Kaers & Liferocks

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
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RichardPF
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Kaers & Liferocks

Post by RichardPF » Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:06 am

When Kaers, of mixed-Name Givers, were constructed before the Scourge, did any include Liferocks?

Could Obsidimen survive in a Kaer, for hundreds of years during the Scourge, without a Liferock?

Bonhumm
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by Bonhumm » Mon Dec 02, 2019 4:45 am

Liferocks cannot be moved (....I assume) so unless a liferock was actually already located in a place where building a kaer/citadel would be convenient I would say no.

I am sure there was a few cases where the situation above actually did happen but it should not be very common.

As for Obsidimen living the Scourge outside a liferock: sure, why not? If there is more than 1 of them they can do that 1-on-1 merging thing anyway if they feel the need to 'merge' but otherwise this would only look like a long break for them and they would likely be more adapted than other races at living underground for centuries at a time.

Sharkforce
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by Sharkforce » Mon Dec 02, 2019 5:06 am

there does not seem to be any firm restriction that an obsidiman *must* merge with their liferock with any set frequency, so i would imagine that surviving in a kaer that does not include their liferock in it is possible. probably not enjoyable, but possible.

i do seem to recall mention that some liferocks were corrupted by horrors, but i can't recall any specific mention regarding what kinds of protective magics those liferocks may or may not have had. i got the impression that those liferocks were largely unprotected with many obsidimen contained in them, but actual clear statements to that effect? i'm not sure.

in any event, i see no particular reason to presume that a liferock *can't* be in a cave which could be turned into a kaer with no more difficulty than any other cave, and i imagine some of them at least were located underground in some way or another. but given the therans have previously landed a gigantic ship on one and fused with it, obviously not all of them are. and we know that some cities used magical barriers to try to protect themselves, so it is possible that obsidimen used something along those lines to protect their home liferocks in at least some instances.

Belenus
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by Belenus » Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:28 am

I think once molten with the life rock, they won't / can't leave it anymore, but I'm not sure about this one.
I only know of one restriction when an obsidiman must merge with his liferock: The oldest living obsidiman gets a call that it is his time to get back.

Perhaps they used citadels to protect the life rock just like for example Travar? Being a lumb of elemental earth and living beings, it even already has a strong natural protection.
And Sharkforce is correct, there were some corrupted or even destroyed liferocks.
Since an obsidiman always has a faint connection to it, this ofc. isn't good for his psyche :P

For Obsidiman in kaers: This was mostly the case. They have a ritual were they fall in some kind of sleep (not the 1 on 1 merging think, just for themselves). But this too was quite exhausting. Even so they must not merge with their liferock with any set frequency, they still need to communication to it and the other obsidiman.

JBF
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by JBF » Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:48 pm

What actually happened to the Liferocks during the Scourge?

Whether you play in the 1st or 4th edition time, the end of the Scourge is less than a century ago, and according to the player's book:

"Obsidimen spend the first century of their life attached to their Liferock. During this time, the obsidiman communes with the spirits of other obsidimen in a state called the Dreaming. After this time, they emerge with a Name, and are free to travel as they wish."

This means that for any obsidiman character we want to create we have 2 options:
1- Either it spawned from its Liferock before the Scourge, and has been in a Kaer for 400 years ( which would make a 450 year character, that despite the slower passing of time of obsidimen, would certainly not start as a Circle 1 adept)
2- Or it spawned after the end of Scourge, and therefore was "Dreaming" while the Scourge was still ongoing, which inevitably raises the question when you want to give backstory to the character of what happened to liferocks during the Scourge ? Did they somehow sensed the corruption around and stopped spawning ? Did they still spawn, but obsidimen being in some retired areas didn't attract Horrors? Did they still spawn, and an Horror could have a nice free buffet of living rocks ?

Any take on that ?

ChrisDDickey
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by ChrisDDickey » Mon Feb 10, 2020 10:09 am

Going back to the original question, Mystic Paths pages 12 and 13 (Brotherhood of Stone) have some good information. Here is a tiny bit.
As the Scourge approached, many obsidimen rejoined their Liferocks to escape the Horrors. It was unclear if the Dreaming would provide an adequate defense ... Brothers of Stone whose Liferocks were connected to or buried within kaers chose to remain awake to protect them.
Somewhere, off the top of my head I can't recall where, I recall reading that many raw liferocks survived the scourge, some did not. Some liferocks also bought from Thera a hardened shell of additional protection, and all of them survived.

For the latest question, my understanding is that normally, new Obsidimen spawn several miles from their liferock, and are escorted to it to join the dreaming for their first 100 years. But I have heard it said that during the scourge, some Obsidimen spawned within their liferock itself, and instantly joined the dreaming until the scourge ended. That might just be rumors.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by Slimcreeper » Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:09 am

Obsidimen can live for a couple hundred years, and then become adepts. I have a house rule that a starting elves and obsidimen can have Longevity:

- Longevity: Elves & Obsidimen get additional Artisan, Knowledge, or Language Skill ranks. This costs 2 Attribute Purchase Points per rank. Using Longevity, they can exceed the normal 3-rank limit on skill ranks.

As for Liferocks surviving the Scourge, they are rock. Horrors cannot just pass into them. They have to destroy the rock until they get there and I don't know that many Horrors are accomplished miners. Otherwise they just would have dug into the kaers.

Sharkforce
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by Sharkforce » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:37 am

Slimcreeper wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:09 am
As for Liferocks surviving the Scourge, they are rock. Horrors cannot just pass into them. They have to destroy the rock until they get there and I don't know that many Horrors are accomplished miners. Otherwise they just would have dug into the kaers.
they've poisoned and corrupted the earth elsewhere without necessarily requiring direct physical contact to every bit of ground they're corrupting. i would imagine earth that is as alive and conscious as a liferock would be both vulnerable to the same corruption that has tainted other parts of the world, and also vastly more appealing to the horrors as a target than regular earth.

ChrisDDickey
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Re: Kaers & Liferocks

Post by ChrisDDickey » Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:54 pm

Sharkforce wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:37 am
Slimcreeper wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:09 am
As for Liferocks surviving the Scourge, they are rock. Horrors cannot just pass into them. They have to destroy the rock until they get there and I don't know that many Horrors are accomplished miners. Otherwise they just would have dug into the kaers.
they've poisoned and corrupted the earth elsewhere without necessarily requiring direct physical contact to every bit of ground they're corrupting. i would imagine earth that is as alive and conscious as a liferock would be both vulnerable to the same corruption that has tainted other parts of the world, and also vastly more appealing to the horrors as a target than regular earth.
There is no real conflict between these views.
Some horrors succeeded in cracking kears. Some attempted and failed.
Same with Life Rocks. Tough nuts to crack, but if the horror is strong enough and wants to spend the time and effort, it was be done.

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