Dawn War: The Dawn Isles

 

The Dawn Isles are the numerous islands that dot the northeastern coast of the continent, but the term also function more generally as the name for the lands to the northeast. That is, anything north of Fairyland and east of Erathus. They tend to be somewhat craggy and mountainous, and, though most maps don't show it, the wilderness in that land is dangerous indeed.

Humans and the Elven races (that is, Fauns, Eladrin, and Elves) make up most of the population, but many of the nobles are Dragonborn. Dwarves and Tieflings are more likely to travel to the more metropolitan Erathus than remain in the small and quite literally insular towns of the Isles. 

Unlike the Three Kingdoms and Erathus, the Dawn Isles take a more neutral approach to divinity: there is a time to call on every god in turn. Their nobles often follow the strict codes of Bhamat or Erathus, while the common people most often turn to Primal Spirits and, indirectly, Melor. However, shrines to all of the gods may be found commonly, as well as euphemistic shrines to "the Bright Ones", the collective Lords of Hell.

There are three towns of notable size in the Dawn Isles: Ethonay, Temokulos, and Iamatou. Ethonay lies on the western shore of the mainland, closest to Erathus and distinctly in its sphere; Temokulos lies on the eastern shore, a strait away from its twin and rival, Iamatou. Around these, on the mainland and on the isles themselves, there are one or two dozen villages eking out a living in the wet, warm valleys. The people of this place are known to be artistic, tolerant, lying, impious, and fond of spice and ferment. They tell tall tales:

1. The slimes found in the countryside have recently been driven to a frenzy by demonic forces
2. There is an island of wise monks that can teach you Disciplines of Breath
3. The isle of Yvoth lies half in dream
4. The Lady of Ethonay slept with Erathus, and went mad because of it.
5. Goblins are what happens to a child when a fairy steals it.
6. Among the isles, you may sometimes find a prideful city that sunk beneath the waves ages ago.
7. Pirates leave the captives they don't care to kill to a monster that ensnares their minds.
8. The town of Tolann owes its wealth to a diabolic pact.
9. There is a well of eternal youth hidden somewhere in the isles.
10. There is a water dragon dwelling in one of the caves near fairyland.
11. Sometimes fox-fey disguise themselves as Avandrite way-priests to trick (and perhaps eat) the unwary.
12. There's a kind of fairy called Halflings, or Gnomes, who are so good at hiding that they always manage to slip behind a tree or stone when you would see them, and are known for thieving. 

DM Information
The dawn isles are what I intend to be the starting location of the campaign. They are a mix of Greek and Japanese influences. Between the main towns and in the isles is Flux Space, determined by the results of encounter rolls. When the party travels, roll a d6:

1. Encounter (see encounter table)
2. Spoor of encounter
3. Dungeon
4. Settlement
5. Resource Depletion
6. Weather Change

When players find a spoor, they can choose to follow it. When players find a dungeon or settlement, they can find their way back to it later (unless it magically moves around or is concealed). Simple stuff. 

Ethonay 

Ethonay is a strongly mercantile town with easy sea routes to Erathus, Fairyland, and the Three Kingdoms. It trades the luxuries of the Dawn Isles with the necessities of the rest of the world. At its heart is an impressive, domed Pantheon, with grand chapels celebrating, principally, Avandros, Erathus, Melor, and Bhamat, the patrons of peace and prosperity in the town. A chapel of similar scale for Pelora stands across the street. 

Desdemona, the Lady of Ethonay, is currently falling into tyranny that would make Bane cringe. This is due, in fact, to her recent pilgrimage to the Amethyst Citadel, where she was refused the rite of the Dragonborn due to the many criminals that take refuge in Ethonay from Erathus and other more stringent realms. It has not been terribly effective so far, but the underworld of the town is becoming wary of her increasingly random searches and increasingly violent interrogations.

As part of these reforms, Desdemona has put in place the beginnings of a compulsory education system, the Garden of Wisdom, into which her officials are starting to herd children. The purpose is not to give commoners knowledge of the facts of the world, but to remove them from Wicked Influences, such as parents and friends, and make them strong enough to Resist Evil and serve the Common Good. Attendance is still low, especially since the children keep getting stolen by Fairies (which gives the appearance, from the outside, that Desdemona might be killing them).

