Pitch: The Seeds of Vigilance

[Kotenku]

This is a pitch for a group concept, open to anyone. I don't, in general, care for group concepts. and may not participate personally, but I would invite anyone with the interest to pick this up and run in any direction they like.. I think that because of its unique origins, this concept would most ideally be launched by a prelude with at least 4-5 players dedicated to continuing their PCs beyond day 1. If there's sufficient interest, perhaps the DM team would consider implementing the Seeds as a new non-app subrace.

The Seeds of Vigilance believe themselves to be the inheritors of Abeir Toril. Blessed with a holy premonition by The Vigilance, they went into hiding for hundreds of years. I've spoken extensively with those who so recently arrived. From conversations with their augur, I estimate they finally emerged from their sealed tomb to find our Blackened World two or three years ago..

Eril, as the augur is called, has been a trove of information on what little of their history they deliberately retain. As he tells it, the Primants -- their first ancestors -- were a collective charged by a being they call The Vigilance with the task of recovering and restoring the world following a cataclysm which they refer to as The Shriving. It was foretold, Eril says, that the previous world would end by the consequences of a society so indolent that it did not care to save itself from a clear and approaching doom. The Shriving then is an act of penance for mankind, brought on not by a god's wrath, but by man's own hubris.

He says that their mission charges them to spread forth wherever they can reach, to reclaim the ruins of civilization.

When I ask about the rigidness of the Seeds' beliefs, he admits that some sects of their society, even among the group he arrived with, carry their own interpretations of the Edict.

Although supposedly many cultures were represented among the Primants, I believe centuries of limited breeding options lead to the formation of a unique physiology endemic of their bizarre pedigree. The range of skintones I've observed has been limited, but they are generally very pale, with most seeming almost translucent. Physically they tend to be lean, tall, and quick to fatigue. In dress, they express a high degree of individuality, enjoying wild hairstyles of extravagant color. For decoration, they show their affinity for gadgets and tools, which they wear like jewellery and value for practical utility.

 Eril accepts that his people are likely descendants of humanity, though judging by their sinuous forms, angular features and developed ears, I suspect that some amount of elven must be present in their ancestry.

I found few of the Seeds who were  willing to speak overmuch about their history. Even Eril, who was very knowledgeable on a breadth of arcane topics, had very little to contribute to the story of their past. They are, as a culture, so intensely focused on the present and future, that the concept of history has been abolished. To illustrate how deeply ingrained into their identity the dismisaal of history goes, they have forsaken even the bonds of parent and child as unimportant.

And yet -
They are bound by an enormous sense of tradition.

They believe in collective ownership among their own kind, yet talent is treasured above all else.
To master as many skills as possible is the golden ambition they teach their young.
Eril tells me of their manifesto, to be the seeds of a new civilization in the ashes of ours. That each seed must have many talents in order to bloom most beautifully..


There are some behaviors which are common to nearly all Seeds I've met.  To them we are the REMNANTS. We are each  the scattered debris of our own failed society. Their attitudes toward us vary. Many are arrogant, or patronizing, or bitter at us about the statewe left their world in. They carry themselves with an air of condescending superiority. Others are sincerely curious of our traditions, but hope to assimilate us into their own culture. Like tourists, some simply find our traditions quaint., but otherwise beneath their notice.

Above all, it seems they are ingrained with the drive to collect and preserve all things of value to their society. Somehave interpreted this edict as a charge to destroy those things which do not have value. Indeed, like their pasts, they pursue practical detachment to an almost ritualistic degree.
As a culture they seem to see all property as inherently theirs. While most act content with what they have, I've found that even the well-mannered  will perceive attempts to hold on to property without their permission as a kind of theft. Yet, between their own kind, they demonstrate a social mandate to share ownership of everything. Conflict over ownership, however rare, is handled in severe cases by neutral arbiters on a strictly utilitarian basis. Eril tells me that to harm another Seed in anger is severely punished by shunning or exile, but was horrified at the suggestion of execution.

For all my inquiring, I am still uncertain as to just how long the Seeds remained sequestered. Certainly their society was self-sufficient. They avoided the traditional pitfalls of prolonged isolation. They have only one legend, and it is the foundation of their society. Miraculously, their language is almost no different from ours, though they inflect strangely at times, and have some new words unique to their culture. I still cannot determine the exact nature of their worship. It seems that some divinity grants powers to their faithful, though whether it truly is Helm I remain a skeptic.

I am forced to admit that there remain many unanswered questions on the nature of the Seeds of Vigilance; I suppose there is much to learn.

-Anonymous Scholar

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[Kotenku]

To elaborate on this concept some:

Imagine the Brotherhood of Steel as they first emerge from a vault to an apocalyptic hellscape. They know nothing of the history of Toril, only regarding its current state as a blank slate on which to build. As far as they're concerned, Dendar's work is done and will be no trouble. The Dread empire is less of a horror than a problem to solve. The Dread are not much stranger or more horrifying than anything else in the world they now observe.

Characters can run the gamut of alignment and class, but should generally lean lawful, having grown up in an intentional, ordered, society.

Racially, the Seeds would tend toward lower constitution and higher dexterity, with Human as base race.

If you're interested in discussing or participating in the concept, please join #seeds on IRC.

For what it's worth, nothing is particularly set in stone; I may not even be playing a character for this concept, so whoever does end up taking it on may alter it however they see fit