Guild Wars 2

Terrahero.9358:

Itll probably involve killing an absurd amount of Aetherblades.

No seriously, how do they keep getting recruits? Arent they suppose to post mortality rates or something?

They’re criminals so they don’t have to post mortality rates, unless they are recruiting from the Villain’s Guild in which case they must so that the stupid minions and lackeys have something to ‘work towards’ while the smart ones know to seek employment else where.

I fourth this. I was surprised you couldn’t sell the tickets. I have no need for them I’ve been accumulating them as I kill things in the actual world.

Zayd Akira.1942:

Darkbattlemage.9612:

Zayd Akira.1942:

Shiren.9532:

People have taken that “WoodenPotatoes” theory too far. Occam’s razor: among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. The “WoodenPotatoes” theory is great and all, but it leaps all over the place.

WoodenPotatoes’ theories jump all over the place because that’s how meta-stories work in guildwars, its been that way since the first guild wars, guild wars prophecies being the best example of stories within stories within stories that interconnect and weave very long and confusing webs that in the end change the entire history of Tyria.
I’ve played guildwars since the first, and I STILL have issues following what happened in Prophecies.

Think: Cloud Atlas

I watched the entire video and his theory is nothing more than a hypothesis, or basically grasping at straws in basic terms. Yes the Thaumanova reactor explosion did cause bizarre magical phenomena but it doesn’t mean it interconnected with the Personal Story in any manner. There are countless alternative realities simply because one alternative reality has been seen. The Steam Creatures could come from anywhere, even from our reality just a different world. It was said humans were brought to Tyria by the gods along with the Forgotten. We haven’t heard the Forgotten for sometime now perhaps they the real builders of the Steam creatures and the Asura in the Infinity Cube personal story is just a “What if an Asura built them first.” scenario. Or it could be the Mursaat utilizing the budding technology of the Charr and Dredge with their own magitech to create new armies to finally get their revenge on the humans. Perhaps Scarlet is their new “Saul D’Alessio” and the Aetherblades the prototype White Mantle 2.0?

Such is the nature of theories though. People keep thinking that people whom mention Potatoes’ theories are taking them as proven fact, but this isn’t the case. We’re just presenting Potatoes’ speculation on his behalf, essentially.

I don’t assume everyone who mentions his name fanatically believes his theories or even remotely find them plausible. However a few have made me wonder. While his other hypotheses and theories do appear to be more thoroughly constructed, this hypothesis sadly can’t even hold jello. It basically a small scrap of tinfoil that made in the shape of a bucket. It looks useable but poor a drop of water and its now ruined.

The major contributor to this hypothesis inability to hold even jello is that the Living Story will not impact the Personal Stories, simply because it would be confusing to the new players. The dungeons someone mentioned, I think in another thread, aren’t an exception as they are intended to be done at certain levels. Once you obtain a certain level you receive a letter from someone claiming to be your herald informing you of the actions of whomever your Destiny’s Edge companion is. A Living Story however seems to permanently change world itself in some manner. Another reason is that those players who didn’t choose the Infinity Ball or whatever it called as their Asura’s first invention would feel like their choice meant nothing in the long run. We already seeing people complaining about the human focus of the Living Story, which I find their arguments agreeable but mostly I’m confused how they connect together but willing to stick with it to find out then make my final decision.

Zayd Akira.1942:

Tuomir.1830:

But there’s absolutely nothing to back that theory. It’s just baseless speculation.

Mordremoth is pretty proven, there’s lots of evidence that shows that he exists.

Everything else fits so perfectly in the gaping hole that is the sylvari origin, there’s nothing that shows it could be real but there’s nothing that shows it isn’t either., hence why its a theory :P

Very well since there no evidence to disprove this theory how about a counter theory. It is possible the Sylvari are the creations of Melandru and left intentionally on Tyria to be planted prior to the Dragons awakening. That is why that one Sylvari not of the Pale Tree had a humanoid form as Melandru avatar form the Dervish utilizes has a humanoid appearance as well. Also in the trailer you see Caithe, or an Sylvari that is similar looking, awakening one of those tree creatures that are associated with Melandru. Perhaps after witnessing the Jotunn’s failures and humanity’s desire for war Melandru created the Sylvari in hopes of having the perfect chosen race to receive the gift of magic. Or perhaps the Sylvari are part of the cycle of the Elder Dragons. After the great devastation caused by them they along with other plant creatures would take root and sprout within a matter of years repopulating the planet with life. After awhile the Sylvari disappear and their home trees wither leaving seeds that are collected by the other seed creatures and stored for later use.

Ludovicus.7980:

Darkbattlemage.9612:

Ludovicus.7980:

Ok, so Verata was investigating the means to have permanent minions, the cult of Verata had a base of operations by the tower in GW1, and the elementals in Garrenhoff are hinted to be powered by human souls.

These are the facts.
I see the connection. I wonder why you don’t.

Probably because they don’t fit together tight enough. There are several things that kind of throw a wrench at the theory.

Verata was researching in Necromantic minions not Elementals. Him and his cult were killed by adventurers due to a bounty. Even if there were survivors we have no reason to believe they had the means to enter or manipulate the giant tower that in the background. We never told about it, nor do the locals seem to be concern about it. Even the White Mantle don’t seem all that interested in the tower. So this could be viewed from multiple perspective.

The first is that the tower could be a Mursaat stronghold made to look like a human tower that houses a portal they use to get into the world. They did utilize magic dealing with the manipulation of souls so I don’t see why they wouldn’t bind human souls into elemental matter to make new minions. Secondly it could be a White Mantle’s magical research facility that simply experienced a mishap that resulted it becoming a Earth Mote. This was later repeated to make another Earth Mote or they took great efforts to expand the original earth mote to build a castle there. The Castle could be an Asura’s workshop, perfect location away from everyone yet close enough to get supplies. Asura have been known to do such experiments, perhaps it inquest. Or it could be Dhuum’s new home after he broke out once again. For the time being its all speculation until we actually get facts that support it.

Now if there were evidence or even hints that he was experimenting on creating non necromantic minions I might find it more plausible he or his cult is related to this place. For the time being it a interesting hypothesis but only time will tell if it a viable theory or even a true.

Of course. I’m not saying that this is the only way things could turn to be. I’m just saying that it is a plausible one. There are hints:
hint1: Verata was investigating on permanent minions
hint2: Verata’s cult had a base near the tower in GW1
hint3: The elementals in town are suspected to be animated by human souls.

