Today, as promised....Kobolds.
Kobolds
Kobolds, like goblins, are among the smallest and least physically intimidating of the humanoid races. Also somewhat like goblins, they are less prone to the sort of intertribe violence which marks relations among the larger humanoids. Beyond that, though, they are very different.
Kobolds consider themselves "Children of the Dragon", the first sentient humanoids to exist on Arith, created by the Emperor Dragons at the time of the World's Dawning. They believe they are more ancient than any race save their creators, and that they are, thus, destined to rule over all "lesser" species. The fact that they do not is evidence, they feel, of a great sin and shame they committed at some point in their own distant past. Their racial name is a corruption of the draconic word for 'outcast' or 'shamed ones'.
Other scholars consider this to be bilge, of course. They claim kobolds are no older than any other humanoid race, and that while they may have once been slaves of dragons (the mythical 'Emperor Dragons' never existed), they differ not at all from many other species who spent time in such servitude. Kobolds, it is said, have egos in inverse proportion to their size.
Lifestyle
Kobolds value cunning and skill. They believe the best way to do a job is to have someone else do it. They are not by nature lazy or irresponsible -- indeed, they are masters at certain devious crafts -- but they prefer to put their efforts towards making other people do the work. Unlike goblins, they actively seek out slaves and put prisoners to work. They also organize raids on caravans, storehouses, or cattle farms, as well as more profitable assaults on the treasure vaults of the dwarves or the hidden caches of the hill gnomes.
Kobold lairs are always deep in cave or tunnel systems, and well protected by layer after layer of traps and alarms. Trapmaking is a special art to the kobolds, and many compete to create the most ingenious -- yet still functional -- traps. While goblins will swarm an enemy, kobolds will kill foes without the enemy ever getting sight of them. They have many large, open, tunnels which larger species can easily navigate, surrounded by tiny crawlspaces used by the kobolds themselves. Only in the very deepest, best protected parts of the lair are there large open spaces for rooms, workshops, and farms (often tended by captives).
While kobolds have few wizards, they do produce a large number of sorcerers -- allegedly 'proof' of their draconic heritage. Such sorcerers are important, but they do not occupy the instant leadership position of 'blues' among goblins; there are simply too many born. Indeed, there is often vicious rivalry among them, leading to few surviving to become anything more than nuiscances.
Kobolds are polygamous, with males seeking multiple spouses based on their ability to provide -- ideally via someone else's labors. Unmarried kobolds are the ones most likely to be found outside the safety of the lair, as a single successful raid can produce enough wealth to lure a wife. All of the wives of a single kobold lay their eggs in a communal hatchery, and the children are raised by the family as a whole; only fatherhood matters.
Kobold tribes trace their origins to one of the five great Emperor Dragons, and rivalry between tribes of different Emperors is vicious, much more so than rivalry between tribes of the same emperor. Tribes always include their ancestor in their names -- the Crimson Knives, the Black Fangs, the Azure Blades. There is no (socially approved) mating or trade between tribes of different ancestors. A small number of tribes, disdained by the larger Kobold population, claim to be the outcast servants of other, stranger, dragons. While the existence of many 'lesser' or 'exotic' dragon species is known, few kobolds believe that any but the Five Emperors created them.
Religion
Kobold faith mirrors their history. The dragon gods made the kobold gods; the kobold gods made mortal kobolds to serve mortal dragons. Each of the five main branches has a different pantheon, though many non-kobold scholars insist that all of the gods are just aspects of the same root deity. The truth may never be known. Kobold clerics offer the usual wisdom, guidance, protection, and healing, as well as serving in war. Many clerics are cleric/sorcerors, and the most skilled become Mystic Theurges.
Post Crush
Kobolds have done, overall, very well since the Crush. Their few great cities were badly damaged, but none were utterly ruined. They found a new world filled with wonder which their devious little minds quickly mastered -- especially once they captured Earthborn humans to teach them what to do. Now, there are kobold cities glistening with strings of mismatched electric lights, and oddly configured stereo systems blare music throughout the cave systems. Trapmakers have learned to use electric eyes and pressure plates to enhance their art, and the elite kobold guards carry heavy pistols as two-handed weapons. Further, some of the most ingenious kobolds have begun to learn to manufacture gunpowder and have produced fairly reliable black-powder arms. Battles with other underground races, most notably goblins and orcs, are swinging in the kobolds' favor.
Showing posts with label races. Show all posts
Showing posts with label races. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Down, down, to goblin town...
Hey, three posts in three days! This is what I was aiming for, not my 'once every week maybe' rate. Sorry.
Ah, another long essay on another of D&Ds surfeit of humanoids. The main thing with goblins is distinguishing them from kobolds. Small? Check. Cowardly? Check. Considered fodder? Check. In Shattered World, goblins have two marginally interesting traits -- they aren't a race of bloodthirsty backstabbers who kill each other for sport or because they're bored, unlike pretty much every other humanoid race, and they have a naturally occuring psionic 'leader' caste which can make them act very differently (as well as providing unexpected surprises for those who assume all goblins are 1/2 hit die XP on the hoof...)
Coming tomorrow (or later today, if my odd level of creative energy continues): Kobolds, aka, Arrogant Little Bastards.
Goblins
Goblins are the second-smallest and weakest of the four main goblinoid races. They were created as the 'middle management' caste by the Illithids, and given, more than any other servitor race, the gift of psionics. While each of the three major goblin races has their own legends of the rebellion, the truth of the matter is that the goblins -- the weak, despised, and often oppressed goblins -- were the true masterminds and instigators. The hobgoblins were too loyal; the bugbears too brutal. Of all the servitors, it was the goblins who first developed the notion of 'gods', and were the first to create -- or discover -- them. This new faith grew slowly underground, promulgated by the psionic leader goblins who could hide their thoughts, and the thoughts of the faithful, from their masters. By the time the Illithid suspected, it was too late -- the rebellion was spreading out of control.
When the races fought free to the surface, it was assumed by the goblins that they'd pick up where the Illithids left off. But the long war had reduced their psionics to a mere handful, and in the upper layers of the underworld,strength and size counted for a lot. The three races split and fragmented; the goblins, small and weak, were treated as inferiors or outright slaves. There were new gods, stronger gods, to support the others.
Over time, the goblins retreated to the safety and comfort of the caves. They split into many tribes, each carrying only a small part of their accumulated lore, and as millennia wore on, most of it was distorted and forgotten. Today, the goblins know nothing of their true heritage or origins; they have their own creation myths which only obliquely speak of their captivity and rebellion.
Goblins have learned to be sneaky. There is no goblin term for "fair fight"; there are only "fights you are certain to win" and "fights to avoid". Superior numbers are the primary goblin tactic; they will not attack with fewer than 4-1 odds, and prefer much greater. There are few goblin armies (except those under the command of other powers); goblins form raiding bands. You will never see a goblin force assault a town openly, but a hundred of them might boil up from the sewers, tear through a small neighborhood, and vanish again before the cry can be raised. They take prisoners rarely; they fear what the prisoners might do if they escape. They might capture and torture someone if they think he knows where treasure is, or, very rarely, kidnap someone for ransom (such plots are usually done when a Blue is leading them), but they are not generally slavetakers. They are perhaps the most "merciful" of the humanoids, preferring to kill quickly; this is done more out of fear than kindness, of course.
Goblins like traps, but they are not nearly as cunning as kobolds; they prefer simple traps which immobilize victims so that a dozen goblins can swarm out and fire bolt after bolt into the trapped intruders. If Blues are available, there will often be psionic warning systems put into place, as well.
Goblins are generally self-sufficient, though they prefer to steal if they can. Goblin smiths make passable weapons and armor, and the deep goblin cities are fully functioning centers of trade and commerce. Goblins are primarily carnivorous, but will survive off fungus and others subterranean plants if they must; they mostly herd giant slugs as meatbeasts.
Goblin tribes which have left the caves usually dwell in the deep forests, places where there are many good hiding spots. Such goblins are nomadic; there are few goblin communities on the surface.
Culture
Goblins are among the most cooperative of the humanoids, at least among themselves. Inter-tribe rivalries are settled by formalized ritual combats instead of genocidal war, and internal politics is based on cunning debate instead of raw power. The goblins automatically and instinctively defer to any 'Blue'; all such born are raised by others of their kind (if any exist). A tribe or community which has several such members often changes in character, becoming more driven to conquest or expansion, though still in an essentially cowardly fashion.
Indeed, cowardice is a virtue among goblins, not a vice. To survive to run away is no shame. "Come back without your shield, without your sword, without your leg...but come back!" is the goblin military credo. "Don't let them see the yellows of your eyes!" is another. "Brave" and "Foolish" are synonyms.
Goblin solidarity does not, of course, extend to any non-goblin race, especially not to the dwarves, who are the goblins most vicious foes. The fact goblins are unusually peaceful among themselves does not make them one whit less savage or brutal when dealing with other races. They are almost incapable of making cross-racial deals without treachery or deceit; they never seek to share territory. They will not fight to their own extinction, but will flee rather than live in peace with a powerful neighbor.
Religion is very important to the goblins. They have one of the largest pantheons recorded, and it is often uncertain if the gods are all unique, or are merely different aspects of a smaller number of true deities. Individual gods in the goblin pantheon tend to be weak and highly focused, with few greater gods wielding mighty powers. Much like the goblins themselves, their gods must cooperate to get things done.
Goblins are communal in terms of family and childrearing. They do not marry or form any kind of long-lasting relationships, and are very sexually egalitarian -- another difference from the other humanoid races. Goblins seeking sex will try to bribe a potential mate with gifts and treasures, usually stolen. This is one of the few things which can make a goblin brave -- or at least, less cowardly. Showing daring in the pursuit of a mating-gift is considered admirable (and does a good job of keeping the goblin stock from degenerating completely). As is typical, a 'Blue' does not need to engage in such feats; they merely need to express interest and the object of their affection will almost always comply.
Children are raised by the community and parentage is rarely a matter of record. There is some measure of status in having had many mates, and goblins will often wear tokens from each mate as a way of 'showing off'.
Post Crush
The Crush had surprisingly little impact on the goblins. They lost some of their largest cities in the cataclysm, but they didn't have many to begin with; they were always a widespread people. Tribes which were partially destroyed managed to merge with other tribes and regroup. The destruction of their enemies, especially the dwarves, only benefitted them.
Goblin communities are widespread, but the largest are in the eastern mountains. They are not afraid of technology, but neither are they comfortable with it, and rarely adopt or use it. They do not actively attack holdfasts, but will raid trading caravans if they have an edge, or find passages into towns and use them to conduct lightning-fast assaults.
