Research:Shadow Valley - Revision history

INIQUITY: add log excerpts

2022-08-11T03:00:44Z

add log excerpts

INIQUITY: parallel with west and east side falls

2020-06-03T02:16:45Z

parallel with west and east side falls

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:16, 2 June 2020
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	</pre>		</pre>
	There are striking similarities in the messaging, even when it is not an obviously cloned mechanic, such as with Shadow Valley and Teras Isle. In the case of Teras Isle it gives pause to notice that the falling messaging from the jump mechanics is continued in the special departing messaging that replaces Purgatory for the Temple of Luukos. The curved descent and sliding out in the Teras jump is similarly seen in the Black Swan Castle jump, which has high odds of being older than Shadow Valley or Teras Isle. The Rift wording is similar (actually jumping kicks up dust), and words like "tumble" and "thud" are shared.		There are striking similarities in the messaging, even when it is not an obviously cloned mechanic, such as with Shadow Valley and Teras Isle. In the case of Teras Isle it gives pause to notice that the falling messaging from the jump mechanics is continued in the special departing messaging that replaces Purgatory for the Temple of Luukos. The curved descent and sliding out in the Teras jump is similarly seen in the Black Swan Castle jump, which has high odds of being older than Shadow Valley or Teras Isle. The Rift wording is similar (actually jumping kicks up dust), and words like "tumble" and "thud" are shared.

			The fall into darkness from the ledge to the frozen under crypt level of The Graveyard is arguably parallel to the west side shaft leading down from the cabinet. In [[Research:The Graveyard#The Dark Path\|Research:The Graveyard]] this section of the Graveyard is argued to symbolize Purgatory, with the descent in that frame referring implicitly to the falling at the end of "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". This is signified by room descriptions that play off phrasing from the purgatory messaging and almost falling into the darkness. These are both backwards from the Dream-Quest in the sense that the character is falling ''toward'' the Nyarlathotep figure.

	===Colour Out of Space===		===Colour Out of Space===

INIQUITY: certain death

2020-05-29T10:38:25Z

certain death

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:38, 29 May 2020
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	You '''foolishly leap''' up into the air and straight out '''into the dark abyss!'''		You '''foolishly leap''' up into the air and straight out '''into the dark abyss!'''

	You find yourself '''falling''' into a bottomless abyss. Swallowed by '''blackness''', you can only sense the air rushing by as you plummet down into certain death!		You find yourself '''falling''' into a bottomless abyss. Swallowed by '''blackness''', you can only sense the air rushing by as you plummet down into '''certain death!'''
	P>		P>
	Just as you think the falling will never end, you crash through an ethereal barrier which bursts into a dazzling '''kaleidoscope of color'''! Your sensation of falling turns to dizziness and you feel unusually heavy for a moment. Everything seems to stop for a prolonged second and then WHUMP!!!		Just as you think the falling will never end, you crash through an ethereal barrier which bursts into a dazzling '''kaleidoscope of color'''! Your sensation of falling turns to dizziness and you feel unusually heavy for a moment. Everything seems to stop for a prolonged second and then WHUMP!!!
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	>		>
	A tendril of mist wraps around your waist and yanks you away from the ledge with surprising strength!		A tendril of mist wraps around your waist and yanks you away from the ledge with surprising strength!
	You find yourself falling into a bottomless abyss. Swallowed by blackness, you can only sense the air rushing by as you plummet down into certain death!		You find yourself falling into a bottomless abyss. Swallowed by blackness, you can only sense the air rushing by as you plummet down into '''certain death!'''

	P>yell		P>yell
	You try to speak but can't concentrate on words while you plummet to certain death!		You try to speak but can't concentrate on words while you plummet to '''certain death!'''
	P>stand		P>stand
	You try, but the unending fall to certain death takes precedence. '''Accept your fate.'''		You try, but the unending fall to '''certain death''' takes precedence. '''Accept your fate.'''
	P>e		P>e
	With a mighty effort, you flail about trying to change your direction... Nope, you're still falling.		With a mighty effort, you flail about trying to change your direction... Nope, you're still falling.
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	The disk to the west just swung away.		The disk to the west just swung away.
	>jump west disk		>jump west disk
	As the two disks near, you leap into the air, grasping for the chain! But you jumped at the wrong time, the other disk wasn't close enough and you miss the disk entirely!		As the two disks near, you '''leap into the air''', grasping for the chain! But you jumped at the wrong time, the other disk wasn't close enough and you miss the disk entirely!