Does that mean that it’s all because of Verata’s cult. Of course not.
But for me it is a strong possibility.

Ok why would he or his cult refocus their pursuit from Necromancy to Elementalism? There is a big different between the two schools of Magic. If there could be a reason backed by evidence given maybe it will be a possibility to others.

TehPwnerer.7215:

Zayd Akira.1942:

Most likely it’ll be the “battle at divinities reach” mentioned in the infinity ball personal line for the asura.

I keep hearing about this infinity ball thing. What is this?

Basically it a Personal Story available to the Asura. The Asura who invents this device story leads to them discovering that a Asura built the Steam Creatures in an alternative reality and took over the world. During the revelation this Asura mentions a battle taking place at Divinity’s Reach prior to them taking over the world. After they defeated the Elder Dragons and established their rule they send the creatures to the past to conquer it sooner, or some similar purpose. Wooden Potatoes has crafted a hypothesis that people are taking as literal. He’s also why you see people thinking the Sylvari are servants of the Jungle Dragon among other theories…

Hope this helps.

Zayd Akira.1942:

Shiren.9532:

People have taken that “WoodenPotatoes” theory too far. Occam’s razor: among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected. The “WoodenPotatoes” theory is great and all, but it leaps all over the place.

WoodenPotatoes’ theories jump all over the place because that’s how meta-stories work in guildwars, its been that way since the first guild wars, guild wars prophecies being the best example of stories within stories within stories that interconnect and weave very long and confusing webs that in the end change the entire history of Tyria.
I’ve played guildwars since the first, and I STILL have issues following what happened in Prophecies.

Think: Cloud Atlas

I watched the entire video and his theory is nothing more than a hypothesis, or basically grasping at straws in basic terms. Yes the Thaumanova reactor explosion did cause bizarre magical phenomena but it doesn’t mean it interconnected with the Personal Story in any manner. There are countless alternative realities simply because one alternative reality has been seen. The Steam Creatures could come from anywhere, even from our reality just a different world. It was said humans were brought to Tyria by the gods along with the Forgotten. We haven’t heard the Forgotten for sometime now perhaps they the real builders of the Steam creatures and the Asura in the Infinity Cube personal story is just a “What if an Asura built them first.” scenario. Or it could be the Mursaat utilizing the budding technology of the Charr and Dredge with their own magitech to create new armies to finally get their revenge on the humans. Perhaps Scarlet is their new “Saul D’Alessio” and the Aetherblades the prototype White Mantle 2.0?

Lokki.1092:

I should be surprised by this thread but sadly Im not…

Story taking place in Norn and Charr lands. “had nothing to do with the Norn or Charr” Even though the main attacking force was predominantly charr.

But the most influential leader in the area, having a jubilee from one of the races of humans that includes representatives from every race is all about humans…

OP sounds like he wants to complain about something, and if the event took place in any place but the Black Citadel would be complaining. They have overhauled a section of the city that the players have been talking about for awhile and intergrated a story with it. For all you know they have a similar plan for the charr. Should anyone that doesn’t play a not care?

Why should you care about a human because you play a charr? In that case why should you care about, Abaddon, the asura, the dragon aspects, The mad king, the norn, the sky pirates, the centaur, Tixx, the sylvari, or anyone who lives in the sea of sorrows. They are not charr and all of them have less effect on the charr than the leader of the human’s who is sitting on a delicate treaty that may or may not send the charr back into war, and some of which are fighting the charr actively right now!

Why are you forced to care about the queen? How about, because this chapter of the story of Tyria is about her? How about because this story is about more than one person, or race. The main story revolves around sylvari, the other events have revolved around the Charr and Norn and the new fractal will be Asuran based. How about because it’s about the lore of the whole world that includes humans?

Maybe they one of the Charr who actually wants the war to return but doesn’t want to join the renegades?

Now that I think about it the war between Ebonhawk and the Charr could be made into a WvW mode. But I’m not into pvp so wouldn’t know how exactly that could be done.

Leviathan.7459:

Alright so I know that the player creates a Sylvari’s name but from a lore perspective, who names the Sylvari? They have no parents. Do they name themselves while in the dream? Does The Pale Tree name them?

From what little I understand of the Sylvari I think the name is chosen by them.

Ludovicus.7980:

Ok, so Verata was investigating the means to have permanent minions, the cult of Verata had a base of operations by the tower in GW1, and the elementals in Garrenhoff are hinted to be powered by human souls.

These are the facts.
I see the connection. I wonder why you don’t.

Probably because they don’t fit together tight enough. There are several things that kind of throw a wrench at the theory.

Verata was researching in Necromantic minions not Elementals. Him and his cult were killed by adventurers due to a bounty. Even if there were survivors we have no reason to believe they had the means to enter or manipulate the giant tower that in the background. We never told about it, nor do the locals seem to be concern about it. Even the White Mantle don’t seem all that interested in the tower. So this could be viewed from multiple perspective.

The first is that the tower could be a Mursaat stronghold made to look like a human tower that houses a portal they use to get into the world. They did utilize magic dealing with the manipulation of souls so I don’t see why they wouldn’t bind human souls into elemental matter to make new minions. Secondly it could be a White Mantle’s magical research facility that simply experienced a mishap that resulted it becoming a Earth Mote. This was later repeated to make another Earth Mote or they took great efforts to expand the original earth mote to build a castle there. The Castle could be an Asura’s workshop, perfect location away from everyone yet close enough to get supplies. Asura have been known to do such experiments, perhaps it inquest. Or it could be Dhuum’s new home after he broke out once again. For the time being its all speculation until we actually get facts that support it.

Now if there were evidence or even hints that he was experimenting on creating non necromantic minions I might find it more plausible he or his cult is related to this place. For the time being it a interesting hypothesis but only time will tell if it a viable theory or even a true.

Shpongle.6025:

I voted Evon too. I love Abaddon.

Is it wrong after rereading about Abaddon that I think his ‘death’, using the term loosely as his previous defeat only left him disembodied and lacking his power over water which Grenth took, had something to do with the Elder Dragons waking up.

@Gandarel.5091: It was one of the first names that came to my chaotic mind, that and secretly I favored Abaddon since he was the God of Magic after all.

bhagwad.4281:

Darkbattlemage.9612:

Escthiil.3210:

How this can explode into 10 pages of discussion eludes me. :U

Because there a lot of people who need to take more cold showers or start listening to the logical nature of their brains more often.

Honestly, the people who need to take cold showers are those complaining about others objecting to the watchknights.

