Friday, January 30, 2009

Decided to go with bold orange dot to hilight interesting ones, for now.

BARA MAGNA

• Inhabitants of Bara Magna are not born with their mechanical implants, and they can live just as well without them.
• Exsidian is a metal that resists wear and corrosion really well (a constant problem in a desert), so it's prized for use as a blade coating, etc.
• Greg, on destinies on Bara Magna: "While I am not saying BM characters do not have destinies (I believe everyone does), it is not that big of a deal in 2009 story. These are people trying to just survive each day -- they aren't concerned with what they are supposed to achieve someday in the far future. I really doubt any of them would even believe in the concept of destiny. So it's not going to come up other than with relation to Mata Nui."

  

• If a village refuses another tribe's challenge for land, the land is considered forfeited.
• The locations of the villages were selected mostly because of the proximity of the big BIONICLE pieces, which serve as shelters.
• The Glatorian and Agori are not aware of the Red Star, and neither are the Skrall. One needs a telescope to view it from Bara Magna, and no one has one.

AGORI

• There are more Rock Agori than Skrall.
• Most arena vehicle combat is done by Agori.
• Metus travels around a lot.
• Berix's hobby frequently takes him outside his own village.
• Tarduk and Berix are friends.

GLATORIAN

• Most exiled Glatorian die not long after being sent into the wastelands.
• Greg, on the Glatorian vehicles: "My guess is that most were designed prior to the war, and have simply been modified for arena combat over the years."
• The means and timing of concession in a Glatorian match is entirely up to the participants. It is never required that one forfeit; a Glatorian could keep fighting until he is knocked out or crippled, and have no choice but to concede. Most warriors, however, don't see the point in doing that.
• Trainee Glatorian come to the Atero matches. They will briefly appear in the story, though they will not be named.
• Tarix is the current Glatorian champion.

REIGN OF SHADOWS

• Vezon was responsible for the portal Mazeka and Vultraz fell through.
• Guardian is dead.
• Lariska was assisting in the war against the Brotherhood of Makuta between Federation of Fear and Reign of Shadows.

RIDDLE OF THE GREAT BEINGS

• The names of the other Agori are Crotesius, Scodonius, Kyry and Kirbold.
• Some of the Agori from Riddle of the Great Beings will be included in sets, and others will not.
• Kyry is from Vulcanus.
• The circle-symbol on Tarduk's map was a Matoran 'A.' There are other scraps with Matoran letters on them.

GENERAL

• While Zesk are good scavengers for food, Vorox are good at protecting the Zesk.
• Great Beings are not able to change shape or size.
• Frostelus are considered intelligent Rahi.
• Neither Mata Nui nor Teridax ever needed to know what was inside the Red Star, and no Great Being was ever inside of it.

Sets

• The Sand Stalker will be a combo model of Malum and the Rock Steed.
• The summer canister sets are called Glatorian Legends.

Friday, January 23, 2009

I got around to finishing MLN this morning, which is good.

Oh, one request: I'm looking for a symbol I can use mark important facts, instead of just • . One's I've tested look dorky. So if you have a suggestion, you can copy/paste it into a post.

BARA MAGNA

• Atero is really only used by Glatorian once a year, for the big tournament.
• There are usually three preliminary rounds before the main tournament in Atero. They aren't elimination rounds; they are more like exhibitions for people of the various villages, and a chance for the Glatorian to get their edge.
• Resources are always at stake in arena matches. Only in Atero are the fights for honor, as opposed to something practical.

  

• The Arena Magna battles are several fights that take place over the course of days.
• The prize for winning the tournament is championship -- a Glatorian named champion can command a higher price in the arena, and is more likely to get matches since every village wants to see their Glatorian beat him.
• Exsidian is very valuable, and most often would be used for swords or axes, things that will wear out faster.
• Spikit are used by many tribes, not just Skrall.
• Tesara has access to plants like healing herbs.

GLATORIAN

• If you want a Glatorian to hire, you talk to Metus or someone like him, who recruits and trains fighters.
• A Glatorian match can take place in any arena, but normally it is the arena of one of the contestants.
• Malum's flame claws are part of his armor.
• Strakk, Malum, Tarix, and the Skrall were all alive before the Shattering.
• Tarix has lost matches before, and he has faced a Skrall.
• The Gresh vs. Skrall match at Vulcanus was an exhibition pre-annual tournament in Atero. A way to let different villages see fighters they might not have seen too often, to get them hyped for the big tournament coming up.
• Glatorian vehicles include chariots.
• In general, Sand Stalkers are not implemented in the arena. Sand stalkers are not really bred for combat, they are bred for endurance. While they can fight, getting one injured just for a match is a waste of resources.
• Greg would say less than 100 Vorox are with Malum, probably 40-50 total.