	You let out a horrifying scream as you '''fall end over end''' into the troll-filled chasm! '''Your (all too brief) life passes before your eyes'''...		You let out a horrifying scream as you '''fall end over end''' into the troll-filled chasm! '''Your (all too brief) life passes before your eyes'''...
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	Light strike to your abdomen.		Light strike to your abdomen.
	[Cavern, Ledge]		[Cavern, Ledge]
	You are precariously '''perched upon a ledge''', the chance encounter of which has saved you from a drop to certain death in the chasm below. Moving along its length, you realize you could probably make your way back up to the western ledge of the cavern above you.		You are precariously '''perched upon a ledge''', the chance encounter of which has saved you from a drop to '''certain death''' in the chasm below. Moving along its length, you realize you could probably make your way back up to the western ledge of the cavern above you.
	Obvious exits: up		Obvious exits: up
	Roundtime: 55 sec.		Roundtime: 55 sec.
	</pre>		</pre>
	There are striking similarities in the messaging, even when it is not an obviously cloned mechanic, such as with Shadow Valley and Teras Isle. In the case of Teras Isle it gives pause to notice that the falling messaging from the jump mechanics is continued in the special departing messaging that replaces Purgatory for the Temple of Luukos. The curved descent and sliding out in the Teras jump is similarly seen in the Black Swan Castle jump, which has high odds of being older than Shadow Valley or Teras Isle. The Rift wording is similar (actually jumping kicks up dust), and words like "tumble" and "thud" are shared.		There are striking similarities in the messaging, even when it is not an obviously cloned mechanic, such as with Shadow Valley and Teras Isle. In the case of Teras Isle it gives pause to notice that the falling messaging from the jump mechanics is continued in the special departing messaging that replaces Purgatory for the Temple of Luukos. The curved descent and sliding out in the Teras jump is similarly seen in the Black Swan Castle jump, which has high odds of being older than Shadow Valley or Teras Isle. The Rift wording is similar (actually jumping kicks up dust), and words like "tumble" and "thud" are shared.

	===Colour Out of Space===		===Colour Out of Space===
	[http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cs.aspx "The Colour Out of Space"] is more of a science fiction story that Lovecraft wrote to illustrate a highly alien otherworldly horror. There is a meteor impact at a farm which quickly shrinks, throwing off what can only be approximated as colors of light, until it is repeatedly struck by lightning. It poisons the soil causing mutant vegetation growth, deforming the animals, and strangely colored fog. It is followed by the color draining out of everything, which becomes grey and brittle, with the characters becoming ill and falling into madness. Ultimately this alien horror is turning the surroundings and dead horses into dust. Where "The Mound" might explain some of the story elements and the entrance of Shadow Valley, "The Colour Out of Space" might explain the landscape with the horses. Both of these stories have glowing fog.		[http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cs.aspx "The Colour Out of Space"] is more of a science fiction story that Lovecraft wrote to illustrate a highly alien otherworldly horror. There is a meteor impact at a farm which quickly shrinks, throwing off what can only be approximated as colors of light, until it is repeatedly struck by lightning. It poisons the soil causing mutant vegetation growth, deforming the animals, and strangely colored fog. It is followed by the color draining out of everything, which becomes grey and brittle, with the characters becoming ill and falling into madness. Ultimately this alien horror is turning the surroundings and dead horses into dust. Where "The Mound" might explain some of the story elements and the entrance of Shadow Valley, "The Colour Out of Space" might explain the landscape with the horses. Both of these stories have glowing fog.

INIQUITY at 09:50, 29 May 2020

2020-05-29T09:50:43Z

Show changes

INIQUITY: add falling quotes

2020-05-28T13:24:17Z

add falling quotes

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:24, 28 May 2020
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	A powerful wall of air suddenly strikes and you find yourself slowing ever so slightly. The surroundings are just a blur of motion as you speed along!		A powerful wall of air suddenly strikes and you find yourself slowing ever so slightly. The surroundings are just a blur of motion as you speed along!
	P>		P>
	Just as you think the falling will never end, you are suddenly dropped into a smooth stone chute. '''Your sensation of falling turns to dizziness''' as you tumble down the chute. Without warning you find yourself hanging in the air '''for a prolonged second and then WHUMP!!!'''		Just as you think the falling will never end, you are suddenly dropped into a smooth stone chute. '''Your sensation of falling turns to dizziness''' as you '''tumble''' down the chute. Without warning you find yourself hanging in the air '''for a prolonged second and then WHUMP!!!'''
	'''You are stunned!'''		'''You are stunned!'''

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	A sudden rush of air blows past you and XXXXX comes flying out of a hole in the ceiling, '''hitting the ground hard''' and sliding to a STOP!		A sudden rush of air blows past you and XXXXX comes flying out of a hole in the ceiling, '''hitting the ground hard''' and sliding to a STOP!
	</pre>		</pre>
			However, the special death mechanics for the Temple of Luukos makes use of the falling motif explicitly, whereas Purgatory only does implicitly under the assumption that its messaging comes from the leap into darkness from "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". That messaging has been edited, but the Luukos version has not. This is the relevant excerpt, they are not actually dead when they land:
			<pre{{log2\|maring-right=350px}}>
			''First Person:''

			To your surprise, you find yourself with a tenuous grasp on the universe, and your sole thought as '''you fall seemingly forever''' is that of amazement that you still live . . .

