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[Felblood]

Or how about this:

"Once a century, the stars Mortis and Vita come rise together, over the first new moon of spring. On that day, it is said that powerful magics of life and death can be woven, perhaps enough to bring back the dead, or even call forth Armok from his cyclopean tomb city."

[Neonivek]

Or how about this:

"Once a century, the stars Mortis and Vita come rise together, over the first new moon of spring. On that day, it is said that powerful magics of life and death can be woven, perhaps enough to bring back the dead, or even call forth Armok from his cyclopean tomb city."

Goodness, gods freighten me. Specifically because there is no indication to how powerful they could be in physical form.

Though there are only 2 arcs Id think we would get physical gods from... and they are both V2 arcs. (Magic and a arc made to give powerful adventurers who could easily take down megabeasts something to do)

[Hectonkhyres]

Goodness, gods freighten me. Specifically because there is no indication to how powerful they could be in physical form.

There exists the god Tsarnok- god of magma, fire, evil, and destruction. Thrice have his clerics come to your fortress, thrice you have turned them back with mockery and scorn. Thrice he has sent fiery abominations to press his will, thrice your warriors have turned them back through force of arms. But that is about to change.

He stands before your fortress and calls out 'Hear me, maggots of the earth. I gaze upon you and your paltry holes in the ground and I find you lacking. Bring forth tribute worthy of me or else face my most righteous wrath!' Of course, being a bunch of idiots unworthy of life, all of your marksdwarves open fire... only to have their wooden arrows incinerate before they ever reach Tsarnok.

'So be it. It seems I must teach these maggots their place. Behold!' And, with that, the god opens his mouth and vomits forth a continuous stream of magma that spills in through the fortifications and burns said marksdwarves to little more than fumes and trace elements in the slowly congealing obsidian. Imps, magma men, and a named Spirit of Fire rise from this growing pool of fiery death.

Melee warriors unthinkingly rush out and perhaps a few strike down some of the god's lesser minions but soon they too fall to the heat and the lashing whip of Tsarnok himself. Spatters of molten steel from the armor of the dispatched splashes the sides of your fortress and harden there as eternal testament to one fortress's folly. When no more are to be had, when even the pettiest of wrestlers has been rent into sizzling fat, the god steps forward and sunders the adamantine gate from its moorings with an offhand strike. Then again he steps forward, melts the raised drawbridge from across an empty channel, and bridges the gap with a span of obsidian still shimmering with heat.

'Your finest warriors are mine, maggots. I have accepted them as sacrifice. Now I demand of you this: a shrine to me be built with a ceremonial fire of burning wood kept lit eternal by no less than three clerics. I demand of you this: twice a year you shall sacrifice one of your number to me in this sacred flame. I demand of you this: a moat of magma one hundred dwarf-lengths long kept filled at all times. Do these things and you shall live and perhaps one day find my blessing.'

And with that he reached forth and touched the dwarven king upon the chest, leaving a burning handprint that would never fade his flesh. 'Remember this, maggots.'

And thus did begin the Years of Fire under the Burning King. United by terror and, later, the promise of power the kingdom united a never before. Their army rebuilt they swept across the earth to forge great temple-ziggrats to their god and master. Untold masses of elves, humans, goblins, heretic dwarves, and far more exotic victims were cast into the sacrificial flame. And thus did the world burn.

[Granite26]

IMHO Elder Gods make better plot threats than they do villains...

[Hectonkhyres]

IMHO Elder Gods make better plot threats than they do villains...

Well, yeah. But that is largely because there is no real way to interact with them in any of the ways you would classically interact with a villain. They are too alien to communicate with on any meaningful level, their plans are so far reaching and timeless that they must be measured in geologic time, they barely even notice the existence of mortal life much less care about anything we do one way or another. They are big and freaky and impersonal. Its like declaring war on entropy or gravity or the color yellow.

But, thankfully, we are only talking about more conventional gods for DF right now. Zeus and Loki and Makemake and Ptah. Tsarnok is basically just the norse's idea of Surtur repackaged. Though cthulionic life might be interesting indeed.

Armok's borderline. He still cares too much about mortal goings on to truly be an eldergod.

[Neonivek]

Elder god refers to the first gods whome existed either before or during creation. Gods formed from gods after creation generally don't qualify.

Their connection to mortals isn't determined by their power. Gaia may have been a recluse but was much more active in human life then many other gods. Promethius is sometimes refered to as a Eldar god who believed in man-kind and was punished for it, though once he was let go he didn't seem to do anything.

The Eldar God of Space is entirely removed from the universe for... reasons...

Buldar is usually presented as the god who genuinly cares for human kind and he is 3rd-2nd tier in terms of importance.

A Some Native-American gods, if you call them that, live in the world, they arn't seperate usually no matter how powerful.

[Pilsu]

Actually Pilsu, Spherical lands are not so mundane. A Fire Spherical Land could encompass Forests to rivers creating trees of fire and rats that breath smoke (One example toady gave himself was trees that bleed or was it a river of blood?)