SKRALL

• There are easily hundreds of Skrall.
• Individual Skrall differ in appearance in some respects, but easily hundreds of Skrall look exactly like the winter set version.
• The Skrall are under strict orders regarding how much of a conflict they are allowed to spark with other Glatorian/villages.
• Tuma has permitted a Skrall to join the Vulcanus defense despite his plan for the Bone Hunters to attack it in order to harry the Bone Hunters a bit.
• Tuma's race is a different class within the Skrall species.
• Greg: "I don't consider Tuma a great intellect, I consider him a survivor and a practical being. Cautious. Manipulative. But if you wanted to sit down with him and discuss great Bara Magnan philosophers or the science of the oasis, he probably couldn't do it."
• Tuma and the Skrall were soldiers in the EP war.
• Tuma's interests are with the Skrall, not with personal goals.
• In general, a small percentage of Skrall are working as Glatorian.
• There are female Skrall.
• Atakus's swords differ from those on Skrall and Tuma in that they glow.
• Greg, on the battle with the shapeshifters: "It was pretty one-sided. When you are fighting something that can blend in with the scenery, then spring from behind and kill you, there's not a lot you can do without thermal imaging or that sort of tech."
• Skrall rarely travel alone -- they travel in patrols, heavily armed. Vorox are smart enough not to go after them, and if Skrall see a huge number of Vorox, they are smart enough not to ride into their midst. Bone hunters, on the other hand, have been killed by Vorox, and BH are more likely to be out riding alone.

AGORI

• As a hobby, Tarduk is a historian-archeologist, and Berix repairs things.
• Roxtus has more Agori than any other village.

BONE HUNTERS

• The bone hunters have no singular leader.
• All bone hunters ride rock steeds.
• Fero is confident, but not overconfident, experienced, and wise in the ways of the desert and tracking.

GENERAL

Great Beings

• The Great Beings had been avid creators since long, long before the EP discovery.
• Great Beings generally live together.

Story

• The Thornax launcher was developed before the disaster.
• The helmets the Vorox, Glatorian, etc. wear date back thousands and thousands of years.
• Greg, on the MLN game's chronology: "[T]he game takes place between the January and March comics, and during the first novel (which also takes place basically in the February timeframe .. unfortunately, it comes out later than that, but can't be helped.)"
• Greg, on Glatorian population: "I don't want to give out numbers on this, since I don't know how many will be shown to exist in the movie."
• The first novel this year is entitled "Raid on Vulcanus." It will include both winter and summer characters.
• Greg: "I am working on a six-part story for AMEET, the people who did the Makuta Guide for Poland last year, which will run through the six activity books they are doing for 2009 BIONICLE. It's called "The Crossing" and deals with a dangerous trek through the Black Spike Mountains and over the Dark Falls made by Gresh, Strakk and two Agori."
• Secret of Certavus, MLN, first novel, and at least the early chapters of EotS take place before the March comic. Second Level 3 reader takes place after the March comic and after the start of the movie. Movie takes place a few months after the March comic.
• Tarduk will initially be the main character in "Riddle of the Great Beings."
• The Atero tournament will take place in the March comic.
• When Greg said at an October library even that there may be more than one Mata Nui, he has strongly hinted that he was talking about future story rather than past.

Matoran universe

• The Great Beings created the original antidermis and gave it its knowledge of Mata Nui's mission. Creating the Makuta was part of Mata Nui's programming.
• The Twin Suns in Metru Nui are now red because of Teridax's eyes.
• Artakha may have suspected that Mata Nui is Matoran universe, but it's doubtful he found out for certain.
• The "weapon" of knowledge Artakha said would be found in Karda Nui was the existence of the Codrex and the information on the keystones.

Friday, January 16, 2009

BARA MAGNA

• Before the disaster, Glatorian were soldiers.
• Greg, on the Glatorian population: "[There are] not a ton. I don't know that I would attach a definite number to it, as there are always old ones dying off and new ones coming into the profession. On Bara Magna, though, you are probably talking less than a hundred, easy.
• The Glatorian have fighting skills from their military training and from their training with each other.

  

• We have seen the actual soldiers who fought over the energized protodermis on Bara Magna but not who lead them. Some of the current Glatorian took part in that war, but others, like Gresh, are too young to have participated.
• Gresh and Tarix get along just fine, and they tolerate Strakk.
• There is actually is something of a democratic system on Bara Magna, with the exception, of course, of the Vorox and Skrall. Leaders are elected to 250 year terms, and can be removed from office at any time by an unanimous vote of the villagers. Glatorian are not allowed a vote, since they have a "financial" interest in the outcome.
• An Agori who committed murder would be banished, certainly. A thief or someone like that might not be, but would probably only be allowed to stay on the condition they take on some needed but highly dangerous work for the village.
• Raanu has one Glatorian working for his tribe plus a couple in training.
• It would be possible for the Vorox to un-regress.

EMPIRE OF THE SKRALL

• The Skrall joined the social system within the last year or so.
• Greg, on Tuma's species: "Well, Tuma is the leader of the Skrall, so what else would he say? I haven't discussed Tuma's nature yet."
• Greg, on the mysterious shapeshifters: "Actually they are something the story team has talked about pretty extensively over the last year or so, so I didn't make them up on the spur of the moment. And yes, I think they will crop up again this year."
• A Spikit is a creature, and there willl be one in a set in summer. They have two heads and are usually used to pull wagons, that sort of thing.

STORY

• In the case of Gresh's match with the Skrall, Vulcanus was serving as host, as it was also a preliminary tournament for the big one in Atero.
• Greg, on the MLN game: "I do consider it canon, yes. We went over the whole game story together before it got done, and actually that is where the idea of the Thornax being edible came from. In addition, the "hero" Agori character of the game will be a factor in the novel out this spring."
• The serials for 2009 are about the Matoran Universe, the Skrall, and the Agori society. The Agori serial is titled "Riddle of the Great Beings."
• Greg: "I don't really want to do extensive flashbacks of Bara Magna, because it would give away things we want to reveal in future story."
• A few months pass between the start of 2009 story and Mata Nui's arrival on Bara Magna.
• A named Skrall will appear in summer story.
• We will see a Glatorian who fights for a tribe that doesn't match his color.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

• Bara Magna exists in the alternate dimension Vultraz and Mazeka visited.
• Alternate Gorast used her gravity powers to effect "telekinesis" on Vultraz.