Of late, though, some goblins have been on the move -- large bands have been spotted migrating. These bands are always led by one or more blues, and engage in some very un-goblin-like behavior, such as directly attacking foes and not retreating until the situation is truly desperate, as opposed to at the point where they take any casualties at all.
Ah, another long essay on another of D&Ds surfeit of humanoids. The main thing with goblins is distinguishing them from kobolds. Small? Check. Cowardly? Check. Considered fodder? Check. In Shattered World, goblins have two marginally interesting traits -- they aren't a race of bloodthirsty backstabbers who kill each other for sport or because they're bored, unlike pretty much every other humanoid race, and they have a naturally occuring psionic 'leader' caste which can make them act very differently (as well as providing unexpected surprises for those who assume all goblins are 1/2 hit die XP on the hoof...)
Coming tomorrow (or later today, if my odd level of creative energy continues): Kobolds, aka, Arrogant Little Bastards.
Goblins
Goblins are the second-smallest and weakest of the four main goblinoid races. They were created as the 'middle management' caste by the Illithids, and given, more than any other servitor race, the gift of psionics. While each of the three major goblin races has their own legends of the rebellion, the truth of the matter is that the goblins -- the weak, despised, and often oppressed goblins -- were the true masterminds and instigators. The hobgoblins were too loyal; the bugbears too brutal. Of all the servitors, it was the goblins who first developed the notion of 'gods', and were the first to create -- or discover -- them. This new faith grew slowly underground, promulgated by the psionic leader goblins who could hide their thoughts, and the thoughts of the faithful, from their masters. By the time the Illithid suspected, it was too late -- the rebellion was spreading out of control.
When the races fought free to the surface, it was assumed by the goblins that they'd pick up where the Illithids left off. But the long war had reduced their psionics to a mere handful, and in the upper layers of the underworld,strength and size counted for a lot. The three races split and fragmented; the goblins, small and weak, were treated as inferiors or outright slaves. There were new gods, stronger gods, to support the others.
Over time, the goblins retreated to the safety and comfort of the caves. They split into many tribes, each carrying only a small part of their accumulated lore, and as millennia wore on, most of it was distorted and forgotten. Today, the goblins know nothing of their true heritage or origins; they have their own creation myths which only obliquely speak of their captivity and rebellion.
Goblins have learned to be sneaky. There is no goblin term for "fair fight"; there are only "fights you are certain to win" and "fights to avoid". Superior numbers are the primary goblin tactic; they will not attack with fewer than 4-1 odds, and prefer much greater. There are few goblin armies (except those under the command of other powers); goblins form raiding bands. You will never see a goblin force assault a town openly, but a hundred of them might boil up from the sewers, tear through a small neighborhood, and vanish again before the cry can be raised. They take prisoners rarely; they fear what the prisoners might do if they escape. They might capture and torture someone if they think he knows where treasure is, or, very rarely, kidnap someone for ransom (such plots are usually done when a Blue is leading them), but they are not generally slavetakers. They are perhaps the most "merciful" of the humanoids, preferring to kill quickly; this is done more out of fear than kindness, of course.
Goblins like traps, but they are not nearly as cunning as kobolds; they prefer simple traps which immobilize victims so that a dozen goblins can swarm out and fire bolt after bolt into the trapped intruders. If Blues are available, there will often be psionic warning systems put into place, as well.
Goblins are generally self-sufficient, though they prefer to steal if they can. Goblin smiths make passable weapons and armor, and the deep goblin cities are fully functioning centers of trade and commerce. Goblins are primarily carnivorous, but will survive off fungus and others subterranean plants if they must; they mostly herd giant slugs as meatbeasts.
Goblin tribes which have left the caves usually dwell in the deep forests, places where there are many good hiding spots. Such goblins are nomadic; there are few goblin communities on the surface.
Culture
Goblins are among the most cooperative of the humanoids, at least among themselves. Inter-tribe rivalries are settled by formalized ritual combats instead of genocidal war, and internal politics is based on cunning debate instead of raw power. The goblins automatically and instinctively defer to any 'Blue'; all such born are raised by others of their kind (if any exist). A tribe or community which has several such members often changes in character, becoming more driven to conquest or expansion, though still in an essentially cowardly fashion.
Indeed, cowardice is a virtue among goblins, not a vice. To survive to run away is no shame. "Come back without your shield, without your sword, without your leg...but come back!" is the goblin military credo. "Don't let them see the yellows of your eyes!" is another. "Brave" and "Foolish" are synonyms.
Goblin solidarity does not, of course, extend to any non-goblin race, especially not to the dwarves, who are the goblins most vicious foes. The fact goblins are unusually peaceful among themselves does not make them one whit less savage or brutal when dealing with other races. They are almost incapable of making cross-racial deals without treachery or deceit; they never seek to share territory. They will not fight to their own extinction, but will flee rather than live in peace with a powerful neighbor.
Religion is very important to the goblins. They have one of the largest pantheons recorded, and it is often uncertain if the gods are all unique, or are merely different aspects of a smaller number of true deities. Individual gods in the goblin pantheon tend to be weak and highly focused, with few greater gods wielding mighty powers. Much like the goblins themselves, their gods must cooperate to get things done.
Goblins are communal in terms of family and childrearing. They do not marry or form any kind of long-lasting relationships, and are very sexually egalitarian -- another difference from the other humanoid races. Goblins seeking sex will try to bribe a potential mate with gifts and treasures, usually stolen. This is one of the few things which can make a goblin brave -- or at least, less cowardly. Showing daring in the pursuit of a mating-gift is considered admirable (and does a good job of keeping the goblin stock from degenerating completely). As is typical, a 'Blue' does not need to engage in such feats; they merely need to express interest and the object of their affection will almost always comply.
Children are raised by the community and parentage is rarely a matter of record. There is some measure of status in having had many mates, and goblins will often wear tokens from each mate as a way of 'showing off'.
Post Crush
The Crush had surprisingly little impact on the goblins. They lost some of their largest cities in the cataclysm, but they didn't have many to begin with; they were always a widespread people. Tribes which were partially destroyed managed to merge with other tribes and regroup. The destruction of their enemies, especially the dwarves, only benefitted them.
Goblin communities are widespread, but the largest are in the eastern mountains. They are not afraid of technology, but neither are they comfortable with it, and rarely adopt or use it. They do not actively attack holdfasts, but will raid trading caravans if they have an edge, or find passages into towns and use them to conduct lightning-fast assaults.
Of late, though, some goblins have been on the move -- large bands have been spotted migrating. These bands are always led by one or more blues, and engage in some very un-goblin-like behavior, such as directly attacking foes and not retreating until the situation is truly desperate, as opposed to at the point where they take any casualties at all.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Illithid Sex
See, the 'official' name for Mind Flayers is 'illithids', so, it's sort of a pun on 'illicit' and...oh, forget it.
Mind Flayers
In vast, deep, underground cities sprawls the Empire Of The Mind Flayers...both the most widespread and the weakest of the Three Dark Powers Below. ("Weak" being a rather relative term, of course...)
Arithian history begins in ancient and forgotten times, easily 50,000 years in its past. At that time, there are few records of intelligent surface-dwellers; the only races whose recorded history goes back so far are those who dwell in the darkness below. Secure in their caves, they created many forms of life, opened portals to other worlds, built empires and dominions that spanned creation, and grew old, insular, corrupt, and debased.
The mind flayers (their racial name for themselves is purely psionic, and cannot be pronounced by humans) were the most comprehensible of the older races. They were also the masters of creation, breeding many subject races in their great vats. They enjoyed the taste of sapient thought, and crafted beings for flavor as well as utility. Many of the surface races, though they know it not, began life as cattle.
Something happened, though, long ago, which caused the fall of the great empire. To create servants worth feasting upon, the Mind Flayers needed to give them souls. The Flayers themselves, soulless and godless, did not understand that soul-stuff calls to soul-stuff. The servitors needed gods, believed in gods...and found gods. Some claim their belief created the gods from the raw energy of the universe; some claim their need called out to already-existing gods who took them in and appeared to them as they believed. Either way, the gods empowered the slaves, enabling them to rebel. (Tens of millennia later, the same would occur on Skallidane). The Empire, vast and disconnected, did not fall all at once, nor did every slave rebel, but bit by bit, it crumbled, and the freed races fled upwards, finding a surface world free of any dominant power.
Today, most of the great empire is in ruins. Many of the former cities, outposts, and fortresses are in ruins; others are held by new powers. A few places, though, are still in the control of the Flayers; such locales are deep, hidden, secret, and deadly.
Very recently, a great psychic tremor -- and an equally great physical one -- passed through all of the Underworld. Sensing that the world has changed greatly, the ancient powers, long content to sit and dream alien dreams of forgotten glory, are extending their tendrils outward and upward...
Culture
Psionics informs everything Mind Flayers do. They exist in a world alive with thought. They build their cities of psychoactive crystal, and their language is a mixture of simple words and complex psychic overtones. Their writing, a seemingly random sequence of colored shapes and lines, is likewise imbued with psychic impact; to a Mind Flayer, each shape and color triggers a stored memory of a complex concept. A red triangle of a certain size and shape might mean 'Enemies are approaching'; a green hexagon following it might impart 'The are beholders, six of them'. Almost imperceptible differences in shade, size, and angle can change the meaning of a symbol dramatically, and a non-psionic, or a psion who has not absorbed the training of the Mind Flayer, can not easily learn even the simplest part of the language.
Mind Flayers cannot conceive of other thinking beings as possessing any inherent right to exist. They are food, slaves, and entertainment, nothing more. The best one can hope for from a Mind Flayer is to be seen as an amusing pet; this is where other races' psions tend to be categorized. Among themselves, they lack any emotions of love, affection, or compassion, but they also tend to lack the virulent hatred and treachery which define the other great powers of the Underworld. Mind Flayers can cooperate, form successful communities, and work together for a goal. They are not prone to self-sacrifice or to put any kind of collective good ahead of their own, but they do understand the concept of "Either some of us die, or all of us die" and have traditions and means of choosing a sacrifice when it is necessary.
Biology
Mind Flayers are naturally hermaphroditic, and mostly disinterested in sex. Indeed, it is almost never the case that two will mate. Rather, at a random point late in a Mind Flayer's life, it will spontaneously impregnate itself. The young grow inside the parent, using their latent psionic power and direct, physical, connection to its nervous system to control it, forcing it to seek out shelter and isolation. Then they burst forth, killing the parent, but devouring its mind and some portion of its memory and personality, allowing it to 'live' in a way, scattered among its 5-10 children. Because the children, at first, share portions of a single mind, they will cooperate and help each other, until the squirm (collective noun for a Mind Flayer kids) has grown strong enough to rejoin greater civilization. By this time, most of them will have died, prey to other forces of the Underworld; usually, no more than 1 to 2 survive to adolescence. The adolescents have developed enough experiences of their own that they are unique beings, and have only a dim sense of ever 'being' their parent.
