the world anyway. Alphaks was left alone, = ready to embrace death, but the Immortal Thanatos came and told him that = "all this wasn't his fault, but the consequence of the evil ways of the = Air wizards, the Atlanteans, the enemies of his mother and his cypric = ancestors". He still could have his revenge: sure the Atlanteans would = have created another empire, with the cypric people as slaves and = commoners. An Immortal could easily rouse rebellion and unrest in such = an empire. So Alphaks wasn't "evil" from the start: he had good = intentions but all went wrong. Nowadays he hates Alphatians because they = are the descendants of the people who destroyed his world, and he hates = Flaems because they are the followers who betrayed him, after all the = sacrifices he had done for them. Anyway maybe he doesn't want simply the = destruction of Alphatia, as the imperial propaganda says, but just a = radical political change... All this could give some depth to Alphaks = psychology, or maybe the PC could have an hard time trying to discover = the past of Alphaks, and finding proof of the truth could be an = adventure in itself.=20 bye Francesco ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.pandius.com To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 6 Feb 2006 to 9 Feb 2006 (#2006-22) *************************************************************