MATORAN UNIVERSE

• Mata Nui has completed no major parts of his mission yet.
• A Makuta's extra mass is shunted into another dimension when it shapeshifts to a smaller size.
• Teridax only needs Matoran to live, but killing off every other species would be a waste of time and energy. It would be like you deciding to go outside and kill every insect in your yard. If they aren't bothering you, and have no potential to bother you, then why do it?

Friday, January 9, 2009

And this week's scoop is...

Nothing.

That's right, nothing. Some words of advice for OGD posters: don't try to resolve a string of off-topic posts by contributing to it. All you need to do is ignore it, and it will go away. I promise.

Well, there is one set of Q&A that Jolly Christmas Giratina kindly sent me, condensed here.

RANDOM

• The sand bat is a creature that will appear in the first 2009 book and not in the movie.
• Not all of the Takanuva at Destral are of shadow.

If anyone would else wishes to contribute, feel free.

Friday, January 2, 2009

BARA MAGNA

• The Sea of Liquid Sand is like quicksand.
• Greg believes Atero is south of the Bone Hunter camp.
• Greg: "Beware the sand bat."

  

• The giant mechanical body parts scattered throughout Bara Magna relate to future story.
• The rock Agori have always been with Tuma and the Skrall, and they are essentially "support staff" for the Skrall. This is a militaristic group, where the army comes first before anyone else.
• There will be other Glatorian sets this year.
• Some Glatorian own the vehicles they use in combat.
• There aren't a ton of Agori on Bara Magna. With the limited resources, villages can't support thousands of Agori, there just isn't enough food and water for that.
• Bara Magna was never enormously populated nor as advanced as Metru Nui or our own society.
• The Skrall only recently moved south; they aren't native to where they are living now.
• The Glatorian and Agori are not artificial constructs.
• It was not a natural evolution that made the sand tribe what they are, it was their reaction to a disaster.
• There is a metal that is considered very valuable on Bara Magna, but it's valuable because of its practical use, not just because it is.
• The Skrall that fought Gresh was the same one that relayed the informant's information to Tuma.
• Agori from the fire, jungle, ice, and water tribes live in Atero.
• Gresh, Tarix, and Strakk are traveling to Atero.
• Malum has contempt for Raanu for exiling him.
• Only a Glatorian's own tribe would exile him for crimes in the arena.
• Inhabitants of Bara Magna cannot tap into inner light or shadow.
• Greg, on Kanohi use on Bara Magna: "In this case, it is not a question of willpower. Kanohi were designed for Toa, Matoran, Makuta, etc., and we know that taking the masks off affects them in some way (weakening, going into comas, things like that). This is because the masks are linked to them mentally, which is also why they can be mentally controlled by the wearer (if they can use mask powers). The residents of Bara Magna are not Toa or Matoran or Makuta, they are not artificial constructs for whom these masks were designed, so if they did wear one, it would be just that -- a mask to cover your face. It would not be linked to their mind, so taking it off wouldn't bother them and they would have no way to trigger it. It would be like me handing you a spark plug and expecting it to power you up the way it does my car engine. But you're not a car engine, you're not built to use a spark plug, so it won't work."

GREAT BEINGS

• Spherus Magna no longer exists in the main universe.
• Greg: "The AI of Mata Nui and the inhabitants of his universe was better than the GBs knew it would be or planned for it to be."
• A second Great Spirit or synthezoid of Mata Nui's type was never created.
• Great Beings will not be released as sets.

MATORAN UNIVERSE

• Mata Nui's body does have weapons systems.
• Teridax probably teleported Axonn, Brutaka, and Keetongu to separate locations.
• Miserix is not dead and may be subject to illusions of Teridax.
• The southern islands are unexplored and full of dangerous Rahi.
• The Mask of Intangibility cannot additionally turn someone else in contact with the user intangible.
• A non-Nuva Toa could also link with an Av-Matoran.

Friday, December 26, 2008

BARA MAGNA

• There are six arenas on Bara Magna, and Atero is the main one.
• Iconox is ice, Tesara is jungle, and Tajun is water.
• The disaster involved in the Vorox and Zesk's regression is dealt with in 2009-2010 story.

  

• The disaster is also involved with the downgrade of technology on Bara Magna.
• The Glatorian system did not exist prior to the disaster.
• Skrall are generally disliked, of course.
• Nothing happens if someone takes his helmet off. The helmets are referred to as masks, but they do not function as Kanohi.
• Tarix uses his tube to breathe underwater.
• Tarix's and Berix's gold-colored weapons were most likely found in ruins near where Tajun is.

GENERAL

• Spherus Magna was, indeed, shattered.
• Mazeka's swamp strider is destroyed.
• Matoran language is programming language! Making it dissimilar to the language of Bara Magna.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Happy Holidays!

BARA MAGNA

• Greg would not say that Thornax grow abundantly. Like water or food or anything else, Thornax are a scarce resource that has to be sought out or traded for. That is why Glatorian have them and not Agori, because Glatorian get first dibs on whatever is found.
• Bone hunters work for whoever has something that they want. They are nomadic bandits. They do not participate in the social system.
• "Bone hunters" is a tribe name. They are well-known and feared. Bone Hunters are not the same species as Agori.

