On 17/02/2013, at 6:53 AM, zonork <zonork_at_...> wrote:
> What would you think of a group of explorers of the Underworld? (The
> Thanatonautes), which by a strange magic can leave their body
> explore the paths of death. (A state of false death where the body and soul
> are connected by a rope so astral, it is nevertheless dangerous because
> off of it causes real death, it degrades over time and
> can cause serious sequelae if the exploration takes too long to see the
> death,
That sounds rather like shamanic discorporation (which is certainly one way to do it). I think shamanic traditions that are connected specifically to dealing with the dead may often do something like this (though most would be interested only in knowing their own tradition rather than exploring the underworld at large). Other forms of magic might be capable of something similar. It would also be possible to physically enter the world of the dead in a heroquest, such as the one in S:KoH, of course. It would have to be a very magically powerful group to perform multiple heroquests in a regular, organised, manner, though.
>
> The Descent into Hell is an ancient theme and so I find current religious
> it appropriate, but I can not see where it could fit. (Perhaps
> moon, perhaps a small group of very malkionis heretics? but they
> not a vision of death that is I think)
One of the roles of the Issaries cult is as a psychopomp for the pantheon (as they guided the Lightbringers through the underworld), and a goal of the cult is constructing maps of the underworld in pursuit of this goal. Of course, the majority of people take the same route through the underworld, but the cult wishes to be able to assist those who leave the beaten track as well. So that is one possibility.
Being interested in constructing maps of the underworld that go beyond the territory of their own cult/religion is an unusual goal. A dedicated magical project to do so would probably be considered a bit too reminiscent of God Learning by many - and it certainly sounds exactly like the sort of thing the God Learners would have done in their heyday. It could also be an Arkati project (which isn't any more popular than God Learners a lot of places), of course many Arkatis are interested in the underworld as troll friends. If I was going to use this sort of idea in my own game, I'd probably make it an Arkati project to map the Underworld for heroquesting purposes.
Cheers
David
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