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I was playing Nightbane and I was reading the Guardians stuff and noticed that there was referance to a land that there was no book for, the lightlands. Any takers on what that place is like?

In the book called Between the Shadows, it says the Lightlands are
rumored to be in region somewhere in the Astral Plane. The Guardians
get back and forth from it in Void Ships. That's about it. I wish someone
would develop this more. I've love to see a book called the Lightlands
so we could get more info on the Guardians and the Astral Plane.

My idea of it is an astral kingdom within the Void (yet somehow immune to it) That would be roughly based on the Silver City envisioned in the Sandman stories. Except, of course, the inhabitants would be Guardians, with all the baggage that goes along with that.

In my version, the Guardians there, though ancient, would still be pretty clueless as to their actual origins, just as ancient Nightbane are of theirs.

The way I understand it is the Lightlands is on the "opposite" side of Earth from the Nightlands. All you'd need to do is find a way to manipulate the "mirror wall" the right way, and you'd end-up there...although the beings of light there probably would not appreciate the intrusion, and unless your alignment was scrupulous or principled, you're kinda screwed sunshine...

I'm not sure how you got to understand it that way Borast, other than the similar name... the Nightlands are the dark mirror of earth, so in a way the normal earth IS the 'light' side. The domain in the void idea makes a lot more sense, guardians could add their PPE to help reinforce the domain (it seems like something to do on their deathbeds, if they're dying of old age, give their souls back to the light). This means that they must have enlisted the help of an astral lord/mage or a Millek.

Of course whether or not they are the 'Lightlands', I'm pretty sure a place like this must exist. If the Lightlands were a good version of earth, they would have already jumped in ad destroyed the nightland invaders by now.

Actually, that sort of is like teh "God" argument, and boils down to the same reasoning there. Free Will.

The reason they have not "jumped-in" (other than send heros) is a) the take-over of the earth by the "forces of evil" is not overt, and b) humans have to choose to help themselves.

Imagine this perhaps the Nightlands is where the Nightlords have absolute dominance and Earth is the neutral territory and Lightlands would be a kindom were the Nightlords and their minions are a nucance but not prevelant. So the Lightlands has their own problems with keeping out the Nightlords just as bad as any other plane.

running on the Astral realm idea. I can easily see the lightlands being the source of the guardians. A place "Between The Shadows" of the Astral and Dream Stream which would explain the dreams of the guardians. I think IF I introduce the guardians into my games then this will be the way it will work in my universe.

This is what we know for Lightlands.
1. There is a domain in the Astral Plane controled by the Guardians (refer to Between the Shadows)
2. There are Elders among the Guardians
3. Origins of the Guardians are just as mysterious as the Nightbane


Anything I'm missing just add here.

It's hard for humanity to choose to help itselves when they don't know anything is wrong. Those who do know HAVE chosen to help themselves... dumb argument.

As for the lightlands being in trouble, I don't see it. It would have been mentioned if the Nightlords were invading it, and they're not. Astral plane idea's best.

My take in it in what would've been my second book for the series was to be that the Void Ships were not in cahoots with the Guardians, and that the Guardians were in fact afraid of the Void Ships and their operators. However, the Void Ship operators were in fact Elder Guardians from the Lightlands who were angry with how self-important the Lightbringers had become, and often came to punish those Guardians who got too far out of hand.

It was more complicated than that, obviously, but that's the basic gist of it.

The Lightlands themselves were the polar opposite of the Nightlands--a mirror realm to the Earth where it was eternally daylight and eternally lush and green. In a word: Eden.

Not necessarily. At least, it was my understanding that the Astral Kingdoms were almost naturally occurring. Anyone else get that? But i do like that bit about the old or dieing giving up their PPE to build up the place, good idea!

[as a sort of related side note, can tarantuloids be OCCs that allow them to build domains?]

Also i was reading in BtS, though i can't give an exact page at the moment, but it mentions Guardians who pick up the power of Astral Transference... That's not possible, is it? Maybe an option for Elder Guardians only? I suppose the original idea was that the Guardians access the Astral Plane via Void Ships? (Contrary to what Jason was planning?)

Strictly by the book, no. Unlike Rifts, Nightbane keeps the distinctions between an RCC and an OCC nice and neat, so Tarantuloids are restricted to the three racial classes in their description (warrior, craftsman, and sorcerer-priest).

One could however use the Nightbane Sorcerer and Nightbane Mystic as templates to create other special Race/OCC combos.




Guardians gain access to all psionic categories, including master/super psionic powers, at level 4 (see page 113 of Between the Shadows).

Astral Transference is an available power at this point.

Since when(in anywhere but your imaginations) did the Guardians become self-rightious pricks ?
In SoL you seem to have it in for any non Nocturne faction-but especially the Lightbringer( guardians) faction,why is that?
I mean no offence but( and I loved the strigoi!)
you seem determined to take a unique and cool class
and reduce them tp mere holiere than thou morons simply because they were the guys wearing the wore the white hats.
Or was is because theyopposed the vampires which means that you think they have jto oppose the nocturnes?
Idon't mean to wine but I really like the Guardiand and would like to know why you trashed them in your book ?

I agree. With all the darkness in the setting, there should be some opposite influence. Heck even Rifts has Lazlo (even though there is still nothing on it) I don't have SOL but I prefer to think of the Guardians as a force of good. Not everything in Nightbane has to be shadowy and ominous.

light at the end of the tunnel?
from what i remember this is a horror rpg. id prefer my horror to have hopelessness...and make it as dark as possible...just something that really hasnt been achieved in many horror rpgs...

Jason...silly I admit, but assuming you didn't submit it to PB, could you post your Eden world somewhere?

So where is the Lightlands book?

Nope you need a way to cross the ligthblub wall...(well you think of something better to call it) to cross over to the lightlands.





Yes I know that was totally innane post, so sue me.

So there you have it. The Guardians must be principled or scrupulous. There's no ambiguity about thier alignment and intensions.

Huh? where did that come from...

That the light of the Guardians burns anyone not of a good alignment. Regardless, what's important is the intent of the original writer, Carella. Not what someone decided to do to his work.

I've always been under the impression that the Earth *was* the Lightlands. Ie, a bipolar universe (Earth/Nightlands) as opposed to a tripolar one (Lightlands/Earth/Nightlands). The supposed "Lightlands" the Guardians and/or Voidships come from haven't been substantiated. It also would seemingly diminish the significance of the balance between Earth & the Nightlands implied in TtGD - that is, the parallels between the two (Dopplegangers, Nemeses,. the Earth invasion of the Nightlands) seem to indicate that they're the polar opposites.

It's stated in Between the Shadows that the Voidships come from the Astral Plane I believe, so in all liklihood, the Lightlands is an Astral Kingdom.

Hmm, I can agree with the second part of that, but I don't know about the first. Although it would be interesting:

Guardian's Player:"I'll just take out that knocked out villian, so he can't come back and get revenge latter..."
GM:"the light that feeds you your powers burns away that thought and make you heal his lethal injuries instead!"
Guardian's Player:"hey, why'd that happen"
GM:"guardians can't be evil"
Player:"darn morals"

the 4th Nightbane Book has the lightlands basicly, being yet another Realm where the Elemental (angels) (anathatos) keep around. in short, it's like the supreme god layer- then the angels layer and the elemental layer, and the elemental layer and angel layers all hate each other.


anyway by CJ carella Cosmology, the Guardians come from where their kind reign. The supreme Gods of light they never meet. They only meet the intermediaries and basicly wage war on earth mostly.