  

• The number of Glatorian participating in an arena match depends on the match rules. Some matches are one Glatorian vs. one Glatorian ... some are a Glatorian and Agori vs. Glatorian and Agori ... some are Glatorian in vehicles vs. Glatorian in vehicles ... so there are all sorts of different kinds.
• Greg, on combat in Agori society: "It's purely physical strength, tactics, and weaponry. With the exception of the vehicles, which come later in story, this is a pretty low-tech society. They can patch and repair things, but they don't create new, they don't have energy weapons, that sort of thing. Thornax launcher is about the [most] powerful weapon they have."
• The Glatorian do not have any special powers or abilities.
• Glatorian matches are not fought to the death. In general, Glatorian do not fight to the death. Sometimes, people do die in the arena, the same way they do in our boxing rings, but normally the fight ends when one person or another is clearly defeated.
• Greg: "I would say Strakk and Malum are both on the line between good and bad, but neither falls hard in one camp or the other. If, for example, some evil menace threatened all the villages, neither one would side with the bad guys. And Vorox are not much better than beasts, so I don't consider them good or evil anymore than I would consider a pack of wolves good or evil." "We know the Skrall are nasty in person, and extremely capable in the arena, but as the story opens, they haven't done anything evil. They are arrogant, but they win all the time, so maybe they have a right to be." "As for Malum -- Malum has issues. He violated a major rule and got exiled to the wastelands, so no one in story is really sure of him or whether or not he can be trusted."
• If Strakk thinks the odds are good and the pay is good, he will protect you from bone hunters. If he doesn't like either, he won't.
• Malum's crime is that he tried to kill an opponent in the arena when the opponent had already given up.
• Civilization was, at one time, more advanced on Bara Magna than it is now. So there are old weapons, pieces of equipment (whose nature is unknown), old parchments and tablets, things like that buried in the sand here and there. These are the things Tarduk searches for.
• The Zesk and Vorox were fairly reclusive to start with, which was part of the problem. And like some humans in a crisis, they reverted to barbarism.
• The Vorox and Zesk are wearing helmets.
• Zesk are the same species as the Agori, although they have changed a lot.
• Groups of Vorox have pack leaders.
• The start of the sand tribe regression varied as it occurred.
• The average inhabitant of Bara Magna knows absolutely nothing about the Red Star.
• There is only one of each tribe, led by one leader.
• For the most part, the tribes do not live that close to each other. Tribes bear no enmity toward other tribes, since the lifestyle is not conducive to petty feuds.
• Atero is a free city, where some villagers from different tribes live, with the exception of rock and sand.
• Atero is not home to very many Agori. The ones who live there are mainly there to maintain the arena.
• Tuma has been leading the rock tribe for a long time.
• Sand stalkers are four-legged.
• Being an invention of Greg, the sand stalker will not be a set.
• The river on Bara Magna has a name, which we will learn in early January.
• Gresh plays a very big role in first half story, and in second half story, on a scale from 1-10, he would probably be at about a 4 or a 5 in terms of prominence.
• The January sets will be supporting characters in the movie, although some will have very important supporting roles. The summer canister sets will be the stars.
• The life counters on the Glatorian sets play no role in story; they are there as part of a game that can be played with the sets.
• The story will focus on the whole planet of Bara Magna.

GREAT BEINGS

• Spherus Magna is the name of the Great Beings' home planet. Spherus Magna was not changed into Bara Magna. Bara Magna and Spherus Magna are the names of two separate and distinct locations.
• Greg interprets the name Spherus Magna to mean "Great Sphere."
• Mata Nui was not sent out to find more energized protodermis.
• The Great Beings had already developed protodermis before the discovery of energized protodermis.

DWELLERS IN DARKNESS

• How long Pouks's mask takes to copy a power depends on the power, and it can only copy one power at once.
• Botar, Trinuma, and the female Order member who shatters were not members of the Hand of Artakha.
• Brutaka now possesses the powers of a Makuta.
• Since the Toa Hagah had moved quite a ways from the Coliseum on their journey already, Miserix simply tore up the ground over where they were to reach them.
• Zaktan is killed.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

• The alternate universe with Spherus Magna in it is a reality in which Mata Nui had never needed been needed to be built in the first place.
• Matoran in the alternate Spherus Magna universe literally have the power of Toa.

DESTINY WAR

• Helryx's Mask of Psychometry works on only one object at a time. With it, she sees something of the object's past, but she has no control over how much info she actually gets.
• Those whom Voporak attacked to retrieve the Vahi have not died.
• Chirox was not overseer of the island with the energized protodermis lake because it's a valuable piece of real estate due to the EP, and Teridax did not choose to have Chirox watch over it.
• Vezon's prior mask use with the Ignika helped him to be able to use the Olmak.
• Ancient was the one who discovered for Voporak that the Vahi had been brought to Metru Nui.

GENERAL

• Makuta who did not have Toa Hagah chose not to have them.
• The Matoran universe serial will be called "Reign of Shadows."
• The Matoran universe serial may run all year long.
• The Great Beings' scroll instructed the Toa Nuva to quell the volcanoes on Artidax because the Great Beings knew that they would potentially be active if Mata Nui fell asleep.
• Lesovikk and Sarda were inside the Pit when Mata Nui rose.
• Mata Nui and Makuta (now) would be able to speak the language of Bara Magna.
• We don't know that Mata Nui chose the destinies for those living inside him, only that he knew what they were meant to be.
• The Red Star has a proper name.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Lots of good stuff!

