World Notes:
-- Character played in the Star Wars roleplay group, Cantina Roleplayers Guild .
FoE (Forces of the Empire) is a Star Wars role-playing group set in the ROTJ era more or less.
The Emperor survived the Death Star II as did Vader who lapsed back to the Dark Side. The
Alliance now controls a swathe of territory and the galactic civil war continues.
The club was begun way way back before the pre-quels and the two Sith rule but otherwise
has incorporated much of these additional movies.
We will be playing several hundred years in the future from the
events of Traitor's Sun. The Terranan Empire/Federation is still
around and ruthless as ever.
The ruling Hastur is Danilo Hastur and his wife Leonni. The Elhalyn King
is Rafeal Elhalyn and his wife Mirabel.
Other planets have individuals with psionic abilities, but it is not
widely accpeted or acknolwedged, they are still believed to be charlatons
or religious miracles.
Darana works for the Federation, although she is thoroughly disenchanted
with it, she see's it as a means to an end. Darana developed her
telepathic abilites at an early age, but learned to hide them from
others. These abilites allowed her to excel through the ranks of the
federation and into a command of her own in Federation Intelligence.
Darana opened the old telepath project files not for use by the
Federation, but for herself and others she found who seemed to have
abilities. Darana tests and trains those she can rely upon and whose
loyalty she can earn. Darana has no desire to wind up in a terranan
lab disected. Nor does she wish to see her students in such
circumstances.
Quietly she was able to divert resources and funding to build a
house/school for those whom she is training. The school appears to be a
special ops training center for the Federation. Upon Occaision the main
team form teh school are called upon for a Federation Mission.
Rather than joining those who rebel against Terranan ways, Darana uses
the system to her benefit and to the benefit of those who work for her
and live with her. She knows she can not change the entire politcal
grounding of the Empire, but she does hope to influence to change what
she can and lay the ground work for the future.
Darana married Deveron Arsein-Davis. They remained together fro 2 years,
then were torn apart by political upheaval and unrest. Seven years later,
Deveron and Darana were reunited and he discovered Darana's work had
grown, she now had many students.
The pair have begun training several of the students in Matrix Science
and are erecting a tower of thier own off Darkover.
We open our doors to this universe with Darkover mildly aware that a
large non-darkover matrix presence has arisen. The reigning Hastur has
sent ???????????????? to track/investigate.
-----
What do you think? These are random thoughts finally committed to
writing. sically Darana will still torture to get info...she has Forced
Rapport and I am keeping Illusion, though if she does not force rapport
then a person will see fire but not smell and hear or feel it, with
forced rapport they would believe it is real....they could see a rose
garden and believe it real till they get up close then realize no
smell...until she forces rapport...make sense? Darana can also trace
energies so I suspsect she may have something time related but I am not
sure how to deal/play with that one...I think perhaps a stronger form of
grrr term is blanking on me....uhmmm......holding an objkect and telling
a lot about the past from it....well darana does not necessarily need an
object if she is familiar with the energy patterns of the
person/planet....
I need to know from you the Arsein history and how/who drove the experiment
what reason did darkover do the planned family etc? I don't see it in
Deveron's Bio....Did the family remain in touch with darkover or lose
touch, how many generations has it been, since Deveron was tower trained
tehn it must only have been one generation???? Hmm I am babbling can't
think of much else right now...
Am I making sense with any of this? I htink for Poor
Ginna's/Patrick's/Armand's sake we need to do a kind of history of
darkover timeline and I am already working on a "dictionary" of terms.
Althouhg it is not very far along.
Wheee.
-- >Dora
Gifts & Abilities
Alton Gift:
Forced Rapport: The ability to force rapport, and can paralyze or kill if
used at full or dominate ones mind, soul, or body or reflexes to do as
wished. (Spellsword, pg 72)
The Voice: Ability to make individuals obey your command.
Colors: Green and Black
Aldaran:
Precognition: Ability to see the possible future.
