I have recently been hunting Old Ta'Faendryl again and I've been thinking about the Ithzir and their relationship to those ruins.
How did they come to be there?
What exactly are the Ithzir?
What motivates them?
What is their history?
What is their hierarchy?
What is their religion?
Whom do they ultimately serve?
How intelligent are they?
How long have they been in OTF?
Where else do they reside?
There is limited information on the wiki. Is this something that could be driven through player research? I think it would be cool to develop my character as a scholar on the Ithzir and Old Ta'Faendryl. Where can we unlock the secrets of its past?
~Zodin
MCNALLY
INIQUITY
Re: OTF, the Ithzir and history.
08/29/2018 11:50 PM CDT
<<How did they come to be there?>>
When the Faendryl were exiled after summoning demons on Despana and imploding Maelshyve, they essentially salted the earth so no one else could use it, and surrounded Ta'Faendryl with a barrier. They filled the city with magical creations so only the very powerful could go there and study their works.
https://www.play.net/gs4/news/elvennations/en_tafaendryl.asp
"In addition, the Clerisy was responsible for "salting the earth" of old Ta'Faendryl, calling the Ithzir into our world, and leaving the land taken from us unusable by our traitorous cousins. It is and was, both the greatest and worst accomplishment of the Clerisy by order of the Patriarch." - The Theory of Governance and Social Order document
https://gswiki.play.net/The_Theory_of_Governance_and_Social_Order#Clerisy
<<What exactly are the Ithzir?>>
The Ithzir are a race of extraplanar beings. I am not certain exactly when the "extraplanar" status became mechanically defined, so I do not know for certain they were originally intended that way, as opposed to magical creations like the rest of the OTF creatures. I know they used to be outright immune to mind effect spells.
<<What motivates them?>>
The way GM Kenstrom has used them in storylines suggests they are world conquerors.
They have floating pyramids. They tried to invade in 2016. One of them crashed and is under Darkstone Bay. There is an NPC named Rodnay who was a human orphan who got turned into a half-Ithzir hybrid through blood magic, along with a bunch of others but he was the only one who survived. He has been an important deus ex machina in some storylines and is significantly more powerful than an ordinary Ithzir. He's still developing into something and we don't know what will happen with him yet.
<<What is their history?>>
There's been mention of an Ithzir history document being worked on, but we know very little about them. We know they reside on more than one plane of existence, we've been to one of them named Kol Tarsken. We've seen another nameless one that had jungles (or at least a forest, I'd have to look it up) through a portal. The OTF Ithzir refer to Kol Granoth. Granoth might then be the name of a place, but that could just be a retcon if the language glossary is missing. We only know what some of the words mean.
We know they had bad experiences with the demon, Althedeus, that was ultimately behind the storylines leading up through "Cross Into Shadows." In their language he is called Grak'na'Den, and when one of them was speaking to us in the Tehir language, they called him "the father of the black heavens." There is a note in documentation about them doing something to block their world(s) from him. The ritual that was used to destroy him involved summoning Ithzir and speaking their language.
https://gswiki.play.net/Orders_of_the_Turamzzyrian_Empire#Disciples_of_the_Shadows
<<What is their hierarchy?>>
The Ithzir seers seem to be their priest caste, on Kol Tarsken we saw Ithzir archons. They could be theocratic but we do not really know.
The NPC villain Grishom Stone is obsessed with them. He's referred to them having "Sentinels", and has a powerful orb they call the Emerald Sun.
<<What is their religion?>>
It is unclear. Their obsidian pyramids are probably temples for them, but we do not really know. They use a twelve pointed star symbol. The sky might be symbolically relevant. It seems like there were Ithzir cultists of Althedeus at one point. The staff that was used to open the gateway to his plane to go after him was made from Ithzir bones.
<<Whom do they ultimately serve?>>
I would guess either themselves or some unknown deity of theirs.
<<How intelligent are they?>>
They have a language of comparable complexity to our language, but they are also telepathic on top of it. They are apparently smart and naturally powerful.
Ordinary Ithzir creature monsters do not do it. But they can probe our minds involuntarily for information and make us relive experiences.
<<How long have they been in OTF?>>
About 20,000 years. Except the Ithzir champions, they have only been there recently. They showed up as a result of a storyline involving a lich.
OTF Basilica is also a pyramid with obsidian inside, we do not have a retconned explanation for why as far as I know.
<<Where else do they reside?>>
At least two or three other planes. Probably more. (Though it is at least conceivable that we've only seen one world in different places.)