BARA MAGNA

• There were more rivers on Bara Magna at one time, though there were never any oceans.
• Villages in 2009 will have proper names.
• The villages being shown in 2009 are the only tribes on Bara Magna, at least as far as Greg is concerned.

  

• In most cases, Agori tribes have leaders that are also Agori.
• The masks and helmets worn on Bara Magna are marks of status, in some cases, but they do not have mask powers.
• Each Glatorian/Agori's mask/helmet is of a unique shape.
• In general, new Glatorian masks/helmets are not made now. Old ones may be patched or repaired, but new ones are not being made. The Agori are very good at patching/repairing/slapping parts together, pretty lousy at making anything new.
• Glatorian ride on mounts called sand stalkers.
• Agori can ride sand stalkers, but generally use motorized or animal-drawn vehicles instead.
• Agori and Glatorian have the same life spans as Matoran and Toa. Not all of the inhabitants of Bara Magna have this same life span.
• Greg, on storytelling on Bara Magna: "I am not really incorporating the storytelling thing in, simply because legends are not a big part of this culture. This is not an optimistic, "someday things will get better" bunch like the Turaga and Matoran were. These are people struggling every day to survive in a harsh world, and being very practical and down to earth about it."
• We are probably not going to get a term like "Rahi" for wildlife on Bara Magna.
• Greg, on reproduction on Bara Magna: "I really haven't decided how new beings come into being, but no, that is no longer taboo. In fact, it is established in story early on that Gresh is considerably younger than some of the other Glatorian."
• One can be of the Glatorian's species but not fight as a Glatorian.
• Greg considers the Bone Hunters to be a species related to the Rock tribe.
• The Rock tribe has the most Glatorian (more than the Vorox, so therefore over 50).
• Only Tuma can grant a Skrall a name; it is otherwise forbidden, most likely even for nicknames.
• There will be no distinction between the main Skrall in set and the others.
• Skrall, Vorox and Zesk are representatives of larger species, of which there are multiple members. The other sets are all individual characters, not part of multiples. Skrall, Vorox, and Zesk are all sapient.
• Vorox don't participate in the social system. That doesn't mean they never fight in an arena -- there is one they fight in, sometimes -- but they have no village or arena of their own. Post-disaster, the Vorox and the Zesk regressed socially to being not much more than beasts.
• The Zesk and the Vorox look different because they have gone through a lot of changes in the last 100,000 years or so.
• Zesk were once Agori, like the other villagers, albeit physically a bit different -- and Vorox more like other Glatorian. Post-disaster, they regressed and have become little more than beasts.
• The Zesk and Vorox do retain some intelligence.
• No Zesk or Vorox we will see will vary in appearance.
• Greg would say there are more than 50 Vorox.
• Vorox normally do not properly fight as Glatorian, because they don't follow the same social structure the other tribes do -- Vorox are not much more than beasts at this point. There is an arena they fight in at times, but not by choice, and it doesn't belong to them.
• The Vorox and Zesk do not have the same spoken language as the other Agori and Glatorian, although they can manage a broken version of it.
• Greg would assume Zesk and Vorox have names they call each other in their own language.
• There are mostly groups of Vorox and Zesk.
• The arena the Vorox fight in belongs to a specific group.
• The "disaster" that heralded the regression of the Vorox and Zesk is also what caused the disappearance of some of the rivers on Bara Magna.
• Tarduk's claws are separate weapons.
• Exiled from his fire tribe for crimes in the arena, Malum wanders the wastes, challenging other Glatorian for his own gain. Armed with flame claws and a spiked Thornax launcher, he is the last being a Glatorian wants to meet.
• Raanu is not allied with Malum.
• Gresh is not necessarily the youngest Glatorian in existence, though he is the youngest of the Glatorian encountered next year.
• If you are in terrible danger, Strakk will gladly ride to your rescue, fight off your enemies, and save your life ... provided you have agreed to payment terms first. If not, he will just as gladly ride right past you.
• There are rules for Glatorian fighting in arenas, and depending on the rule and how badly one disobeys it, one can wind up exiled to the wastelands.
• Agori fight beside Glatorian in certain arena matches.
• There are friendships between Agori/Glatorian of separate tribes.
• Especially among Glatorian, friendships are accepted and expected. And Agori friendships, while a little less common except among traders, etc. are no crime either. These villages are in competition for resources, but they are not at war with each other.
• "Agori" was based on the Latin word agri, meaning farm.
• In their language, Agori would mean "villager."
• Greg interprets "Bara Magna" to mean "Great Barren."
• All of the canister sets appear in the movie. Some have prominent roles in early story, not so much in later story, and vice versa.
• Tarduk might not be animated for the movie.
• Greg: "I can tell you that you will see a difference between the portrayal of Gresh in early story and in the movie -- neither is wrong. It happens for two reasons -- Gresh, in the movie, is a supporting character and works well for that -- in the early story, he is a main character, and I thought his characterization would not work as well for a main character. And by the second half of the year, I think he has relaxed a little bit."

