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Salted Sands (A Caves of Qud-Inspired Cultivation Quest)

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Religion in Salted Sands is far from simple, with each oases and sometimes even village having completely different religions. However, there are three broad categories that can be used to define religions—at least in some manner.

1. Shrinal - Shrinal faiths are faiths practiced primarily at shrines. Whether these shrines are small, household things or large complexes, it doesn't matter. Shrinal faiths also tend to be very de-centralized, which encourages new branches to sprout regularly.

2. Cultal - Cultal faiths are the mid-road between shrinal and churchal. Cultal faiths, though somewhat organized, only exist in 'pockets' of centralization. One cultist site will have authority over lesser cultist sites.

3. Churchal - Churchal faiths are the big dogs. These faiths are highly organized and have great levels of centralization. If you are part of a churchal faith, you could, theoretically, trace the heirarchy all the way up to the Big Man In Charge of all the churchist sites.

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The Afterlife in Salted Sands is, in contrast to the rest of the setting, a simple affair. It is a known fact that, when you die, you eventually reincarnate into a new body with your soul scrubbed clean and ready for a new existence. Religions don't so much profess an afterlife as they promise to provide you comfortable lodgings while your cycle winds down and the next begins.

Now, of course, some religions don't subscribe to that fact. But such is the way of things.

But maybe they're right
 
Orbmorb said:
What are the devotions, virtues and sins of the faith of Man, as Kell was taught?
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A good question.

Worship of Man has no real organized rites. The most important thing is to honor the ancestors by remembering them and their acts, just as they did for their own ancestors before them. A follower of Man stands by their actions and choices no matter what. To do anything less would be to dishonor the ancestors.

When you make a choice, you follow through and see it done, or die in the attempt. Both outcomes honors the ancestors.
 
Patterning, as the creation of new patterns is called, is a time-honored tradition amongst all ka-cultures of the world. Some places refer to it with different names, but it all comes down to the same thing; making new patterns. While anyone with ka can create patterns on their own, for it is simply shaping ka into forms and then assigning meaning to it, patterners are those who do so as their profession. Anyone can hit metal, but it takes a professional to make a sword.

However, patterning does have one rule; that not every pattern can be used by every person. But what is the logic behind it? Why is it that one person can wield explosions but another cannot?

Each and every pattern has 'resonations', which determines if someone can or cannot use any given pattern. When a person creates a pattern on their own, it will naturally 'resonate' with them and people of a similar nature. Wildly different people cannot utilize wildly different patterns.

The reason why patterns resonate with one person but not another is simple in concept, but quite complex once below the surface. Patterns must reflect some aspect of their creater/user's character. If a person does not have that reflected aspect, they cannot use the pattern. Patterners can create patterns that do not reflect themselves, but they still cannot use them.

Other than that, there are no real limitations. All patterns can be beaten, no pattern is invincible.
 
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I.F. Ister said:
Patterns must reflect some aspect of their creater/user's character.
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How will this work mechanically? We have some established character traits for Kell, so patterns which rely on emotion, inspiring or causing fear, etc I assume that he won't be able to use at all. But for more esoteric patterns, how will it be determined?
 
Eater said:
How will this work mechanically? We have some established character traits for Kell, so patterns which rely on emotion, inspiring or causing fear, etc I assume that he won't be able to use at all. But for more esoteric patterns, how will it be determined?
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Depends on what you mean by esoteric, I suppose.
 
alexthealright said:
What kind of Patterns would Kell struggle with?
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Probably anything involving emotion directly...maybe with the exception of something that made him intimidating.

But I think it's probably better to focus on Patterns he's well suited to, such as those his muted emotions would actually help with (including things like decisiveness, analysis, and being unaffected by external forces). Like...it's much more useful figuring out what we can do than what we can't. This restriction seems more thematic than mechanical, honestly, except inasmuch as it makes duplicating other Ka-users and Cultivators directly harder. I suspect there's a way to get most effects with most sets of personality traits, it's just gonna be very different from person to person.
 
DeadmanwalkingXI said:
This restriction seems more thematic than mechanical, honestly
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Right, that's what I was thinking. If it's purely narrative I feel like it could be reasoned that a lot of things could be compatible. Was wondering if there would be a roll for resonance when we encounter/try to learn a new pattern, or something like that.
 
Eater said:
A pattern without a clear link to a personality trait, I guess. Will there be a die roll or something?
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If there isn't a clear link, you can't use it.
DeadmanwalkingXI said:
This restriction seems more thematic than mechanical, honestly, except inasmuch as it makes duplicating other Ka-users and Cultivators directly harder.
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This is exactly what I'm going for
Eater said:
Was wondering if there would be a roll for resonance when we encounter/try to learn a new pattern, or something like that.
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Well, I decide the resonances of patterns when I make them. So, there weren't be a roll, no.
 
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I guess what I'm wondering is, different things have different meanings in different cultures, right? They also change over time.

Let's say that a pirate cultivator way in the past created a pattern which projects an image of a skull and crossbones, causing an aura of fear. But Over time the image changes and now it's associated with poison. Would a modern cultivator trying to use this patter from some record they found end up creating a new but similar pattern which created a poison aura instead?

Or, let's take Karter's mist step pattern. I can see how this could relate to how he's very connected to his heritage as a Melkan: fading in and out of the mist is something he's been doing all his life.

So if Kell wanted to use this pattern, would he need to feel that he was also Melkan, to some extent? Or is it more so that Karter has a fluid fighting style and anyone could use it would fight similarly? Is there one defining aspect to a pattern, or can you come at it from many angles?
 
Eater said:
I guess what I'm wondering is, different things have different meanings in different cultures, right? They also change over time.
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The shape has nothing to do with what the pattern does, it's inconsequential. It's also more focused on the specific person and their characterization rather than the culture as a whole.

Karter's mist skip is actually based on how he has a tendency to skip over things in a cognitive sense, plus the fact that his ka comes in the shape of mist.

Anything under the Deep Breathing technique can be done by everyone, for the record.
 
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Does this mean that if a person changes significantly, they may have some of their patterns become unusable? (And previously unusable patterns become usable)
 
I.F. Ister said:
Anything under the Deep Breathing technique can be done by everyone, for the record.
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To extrapolate wildly from three examples, Deep Breathing techniques seem to be "do a thing you can do, but better."
Which leads to two questions: Ka isnt human exclusive is it? Like snapjaws and crows and everybody can cultivate?
Could a sedentary tree use Grasp the Distant?
 
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