Temokulos 

Temokulos is pretty well known for producing adventurer types. It is also well known for picking the King by Lottery every year. The standard joke at every tavern is to give maudlin laments for a new adventurer, since they must be the poor, exiled king of Temokulos, chosen by fate and discarded by fate! The irony is that this system works so well that most adventurers leave out of sheer boredom, and being king of Temokulos comes with pretty much no downsides.

Temokulos primarily worships Avandros, though they have no temple to him in the white-washed town, only shrines at the indigo gates (including the large, though mostly ceremonial, Sea Gate). As such, it is generally held to be an auspicious place to set off on a Voyage, and has an enormous industry of expeditions into the isles and beyond. Common belief holds that Avandros taught songs to the sailors of Temokulos which charm windspirits and sea-serpents.

Gambling is, oddly enough, illegal in Temokulos, with the only exception being bets on the next king, which is wildly popular. This includes not only who the next king will be, but what they will do. The azure tiled House of Fate maintains the ledgers of these wagers. Of course, if you could in some way Influence the next king, or their policies, you could make a fortune, but doing that without alerting the Spies of the Noble Houses is fiendishly difficult.

Iamatou 

Iamatou is an island town, the twin of Temokulos. It is most notable as the eastern seat of the church of Pelora, from which the Archangel Daybreak attempts to orchestrate the conversion of the region. Aesthetically, Iamatou strongly contrasts with Temokulos: sailing the strait between them and seeing Temokulos' white houses and sapphire domes piled on one side and Iamatou's golden stone and soaring red spires on the other is considered one of the wonders of the world. Iamatou sees this as emblematic of their Strong Rivalry. Temokulos, alas, does not care.

Against the church of Pelora's influence wars the startlingly popular Dragon-King, the charismatic and half-monstrous* demigod of Tiamut. He is held to be a mediator and guardian against the Bright Ones; better by far to placate him and them than to let Daybreak turn the island into another battlefield. And he only occasionally devours his consorts.

(* The lower half, specifically) 

Iamatou, due to the sea currents around it, has numerous Sea Monsters wash up dead on its shores. These are the raw material it uses for its lucrative industry of Bone-carving and Scalemail. Iamotou scalemail is sold all over the world, being almost as tough as steel, but the best quality is found on the island itself.

Tyrnanokos 

Unknown to all, far in the east, is the hidden isle of Tyrnanokos, the land of the Young. It is the domain and grand experiment of the Witch-Queen Wee Jas, and the homeland of the strange race (found nowhere else) known as Halflings. The isle has a strong Enchantment placed upon it by its queen, that no one outside the isle can remember more than the vaguest details about it. Even looking right at it, the focus of sailors seems to slide off it, and they dismiss it as useless to visit. Hence, it has entered local legend, and remains undiscovered, despite being seen thousands of times.

The Halflings that inhabit it are indeed Half the size of a normal human. They also live Half as long. In this small time and small frame are compressed Great excesses of adventure, sorrow, love, learning, and all Human Things. They were made such by Wee Jas, and maintained by her. This land is their Paradise, tailored to their every need, not only for pleasure but also for pain and excitement. Most (but not all) Halflings who leave are often driven mad by the world, both its bustle and its boredom, and become Goblins.

Halflings are outside the normal Cycle of death and life. The spell Wee Jas maintains is so strong that even the Raven Prince has forgotten this place. This is by design. Here, it is Wee Jas who harvests Spirits, disintegrates them, and seeds them in the bodies of new mothers. Her Skeletal servants pluck spirits out of the dead and bring them to the Well of Power, where she stores their spirit-stuff and uses it to maintain her immortality, as well as the enchantment over the isle.

She intends to become the new Goddess of Humanity by, eventually, dipping herself in the Well of Power. Avandros has abandoned his children for the fairies, and Lolth hates them both; Pelora exploits them to high heaven; all the gods end their lives and destroy their spirits. But Wee Jas would see them Immortal. She would argue it is worth breaking a few eggs (which would be broken anyways) in the process. She is, in fact, incredibly amiable and beloved by her people. They even know of the Well, but accept it as part of the cycle of life.

The Well of Power is not yet sufficiently full. It might be in a Century, though there might be ways of speeding up the process. The well itself is pure crystal and must be kept carefully sterile. If even a bug got in, it would become a monster the size of a mountain. Those that do a great favor to the Witch-queen might be offered a single cup of Spirit (which would be a great deal of XP).

