Let's talk Rularuu (spoilers)
By
Anti_Proton,
Posted on: 2009-10-16 04:49 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Except that his head (Madness), arms (Strength), and chest (Heart -> Kindness!) are blown open/crackled apart. Which is awesome. Er, because it's cool looking.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Now, Rularuu the Ravager himself has never been in the game, but we've seen pics of the model there is for him, and he looks like one of his aspect, only much taller.
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I was just thinking, what actually happens when Rularuu consumes a dimension? Also, how does he consume it? Does he end up in some vast white area before traveling to the next dimension?
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I would imagine he goes all Galactus on it.
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He falls to the bottom of a dark, empty space, and the zone crashes. When he logs back in, he's in a new instance--er, dimension. (Or maybe in Atlas Park.)|
Originally Posted by Matt_King
I was just thinking, what actually happens when Rularuu consumes a dimension? Also, how does he consume it? Does he end up in some vast white area before traveling to the next dimension?
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You see, there is an energy field generated by a machine deep inside the earth called The Plot Device. This device creates a unique kind of gravitation, measured in MacGuffins, that draws anything of cosmic importance towards it. The graver the threat, the more MacGuffins are emitted by the Plot Device to attract it. Thus, something dimension-destroying is going to have mega-MacGuffins of Plot pulling it towards earth. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Why do these things always come to Earth to try and consume the universe? Is this some kind of "If Mohammed can't go to the mountain, the mountain will come to Mohhamed." thing where because humans can't travel through space and go to where evil occurs, evil has to come to Earth so it can be beaten? Why not pop into the middle of empty space and consume the dimension from there? Or if you need a planet, why not show up on an uninhabited one? Rularuu certainly doesn't strike me as someone who needs sunlight and air to survive (begging the question why those are present in the Shard, but that's besides the point).
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It's quite simple really.
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Originally Posted by eltonio
This is over the top mental slavery.
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Of course. We already know Praetoria isn't an evil version of our dimension, it's an opposite version of our dimension. See: The Carnival of Light, a group of carnie-themed heroes who resist the rule of Tyrant.|
Originally Posted by Morac_Ex_Machina
From what I've seen in the GR trailer, the Preatoria Paragon is definitely taking a different tone than just "evil Paragon"
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Originally Posted by Balanced
He falls to the bottom of a dark, empty space, and the zone crashes. When he logs back in, he's in a new instance--er, dimension. (Or maybe in Atlas Park.)
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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
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Who says he can't? Maybe he just chooses not to for whatever reason. Also, who says he has given up his physical form? Maybe it's just elsewhere. The guy can see from our dimension into others, so presumably he can see from other dimensions into ours.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That would actually also make sense of his comments about how he's still among us, but we can't see him. If the Dream Doctor lost the physical half of his, err... Being? Let's go with that. If he lost the physical half of his being, he would very much remain back on Earth as only a thought, existing in the purely technical sense, but non-existent for the purposes of interacting with anything in the physical world. A living memory in the most literal sense of the expression. He can see us, and he likely still has some power to interact with Rularuu, his counterpart, but he cannot interact with any of us. So, for us, he's been dead (or is that "gone?") for years, whereas he just shaved a part of his own being.
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Originally Posted by Matt_King
I was just thinking, what actually happens when Rularuu consumes a dimension? Also, how does he consume it? Does he end up in some vast white area before traveling to the next dimension?
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Hmm, this brings up two interesting thoughts: First, if Rularuu was in fact a vast consciousness that straddled dimensions, his power and his very sense of identity could have been tied to him being everywhere and nowhere. When he was trapped in the Shard, the very act of cutting him off weakened him greatly, drove him mad, and forced him to create the aspects to keep from being diminished to nothing.
Second, I got a sudden image of Rularuu slouching on that giant throne with his hand in his skirt a la Al Bundy, sucking back dimensions out of one of those beer hats.
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Originally Posted by Smurch
You see, there is an energy field generated by a machine deep inside the earth called The Plot Device. This device creates a unique kind of gravitation, measured in MacGuffins, that draws anything of cosmic importance towards it. The graver the threat, the more MacGuffins are emitted by the Plot Device to attract it. Thus, something dimension-destroying is going to have mega-MacGuffins of Plot pulling it towards earth.
It's quite simple really. |
Well, I...
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Nope. I got nothin'. You, Sir, have left me speechless. You win an Internet. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I looked it all up. I get it more now. Thank you all.