If you read the thread you’ll see far more heated reactions from people getting all worked about the OP’s original post than those agreeing with him/her.

That’s why I left it unspecific who needs to take the cold shower, think both sides need to cool their heads down. I honestly don’t understand this need to claim everything is objectifying women whenever possible, it trends to cause nothing but trouble.

Mr Finesse.9036:

CreatedToRock.5903:

I’m telling you, in the next patch No one is going to attack Divinity’s Reach and kill/kidnap Queen Jenna. Just my speculation.

Fixed it for you.

You put the wrong part in, there you go fixed now.

Grebo.8573:

Well they are not avoiding to show off more steam creatures during the escorts ballon missions which were from that alternative dimension.

From A alternative reality where a Asura has become the “Grand High Sovereign”. If we going to include alternative realities into the equation than it is logical to assume that there are infinity number of alternative dimensions where these Steam Creatures were built not by an Asura but by Charr, Humans, Norn, Sylvari, or even one of the other races that are not playable. Perhaps in one such reality the Steam Creatures were built by the Skritt and the “Grand High Sovereign” is not a single entity but many.

Unfortunately the problem with including alternative realities, or time travel in general, is the story suffers greatly for it. Now if they were indeed from a alternative dimension, connected via the Mists, than it would be much more interesting as it doesn’t involve a possible future but rather another world similar to ours.

raptor.1064:

Shirogatsu.3150:

How about SAB in Rata Sum a while ago?
And for Balthazar sake, this “human political figure” trying to make a peace with charrs for a kitten long period of time, THIS “human policital figure” is a part of YOUR charr history

trying to make peace with the charr

“we can make our golem take the form of our enemies!” golem turns into a charr

as a charr that was very insulting

Oh good I wasn’t the only one that found that wrong. Perhaps that the big speech on the 20th the Peace Talks have been dissolve and war will be resumed with the Charr?

TehPwnerer.7215:

Like why should I, as a Charr, care about anything this human political figure has to say? Why do I have to get a miniature of her? Why does DR get a mini LA crafting area (That every city should have – and should have free of charge) while the rest of the cities still have no point to going to them?

I kind of agree with this. I could understand if there was a cutscene from our race’s leadership that sent us as well as whomever they had sent to the festivities to ensure everything runs smoothly. I highly doubt Rytlock or the other tribunes of the Charr High Legions will rely solely on Rox to represent the Black Citadel especially with what occurred at Lion’s Arch.

Shiren.9532:

The thing I don’t like about the Infinity Ball theory is that 7 of my 8 characters didn’t invent it. I wouldn’t like such a central plot of the Living Story to be founded on such a specific Personal Story option. One of the problems with the Personal Story was a lot of the plot developments and characters that you came across later in the game were founded on story options that other players had made but you didn’t.

Another factor against the theory is that Anet is avoiding altering things that are seen in the Personal Stories because new players haven’t played them yet. This also applies utilizing elements of personal story as it makes it appear one story is canonical over the others. It makes those players who picked that particular story seem to be in the spotlight when in MMO’s the players are in the background being the nameless adventurers who solve the problems of the named characters.

dunnberry.2964:

Sure walk this way right into our subject test…classroom! Our classrooms right this way, here’s a nice cup of water too don’t want our guests thirsty

It’s a trap don’t listen they just going to use you for test subjects.

Escthiil.3210:

How this can explode into 10 pages of discussion eludes me. :U

Because there a lot of people who need to take more cold showers or start listening to the logical nature of their brains more often.

Gandarel.5091:

Falkor.7932:

I’m sorry but, bringing Evon minis and Evon buttons makes this about Evon losing, not about Abaddon, if you want it to be about the fractal, make sure you are sending that message, not that you are kitten about how people voted.

The protest needs a main theme. This adds to the feeling. That’s all.

You had the main theme and lost it. By focusing on Evon’s defeat you have undermined your own goals, if it was true you just petitioning for the fractal. You could of named your Guild the Disciples of Abaddon, Abaddon’s Chosen, or even Magic Seekers as he is the God of Magic. This would show your interests are more towards the history of Abaddon and the magic he brought to the humans not because Evon Gnashblade lost a stupid election.

The reason I sided with Ellen Kiel is actually more in depth then I’ve previous given in other threads. Yes the cheaper Waypoints does benefit me currently, since not doing fractals yet. However I was more interested in the Asuran Lore than the pre-guild wars 1 lore. From Guild Wars 1 most of the lore given before the events of the game were pretty straight forward not a lot of loop holes or questions. Most of my curiosity was from things in the game such as that floating tower.

To me the Thaumanova Reactor’s explosion will be more relevant to the plot of Guild Wars 2 than to the fall of abaddon. To go off on a limb what if Abaddon is still very connected to the events of Guild Wars 2 and not really dead? What if by choosing the reactor we find a clue about this? The reason so many are hopeful with the reactor is that it relevant and recent in the setting, thus having potential to be spun in a number of ways most of which I’ve seen people mention seem to come from that Wooden Potatoes guy. The Fall of Abaddon is essentially a history lesson and thus doesn’t have an impact, other then what it had in the previous game, on the current settings.

Man In Zero G.8312:

Note to ANET:
NO more political themed events.
It just brings out the absurdity and stupidity in the community.

That part of the community will still find a way to make things political.

Gandarel.5091:

only i could explain to you somewhow that we aren’t against Kiel and not for Evon, that chapter is over. We are for the fractal, and not over the other fractal, but as a bonus.

Then explain this part of your original post.

Req: Evon badges and enthusiasm, also a torch + a fiery dragon sword, if possible, as a symbol of light in the dark age of Kiel’s councillorship.

Also your guild is called The “Keelhaul the fractalstealer [Kiel]”
Which response would you like from me?
Diplomatic/goodie two shoes: Just a misunderstanding?
Sarcastic/humorous: Quick lie harder maybe I’ll believe you.
Aggressive/Angry: I fireball those who lie to me.

Personally I like the sarcastic/humorous response.

And this is not the Nightfall battle, it is the one more than 1 thousand years before GW1 where the other gods defeat him.

Which leaves room for people to be disappointed in Abaddon’s original godly form and the other five gods godly forms. I know they were ‘depicted’ on murals but as stated in a previous thread the artist couldn’t glance at them for a long time due to their form blinding a human’s eyes. It entirely possible that the forms depicted on the mural are of human creation same as the dervish avatar state.