Dawn Isle Tables

Encounter table (2d6):
2. Storm dragon
3. Medusa guarding a bridge
4. Ogre Magi
5. 1d4 Avandrite way priests (might be foxes)
6. 1d6 Slimes
7. Recurring NPC
8. Goblins
9. Stymphalian Birds
10. Inevitable of Erathus pursuing fugitive
11. 1d4 Halfling questants
12. Divinity (1d4: 1. Pelora; 2. Avandros; 3. Sehanine; 4. Zehira)

Dawn isles villages (1d6):
1. Klerei, village with a prophetic serpent
2. Ra-ukki, ruled by a spider devil
3. Konkordia, half the year taken up by the Konkordian Games
4. Village with a master of the Discipline of River
5. Great Waytemple of Avandros
6. Tolann, Obscenely wealthy (but otherwise innocent) Hot springs village

Dawn isles islands (1d6):
1. Yvoth, of which half the island overlaps with the Gardens of Ynn
2. Time loop Atlantis, stuck on the day of destruction by Wee Jas as a divine distraction
3. Island of wise monkeys. Eating the food gives a permanent -1 INT, +1 STR or WIS. They know the Discipline of Breath
4. Island of the Lost, where things lost to the sea wash ashore
5. Island of lotus eaters
6. Big temple of Melor, run by giants

Dawn isles dungeons (1d6):
1. Hydra Den
2. Slime cave with rift to Shedakloh, the Pit of Slime, the abyssal domain of Jubilex
3. Minotaur labyrinth
4. Derelict shrine of the Bright Ones
5. Illusory dungeon, a trap by foxes
6. Horrible Goblin Drug Hole

How to Win the Dawn War: World Axis, Axis World

A continuation of my Last Post where I had a bit of fun with the setting of Fourth Edition. Here's your basic as heck world map. Some notes:

• The Iron Mountains are the divine domain of Moradi and the great stronghold of the Dwarves, but they really just get everywhere. If there's a mountain, they are in it. If there isn't, there's probably still dwarves below somewhere.

• Deur, Amasca, and Sarbenne are known as the Three Kingdoms. They are all Peloran, and 4 of the Peloran heavens float around that general area. They always fight over who is the favorite. They each have one (1) town and one (1) castle.
  

• Mount Baneflame, they say, leads directly to hell. There's still dwarves in it. They are one of the things that prevents demons from invading the world.

• Pharis, Zebelli, and Vestrum are fantasy greek poleis. The free version of Inkarnate doesn't have greek stuff though.
  

• Kordland is self-explanatory and badass.

• Wug is a godless waste of a swamp. Can you guess what lives there.
  

• The Amethyst Citadel is the only heaven depicted because it stays in one spot, normally. It looks like the picture on the back of the player's hand book.

• Leviathan probably isn't that big.

• How large is everything? As large as I need it to be. If I need a trackless desert between the Wilderwood and Amasca, there it shall be. People who complain get smote.

• I have not taken names from any other source. If you see a name from some other piece of media, no you don't :).
  

• Dang I should have organized it by alignment.

Stay tuned for next post, where I'll make sub-deviantart quality anime visual references for the gods, or forget to and stop posting for four months.

Fifth Fantasy, Rules and Setting Introduction

(open for full size)

(Posted for GLoGtober 2024 prompt: Anime Inspired Content)

For a while, I've been working on a game I call Fifth Fantasy. It's part of my lifelong love affair with the generic. It is my personal belief that generic fantasy can be quite as good as gonzo fantasy when pursued with a genuine love. The system, if you can bear it, is a hack of Fifth Edition D&D, though I think it has become almost unrecognizable. My rationale for doing this is simple: I should like to be able to call my games "D&D games" and mean it.

It is vaguely inspired by Zelda, Ni no Kuni, and various JRPGs that I've never played. Being, of course, the last person on earth to make a Ghibli-Zelda Heartbreaker, I have no pretensions of it being the best. It is merely mine. I have placed an emphasis on crafting and downtime, which I think to be almost novel and almost playable. The ruleset is not yet complete: I have yet to finish writing all the spells, and I plan to overhaul the Fighter. But I have a desire to release it as it stands.

Click on that little gif to see it.

Setting Primer

Thousands of years ago, men were not like they are now. Their lives were long, and they knew secret arts of magic and the sword that let them reshape the world as they saw fit. We now call those men gods, although they are all but forgotten to us.

500 years ago, the Dark Lord set up his domain in the north, inflicting tyranny and curses for 300 years, before being brought low by his own people in alliance with the people of the east.