GREAT BEINGS

• The expediency of Mata Nui's creation ties into the catastrophe on the Great Beings' homeworld that the Energized Protodermis Entity mentioned.
• Mata Nui was not created in order to find something, but he is part of a larger plan of the Great Beings, one that Teridax is not advancing.
• Mata Nui was created on the Great Beings' home planet, at the Great Beings' fortress.
• The Great Beings were breaking new ground when creating the nanotech AI to allow Mata Nui's body to function and so did not know how sophisticated the culture of the Matoran, etc. was going to turn out to be.
• The Shattering occurred after Mata Nui's completion.
• The Great Beings neither started nor fought in the war fought over energized protodermis.
• Energized protodermis affects beings outside the Matoran universe as well, since it originated outside of it.
• No inhabitant of Bara Magna has personally met a Great Being.
• The Great Beings' home world has a name. The Great Beings do not call it Paradise; that is what Matoran legends referred to it as.
• The Great Beings' homeworld was not necessarily unlivable after the energized protodermis war.

MATA NUI

• The Great Beings created the first Av-Matoran, started the construction of Mata Nui, and the Matoran finished him off. The last work was done from within Mata Nui's body. The Great Beings created the Ignika, the scroll in the Great Temple, and the Krana all before Mata Nui's completion.
• Greg: "Great Spirit is the name given by the Matoran to the being who controls their universe. It is a "job title" if you will, and a term of honor, which is why even though Makuta controls the universe now, the Matoran would not call him that. So no, Mata Nui would not still be considered a Great Spirit, since he does not have the powers of one anymore."
• Mata Nui was not created on Bara Magna and was never there.
• The stars above Metru Nui are visible signs of the electrical activity of Mata Nui's mind -- they are his thoughts, basically.
• It's very reasonable to assume that Mata Nui is considerably bigger than the Great Beings are.
• Mata Nui had the capability to be all-knowing in the Matoran universe.
• Mata Nui was supposed to know the true meaning of the UDD symbol.
• Mata Nui is aware of his faults.
• Mata Nui's form may have been modeled after the Toa Mata, since they were created before his completion.
• As the returning character, Mata Nui is one who has never had the opportunity to have friends, never had to physically fight for anything, never been less than godlike in his powers.

SERIALS

• Greg guesses that Chirox named the Visorak and that the Visorak applied their own meaning ("stealers of life") to the word.
• Greg assumes Takanuva's flight virus will be wearing off soon.
• The Makuta Miserix interrogated and absorbed was not one we are familiar with.
• In the alternate dimension Mazeka and Vultraz stumble into, Matoran are considered Toa and vice-versa. The "Melding" Macku mentions is significant in that it is the opposite of "Shattering."
• Greg is sure there is a way to destroy energized protodermis, but the trick is whether or not the characters discover it.
• The Toa on Jovan's team who wore the Olmak was killed by a Makuta or someone in the employ of a Makuta.
• Axonn is immune to antidermis.
• Trinuma's horns are part of his mask.
• Acid blades like the one Vultraz once carried are not common.

GENERAL

• It would be possible for Spiriah's changes in a Skakdi to be undone through reverse engineering.
• For at least part of Legends of Metru Nui, Mata Nui was still in space.
• Greg, on how important Takanuva's destiny is compared to Teridax's: "Time will tell."
• A Toa turned evil would no longer be considered Toa. "Toa" means "hero" -- if you are corrupt, you're not a hero anymore.
• Brutaka got his Olmak from the Order of Mata Nui.
• Teridax's Plan did not call for the Toa Mata's canisters to malfunction.
• The island north of Keetongu's homeland is the one where Carapar ended the siege.

Toa Hagah Teams

• The Brotherhood of Makuta chose the members of their Toa Hagah teams from existing Toa teams, and the Toa's masks were presented to them by the members of their former teams as a badge of honor.
• Chirox, Spiriah, and Tridax had Toa Hagah teams. Icarax, Krika, Gorast, and Kojol did not.
• When Spiriah was exiled, his Toa Hagah were transferred to other duties.
• All Toa Hagah teams carried weapons like Norik and co.: special armor, Rhotuka shields, and spears.

Friday, December 5, 2008

It's that time of week again.

BARA MAGNA

• Greg: "The Skrall situation is different from the rest. Skrall do not have individual names -- they're just called Skrall, which is the name of their group -- unless they distinguish themselves and so earn a name. Other Glatorian have individual names and are not strictly a part of a "tribe" -- they just work for the tribe."
• Skrall are not clones, but rather living individual beings who happen to live in a social group that lumps them together as a warrior class and sees no reason to give them individual names. The Skrall army numbers more than 20.
• The tribes are not made up of Glatorian-sized characters -- they are made up of Agori, and the Glatorian work for the tribes. In the case of the Skrall, their Glatorian are not allowed to work for any other tribe and wouldn't want to anyway, so they are considered to actually be a part of the rock tribe. There are also many more Skrall than there are non-Skrall Glatorian.

  

