What do we know about the moons - Morrslieb, Mannansleib

By Emirikol, in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Mannslieb_and_Morrslieb

What do we know about them? Are they inhabited? I'm thinking that if rat men really existed that there would be in incredibly interesting scenario that could be developed if celestial wizards found a way to travel to one particular moon.

Have there been any scenarios in relation? Does the 40k stuff give any insight into them?

jh

fx_moon.jpg

Edited by Emirikol

40k hasn't come to this world.

One of the moon's is meant to be made out of warpstone. No idea how it got up there.

Haven't seen anything else written about them.

Since the Old Ones moved the planet closer to the sun to heat it up a bit. They must have moved the moons /moons as well.

I thought Morrslieb was created when the Polar Gate exploded? Don't have books etc. handy but I think that's spelled out/suggested somewhere.

The Old Ones would have either chosen a world with a moon like Mannslieb or added it to the world in their efforts to recreate an environment similar to the one long lost that humans originally came from just as they sculpted the surface to resemble it - at a particular point in time - doubtless the age it came to an end in (why they would give those creatures another world to ruin who can say).

I don't really see either as being "a place one goes". There is the idea in Dying of the Light adventure that the this might happen though not really in a way suggesting there's anything there (someone is put there just to be "stored out of the way").

Morrslieb was created when the north pole portal was created when the Old Ones failed to contain Chaos.

"A massive rock of this Chaotic matter was spat into the heavens, becoming the Dark Moon known today in the Empire as Morrslieb."

- Liber Mutatis pg. 4

Morrslieb throws meteors of warpstone at the Earth from time to time

"and Morrslieb occasionally spits warpstone from the sky, or the mutating stuff drifts as dust from the far north."

- Liber Mutatis pg. 6

There's also a lot of references to Morrslieb's dark influence (and spitting of warpstone) in Sigmar's Heirs.

Edited by Preacherman

Can't imagine sending PCs to Morrslieb would be survivable in any sense. It's not likely to be a healthy experience for the characters, nor for the player's willing suspension of disbelief.

First off, it's made of Warpstone. Every warpstone-based item in the game gives Corruption in one way or another, some of them with every single action. An entire environment full of the stuff would almost certainly be guaranteed mutations for the PCs within a few scenes. If not, then that should have ramifications for all those corrupting items.

Then there's the orbit. IIRC, there's two nights a year where Morrslieb is reliably full, and the rest of the time it's size and position in the sky are unpredictable. So, if you look at that from a scientific perspective, you'd end up with disastrous gravitational and acceleration-based effects. Not just for and on Morrslieb, but also for the planet it orbits.

Now, you are probably hand-waving all that with the notion that it's chaos-y / magical / supernatural, but at that point, why try to shoehorn in any real world science anyway? Basically, the whole notion that the moon(s) and planets are places you could even go to is a fairly modern and scientific perspective. Since modern science can't really handle Morrslieb, why assume it's a place at all? If it's just a magical vision in the sky, a portal to hell, an extended metaphor, the sign of the gods, or a mobile manifestation of the vibrations of the celestial spheres, etc, then we don't have to bother ourselves with thinking about how little sense it makes. The moment you let PCs set foot on it, all those scientific ramifications we try not to think about come crashing into the front of your mind. That would spoil immersion for me, anyway. YMMV.

Yup to Preacherman,

Lizardman WFB book also indicates that when the pole portal collapsed, "meteors of congealed magic" (warpstone) were released and (yadda yadda) where the northern gateway had been now was the second moon.

The text suggests the gates were actually in orbit or were some combined ground/orbital installation, as parts of the destroyed gate rained down on the world. The gates were large enough for "ships the size of small moons" to pass through so an orbital component makes sense and if the portal was "large enough for moon-size ship" then it was large enough for a "moon sized chunk of chaos".

If the person was transferred as a spirit, what thoughts on that? What kinds of things would be encountered on there (from creative speculation)?