Mind Flayers are basically humanoid in shape, with flexible cartilage for bones and a head which looks like a 4-tentacled octopus. They live on a diet of fungus, insects, and brains. They do not need much brain to live -- once a month is sufficient -- but they need at least a pound of it. Sapient brains are much preferred, both for flavor and the fact that they need the neurochemicals of a thinking mind to fuel their own psionic powers. A Mind Flayer denied access to sapient brains for three months loses all of their psychic abilities; this is a common form of punishment or control among the community.
Outcasts
Of course, there are always exceptions. For as long as any can recall, some Mind Flayers, a rare few, have not been content to be part of the complex and convoluted machine which Mind Flayer society. They desire power for its own sake. Often unable to find this among their fellows, who will swat down the impudent one, they leave to become lords of their own pretty domains. It is these renegades and radicals who were the first to sense the great change which came upon the world, and it is they who have begun to explore the long-forgotten routes to the brightly lit hell which is the surface.
Mind Flayers
In vast, deep, underground cities sprawls the Empire Of The Mind Flayers...both the most widespread and the weakest of the Three Dark Powers Below. ("Weak" being a rather relative term, of course...)
Arithian history begins in ancient and forgotten times, easily 50,000 years in its past. At that time, there are few records of intelligent surface-dwellers; the only races whose recorded history goes back so far are those who dwell in the darkness below. Secure in their caves, they created many forms of life, opened portals to other worlds, built empires and dominions that spanned creation, and grew old, insular, corrupt, and debased.
The mind flayers (their racial name for themselves is purely psionic, and cannot be pronounced by humans) were the most comprehensible of the older races. They were also the masters of creation, breeding many subject races in their great vats. They enjoyed the taste of sapient thought, and crafted beings for flavor as well as utility. Many of the surface races, though they know it not, began life as cattle.
Something happened, though, long ago, which caused the fall of the great empire. To create servants worth feasting upon, the Mind Flayers needed to give them souls. The Flayers themselves, soulless and godless, did not understand that soul-stuff calls to soul-stuff. The servitors needed gods, believed in gods...and found gods. Some claim their belief created the gods from the raw energy of the universe; some claim their need called out to already-existing gods who took them in and appeared to them as they believed. Either way, the gods empowered the slaves, enabling them to rebel. (Tens of millennia later, the same would occur on Skallidane). The Empire, vast and disconnected, did not fall all at once, nor did every slave rebel, but bit by bit, it crumbled, and the freed races fled upwards, finding a surface world free of any dominant power.
Today, most of the great empire is in ruins. Many of the former cities, outposts, and fortresses are in ruins; others are held by new powers. A few places, though, are still in the control of the Flayers; such locales are deep, hidden, secret, and deadly.
Very recently, a great psychic tremor -- and an equally great physical one -- passed through all of the Underworld. Sensing that the world has changed greatly, the ancient powers, long content to sit and dream alien dreams of forgotten glory, are extending their tendrils outward and upward...
Culture
Psionics informs everything Mind Flayers do. They exist in a world alive with thought. They build their cities of psychoactive crystal, and their language is a mixture of simple words and complex psychic overtones. Their writing, a seemingly random sequence of colored shapes and lines, is likewise imbued with psychic impact; to a Mind Flayer, each shape and color triggers a stored memory of a complex concept. A red triangle of a certain size and shape might mean 'Enemies are approaching'; a green hexagon following it might impart 'The are beholders, six of them'. Almost imperceptible differences in shade, size, and angle can change the meaning of a symbol dramatically, and a non-psionic, or a psion who has not absorbed the training of the Mind Flayer, can not easily learn even the simplest part of the language.
Mind Flayers cannot conceive of other thinking beings as possessing any inherent right to exist. They are food, slaves, and entertainment, nothing more. The best one can hope for from a Mind Flayer is to be seen as an amusing pet; this is where other races' psions tend to be categorized. Among themselves, they lack any emotions of love, affection, or compassion, but they also tend to lack the virulent hatred and treachery which define the other great powers of the Underworld. Mind Flayers can cooperate, form successful communities, and work together for a goal. They are not prone to self-sacrifice or to put any kind of collective good ahead of their own, but they do understand the concept of "Either some of us die, or all of us die" and have traditions and means of choosing a sacrifice when it is necessary.
Biology
Mind Flayers are naturally hermaphroditic, and mostly disinterested in sex. Indeed, it is almost never the case that two will mate. Rather, at a random point late in a Mind Flayer's life, it will spontaneously impregnate itself. The young grow inside the parent, using their latent psionic power and direct, physical, connection to its nervous system to control it, forcing it to seek out shelter and isolation. Then they burst forth, killing the parent, but devouring its mind and some portion of its memory and personality, allowing it to 'live' in a way, scattered among its 5-10 children. Because the children, at first, share portions of a single mind, they will cooperate and help each other, until the squirm (collective noun for a Mind Flayer kids) has grown strong enough to rejoin greater civilization. By this time, most of them will have died, prey to other forces of the Underworld; usually, no more than 1 to 2 survive to adolescence. The adolescents have developed enough experiences of their own that they are unique beings, and have only a dim sense of ever 'being' their parent.
Mind Flayers are basically humanoid in shape, with flexible cartilage for bones and a head which looks like a 4-tentacled octopus. They live on a diet of fungus, insects, and brains. They do not need much brain to live -- once a month is sufficient -- but they need at least a pound of it. Sapient brains are much preferred, both for flavor and the fact that they need the neurochemicals of a thinking mind to fuel their own psionic powers. A Mind Flayer denied access to sapient brains for three months loses all of their psychic abilities; this is a common form of punishment or control among the community.
Outcasts
Of course, there are always exceptions. For as long as any can recall, some Mind Flayers, a rare few, have not been content to be part of the complex and convoluted machine which Mind Flayer society. They desire power for its own sake. Often unable to find this among their fellows, who will swat down the impudent one, they leave to become lords of their own pretty domains. It is these renegades and radicals who were the first to sense the great change which came upon the world, and it is they who have begun to explore the long-forgotten routes to the brightly lit hell which is the surface.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Dwarfing Expectations
Sheesh, got to update this more often...
In any event, continuing the theme of major PC races, we turn to the dwarves, who are not to be looked down on. Hah! Sorry. I'll be good.
In any event, while there was a strong temptation to re-use the dwarf culture and gods I created for my last D&D game, I decided not to. The old dwarves were deeply family oriented, with everything being based on clan, relationships, and so on...these dwarves are not. Most don't even know who their parents are. The hyper-militarism gives a lot of good, easy, hooks to hang characterization on, as well as providing any players with a baseline for characterization based on how closely their character clings to the dwarven 'ideal'. As for the similarity to the hobgoblins...that might be simply convergent evolution of cultures, or...it might not. There's some backstory I'm still deciding upon on.
I also like the idea that there are lost settlements, deep underground, cut off from all other communities but capable of being self-sustaining in that wonderfully illogical and forced D&D way. ("There's...uh...mushrooms. And, uhm, meatbeasts that eat the mushrooms. And, erm, there's this fungus which doesn't need light but which gives off oxygen just like green plants and...") (Yeah, and a race which lives in dark caverns is inky-black-skinned, not albino skinned. Bah! My Drow are pure ivory! But that's another thread...)
Anyway...dwarves. Or dwarfs. Whatever.
Dwarves
History
The dwarves are the youngest members of the races who call themselves the Free Peoples, though they claim their history is older than any but the elves. They first entered the annals of history 5,000 years ago, when human miners of the Second Jarialian Empire tunneled into the Kragaz Mountains (these occupy roughly the same area on Arith that the Alps occupy on Earth). The miners, driven by a desperate need for mithral and elemental ore, had tunneled deeper than ever before in history, and found themselves suddenly confronting a dwarven work gang tunnelling upwards.
These initial meetings were tense. The dwarves had little idea there was a 'surface world'; to them, the world was simply caverns and tunnels going endlessly upwards. It took some convincing that the surface was not simple a very big cavern. Likewise, the dwarves had known nothing but war in the entirety of their history; all the other races they knew of were violent, cruel, and brutal. The ideas of 'alliance' and 'trade' were likewise foreign, and initial contacts tended towards violence, if only because the dwarves had been taught that an open hand is always a prelude to treachery. It was a century from the first contact before the first true treaties between man and dwarf came to be forged.
Dwarves are, by nature, as solid and unmoving as the stone in which they live. Their culture has changed little in those past years, although they have gone from a hunted and hated race to a powerful and numerous one, and have spread across the surface of Arith. Forged by the necessity of brute survival, all dwarf culture was modeled on military lines; there is no concept of 'civilian' or 'non-combatant', and with a few individual exceptions, it remains so to this day. All dwarves have a rank; even a newborn is given a position in a regiment, and has caregivers assigned to him. Family means little to the dwarves; one's squad, regiment, or division defines one's social circle.
Dwarves in the Allied Kingdoms area where heavily concentrated in the southlands of Sorvan, or Western Canada/the Northwest. Settlements were found throughout the Alliance, however -- wherever there was mining to be done. So called 'Dwarf Highways' -- tunnels of stone hundreds of miles long, filled with rest stops and supply rooms -- linked the distant cities. The dwarves, paranoid despite centuries of friendship and alliance with humans, never allowed non-dwarves access to these places, except for the rare few who were exceptionally trusted and who had sworn oaths to never reveal their secrets.
A typical dwarf city is like an iceberg -- 90% of it is underground. Each city is surrounded by a ring of border forts and outposts, and often includes a large surface area (mostly worked by non-dwarfs hired for the job) dedicated to agriculture and cattle -- while the dwarves had mastered feeding large populaces on the bounty of the caves, they enjoyed and appreciated 'surface foods', especially since they could assign other races to harvesting them, freeing themselves up for more directly martial pursuits.
The largest dwarf city in the Americas was Kuz Kar Don, located in the mountains surrounding Flat Head Lake (Hog Nar Zul, as the dwarves called it). Dozens of other cities and outposts were located in nearby regions. Large cities were also found in the Rockies and the Appalachians. In every major human city, there was often a 'dwarf town', where those who grew tired of the mountain life -- or who were exiled from it -- would go. As a consequence, humans tended to think of dwarves as surly drunks who were best left alone, as those dwarves most likely to live among humans were those who could least abide the strictures, order, and conformity of mountain life. Human city dwellers were often astounded when they met "proper" dwarves.