			'''Your fall is broken by the hard earth beneath you''' as you awaken, dazed and bewildered, but alive nonetheless...

			[Ghorsa Isle, Tower]
			The view from the tower is spectacular. The city is spread out before you, huddled in a valley beneath the great mountain Stormbrow. Far to the northeast, beyond the walls, the sky is lit with a dim, red glow. To the northwest, you see only mist. A white glaes statue of a dwarf stands tall on a podium, gazing over the town. You also see some marble stairs, a marble ledge with some stuff on it and a wooden charity bin.
			Also here: XXX who is sitting
			Obvious paths: none


			''Third Person:''

			* YYY just bit the dust!
			P>
			'''YYY falls from nowhere to the ground in front of you, landing with a hard THUD and lying still, seemingly dead.'''
			</pre>

	The Rift is analogous but not identical with its entry messaging. It is only clear that someone is falling from a great height from the third person messaging of entering the Rift. The transient room where you are squelched from acting is the Heart of Black Nothingness for The Rift, preceded by Lost in an Ethereal Fog. The height they halt at is standard burial depth, but is close to the ripple height for Shadow Valley.		The Rift is analogous but not identical with its entry messaging. It is only clear that someone is falling from a great height from the third person messaging of entering the Rift. The transient room where you are squelched from acting is the Heart of Black Nothingness for The Rift, preceded by Lost in an Ethereal Fog. The height they halt at is standard burial depth, but is close to the ripple height for Shadow Valley.
	<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>		<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>
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	Obvious paths: east		Obvious paths: east

	You see a black speck appear high in the sky above you. It comes hurtling down at an alarming rate. Right as it is about to smash into the ground, it stops. Suspended in midair for a moment you identify XXXXX before she comes tumbling to the ground.		You see a black speck appear high in the sky above you. It comes hurtling down at an alarming rate. Right as it is about to smash into the ground, it stops. Suspended in midair for a moment you identify XXXXX before she comes '''tumbling''' to the ground.
	</pre>		</pre>
	The transient rooms while falling can be seen in the Rooms window of the front end. It is possible to speak to others while falling off the Lovers' Leap cliff. Caution has to be used here because it might simply be a case of borrowing an existing jump mechanic, in which case there does not have to be any meaningful relation. The Luukos temple has its own death mechanics, but there might be no shared subtext.		The transient rooms while falling can be seen in the Rooms window of the front end. It is possible to speak to others while falling off the Lovers' Leap cliff. Caution has to be used here because it might simply be a case of borrowing an existing jump mechanic, in which case there does not have to be any meaningful relation. The Luukos temple has its own death mechanics, but there might be no shared subtext.
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	You are surrounded by an ethereal fog.		You are surrounded by an ethereal fog.
	</pre>		</pre>
	There is a similar mechanic in parts of the [[Black Swan Castle]] pay quest, where the character has to jump into pits or between swinging disks over a pit. Black Swan Castle first existed [[Kelfour Edition volume III number XII\|around 1993]], but has changed however much, so these parts ~~might~~ be much more recent with [[Return to Black Swan Castle]] (2013). The wording on one of the jumps is similar to one of the parts of the old [[Purgatory]] messaging that was removed around 2004: "Suddenly you feel an intense pain scorching your very soul! The world of your past suddenly comes rushing back into your memory. '''You are quite bewildered by what has transpired, but alive...'''" It is worth noting this, as if the wording is a total coincidence, it provides a benchmark for this imagery not being meaningful. [[Research:The Graveyard#The Dark Path\|Research:The Graveyard]] argues this may have been referenced in the steep drop to the frozen level of The Graveyard, where you almost fall into the darkness and are "shaken but still alive" while a nearby room has the cold "penetrating to your very soul."		There is a similar mechanic in parts of the [[Black Swan Castle]] pay quest, where the character has to jump into pits or between swinging disks over a pit. Black Swan Castle first existed [[Kelfour Edition volume III number XII\|around 1993]], but has changed however much, so these parts could be much more recent with [[Return to Black Swan Castle]] (2013). The wording on one of the jumps is similar to one of the parts of the old [[Purgatory]] messaging that was removed around 2003 or 2004: "Suddenly you feel an intense pain scorching your very soul! The world of your past suddenly comes rushing back into your memory. '''You are quite bewildered by what has transpired, but alive...'''" It is worth noting this, as if the wording is a total coincidence, it provides a benchmark for this imagery not being meaningful. [[Research:The Graveyard#The Dark Path\|Research:The Graveyard]] argues this may have been referenced in the steep drop to the frozen level of The Graveyard, where you almost fall into the darkness and are "shaken but still alive" while a nearby room has the cold "penetrating to your very soul."
	<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>		<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>
	'''(1) But Alive'''		'''(1) But Alive'''
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	''Third Person:''		''Third Person:''

			(exit room)

	XXXXX prepares to leap the small pit by taking a step back and then a two-step run forward. She leaps over the pit...		XXXXX prepares to leap the small pit by taking a step back and then a two-step run forward. She leaps over the pit...