Colors:
Ridenow:
The ability to scent and make contact with the alien
presences that inhabit other levels of the Overworld. This gift has been
deliberately bred into that family. (Spellsword, pg 54) Near such an
intelligence, a Ridenow literally can feel them in his bones as a
tingling awareness.... (Spellsword, pg 136)
Colors: Green and Gold.
McCarran:
Animal Empathy: Experience the Animals feelings as your own.
(HawkMistress)
Delleray:
Hastur:
Living Matrices, (Shadow Matrix, Traitors Sun)
Colors: SIlver and Blue
Ardais:
Catalyst Telepathy: Gift of awakening Latent Laran.
Colors: Black and Silver
Aillard:
Colors: Gray and Crimson
------------
"Witch Food" A trained matrix technician breaks down chemical matter
which cannot be eaten safely and changes its structure so that it can be
eaten safely. So that it can be digested and nourish. It is not
sufficient to sustain life for many months but it will keep life for a
little while in an emergency. (Spellsword, pg 18)
Witch Light, a floating ball of light created by focusing on a starstone.
First Level barrier, this allows only someone with a matrix to pass, or
if the operator lets them. (Spellsword, pg 147)
Miscellaneous
In a general way one matrix-user can spy out another. (Spellsword, pg
121)
A matrix was never carried bare; its resonating vibrations had to be
insulated from what was around it.
Comyn telepath training: to amplify the magnetic forces of his brain with
the curious crystalline structure of the starstone.
The telepaths of Darkover were trained to work with the starstones, which
had the power, assisted by the human mind, of transforming energies
directly from one form to another. In the realms where their minds
travelled to encompass this work, there were strange things,
intelligences which were not human, or material, but came from other
realms of existence. Most of them had nothing to do with humankind at
all. Others were prone, when touched by human minds come seeking in the
realms to which they, the alien intelligences belonged, to meddle with
those human minds. A few of them, reached by human minds trained to reach
their levels, remained incontact with the human levels, and were
viusualized as de mons or even as gods. The Ridenow Gift had been
deliberately bred into that family to allow them to scent and make
contact with these alien presences... (Spellsword, pg 54)
Matrix stones can be attuned to the human mind to amplify psi powers.
They can be used to change the form of energy. All matter, all energy and
force, is nothing but vibration. Change the rate at which it vibrates and
it takes another form. (Spellsword, pg 92)
It was a very unusual thing, that touch among telepaths, was reserved for
close intimacy. It puts them in almost unendurable contact. (Spellsword,
pg 74)
With a shielded starstone and in "resting rhythm", Damon Ridenow was able
to feel strong emotions in combat around him.
Objects carry the impress of your personality, your vibrations. Twins
share much in vibration. It is difficult enough to tell twin from twin by
their telepathic imprint alone. Since Callista is a Keeper her imprint is
more definate. (Spellsword, pg 47)
A leronis or even a matrix technician prefers to keep his working gear
close at hand. It feels better, somehow, to have it within reach.
(Spellsword, pg 81)
Description of laran healing (Spellsword, pg 89)
Description of keying someone to anothers starstone (Spellsword, pg 102)
Description of Overworld combat ... (Spellsword, pg 131-2)
20 is the age a girl can decide her own future.
A demonstration of the Alton gift used to grant sword prowess to another
(Spellsword, pg 116-7)
On the virginity of Keepers. Its a matter of nerve energies. People only
have so much. You learn how to protect your nerve currents, use them most
effectively. Sex uses the most human energy. You can use it sometimes to
channel energy, but there are limits to that kind of thing. And when
youre keyed into the matrix jewels the energy they carry is limitless but
human flesh and blood and brainwaves can only stand so much. For a man,
you cant overload with sex because you simply cant function sexually at
all. Matrix technicians find out early on that they have to go on short
rations if they want to keep up enough energy to do their work. For a
woman its easy to overload. They must be chaste or else be very very
careful not to key into the more complex matrix patterns because it can
kill them, and its not a nice death. Story of Mirella the Keeper.
(Spellsword, pg 95-56) (In Forbidden Tower you find Kirian unblocks the
passages making it not a problem to switch back and forth between sex and
matrix work.
Alton Country, around the lakes. Some of Damon Ridenow's people were
forced to resettle there after the war with the cat people 'last year'
(Spellsword, pg 16)
Raivannin: Drug given to shut down telepathic functions. (Sharra's Exile
pg 149) Usually onl;y given to people close to death, dissolution, or the
insane. So that ohters would not be drawn into their pain.
Capital CIty: Thendara
Legal Age: 15
Cadet Guards: All Comyn sons serve an apprenticeship in the cadetn guards.
Head of the Guards: Dom Alton
Salutes: Hastur-Lord required by Law and Custom to return Salutes of the
guardsi and cadets.
Terminology
Aldones Lord of Light, an oath
Armida Where Damon Ridenow lived
Breda/Bredu: Darling, or Kinswoman
Caria/Cario:
Chiya: Little Girl
Comyn Lords
Cottman blood red sun
Cottman IV Darkover
Gray World, the the Overworld. Otherworld. There is no darkness here.
Light comes from the energy net of the sun which shines right through the
energy net of the planet. Everynoe steps out and leaves their bodies
behind when the energy nets fall apart or they are asleep. (Spellsword,
pg 38) We see it as a world because it is more convenient to see and feel
it that way than an intangible mental realm. Visualizing self striding
across a great barren empty plain because it was easier and less
disconcerting than visualizing self as a bodiless point of thought adrift
in other thoughts. Dreamers appear as grey and oddly unfocused. If they
are thinking of you they are seen as a reflection on water perhaps, and
even if you dont speak may remember you when you wake. (Spellsword, pg
50)
Kirian:
A powerful drug compounded of the pollen of a rare plant in the
mountains. It has a tendency in carefully regulated dosage to lower the
barriers against telepathic rapport. Kirian can heighten the psi powers,
temporarily, enough to make contact possible even with non-telepaths.
(Spellsword, pg 81)
Leronis Keeper
Overlight the light of the Otherworld
Pax Man: Body Guard and Advisor
Starstone Warm to the touch, it is blue with strange curling gleams of
fire within. The very touch of it through the pouch quieted his mind to
calm. When being used, the user feels the quiet pulse and slow euphoria
which meant his brain had begun to function at basic or "resting" rhythm.
(Spellsword, pg 21) Higher level stones , the larger ones, can shatter a
planet. Tiny level one matrixes are good 'only for buttoning a coat' but
are enough to resonate in harmony with larger stones and provide a link.
(Spellsword, pg 92) An extremely powerful unshielded matrix emits a
droning humming sound. This size takes a Circle of at least 4 minds to
handle a matrix-screen that size (Damon Ridenow) They do not come that
way in nature. They had made them artificially in the heyday of starstone
technology. (Spellsword, pg 148)
Keeping Watch Lay hands against wrists at the pulse spots so that the one
can still see the starstone. When the one first goes out they will feel
cold to the touch and heart and pulse rate will slow slightly. The
watcher also prevents anyone from touching the one, or moving them above
all things. If the pulse begins to quicken or race, or veins at the
temple begin to swell or the body begins to grow deathly cold or very
warm, the watcher must awaken them by calling their name with all the
force behind it, audibly or telepathically. In extremis, such as
difficulty breathing wake them at once. If you cannot wake them any other
way, touch the starstone. Only as a last dangerous expedient. Touching it
is dangerous and can throw the one into shock.
"Witch Food" A trained matrix technician breaks down chemical matter
which cannot be eaten safely and changes its structure so that it can be
eaten safely. So that it can be digested and nourish. It is not
sufficient to sustain life for many months but it will keep life for a
little while in an emergency. (Spellsword, pg 18)
Witch Light, a floating ball of light created by focusing on a starstone.
20 is the age a girl can decide her own future.
Alton Country, around the lakes. Some of Damon Ridenow's people were
forced to resettle there after the war with the cat people 'last year'
(Spellsword, pg 16)
Oaths: Zandru's Seventh Hell