100 years ago, the wizard Destrian the Sudden conquered the lands to the south of the central mountain. He built great monuments in order to increase his power, but was eventually exploded by Forthwind the First, Oswald LaMarque, Desdemona the Sorceress, and Clover the Thief. A brief power struggle with Destrian's general, Redmaine, led to the establishment of the Forthwind Kingdom. At this time, also, the Shadow Wizard Council was organized in the north.

50 years ago, Forthwind the First died, and was succeeded by his son. The dragon of the Darkmarsh retreated to his lair. Trade was established with the Eastern Forest.

5 years ago, the storm dragon Akryus came to the central mountains, and began gorging himself on the lightning energy left by Destrian.

1 year ago, the storm dragon began to (excrete? build? spawn?) legions of storm elementals and thundarmors, which thereafter began to decimate the north of the kingdom, and provoking the dragon of the Darkmarsh to wakefulness.

Now, King Forthwind II has declared that whosoever kills the storm dragon shall possess half the kingdom.

 

Fifth fantasy takes place in a world where a year is 4 months long, and a month is 15 days long. A kingdom might consist of 4 towns, and a town might consist of 4 buildings. The world is suffused with the elements of magic: Fire, Ice, Storm, Light, and Dark. These elements permeate into the very stones and bones, and those who are skilled can turn these into powerful weapons and tools. But these elements may also create monsters that menace the land. Therefore, adventurers must go forth into the wild places to protect the people and bring back riches.

The Five Kingdoms

The centermost kingdom, the frontier of the Great Forest, the great kingdom of Adventure, the Forthwind kingdom! Rural and ruined, it is a place of opportunity for all. The king is wise, but rather busy, and the prince is foolish. Dungeons are more common here than elsewhere, built by the old stormlord. Cuisine is wild game and farmed wheat.

Minaterno, the city of the sea, is the cultured port of the world, the crossroads of all places! Ruled by 5 noble families, or, more accurately, by their feuds and intrigues. Rivalry is here considered a form of romance, and cunning is a form of virtue. They love noodles, and harvest wild rice from the darkmarsh, and have a lot of spice.

The Black Axis, called the city of slaves, where shadows grow long and secrets are thick. Despite its nickname, slavery has long been illegal, and they practice a form of representative government, headed by the Shadow Wizard Council. The abundance of Dark aligned materials left by their ancient lord still provides the basis of their economy, and they have the greatest school for mages in the world. Their food is somewhat bland: Mushrooms, Potatoes, Eel, and Whale.

The Eastern Forest is a place dominated by serenity and beauty. This domination is literal: some enchantment seems to lie on the whole domain, and it is hard to break. Decisiveness is valued: To break the peace when necessary, with swiftness and grace. There is a different tradition of mages there, sorted into colors: Red, Blue, Black, White. Their queen is secluded always. They are vegetarian, eating leeks and beans.

The Islands of the Crimson Demons is a place that is suffused with magic and exceedingly dangerous. The eponymous Crimson Demons are the ancient and capricious clan of sorcerer-pirates that have been the only ones to effectively stake a claim on any of the islands, and they have only cleared a small village, ruled by the Elder Demon. They trade often with Minaterno, but rove far and raid occasionally. Culturally, they are similar to Minaterno, but with a greater love of spectacle and less regard for tradition.

 

GLoGtober 2.1: Castles in the Air (Hypogeum)

 

Its GLoGtober once again, and though I pretty much missed last year, I thought I'd return to form with some Hypogeum-posting. The prompt this time is "Atlantis-type situation but in reverse. It goes up instead of down."

Angels (also called Harpies, or simply the Winged People) are a race generally considered legendary in the Hypogeum. It is said they have wings rather than arms, and live in floating cities obscured by the haze of the upper reaches. Which is rather preposterous, isn't it? If humans developed wings, they could never use them to fly. They're too heavy! And floating cities? How would they navigate the narrow archways and passages that connect caverns?

Nevertheless, they are real.

(Spoilers ahead)

Angels are a race of sorcerers. Magic doesn't run in their blood, however. It runs in their feathers. Angel feathers are uniquely adapted to collect and store ambient magic. However, they use this great power rarely. This is because, without it, they would fall out of the sky.

Magic, as everyone knows, is a pervasive gas which tends to collect in liquids or crystals, suspended like the carbonation in a soda. Contrary to this force of suspension, magic is much lighter than air. This is why angels can fly, and why powerful sorcerers are such whimsical assholes: they take themselves lightly.