	THUD! XXXXX seems to slam into something directly on the opposite side of the pit (though you don't see anything except the corridor extending onward). The hapless adventurer, stunned by the unexpected impact with the invisible barrier, slips down into the pit and vanishes. You hear some tumbling sounds and a thud from below. Then, nothing.		THUD! XXXXX seems to slam into something directly on the opposite side of the pit (though you don't see anything except the corridor extending onward). The hapless adventurer, stunned by the unexpected impact with the invisible barrier, slips down into the pit and vanishes. You hear some '''tumbling''' sounds and a thud from below. Then, nothing.

			(enter room)

			Suddenly XXX comes '''tumbling''' into the room, landing with a heavy thud!


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	As the two disks near, you leap into the air, grasping for the chain! But you jumped at the wrong time, the other disk wasn't close enough and you miss the disk entirely!		As the two disks near, you leap into the air, grasping for the chain! But you jumped at the wrong time, the other disk wasn't close enough and you miss the disk entirely!

	You let out a horrifying scream as you fall end over end into the troll-filled chasm! '''Your (all too brief) life passes before your eyes'''...		You let out a horrifying scream as you '''fall end over end''' into the troll-filled chasm! '''Your (all too brief) life passes before your eyes'''...

	Suddenly you impact hard on a ledge that has mercifully presented itself to you!		Suddenly you impact hard on a ledge that has mercifully presented itself to you!
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	Roundtime: 55 sec.		Roundtime: 55 sec.
	</pre>		</pre>
			There are striking similarities in the messaging, even when it is not an obviously cloned mechanic, such as with Shadow Valley and Teras Isle. In the case of Teras Isle it gives pause to notice that the falling messaging from the jump mechanics is continued in the special departing messaging that replaces Purgatory for the Temple of Luukos. The curved descent and sliding out in the Teras jump is similarly seen in the Black Swan Castle jump, which has high odds of being older than Shadow Valley or Teras Isle. The Rift wording is similar (actually jumping kicks up dust), and words like "tumble" and "thud" are shared.
	===Colour Out of Space===		===Colour Out of Space===
	[http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cs.aspx "The Colour Out of Space"] is more of a science fiction story that Lovecraft wrote to illustrate a highly alien otherworldly horror. There is a meteor impact at a farm which quickly shrinks, throwing off what can only be approximated as colors of light, until it is repeatedly struck by lightning. It poisons the soil causing mutant vegetation growth, deforming the animals, and strangely colored fog. It is followed by the color draining out of everything, which becomes grey and brittle, with the characters becoming ill and falling into madness. Ultimately this alien horror is turning the surroundings and dead horses into dust. Where "The Mound" might explain some of the story elements and the entrance of Shadow Valley, "The Colour Out of Space" might explain the landscape with the horses. Both of these stories have glowing fog.		[http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cs.aspx "The Colour Out of Space"] is more of a science fiction story that Lovecraft wrote to illustrate a highly alien otherworldly horror. There is a meteor impact at a farm which quickly shrinks, throwing off what can only be approximated as colors of light, until it is repeatedly struck by lightning. It poisons the soil causing mutant vegetation growth, deforming the animals, and strangely colored fog. It is followed by the color draining out of everything, which becomes grey and brittle, with the characters becoming ill and falling into madness. Ultimately this alien horror is turning the surroundings and dead horses into dust. Where "The Mound" might explain some of the story elements and the entrance of Shadow Valley, "The Colour Out of Space" might explain the landscape with the horses. Both of these stories have glowing fog.

