Ā Ā (((Because I already love ths guy so much, hereās the suggestion of the day: Donāt put Xau-Tak in the game. Or to be precise, donāt show Xau-Tak in the game. Ā
Ā Ā Why? Because heās an eldritch cosmic horror from the dawn of the universe, and those always work the best when they are hinted at rather than shown.
Ā Ā Consider the following: most of the problems of 6th Age quest-writing come from inflation through overuse and over-exposure. Gods, once near-mythical beings, now appear in low-level quests, and previously endgame-level lore is introduced early on. (Think Saradomin in Black Knightsā Fortress or the Elder Gods in Heart of Stone.) Our main villain Sliske is everywhere, but his story has not progressed at all in the last three quests heās been featured in. Character death, once a shocking event (remember eight against Lucien?) has been overused to a point where even gods are killed off with little thought (Hi, V), and was recently nerfed even further with our visit to the Underworld, the re-killing of Brand/Astrid, the knowledge that some of our friends remain by the river (and are not thus truly gone) and especially the chance to bring back Zanik.
Ā Ā In other words, many of the elements of the game and its lore that were once shrouded in mystery have become mundane, and many plot devices that in moderation can be used for great emotional effect have lost their power.
Ā Ā So, in contrast to all this overexposure, keep something secret for a change. Let us stand before a sealed door, its worn stone surface covered in uncanny pictograms and the scratches of a million claws, and tell us that we can go no further. Let there be whispers, and let there be high, faint whistling sounds whose origin we can only reluctantly guess at. Make us stand on the brink of a bottomless pit, deep and dark as the void itself, and let us glimpse in itself something sinuous and glistening, something gargantuan and terrifying, and tell us that we have caught sight of one of the tendril-tips of the Horror. Itās much more fun.)))