Because their wings collect magic, frequent flight actually makes it easier to fly, rather than tiring them out. However, an excess of magic in their wings can be rather uncomfortable in daily life (rather like being constantly tugged by your lapels). Since water can easily take up magic, it is easy to wash off, and produces quite potent magic potions. When they are flying, the water condensation on their wings often drops to the ground as droplets, often incorrectly called Angel Tears. When they are at rest, they save these magic potions for a different purpose.

The cities of the angels are diverse. However, contrary to popular belief, they are seldom monolithic structures. But they tend to have this in common: like the angels, they float by magic. Most angelic cities are aggregate structures, with each building or household being held aloft by its own means, and tied to other buildings by ropes. The means by which they hold magic vary: some employ balloons, while others are built around highly thaumiferous plants or minerals. The maintenance of these means is the main use of angel tears among angels themselves.

Rarely, lone angels or solitary clans will build their homes on large aerial darkbeasts. Though this often prevents them from joining a larger angelic city, it is generally agreed to be sick as hell.

The aggregate and modular nature of most angelic cities explains the conundrum of travel. When they wish to enter another great chamber in the hypogeum, they simply lead their buildings through whatever passages are necessary in single file. As well, it is entirely possible for certain buildings to break off and gradually reassemble a city-of-theseus elsewhere.

The extreme concentration of magic in their society obviously makes them targets for ambitious sorcerers and agents of the dragon. This is the reason for their extreme isolationism and nomadic lifestyle.

For thrice ten thousand dwell on mother earth, Immortal (GloG: More gods for Adventurers)

 

The Twins (the Lovers, the Protectors of the Universe, the Wanderers)

A pair of messenger gods, male and female, who are probably not the same creature. They are considered subservient deities, receiving their power from many other gods. They are widely worshiped, yet have no cult-center. Being always moving, it is considered that one may worship them anywhere and receive their favor anywhere (albeit infrequently). They are thought of as intercessors, gift-givers, and patrons of humanity in general (as opposed to particular city states). It is said they invented mail, Angels, and bees.

(Digression on Angels: lower-case "a" angels, also called daemons, are spirits, animals, and minor gods in the employ of a god. They deliver messages and miracles (and MD) to people. They can generally look like anything. Upper-case "A" Angels are those guys with wings. They are also spirits, and mostly serve as lower-case "a" angels, but they have a union. Some Angels were once mortal).

The Twins are symbolized by Feathers, Mirrors, Eyes, Halos, Scales (both senses), and Honey

If you make an offering to the Twins by one of their shrines, there is a 4-in-6 chance each day that it will be taken by an angel to them, leaving in return an MD. If you try to make them your patron gods without actually offering to them in person, there is a 3-in-6 chance your offering gets eaten by one of their angels instead. The Twins know the following spells:

1. Cure Wounds
2. Featherfall
3. Message
4. Light
5. Paper Automaton
6. Mirror Image
7. Master Ludwig's Guiding Lights
8. Speak with Birds
9. Control Air
10. Grow Wings
11. Elegant Judgement
12. Resurrection

An Angel of the Twins knows (1d3)d4 of these spells, rolled with d12.

Laras-Ep-Korash (the Wise, the Opener of Ways, the Architect)

Laras-Ep-Korash is in many ways a typical god. He was a sphinx, deified in the city now bearing his name. He was a rather lawful creature before his deification, and so he remains. But as much as he loves laws, he loves loopholes, and as much as he loves riddles, he loves when they are solved. As such, he's rather fond of adventurers, even of a chaotic type, and especially wizards. He's considered the patron of several secret societies, both of wizards and of lawyers.

He is symbolized by Keys, Rams (both senses), and Floating Stone. He really enjoys long and repetitive poems praising him.

Laras-Ep-Korash has 7 MD. However, 4 MD are normally spent on various patronages. He has the following spells:

1. Lock
2. Knock
3. Deflect Spell
4. Orbiting Spikes
5. Wizard Vision
6. Wall of Stone
7. Track Leylines
8. Death Ward

Avikal (The Champion, The Nail-Driver, The Sudden)

Avikal is a hero, as well as a god. He was born, it is said, by the Father of Winds and Rains, and certainly has something of a meteoric nature. He blessed the city of Gorable with his patronage, but roves far and wide slaying monsters, and imprisoning those he can't slay. He was the one who imprisoned Pysoloth beneath Charpysos with his Lightning Stakes. There's a festival every year where people reenact his various conquests (both senses) in pantomime, often against papier-mache monsters (which might even be more gruesome than the originals).