So the astrological effects could increase or decrease the Spherical land's Power or Size. So if it was normally not so alligned as to make creature's whome were made of fire previously, then it has such power now. Temperature could be an interesting effect also though, making it impossible to traverse the fire-land (Though whome would try to do so anyhow?)... Heck Temperature could even explain why there are fire elementals, the Fire Desert (as you so stated) became so hot that Fire elementals had to form because they are the only ones who could survive, well them and the Magma men.

Careful with your Whip of the Mundane Pilsu. You use it FAR too often even when the suggestion is in line with Toady Development.

I wouldn't classify bleeding trees in the same category as heat that spawns fire elementals. It'd be more in the lines of sandstorms that turn you into sand or sudden torrents of rain that drown the land in water just for it to inexplicably disappear in moments after the storm subsides

Obviously spheres can't be mundane. I'm just saying that maybe they should do more than spawn critters randomly on a schedule out of thin air. They are large swaths of land with strange properties, you'd think peculiarities on such a scale would amount to more than randomly spawning enemies that for some reason never seem to oversaturate the place despite thousands of years of existence

Besides, a desert hot enough to spawn elementals would probably be hot enough to make the dwarves combust if they tried to fight them. Magical critters we already have consist of the materials of their environment, like fire and magma men. I needn't say why blizzard men weren't named after snow. Any magical critters spawned would probably be made of sand or even glass if the precedents are anything to go by. Molten glass is the probable form

[Neonivek]

Obviously spheres can't be mundane. I'm just saying that maybe they should do more than spawn critters randomly on a schedule out of thin air.

Ohh of course. That would just be one thing that would happen.

I wouldn't classify bleeding trees in the same category as heat that spawns fire elementals

Well the Fire-Elementals are effectively mutated creatures whome's flesh has become flame similar to that of the Spirit of Fire (Whome I personally think is a flaming skeleton). Thanks to the lands now overwhelmingly powerful fire sphere.

[Pilsu]

Seeing a saguaro burst into flames and become an engine of fiery death would be interesting enough but then you have to explain how the local flora surives in such an environment 

[Neonivek]

Seeing a saguaro burst into flames and become an engine of fiery death would be interesting enough but then you have to explain how the local flora surives in such an environment 

If the Local Flora inside a fire-zone couldn't survive Fire... Somehow... Then yeah it would be a mystery.

Though mostly it is because the wood can burn forever but not kill the tree, well that is how I would like to see it done. Either that or the tree only gives the appearance of burning.

[Granite26]

First off:  Some spheres could be mundane.  It lets you simulate mundane things that ARE caused by astronomical effects (solar flares, the weather, aurora borealis, etc)

As far as creatures 'magically spawning', I would say:

The land is tied to the sphere in some way.  This tie warps reality by changing the weather and natural phenomina to be more in line with this alignment.  The stronger the tie gets, the closer the land is pulled to the Platonic plane of that sphere.  The closer the land is pulled, the easier it is for 'things' to get across.  This means that 'spontaniously appearing spherical creatures' is less pathogenisis than teleportation. 

The same applies to magical effects.  A normal tree shouldn't be able to survive being lit on fire, but normal trees bursting into flames should be a special effect and not a regular occurance.  The fact that the normal trees are mixed with magical 'flaming trees' (out of which we build our flaming wooden swords;)) might cause some confusing to visitors, though).

Life is tough, and will find a way to survive.

My opinion, anyway

As far as the 'spawning critters on your map', my assumption was that they were breeding, appearing, migrating, whatever off the map, and so crawling in from offscreen.  Kind of like a siege coming in from the river.  Astronomy as a predictor for these events that are happening randomly anyway.

[Neonivek]

Couldn't have explained it better myself Granite.

The problem is Spawning has a mechanical and Story Sense. Which I guess is where we got confused.

[Willfor]

I think we're all forgetting the most evil sphere of all.

You step into a swamp, expecting to find drab colors. Instead you find trees painted with at least three colors. All of them in a tie dyed pattern. As you walk through this swamp you see birds who look like they have come straight out of magic mushroom dream. They are singing songs in major chords, and creating merriment everywhere they fly.

Before too long you encounter a bear covered in pink. On its belly is a symbol that looks like it was carved into its skin with a jagged knife. The symbol is a rainbow that symbolises the ascension of Pansy, the goddess of Rainbows, Music, and Swamps in -15,031. The bear looks at the blood and vomit on your clothes and decides that you are too gritty for this sacred land. "I am guardian Ursa of this grove. Make yourself cheery, or you will be converted."

You try to clean yourself up, but it becomes too late. The bear comes over, and you suddenly feel all of the birds attacking you. You are forced to the ground, and you are roped the ground. The Bear removes your armor, and carves a rainbow into your chest with his claws as you pass in an out of consciousness. When he is done he goes over and gets some sap from the rainbow trees. The pigments permanently contaminate your skin around the scar.

Try wiping away the mental scars from your adventurer after that.

[Mel_Vixen]

Why the hell didnt ursa use an by all ghosts abdonned "Care-bear-stare"?

edit: Damn now i have to mod in carebears in the next DF version 

[Willfor]

They can use a modded in "substantiated love" material for material breath.

I figured the reference was widely enough known that I could get away with subverting it instead of playing it straight.