<<There is limited information on the wiki. Is this something that could be driven through player research? I think it would be cool to develop my character as a scholar on the Ithzir and Old Ta'Faendryl. Where can we unlock the secrets of its past?>>
There isn't much to go on, unfortunately. The only stuff that exists on them is the stuff that exists.
- Xorus' player
Wehnimer's Landing Town Halls, Now With Authentic Frontier Gibberish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke5Mr5eCF2U
When the Faendryl were exiled after summoning demons on Despana and imploding Maelshyve, they essentially salted the earth so no one else could use it, and surrounded Ta'Faendryl with a barrier. They filled the city with magical creations so only the very powerful could go there and study their works.
https://www.play.net/gs4/news/elvennations/en_tafaendryl.asp
"In addition, the Clerisy was responsible for "salting the earth" of old Ta'Faendryl, calling the Ithzir into our world, and leaving the land taken from us unusable by our traitorous cousins. It is and was, both the greatest and worst accomplishment of the Clerisy by order of the Patriarch." - The Theory of Governance and Social Order document
https://gswiki.play.net/The_Theory_of_Governance_and_Social_Order#Clerisy
<<What exactly are the Ithzir?>>
The Ithzir are a race of extraplanar beings. I am not certain exactly when the "extraplanar" status became mechanically defined, so I do not know for certain they were originally intended that way, as opposed to magical creations like the rest of the OTF creatures. I know they used to be outright immune to mind effect spells.
<<What motivates them?>>
The way GM Kenstrom has used them in storylines suggests they are world conquerors.
They have floating pyramids. They tried to invade in 2016. One of them crashed and is under Darkstone Bay. There is an NPC named Rodnay who was a human orphan who got turned into a half-Ithzir hybrid through blood magic, along with a bunch of others but he was the only one who survived. He has been an important deus ex machina in some storylines and is significantly more powerful than an ordinary Ithzir. He's still developing into something and we don't know what will happen with him yet.
<<What is their history?>>
There's been mention of an Ithzir history document being worked on, but we know very little about them. We know they reside on more than one plane of existence, we've been to one of them named Kol Tarsken. We've seen another nameless one that had jungles (or at least a forest, I'd have to look it up) through a portal. The OTF Ithzir refer to Kol Granoth. Granoth might then be the name of a place, but that could just be a retcon if the language glossary is missing. We only know what some of the words mean.
We know they had bad experiences with the demon, Althedeus, that was ultimately behind the storylines leading up through "Cross Into Shadows." In their language he is called Grak'na'Den, and when one of them was speaking to us in the Tehir language, they called him "the father of the black heavens." There is a note in documentation about them doing something to block their world(s) from him. The ritual that was used to destroy him involved summoning Ithzir and speaking their language.
https://gswiki.play.net/Orders_of_the_Turamzzyrian_Empire#Disciples_of_the_Shadows
<<What is their hierarchy?>>
The Ithzir seers seem to be their priest caste, on Kol Tarsken we saw Ithzir archons. They could be theocratic but we do not really know.
The NPC villain Grishom Stone is obsessed with them. He's referred to them having "Sentinels", and has a powerful orb they call the Emerald Sun.
<<What is their religion?>>
It is unclear. Their obsidian pyramids are probably temples for them, but we do not really know. They use a twelve pointed star symbol. The sky might be symbolically relevant. It seems like there were Ithzir cultists of Althedeus at one point. The staff that was used to open the gateway to his plane to go after him was made from Ithzir bones.
<<Whom do they ultimately serve?>>
I would guess either themselves or some unknown deity of theirs.
<<How intelligent are they?>>
They have a language of comparable complexity to our language, but they are also telepathic on top of it. They are apparently smart and naturally powerful.
Ordinary Ithzir creature monsters do not do it. But they can probe our minds involuntarily for information and make us relive experiences.
<<How long have they been in OTF?>>
About 20,000 years. Except the Ithzir champions, they have only been there recently. They showed up as a result of a storyline involving a lich.
OTF Basilica is also a pyramid with obsidian inside, we do not have a retconned explanation for why as far as I know.
<<Where else do they reside?>>
At least two or three other planes. Probably more. (Though it is at least conceivable that we've only seen one world in different places.)
<<There is limited information on the wiki. Is this something that could be driven through player research? I think it would be cool to develop my character as a scholar on the Ithzir and Old Ta'Faendryl. Where can we unlock the secrets of its past?>>
There isn't much to go on, unfortunately. The only stuff that exists on them is the stuff that exists.
- Xorus' player
Wehnimer's Landing Town Halls, Now With Authentic Frontier Gibberish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke5Mr5eCF2U
MCNALLY