Society
As noted, dwarves have a very militaristic culture. While they are not generally conquerors, it has been the case that there have been more than a few "wars of pre-emptive defense". The dwarven mindset is that they are surrounded on all sides by enemies, and any buildup near to their cities represents an encroaching threat. Dwarf settlements are often surrounded by a 'neutral zone' of caves and tunnels which is constantly patrolled, with many traps designed to close off a passage long enough to send word to the city and get a full division of doughty warriors out there to rout the 'invader', who might just be a lost kobold looking for food.
There is little which the dwarves do which does not have some tie to their worldview. Weapons and armor tend to have little extraneous decoration. Jewelery is given as rewards for courage or service -- where a human will have a chest full of medals, a dwarf will have fingers laden with heavy rings. What art there is tends to be statues and reliefs depicting great heroes and great battles. Music is marching cadence or battle tales; children's songs teach weapon usage and the nature of foes. Many scholars have noted the similarity between dwarf and hobgoblin cultures, with the chief difference being the aggressiveness of the latter as compared to the former.
A dwarf will always use his rank before his name. A spouse or child may call a dwarf by their given name without rank; for anyone else to do so is usually a grave insult. The 'outcast' dwarves of the human cities often retain whatever rank they last held and introduce themselves by it; a dwarf who does not give some rank when talking to strangers is a very odd dwarf indeed, and might be insane or dangerous. (Or the product of a multi-generational outcast family...)
The Crush
The Crush caused terrible earthquakes and rifts. Mountains lifted and sank; fissures opened beneath cities, and juts of solid stone materialized in what were once hollowed caves. The great highways collapsed. Most of those who were traveling along them were killed; many were trapped, finding themselves stuck between impassable blockages. A few, fortunate enough to be in an intact rest area, were able to survive and set up some form of sustenance if there was a water source nearby. Many found themselves waiting in vain for a rescue which never came, or were exterminated as other underdwellers, emboldened by the disasters which struck the surface world, moved upwards to see what they could see, and kill who they could kill.
Kuz Kar Don collapsed in on itself, killing tens of thousands, as well as slaying General Mag Har Jal, commander of the Alliance dwarves. Other large cities suffered a similar fate. The only major settlement to survive even partially intact was Joz Nan Don-ek, located in what on Earth was the Black Hills of South Dakota, and, today, the cracked and damaged features of two great dwarven heroes peer out from the mountain alongside those of American presidents. Relations with the Sioux, who have reclaimed much of the surrounding land, remain difficult at best.
A fair number of dwarves have been forced out of the underground, or have had to take over tunnels and mines which were not carved by them. This most problematic in the coal-rich areas of Pennsylvania, where there has been constant strife between dwarves looking to settle and Earthborn humans looking to mine coal, which is now a much more accessible power source than oil. In some places, there have been peaceful settlements; in other places, there is out-and-out war, often with strange periods of alliance when mutual foes such as goblins or orcs attack.
In any event, continuing the theme of major PC races, we turn to the dwarves, who are not to be looked down on. Hah! Sorry. I'll be good.
In any event, while there was a strong temptation to re-use the dwarf culture and gods I created for my last D&D game, I decided not to. The old dwarves were deeply family oriented, with everything being based on clan, relationships, and so on...these dwarves are not. Most don't even know who their parents are. The hyper-militarism gives a lot of good, easy, hooks to hang characterization on, as well as providing any players with a baseline for characterization based on how closely their character clings to the dwarven 'ideal'. As for the similarity to the hobgoblins...that might be simply convergent evolution of cultures, or...it might not. There's some backstory I'm still deciding upon on.
I also like the idea that there are lost settlements, deep underground, cut off from all other communities but capable of being self-sustaining in that wonderfully illogical and forced D&D way. ("There's...uh...mushrooms. And, uhm, meatbeasts that eat the mushrooms. And, erm, there's this fungus which doesn't need light but which gives off oxygen just like green plants and...") (Yeah, and a race which lives in dark caverns is inky-black-skinned, not albino skinned. Bah! My Drow are pure ivory! But that's another thread...)
Anyway...dwarves. Or dwarfs. Whatever.
Dwarves
History
The dwarves are the youngest members of the races who call themselves the Free Peoples, though they claim their history is older than any but the elves. They first entered the annals of history 5,000 years ago, when human miners of the Second Jarialian Empire tunneled into the Kragaz Mountains (these occupy roughly the same area on Arith that the Alps occupy on Earth). The miners, driven by a desperate need for mithral and elemental ore, had tunneled deeper than ever before in history, and found themselves suddenly confronting a dwarven work gang tunnelling upwards.
These initial meetings were tense. The dwarves had little idea there was a 'surface world'; to them, the world was simply caverns and tunnels going endlessly upwards. It took some convincing that the surface was not simple a very big cavern. Likewise, the dwarves had known nothing but war in the entirety of their history; all the other races they knew of were violent, cruel, and brutal. The ideas of 'alliance' and 'trade' were likewise foreign, and initial contacts tended towards violence, if only because the dwarves had been taught that an open hand is always a prelude to treachery. It was a century from the first contact before the first true treaties between man and dwarf came to be forged.
Dwarves are, by nature, as solid and unmoving as the stone in which they live. Their culture has changed little in those past years, although they have gone from a hunted and hated race to a powerful and numerous one, and have spread across the surface of Arith. Forged by the necessity of brute survival, all dwarf culture was modeled on military lines; there is no concept of 'civilian' or 'non-combatant', and with a few individual exceptions, it remains so to this day. All dwarves have a rank; even a newborn is given a position in a regiment, and has caregivers assigned to him. Family means little to the dwarves; one's squad, regiment, or division defines one's social circle.
Dwarves in the Allied Kingdoms area where heavily concentrated in the southlands of Sorvan, or Western Canada/the Northwest. Settlements were found throughout the Alliance, however -- wherever there was mining to be done. So called 'Dwarf Highways' -- tunnels of stone hundreds of miles long, filled with rest stops and supply rooms -- linked the distant cities. The dwarves, paranoid despite centuries of friendship and alliance with humans, never allowed non-dwarves access to these places, except for the rare few who were exceptionally trusted and who had sworn oaths to never reveal their secrets.
A typical dwarf city is like an iceberg -- 90% of it is underground. Each city is surrounded by a ring of border forts and outposts, and often includes a large surface area (mostly worked by non-dwarfs hired for the job) dedicated to agriculture and cattle -- while the dwarves had mastered feeding large populaces on the bounty of the caves, they enjoyed and appreciated 'surface foods', especially since they could assign other races to harvesting them, freeing themselves up for more directly martial pursuits.
The largest dwarf city in the Americas was Kuz Kar Don, located in the mountains surrounding Flat Head Lake (Hog Nar Zul, as the dwarves called it). Dozens of other cities and outposts were located in nearby regions. Large cities were also found in the Rockies and the Appalachians. In every major human city, there was often a 'dwarf town', where those who grew tired of the mountain life -- or who were exiled from it -- would go. As a consequence, humans tended to think of dwarves as surly drunks who were best left alone, as those dwarves most likely to live among humans were those who could least abide the strictures, order, and conformity of mountain life. Human city dwellers were often astounded when they met "proper" dwarves.
Society
As noted, dwarves have a very militaristic culture. While they are not generally conquerors, it has been the case that there have been more than a few "wars of pre-emptive defense". The dwarven mindset is that they are surrounded on all sides by enemies, and any buildup near to their cities represents an encroaching threat. Dwarf settlements are often surrounded by a 'neutral zone' of caves and tunnels which is constantly patrolled, with many traps designed to close off a passage long enough to send word to the city and get a full division of doughty warriors out there to rout the 'invader', who might just be a lost kobold looking for food.
There is little which the dwarves do which does not have some tie to their worldview. Weapons and armor tend to have little extraneous decoration. Jewelery is given as rewards for courage or service -- where a human will have a chest full of medals, a dwarf will have fingers laden with heavy rings. What art there is tends to be statues and reliefs depicting great heroes and great battles. Music is marching cadence or battle tales; children's songs teach weapon usage and the nature of foes. Many scholars have noted the similarity between dwarf and hobgoblin cultures, with the chief difference being the aggressiveness of the latter as compared to the former.
A dwarf will always use his rank before his name. A spouse or child may call a dwarf by their given name without rank; for anyone else to do so is usually a grave insult. The 'outcast' dwarves of the human cities often retain whatever rank they last held and introduce themselves by it; a dwarf who does not give some rank when talking to strangers is a very odd dwarf indeed, and might be insane or dangerous. (Or the product of a multi-generational outcast family...)
The Crush
The Crush caused terrible earthquakes and rifts. Mountains lifted and sank; fissures opened beneath cities, and juts of solid stone materialized in what were once hollowed caves. The great highways collapsed. Most of those who were traveling along them were killed; many were trapped, finding themselves stuck between impassable blockages. A few, fortunate enough to be in an intact rest area, were able to survive and set up some form of sustenance if there was a water source nearby. Many found themselves waiting in vain for a rescue which never came, or were exterminated as other underdwellers, emboldened by the disasters which struck the surface world, moved upwards to see what they could see, and kill who they could kill.
Kuz Kar Don collapsed in on itself, killing tens of thousands, as well as slaying General Mag Har Jal, commander of the Alliance dwarves. Other large cities suffered a similar fate. The only major settlement to survive even partially intact was Joz Nan Don-ek, located in what on Earth was the Black Hills of South Dakota, and, today, the cracked and damaged features of two great dwarven heroes peer out from the mountain alongside those of American presidents. Relations with the Sioux, who have reclaimed much of the surrounding land, remain difficult at best.
A fair number of dwarves have been forced out of the underground, or have had to take over tunnels and mines which were not carved by them. This most problematic in the coal-rich areas of Pennsylvania, where there has been constant strife between dwarves looking to settle and Earthborn humans looking to mine coal, which is now a much more accessible power source than oil. In some places, there have been peaceful settlements; in other places, there is out-and-out war, often with strange periods of alliance when mutual foes such as goblins or orcs attack.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Expanding Elves
So, a few weeks ago, I posted something on Elves. Here's a lot more. Why? Because I stupidly decided there'd be a small elf community a bit north of where the campaign begins. Which means people might decide to go there. Which means I need some vague ideas on what elves are like. Again, I am not claiming I'm redefining elves or making some amazingly original creations here. I begin with the core D&D tropes and then try to detail them in a way which I think breeds plots or the potential for interesting characters. To me, the essence of the D&D (i.e, Tolkein ripoff) elf is alienness. Living for centuries makes you different, and a bit weird. Being chaotic by nature just magnifies it. Elves understand the world differently. They don't see in four dimensions, but maybe they see in three and a half. They're just a little bit out there, and you know everything they do and say makes perfect sense to them, but they're still tilted just a couple of degrees outside our reality. They're playing by rules you not only don't know, but can't learn.
