Talk:Nephandi

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[edit] Nephandi in the Realms of Despair

The Nephandi is a class in the Realms of Despair MUD, based mainly on the Nephandi in Mage: The Ascension but different in its own way. Is it worth mentioning on this page, if only as an aside? --81.96.183.75 19:55, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nephandus clarification

I have completely re-written this piece since it was a bit sparse and at many points also incorrect. Sources used were: The Book of Madness second and revised edition, Dead Magic, Dragons of the East, The Book of Worlds and Lost Paths --Conosphaera 16:16, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

I believe this typeup is missing a few alternate views set forth in the setting, such as the view that our current reality is preventing a new reality from forming, constricting the pool of possible worlds to a single reality. Or that any reality must have a limited life span, like the beings within it.

Or simply a desire for a return to a primordial state prior to the forming of reality. Compare nirvana in buddhist philosophy.

Am I way off here, or does this interpretation make sense to others than just me?

Would it be appropriate to mention some prominent personalities, such as Jodi Blake?

Zuiram 18:09, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

no, i think you've put just about everything you should in there. the idea here doesn't seem to be "write the book in your own words" as much as "give them a starting point". i would say leave the notable personalities to the books, considering that they aren't even iconic for the game as a whole.Entropicflux 17:53, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

If someone feels that there could be "signature characters" included, please feel free to do so. I am not that protective of what i wrote, just trying to do a thorough-enough job. As for the metaphysical view ... well.

I tried to include only material that is cross-referentiable between the sources i used. The fact that the Nephandi are not mere demon-worshippers - for example - is referred to in the Book of madness Revised Edition, the Book of the Wyrm Second edition, and Path of Screams. Still, all those books also create the impression at some point or another, that the Nephandi might just be demon-worshippers after all. Personally I chose the prior interpretation because it made more sense to me in the total context of the idea of Descension. Nephandi might as well start out as something looking like a mere infernalist, but as their awareness changes on the downward path, they begin to become more like demons themselves.

Anyway, if you think you can concisely present an alternative view, just add another heading describing it ;) Conosphaera 18:54, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

The books themselves don't really give all that much of a starting point, due to the manner in which the information is spread across a very large number of books (including, but not limited to, The Book of Madness, The Path of Screams, some book about Mexico, etc.).

Also, much of the information in the books is not very clear about the metaphysical and philosophical basis for the Nephandi. Some of it is also contradictory, due to different authors not having the same knowledge of the group (e.g. one supplement claims a Caul will turn a Camarilla into a Sabbat, which is just plain wrong).

Still, I don't know what official policy is with regards to how much information is too much for wikipedia. Zuiram 12:12, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

PS. Moved what I think you responded to under the heading you made.