Or it could be Anise believes Rytlock to be an enemy to the Queen. I mean the Watchknights are supposed to be disguised as threats to the Queen. Instead of being a known Flame Legion commander or even a Charr Renegade commander its Rytlock himself. Sure it could of been a simply prank or an attempt to help. But it seems to me that both her and the queen believe the Charr Tribune is a very serious threat to humanity, as the queen didn’t interfere with the match. As for the Rytlock disguised watchknight it could be possible that this mysterious Sylvari is a mesmer herself, or one of her minions is, and ‘hijacked’ the illusion. This could be how it word for word as one of them could be in the sparse crowd at the time.

aspirine.6852:

What kind of topic did I stumble into now….

*walks away slowly

Give me a hand with my Ice Shower Golem 5000 I think many of the posters in this thread could use a ice cold shower. A few could even use a visit from my Hammer tosser 700 Golem, but I don’t think Anet would appreciate the mess it makes. Now where did I put my bag of power supplies.

Garambola.2461:

I’d certainly like to have the Fall of Abbadon fractal completed too. But I am so sick of this political stuff. I would gladly join in asking for the fractal, but not in a mob bashing the candidate that won the election.

Sadly this is the state of our world. You can’t mention anything remotely similar to politics without foaming fanatical fools raising pitch forks for the person they back. This is why no matter how many ask we won’t get this fractal. Although the Fall of Abaddon was covered pretty well in Nightfall. He gave magic to humans and as humans always do they abused that gift. The Gods took it away after being brought to their attention him and his followers got mad and went to war. He lost was imprisoned in an disembodied state and plotted revenge that set the stage for the events of Prophecies, Factions, and finally Nightfall.

I don’t believe Sylvari are related to Modemoth or the Elder Dragons in general. Also I don’t think the Human gods are connected to the Elder Dragons. Yes there are six accepted human gods and six Elder Dragons, but there were more human gods in the past. Dhuum is still very much alive and it if Menzies does exist that would imply he and Balzathar have a mother, which could be the mother of the other gods or one of many parents. There also the predecessor of Abaddon that was dispose of by the former God of Secrets. And if we theory-crafting then I should point out there is reference in the Realm of Torment of Insectoid deities that predate the human gods.

As I understand the Gods of Guild Wars, they not gods in the traditional sense but more like beings of solidified magic akin to the Elder Dragons. However their purpose isn’t devouring magic but appears to promote its steady growth. When this growth exceeds their capability to regulate they first go into exile, where they try to gain control form the mists, before ultimately becoming silent and letting the Elder Dragons do their purpose.

It is possible that the Sylvari are the ‘grandchildren’ of Melandru who created the seeds and hid them in preparation of restarting the world. This is why a member from a different ‘pale tree’ still has an elven like form, as you notice the Dervish’s Melandru form looks similar to a Sylvari in build, when their tree has no interactions with known humans.

Now that I think about it that would also explain the Sylvari’s deep connection with those tree creatures we see in the trailers, whom I believe are said to be Melandru’s favored servants. Also since Sylvari seem to have a love of nature itself this would further being beings of Melandru’s creation.

Turtle.4130:

Narcemus.1348:

So, for a villain to be interesting they have to be human?

You could simply look at Alduin from Skyrim to see a dragon who properly confronts the protagonist at various points in the game. However similar to Zhaitan, he had a pretty lackluster final battle too (Much better than Zhaitans though).

Because the protagonist is a single person who steals the souls of dragons. You want Zhaitan and the other elder dragons to bother taunting each and every player? I’m pretty sure they have better things to do then cater to a bunch of whiny players who feel neglected because they not getting the attention they believe they deserve. Besides it been said multiple times the Dragons aren’t evil which means they aren’t even villains. They’re basically Tyria’s response to growing magic. Magic grows to such a degree the Dragons wake up and consume magic as well as all life they can find. The real villains it seems are the inquest who are more than content to watch us fight against the elder dragons and each other while they silently work towards their own goals in peace. Sure we do have some confrontations with them, especially for Asura players, but they still permitted to exist by the Arcane Council and other races leadership.

rohnis.2715:

I think they want rule the world. I mean the Inquest.
The thing is the normal asuras have a morale. The Inquest not. I heard this in a dialogue between two asuras.

The Inquest do want to take over the world foolishly believing they are superior in every way. The typical Asura has an ego, which is why they say they would one day rule the world, but no ambition to actually make it happen. Yes they have a monopoly on transportation but to them it just funds for their experiments.

WyldKat.4712:

Darkbattlemage.9612:

If this is true they could be similar to the Orks of Warhammer 40k…

WAAAGH!

I’m da hand of Gork and Mork, dey sent me to rouse up da boyz to crush and kill ‘cos da boyz forgot what dere ‘ere for. I woz one of da boyz till da godz smashed me in da ‘ead an’ I ‘membered dat Orks is meant to conquer and make slaves of everyfing they don’t kill.

I’m da profit of da Waaagh an’ whole worlds burn in my boot prints. On Armour-Geddem, I led da boyz through da fire deserts and smashed da humies’ metal cities to scrap. I fought Yarik, old one-eye at Tarturus, an’ he fought good but we smashed iz city too.

I’m death to anyfing dat walks or crawls, where I go nothin’ stands in my way. We crushed da stunties on Golgotha, an’ we caught old one-eye when da speed freeks blew da humies’ big tanks ta bits. I let ‘im go ‘cause good enemies iz ‘ard to find, an Orks need enemies ta fight like they need meat ta eat an’ grog ta drink.

I iz more cunnin’ than a grot an’ more killy than a dread, da boyz dat follow me can’t be beat. On kitten enah we jumped da marine-boyz an’ our bosspoles was covered in da helmets we took from da dead ‘uns. We burned dere port an’ killed dere bosses an’ left nothin’ but ruins behind. I’m Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka an’ I speak wiv da word of da gods. We iz gonna stomp da ‘ooniverse flat an’ kill anyfing that fights back. We iz gonna do this coz’ we’re Orks an’ we was made ta fight an’ win!

-Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka

This made me laugh hard.

Atlas.9704:

We could not possibly accept the other races into our collegiate institutions.
They would just simply not understand, or at worst destroy themselves in the process.
If that were to happen where am I to get proper test sub…er I mean assistants?

If you looking for test subjects just snatch some of the inquest and the Elder Dragon champions and minions they keep for pets. It would actually give them a particular purpose.

The Norn are too enamored with their “spirits” and would wreck labs with their physical transformations. Though I will pause to admit it would be hilarious to use them as mascots for the next Golem tournament.