As is usually the case, this essay is bass-ackwards, in the sense that first I wrote up an elvish community, making up some names and roles and concepts, then, from the community, I back-engineered elvish culture. (This isn't all that odd -- for example, Gene Roddenberry created Spock with pointy ears and greenish skin, then reverse-engineered this to establish an arid, thin-aired Vulcan and copper-based blood.) I'll bet an awful lot of creative types do "Concept first, justification after".
Anyway, elves -- Revised&Expanded.
Elves
The elves of Arith are among the oldest of the Free Peoples, though certainly not the oldest sapient species. They are long-lived beings who dwell in environments which carefully blend natural beauty and civilized comfort. They once ruled over vast empires, long before the first Magewar, but now are a somewhat diminished race, gathered into a few large woodland cities and countless small settlements and villages. The elves produce many skilled individuals, but few great heroes -- but those who do exist are great indeed.
The Long Sleep
Elves live for centuries, but very few spend all, or even most, of that time in a single pursuit. After a few decades of life, an Elf will grow weary, and develop a deep sense of ennui and indifference. All joy flees from existence; food is bland, lovemaking tiring, even life-and-death struggles begin to pall. At this time, the elf enters what is known as the Long Sleep, where they enter into a coma-like state, needing nothing but air to survive. (Obviously, they do this in safe surroundings -- usually a sacred hall in a larger Elvish community). The Long Sleep lasts for 6-10 years. When the elf awakes, he is reborn in spirit. While he retains, in part, all of his old memories, he has lost much of his learning. In essence, he emerges with no class levels, and begins life anew, studying different arts than he did before. The dreams of the Long Sleep serve to show him new paths in life, and he might emerge with a different alignment. While still technically the same person, he thinks of himself as one reborn, and often ignores old friendships and commitments, as if they belonged to another. (Elf law dictates this is so -- marriages end when one spouse enters the Long Sleep, and debts are forgiven as if the debtor had died. Laws of other cultures are not so understanding.)
Government
Elvish government is summarized by lalithilianilis, or 'Agreement reached by consensus which transcends speech'. Elves simply understand how things are supposed to happen. They are bound by few rules, and most of those rules are based on complex webs of understanding and cultural assumptions. To an outsider, everyone simply seems to do as they please, but to the elves, their society is perfectly sane and controlled. Even a simple request such as "Who is in charge here?" is meaningless to elves, since the answer could change based on the situation, the time of year, or even the phase of the moon. Long dealings with other races have taught them to have a few spokesmen, but those are not the true 'leaders' -- rather, their job is to appear to humans, etc, to give them a person to consider as a leader so that their needs are met. Elves have little concept of hierarchy and 'leader' and 'follower' can shift and change with each passing moment.
Names
Elf names are long and complicated. Unlike their place names, which are usually descriptive and poetic, an elf's name seems to others -- even those who speak Elvish - to be merely a long collection of syllables, usually five or six words in length. To the elf, though, the name is summation of their essence, and speaking it will produce, in the listener, a resonance which tells them all they need to know of the person. As such, the name changes as the person does, and one elf can tell another all that they have gone through over a decade merely by giving their new name, which might differ by as little as a syllable from their old one.
Personality
Elves are constantly torn between the Now and the Never. An elf can become suddenly focused, sometimes frighteningly so, when an event occurs which demands immediate attention -- such as an attack. However, anything which doesn't need to be done now might as well need to be done never -- if an elf loses focus, he/she might well forget about the undone job for a month, a year, or more, unless suddenly reminded.
Religion
Elves worship a large pantheon of gods. All of their deities blend humanoid and natural traits, either plant or animal, and tend to shift in the degree to which these traits balance over time. Jalillianili, Goddess of the Hunt, for example, sometimes appears as an elf with a few slightly lupine features, other times as an elvish werewolf, and other times as a wolf which a few hints of elven blood. An artist might portray her anywhere along the spectrum in accordance with what aspect of her he was trying to convey or invoke.
Elvish worship is not predicated on specific rites and rituals, but on a 'sense of properness' -- they will sometimes stop and pray at seemingly random moments, or ignore the gods for years and then volunteer for a holy quest. Elvish clerics are simply those more attuned to the moment than the lay populace. Religion is one thread of the entire tapestry of life; a blade might contain symbols of the Goddess of the Hunt, the God of Ironworking, or even the Goddess of Family, depending on the whim of the crafter or the inspiration of the customer. (It might contain no religious iconography at all, too)
Language
The elvish language is lyrical and complex. While most people can learn the basics, truly mastering the language is amazingly difficult for non-elves. The individual words are not exceptionally complex, though the elves pride themselves on single words which encompass multiple aspects of a single concept. Rather, the true complexity is in the tenses, as the Elvish frame of reference is so long that conjugation includes span of time in the past of the future. Further, both nouns and verbs must be conjugated in this fashion, so that "I walked to the store" must be said, in Elvish, as "I(From the point in the past where I was born to the point in the future where I will cease to be) walked (seven days ago) to the store (as it existed in that point in the past)" To elves, this is intuitive; to others, it is nightmarish. Further, as befits their nature, elvish "rules" of grammar are more polite suggestions; poetic phrasings and metaphors are more important than sticking to the rules.
Art And Culture
Some non-elvish sociologists have commented on the 'beautiful simplicity' of Elvish arts, from woodcarving to cooking. They miss the point. Elves have remarkably complex arts, but the complexity is hidden by an obsessive drive to perfection. An elf cook might make a thousand variants on a single dish, constantly experimenting by varying ingredients by the tiniest degree, until he has achieved absolutely the flavor he desires. An arrowsmith might make ten arrowheads a day, year after year, and only the most keen of observers would note that each one has a slightly different pattern carefully hammered into it, making them as unique as snowflakes. The smith, though, could look at anyone and then tell you the day, and even the hour, it was made, simply by studying the pattern she implanted.
After The Crush
The elves found themselves "trapped in a world they never made", but then again, so did everyone else. Their centers of civilization in the region of the Pacific Northwest were wiped out, and their ancient foes, the bugbears, emerged in force to ravage what remained. As with most of the other races, it was the small outposts and isolated villages which survived more-or-less intact.
Elves had earned great respect from the humans of Arith for their wisdom and power, but the humans of Earth at first saw them as one more set of invaders. Early battles between the two races still leave bitter memories, even though hesitant truces have been forged in many regions. Older Earthborn refer to the elves as "Spocks" or "Keeblers", or greets any passing elf with "Yo, Legolas!", though a certain segment of the populace finds their unearthly beauty and aloof intellectualism compellingly attractive, so it is hardly surprising that half-elves are becoming common anywhere that the two peoples live together in any kind of peace. (Some elves find humans' energy and enthusiasm sufficiently appealing that their other flaws can be overlooked, at least for a night's pleasure...and what is one night out of many tens of thousands?)
The elves thought the humans of Arith were living life at a full gallop with no ability to slow down and appreciate things, as well as dying so fast you hardly got to know one before you were meeting his great-great-grandchildren. Thus, they see the humans of Earth as little more than mad blurs of motion, and what they've learned of pre-Crush Earth society fascinates and repels them. The walls that Earthborn humans erected between themselves and their world -- both physical and metaphysical -- terrify them. Many have found a new appreciation for the humans of Arith, suddenly aware of how far they might have gone. "Skallidane across the entire world" is a typical Elvish phrase for Earth human culture.
They are also fascinated, and intensely curious, with the fact that a race very similair to their own features so prominently in human art and literature -- along with dwarves, gnomes, and other such beings. Those philosophers who have survived have begun to formulate theories, but it will be decades, or longer, before any of them feels they know enough to voice their hypotheses.
Most elvish communities are more isolationist than ever. Few in number and slow breeding, they wish to preserve all they can. When it is prudent to deal regularly with other societies, they usually have an outpost a few miles from their main population center, which serves as a place to meet and trade. They often prefer to be helpful, within certain limits, as long exposure to human psychology has taught them humans hate most that which they do not understand. Thus, no matter how odd or distasteful they might find it, many elves regularly leave their communities to work in cooperative ventures with humans, often in the form of shared patrols, teaching of history or art, or running messages back and forth. "To the humans, the mysterious is the dangerous, and that which is dangerous must be killed out of hand."
As is usually the case, this essay is bass-ackwards, in the sense that first I wrote up an elvish community, making up some names and roles and concepts, then, from the community, I back-engineered elvish culture. (This isn't all that odd -- for example, Gene Roddenberry created Spock with pointy ears and greenish skin, then reverse-engineered this to establish an arid, thin-aired Vulcan and copper-based blood.) I'll bet an awful lot of creative types do "Concept first, justification after".
Anyway, elves -- Revised&Expanded.
Elves
The elves of Arith are among the oldest of the Free Peoples, though certainly not the oldest sapient species. They are long-lived beings who dwell in environments which carefully blend natural beauty and civilized comfort. They once ruled over vast empires, long before the first Magewar, but now are a somewhat diminished race, gathered into a few large woodland cities and countless small settlements and villages. The elves produce many skilled individuals, but few great heroes -- but those who do exist are great indeed.
The Long Sleep
Elves live for centuries, but very few spend all, or even most, of that time in a single pursuit. After a few decades of life, an Elf will grow weary, and develop a deep sense of ennui and indifference. All joy flees from existence; food is bland, lovemaking tiring, even life-and-death struggles begin to pall. At this time, the elf enters what is known as the Long Sleep, where they enter into a coma-like state, needing nothing but air to survive. (Obviously, they do this in safe surroundings -- usually a sacred hall in a larger Elvish community). The Long Sleep lasts for 6-10 years. When the elf awakes, he is reborn in spirit. While he retains, in part, all of his old memories, he has lost much of his learning. In essence, he emerges with no class levels, and begins life anew, studying different arts than he did before. The dreams of the Long Sleep serve to show him new paths in life, and he might emerge with a different alignment. While still technically the same person, he thinks of himself as one reborn, and often ignores old friendships and commitments, as if they belonged to another. (Elf law dictates this is so -- marriages end when one spouse enters the Long Sleep, and debts are forgiven as if the debtor had died. Laws of other cultures are not so understanding.)