INIQUITY at 04:36, 28 May 2020

2020-05-28T04:36:25Z

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 * [[Research:The Rift (planes)]]
 =Methodology=
-Shadow Valley has some degree of meaning set in the context of the Shadow World source books. However, its meaning seems to more primarily be allegorical, which like The Graveyard involves mythology. There are cryptic meanings in the real world etymology of the names used in the story. Similar to [[Research:The Graveyard]] this research page maintains that there is an "everything is backwards" motif to the grand design of Shadow Valley.
+Shadow Valley has some degree of meaning set in the context of the Shadow World source books. However, its meaning seems to more primarily be allegorical, which like The Graveyard (arguably) involves mythology. There are cryptic meanings in the real world etymology of the names used in the story. Similar to [[Research:The Graveyard]] this research page maintains that there is an "everything is backwards" motif to the grand design of Shadow Valley.
 ===I.C.E. Source Books===
 These books potentially have some degree of relevance to the story. This is casting a wide net as Shadow Valley was a late development and so there are that many more possible books. Most I.C.E. books are not relevant to GemStone III. Shadow Valley was developed late enough for Creatures & Monsters to have potentially been used, which has a copyright date of 1994 and a publication date of 1995.
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 To be clear, such a guess can prove to be entirely coincidental in spite of a pattern of corresponding details, it is merely less likely to be a coincidence if these are a family of highly specific details. Sometimes a highly specific detail will still be an accident. Even if the basic "theory" is correct, not every "hypothesis" will be correct. The more "premises" there are the more likely a meaningless correlation will happen. Mythology is especially tricky because a trope may ultimately come from it, but that might be looking too deep into the background. There needs to be reason to think it was self-consciously mythological.
 =Shadow World=
 The Shadow Valley story was originally written with [[ICE age|I.C.E. Age]] terminology, which has been altered in the modern version "[[Tale of Silver Valley]]" which is still an official document. For the most part the [[Shadow World]] historical context does not seem important to the Shadow Valley story. It is possible it may have mattered in some way that cannot be guessed for the in-game events that are now poorly recorded.
@@ Line 1,152: / Line 1,156: @@
 The parallel to the Rift may have been designed even beyond this plunging into darkness motif. The first three planes of The Rift are parallels of each other, much like the Secluded Valley and Shadow Valley. There is also a room in The Rift of skeletal "equines" frolicking which is highly reminiscent of Shadow Valley. It is possible there are cryptic relations to [[Purgatory]] on a subtextual level in the Drake's Shrine. The reptilian bat-winged [https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Shantak shantak] bird that Randolph Carter leaps from is worthy of note as well. These can be reasonably argued to resemble the wyrm, which is associated with the dark crevice itself.
-There is another parallel which is more literal. The "Lovers' Leap" from the cliff of the Dark Palisade on Teras Isle uses the same wording as the slightly older Shadow Valley exit. The Temple of Luukos has its own [[Purgatory#Lornon|special variant]] of the death mechanics messaging where the body goes to the moon of the dark gods instead of Purgatory. The mouth of the wind tunnel may be an implicit god face like the [[Research:The Broken Lands#Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|Dark Shrine]]. It is difficult to be confident of any such relation without knowing if they were built by the same GMs. There is a difference between when something was released and how long that was from when it was built.
+There is another parallel which is more literal. The "Lovers' Leap" from the cliff of the Dark Palisade on Teras Isle uses the same wording as the slightly older Shadow Valley exit. The Temple of Luukos has its own [[Purgatory#Lornon|special variant]] of the death mechanics messaging where the body goes to the moon of the dark gods instead of Purgatory. The mouth of the wind tunnel may be an implicit god face like the [[Research:The Broken Lands#Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath|Dark Shrine]]. It is difficult to be confident of any such relation unless they were built by the same GMs. There is also a difference between when something was released and when it was built as there can be long delays.
 <pre{{log2|margin-right=350px}}>
 [Dark Palisade, Lovers' Leap]
@@ Line 1,242: / Line 1,246: @@
 [Heart of Black Nothingness]
 You are surrounded by an ethereal fog.
 </pre>
 ===Colour Out of Space===
@@ Line 1,832: / Line 1,874: @@
 Shadow Valley exists in some kind of mirror state with itself. This is another spatial location or possibly even a parallel dimension. The existing evidence does not allow us to discern which is the original intent, though this might have been made more clear by the in game story events for the release of its parts. The plains have been blight stricken, dehydrated, and reduced to dust. There is magical mist. The monsters will generally spawn out of the mists, or decay into them when dead. The fog itself can be a poisonous environmental hazard. The miners were somehow phased into the walls.
 ==Layout==
 [[File:Zepath-OriginalShadowValley-January1996.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The Shadow Valley part of Zepath's 1/31/1996 map of The Graveyard. Red room numbers correspond to quoted rooms.]]
-The valley itself exists in almost identical forms in two different places, which are linked by some kind of portal. One way involves shouting Jaron Galarn, and the other jumping in a dark abyss. The color scheme of grey or white and black are swapped between the two sides. It is unclear if the equivalent of the Dark Pasture and Shadow Plain exist outside the Secluded Valley. These were not released until later in 1996, when the wyrm manifested and the shadow steeds trampled it. This was also when the mine shaft was expanded, though it is unclear if all of the mining tunnels were released simultaneously.
+The valley itself exists in almost identical forms in two different places, which are linked by some kind of portal. One way involves shouting Jaron Galarn, and the other jumping in a dark abyss. The color scheme of grey or white and black are swapped between the two sides. It is unclear if the equivalent of the Dark Pasture and Shadow Plain exist outside the Secluded Valley. These were not released until later in 1996, when the wyrm manifested and the shadow steeds trampled it. This was also when the mine shaft was expanded. The mining tunnels were probably all released simultaneously, considering the central jump.
 The [[dust beetle]]s were present in the valley before the [[shadow mare]]s appeared according to player accounts. These were essentially [[giant fog beetle]]s, which is suggestive of a Broken Lands relation. When the sky portal opened and the wyrm was defeated, the shadow mares were made more powerful and acquired their characteristic spells. The following illustrates the "coexistent" valley, almost identical rooms, with corresponding numbers added to the map.

