Arvorian Titles, Cults, Inspiration and Horror

 

Art by Wayne Reynolds, source

This is an addendum to the initial post detailing the Arvorians, both as a culture and as a pair of B/X D&D classes (albeit NPCs, not balanced or expected to be used by players)

Titles of the Arvorian Classes. 

The actual details of the Arvorian classes are given in the main post on Arvorians. However, at the time I omitted to give Eldritch Crusaders (Arvorian Fighter/Clerics) and Arcane Knights (Arvorian Fighter/Magic Users). Here this is rectified. These titles are fairly general like those for human and demihuman classes - those with particular roles or specialisations may be known as something else, such as a human 4th level fighter might be referred to by other NPCs as a Hero (i.e. a fighter of some experience) or as a veteran sergeant major in the town guard (his job description and how those who meet him would deal with him). Although these titles assume the Arvorian is male, feel free to adjust them to fit female Arvorians. 

Level	Eldritch Crusader	Arcane Knight
1	Acolyte	Neophyte
2	Adept	Apprentice
3	Junior Priest	Junior Sword-Seer
4	Junior Priest	Sword-Seer
5	War Priest	Sword-Mage
6	War Priest	Sword-Mage
7	Canon	Sword-Warlock
8	Canon	Sword-Warlock
9	Chaplain	Sword-Sorcerer
10	Chaplain	Sword-Sorcerer
11	Bishop	Sword-Wizard
12	Bishop	Sword-Wizard
13	Prelate	Wizard Lord
14	Prelate	Wizard Lord
15	Archbishop	Wizard Lord
16	Archbishop	Wizard Lord
17	Cardinal	Wizard Lord
18	Cardinal	Wizard Lord
19	High Priest of the Scions	Wizard Lord
20	High Priest of the Scions	Archmage Lord
21	Patriarch of the Scions	Archmage Lord
22	Patriarch of the Scions	Archmage Lord
23	Patriarch of the Scions	Archmage Lord
24	Patriarch of the Scions	Archmage Lord
25	Patriarch of the Great Old Ones	Magister Lord

Eldritch Crusader Cults

Eldritch Crusaders require some patron or higher power to grant them clerical spells, and therefore will worship something supernatural, and usually very chaotic. Some Eldritch Crusaders follow Chaos itself, as the cosmic force that constantly battles against the force of Law for control of the Multiverse. However, other Arvorians follow the Scions of the Outer Dark, strange alien beings of Chaos that are the intermediaries between mortals such as Arvorians and Humans, and the Great Old Ones, primal entities of Chaos of incomprehensible age and power. These Scions can communicate with and recruit mortals, and grant them clerical powers, using them as footsoldiers in the armies of Chaos. As noted before the most infamous Scions are:

• E’hillit: The cultists of E’hillit are always at least a little unhinged, and occasionally totally insane. Yet their mad patron is happy to keep them going, causing havoc and truly unpredictable chaos wherever they are. 
• Vergillos: Although more popular among Arcane Knights, there are some Eldritch Crusaders who follow Vergillos. Such worshippers generally focus on this scion’s interest in knowledge and secrets rather than arcane magic. 
• Tallassia: Eldritch Crusaders who follow Tallassia are consumate masters of necromancy and undeath. Even low level Eldritch Crusaders of Tallassia have a chance to command undead instead of turning or destroying them. 
• Skeereett: Followers of Skeereett are immune to diseases. Their personal and household hygiene often leaves a lot to be desired, and other Arvorians claim they can smell priests of Skeereett approaching. 
• Belthag’uur: His followers focus on battle and bloodshed. His Eldritch Crusaders always choose spells that maximise their combat effectiveness. 
• Mohosskith cultists tend to use magic to compensate for Arvorians’ lack of actual thief skills and natural stealth. 
• Chaos Undivided: A sort of catch-all for those Arvorians who do not focus on any Scion of the Outer Dark.They don’t gain any particular special abilities and are probably not a very organised or united group (they are chaotic after all). But they are also far less bothered about finding eldritch crystals and releasing the scions from their planar prisons. They are also more likely to find allies among other races that have cults of Chaos.
• The Uncaring: These are Arvorians who are nominally Eldritch Crusaders but who do not worship any power that might grant them spells. As such they do not cast any spells and function as fighters (albeit with on average fewer hit points and slightly worse THAC0s than their human counterparts). They are considered foolish and refusing to live up to their potential by other eldritch crusaders who do receive spells from their patron powers. 

Companies of Arcane Knights

Arcane Knights will often organise themselves into companies - unlike other military forces there is no set size, and an Arvorian company can range from a dozen individuals to up to a thousand. Companies tend to focus on tactics, equipment and selected spells rather than philosophy or politics. One company may focus on being heavy infantry with Shield spells, while another may focus on herding orcs and other humanoids towards the enemy using Charm Person. A company might restrict membership to those who can cast specific spells that are integral to their fighting style such as a counter-magic company that only allows membership to those who can cast Dispel Magic. 

