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The Vorpal Tribble
2010-01-17, 10:47 AM
Alright, just so I don't have to invent a new word, are there any existing mythologies or words for what would be basically the soul of a city? An actual manifestation of it, physical or otherwise?

Serpentine
2010-01-17, 10:50 AM
YES!
...

I can't remember what it's called, though. A fey that represents a city. I'll go find it for you.

Storm Bringer
2010-01-17, 10:52 AM
beyound somthing like 'avatar', 'spirit' or 'personifcation', I can't think of a existing word.

generally, 'Avatar' would be the closest existing word for the physcial manifestation of somthing (hence 'avatar of death', or it's use for forum avatars)

Edit: I will happily stand corrected, though, if serpitine pulls though

Shinizak
2010-01-17, 10:52 AM
The city's soul is it's people, so maybe a manifestation of that would be a charming young/old man/woman who spends all day in the square talking and telling stories with passers by.

Edit: Oh, you want a WORD for it, not an idea for it.

Sorry, language isn't among my strengths.

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-01-17, 10:55 AM
The city's soul is it's people, so maybe a manifestation of that would be a charming young/old man/woman who spends all day in the square talking and telling stories with passers by.
In this instance I'm creating a new epic type (like unto Abominations) which is the manifestation of a cities peoples, cultures and current mindset.

Each city has one, and if they war the two avatars also fight. If they join together the two avatars combine, becoming something new and the appearance changes. Only in times of great community excitement, positive or otherwise, do they ever actually become visible.

I'm basing a PrC off this for the bard where he gains powers from this avatar almost like that of a cleric, but... different.

They are inspired by a dream of mine where I saw different cities lit up, and by each one was a creature not attacking, but as if guarding.

The three I saw (but upon which I'll be expanding):
- Albino bats with runes on their wings. The way they fly they spell out prophesies.
- Giant bear cub with bulbous, staring eyes that walks like a man.
- Chunk of crystal with broken body of woman within. Only her head extrudes, with missing eyes, and crystaline deposits crusted about them. Sings in ringing tones.

Serpentine
2010-01-17, 10:57 AM
Zeitgeist! Can't find a picture of it, but it's on page 138 of Cityscape.
"The zeitgeist is a strange, phantasmal fey that appears to be generated by the lives and emotions of those living in an urban center. It is capable of
assuming multiple forms; each is drawn from the building blocks of the city and culture."

Reading over your description, above, I think you just reinvented the wheel, so to speak :smalltongue: Okay, not really, but I think what you wanted is already done for you, more or less.

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-01-17, 10:59 AM
Zeitgeist! Can't find a picture of it, but it's on page 138 of Cityscape.
"The zeitgeist is a strange, phantasmal fey that appears to be generated by the lives and emotions of those living in an urban center. It is capable of
assuming multiple forms; each is drawn from the building blocks of the city and culture."
Hmmm... ok, well these are gonna be the great grandfathers of zeitgeists.

Serpentine
2010-01-17, 11:00 AM
Great grandfathers? They're... hm. Actually only Huge, now I look at it. Fair enough.

edit: Ta-da!

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/Cityscape_Gallery/101109.jpg

And they can get up to Gargantuan. Also, this is only their physical manifestation, if that means anything...

hiryuu
2010-01-17, 11:42 AM
Hmmm... ok, well these are gonna be the great grandfathers of zeitgeists.

Try "egregore."

(Wow, it's so arcane, dictionary.com doesn't list it. Wikipedia does, though! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egregore)

Use such creatures regularly in my homebrew. They replace gods as purveyors of the high mucky-muck divine magics.

Yuki Akuma
2010-01-17, 11:44 AM
Genius loci (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius_Loci) might be what you're looking for.

Saintjebus
2010-01-17, 11:47 AM
You'd have to adapt the idea for D&D, but I believe that the WoD books have spirits that are attached to places. They call them.."totems", I think. I'm not completely up to date on WoD, though, so I could be wrong.

Randel
2010-01-17, 02:17 PM
Final Fantasy 9 has Eidolons (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Eidolon_(Final_Fantasy_IX)), probably not exactly what you're looking for but this reminded me of them because there is a scene in where Alexander (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Alexander#Final_Fantasy_IX) (one of the more powerful Eidolons) turns out to be the actual castle of Alexandria.

He looks like a giant humanoid castle with four angelic wings that he used to protect the city of Alexandria from attack (found this clip on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemT2kn1TC0), haven't watched it since my connection is slow).

So yeah, you could add Eidolon to the list of possible names if you want. Or you could just go with City Spirit or Dios Loci (bad latin for God of the Location... I think.)

They could be a sort of spirit creature related to the gods, in ancient times when people belonged to small communities then it would be very difficult for a god to get faith from many followers, back then there were instead a whole bunch of smaller gods each who presided over their local population. When people started gathering into cities and such then these spirits would combine together (or one would take over both and the other would get a new line of work, possibly becoming a lesser god of agriculture or something).

Thus the City Spirits could be the ancient precursors to the modern gods who instead of watching over a portfolio of concepts instead watch over a specific area and the people in it. They tend to have a much less humanoid form due to incorporating bits and pieces of the local architecture, flora, fauna, and culture into themselves. (gods pick a single theme from everything in the world, City Spirits gather a bit of everything from a single location.)


On a side note: I always thought it would be cool if a living castle (like Alexander, or maybe the giant castle guy from Demigod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demigod_(video_game))) also had gargoyles on his archetecture that served as 'angels' for him. So that the people of the town might have a giant physical castle that is the center of the city, and its adorned with many gargoyles or statues that seem to guard over the city.

In reality (or the astral spiritual plane or whatever) then the castle is the home of the local City Spirit and each of the gargoyles acts as his personal servants to help protect the city.

Deth Muncher
2010-01-17, 02:22 PM
As a nitpick, the word Zeitgeist literally means "Spirit of the Times." Thus, for example, the Zeitgeist of the 1920s (in America, at least) would be decadence.

Although I DO think it's cute that Cityscape used it, I personally wouldn't call it faithful to what the word actually means. Then again, what WOTC thing does? (I'm looking at you, short/long/bastard swords.)

Weezer
2010-01-17, 03:47 PM
While you seem to have your answer when I first saw this question the thing that sprang to mind was from Gaiman's Sandman when someone accidentally wandered into the dream of a city. Not really useful, just something that sprang to mind.

Serpentine
2010-01-18, 01:21 AM
Could be a stretch, but perhaps some variety of Lares (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lares), the household deities? Alternatively - and probably more accurately, really - something to do with tutelary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patron_god) deities (of which the Lares were a type). An online translator changes it to tutela in Latin, if that helps.

Chrono22
2010-01-18, 01:30 AM
I can't recall it's name, but in some japanese myths the common wills/interests/activities of a village would manifest a "community spirit". I think it may have been some derivation of the word Kami.