Government
Elvish government is summarized by lalithilianilis, or 'Agreement reached by consensus which transcends speech'. Elves simply understand how things are supposed to happen. They are bound by few rules, and most of those rules are based on complex webs of understanding and cultural assumptions. To an outsider, everyone simply seems to do as they please, but to the elves, their society is perfectly sane and controlled. Even a simple request such as "Who is in charge here?" is meaningless to elves, since the answer could change based on the situation, the time of year, or even the phase of the moon. Long dealings with other races have taught them to have a few spokesmen, but those are not the true 'leaders' -- rather, their job is to appear to humans, etc, to give them a person to consider as a leader so that their needs are met. Elves have little concept of hierarchy and 'leader' and 'follower' can shift and change with each passing moment.
Names
Elf names are long and complicated. Unlike their place names, which are usually descriptive and poetic, an elf's name seems to others -- even those who speak Elvish - to be merely a long collection of syllables, usually five or six words in length. To the elf, though, the name is summation of their essence, and speaking it will produce, in the listener, a resonance which tells them all they need to know of the person. As such, the name changes as the person does, and one elf can tell another all that they have gone through over a decade merely by giving their new name, which might differ by as little as a syllable from their old one.
Personality
Elves are constantly torn between the Now and the Never. An elf can become suddenly focused, sometimes frighteningly so, when an event occurs which demands immediate attention -- such as an attack. However, anything which doesn't need to be done now might as well need to be done never -- if an elf loses focus, he/she might well forget about the undone job for a month, a year, or more, unless suddenly reminded.
Religion
Elves worship a large pantheon of gods. All of their deities blend humanoid and natural traits, either plant or animal, and tend to shift in the degree to which these traits balance over time. Jalillianili, Goddess of the Hunt, for example, sometimes appears as an elf with a few slightly lupine features, other times as an elvish werewolf, and other times as a wolf which a few hints of elven blood. An artist might portray her anywhere along the spectrum in accordance with what aspect of her he was trying to convey or invoke.
Elvish worship is not predicated on specific rites and rituals, but on a 'sense of properness' -- they will sometimes stop and pray at seemingly random moments, or ignore the gods for years and then volunteer for a holy quest. Elvish clerics are simply those more attuned to the moment than the lay populace. Religion is one thread of the entire tapestry of life; a blade might contain symbols of the Goddess of the Hunt, the God of Ironworking, or even the Goddess of Family, depending on the whim of the crafter or the inspiration of the customer. (It might contain no religious iconography at all, too)
Language
The elvish language is lyrical and complex. While most people can learn the basics, truly mastering the language is amazingly difficult for non-elves. The individual words are not exceptionally complex, though the elves pride themselves on single words which encompass multiple aspects of a single concept. Rather, the true complexity is in the tenses, as the Elvish frame of reference is so long that conjugation includes span of time in the past of the future. Further, both nouns and verbs must be conjugated in this fashion, so that "I walked to the store" must be said, in Elvish, as "I(From the point in the past where I was born to the point in the future where I will cease to be) walked (seven days ago) to the store (as it existed in that point in the past)" To elves, this is intuitive; to others, it is nightmarish. Further, as befits their nature, elvish "rules" of grammar are more polite suggestions; poetic phrasings and metaphors are more important than sticking to the rules.
Art And Culture
Some non-elvish sociologists have commented on the 'beautiful simplicity' of Elvish arts, from woodcarving to cooking. They miss the point. Elves have remarkably complex arts, but the complexity is hidden by an obsessive drive to perfection. An elf cook might make a thousand variants on a single dish, constantly experimenting by varying ingredients by the tiniest degree, until he has achieved absolutely the flavor he desires. An arrowsmith might make ten arrowheads a day, year after year, and only the most keen of observers would note that each one has a slightly different pattern carefully hammered into it, making them as unique as snowflakes. The smith, though, could look at anyone and then tell you the day, and even the hour, it was made, simply by studying the pattern she implanted.
After The Crush
The elves found themselves "trapped in a world they never made", but then again, so did everyone else. Their centers of civilization in the region of the Pacific Northwest were wiped out, and their ancient foes, the bugbears, emerged in force to ravage what remained. As with most of the other races, it was the small outposts and isolated villages which survived more-or-less intact.
Elves had earned great respect from the humans of Arith for their wisdom and power, but the humans of Earth at first saw them as one more set of invaders. Early battles between the two races still leave bitter memories, even though hesitant truces have been forged in many regions. Older Earthborn refer to the elves as "Spocks" or "Keeblers", or greets any passing elf with "Yo, Legolas!", though a certain segment of the populace finds their unearthly beauty and aloof intellectualism compellingly attractive, so it is hardly surprising that half-elves are becoming common anywhere that the two peoples live together in any kind of peace. (Some elves find humans' energy and enthusiasm sufficiently appealing that their other flaws can be overlooked, at least for a night's pleasure...and what is one night out of many tens of thousands?)
The elves thought the humans of Arith were living life at a full gallop with no ability to slow down and appreciate things, as well as dying so fast you hardly got to know one before you were meeting his great-great-grandchildren. Thus, they see the humans of Earth as little more than mad blurs of motion, and what they've learned of pre-Crush Earth society fascinates and repels them. The walls that Earthborn humans erected between themselves and their world -- both physical and metaphysical -- terrify them. Many have found a new appreciation for the humans of Arith, suddenly aware of how far they might have gone. "Skallidane across the entire world" is a typical Elvish phrase for Earth human culture.
They are also fascinated, and intensely curious, with the fact that a race very similair to their own features so prominently in human art and literature -- along with dwarves, gnomes, and other such beings. Those philosophers who have survived have begun to formulate theories, but it will be decades, or longer, before any of them feels they know enough to voice their hypotheses.
Most elvish communities are more isolationist than ever. Few in number and slow breeding, they wish to preserve all they can. When it is prudent to deal regularly with other societies, they usually have an outpost a few miles from their main population center, which serves as a place to meet and trade. They often prefer to be helpful, within certain limits, as long exposure to human psychology has taught them humans hate most that which they do not understand. Thus, no matter how odd or distasteful they might find it, many elves regularly leave their communities to work in cooperative ventures with humans, often in the form of shared patrols, teaching of history or art, or running messages back and forth. "To the humans, the mysterious is the dangerous, and that which is dangerous must be killed out of hand."
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Let The Infodumping Re-Commence! (Bugbears)
So here's the thing. I've been churning out world details like mad, but a lot of it has been scenario-focused since the game is now up and running. I don't plan to post major NPCs and stats somewhere where nasssty playerses can gets their pawses on them, preciousss. So I sort of need to edit and filter that which is truly world-based out from that which is in-game based.
In any event, there's a whole mound of what I term 'cascade creation' going on. I start doing X, I have a tossaway reference to Y, then when I do Y I realize a need for Z, and so on. A lot of the offshoots of what I'm doing for the scenario can and will be posted here. In the meanwhile, though, I've been developing the culture and background for one of the many humanoid races which wander the campaign world. That they also happen to be antagonists for the first story arc is a nice bonus. Nothing in here is current-plot-specific, though, so I can post with minimal fear. (This is also an interesting example how plot and general creation drive each other. I had some short notes on bugbears, which inspired my plot -- then I found that the plot caused me to ask questions of myself, which caused me to do a lot more development on the bugbears to fill in some gaps. There's still some things left, such as family life and exotic weapons, and mebbe some racial spells, and....sigh. Here's the annoying thing. Give me a week, I could write a 32 page PDF with full details to make the race fun and interesting for any campaign, but with 4e looming and GM-focused supplements selling extra-poorly, what would be the point? Eventually, I'd like to have an ad-supported blog which earned enough money to justify serious time investment, but for now, I have to limit myself to interesting tidbits that are created during my normal 'allotted' time for creative endeavours.)
Anyone want to be a Patron Of The Arts?
Didn't think so. Sigh.
Anyhoo...Bugbears! (Tomorrow -- more on Elves.)
=============================
Bugbears
History
Bugbears have long been mortal enemies of the elves, as both claim the woodlands for their own. While the elves adapted the arts of men and dwarves into their own culture, becoming masters of crafting and construction, the bugbears clung to the simplest of tools, albeit fashioned with cunning. They built no great cities, but lived as semi-nomads, wandering during warm months and settling into small villages during the cold winter. They also raided passing travelers and outlying villages, and many individuals turned to banditry. Over decades of war with the elves, they were driven into the deepest and most remote parts of the wood, denied access to many areas which had been their traditional homes. Many tribes became semi-underground dwellers, seizing the upper levels of the underdark passages for themselves and driving out smaller, weaker, races, including their goblin kin. There, they nursed their hatred for the elves who had driven them out of the lands which were rightfully theirs.
The Crush impacted them little, directly. To some extent, all it did was dump a host of fresh raiding targets in their laps. While many of the Earthborn who dwelled in the regions the bugbears called home were armed, they were not prepared to deal with organized raiding parties. The bugbears reacted to guns, tractors, and other artifacts of man with insane hatred, and tore apart anyone using such devices against them with no hint of mercy. Small towns nestled in the deep woods were attacked, raided for fresh foods, and then burned, the inhabitants slaughtered if they could not escape. Elves fleeing the destruction of their great cities were also targeted, and the many elvish outposts which kept the bugbears in place were overrun and destroyed.
The bugbears have no great nations, but the two largest collections of tribes are found in the former Pacific Northwest and in the heart of Europe, in and around the former Black Forest. Smaller groups are known to exist in parts of the American South, New England, and the jungles of Central America. Individuals who have left their tribes for whatever reason might be found anywhere, though they are welcomed in few settlements.
Culture
Bugbears consider themselves guardians of nature and embodiments of the natural order, which is a struggle of all against all where the weak exist solely as prey for the strong. They have a deep seated, perhaps almost instinctual, hatred of metalworking, and this extends to almost any craft beyond a late paleothic level. They are, perhaps, the finest stoneknappers and woodworkers of the humanoids, but all their craft cannot make a wooden shield hold against a mithral axe or allow a sling stone to be deadlier than a crossbow bolt. They compensate for this by breeding powerful druids, and training their best warriors in the arts of stealth and ambush.
Bugbears are also violent and chaotic by nature, and no tribe can grow to more than a few hundred individuals before it fragments, usually in a single day of brutal conflict. When tribes disagree over territory or resources, there will be a contest of champions, but the losing tribe often disregards the results and attacks anyway, if it sees an advantage. Unlike the more egalitarian goblins and hobgoblins, bugbears view their females as nothing more than breeding machines and tokens of status for the alpha males of the tribe. On the other hand, females and young are protected with insane vigor, and attackers will not reach the women and children of the tribe until every male of fighting age is dead.
