RuneScape Forum Archive | Xau-Tak: God of the Horrors

Hguoh

Posts: 7,581 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Fates Pyro said :
I don't think it can live up to the hype... Like you said they seem to be making it to be more threatening than the Elder gods... Which it simply can't be.

Not necessarily. Magic the Gathering has (or had) a group of monsters called the eldrazi. Long story short, they are basically 3 eldritch abominations that devour entire planes of existence. The parts of them that actually interact with planes are godlike in power and yet are such minor parts of them that actually killing the whole thing is practically an impossibility (as you can probably guess, they did kill off 2 of the 3 and trapped the last in a moon). They are basically our elder gods.

On the other hand, Magic also has a race known as the Phrexians. They are a hellish mix of machine and flesh that seek to remake all of reality in their image. They utilize a substance called Phrexian Oil that is incredibly difficult to completely destroy that converts and corrupts other life into Phrexian form. They infiltrate other worlds, spy on them for weaknesses, and then invade.

By all accounts, the Phyrexians have less raw power than the Eldrazi and are less physically destructive than them. However, they are considered by many players to be a greater threat and have generally required more firepower to deal with than the Eldrazi. I personally think this is because the Phrexians are just so tenacious, sneaky, and clever whereas the Eldrazi are very direct.

In conclusion, it's not easy, but it is entirely possible to make a less powerful and destructive force the greater threat.

06-Sep-2016 16:06:13 - Last edited on 06-Sep-2016 16:07:40 by Hguoh

Maiden China

Posts: 5,142 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hguoh said :
nerd stuff... [
like I mean, I'm a nerd, but this guy's a super-nerd

]
(just joking) I can agree with that. I personally don't see the elder gods as any sort of threat at all... I mean, they can 'technically' destroy gielinor but that's never going to happen,, which limits their power to zemouregal levels (some npcs show up, attack a town, and are defeated)
even the regular gods aren't much of a threat. zam and sara proved that in the bol... 'yes, we can make a giant crater, but we cant change anything signifigant about lumbridge itself'
like 2 npcs were added, a few walls were removed, some people got some dialogue

I was hoping for a lot more. Like... zamorak wins, lumbridge goes full zamorak-mode and the church becomes zamorakian and whatnot. but no. zimzams goes down a tier, gets mocked for being cabbage-tier for a bit, and then gets that tier back with little difficulty before it has any effect on the game Carn

07-Sep-2016 05:41:35 - Last edited on 07-Sep-2016 05:42:16 by Maiden China

Hguoh

Posts: 7,581 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Maiden China said :
Hguoh said :
nerd stuff... [
like I mean, I'm a nerd, but this guy's a super-nerd

]
(just joking)

I can go a bit nerdier. How so? By referencing Doctor Who!

A common enemy of the titular Doctor are the Daleks (a race of genocidal brain squids piloting killer trashcan robot suits). Canonically, they are one of the Doctor's greatest and most dangerous enemies. However, there's a fairly common issue with their appearances: the fewer Daleks, the greater threat they present.

This is largely due to the knowledge that the Doctor will always win in the end. This effectively limits any enemy or group of enemies the Doctor faces to the same standing as the Doctor and his allies. As the Doctor's resources remain largely constant, this makes large groups of enemies relatively powerless against him and his compatriots (the Daleks are the most guilty of this as they brought an entire empire up against him multiple times).

On the other hand, a single Dalek will pose a much more significant threat as, in order to make the episode entertaining, it is brought up to the same standing as the Doctor and those with him.

Again, a less powerful force presents a greater threat.

12-Sep-2016 13:55:54 - Last edited on 12-Sep-2016 13:58:04 by Hguoh

Maiden China

Posts: 5,142 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hguoh said :
Maiden China said :
Hguoh said :
nerd stuff... [
like I mean, I'm a nerd, but this guy's a super-nerd

]
(just joking)

I can go a bit nerdier. How so? By referencing Doctor Who! well, since i'm very into doctor who, that seems less nerdy to me
I've noticed that too. At the height of their empire it takes 5 seconds for the doctor to murder them all, but one solitary dalek and he loses his mind
but doctor who isnt the most... realistic show Carn

13-Sep-2016 05:17:33

Jan

2021

Lopendebank3

Posts: 2,460 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I just hope Xau-Tak isn't going to be like Tuska, a great world devouring swine, who then get stabbed million times in her head, not doing anything about it, then get facepunched by Vorago and shoot with a hyperbeam... I hope Xau-Tak is the real enemy, one last antagonist before the great alarm goes and the elder gods come out of bed... EXP is not important, it's important to have fun and play with your friends.

- Lopendebank3

13-Sep-2016 18:45:47

Oct

2005

Wahisietel

Posts: 3,426 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Finally got around to updating the thread to reflect new information. Page 2, post 2 has a relatively big theory regarding what happened to Xau-Tak after the events of Death at Sea, so check it out if you want.

We should probably expect to see more Xau-Tak stuff soon, either with the Dagannoth Kings rework, or Tale of Nomad. We might also learn a bit at RuneFest, so keep an eye out. You never were our brightest star, Khazard. 'Vermin slaughtered like lambs'? What does that even mean?

