Swearing swears

#1

A list of curses, exclamations, and the like as found in the Prism Pentad.

I was surprised to find so many having to do with the moons, specifically Ral.

1

Ktandeo motioned for Agis to open the doors of the temple. The noble obeyed, then stepped backward in alarm. “By Ral!”

“Are we concerned about nothing but gold and protecting our own fat necks?” he demanded. “By the moons, I can’t believe what I’m hearing!”

“We need a better plan,” Neeva complained. “There’s no way under the two moons we’ll sneak that thing over the wall.”

A nearby templar scooped three stones off the ground. “In the name of Mighty Kalak, let these missiles strike dead the enemies of the king!”

“In the name of” Sadira hissed, cursing her bad luck.

2

By the light of Ral! Rikus growled. Because Tamar still controlled his body, he could not look around to see how the Urikites were responding.

When the mul stepped through the gateway, he saw Styan leading a mob of gladiators toward him. “By the light of Ral!” he cursed.

“We can thank the moons for small favors, can we not?” Er’Stali said. Again, he tried to guide Rikus toward the far side of the wall.

The mul stopped in midsentence as the distant voice of Maetan’s templar came to him. “In the name of Mighty Hamanu, the slopes of this mountain shall cascade down upon our enemies.”

A foot scraped the stones at his back. The mul tucked the blade under his armpit and thrust it backward. A Urikite screamed and died.

“In the name of Haman”

3

“By Ral!” he cursed, his angry voice echoing off the stone walls. “I should have them all killed!”

“In the name of Ral!” she gasped. “Is there no magic that will stop you?”

“By the moons!” Sadira gasped. On Athas, metal was more precious than water, and the mound of armor represented an unimaginable treasure. “Where did all that come from?”

The elf’s gray eyes bugged out. “By the sun, I am careless!”

Only Faenaeyon seemed to resent the greeting, continuing toward the city at the unrelenting pace Sadira had set earlier. “By the wind, I hate this place,” he growled.

“In the name of the Silt Wind, what have you done?”

“In the name of Tithian the First, stand aside” ordered a man.

“In the name of the wind, what’s wrong?” boomed Magnus.

4

“Ral protect us!” gasped Kester. “A bear!”

“By Ral, not a flaw anywhere!” Tithian cried, his voice trembling not with agony, but exhilaration.

“In the name of Ral!” the noble gasped.

The king raised a hand to shield his face and looked away, unable to bear the sight. “In the name of our ancestors!”

“Seize that man!” yelled the female templar, pointing at Agis. “I command it in the name of King Andropinis!”

5

At Rikus’s side, Neeva suddenly cried, “Suit? Where in the name of Ral are you?”

“By Ral!” The mul was so shocked he could do little but gape at the immense hole. “Sadira!”

“By Ral!” Rikus cursed. “What’s that?”

The scorpion itself turned gold and began to shrink, until it was so small that its pincers would no longer fit around the mul’s thick fingers. It fell free and tumbled away, its tiny body vanishing from sight long before it hit the ground. “By the sun!” cursed Caelum.

“By the sun!” gasped Caelum. “What’s happening to me?”

“By the wind!” Magnus gasped. “That leaves no doubt that Abalach-Re is with them.”

When Tithian’s gaze fell on the quarterdeck, his stomach coiled into a tight knot. “In the name of Rajaat!” he cursed. “It can’t be!”

Any others? with sources?

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#2

Great work. In relation to this -

A nearby templar scooped three stones off the ground. “In the name of Mighty Kalak, let these missiles strike dead the enemies of the king!”

The various examples of templars casting spells have led me to believe that the verbal components of templar spells are spoken in the vernacular, not in “the language of magic”, or “the language of the gods”, or whatever. To make sure the reader is on the same page with, I present the following:

Verbal (V)

A verbal component is a spoken incantation. To provide a verbal component, you must be able to speak in a strong voice. A silence spell or a gag spoils the incantation (and thus the spell). A spellcaster who has been deafened has a 20% chance to spoil any spell with a verbal component that he or she tries to cast.

So when a templar speaks the verbal component for a templar spell, he just exhorts his monarch to strike down or otherwise provide the power for some spell, and says it in some vaguely understandable way. In 3.5e, this could mean its easier to make a spellcraft check when templars cast a spell to see what the effect of the spell would be.

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#3

Not just the moons, but specifically Ral, not one lone mention of Guthay.

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#4

Yeah, I caught that. A few times “the moons” are thanked or sworn by but never just Guthay alone. Leading me to believe it’s just more common to refer to just Ral. At least for characters in the PP.

I created the list by searching for all instances of “moons”, “moons”, “Ral”, “Guthay”, “in the name” and similar terms.

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#5

“By the winds!” I don’t have a source, but it seems I’ve come across it often enough to remember it.

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#6

Lost Cities of the Trembling Plains uses this.

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#7

If it helps, I can think of several expressions (or adapted expressions) from various Earth dialects which could work in the setting.

“Stone me!”
“Kalak wept!”
“You diseased belgoi’s pizzle!”

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#8

“Kalak’s bones!” - Death Mark

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#9

“Urgathi Forsake You!” Urgathi is the name of Ral to the people of Gulg and is sacred to them.

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#10

“By the sun’s scorching rays!”
“May the elements curse you!”
“May the spirits of the land turn against you!”
“May your water be contaminated!”
“May your crops wither and die!”
“May the sandstorms never cease!”
“May you be plagued by sand worms!”
“May the templars hunt you down!”
“May the sorcerer-kings punish you!”
“May your clan disown you!”
“May your mutations consume you!”
“May the elementals enslave you!”
“May the defilers drain your life force!”
“May the halflings know your name!”
“May the thri-kreen hunt you!”
“May the dwarves curse your lineage!”
“May an elf offer you solace.”
“May the muls revile your ancestry!”
“May the half-giants crush you underfoot!”
“May the half-elves turn their backs on you!”

I also, recently found this: Slur Generator - nubbl

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#11

May you step on crudlu’s dropping!
May you walk barefoot on a field of obsidian shards!
May your kank kick your manhood!
May a half giant mistake you for a chair!
May all the flies on Athas shadow you!
May the king tasks you with teaching table manners to a bazraag!

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