He is symbolized by Nails (and consequently Hammers), Borders, Fur, and Dry Lightning.

Avikal has 6 MD and gives them out rarely to really cool people. He knows the following spells:

1. Hold Person
2. Geld Animal
3. Mighty Thews
4. Imprison
5. Magic Weapon
   
6. Lightning Bolt
   

Whoever You Be, Baffling our Efforts to Behold You (GloG: Deities for Adventurers)

 Some gods, somewhat arising from this. Probably I'll do more at some point.

Comus (the All-Great, The Heart-Kindler, The Night's Consolation)

Comus is the wildly popular living god of revelry, change, and adventurers. He lives in Ortom, where he was originally deified several centuries ago. He invented satyrs, and a considerable portion of his power was spent into creating the rite of Carousing. The Feste is held once a year in his honor, and thousands flock to Ortom to offer sacrifices and participate in the drinking and cross-dressing. It is said that he selects two people who attend and trades their faces (or, some say, their fates).

Comus is symbolized by torches, moons, flies, incense, and flint. And wine, obviously.

Comus is a greater god with several minor gods beneath him. He has the following spells: 

1. Disguise
2. Fear
3. Water to Wine
4. Flip Person
5. Control Flame
6. Moonlust
7. Grease
8. Charm Animal
9. Become Delicious
10. Forceful Boor
11. Sway Crowd
12. Polymorph

His minor gods have a selection from among these spells, and typically 3-4 MD. If you venerate him exclusively, you get these cantrips:

1. You can crowdsurf on any crowd. This includes hostile ones.
2. You can elect not to spill liquid from a cup in your hands, or to spill it selectively.
3. Once per night, you can cause moonlight to become bright light within earshot.

Pysoloth (The Chained-Calamity, the Misshapen, the Lament of Laughter)

Pysoloth is the god of Charpysos. He is depicted as a kind of hairless dog, or swollen snake. He was a demon, and it is claimed he is kin to Virs. He was semi-successfully placated and mostly imprisoned below Charpysos, and now acts as a guardian deity of sorts. He is a spiteful god of disaster and deformity, and one of several gods who created goblins independently. Superstition holds that speaking his name will cause a petty misfortune to befall you or (usefully) a nearby goblin. He thinks its hilarious.

Pysoloth is symbolized by dogs, snakes, lightning, birthing huts, and beards

Pysoloth is not widely worshipped, but powerful in his own right. He has 6 MD (4 on his own) and the following spells:

1. Sticks to Snakes
2. Stormcaller
3. Monsterize
4. Violently Depilate
5. Curse
6. Mutate

He may also grant the cantrip:

1. A misfortune befalls a goblin you can see. Works once per goblin.

Kerteras (The Fallen Sun, the Protector, the Weaver of Raiments)

Kerteras was once the god of an empire which stretched over much of the known world. His origin is highly disputed, but he took on the title of the god of the sun. When the capitol was eventually put under seige by the tactical genius Lyr, the flow of offerings was interrupted. Worshipers turned to their own local gods, previously subservient to Kerteras, and even those gods who were loyal had no way of communicating their power to Kerteras. This led to Kerteras losing most of his power, the capitol falling, and the empire collapsing.

The worship of Kerteras was forbidden by the occupying (now ruling) force, but the existence of remnant cults is an open secret. Most ruins of the old empire contain a shrine to Kerteras, and he is now revered as a god of ruins and hidden gold. 

Kerteras is symbolized by Suns, Gold, Robes, Eight-Petaled Flowers, and Eight-Legged Creatures

Kerteras is now a minor god with only 3-4 MD at a given time, though he has a Lot of MD inaccessible in shrines. However, being once-great, he possesses many spells:

1. Cure Wounds
2. Hold person
   
3. Summon Candles
   
4. Speak with the Eight-Fold
5. Entangling Web
6. Detect Gold
7. Force Field
8. Circle of Frost
9. Spiderclimb
10. Summon Vestements
11. Wall of Earth
12. Plague of Sunstroke

Kerteras also established cantrips for his followers, which still work for those who worship him exclusively:

1. Once per day, produce 10' of rope (from your fingers) or a bottle-worth of ink (from your tear-ducts). Both are flecked with gold (and illegal in the once-capitol). The rope rots within a few weeks, and the ink coagulates if unused.
   
2. Speak a one-word command. Any number of people you can see follow it for one round. Works once per person.
3. Create a tiny light as bright as a match on your fingertip.