15-Sep-2016 15:51:05 - Last edited on 15-Sep-2016 15:54:13 by Wahisietel

Zulkir

Posts: 7,343 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

I find it odd that your theory is Bandos managed to not only seal Xau-Tak, but to even withstand a confrontation with "it" and not sustain any form of injury, that if we're going by his one missing eye he could of effortlessly healed, that would be on display.

I'm not questioning if Bandos would we know he didn't take to Zamoraks brand of destruction and chaos on the land, enough to team up with perhaps a worse evil to end him. So from that it's clear Bandos wouldn't let something like Xau-Tak do as it likes. I'm questioning if he could.

Yes Bandos was tier 3, but does he seem the type to simply lock an enemy away instead of absolutely decimate it? I'm in two minds. On one hand, I like the thought. It paints him, very mildly, as sparing the world from an immense evil, That's great character development.

But, on the other. He effectively found a prison capable of sealing away a god he thought so dangerous, that he couldn't just kill, and used it once. And told nobody, received no physical or mental scars from this fight. Untouched from an encounter with some incomprehensible creature that's been building up a ton of hype as of late.

So, if Bandos did, or even could, seal away Xau-Tak. Then Xau-Tak in the 6th age is little to no threat. Because now we have 2 immensely more powerful gods that would not tolerate Xau-Tak and its nefarious agenda, they could just banish him to the sun.

Zarosian Lorehound

Master Questcape Owner

Inconsistent Completionist

15-Sep-2016 17:04:41 - Last edited on 15-Sep-2016 17:06:09 by Zulkir

Oct

2005

Wahisietel

Posts: 3,426 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Just because we don't know of Bandos suffering any causalities doesn't mean he didn't. The fact an entire area was apparently destroyed overnight certainly implies he and his followers suffered to some degree. But Bandos would probably use any measures at his disposal to ensure both victory and his own safety anyway. Why risk things when he can come up with a way to deal with the situation and keep himself safe at the same time?

As to why he never said anything about what happened, maybe he considered what he did cowardly, or otherwise not fitting in with his philosophy? He'd hardly want to advertise the fact that he was either unable to kill something, or that he gave it mercy. Heck, it's possible that he did actually intend to kill Xau-Tak, and maybe that he didn't even know that Xau-Tak survived.

If he did know, as to why he never did it again, it could be that the circumstances that allowed such a thing to happen were unique to Xau-Tak. Like Xau-Tak doing it to itself to recover after fighting with Bandos or something. Even if Bandos were able to replicate the circumstances, he wouldn't have a desire to, since he finds the actual fight more enjoyable than victory.

I get the feeling that Xau-Tak may have changed its approach to things since then, so there's no real telling what it would do after getting free. And Zaros and Seren are currently busy with other matters. You never were our brightest star, Khazard. 'Vermin slaughtered like lambs'? What does that even mean?

15-Sep-2016 17:56:58 - Last edited on 15-Sep-2016 17:57:35 by Wahisietel

Jul

2015

Uncle Harper

Posts: 396 Silver Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Wahisietel said :
Just because we don't know of Bandos suffering any causalities doesn't mean he didn't. The fact an entire area was apparently destroyed overnight certainly implies he and his followers suffered to some degree. But Bandos would probably use any measures at his disposal to ensure both victory and his own safety anyway. Why risk things when he can come up with a way to deal with the situation and keep himself safe at the same time?

As to why he never said anything about what happened, maybe he considered what he did cowardly, or otherwise not fitting in with his philosophy? He'd hardly want to advertise the fact that he was either unable to kill something, or that he gave it mercy. Heck, it's possible that he did actually intend to kill Xau-Tak, and maybe that he didn't even know that Xau-Tak survived.

If he did know, as to why he never did it again, it could be that the circumstances that allowed such a thing to happen were unique to Xau-Tak. Like Xau-Tak doing it to itself to recover after fighting with Bandos or something. Even if Bandos were able to replicate the circumstances, he wouldn't have a desire to, since he finds the actual fight more enjoyable than victory.

I get the feeling that Xau-Tak may have changed its approach to things since then, so there's no real telling what it would do after getting free. And Zaros and Seren are currently busy with other matters.

I like your bandos theory but theres an issue. Wed have to figuratively dig up Bandos again for this to be the case and the mods have stated Bandos' story is over. They felt this way going into bird and the beast. They knew scapers would side with armadyl and bandos would die. Since then his content has come mostly to an end. I think its more likely that xau is like Cthulhu and needs to rest periodically. As he was heading to slumber he destroyed the eastern isles. Either intentionally or accidentally. I have seen the dark universe yawning, where the black planets roll without aim;
Where they roll in their horror unheeded, without knowledge or lustre or name.

16-Sep-2016 20:20:53

Hguoh

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Couldn't it simply be the case that Xau was hiding from Guthix so as to not be removed from Gielinor when the Edicts were set up?

As far as we are aware, Guthix didn't know about Xau, so it could very well be the case that Xau destroyed most evidence of its existence and then slept within the underwater city in order to hide it's presence from the nasty god who was going around and banning people from the plane.

I mean, we seem to be viewing the underwater city as Xau's prison, but perhaps it was meant to keep others out rather than keep him in.

16-Sep-2016 20:42:20

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Xau-Tak: God of the Horrors