SPOILER(I know the title already said, but whatever)
I found this and since no one brought it up, I will.
"I want to establish my own order and focus specifically on bringing Rularuu back to the here and now and pulling him out of the Shadow Shard. And since you were so helpful in getting me set up, I can see to it that Rularuu rewards you as well, if you are interested, of course. I will let you know when I am further along in my scheme if you want in on the action."-Darrin Wade
If Darrin Wade is the Dream Doctor and the Dream Doctor sealed Rularru away, then why does he want to bring him back?
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Originally Posted by Balanced
He falls to the bottom of a dark, empty space, and the zone crashes. When he logs back in, he's in a new instance--er, dimension. (Or maybe in Atlas Park.)
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Lol, nice. But AP doesn't need Rularuu's help to crash.
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If we go with the "Darrin Wade = the Dream Doctor" theory as well as my "Rularuu is a Psychic Manifestation that the Dream Doctor cut out of himself" theory, perhaps Darrin is tired of being incomplete. Maybe he cast more of himself out with Rularuu than he intended to. Maybe, in all his illicit occult doodad trade, he's found something that he thinks could help him become the dominant persona if the two were re-integrated, and regain all his reality warping powers.|
Originally Posted by Shadowclone
I looked it all up. I get it more now. Thank you all.
SPOILER(I know the title already said, but whatever) I found this and since no one brought it up, I will. "I want to establish my own order and focus specifically on bringing Rularuu back to the here and now and pulling him out of the Shadow Shard. And since you were so helpful in getting me set up, I can see to it that Rularuu rewards you as well, if you are interested, of course. I will let you know when I am further along in my scheme if you want in on the action."-Darrin Wade If Darrin Wade is the Dream Doctor and the Dream Doctor sealed Rularru away, then why does he want to bring him back? |
Personally, I favor the theory that Darrin Wade is actually a mortal cover identity for one of the remaining Aspects of Rularuu that we haven't seen. Uuralur the Mirror and Kuularth the Scavenger seem to be particularly likely candidates. The idea is that somehow one of them slipped loose of the Shadow Shard, and is working to return the whole entity after it (perhaps hoping that the process that draws the whole Ravager back out of the shard would fit all the pieces back together into a coherent whole). Maybe the arcane process it used to do so was so draining that it only has sufficient power left to manifest a basic mortal form. Maybe it found a way out that lets it retain its power, but deliberately avoids using it to keep from making too big of a blip on the radar for other magic users to come after. Or maybe the aspect itself is still within the Shard, but Darrin Wade is a remote manifestation like a homonculus.
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Love all this discussion of lore involving the shadow shard. its fantastic. I'd like to see a TF in the next couple of issues reveal a little more of the shard to us, have maybe just 1 mission of the task force actually inside the shard.
Get people more familiar with it, even though sometimes i love how vast and empty the place is, there is so much lore and writing about it that its a shame 90% of players will miss it.
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I think the more likely explanation is that Darrin Wade is an idiot. He's the guy who repeatedly pokes Cthulhu with a stick and is genuinely surprised when he gets eaten.
Although...hmm, Kuuralath the Scavenger...you could have something there. Villains have been to the Shadow Shard. Who's to say some people didn't wander "off the beaten path" (ie out of the four zones we're aware of), run into one of the Aspects, and agree to do its bidding? We do know that Rularuu has his soldiers try to scavenge our technology, why not have minions to scavenge our magic as well?
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Very true, very true... And let's not forget we have Nemisis there as well and we can blame anything on a *cough* plot *cough*.
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Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
I think the more likely explanation is that Darrin Wade is an idiot. He's the guy who repeatedly pokes Cthulhu with a stick and is genuinely surprised when he gets eaten.
Although...hmm, Kuuralath the Scavenger...you could have something there. Villains have been to the Shadow Shard. Who's to say some people didn't wander "off the beaten path" (ie out of the four zones we're aware of), run into one of the Aspects, and agree to do its bidding? We do know that Rularuu has his soldiers try to scavenge our technology, why not have minions to scavenge our magic as well? |
A little bit off topic yet humerous anecdote. Today I saw : Zombie invasion in Firebase Zulu
Because the last thing we need is zombies in the shard.
Well, since zombies spawn off of people, there were probably still no zombies.