INIQUITY: method

2020-05-22T12:51:36Z

method

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:51, 22 May 2020
Line 34:		Line 34:
	===Hierarchical Likelihood===		===Hierarchical Likelihood===
	Each section of the research page constitutes a stand-alone theory or surrounding context for interpreting Shadow Valley and its story. The overall likelihood of the major planks of mythology, Lovecraft, and major aspects being "backwards" are buttressed by the cases for a few other possibly related areas with the same factors. The most likely bases within those categories have their own sections. There are then miscellaneous "Others" sub-sections for signals that could exist but are closer to the noise level. This is there because sometimes a thing that sounds weak or only a "one-off" is right, and for giving a baseline of parallels in the same family orbit. Those things which are more likely to be right need to have stronger cases than the Others. This is a way of weighing confirmation bias against coincidences.		Each section of the research page constitutes a stand-alone theory or surrounding context for interpreting Shadow Valley and its story. The overall likelihood of the major planks of mythology, Lovecraft, and major aspects being "backwards" are buttressed by the cases for a few other possibly related areas with the same factors. The most likely bases within those categories have their own sections. There are then miscellaneous "Others" sub-sections for signals that could exist but are closer to the noise level. This is there because sometimes a thing that sounds weak or only a "one-off" is right, and for giving a baseline of parallels in the same family orbit. Those things which are more likely to be right need to have stronger cases than the Others. This is a way of weighing confirmation bias against coincidences.

			To be clear, such a guess can prove to be entirely coincidental in spite of a pattern of corresponding details, it is merely less likely to be a coincidence if these are a family of highly specific details. Sometimes a highly specific detail will still be an accident. Even if the basic "theory" is correct, not every "hypothesis" will be correct. The more "premises" there are the more likely a meaningless correlation will happen. Mythology is especially tricky because a trope may ultimately come from it, but that might be looking too deep into the background. There needs to be reason to think it was self-consciously mythological.
	=Shadow World=		=Shadow World=
	The Shadow Valley story was originally written with [[ICE age\|I.C.E. Age]] terminology, which has been altered in the modern version "[[Tale of Silver Valley]]" which is still an official document. For the most part the [[Shadow World]] historical context does not seem important to the Shadow Valley story. It is possible it may have mattered in some way that cannot be guessed for the in-game events that are now poorly recorded.		The Shadow Valley story was originally written with [[ICE age\|I.C.E. Age]] terminology, which has been altered in the modern version "[[Tale of Silver Valley]]" which is still an official document. For the most part the [[Shadow World]] historical context does not seem important to the Shadow Valley story. It is possible it may have mattered in some way that cannot be guessed for the in-game events that are now poorly recorded.
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	The parallel to the Rift may have been designed even beyond this plunging into darkness motif. The first three planes of The Rift are parallels of each other, much like the Secluded Valley and Shadow Valley. There is also a room in The Rift of skeletal "equines" frolicking which is highly reminiscent of Shadow Valley. It is possible there are cryptic relations to [[Purgatory]] on a subtextual level in the Drake's Shrine. The reptilian bat-winged [https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Shantak shantak] bird that Randolph Carter leaps from is worthy of note as well. These can be reasonably argued to resemble the wyrm, which is associated with the dark crevice itself.		The parallel to the Rift may have been designed even beyond this plunging into darkness motif. The first three planes of The Rift are parallels of each other, much like the Secluded Valley and Shadow Valley. There is also a room in The Rift of skeletal "equines" frolicking which is highly reminiscent of Shadow Valley. It is possible there are cryptic relations to [[Purgatory]] on a subtextual level in the Drake's Shrine. The reptilian bat-winged [https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Shantak shantak] bird that Randolph Carter leaps from is worthy of note as well. These can be reasonably argued to resemble the wyrm, which is associated with the dark crevice itself.

