RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? - Page 2

alexondria · 11-12-2014, 07:03 AM

Maybe he didn't treat the workers well so if you can follow the clues it leads to some secret structure that they built for him.

Maybe it's a recruitment test that the overlord set up. If you follow the clues you get invited into special group X.

If the goddesses are real (or there are people in the tether that are more technologically advanced) it could lead to them.

Hans Rancke-Madsen · 11-12-2014, 07:09 AM

What the statue reveals depends on the motives of the man who erected it. What knowledge did he want to conceal and why did he chose such a method to reveal it?

And that's something I find it difficult to come up with something plausible for. I'm thinking in terms of religious or philosophical motives, but I'm not getting anything useful.

Or the motive could be sheer whimsy, in which case the reveal could be the location of the builder's favorite burget joint (Now long gone).

Hans

The Colonel · 11-12-2014, 10:13 AM

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ... look on my works you mighty and despair"

... or, failing that, some inscription that hints at the true nature of the space elevator: possibly because the person depicted was involved in its creation or (if the statues are from a post-collapse era) successfully used or visited it or made a treaty with those still living on it.

sir_pudding · 11-12-2014, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolemnGolem

The ruling family worships a trio of goddesses for the virtues of Love, Truth, and Courage. There is a huge carved monument to the three goddesses in the capital's central plaza, showing them in poses of thought and deed. The sunlight on the twice-yearly evenings illuminates the statue from the side.

I'm thinking of having this show some secret of some sort for those who know where to look - maybe with the shadows lighting up something on the mountain range to the east, or on the plaza to the east.

What sort of fun things could this be?

The most likely things are stuff that the ruling family would want as little cute mysteries, like maybe it points to nearby carving of the family name on a building or something. It's not very likely (though it is cinematic) that they'd hide clues to something actually useful in plain sight like this.

Hans Rancke-Madsen · 11-12-2014, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Colonel

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ... look on my works you mighty and despair"

But only twice a year.

Hans

The Colonel · 11-13-2014, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

But only twice a year.

Hans

Great for major festivals. Alternatively, it may have worked more often before all the crap settled into orbit...

quarkstomper · 11-13-2014, 10:00 AM

They had something like that at the Sirius Cybernetics Corp. Complaints Division: Share and Enjoy!

Flyndaran · 11-13-2014, 10:11 AM

Perhaps the light shining through has some special property. It alone can cure/cleanse/destroy something. Or it can make visible writing on some separate holy tablets that otherwise appear blank or as some non-writing related objects.

sjard · 11-13-2014, 01:59 PM

The Coordinates to a colony that has lost contact long ago. (or if this isn't Earth, the location of Earth)

SolemnGolem · 11-19-2014, 09:06 PM

Actually, I now have an astronomy question for the hivemind.

So, the city is more or less on the Equator, in what used to be Gabon. It's maybe 50 miles inland from the old capital of Libreville ("Leboa-Revi"), getting close to the foothills of a mountain range.

The "gap" in the orbital debris is about 100 miles offshore to the west (so perhaps 150 miles or so away) as the Space Elevator's Earthside tether is based in Sao Tome and Principe. The sunlight will shine directly only from a low westerly angle, when the sun is about to set (i.e. not when it's directly overhead).

Given the Earth's axial tilt of about 23°, will this throw the alignment off such that the sun will only directly shine from the west, onto the town at the Equator, when it's actually a bit south of the Equator? I.e. this would be not at the actual equinox dates (and thus evenly spread through the year) but closer together towards the Sun's passage over the southern latitudes?

I'm not sure if I'm making much sense. This is what happens when I watch my friend's globe spinning in its magnetic cradle.

11-12-2014, 07:03 AM	#11
alexondria Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta GA	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? Maybe he didn't treat the workers well so if you can follow the clues it leads to some secret structure that they built for him. Maybe it's a recruitment test that the overlord set up. If you follow the clues you get invited into special group X. If the goddesses are real (or there are people in the tether that are more technologically advanced) it could lead to them.

11-12-2014, 07:09 AM	#12
Hans Rancke-Madsen Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? What the statue reveals depends on the motives of the man who erected it. What knowledge did he want to conceal and why did he chose such a method to reveal it? And that's something I find it difficult to come up with something plausible for. I'm thinking in terms of religious or philosophical motives, but I'm not getting anything useful. Or the motive could be sheer whimsy, in which case the reveal could be the location of the builder's favorite burget joint (Now long gone). Hans

11-12-2014, 10:13 AM	#13
The Colonel Join Date: Jul 2006	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ... look on my works you mighty and despair" ... or, failing that, some inscription that hints at the true nature of the space elevator: possibly because the person depicted was involved in its creation or (if the statues are from a post-collapse era) successfully used or visited it or made a treaty with those still living on it.

11-13-2014, 10:00 AM	#17
quarkstomper Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The Enchanted Land-O-Cheese	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? They had something like that at the Sirius Cybernetics Corp. Complaints Division: Share and Enjoy! __________________ Read "Danger Cay" at Hannibal Tesla Adventure Magazine! Pulp Era Adventure and Two-Fisted Science in the futuristic world of 1935!

11-13-2014, 10:11 AM	#18
Flyndaran Untagged Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? Perhaps the light shining through has some special property. It alone can cure/cleanse/destroy something. Or it can make visible writing on some separate holy tablets that otherwise appear blank or as some non-writing related objects. __________________ Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.

11-13-2014, 01:59 PM	#19
sjard Stick in the Mud Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Rural Utah	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? The Coordinates to a colony that has lost contact long ago. (or if this isn't Earth, the location of Earth) __________________ MIB #1457

11-19-2014, 09:06 PM	#20
SolemnGolem Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: The Hall of Fallen Columns	Re: RPG plot help: What does the statue reveal? Actually, I now have an astronomy question for the hivemind. So, the city is more or less on the Equator, in what used to be Gabon. It's maybe 50 miles inland from the old capital of Libreville ("Leboa-Revi"), getting close to the foothills of a mountain range. The "gap" in the orbital debris is about 100 miles offshore to the west (so perhaps 150 miles or so away) as the Space Elevator's Earthside tether is based in Sao Tome and Principe. The sunlight will shine directly only from a low westerly angle, when the sun is about to set (i.e. not when it's directly overhead). Given the Earth's axial tilt of about 23°, will this throw the alignment off such that the sun will only directly shine from the west, onto the town at the Equator, when it's actually a bit south of the Equator? I.e. this would be not at the actual equinox dates (and thus evenly spread through the year) but closer together towards the Sun's passage over the southern latitudes? I'm not sure if I'm making much sense. This is what happens when I watch my friend's globe spinning in its magnetic cradle.