In times past, bugbears were taken as prisoners by the hoboblin nations, and these slaves have been bred for strength and obedience for centuries. Despised by their free ancestors, they are shock troops and workers for the hobgoblins. In the aftermath of the Crush, some have freed themselves, and, without homes among the Free Peoples or their own kind, they often join up with bandit gangs or seek work as mercenary soldiers.
Religion
Bugbears are a nature-oriented people, but, unlike the elves, their gods do not incorporate nature into their physical forms. Bugbear religion is based partially on reincarnation, on the belief that a spirit travels through life over and over -- for a time. If the spirit survives life's challenges, it grows stronger with each incarnation, until it eventually ascends to godhood. A weak spirit is torn a little for each life in which it fails, and eventually, it is too weak to remain in the materal world and is pulled into the Maelstrom Forest, a lower plane where the souls of the weak are hunted, tormented, and tortured until they are reduced to raw soul-stuff, which then reincarnates with a 'fresh start'. Souls strong enough to break free of the material but too weak to become gods become the deities servants, avatars, and messengers. Bugbears do not believe reborn souls can incarnate as anything but bugbears; all other races have alien souls, even their goblinoid kin.
Some spirits linger between incarnations, lending their power to the worthy. From these waiting souls come the shamanic powers of some bugbears.
Glugruk The Challenger
Bugbears do not have a well defined hierarchy of gods. Indeed, each tribe has at least one 'local' god who is the deified version of their greatest and most famous ancestral hero. A few deities, though, seem to exist in one form or another across bugbear culture, and one such is Glugruk The Challenger. In life, it is said, Glugruk would never refuse a challenge which the challenger was also willing to do -- swim a raging river, enter a human city and kidnap an infant, march into an orc lair and slay ten of their warriors. As long as both contestants faced the same task with the same odds, Glugruk would accept, and the legends say he never, ever, lost.
After his ascension, Glugruk began to appear to worthy-seeming bugbears to offer them tasks to undertake. For these challenges, Glugruk would incarnate himself in the same form as the one being challenged, and if the target managed a decent showing without cowardice or hesitation, Glugruk would offer a blessing. If he failed or refused...he died. Victory was not essential, but performing beyond the normal limits was.
Bugbear rangers and barbarians are the most common followers of Glugruk. He has few true clerics, as that sort of religious training is not a major part of bugbear culture.
Blugrul The Wisdom-Giver
While might and skill are admired among bugbears, there is also respect for those capable of cunning, insight, and awareness -- provided such things lead to victory! Blugrul is the second of the 'shared gods' known to most bugbear clans. He was, in life, reputed to be a great seeker of secrets, tearing them from those who guarded them. He believed that nothing should be unknown or hidden to those with the courage and daring to learn the great truths.
When he ascended, he became a revealer of knowledge to bugbear shamans -- but he never gave answers, only a path to where the answers could be found. Winning the answer -- and understanding it -- was up to he to whom the answer was given.
Obviously, spirit shamans are the main followers of Blugrul, but rogues and scouts -- all those who seek that which is hidden -- hope to emulate his success and ascend into his service.
Classes
The typical bugbear is a first level Warrior, but elite bugbears are likely to be Rangers, Rogues, or Druids. As with all races, there are bugbear Sorcerers, and many bugbears become Barbarians. Few bugbears are true fighters, as they lack the dedication to the fighting arts which that class requires, as well as lacking the metal armor and weapons the class tends to rely on. A rare few are psychic warriors or psiblades. Wizards, standard Clerics, and Monk are almost unknown. A handful of bugbears find they can become tribal drum-shamans, or bards, often with a slightly different spell list.
In any event, there's a whole mound of what I term 'cascade creation' going on. I start doing X, I have a tossaway reference to Y, then when I do Y I realize a need for Z, and so on. A lot of the offshoots of what I'm doing for the scenario can and will be posted here. In the meanwhile, though, I've been developing the culture and background for one of the many humanoid races which wander the campaign world. That they also happen to be antagonists for the first story arc is a nice bonus. Nothing in here is current-plot-specific, though, so I can post with minimal fear. (This is also an interesting example how plot and general creation drive each other. I had some short notes on bugbears, which inspired my plot -- then I found that the plot caused me to ask questions of myself, which caused me to do a lot more development on the bugbears to fill in some gaps. There's still some things left, such as family life and exotic weapons, and mebbe some racial spells, and....sigh. Here's the annoying thing. Give me a week, I could write a 32 page PDF with full details to make the race fun and interesting for any campaign, but with 4e looming and GM-focused supplements selling extra-poorly, what would be the point? Eventually, I'd like to have an ad-supported blog which earned enough money to justify serious time investment, but for now, I have to limit myself to interesting tidbits that are created during my normal 'allotted' time for creative endeavours.)
Anyone want to be a Patron Of The Arts?
Didn't think so. Sigh.
Anyhoo...Bugbears! (Tomorrow -- more on Elves.)
=============================
Bugbears
History
Bugbears have long been mortal enemies of the elves, as both claim the woodlands for their own. While the elves adapted the arts of men and dwarves into their own culture, becoming masters of crafting and construction, the bugbears clung to the simplest of tools, albeit fashioned with cunning. They built no great cities, but lived as semi-nomads, wandering during warm months and settling into small villages during the cold winter. They also raided passing travelers and outlying villages, and many individuals turned to banditry. Over decades of war with the elves, they were driven into the deepest and most remote parts of the wood, denied access to many areas which had been their traditional homes. Many tribes became semi-underground dwellers, seizing the upper levels of the underdark passages for themselves and driving out smaller, weaker, races, including their goblin kin. There, they nursed their hatred for the elves who had driven them out of the lands which were rightfully theirs.
The Crush impacted them little, directly. To some extent, all it did was dump a host of fresh raiding targets in their laps. While many of the Earthborn who dwelled in the regions the bugbears called home were armed, they were not prepared to deal with organized raiding parties. The bugbears reacted to guns, tractors, and other artifacts of man with insane hatred, and tore apart anyone using such devices against them with no hint of mercy. Small towns nestled in the deep woods were attacked, raided for fresh foods, and then burned, the inhabitants slaughtered if they could not escape. Elves fleeing the destruction of their great cities were also targeted, and the many elvish outposts which kept the bugbears in place were overrun and destroyed.
The bugbears have no great nations, but the two largest collections of tribes are found in the former Pacific Northwest and in the heart of Europe, in and around the former Black Forest. Smaller groups are known to exist in parts of the American South, New England, and the jungles of Central America. Individuals who have left their tribes for whatever reason might be found anywhere, though they are welcomed in few settlements.
Culture
Bugbears consider themselves guardians of nature and embodiments of the natural order, which is a struggle of all against all where the weak exist solely as prey for the strong. They have a deep seated, perhaps almost instinctual, hatred of metalworking, and this extends to almost any craft beyond a late paleothic level. They are, perhaps, the finest stoneknappers and woodworkers of the humanoids, but all their craft cannot make a wooden shield hold against a mithral axe or allow a sling stone to be deadlier than a crossbow bolt. They compensate for this by breeding powerful druids, and training their best warriors in the arts of stealth and ambush.
Bugbears are also violent and chaotic by nature, and no tribe can grow to more than a few hundred individuals before it fragments, usually in a single day of brutal conflict. When tribes disagree over territory or resources, there will be a contest of champions, but the losing tribe often disregards the results and attacks anyway, if it sees an advantage. Unlike the more egalitarian goblins and hobgoblins, bugbears view their females as nothing more than breeding machines and tokens of status for the alpha males of the tribe. On the other hand, females and young are protected with insane vigor, and attackers will not reach the women and children of the tribe until every male of fighting age is dead.
In times past, bugbears were taken as prisoners by the hoboblin nations, and these slaves have been bred for strength and obedience for centuries. Despised by their free ancestors, they are shock troops and workers for the hobgoblins. In the aftermath of the Crush, some have freed themselves, and, without homes among the Free Peoples or their own kind, they often join up with bandit gangs or seek work as mercenary soldiers.
Religion
Bugbears are a nature-oriented people, but, unlike the elves, their gods do not incorporate nature into their physical forms. Bugbear religion is based partially on reincarnation, on the belief that a spirit travels through life over and over -- for a time. If the spirit survives life's challenges, it grows stronger with each incarnation, until it eventually ascends to godhood. A weak spirit is torn a little for each life in which it fails, and eventually, it is too weak to remain in the materal world and is pulled into the Maelstrom Forest, a lower plane where the souls of the weak are hunted, tormented, and tortured until they are reduced to raw soul-stuff, which then reincarnates with a 'fresh start'. Souls strong enough to break free of the material but too weak to become gods become the deities servants, avatars, and messengers. Bugbears do not believe reborn souls can incarnate as anything but bugbears; all other races have alien souls, even their goblinoid kin.
Some spirits linger between incarnations, lending their power to the worthy. From these waiting souls come the shamanic powers of some bugbears.
Glugruk The Challenger
Bugbears do not have a well defined hierarchy of gods. Indeed, each tribe has at least one 'local' god who is the deified version of their greatest and most famous ancestral hero. A few deities, though, seem to exist in one form or another across bugbear culture, and one such is Glugruk The Challenger. In life, it is said, Glugruk would never refuse a challenge which the challenger was also willing to do -- swim a raging river, enter a human city and kidnap an infant, march into an orc lair and slay ten of their warriors. As long as both contestants faced the same task with the same odds, Glugruk would accept, and the legends say he never, ever, lost.
After his ascension, Glugruk began to appear to worthy-seeming bugbears to offer them tasks to undertake. For these challenges, Glugruk would incarnate himself in the same form as the one being challenged, and if the target managed a decent showing without cowardice or hesitation, Glugruk would offer a blessing. If he failed or refused...he died. Victory was not essential, but performing beyond the normal limits was.
Bugbear rangers and barbarians are the most common followers of Glugruk. He has few true clerics, as that sort of religious training is not a major part of bugbear culture.
Blugrul The Wisdom-Giver
While might and skill are admired among bugbears, there is also respect for those capable of cunning, insight, and awareness -- provided such things lead to victory! Blugrul is the second of the 'shared gods' known to most bugbear clans. He was, in life, reputed to be a great seeker of secrets, tearing them from those who guarded them. He believed that nothing should be unknown or hidden to those with the courage and daring to learn the great truths.
When he ascended, he became a revealer of knowledge to bugbear shamans -- but he never gave answers, only a path to where the answers could be found. Winning the answer -- and understanding it -- was up to he to whom the answer was given.