	There is another parallel which is more literal. The "~~Lover~~'s Leap" from the cliff of the Dark Palisade on Teras Isle uses the same wording as the slightly older Shadow Valley exit. The Temple of Luukos has its own [[Purgatory#Lornon\|special variant]] of the death mechanics messaging where the body goes to the moon of the dark gods instead of Purgatory. The mouth of the wind tunnel is an implicit god face like the [[Research:The Broken Lands#Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath\|Dark Shrine]].		There is another parallel which is more literal. The "Lovers' Leap" from the cliff of the Dark Palisade on Teras Isle uses the same wording as the slightly older Shadow Valley exit. The Temple of Luukos has its own [[Purgatory#Lornon\|special variant]] of the death mechanics messaging where the body goes to the moon of the dark gods instead of Purgatory. The mouth of the wind tunnel may be an implicit god face like the [[Research:The Broken Lands#Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath\|Dark Shrine]]. It is difficult to be confident of any such relation without knowing if they were built by the same GMs. There is a difference between when something was released and how long that was from when it was built.
	<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>		<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>
	[Dark Palisade, Lovers' Leap]		[Dark Palisade, Lovers' Leap]
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	A sudden rush of air blows past you and XXXXX comes flying out of a hole in the ceiling, '''hitting the ground hard''' and sliding to a STOP!		A sudden rush of air blows past you and XXXXX comes flying out of a hole in the ceiling, '''hitting the ground hard''' and sliding to a STOP!
	</pre>		</pre>
	The Rift is analogous but not identical with its messaging. It is only clear that someone is falling from a great height from the third person messaging of entering the Rift. The transient room where you are squelched from acting is the Heart of Black Nothingness for The Rift, preceded by Lost in an Ethereal Fog. The height they halt at is standard burial depth, but is close to the ripple height for Shadow Valley.		The Rift is analogous but not identical with its entry messaging. It is only clear that someone is falling from a great height from the third person messaging of entering the Rift. The transient room where you are squelched from acting is the Heart of Black Nothingness for The Rift, preceded by Lost in an Ethereal Fog. The height they halt at is standard burial depth, but is close to the ripple height for Shadow Valley.
	<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>		<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>
	'''First Person:'''		'''First Person:'''
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	You see a black speck appear high in the sky above you. It comes hurtling down at an alarming rate. Right as it is about to smash into the ground, it stops. Suspended in midair for a moment you identify XXXXX before she comes tumbling to the ground.		You see a black speck appear high in the sky above you. It comes hurtling down at an alarming rate. Right as it is about to smash into the ground, it stops. Suspended in midair for a moment you identify XXXXX before she comes tumbling to the ground.
	</pre>		</pre>
	The transient rooms while falling can be seen in the Rooms window of the front end. It is possible to speak to others while falling off the ~~Lover~~'s Leap cliff.		The transient rooms while falling can be seen in the Rooms window of the front end. It is possible to speak to others while falling off the Lovers' Leap cliff. Caution has to be used here because it might simply be a case of borrowing an existing jump mechanic, in which case there does not have to be any meaningful relation. The Luukos temple has its own death mechanics, but there might be no shared subtext.
	<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>		<pre{{log2\|margin-right=350px}}>
	'''Shadow Valley:'''		'''Shadow Valley:'''
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	===Other===		===Other===
	The Cthulhu Mythos is complicated by the fact that H.P. Lovecraft cross-pollinated with the fantasy and horror worlds of other writers. These "Lovecraft Circle" writers include Clark Ashton Smith, who was the creator of Tsathoggua, and Robert Howard who made Conan the Barbarian. Beyond this there are also later authors who developed the concepts and there is no "canon" as such. In these research pages it is the texts of Lovecraft himself that are focused upon and not later relations with other stories. It is treacherous to interpret "meta-references" as relevant even within the context of only Lovecraft stories.		The Cthulhu Mythos is complicated by the fact that H.P. Lovecraft cross-pollinated with the fantasy and horror worlds of other writers. These "Lovecraft Circle" writers include Clark Ashton Smith, who was the creator of Tsathoggua, and Robert Howard who made Conan the Barbarian. Beyond this there are also later authors who developed the concepts and there is no "canon" as such. In these research pages it is the texts of Lovecraft himself that are focused upon and not later relations with other stories. It is treacherous to interpret "meta-references" as relevant even within the context of only Lovecraft stories. It is not impossible for a relation between two sources to be intentional, but that goes beyond trying to establish both sources were used. The creator would have to somehow indicate they were aware of the relation.

	When other source materials are used as underlying references, there is no way to control the ways those sources relate to each other. In "The Mound" there is the material world Vaults of Zin above N'kai still deeper underground, for example, while in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" the Vaults of Zin are deeper in the Underworld of the Dreamlands. If the one is a major subtext for Shadow Valley, and the other the Broken Lands, it is highly dubious to then speculate this as a relation between Shadow Valley and the Broken Lands. The same holds for Kadath, Leng, and any number of other placenames.		When other source materials are used as underlying references, there is no way to control the ways those sources relate to each other. In "The Mound" there is the material world Vaults of Zin above N'kai still deeper underground, for example, while in "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" the Vaults of Zin are deeper in the Underworld of the Dreamlands. If the one is a major subtext for Shadow Valley, and the other the Broken Lands, it is highly dubious to then speculate this as a relation between Shadow Valley and the Broken Lands. The same holds for Kadath, Leng, and any number of other placenames.

