Deep Imaskari - questions!

[Rei_Jin]

Quit Arelith back in August (which was the right choice for me at the time), but a friend is enticing me to return. I’ve got a few rewards up my sleeve, and I’m interested in Deep Imaskari, but I have questions!

1. Is their existence known by people in general, or not? The information I can find on this is… mixed.

2. Can they join the Radiant Heart or get Pirate tattoos?

3. Do they just pass themselves off as humans?

4. How are they supposed to be treated on the surface and the Underdark?

5. Are there any differences between starting in Skaldark or Andunor for them?

6. Where can they do writs?

7. Any other in-game mechanical restrictions I should be aware of?

Many thanks in advance

[Pincushion]

1. Almost nobody knows about them. A mass suggestion spell effects all non-imaskari PCs, which mean that they have to be told of their existence to retain the information. In practice, you'll find every other level 12 mage will miraculously know of your existence and you sort of have to deal with that.

The best reaction you can have to it is to simply gaslight the person shouting out 'Imaskari' for everyone to hear. Treat them like a weirdo, because for all intents and purposes that's what they're being. It's like pointing out someone in the street irl and calling them a direct descendant of Ancient Egypt.

2. They can't.

3. They do. They're just weird, pale, tall humans to others.

4. Like humans, who are weird, pale, and tall. You get outcast benefits without being an outcast, and you get to go about the surface freely. If you don't have a reputation, that is.

5. Skaldark is the only start you technically get. But there's a method in which you can freely teleport from the Skaldark to Andunor and vice versa. That's very FOIG however.

6. Almost anywhere. They can't do Cordor for some reason, but they can do most surface and all UD writs.

7. Some NPCs will randomly call you 'monster' for some reason. It's a bug. Avoid talking to the monks at Soulhaven who will scream about it and a few others, and you'll be fine.

[Rei_Jin]

Okay, thanks.

Is there any particular reason WHY they can’t pass as humans with all the surface NPCs, if indeed no-one really knows about their existence and just thinks they’re a weird, tall human?

Seems a bit odd that everyone would think you’re a human except the pirates, the Cordor writ guy, and the paladins…

[Eyeliner]

Arelith puts you in a weird spot because the Imaskari compound is visited by nearly all PCs who play on Skal and if they are not supposed to remember they've been there that's not made abundantly clear by any in-game text AFAIK. The NPCs there are pretty forthcoming with info about themselves, frankly. So you can expect to be recognized as such by other Skal PCs if you choose to start there, it is just going to happen.

Anundor has also had dozens or hundreds of Deep Imaskari PCs pass through now (not to mention one NPC who fights in the cage and is announced by town criers as "Hijo The Deep Imaskari" or something like that IIRC) so it's also unreasonable to expect everyone there to be ignorant of their existence-- again, if there's a mass Suggestion Spell that blocks knowledge that isn't common knowledge among the playerbase.

The surface of Arelith proper is where you're most likely to get to be mysterious but even then you'll find characters who've somehow heard of Imaskari (maybe arcane tower folks have legit reason for this, and lots of surface PCs started on Skal, soo...)

Long story short, please do play cagey and mysterious but this is a warning that while they may be completely unknown in lore that isn't the case on Arelith. It's just one of those things that comes with a persistent world. Forest gnomes are pretty similar in a way, almost no one should ever see or know of one but that doesn't really hold up when PCs exist and mix about.

[Rei_Jin]

Any chance someone on staff could weigh in on this one? I’d actually like to play a Deep Imaskari pirate, and I’d like to know if there is a deliberate choice to restrict them from such, or if it’s an oversight.

[The GrumpyCat]

The idea of a Deep Imaskari Pirate isn't something I'd object to on a fundamental level except... it doesn't really make much sense? You're from a background of a highly recluse race that lives underground in a city semi-sealed by magic. What the heck is your character doing pirating the waves? At least from startup? Just seems a little.. odd I guess? I'll run it by the rest of the team - but it doesn't seem like an oversite to me.

[Rei_Jin]

Thanks GrumpyCat... it's not about having it as a start location, but I'd like to be able to get ink later in the character's journey, and currently they're treated as monsters by those NPCs.

[Rei_Jin]

Also, where can they own property? Their race sits in an odd niche, and I'd prefer to be clear about that before I start

[The GrumpyCat]

I believe that they can own property pretty much anywhere. Certainly I've never been appraised that they are restricted to one area.

[Xarge VI]

I think you may have read the earlier response wrong. They can pass off as human. I think non DI characters the 'human' when they examine a DI character.

Where they can do writs is super inconsistent, likely bugs and oversight. Like- They can get writs at The Arcane Tower and Bendir and Crow's Nest, but can't in Guldorand and Sibayad- as far as I remember don't take it as a gospel.

Thing is, even though many pcs have heard of Deep Imaskari explorers they are still very mysterious. All they see are weird, pale strangers that have uncanny affinity with magic and are generally super secretive. No non DI PC have ever visited the city of Deep Imaskar, and no one really knows what their agenda is.

Of course if you want to be a mysterious explorer from a strange and magical society- It's up to you to portray that in your rp.

Also, this is a super helpful compilation of DI knowledge: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=11154

[Rei_Jin]

I hear you Xarge; it's my understanding that normal people have no idea that DI exist, and so they pass themselves off as human (in most instances). I believe the racial examine mechanics tell people that they're human UNLESS that person examining them also happens to be a DI, in which case they can tell that they're looking at a DI.

I don't intend on letting people know where I'm from IC, or that I'm NOT human. So knowing this sort of mechanical background stuff helps me do that better, so that I don't try to do something I think I should be able to do, and have it fail because of mechanics.

And thanks for the compiled info. I took the time to read the WotC 3.x materials I have that reference DI whilst developing the character concept, and it affirms what you shared.

[Skibbles]

You're absolutely going to run into players, potentially many, that haven't read and tracked every bit of lore about forgotten realms and who literally are not aware that this one Subrace is some ultra super secret thing.

I was one of those players for a long time, and I would never have known it had I not randomly stumbled upon a passing mention of it here on the forums a few years ago. I caution you to prepare accordingly. Not everyone is breaking this super spell on purpose.

[CNS]

Also just for clarifications sake. Deep Imaskari are not like humans and don't pass as humans. They are humans.

[Rei_Jin]

Any update to this Grumpycat?

[Wrips]

They can own property both on the surface and the underdark, yes.

[DM Monkey]

Deep Imaskari are a human subrace. They are humans. They may need to take measures to disguise themselves, due to appearing like living-statues in terms of their marbled white skin. Most people shouldn't really know what Deep Imaskari are as their existence is almost entirely unknown (but that is up to players to judge for themselves based on their lore, and feedback seen when examining a character). They can buy property and live anywhere, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't also be very careful in their interactions.

They currently cannot mechanically become pirates. This might change, or might be worth sending a request to 'Active DMs' or DM Grumpycat in future.

Keep in mind there's always going to be some things in the server that don't necessarily work properly when they should, so just report these things on the bug report forum if they come up and they'll be addressed in due time.