But D&Dized: Kuo-ties.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Whats so special about the Far Realm?
- Thread starter Vicar In A Tutu
- Start date
But D&Dized: Kuo-ties.
Scott DeWar
Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure
DA, i would give you an E for effort, but i need to give out more rep points.
Joshua Randall
Legend
I don't know precisely what the Far Realms are, but I've always found the Orz from Star Control 2 to be highly inspirational.
Uh, spoilers. For a game that's like 20 years old. *shrug*
[sblock]So, the orz themselves somewhat defy description: are they a race of individual beings, or just different parts of the same being?
The best way to understand the orz (or not!) is by reading their dialogue... which is delightfully vague, thanks to your translation computer fritzing out whenver you talk to them.
Selected excerpts (source) (emphasis added)...[sblock]
(And to me, it seems like the orz are suggesting that when you "see" them, rather than seeing "light reflections" off of whatever substance the orz are made out of, you are instead... uh... experiencing? simultaneously existing with?... the orz. You don't see an orz; you co-exist with it. Creepy!)[/sblock]
Uh, spoilers. For a game that's like 20 years old. *shrug*
[sblock]So, the orz themselves somewhat defy description: are they a race of individual beings, or just different parts of the same being?
The best way to understand the orz (or not!) is by reading their dialogue... which is delightfully vague, thanks to your translation computer fritzing out whenver you talk to them.
Selected excerpts (source) (emphasis added)...[sblock]
[/sblock]Pretty cool, right? You can kind of understand the orz, but not really. That's what the Far Realms should be like.
(And to me, it seems like the orz are suggesting that when you "see" them, rather than seeing "light reflections" off of whatever substance the orz are made out of, you are instead... uh... experiencing? simultaneously existing with?... the orz. You don't see an orz; you co-exist with it. Creepy!)[/sblock]
When I read that post, I was reminded of a line from a being Dr. Strange was fighting..."I'm not even finite!"
(right before Strange whupped his non-finite ass)
I was also reminded of Xathros (from Bab5) and a lot of the Japanese-English translations I've seen...
(right before Strange whupped his non-finite ass)
I was also reminded of Xathros (from Bab5) and a lot of the Japanese-English translations I've seen...
I thibk the far realm should be thought of as something extra-cosmic-outside of the heavens, hells and other planes that make up the normal cosmos. It is inherently alien in the strongest sense of the term; it has no proper relation to the normal great wheel or astral sea nor does it even fit the normal cosmic structure of any other reality. It is more of an anti-reality than a true one, even being caustic and damaging to normal realities. The aberrations that come from the far realm emerge from multiple processes; a natural creature could be warped, or a far realm thing could translate or transfer itself(note there's a difference there) into the cosmos. The abyss, hell, elemental chaos or whatever system you use are all part of the universal cosmos that forms that particular universe, but the far real is outside of that, breaking form and meaning into the indecipherable and nonsensical alienness.
Aparently, some spammers are from the Far Realms!
Scott DeWar
Prof. Emeritus-Supernatural Events/Countermeasure
as I read that I thought you were giving an example of quasi cathuluhu-esc discussions of the far realms.
Dice4Hire
First Post
That would explain a lot.
Now if only the eldrich abominations would eat the people that buy from spammers so that the spammers would stop sending out spam because of there being no one stupid enough to buy from.
...
But if they really do eat people who buy from spammers, that would explain why I've never heard of a person buying anything from spam...
Hexmage-EN
Legend
D&D4 also features the Living Gate, a portal to the Far Realm connected to the Astral Sea, which is the realm of the gods (creatures from the Far Realm once invaded through it; just imagine the Norse gods having to drive Cthulhu out of Valhalla). Why is a portal to the Far Realm located in the Astral Sea? Why wasn't there a corresponding gate in the Elemental Chaos? Why doesn't the Abyss deepening at the bottom of the Elemental Chaos open a hole to the Far Realm?
My main problem with the Far Realm was that it seemed to overshadow the chaotic beings of D&D. Chaos is supposed to be about unlimited possibilities, yet the Far Realm has entities and concepts that chaotic beings apparently cannot comprehend. The fact that these possibilities are alien and "should not be" limits the possibilities that Chaos has available.
So here's the idea for the Far Realm I've come-up with:
Though some sorts of beings may have truly originated in the Far Realm, the majority of the aberrants were once inhabitants of a normal reality. The Far Realm is the Outside that surrounds all realities much as the seas surround the continents of the world. Just as the civilizations of our Earth unfortunately use the seas as a dumping ground for waste, the gods and other beings that seek to carve Law out of Chaos may use the Far Realm as a receptacle for the waste resulting from such endeavors.
Whereas Chaos is about possibilities, Law is about order. For their to be order, some possibilities must be denied. The most ancient gods of the Points of Light setting denied many of the possibilities that could have existed in their creation, including Allabar. The Living Gate might have been created as a garbage chute that reached into the emptiness beyond reality, allowing denied possibilities to be disposed of. The gods and other Lawful beings of other realities may have disposed of scrapped possibilities in the same manner.
This idea was inspired by a creature from the Monster Manual 3 for D&D4, Allabar. Basically, it was a living planet created by the gods that grew too dangerous and was exiled from the multiverse to the Far Realm. It now appears among the stars and incites those stars that are conduits to the Far Realm to attack the world.
