With Regards to the Cult War

[Zerminar12]

I think that anyone who regularly partakes in server activity or checks the forums news/rumors section will now that as of recently Lower Sanctuary has been destroyed (not entirely but vastly) by a giant ooze (courtesy of the slime cult). Directly following this destruction the slime cult continued to gain dominance and my knowledge of the matter is that this might end the cult war with the ooze cultists as victors. Now if I have already been misinformed please feel free to correct me as improving my knowledge base of the setting is my primary goal (both IC and OOC on the forums). So now to the main question I intend to ask: what is the current state of the Ibrandulites and Ascendants? Obviously they'd be weaker than they were prior but have they been nearly destroyed, what does this imply for the cult war, have the slime cult won Lower or will new cults rise as is hinted on the factions forum page? I'm asking this as I was planning on playing an Ibrandulite for my next character concept but I want to know whether the Ibrandulites will survive that long. Obviously this is a massive blow to them and IG it would make sense if now of all times they and the Ascendants fell to the Ooze cultists but is that just it? I think it'd be too boring (for this server's standards anway) if the slime cultists just won the war and just continued forth without any competition. Of course advancing the story IS the whole point but I think it'd be interesting for a new cult or perhaps an alliance between the two weaker factions. This is all based on knowledge which is at least partially correct so if I am lacking understanding of something please inform me. Thank you for any responses or opinions on the events of the Cult War, I'd love to hear what any other players/DMs are thinking about recent events.

[Zerminar12]

I have just read State of the Setting, much apologies. Some of my prior questions still stand and I'd still like to hear some of the player's opinions. Are the shamans mentioned in the post a new cult, do the other prior cults still exist in some form? These are both questions I have that I'd like answered and if they can only be discovered in-game I'd appreciate being told that. Thank you for your time. Please tell me your thoughts on the conclusion of the cult wars and the destruction of Lower.

[RagingPurpleGiant]

Good questions!

[SkillFocuspwn]

This is all stuff that'll be made more clear over time; there are clearly hints to what's on the horizon for Ooze and (maybe) Lower to be found around the place IG and it's definitely something you could be working toward studying!

And if you want to play an Ibrandulite, although the Cult is gone that doesn't mean Ibrandul is.

[Vlaid]

Regardless of what happens, the Ooze cult will not go forward unhindered without opposition. It might end up seeming that way for a short while but new threats, enemies and factions always arise from the rubble of past events to ensure the story of EFU is always moving forward. EFU keeps conflict and tension between factions strongly in mind.

As an examples of the past to give you better perspective: when the Dwellers of the Sacred Cave first gained an advantage in the cult war of Lower the cult splintered into several different sects. This strengthened their sway over Lower but also fragmented their power into multiple voices with their own interpretations of the faith. Another example is when the Spellguard won the war against the Society of the Ordered Mind (the Crystal War), they joined together with the Watchers and became the Watchers and Warders. This again somewhat dispersed their power across a new larger, unwieldy faction and their ability(or interest in) to micro-manage Sanctuary has diminished, leading to a much less orderly Sanctuary.

Victory does not always = more power/control/less conflict, it often means just the opposite in some cases.

Though to me it does seem likely that Ascension and Ibrandul cults are basically destroyed as the announcement of the cult war conclusion heavily indicated that it might be your last chance to play some of the cultists. Either way I wouldn't worry too much about it, the story will move forward but it is extremely unlikely that anything will stay boring. For what it is worth though, the cult war had been dragging on for quite a while without a great deal of interaction by the player base so a conclusion is far preferable and less boring, whatever the result or the victor.

[zDark Shadowz]

As far as I know the final result of the cult war ran parallel to the ambitions the ooze cult once had, the Hand of a God was a literal helping hand to accelerate them along.

I wonder what would've happened if the other two had won though? An avatar of Frederick Bresley? Lower shifted to the shadow plane? One can only speculate now...

[Howlando]

The Cult War, in the sense of the plot that the DM team has been running for a year or so, has been decisively won by the forces of Slime.

If any NPC remnants of the Ibrandulites or the Ascension remain is an open question best explored IG. Certainly you can still play such a concept, but the infrastructure that previously supported them is now gone.

Lower has been receiving almost daily updates, quietly showing how things are settling in below. It's not a secret that a new faction is on the horizon, and will soon be announced that will help make clear the new power that lurks below.

Speculation about what would have happened if either of the other two groups won (they very nearly did) is indeed interesting, but not something we can comment upon. Maybe some day, when all this is long behind us...

[Zerminar12]

Very interesting. I'm very grateful for the quality and swiftness of the responses I've received. Thank you for the clarifying concepts, I don't mind that the infrastructure is gone it's simply that I would've been remiss that I'd lost the chance to play a servant of Ibrandul or Frederick Bresley. Personally I really like what the DM team has done with advancing the plot (the god hand was a really exciting and mysterious addition) and am curious as to this new faction and the next steps of the Ooze cultists. Until my current character in Upper meets his (in)glorious demise I'll just have to speculate and watch the forums. A good dark to you all.