Zarthus Morality Plays
by me with Midjourney"I will watch any play that I don't have to walk too far to attend (and can afford). But the plays the Lanterns show are the ones that I sometimes go back for the second showing. The actors are usually a bit better than the rest of the Nonagon's plays. The stories are usually more exciting, and the very good musical numbers alone are enough reason to keep me coming back." Havro the peasant farmerHistory
-Zajac of the Fumayan Lanternsby Eron12 with Heroforge"Many religious factions in Scarterra dabble in running plays to showcase their deities' ideals, but we Lanterns are especially famous for it. Zarthus is the god of music and the arts, so by extension he is also the god of all Scarterran Theatre, so theatre culture and Lantern culture are very intertwined. Whether the other clergy admit it or not, we are the trend setters in stage plays and the other Nonagon factions can only seek to emulate us."Execution
-Zajac of the Fumayan Lanternsby Eron12 with Heroforge"Zarthus, the Light Bringer, values justice, freedom, community, self-reliance, artistry and many other benevolent things. We try to encourage Zarthus' ideals in all of our plays, but a good story that is artistically delivered will honor Zarthus by itself, so we don't need to hit people over the head with our morals. Unlike the other Nonagon plays we can craft our stories with subtlety."by Eron12 with Hero Forge"Lanterns plays have subtlety? Don't make me laugh. Lantern plays are about as subtle as rock troll trying to dance on it's tip-toes. The villains are always obvious strawmen of highborn or clergy that the local Lanterns dislike....I know that the grouchy matriarch character from last spring's comedy was intended to represent me." -Danuta, matron of the Fumayan MasksComponents and tools
A few larger cities have permanent stages or meeting plazas that can be used for stage performances for any number of groups, but the Lanterns are used to making use of improvised spaces with very portable set pieces in the cramped corners of taverns or in empty fields. Sometimes the Lanterns require a small fee to purchase a ticket. Other times the Lanterns offer free shows but strongly encourage attendees to make voluntary donations. Either way the amount of money is roughly the same which is never as much as the performers would like. The Lanterns run plays to honor Zarthus, money is secondary.by me with MidjourneyParticipants
That's what happens when you have a bunch of starving artists with their heads in the clouds afraid to put in real work. Work and recreation are both important, and I certainly am fond of dabbling in the theater once ina while., but the Lanterns take it too far focusing too much on recreation. Thanks to our time management skills and work ethic, we Masks can run bigger and better plays and still get our work done. ""The Lanterns would debut new stage plays every week if they could, but for all their bluster about how they are the first and best priests to dabble theater, they don't produce near enough plays to match their boasts. The problem is most Lanterns don't have two copper pieces to rub together, so they can't afford to run many plays. Even if a play is run by volunteers, stages, costumes, and props cost money. The Lanterns fail to grasp the concept that time is money. Time spent writing a play and rehearsing a play is time spent not doing productive work and even volunteers need to eat.I hate to admit it, but most of our actors and stagehands are essentially volunteers working for food. Most Lanterns actors (myself included), perform in all sorts of plays, not just Zarthus affiliated plays. I have been in more secular plays more often than Zarthus ordained plays. I've even worked on plays for the deities other than Zarthus...not Phidas though."-Zajac of the Fumayan Lanternsby Eron12 with Heroforge"We Lanterns are no strangers to hard work. Zarthus is a god of useful crafts of course. We also are resourceful and can do more with less. For the time and money the Masks spend one of their dull so-called 'plays' we can produce three or four plays. With a skilled musical storyteller, we can successfully pull over one-man or one-woman shows that captivate audiences. Something the rest of the Nonagon couldn't even dream of doing.Observance
Since the Lanterns are more interested in theatre than most other Nonagon, they run a lot more plays than their counterparts in other Nonagon factions. These plays tend to be shorter in duration, less fancy in stage materials, and with smaller casts than the other groups' morality plays. A typical Lantern is going to be involved in two or three plays a year. A Lantern with a special interest and talent in acting is likely to be involved in six or seven plays a year.Related Organizations
Entry for WorldEmber 2025
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me with Midjourney
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NGL, i came for the animated header... i'll be back for a solid readthought
I am trying to boost the visual presentation in both my newer and older articles. It turns out, pictures of attractive people attract views...who knew? A lot of the GIFs I have tried to make have turned out badly, so I stick with static images, but this one turned out great, so I'm probably going to use it for more articles.