That reminds me we really need to find a way to monetize the Golem Tournament to the other races. I feel it has great potential to be a sport all races can enjoy. On a serious note I do believe the Norn who venerate this ‘raven’ spirit might actually prove to be deceptively capable. From how I understand their beliefs those who venerate this spirit value cunning and intelligence to solve problems over brute strength.

The Sylvari would be interesting, but I factor that our experimentations on one of their own could backfire on us diplomatically somehow. I just don’t feel comfortable bringing them closer into our facilities.

Didn’t Snaff’s first apprentice already do such experiments, and he’s the leader of the Inquest. As for their capabilities in being members of our colleges. I say they have the highest potential simply due to the fact they are like newborn children in adult bodies. Their minds haven’t yet crystallize as in the case of adult charr, humans, and norn. Combined with their eagerness to learn, I say they make the best assistants. But then again I consider assistant someone I don’t have to fear accidentally killing themselves because they didn’t heed my warnings.

The Charr could be a possible candidate, but they are too close minded with their hierarchical thinking of the Legions first and their warbands. Yes it is quite similar to our krewes and colleges. There are differences; where we simply have the courtesy to sabotage each other and politically decimate our rivals the Charr have teeth, claws, and little self restraint in killing things in their way. Krewe/Warband rivalries would not end well mark my predictions.

I agree the rivalries wouldn’t end well however it might actually help the arrogant fools amongst our people to learn the value of humility. Also I don’t see Charr too concern with playing in our politics, probably due to the frivolous nature of our politics. Although I am concern how we will keep the Flame Legion from infiltrating our colleges, from what was seen with their ‘alliance’ with the dredge I don’t want to know what they will do to our golem schematics.

That leaves the humans, silly bookahs. Though I do enjoy their silly antics as they beg their “gods” for help, I cannot see us elevating them to a level above the hylek really.
Their guilds and wars really did damage their mental capacity. It was only the near extinction of their race that helped them focus and even then they still deal with internal fights.

Unfortunately I have to agree that humanity’s need to fight over the slightest reason makes them more barbaric and savage than even the Charr. However what is your opinion on the Hylek being elevated to our level within the near future? Their alchemical knowledge would be beneficial to us.

Ask yourselves this question: Do you really want to give them the potential of our tech in their hands? Only trained Asuran krewes should operate such items. They are too childish at the moment.

No more childish than many Asura, I say.

Oh sure their watchknight experiment is interesting, but they don’t even have the proper ethereal security measures in place to prevent them from being hijacked!

Not to mention the lack of a fail safe in case of such an event.

Seeing how the Sylvari have characteristics of fungi, such as the mushroom head choice, it is possible that the Pale Tree and the Sylvari themselves combine the traits of animal fungi and plant. If this is true they could be similar to the Orks of Warhammer 40k and have special fungus within their bodies that break down the usually unbreakable components of what they eat, this could even be done by plants as Tyria is a ‘alien’ world after all, after their bodies break down the components that normally can be digested.

Agroman.7190:

Konig Des Todes.2086:

I’m not contradicting myself – you just seem to be not listening, or not understanding, me.

One place is used as a location for religious advice, the other was not. This is what differentiates a shrine from a mere statue. This is what I was saying. This is not contradictory. At all.

I had not once seen any ambient dialogue of someone going to the priest of Balthazar on the lower end. And I remained in the area for a long time in the past to see all the ambient dialogue and actions. The upper statue is where the travelers went to, not the training yard. There would be periodical NPCs going up and asking for a blessing before heading out on the battlefield. The other one just had training seraph turn to the priest and salute before taking a break from their sparring.

Besides, a developer just went and proved me right that it’s the upper Plaza that was the main shrine. Though also proved me wrong in that the other place was also a shrine – but a lesser one, unlike what you and everyone else has been claiming.

Please do refrain from turning your RP into canon, as it seems to me that’s what you’re doing.

I am listening to you, and I see your point better now, but I simply disagree with it.

The fact that the training yard had no dialogue does, in my opinion, not support the theory that it was not a place where religious advice was sought. Otherwise some of the Seraph would not make their way down there only in order to salute to a priestess (which, by the way, they do the same way in the big Shrine of the Six).
By official statement, it was a secondary shrine, and as such we cannot discredit it completely as a place of religious advice. And it can definitely be regarded as a political faux-pax of Queen Jennah to remove it, in some way.

I do, however, not disagree that the main shrines are the ones atop the High Roads, since that’s what Anthony’s statement basically says.

Also, I’m not turning my RP into canon, since I’m a lore lover myself and have a certain dislike for players who are stretching it too much in order to get what they want. But I simply disagree with the argument that a secondary shrine is not a place of religious advice because of the lack of dialogues.

I think it be kind of cool if the aetherblades, or whomever is controlling them, dressed up as what the people believe Balthazar looks like to try and stir up some trouble for the queen and seraph.

Fafnir.5124:

Do a force calculation energy at impact is exponential with mass(maybe not) demonstration of relative height fall. Ant falls off table(still alive) person jumps off cliff dead.

The mountain Zitain was on was above the clouds which makes it minimum of 1.2miles high or more(based on height of cumulus clouds).

If you watch myth busters damage from g force of fall is only mitigated by slowing the deceleration at impact and it is physically impossible to decelerate using padding or shielding for example from magic. If Zitain didn’t slow his decent i garentee he is dead cause impact will liquifie enternals regardless of armor or magic.

Actually that is slightly incorrect. The scientific components are correct but the magical aspect isn’t. See Magic is a chaotic primal force that doesn’t obey laws as we understand it. To try and understand it we have developed ‘rules’ which magic is to be used. We normally call these ‘rules’ spells, from these spells we delve into the various disciplines of magic. Yet these ‘rules’ only restrict us in how we utilize magic. The Mursaat and various other ancient races have different means to utilize magic. The human gods and elder dragons also have different means of utilizing magic. It is entirely possible the impact itself didn’t kill Zhaitan but the disruption of his internal magical energies when he was struck by the weaponry specially made to damage the elder dragons. Even when dealing with Chaos Magic, as seen in the reactor, the magical energy will become highly volatile if disturbed in a significant manner. This normally has explosive results, again as seen with the reactor, yet there are notable exceptions.

Fafnir.5124:

One thing i want to point out is how can the clock works use dragon energies as destroyers?

Belief of the person being subjugated to the illusionary magic of the Mesmer who made them appear similar to destroyers. That the bases for Mesmer magic, illusions. You are harmed because you think you are harmed. By deceiving the senses of an opponent the mesmer can harm them. However if an opponent sees through the illusion then they can’t be harmed as their mind rejects the deception. That’s how I view the illusion spells functioning anyways.