God-kings Rule the World: a Short Response to Cosmic

Cosmic Orrery made a post yesterday about Wizards. 3d6 Polar Bears responded to them. I have a few thoughts on both. Unfortunately, blogger is a glitchy mess and I'm not on the Purple Server, so my comments will have to be extended into Content. Not very long content though.

Cosmic's post elaborates on the theme of Wizards and their Domains, and how well a cyclical model of tiny witch-kings creates to the standard dungeons and dragons milleu. It's perhaps not a totally original idea, but I have never valued originality terribly highly. I prefer things to be well-crafted and thought out, so I welcome a post which makes clear the uses of a setting assumption. My thesis is, I think, similarly obvious, but similarly useful: The Wizards that Cosmic describes don't need to be Wizards.

I mean that they need not be scholarly, old magicians, or even skeletal liches. Rather, one can include quite a variety. Ambitious prophets of gods, dark or light. Sword-Saints with magical blades that can cut down 20 men. Some other third thing. All these are likely to seek out magic and wealth, carve out their domain, and fall like lightning. You could probably call them Wizards if you like. But it seems like the powerful tend to blur into each other. If your sword-saint can summon spirit-lightning, he's not so much different from a sword-using wizard. Kill Six Billion Demons has a lot of examples.

Can you spot the Wizard?

 So maybe it would be better to think of them in more general terms. They are simply the Powerful, the god-kings. Some have a scholarly bent, some make secret deals with awful powers, some use swords, some sneak unseen, all are terribly good at killing. All of them are gonna build weird dungeons, make weird creatures, leave weird artifacts, send you on weird quests, and make satisfying noises when you shank them. History is littered with their bodies.

Metasetting races; or, A Complete List of the Cool Races

 

This follows the same spirit set forth in my Metagods post. Like those, these are variables which define a setting of mine. You pick a set, change some things around, and see what comes out. Theoretically, that would be a setting I would make and enjoy. Think of it like Magic the Gathering planes. You have some things which are constant (5 colors of mana, for instance). Then you pick, choose, and remix creature types, local forces, geography, etc. and you have a Magic plane!

The important thing is to think out the consequences of the variables you are choosing. I'll give an example setting at the end of this post. Maybe more metasetting stuff to come!

The List

Humans

The rice of races. If you include them, its normally cool to choose certain things they are comparatively weirdly good at. Perennial favorites include: Religion, Breeding, Cooking, Orating, Farming etc. Develop humans as much as other races and make them just as big of mythic weirdos. I often like humans to be foreigners. Also its fun to have them just have pointy ears or colorful skin just because.

Fauns

Cooler than elves. Can't wear boots. Normally chill pastoralists, range from minor god weirdos to shire-dwelling farmers. If you must give them physiological abilities, they might be good at climbing (don't give them headbutt attacks that's really dumb). Other abilities vary by characterization.

Nymphs & Fairies

This one overlaps a lot with some of the others on this list. You're going to have to determine on a case-by-case basis what it actually means. Also cooler than elves

Elementals

Some very lame people would call these genasi. Normally consisting of Sylphs, Undines, (choose a fire one), (choose an earth one). I say this because it seems like people (including me) don't really like the names "salamander" and "gnome". Fire boys include: ifrit, flamekin, etc. Earth boys include: dwarf, kobold, etc. Sylph is also a cooler elf. Sometimes fun to have them have element hair (cloud hair, water hair, fire hair. Earth hair doesn't really work I dunno)

Skeletons

Either very quiet dreaming dead, or skeletor. There is no in between. Having any flesh on them makes them less cool, make sure you remember that. For some reason really fun to play around with government systems with these guys. Skeleton kings, skeleton parliaments, skeleton theocracies, etc. Just having skeletons makes politics fun.

Little Guys

Or Folk, in hypogeum. Just some weird little guys. Goblins, Gnomes, Kobolds, Halflings etc. are lame but if you throw them in a pot and mix 'em up you can get something cool. Waddle-Dees, Toads, Shy guys, to a lesser extent Minecraft Villagers. Just some pretty odd little guys. They run shops or wander around the woods or form cave tribes or whatever. This is a vibe based race.

Magic Guys

Made of magic, sort of amorphous. Wizrobes, Black Mages, also Shy-Guys, Novakids, Spell-Born homunculi, could probably also encompass weird godlings. "Why aren't they better at magic than humans" shut up they need to keep their magic to maintain their bodies. Might also be Weird Little Guys.