Darrin Wade is part of a nihillistic cult that wants to bring Rularuu into our world. There's a book in the Midnight Club about them, the Rulu-Shins. Darrin Wade and the Rulu-Shins is probably a set-up for the Shadow Shard revamp when (if) they do it eventually.
As for the Dream Doctor... well, I think he is in the Shadow Shard sleeping. He keeps Rularuu imprisonned in his dream or something like that. I hope they will explore that storyline eventually.
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There is, of course, this:
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Now, Darrin saying this may be a bit telling. Perhaps he IS Kuuralath, the Scavenger. It would make sense, he does seem to be obsessed with scavenging for magical devices/objects.|
The first time with me, Darrin Wade, is always memorable. I've seen things that would make a normal man curl up into the fetal position and rip his eyes out. I've walked on the backs of giants and drunk from the rivers of Avalon. The simple man you see before you is only a single facet of my being. |
This would also make sense as to why he is a part of a Rularuu Cult. Perhaps his ultimate desire is to "scavenge" all the artifacts (i.e. aspects) of Rularuu, and therefore be able to finish the puzzle, as it were.
Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned this particular write-up on the wiki:
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Ruladak the Strong: The leader of the Brutes is a most fearsome tyrant. Ruladak's robe is decorated with gems torn from the Brutes that have displeased him. The removal of the gem results in the Brute's immediate death and eternal dishonor, a fact that troubles Ruladak not in the slightest. Can be found in the Task Force: The Legend of Ruladak. Chularn the Slave Lord: Chularn is an extremely cruel and twisted soul. The slaves that run his Factory Cubes look upon him with great awe and terror, and his barbarism has become legendary throughout the Shadow Shard. The Wisps he commands fare little better than these human slaves, and they have learned to obey Chularn without question. They watch over the Natterling scavengers and select the choicest items to improve the operation of the Factory Cubes. Kuularth the Scavenger: Kuularth makes his nest in The Repository that feeds parts to the Factory Cubes. His Natterlings roam the Shadow Shard collecting anything and everything that could be useful. They are always accompanied by a Wisp, who Kuularth refers to as 'consultants.' The Wisps' master, Chularn, prefers to call them 'supervisors.' Aloore the Watcher: Aloore is Rularuu's most trusted Field General. He guards The Palace and uses his Sentries to keep watch over the entire Shadow Shard. Of all Rularuu's fragments, Aloore is most similar to Rularuu himself. This makes him skilled and useful, but also dangerous, because Rularuu is not built for servitude. Uuralur the Mirror: Uuralur presides over The Garden of Memories. The beings that reside there are reflections of the worlds that Rularuu has consumed, though it is unclear whether he created them out of remorse or amusement. Uuralur has organized many of these reflections into a guard force that patrols the area and keeps the remaining reflections in check. Lanaru the Mad: The demented consciousness of Lanaru the Mad is so twisted by rage that it has wrenched itself free of Rularuu. His psychic instability has manifested as a permanent storm that surrounds his castle and himself. Can be found in the Task Force The Saga of Lanaru. Faathim the Kind: Faathim the Kind's sole purpose in life is to protect the innocents of the Shadow Shard. He has worked hard to maintain his independence from Rularuu, despite his imprisonment in the Chantry. He has limited means of rebellion, but he uses his mighty healing powers to assist champions of good when he can. Can be found in the Task Force The Saga of Faathim, and is the contact for the Task Force The Saga of Lanaru. |
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Pokes Cthulu with a stick. I love it! |
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
I think the more likely explanation is that Darrin Wade is an idiot. He's the guy who repeatedly pokes Cthulhu with a stick and is genuinely surprised when he gets eaten.
Although...hmm, Kuuralath the Scavenger...you could have something there. Villains have been to the Shadow Shard. Who's to say some people didn't wander "off the beaten path" (ie out of the four zones we're aware of), run into one of the Aspects, and agree to do its bidding? We do know that Rularuu has his soldiers try to scavenge our technology, why not have minions to scavenge our magic as well? |
I don't believe Darryn Wayde is the Dream Doctor, himself, or an aspect of Rularuu. The reason for it is, unconvincing as it may be, how he's written. He seems to be written as a former, jaded member of the Midnight Club who just ended up being too mischievous and power-grabbing for the Club. He does talk about all that "walked on the backs of giants" nonsense, but we've seen him as a boasting loud-mouth who makes promises before he's sure he can deliver (such as in the Dead Man's Deck). If anything, he sounds like that... What was his name, the rival of Dr. Strange who was working to bring Dormamu into the here and now? Kind of like him.