• "Skrall" isn't properly the name of a tribe. It's a species name. We will encounter Skrall with individual names.
• Greg would say that not all Skrall look the same, and some carry different weapons according to their role in the tribe. All Skrall are black.
• Greg considers the Skrall set to be of a particular Skrall.
• Tuma rules over both the Agori rock tribe and the Skrall.
• Greg would assume there are female Skrall, although none are expected to appear in story.
• Greg, on the social system of Bara Magna: "Let's say I have a village, and you have a village. One day, one of my Agori stumbles on an oasis halfway between our villages. I claim it, but so do you - and there's no way to prove who saw it first. In a lot of places, that might lead to a war over a resource as precious as water is in a desert. Not Bara Magna. I send my Glatorian, you send yours, and they fight. Whichever wins, his village gets the claim to the oasis. The Glatorian system was set up so the villages don't waste lives and resources on wars."
• As we start out 2009, no tribe is considered to be "evil" in story. Whether that changes as we move through the year, only time will tell.
• Greg, on currency on Bara Magna: "It's mostly goods or services. For example, if you were doing a job escorting a trade caravan, they might give you some of their goods in payment (like armor or weapons), or they might give you water and food, or they might give you something else of value that you could trade elsewhere."
• One becomes a Glatorian by being hired for the job; Glatorian is a title.
• The Glatorian do what they do for reasons of necessity, payment, and enjoyment. There is a need for them, and in return, they need food, shelter, equipment repair, things like that, which can best be provided by a village. Glatorian make various earnings for winning battles.
• Although Glatorian are essentially freelance, some, such as the ones we will encounter 2009, have preference for a single tribe and work regularly for them. Any tribe of one color could hire a Glatorian of a different color.
• Glatorian of the same tribe do not at all look identical.
• Although Glatorian is a job name, not a species name, Greg does not see the Glatorian (those besides the Skrall) as being of separate species.
• Greg: "Skrall are not the same species as the other Glatorian are ... that's why they are stronger, faster than other Glatorian. While they do the job of Glatorian, they are not the same in the sense that they have no choice when it comes to fighting for their village. They are basically soldiers being sent to fight in the arena."
• Greg pictures Glatorian as about the same size as Toa.
• Glatorian are not the only ones to carry Thornax launchers.
• Bone hunters are nomads who live in the desert of Bara Magna. They are related in some way to the rock tribe, but not actually members of it. They are bandits, mainly, raiding trade caravans and now and then a village to steal food, weapons, and whatever else they can get their hands on. If they do hit a caravan, they rarely leave anyone alive to tell the tale. And they all ride creatures called rock steeds.
• Fero is a Bone Hunter.
• Offhand Greg is not aware of any other intelligent species on Bara Magna other than Glatorian and Agori.
• Glatorian and Agori do wear masks/helmets.
• The 2009 characters are native to Bara Magna.
• The inhabitants of Bara Magna actually ingest food.
• There are some smaller regions on Bara Magna that are not desert. There are no oceans.
• The sand tribe does not reside in an oasis.
• Certavus "was" an individual. Certavus never appears In story and only gets referred to.
• Thornax fruit are found in the desert.
• Greg would guess the 2009 characters' weapons are not hard enough to pierce Makuta armor.
• Mata Nui arrives in Bara Magna at the outset of the summer story.

MATA NUI

• Mata Nui cannot pursue his original mission in his current form.
• Mata Nui arrived on planets unnoticed if he came down fast enough, leading people to believe he was a meteor or something like that.
• The purpose of Mata Nui's mission was not to find a place for conquest or for colonization, but it was tied to the story the Energized Protodermis Entity told and the consequences of that story.
• Mata Nui's purpose is not to find additional sources of energized protodermis.
• Greg would say that Mata Nui is not in search of something specific when he visits worlds, just gathering information.

GREAT BEINGS

• The Great Beings' homeworld was idyllic before the event of a certain cataclysm. The planet the Energized Protodermis Entity came from is the homeworld of the Great Beings.
• Greg believes the Great Beings are settled only on one planet.
• Protodermis was a big key to the Great Beings' being able to do what they did. It may be that energized protodermis is the naturally occuring form of protodermis and that its other forms are the result its being able to be duplicated artificially minus its energized properties.

MATORAN UNIVERSE

• If any beings of the Matoran universe were to leave, they would not lose any abilities because their powers do not derive from their environment. They come from inside them.
• The west southern island chain was Bitil's region.
• Chirox oversaw the region including Visorak and Keetongu's island. He created the Visorak.
• The system that produced/routed the molten protodermis in the area of Voya Nui was contained in the base of the island and still active during the time it was floating.
• Voya Nui shot out from the southern continent from the impact of the fall -- the same way that if you are carrying something and you suddenly, say, fall down the stairs, the thing you are carrying might fly into the air, or a plane that crashes might have one of its engines fly into the air on impact.
• It is possible that there are very small islands that have not been shown on the Matoran universe map.

DESTINY WAR

• Tobduk most likely secured Tridax's Olmak for the Order of Mata Nui.
• Trinuma's ability to fly is a function of his tools.
• Helryx's mask is called the Mask of Psychometry.

GENERAL

Brotherhood of Makuta

• Teridax has sent Rahkshi into Metru Nui in order to make sure the Matoran keep working. Most of the Rahkshi Teridax is now employing were existing, others he could have made himself, being antidermis in Mata Nui's body.
• Teridax now knows which Matoran are destined to be Toa and can pick them off at leisure.
• Up until his defeat by the Toa Metru, Teridax originally planned simply to take Mata Nui out of commission and take his place in the hearts of the Matoran. It was not until the Metru beat him that he decided he could actually BE Mata Nui.
• Makuta Teridax, Mutran, and Antroz had Toa Hagah teams. Among those Makuta who didn't were Bitil, Vamprah, and Miserix.
• Greg does not think that the Kanohi the Makuta in Karda Nui wore were one-of-a-kind.

Endless Ocean Planet

• The organic birds did not arrive on the endless ocean planet with Mata Nui.
• The underwater rays and insects that Mantax and Takadox commanded are native to the endless ocean planet.
• The Red Star is not attached to anything larger than itself.