I made this one

Cat Boys

Also in Hypogeum. Not furries, but can get close. Furries or normal beastfolk are lame. These ones are just humans but fuzzy. Have weird ears (where humans have ears! not on top of their heads, that's gross). Not actually cat-related, I just think its funny.

Sheepfolk, Frogfolk, Bugfolk, Mousefolk

The exceptions to the beastfolk are lame rule. Obviously distinct, but grouped for simplicity. Don't call them "x-folk", give them each distinct and folk-lore-y names. You can also make beastfolk not lame by making them Weird Little Guys. I like little guy beastfolk that are incongruously from victorian to edwardian times. The sorts that wear little suits or coveralls or quilt dresses and for some reason the rabbit is neighbors with the fox. 

Cyclopes

Human sized. Sometimes cool.

You Can't Play Them But They're Here

Proper Fairies and Elves

Angels

Demons

Angel and Demon descended people

Aliens and Gods

I lied you can play some of those sometimes

Remember, the principle is pick a few and remix. The other principle is "would this game feel incomplete if the only available race was x?" if the answer is yes, Bad! Examples of bad-uns: Shadar-Kai, Elves but only the stereotype, Dwarves in general, actually I don't know if those are bad but I don't like to include them. Words for Yellow also has some good races. If you have good races, comment below, and I'll tell you they're bad maybe.

Setting: The Green Kingdom

The Green Kingdom is a small region, a watershed on the southern sea rimmed by mountains. The circular cities are the homes of the humans, who take pride in making clothes. The country is inhabited by both humans and fauns, who work the land together. The wild and deep places are the homes of the cyclopes (known for their magic) and living skeletons. Living skeletons also inhabit necropoli inside the cities, but humans don't enter those districts (they are quite unnerving!).

The Green Kingdom is ruled by the Green King, a man called Basil. The duties of the Green King are mostly in directing building projects and adjudicating disputes. Local priests honor idols, great and small, collect taxes, and distribute food. The Princes, regional rulers, organize armies when the need arises (and otherwise do fuck-all). Most wars are internal rebellions, but these are not large (oftentimes they arise over badly judged disputes, with ransom and cattle stealing being the biggest tactics). 

Dangers arise from bandits in the woods (often a mix of races), cyclopes sorcerers, territorial skeletons, dragons, sphinxes, and forgotten or malign spirits. It is said cyclopes worship shadowy gods of magic, and can summon strange celestial spirits or evil bogeys (they are respected, and sometimes feared, but only rarely hated). Fauns are only occasionally dangerous, when driven by passion, but otherwise they might cause problems by being lazy or pushy. Idols which are neglected, or spirits for whom an idol was never made, may become wrathful and bring curses or attack people (fauns take pride in honoring  idols deep in the wilderness).

Dungeons and other ruins are often inhabited by Skeletons and Cyclopes but one can enter if one is courteous. Often there are unexplored portions or dangerous monsters that even skeletons fear, so it can still be lucrative to explore them. Cyclopes don't kill monsters with their magic for fear of the wrath of their gods, but they will often reward adventurers who do (whether with treasure or magic. Many successful people have a spectral attendant, a gift from a cyclopes).

(Races: Humans, Fauns, Skeletons, Cyclopes)
(Metagods: Idols, Darkness)

Conclusion

Normally, these settings just detail one, maybe 2 small kingdoms and vaguely talk about their neighbors. This is great, because it leaves open the possibility of having other races if, for instance, you have a rotating cast of characters, flailsnails style. Also, the world is mysterious. Lord of the Rings focused on 3 kingdoms (the North, Gondor, and Rohan) and 4 races (hobbits, men, elves, and dwarves). Other kingdoms were mentioned, but not described. Other races were included, but were unknowns. What does the East look like? How do the southrons live? We don't know, because we were focused on the tight group of cultures which were almost folkloric blank slates to start with. Resist always the urge to include everything and the kitchen sink, but you can lean into the known and the cool.

Possible future metasetting posts: geography and features, Monsters, Magic, Factions and Politics, other dimensions.

A Visual Summary of the 7 Kingdoms

Man

Woman 

Child

Farmer 

Warrior

Priest

Sage

Noble

Plains

Swamp

Mountains

Hills

Waters 

Forest

 Village

Town

City 

Keep

Ruin

Festival 

Marriage

Funeral

Home

Boat

Clothes

Coin 

Food

Jewelry 

Art

Miscellaneous