INIQUITY: add clips of the three falls

2020-05-22T00:49:44Z

add clips of the three falls

@@ Line 1,070: / Line 1,070: @@
 P>stand
 You try, but the unending fall to certain death takes precedence.  '''Accept your fate.'''
+>
 Just as you think the falling will never end, you crash through an ethereal barrier which bursts into a dazzling kaleidoscope of color!  Your sensation of falling turns to dizziness and you feel unusually heavy for a moment.  Everything seems to stop for a prolonged second and then WHUMP!!!
@@ Line 1,155: / Line 1,157: @@
 >jump
 '''You foolishly leap up into the air and straight out''' over the cliff!
 A powerful wall of air suddenly strikes and you find yourself slowing ever so slightly.  The surroundings are just a blur of motion as you speed along!
@@ Line 1,167: / Line 1,175: @@
 The wind speaks with a passionate voice, the voice of the damned souls that have been borne here from the swirling storm off-shore.  Throughout the years the unnatural tempest has been known by many names.  Sailors call it the Felstorm, or simply "the Squall", and you remember a mendicant preacher once mumbling something about "...the breath!  The foul breath of Luukos..."
 Obvious exits: east, west
 </pre>
 ===Colour Out of Space===

INIQUITY: dark abyss jump / lover's leap teras isle jump - identical wording

2020-05-21T12:44:46Z

dark abyss jump / lover's leap teras isle jump - identical wording

@@ Line 1,147: / Line 1,147: @@
 </pre>
 The parallel to the Rift may have been designed even beyond this plunging into darkness motif. The first three planes of The Rift are parallels of each other, much like the Secluded Valley and Shadow Valley. There is also a room in The Rift of skeletal "equines" frolicking which is highly reminiscent of Shadow Valley. It is possible there are cryptic relations to [[Purgatory]] on a subtextual level in the Drake's Shrine. The reptilian bat-winged [https://monster.fandom.com/wiki/Shantak shantak] bird that Randolph Carter leaps from is worthy of note as well. These can be reasonably argued to resemble the wyrm, which is associated with the dark crevice itself.
 ===Colour Out of Space===
 [http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cs.aspx "The Colour Out of Space"] is more of a science fiction story that Lovecraft wrote to illustrate a highly alien otherworldly horror. There is a meteor impact at a farm which quickly shrinks, throwing off what can only be approximated as colors of light, until it is repeatedly struck by lightning. It poisons the soil causing mutant vegetation growth, deforming the animals, and strangely colored fog. It is followed by the color draining out of everything, which becomes grey and brittle, with the characters becoming ill and falling into madness. Ultimately this alien horror is turning the surroundings and dead horses into dust. Where "The Mound" might explain some of the story elements and the entrance of Shadow Valley, "The Colour Out of Space" might explain the landscape with the horses. Both of these stories have glowing fog.

INIQUITY: dust beetles

2020-05-19T01:49:29Z

dust beetles

@@ Line 1,605: / Line 1,605: @@
 "Ammi would never go near the place again. It is over half a century now since the horror happened, but he has never been there, and will be glad when the new reservoir blots it out. I shall be glad, too, for I do not like the way the sunlight changed colour around the mouth of that abandoned well I passed. I hope the water will always be very deep—but even so, I shall never drink it. I do not think I shall visit the Arkham country hereafter. Three of the men who had been with Ammi returned the next morning to see the ruins by daylight, but there were not any real ruins. Only the bricks of the chimney, the stones of the cellar, some mineral and metallic litter here and there, and the rim of that nefandous well. '''Save for Ammi’s dead horse, which they towed away and buried,''' and the buggy which they shortly returned to him, '''everything that had ever been living had gone.''' Five eldritch acres of dusty grey desert remained, nor has anything ever grown there since. To this day it sprawls open to the sky like a great spot eaten by acid in the woods and fields, and the few who have ever dared glimpse it in spite of the rural tales have named it “the blasted heath”.
      The rural tales are queer. They might be even queerer if city men and college chemists could be interested enough to analyse the water from that disused well, or the grey dust that no wind seems ever to disperse. Botanists, too, ought to study the stunted flora on the borders of that spot, for they might shed light on the country notion that the blight is spreading—little by little, perhaps an inch a year. People say the colour of the neighbouring herbage is not quite right in the spring, and that wild things leave queer prints in the light winter snow. Snow never seems quite so heavy on the blasted heath as it is elsewhere. '''Horses—the few that are left in this motor age—grow skittish in the silent valley;''' and hunters cannot depend on their dogs too near the splotch of greyish dust."
 - "The Colour Out of Space"; H.P. Lovecraft