The primordials and other agents of Chaos throughout the multiverse did not want to limit the possibilities and creative choices available to them. This is why aberrant creatures typically attack the Astral Sea and the world, ignoring the Elemental Chaos. The aberrants have no quarrel with the beings of Chaos because Chaos did not want to eliminate possibilities. The aberrants want revenge on the gods that denied their existence in reality. These creatures aren't all beings of Chaos (though some may be): just as the gods refined the primordial's creation and created the world through the possibilities they allowed to remain in the multiverse, the gods of all multiverses unknowingly created the Far Realm's denizens by discarding the possibilities they rejected for their own realities. The Far Realm and its inhabitants make up an anti-world of denied possibilities.
Of course, not all the aberrants entering the reality of the Points of Light setting may have originated in that reality. They look so alien because they are alien; aliens from other multiverses that were exiled into a dumping ground of other aliens from other multiverses. The Far Realm is a place of madness because it is a place where denied possibilities end up, and some of these aberrants may be as inimical to each other as they are to the world. The aberrants want to escape from each other, so they seek refuge in the worlds.
The types of aberrants that may have once been inhabitants of normal multiverses include creatures such as neogi, illithids, beholders, aboleths, kaorti, and the stars called-upon by Star Pact Warlocks. One background for the illithids mentions them being from the future; though in many worlds they are known as Far Realm invaders, perhaps their former backstory holds true in their original home?
Now, as I said earlier, some of aberrants may truly be Elder Evils that have always existed. They might be creatures with utterly alien mindsets that could never fully enter a bounded reality without either ceasing to exist or causing their would-be destination to pop like a bubble. Some of these creatures might exhibit levels of Evil, Law, Chaos, or even Good that are completely incomprehensible. In fact, they might BE the alignments personified. One Elder Evil of absolute Law may want to destroy all the multiverses and all the inhabitants of the Far Realm, denying any and all possibilities for infinity.
My main problem with the Far Realm was that it seemed to overshadow the chaotic beings of D&D. Chaos is supposed to be about unlimited possibilities, yet the Far Realm has entities and concepts that chaotic beings apparently cannot comprehend. The fact that these possibilities are alien and "should not be" limits the possibilities that Chaos has available.
So here's the idea for the Far Realm I've come-up with:
Though some sorts of beings may have truly originated in the Far Realm, the majority of the aberrants were once inhabitants of a normal reality. The Far Realm is the Outside that surrounds all realities much as the seas surround the continents of the world. Just as the civilizations of our Earth unfortunately use the seas as a dumping ground for waste, the gods and other beings that seek to carve Law out of Chaos may use the Far Realm as a receptacle for the waste resulting from such endeavors.
Whereas Chaos is about possibilities, Law is about order. For their to be order, some possibilities must be denied. The most ancient gods of the Points of Light setting denied many of the possibilities that could have existed in their creation, including Allabar. The Living Gate might have been created as a garbage chute that reached into the emptiness beyond reality, allowing denied possibilities to be disposed of. The gods and other Lawful beings of other realities may have disposed of scrapped possibilities in the same manner.
This idea was inspired by a creature from the Monster Manual 3 for D&D4, Allabar. Basically, it was a living planet created by the gods that grew too dangerous and was exiled from the multiverse to the Far Realm. It now appears among the stars and incites those stars that are conduits to the Far Realm to attack the world.
The primordials and other agents of Chaos throughout the multiverse did not want to limit the possibilities and creative choices available to them. This is why aberrant creatures typically attack the Astral Sea and the world, ignoring the Elemental Chaos. The aberrants have no quarrel with the beings of Chaos because Chaos did not want to eliminate possibilities. The aberrants want revenge on the gods that denied their existence in reality. These creatures aren't all beings of Chaos (though some may be): just as the gods refined the primordial's creation and created the world through the possibilities they allowed to remain in the multiverse, the gods of all multiverses unknowingly created the Far Realm's denizens by discarding the possibilities they rejected for their own realities. The Far Realm and its inhabitants make up an anti-world of denied possibilities.
Of course, not all the aberrants entering the reality of the Points of Light setting may have originated in that reality. They look so alien because they are alien; aliens from other multiverses that were exiled into a dumping ground of other aliens from other multiverses. The Far Realm is a place of madness because it is a place where denied possibilities end up, and some of these aberrants may be as inimical to each other as they are to the world. The aberrants want to escape from each other, so they seek refuge in the worlds.
The types of aberrants that may have once been inhabitants of normal multiverses include creatures such as neogi, illithids, beholders, aboleths, kaorti, and the stars called-upon by Star Pact Warlocks. One background for the illithids mentions them being from the future; though in many worlds they are known as Far Realm invaders, perhaps their former backstory holds true in their original home?
Now, as I said earlier, some of aberrants may truly be Elder Evils that have always existed. They might be creatures with utterly alien mindsets that could never fully enter a bounded reality without either ceasing to exist or causing their would-be destination to pop like a bubble. Some of these creatures might exhibit levels of Evil, Law, Chaos, or even Good that are completely incomprehensible. In fact, they might BE the alignments personified. One Elder Evil of absolute Law may want to destroy all the multiverses and all the inhabitants of the Far Realm, denying any and all possibilities for infinity.
Last edited:
