Vel Alil

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Xaraphim
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Vel Alil

Post by Xaraphim »

This one's a long one. You've been warned.

I have an idea for a character of mine. His name is Lt. Ven Alil of the 554th Infantry Division assigned to the Hyphereus offensive.

Yeah.

Basically he comes from the world of Tethmir, a world that is flat and expands infinitely in all directions. His people are called the dal'Seroth, so named because of the deity that made them.

His nation of Calaphra is one of the most technologically advanced powers on the plane, and it is almost exclusively made of dal'Seroth (the word "drow" is foreign to him).

[b:3q1sfjyo]About the dal[/b:3q1sfjyo]
Humans, by their nature, are relatively efficient creatures. If it takes [i:3q1sfjyo]x[/i:3q1sfjyo] amount of effort to do a task then the human will generally put forth [i:3q1sfjyo]x[/i:3q1sfjyo] amount of effort. Humans today could be a lot more advanced as a species, but we aren't because there is no need. We're the most advanced form of life on our planet, so we have no reason to evolve any further.

Not so with the dal'Seroth. They are a driven people, constantly seeking self-perfection. It isn't enough for one to build a bridge. He must build a bridge that can withstand any payload imaginable and will last for millenia. Anything less than perfection is considered failure by most of the dal.

Also, they're immortal. They never die of old age, and their bodies are quite resilient to diseases. They possess the ability to shrug off any illness, even ones that are magical or terminal in other species. All this is due to the nature of their existence.

Each race of dal (each so named after their progenitor) is the inadvertent descendant of the primordial gods that visited Tethmir so long ago. The old gods mingled with the mortal folk, creating the dal--commonly known as elves and dwarves on most other worlds.

Well, godsblood and mortal quick do not mingle so well. The dal, while immortal, are practically infertile. Approximately 1 in 30,000 matings will produce an offspring, meaning that a single female can produce a child once every 90-110 years.

The dal'Seroth have tried since time immemorial to produce a "cure" for this genetic weakness with no success. They have, however, managed to create several select viruses that negate the fertility of other races. This deterrent is one of the main reasons for the recent outbreak of peace on Tethmir for the dal; anyone who makes war with them is faced with the prospect of extinction.

[b:3q1sfjyo]About their technology[/b:3q1sfjyo]
dal'Seroth are highly advanced. Think modern day Earth plus a few hundred years. Their biggest scientific breakthrough is the microfilament electromagnetic coil. Basically it's a miniaturized electromagnet that can be used in all manner of things, most notably their railguns.

A metal slug is loaded from a clip into the electromagnetic coil, or EMC, chamber. The magnetic field then pulls the slug along the path of the barrel at supersonic speeds. A single round from a basic rifleman's sidearm could easily penetrate today's modern tanks.

The dal'Seroth are also highly capable biologists. Serothan medicine is highly sought-after among the other nations of Tethmir. Most dal are health concientous, taking multivitamins daily and eating well-balanced meals. This is done mainly to help maintain their fighting efficiency (90% of their population is primarily military) and to reduce the threat of communicable diseases.

Due to their genetic flaw the dal'Seroth are polyamorous. If only one dal mated with one dal at a time it could threaten the population growth of the entire race. Therefore promiscuity was encouraged long ago. It is not uncommon to find mated groups of dal'Seroth numbering five or six. To the Serothan mind each mating increases the odds of bearing a child, thus sustaining the race.

[b:3q1sfjyo]About recent events[/b:3q1sfjyo]
Ever the perfectionist, General Avorr Malun saw a potential weakness in the dal'Seroth species: they were undivided. Several Serothan nations vied with one another for resources, technology and general status along with the countless other races of mortals.

Malun theorized that the best solution for this problem was to secure dal'Serothan superiority by uniting all the Serothan nations under one banner. Now, what brings people together better than adversity?

Malun left Tethmir for an uncharted world called Hyphereus. Here he planned to gate in an army of demons and let them loose on his home plane. Sure there would be lives lost, but it was an acceptable loss in his eyes. After all, he had finally found the cure for the infertility flaw that had plagued his people.

Unfortunately for him, his plot was discovered. The Valsharess sent her Valshar (basically her most elite operative) to find and eliminate the traitor. The Valshar Ryn arrived on Hypherion to discover an army of demons milling about the ruins of a human kingdom that they had easily wiped away. Ryn called in for reinforcements and the Hypherion offensive was mounted in full.

A forward base was established and the demons were pushed back slowly but steadily as Ryn moved behind enemy lines to deal with Malun. In the traitor general's headquarters the Valshar cornered him, but Malun managed to dispose of the artifact that would lead to the cure for the dal's disease by casting it through a portal. In a last-ditch effort to overwhelm the invading dal, Malun triggered his doomsday device which opened up hundreds of portals to the netherworld.

Hellbloods began pouring out in waves and it looked as if the dal army was doomed, but Ryn used a last-ditch weapon of his own: an artifact that banished outsiders and sealed Tethmir from planar intrusions forever. The demon army vanished, but the Hypherion offensive was stranded on an alien world.

[b:3q1sfjyo]Where my guy fits in in all of this:[/b:3q1sfjyo]
After the dal army began to get settled the Valshar ordered several teams to head through portals that the dal arcanologists (their word for mage) opened up. THe idea was to explore these new realities with the tiny hope of finding the artifact that could render their species fertile once more. After that, all they had to do was find a way home.

Ven Alil was one of the expedition members. After several fruitless forays, an astral anomaly warped the portal he went through and his unit was separated. He ended up somewhere on the world of Toril, cut off from communications and with limited supplies.

Sure, he's pretty much self-sufficient, but he's on a hostile world that generally takes a dim view of his kind wandering around.


Anyway, it's a long yarn like I said, and I only got about half the details that I wanted to put out there, but that's the basic idea behind him. If anyone's interested in RPing with him, just let me know. I'll provide details about his personality and past a bit later, my fingers are starting to hurt right now.

Oh, and I don't plan on any combat encounters being too terribly difficult. I mean, he has a rail gun and all. What I really want to get out of playing with him is the cross-cultural exploration. He comes from a very different society and a very different world. Pretty much everything is either alien to him or just plain odd, from the fact that Toril is a sphere[/] to the concept of monogamy.

There's more to roleplaying than just zapping monsters or dropping things with three round bursts, and I'd like to play around with that. His technology is just a backdrop; something to help further make his alien nature even more distinct.

But yeah, if anyone wants to roleplay, just reply to this thread or send me a private message.
NathreeDe'Shezbron
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Post by NathreeDe'Shezbron »

Ha, interesting spin off, this could be fun... railgun vs. fireballs and lightning bolts ;), twill be fun having you in a campaign, should you wish to join, of course.
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Post by Talwyn Aureliano »

Intriguing idea :)

I like the flat world/infinate concept, reminds my of Riverworld going on forever but only in 2 directions. This way you can just keep adding stuff and never run out of room.
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Aylstra Illianniis
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Post by Aylstra Illianniis »

Intriguing notion! Sounds like fun!
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Post by veraka »

I like that. A drow using a rail weaponry, and actually the tech isn't as far off in the future as some may seem to think.
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Post by veraka »

A question for you Xaraphim, if your world expands in all directions is there such thing as space, like outer space. your character and your world unwrapped some old ideas of mine that might go well with what your cooking, if you wouldn't mind answering my questions.
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