Mysticisms

• There is no reason to believe tapping into one's inner light would suddenly turn oneself into someone with Toa of Light powers. At best, one would be able to hurl a light blast like Av-Matoran can.
• Tapping into one's shadow power does not drain one's light and increase the amount of shadow one has at one's disposal.
• A Toa's powers are tied to his spirit, hence going into a different Toa's body does not net you his powers. Mata Nui's powers ARE tied to his body -- if they weren't, he would still have all of them in the Ignika and Makuta would have basically gained nothing by taking over the body.
• If a spirit leaves a body and the body goes uninhabited within a given amount of time, the body dies.
• A Toa transformed into a Turaga can still have a destiny as a Turaga.

Artakha

• Artakha made the two Olmak, and the Toa of Jovan's team received it the same way the Toa Nuva got their masks.
• Artakha was neither member nor founder of the Hand of Artakha.
• The Hand of Artakha was smaller than the Order of Mata Nui.

• 2009 is a rare year in that story came before set design, since it had to be done early for the movie.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving .

BARA MAGNA

• Bara Magna is a lot older than the Matoran universe and is most likely older than the Great Beings.
• Greg: "The black and green Glatorian […] fight in the first comic -- but reasonably, any two Glatorian can fight in the arena, because it's not about being friends or enemies. It's a job."
• One can get a pretty good idea whether or not a Thornax is going to explode if one knows when it was harvested or if one has harvested it himself.

  

• Dangerous wildlife exists on Bara Magna.
• There will be both winter and summer 2009 characters in the movie. The movie does not include shots of the Toa Nuva or Takanuva.
• Thornax stew is mainly eaten by bone hunters. Wildlife would most likely eat it as well, but they can't cook.
• The Great Beings and the Glatorian have not been in the same area for a long period of time.

MATORAN UNIVERSE

• Mata Nui was omnipotent in his universe but was not totally omniscient or psychic.
• Mata Nui's body is able to monitor its inner workings in case of malfunction.
• Wherever Mata Nui should have fallen asleep, it was always assumed that Mata Nui would be pulled in to some sort of gravity well, like a planet, so the Toa Mata could then be launched onto his face.
• Mata Nui has visited many other worlds, but he did not need to come to the endless ocean planet to achieve his mission. Mata Nui was not observing the planet when he fell asleep.
• There are no other beings of the same scale as Mata Nui.
• Greg, on the Kini-Nui: "The official word on this is that Kini-Nui was a retractable sensor array, basically, that Mata Nui used to monitor the surrounding environment when he was on a planet. Had he been awakened in the normal way, it would have retracted, but because of the abrupt nature of the awakening, the array was jettisoned instead of being retracted."
• Bink: "The Kini Nui was an integral part of Mata Nui’s face, built by the Great Beings, but used more as a “probe” than anything. When he fell over, it was extended to rest on the camouflaged layer of dirt and rock above his face. It kept MN’s consciousness informed of surface conditions and provided a safe route for the Matoran and Toa to access his exterior as needed. If the re-start of Mata Nui had been done in proper sequence, the Kini Nui would’ve been retracted back into its slot on MN’s face. But since the Nuva had to jump-start his heart with the Ignika, non-essential systems were bypassed and it was essentially jettisoned – kind of like the escape tower on the Apollo capsules after they’d reached escape velocity."
• Bink thinks it would make sense for more than one Kini-Nui to be able to be created.
• If Teridax were to come to the Great Beings' homeworld, they at least would have a chance against him, since they built Mata Nui and know the details of its construction.

DWELLERS IN DARKNESS

• Greg, on Teridax speaking to Jaller: "Makuta has always been able to communicate telepathically, he is simply showing greater range here because he is in Mata Nui's body at this point -- the body is just not awake yet. So all he is doing is amplifying his existing power, not using a new one. It certainly has nothing to do with controlling the universe, it's communication, not control." "It isn't shown that he is fully in place at this point, only that he is amplifying powers he already has. He isn't using the powers of the Mata Nui body."
• All of the Visorak are now dead, and the Heart of the Visorak has also been destroyed.
• Zaktan probably knows how to attack Mata Nui's body.

DESTINY WAR

• Trinuma can fly.
• Roodaka was sent to the Pit for the reason that she helped lead a Visorak army that slaughtered thousands of people and conquered numerous islands.

GENERAL

• Artakha remains hidden because it appears like any other island, so seeing it is not necessarily identifying it.
• Greg thinks it's logical to assume that Artakha made the two Olmak.
• Once out of Karda Nui, the Toa Nuva (except for Tahu Nuva) gained access to all their other Kanohi Nuva again.
• Keetongu would be unable to cure Savage.
• Krika figured that Teridax would betray the rest of the Makuta.

Endless Ocean Planet

• Greg is sure the Great Beings visited the endless ocean planet at some point in the distant past.
• The endless ocean planet in fact orbits a sun.

Matoran Universe Map

• Greg: "I don't think Ameet worried enormously about making sure every size was just right. They were working off a map I drew, and I am not an artist and wasn't worrying enormously about proportion so much as relative location."
• Greg, on Voya Nui's size: "I think they wanted it to be prominent on the map, because it is a location kid[s] are familiar with." Greg himself thinks Voya Nui is a little big.
• Zakaz's island chain is comprised of Xia and Stelt.
• The Makuta named an island Visorak because it was the place where the Visorak were brought into being.

Real Life

• The name of the new comic artist is Pop Mhan.
• Greg says that Ameet will be publishing six activity books next year, each one containing a chapter of an all-new, exclusive six-part BIONICLE story written by him.