In this case, I'm not sure Darryn is a de-facto servant of Rularuu, or if he is more a member of that cult that was mentioned. I'm not sure if I'd call them as much nihilists as much as anarchists on the order of the Freakshow, but I can definitely see this angle. Most importantly, though, Darryn has the mouth of a man, or at least something that started out as a man. Look around the game and note how all aliens, gods and trans-dimensional entities talk in this pompous, over-blow, quasi-regal fashion, abusing "shall" where it doesn't belong and generally making needlessly-long, overly-elaborate sentences. Kind of like me! Darryn sounds more like Top Cat style hustler with a some major mojo stored on the side than he does as the manifestation of a god, and his history with the Club makes him sound like more of a disgruntled former member.
Granted, I can't refute the notion that he is some sort of manifestation of one of the aspects of Rularuu, and I admit it would make for an interesting story, but I think making the Shard TOO much of a divine gambit would take away some of its flavour. Right now, it's a whole giant place of godliness, but it ultimately comes down to us regular people to explore and learn it, and other regular people to try to mess with us. I wouldn't mind a god or two getting involved, but between the Circle, Nemesis and the Midnight club, I think we have more than enough players. "He was something else all along" stories are kind of hard to pull off when the setting is already just borderline believable.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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Just because Darrin is just a guy, doesn't mean he can't be delusional or have an exaggerated sense of his own importance. Especially if he's actually made contact with an aspect and gotten the whole "you are my chosen servant who shall bring Rularuu back to his full glory and then you shall receive thy reward" spiel.
And as for the Rulu-Shin, Darrin Wade wrote a book about them. I doubt he's a member, since members of secret cults don't usually write books about their cults, and at the end of his arc he mentions that he's trying to take over the Midnight Club and establish his own order. Why would he need to do that if he's already part of an order trying to restore Rularuu?
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Joking aside, it must be admitted that nearly all comic book universes are Earth-centered to a degree not often seen since Copernicus came along. All those sci-fi planets and alien empires, all those alternate dimensions, but for some reason, the one that the heroes live in/on is the one that everything happens to. This is for a simple, obvious reason - all the readers also live on an Earth, which is improbably similar despite the presence/lack of superpowers - but it can lead to absurd situations as the OP and others have noted. |
Originally Posted by Smurch
You see, there is an energy field generated by a machine deep inside the earth called The Plot Device. This device creates a unique kind of gravitation, measured in MacGuffins, that draws anything of cosmic importance towards it. The graver the threat, the more MacGuffins are emitted by the Plot Device to attract it. Thus, something dimension-destroying is going to have mega-MacGuffins of Plot pulling it towards earth.
It's quite simple really. |
It's even worse in the Marvel U, where New York City is the center of the universe. (Insert famous New Yorker cover here.)
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"However I have a lot on my plate today, including examining a cavern full of lava for its potential uses in the future and a trip into the Shadow Shard. Crazy place that Shard is alright, reminds me a bit of an old movie at one point..."
That was Dr. Aeon in a thread he made. Great now we have Dr. Aeon in the Shard...
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Not true! The Nexus of all Realities is in the Florida Everglades, guarded by the Man-Thing!|
Originally Posted by Megajoule
Joking aside, it must be admitted that nearly all comic book universes are Earth-centered to a degree not often seen since Copernicus came along. All those sci-fi planets and alien empires, all those alternate dimensions, but for some reason, the one that the heroes live in/on is the one that everything happens to. This is for a simple, obvious reason - all the readers also live on an Earth, which is improbably similar despite the presence/lack of superpowers - but it can lead to absurd situations as the OP and others have noted.
It's even worse in the Marvel U, where New York City is the center of the universe. (Insert famous New Yorker cover here.) |
New York might be important, but the center is in Florida
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Everybody else gets to go. Why can't he? He can just nip back in time and buy tickets to that sold-out Johnny Sonata show before it gets sold out, and voila, he's in.
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Originally Posted by Shadowclone
"However I have a lot on my plate today, including examining a cavern full of lava for its potential uses in the future and a trip into the Shadow Shard. Crazy place that Shard is alright, reminds me a bit of an old movie at one point..."
That was Dr. Aeon in a thread he made. Great now we have Dr. Aeon in the Shard... |
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Most of the info on the Dream Doctor I have found in-game comes from the clickies in Midnighter club.
This page also has some stuff.
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