Drakkon.4782:

Requiem.8769:

Drakkon.4782:

And risk allowing the glory of an astounding breakthrough in Thaumechanics be made by a lesser mind?! NEVER!

I would not fear that. The likelihood approaches zero.

Approaches, but never reaches. The derived equations for probability show that there will never be a statistical chance of 0. Are you willing to risk our secrets in the hands of bookah? I’m not. If the fools on the Arcane Council are willing to put our most advanced secrets in the hands of bookah, then I believe it’s time to consider alternative governance.

Your assumptions are false and only serve to show your narrow mindedness. The other races have an creative potential not normally seen in our own kind. The majority of us are too busy trying to out do one another or to innovate a existing technology or ideal. The Charr have demonstrated a creativity we seem to lack, albeit one geared towards warfare. We had the magitechnological means to create airships but we didn’t think of creating such, the Charr saw an opportunity. Their caution has also proven to be based in facts, such as their concern with the reactor. Most of us simply right off disasters such as that as mere mishaps.

I theorize that if we would cast aside our egos and actually work alongside the other races, our technology would be far superior to anything seen on Tyria. While our magitech might seem far superior to the Charr’s steam technology or the humans clockwork technology it has its limitations just like they do. By combining the three into one we eliminate the weaknesses of them and form an even stronger technology.

Xkyline.5267:

Darkbattlemage.9612:

Xkyline.5267:

We’re yet to see the kittener seduce a prominent ‘chosen one’,take out a Dooku and kitten up the jedi council.Hopefully,a Death Star is being constructed in the backyard of the manor with a giant opening into the main reactor core and Caudecus is researching space travel.

He probably paying the Inquest to do all that for him.

Actually makes sense.Man imagine all the kitten something like this could lead to lololol o;
Logan: ‘No Rytlock,I am your father’
To an Empire Asura threatening you : ’Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?’
Darth Charr as a player escaped him: ‘The Force is strong with this one’
Asura inventor introducing new ship :‘You’ve never heard of the Millennium Moa?It’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs’
Anise to Jennah :‘When I left you,I was but the learner,now I am the master’
Jennah :‘Only a master of evil Anise’
Trahearne to player :‘May the Force be with you Commander’

Add in the Imperial March soundtrack= epicness overload.FTW!

Then Disney sues for copyright on the soundtrack and lines.

Here’s my Elementalist Ragnazoth Volcanite. The first pic is me wishing I could wear the Magitech outfit. The next picture is me with a raccoon after I blasted some Risen.

Xkyline.5267:

We’re yet to see the kittener seduce a prominent ‘chosen one’,take out a Dooku and kitten up the jedi council.Hopefully,a Death Star is being constructed in the backyard of the manor with a giant opening into the main reactor core and Caudecus is researching space travel.

He probably paying the Inquest to do all that for him.

Never.8147:

Stooper, the necromancer made it for Excell. It was probably a very thoughtful gift, plus Minions are impossible to command if you’re not a necromancer!

They can be difficult to command even if you are a Necromancer. Remember the end of A Deal’s a Deal cinematic from Nightfall?

Palawa Joko: No, No, No! Mummified flesh on the left! Dried bones on the right! No, your other right! You worthless bits of animated anatomy!

draxynnic.3719:

Caudecus IS Palpatine, or wants to be.

Seriously, he’s got exactly the same MO – manufacture crises to make the current government look bad so he can step forward as the competent alternative. The difference is that Jennah and her allies are too competent for that, including being able to find out (if not to get enough evidence to prosecute, keeping in mind that Caudecus effectively has control of the court that would be trying him) what he’s up to.

But can his manipulations save him from assassins? Since many people came from Cantha it stands to reason a few were of the assassin profession and might even have trained the Shining Blade. Since the Shining Blade claim to be under the direct control of the Queen it stands to reason that should Caudecus become too much of a threat to the safety of Kryta then the Queen could have him simply assassinated by the Shining Blade.

Agroman.7190:

I never said in any way that PvP is the only thing that honors Balthazar about an arena.
I also don’t say that combating the watchknights is against Balthazar.

But I say that the arena in no way properly replaces what was taken away and doesn’t add much either, from a religious point of view.. It comes at the cost of pure decandency. The money that the Krytan crown spent on the Pavillon could have been used better, in a way much more honorable to the gods and/or helpful to the people and the war that is fought outside Divinity’s Reach.
This is why the arena, while embracing Balthazar in some way, makes up for it with a ton of philosophical downsides that are not really honoring him. And that’s all I meant.

I actually have to agree that building an arena on the grounds of what was once the homes of her subjects wasn’t the smartest idea the queen had for two reasons. The first you mention it doesn’t benefit Divinity’s Reach in the long run unless it turned into a training facility for the Seraph after the whole celebration. The second is it might start the Cantha descendant people to become suspicious that the queen either allowed the collapse to occur or had caused it so she can gain the grounds to build the arena.

Aaron Ansari.1604:

Or, it’s possible that Queen Jennah negotiated a temporary claim to the area, and the priests agreed. The area it’s been replaced with is heavily tied to temporary content, so I doubt it will remain once the month is out. LA has already set a trend of replacing structures with festival-appropriate architecture, only to revert back to the original once it’s time to move on. I highly doubt the training grounds will be gone for long.

Perhaps the Arena is actually the new and improved training grounds? That why it temporary content the arena after the festival is then turned into a large training ground and a new statue of Balthazar will be placed within it.

Drakkon.4782:

And risk allowing the glory of an astounding breakthrough in Thaumechanics be made by a lesser mind?! NEVER!

*cough*cough*

That simply isn’t the Asura way. Where would we be if we weren’t willing to throw away our lives for scientific research? Dead at that hands… err… pincers… whatever… of the Destroyers. That’s where!

What’s this a typical Asura actually afraid of those they believe are inferior to themselves actually discovering before them. This is a change I thought you lot followed Gadd’s belief “Bookahs willing to take the risk are cheaper.” Although I’m suspecting you not a typical Asura as you couldn’t identify the limbsof the destroyers as such. Also didn’t many of us die anyways at the limbs of the destroyers because they were much too proud to ask for help? I think the only way to defeat the Elder Dragons is by combining all of our strengths and not idly believe our Golems can handle the threat alone.