Looking at other editions of D&D (particularly 3E & 5E) there are classes that are primarily melee but can cast spells as well - Paladins, rangers, hexblades and the like can all provide ideas for how arcane knights might operate.   Low level Arcane Knights have only one or two 1st level or mage spells. What if these spells were specific to Arvorians, not just Magic Missiles or Charm Person but giving the Arvorian a battlefield role? Spells that were actually created for multiclassed casters? 

• A spell that improves archery? 
• A spell that improves stealth?
• A spell that improves survivability? 
• A spell that improves agility?

I intend to develop these ideas in a later blog post. 

Part of me wants to go crazy with ideas for each company. A company of blind arvorians who fight like Daredevil, using excellent hearing and touch to compensate? A company of vampiric blooddrinkers? Elementalist arcane knights who use fire, ice, earth and lightning alongside cold steel?  This would take Arvorians, or at least these Arvorians, far away from the initial concept in my main Arvorian post where they were almost but not quite a pair of playable classes. 

Inspiration for the Arvorians and where to draw the line with Horror

Although Arvorians are my own creation, they are very much drawn from a combination of different sources. 

• The biggest one is the Melniboneans of Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels, although it was only Elric himself who was albino. Some of the pictures I have borrowed to illustrate Arvorians were of Elric of Melnibone. The Melniboneans are ancient, decadent, a small but powerful civilization and worship the forces of Chaos. They are skilled in both close combat and in sorcery. What’s not to love?
• The next big inspiration are the drow of AD&D, starting with Gary Gygax’s Descent into the Descent of the Earth and then the Vault of the Drow. In the Forgotten Realms RA Salvatore took Gygax’s Drow and really fleshed them out (I definitely enjoyed the Homeland trilogy, the first novel being set inside the drow city of Menzoberranzen). Again, like the Melniboneans they are very intelligent, very decadent and, more than the Melniboneans, capable of terrible wickedness. The fact that they are skilled warriors, wizards and demon-worshipping clerics just adds to their appeal. 
• Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 have Dark Elves and Dark Eldar respectively. The same traits from the first two are there as well: decadence, wickedness, civilization of sorts, intelligence and a tendency towards Chaos. Sorcery and martial skill are seen on the battlefield and within their culture. The Druchii can field specialist troops such as witch cultists, assassins and corsairs, all of whom could have Arvorian equivalents. 

I have not gone into great detail about their decadence and evil. I like the idea that this blog is rated PG-13 - after all I first got into this hobby when I was 10 years old. Only rarely will I go into unpleasant and graphic details. This means something of a balancing act.  Back when I first started to blog about Norwold and the Arvorians, I mentioned that if the Blackmoor civilization was D&D meets Star Trek, then the Arvorians and Norwold is D&D meets Call of Cthulhu. Call of Cthulhu is not just weird and spooky - it sometimes goes into outright horror, particularly the original literature from H.P. Lovecraft, August Derleth and others who contributed to the Mythos. The Scions of the Outer Dark, who themselves are servants and offspring of things even greater and more terrible, are loosely based on the Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos (with some Melnibonean and Warhammer Chaos thrown in).  There is some really dark stuff going on in those books.

I have also been listening to some Youtube videos about both Dark Eldar and Slaanesh (the Warhammer chaotic god of sensation and excess). Some of them can get pretty disturbing, and yet it is also inspirational for truly evil opponents such as the Arvorians. The Drow (the dark elves of AD&D) are by necessity toned down a bit from what they could be (neither TSR nor WotC wish(ed) to scare parents away from buying products for their children) but in both the Gygax modules and also Salvatore novels there are aspects of the drow that verge into real horror. For all three of these inspirations for the Arvorians human sacrifice, demon worship, dark magic including necromancy, sexual perversion, drug use, torture and gladiatorial death matches for others’ entertainment are all par for the course .  

One minor consideration is that Arvorian society has survived for several thousand years, since before the cataclysm that engulfed Blackmoor. Whatever happens within Arvorian society, it cannot be so disruptive and threatening as to pull Arvorian society apart. After all, Arvorians are selfish and have a distinct sense of self-preservation. Although they might not have compassion or even much empathy for each other, if one Arvorian is killing a lot of his fellows, the other Arvorians will act to make sure they are not going to be the next victim. A lot of the senior Arvorians have reached their position not just by being evil bastards, but by being pragmatic evil bastards who have the support of fellow evil bastards. Thus the worst of the Arvorians’ malevolence is directed at those where vengeance and retaliation is unlikely and those that Arvorian society as a whole will not miss - lesser races such as elves, humans and orcs, and those Arvorians who have displeased those in power. Arvorians tend not to attack each other without reason - when violence among Arvorians does happen it is similar to human society with greed, ambition, lust and anger playing a role. There is also a certain unity among Arvorians and although it is not very intense it does mean that Arvorians will support each other when confronting outsiders such as human and demihuman adventurers. 

I think I will stay relatively conservative in my writings here and try to keep this PG-13. But that does not mean these repulsive things do not happen among the Arvorians, merely that they are not openly described here - the worst stuff happens behind the scenes, away from the eyes of PCs though they may find evidence or hear stories of these abominations. If DMs and their players are comfortable with mature subjects, horror and the like, then go for it. After all, if you want to fight bad guys, why not make them the worst bad guys imaginable?  

Art by Santiago Betancur, Source