If the person was transferred as a spirit, what thoughts on that? What kinds of things would be encountered on there (from creative speculation)?

Utter horror. Insanity. Visions of the Chaos realm and what lies within. The reality of what Gods truly are. Visions of the past and the future, and millions of alternative present times (dimensions).

And then to top it all off, it all shifts constantly. The Chaos realm is Hell, brimstone and fire, energy swirling everywhere, raw magic and pain, tendrils of things that shouldn't be, lovecraftian horrors and despair. But then it's Heaven as well, with light and soothing rays of energy, and a warm fuzzy buzzing sort of feeling. And then it's Hell again, but also Heaven.

The Gods are elements of Chaos, swirling winds. None is physical. They're swirling mists of energy within Chaos, made sentient through the thoughts of living beings. There is no tall dark gentleman with large black gates welcoming you (Morr), it's a swirling purple cloud of energy that sucks darkness within. There is no large imposing tower of a barbarian wearing blood soaked armor, sitting upon a throne of skulls, there's only a red mist of energy, throbbing with power and ever expanding. And then, they ARE exactly their descriptions at the same time.

Archaon lost. Mannfred backed down. But then he didn't. Archaon lost, and then Mannfred wiped out the Empire's defences. The Old World is now learning to bow before it's dark masters. Sigmar lost the fight with Nagash, the Earth, save for Lustria and the Skaven, are all dead, bound to the will of the dark master of necromancy. Valen killed Archaon. He decided to take the crown from Franz and none could stop him. After becoming ruler of the Empire, he lead them to a campaign of retribution that slowly wiped out enemy after enemy to mankind. All rallied under the banner of Unberogen. The Colleges of Magic found out what Wood Elves are doing in Bretonnia to males that are magically sensitive. After a long war against Bretonnia, fueled by political interests of expansionism, a contingent of the Bright Wizard's most powerful Battle Mages burned the ancient elven forests to cinder. Mankind will not be persecuted by those that dwell in dark places.

All of these visions, all of these truths that are true, but false at the same time, all of these alternate realities, and potential pasts, futures, and presents, assaulting the spirit of the visitor from the very moment it reaches Morrslieb. Within seconds, it is a gibbering remnant of sentience, utterly insane, incapable of ever passing on any knowledge it has gleamed, incapable of even speaking words anymore. All knowing, yet insane beyond comprehension.

Okay, if we're talking about some sort of metaphysical / metaphorical / spiritual / mental / etherial / astral projection, as opposed to flesh-and-blood physically being there, then I withdraw my objections. That'd be non-scientific enough to not erode my suspension of disbelief about gravitation etc. Not being there physically would also sidestep any problems with setting precedents about how much corruption you'd suffer being surrounded by warpstone. Overall, it could work.

I'd probably make the experience trippy and surreal so that the PC's clearly grok that they weren't physically there. Preacherman's quite flavorful suggestions would do the trick nicely, though they'd probably be the end of the character in the process.

I don't think a warpstone planet/moon would be the same as being in the Chaos void, which may make it work for spritual-travel. There woul dstill be plenty of madness though as described above :)

[edit: mentioned because Liber Fanatica's DEFENDERS OF THE FOREST encourages just this kind of thing] http://www.liberfanatica.net/Elf_Project.html

Edited by Emirikol

I don't think a warpstone planet/moon would be the same as being in the Chaos void, which may make it work for spritual-travel. There woul dstill be plenty of madness though as described above :)

[edit: mentioned because Liber Fanatica's DEFENDERS OF THE FOREST encourages just this kind of thing] http://www.liberfanatica.net/Elf_Project.html

Well I was basing my somewhat exaggerated view of what would happen, on the pieces of lore I've read concerning wyrdstone and how it affects the mind, and mutates the body, and since Morrslieb is fully made out of the stuff, well...

I'd think of it like this. We know the effects of cocaine, so what would it be like being in a sandstorm made out of cocaine, or swimming through LSD?