Drakkon.4782:

Still Keil is the wrong choice for the Asura. We should have been backing Evon, as I did, to learn more about the former human gods. Who knows what new theories and paradigms we might have unlocked by simply being in their presence for five minutes? Shortsighted of the Arcane Council, as always. Fools, the whole lot.

I’m sorry your choice was the incorrect choice but please refrain from idle boasting of your false superiority. Each and every Asura thought about the problem and decided on their own course. I believed Evon was a poor choice for myself to back as I do not use the functions of his companies as often as perhaps you or others. I use the waypoints more often and decided that even if it just for four weeks the lower prices would be beneficial to me. Also Seeing how we have some here claiming the reactor’s explosion was result of the bookahs, which is clearly false as anyone with even a passing knowledge in the field of Chaotic Magics would know non-asura matter has no effect on chaotic magical energy flow, when the official report says Inquest did unauthorized experiments in the reactor.

I say it is more important to learn what exactly occurred within the reactor so we may prevent further mishaps. The human gods are nothing special. If you had done even the slightest research you would see that they are nothing more than constructs of solidified magical energy. This is probably why they have been silent since the Elder Dragons first awakened. Out of all of us they would be the ideal prey for the Elder Dragons.

Now that I think about it I’m starting to theorize that you are perhaps not really an Asura. Any typical Asura would never said we could learn anything from the Humans ‘“gods”. Even back in the time when we first came to the surface we found little to no value in the Humans’ “gods” or the Norns’ “spirits”. Now if Evon had said he would fund research into the Mursaat or perhaps the Titans themselves I might of been swayed to support him. These two races would definitely advance our technology, even if it just from observing how they utilized magic in their time.

Mad Queen Malafide.7512:

Necromancers use spectral powers and bone and flesh to do all sorts of crazy stuff. So I would consider it possible lore-wise. In GW1 and GW2 we never see necromancers summon any weapons, but I don’t see why not. I always imagined all necromancers to experiment with their magic, and invent new kinds of minions and spells (which is why my necromancer supposedly can animate and fly a bonedragon). Certainly not anything we can actually do in-game, but it’s still acceptable for roleplaying purposes. Come to think of it, in one of my videos Malafide even animates a bridge made out of bone. So you can get creative with it I suppose. I’ve never heard Anet deny the possibility of any of it out right.

A different perspective that this can be looked from is that Necromancers don’t use these kind of spells ‘openly’ due to them being considered either forbidden by the “Order” or because they don’t want to have non-Necromancers debate the morality of their spells more than they normally do. If a Necromancer reanimates a dragon into a bone dragon I think many non-necromancers will think the Necromancer’s profession should be outlawed as it is ‘dangerous’.

Gregorius.1024:

Fafnir.5124:

There is some emotional parts even if it isn’t directly tied to the player. The bomb expert dies blowing up the risin ship you have to tell his wife he died. The is a mission where a boyfriend sacrifices himself to save his girlfriend and they he comes back as a risen and you have to slay him. There is alot of emotional stuff that drives people to fight zitan even if it isn’t directed at the player. To point out the npcs would fight him even if the player wasn’t there your role is small in the big picture.

That’s all fine and dandy, but I still didn’t care. I felt bad for that asura, I felt bad for certain people who got turned to Risen, but I was fighting Zhaitan for story completion, not because of a reason. I went after the charr, Titans, Lich, Mursaat, Shiro, Afflicted, Varesh and Abaddon because they wrecked my comrades, they had us on the run, they corrupted my world. I saw firsthand the corruption of the Garden of Seborhim, I saw people I knew turn into Afflicted, I saw the charr summon burning crystals to destroy Ascalon. I understand having a small role in a big picture, but give me a reason to be in that small role.

This is the problem with Guild Wars 2: lots of telling, very little showing. In writing class, they tell us to show as much detail in real time as you can, don’t tell. To make your villain feel dangerous and significant, show how dangerous and significant he is. The best analogy is probably Sauron from Lord of the Rings. Do you remember those awesome scenes when he was a giant floating eye? Nope. But I remember when they showed him step onto the battlefield as his minions started losing and proceed to curbstomp everything in his immediate vicinity. That scene set the tone for the whole movie: “They’re trying to stop a powerful dark lord from returning to life” not “Mr. Goofy Eye wants to rule the world.” Sauron as a physical being is a terrific villain for the 30 seconds that he’s onscreen. Him as a giant eye is a force of nature that would’ve been silly if we didn’t establish beforehand just how powerful he is.

Raising Orr from the ocean is pretty intense, but not enough. Zhaitan couldn’t kill at least one airship in his entrance? Not one? He broke the front of the one we were riding on and that’s it. He didn’t even fly in for another attack. Imagine if in the opening scene of Lord of the Rings, Sauron just knocked one person’s helmet off…. and then got torn to shreds by everyone else including the now helmetless person. That’s what Zhaitan did.

Sauron and Zhaitan aren’t comparable. Sauron is a villain in the traditional sense. During Lord of the Rings the reason we didn’t see him do anything was because he had been previous defeated and was unable to do anything. He was essentially Abaddon except his prison was in the very world he wanted to conquer. Now if his plan succeeded we would of seen the return of this armored villain wrecking armies with one swing of a mace. Zhaitan and the Elder Dragons are nothing more than destructive forces of magic. We see them corrupting our world by their own rules. In Zhaitan’s case the dead rise once more as Risen and attack their former kin.

As for a reason for the small role it obvious. You, along with every player in the game, are part of a new generation that has to make their way through a world threatened by draconic creatures we do not understand. A world that also has it share of problems unrelated to these creatures.

Now I know many aren’t happy about the way the final battle was presented, with some thinking he may still be alive. But I am curious what if this has become intended. The Elder Dragons are ‘forces of nature’ to us but I haven’t seen anything resembling a hurricane. A few rumbling thunderous showers but nothing I could call a storm. Perhaps they the ‘calm’ before the real storm. Perhaps they herald something more ancient and more destructive. The Mursaat sacrificed humans to keep the Titans sealed, yet they did nothing about these dragons. Surely a race as ancient as they are would of taken the time to try and formulate precautions. Same with the Forgotten they didn’t focus on preparing the world for the Elder Dragons awakening. Only the dwarves seem to have taken precautions, yet even they didn’t know what their ancestors were referring to.

Could it be possible then that these dragons are actually the minions of something more fearsome. What could silence the gods of humanity? If Arachnia and those insectoid gods existed, what killed them and their worshippers? If one truly needs a “personal” reason to involve themselves in fighting Zhaitan or any Elder Dragon there plenty of reasons within Lore to do so.

Drakkon.4782:

If you wanted a short answer, bookah, you probably should have asked a Skritt. It isn’t in our nature to answer questions in a sloppy or haphazard manner. There are far more variables and parameters than most people realize when they ask something, and it is completely without conscience to simply answer a question… err… simply. Just because you didn’t understand what you were actually asking when you posited your query doesn’t mean we should treat the inquiry with the same level of callousness.

Perhaps instead of giving a long complicated answer, which is unnecessary and a waste of time, one should simply ask for clarification of what the inquirer is specifically seeking. Theoretically this could save a lot of time that could be better spent on one’s inventions. Arrogance, among many other things, has no place in the Eternal Alchemy.

Honestly, its because of this inability to be so circumspect that I have serious doubts that you bookah can be trained, much less actually educated. I have higher hopes for teaching a Kodan how to play cards. They jut don’t seem to grasp the concept of bluffing…

Perhaps the problem doesn’t lay with the inquirer but the one who seeks to answer the inquiry. Also Kodan do grasp the concept of bluffing they just don’t feel it is something a Kodan should do.

Gregorius.1024:

I think the failure behind Zhaitan (and the EDs in general) is that I feel nothing towards the places they attacked. The charr attacked and destroyed MY character’s hometown of Ascalon. Forever after, my Prophecies character became a refugee. Shiro’s Afflicted attacked MY monastery and MY city. My Factions character had to go and save a city already under attack, even dying at some point along the way. Varesh threatened the security of MY home island of Istan. I’m going to go lay a beatdown. I’m winning, oh wait she summons demons, wrecks my forces, maims my commander, destroys my fleet and proceeds to attack MY continent and MY world.

I agree with prophecies reason till Shiverpeaks because it becomes focus on the survival. Factions I was more curious why Togo, myself, and the other characters were apparently immune to this plague instead of actually wanting to fight Shiro. As for Istan it didn’t feel like it was actually being directly threatened until the preemptive strike that was conducted. Yes they were under threat but the whole starter area felt more like the corsairs are more a problem than the three nations warring with one another.

As for the last part. The Elder Dragons are essentially threatening the same thing just they more content with feeding off magic first. Let’s face it if they devour all the magic in the world we’ll be essentially defenseless as there no super weapon to damage them.

My point is, none of our safe havens are threatened. DR, Hoelbrak, Grove, BC, and Rata Sum are never threatened. Claw Island, Vigil, Priory, and Whispers HQ aren’t really havens, the fact that they get attacked wasn’t so much a surprise as it was meant to be. The dragons are so lazy, so slow, they don’t do anything! Zhaitan should have permanently destroyed a settlement. Jormag, Primordius, and Kralkatorrik should DO something! Even if we just got news of their movements, but make them MOVE! Make them an impending threat.

If they destroyed one of the capital cities than the players of that race will call it unfair, just look at nearly every mmo where one ‘faction’ has something bad happen to it. To keep it ‘fair’ they could only have the Dragons threatened the neutral ground Lion’s Arch.

In GW1, what made the Charr, Mursaat, Shiro, Afflicted, Varesh, and the Destroyers so awesome was that they moved all over the place, destroying things wherever they go. They had a plan, a direction. That’s why the Great Destroyer was kinda just lame, he sat there waiting for us to go to him. Abaddon still has cool points because it was his planning, and its not like he had a choice, being chained by Balthazaar’s handcuffs. The Risen are pretty cool in this game, especially the one time Risen bosses in the story, like the Mouth of Zhaitan and the princes and priests. They have something to do. Zhaitan is soooooooo lazy. In Destiny’s Edge, Kralkatorrik got cool points because he woke up and the first thing he did was take care of business.

That the difference between a Villain and a Force of Nature. A Villain has motives and plans while a Force of Nature is unpredictable. The Great Destroyer had woken prematurely, or intentionally, to begin waking up its master. It had no need to move because it was in a position to begin the process. It sent its minions to strike at the creatures who called the area home due to them simply being in its way.

Gnat.9405:

Unfortuneatley the gods can’t really be a huge part of the plot considering they are the human gods and we are now dealing with multiple races. I think it would have been more interesting to allow the living story to culminate into the major plot, which we may still see I suppose, but we know the overarching theme is these dragons.

Haven’t the Humans Gods been silent since the Dragons began to wake up?

If a particularly nefarious group found a way to control the dragons, it may add a layer of personality to the story (looking at you, inquest).

That actually sounds like something we might see very soon, provided Snaff recorded how he managed to enter the mind of that Elder Dragon prior to his death. Maybe we see them ‘resurrect’ Zhaitan, since I think they have quite a few Necromancers in their ranks, as some golem undead hybrid creature.

Dragons were not always the main antagonists of Guild Wars 2. According to The Making of Guild Wars 2 book, original drafts for story included demons and angelic beings descending to the world to judge it.

I’m wondering why this was scrapped in favor of dragons that have no particular vested interest in the world.

Probably to avoid confusion with Diablo or offend people.

Narcemus.1348:

Except Kormir never took on any semblance of a form from Abaddon.

Well if Arachnia really an indication of how the human gods came to be then it is possible that after a while their form is mutated or twisted into a hybrid of humanoid and whatever the insectoid god they took the power from was. Also it could be how Abaddon chose to reform himself since the gw.dat also says his original form was destroyed in the imprisonment process.

Another possibility is the gods can alter their ‘god form’ to suit whatever their desires or needs are. Since we were facing him in his lair he could assume this arachnid form to either intimidate us or make us doubt his kin as he is the former god of Secrets. Maybe he was trying to tell us the biggest secret of all, the origin of his kind.

Simplicity.7208:

Alcyone.8695:

-snip- This is why the Inquest are tolerated where the other major races ostracize their “bad factions.” -snip-

The Sons of Svanir are tolerated by the norn as well. Their culture reveres actions, not beliefs and while the norn may disapprove of the Sons’ decision to forsake the spirits of the wild, they’re not about to ostracize them without having committed some wrong.

And yes, after reading this thread, I do wonder how Asura society does not just fall apart. That “me me me” mentality doesn’t seem like it would work too well in a civilization.

Because it all just for show. If you think about it we Asura aren’t that different to the Norn. We boast of our accomplishments to our peers and even can be goaded into ridiculous predicaments. The only difference my observations have shown is it takes considerably less alcohol for the typical Asura to show their ego. This is why I cast mine away long ago. It so hard to get any real work done when you have an ego the size of Rata Sum or larger.