Obviously, spirit shamans are the main followers of Blugrul, but rogues and scouts -- all those who seek that which is hidden -- hope to emulate his success and ascend into his service.
Classes
The typical bugbear is a first level Warrior, but elite bugbears are likely to be Rangers, Rogues, or Druids. As with all races, there are bugbear Sorcerers, and many bugbears become Barbarians. Few bugbears are true fighters, as they lack the dedication to the fighting arts which that class requires, as well as lacking the metal armor and weapons the class tends to rely on. A rare few are psychic warriors or psiblades. Wizards, standard Clerics, and Monk are almost unknown. A handful of bugbears find they can become tribal drum-shamans, or bards, often with a slightly different spell list.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Forging War
So. One of my players wants to play a Warforged. I don't own Eberron; no offense to the creators, but I don't use pregen settings, and only buy them if I think I can suck the Crunchy Bits out of them, and, by the time Eberron came out, D&D 3.x had so many books of Pure Crunch that it didn't seem worth the effort. This isn't "Eberron suxx0rz!!!!", just, I don't use it. OTOH, I do like to meet player requests -- nothing kills a game faster than a player who isn't playing the character they most want to play. Warforged were described generically in MM3, which I had, so I went from there. The following is pretty cliche, but it sets up things nicely, and also fills in some background on Arith. Arith began as a vague "generic fantasy" world, and, frankly, it still is and always will be, but at least now it's getting some requisite history. It's all still pretty basic, but that's part of the point -- the "interesting" part of Shattered World is post-Crush. If I made Arith a baroque creation not readily identifiable as a typical D&D world, a)I would have to do a lot of worldbuilding, and, b)It would overshadow the world the campaign is set in.
So, I wrote up the warforged backstory. In so doing, I tossed out the term "Ironsouled Legion", because, you know, it sounded cool. Then I started thinking that it could fit into Shattered World, and that gave me the chance to crack open PH2 and build me an Affiliation. I love "systems for defining things", and I wanted to use a lot of the cool options which 3.x has produced over the years, so there you go. Thus, we present Warforged (as they exist in the Shattered World), and the first Affiliation for same.
(And, frankly, the idea of some Warforged painting himself red and blue and calling himself Optimus Prime is just damn appealing...)
Of course, having conceived of Warforged paladins, I now need some gods. They might be coming next. (Racial deities are another thing I like to create). And so worlds are built cascade style -- from one idea comes the next, and the next, and the next. The hard part is knowing where to stop, to actually focus on play, and not on making a stage no one will ever act upon.
Warforged
The warforged of Arith began millennia ago, shortly after the last Magewar. On the flying island of Skallidane, the scholars of the Pearl Conclave sought to supplement their small numbers (and their many dead soldiers) by finding ways to make smaller, cheaper, golems. To simplify the process, they used a small portion of incarnum -- the raw material of souls -- to power their creations. The miniscule spark used was enough to provide mobility and obedience, but not consciousness. At least, not at first.
After centuries (and this was still at least a thousand years pre-Crush), the populace of Skallidane was at least a fourth warforged. They served more than the Conclave -- the worked in every part of the flying island city, from the fields to the mills to the foundries. Then things began to go wrong. Some of the most ancient of the warforged began to grow rebellious; then it spread. A year after the first incidents, the island was consumed in a virulent war. The magitech for which Skallidane was known and feared was turned against itself, as the Conclave sought to destroy their own creations, unaware of how powerful they had become, and how free willed. The warforged, made with incarnum, had grown true souls, true freedom of thought -- and they were not content to be slaves.
By the time the war was over, Skallidane was no more -- the smoking ruins of the wondrous city had crashed into the sea -- but tens of thousands of warforged survived. They scattered across the world. There, their reception was uneven at best. Masterless golems -- which is how they were seen -- were known as rampaging killers only. While Skallidane was not loved by most of the world, a force which could destroy it was even more terrifying. The warforged were generally driven away. Some gave them shelter -- conquerors who saw them as perfect soldiers and who did not understand their true nature. Some took to banditry, some tried to disguise themselves as humans in thick robes and heavy makeup. A few, though, were determined to prove to the world they were as worthy of respect as any elf, man, or dwarf. They formed the Ironsouled Legion, a band of heroes who took on the greatest and deadliest of foes, asking nothing in payment but to be treated as equals. In time, their deeds became legend, and if folk didn't exactly love warforged after that, they began to accept they could be anything they chose to be.
Most warforged were destroyed in the first century after Skallidane's Fall, and many more died since then, as their natures take them towards dangerous careers. However, while the old rituals of warforged creation have been lost, it was found that a warforged could give up a small portion of their incarnum to animate another. The creation of the body takes 10000 gp and the soul-sacrifice takes 1000 XP, making this a rare process, but common enough that the race can continue -- and that many warforged take up adventuring to pay for the process of having 'children'.
Post-Crush, the warforged find themselves in a world where humanoid machines are sometimes feared, but often admired. The worlds of anime and tales of mecha appealed to them, and some have begun to paint themselves as Gundams or Transformers in the hopes of appearing to the Earthborn as heroes.
Ironsouled Legion
Ironsouled Legion
In the past of Arith, the Ironsouled Legion emerged from the ruins of Skallidane, to prove to the people of the world that beings of steel could be beings of soul. The Legion became legend, and the tales of its deeds have been told and retold by bards for centuries. The legion is not dead, though -- it existed right up to the Crush -- and beyond. Now, in a strange new world built from the mangled corpses of two older worlds, its members -- scattered, isolated, hunted, and feared -- still uphold the ideals of its founders.
The Ironsouled Legion
Symbol: The symbol of the Ironsouled Legion is a bright blue anvil, upon which is superimposed a white heart.
Background, Goals, and Dreams: The Ironsouled Legion exists to provide examples of heroism, honor, and nobility among the Warforged. While not every Warforged is a member of the legion -- or aspires to such nobility -- the Legion believes that if they can proved Warforged can be heroes, the rest of the world will at least give an unproven member of the race the benefit of the doubt.
Missions on behalf of the Legion often involve great risk, impossible odds, and worthy causes. Depending on the skills of the members of the Legion, they may be sent as front-line fighters, scouts, or bodyguards. Hunting down evil Warforged is one of the Legion's primary missions.
Type:Fighting Company
Scale:7
Affiliation Score Criteria:Only Warforged can join the Legion. Further, all must be of Good alignment (and will be tested) and maintain the highest standards of heroism. Cowardice is the worst flaw imaginable; second to that is acting in a way which shames all Warforged. The Legion encourages Warforged to go beyond the stereotypes, and so, Bards, Wizards, and even Druids can be found among their number.
Criterion
Character Level +1/2 PC's Level
BAB 5 or higher +1
BAB 10 or higher +2
Leadership Feat +2
Paladin +2
Completes a mission for the Legion +1
Dies on a mission +2
Acts to increase the reputation of the Warforged +2
Kills an evil Warforged +1
Acts in a cowardly fashion -10
Brings shame to all Warforged -10
Friendly association with evil Warforged -8
Friendly assocation with evil non-Warforged -5
Creates a new Warforged +1
Titles, Benefits & Duties: The Ironsouled Legion are warriors, first and foremost; even those without fighter type levels are expected to enter combat on a regular basis. There are no idle scholars or philosophers among the Ironsouled! As they progress through the ranks, members are expected to take on greater duties and assume the mantle of leadership, often volunteering their services to command armies of other races, if they are willing be so led.
3 or lower Not a member, or a member who has not proved himself.
4-10 Coppersouled: +2 on all Charisma-based skill checks with other Warforged; +1 on attack rolls against evil Warforged
11-15 Bronzesouled +4 on all Charisma-based skill checks with other Warforged; +2 on all Charisma based skill checks with non-evil being; +2 on attack rolls against evil Warforged
16-20 Ironsouled: Gain one Fighter bonus feat; +4 on all saving throws against fear; +3 on all attack rolls against evil Warforged
21-30 Adamantinesouled: +6 on all attempts to influence Good beings and +3 on all attempts to influence non-evil beings; +4 on all attack rolls against evil Warforged; +2 to natural AC bonus
31+ Mithralsouled: Gain two fighter bonus feats.
So, I wrote up the warforged backstory. In so doing, I tossed out the term "Ironsouled Legion", because, you know, it sounded cool. Then I started thinking that it could fit into Shattered World, and that gave me the chance to crack open PH2 and build me an Affiliation. I love "systems for defining things", and I wanted to use a lot of the cool options which 3.x has produced over the years, so there you go. Thus, we present Warforged (as they exist in the Shattered World), and the first Affiliation for same.
(And, frankly, the idea of some Warforged painting himself red and blue and calling himself Optimus Prime is just damn appealing...)
Of course, having conceived of Warforged paladins, I now need some gods. They might be coming next. (Racial deities are another thing I like to create). And so worlds are built cascade style -- from one idea comes the next, and the next, and the next. The hard part is knowing where to stop, to actually focus on play, and not on making a stage no one will ever act upon.
Warforged
The warforged of Arith began millennia ago, shortly after the last Magewar. On the flying island of Skallidane, the scholars of the Pearl Conclave sought to supplement their small numbers (and their many dead soldiers) by finding ways to make smaller, cheaper, golems. To simplify the process, they used a small portion of incarnum -- the raw material of souls -- to power their creations. The miniscule spark used was enough to provide mobility and obedience, but not consciousness. At least, not at first.
After centuries (and this was still at least a thousand years pre-Crush), the populace of Skallidane was at least a fourth warforged. They served more than the Conclave -- the worked in every part of the flying island city, from the fields to the mills to the foundries. Then things began to go wrong. Some of the most ancient of the warforged began to grow rebellious; then it spread. A year after the first incidents, the island was consumed in a virulent war. The magitech for which Skallidane was known and feared was turned against itself, as the Conclave sought to destroy their own creations, unaware of how powerful they had become, and how free willed. The warforged, made with incarnum, had grown true souls, true freedom of thought -- and they were not content to be slaves.
By the time the war was over, Skallidane was no more -- the smoking ruins of the wondrous city had crashed into the sea -- but tens of thousands of warforged survived. They scattered across the world. There, their reception was uneven at best. Masterless golems -- which is how they were seen -- were known as rampaging killers only. While Skallidane was not loved by most of the world, a force which could destroy it was even more terrifying. The warforged were generally driven away. Some gave them shelter -- conquerors who saw them as perfect soldiers and who did not understand their true nature. Some took to banditry, some tried to disguise themselves as humans in thick robes and heavy makeup. A few, though, were determined to prove to the world they were as worthy of respect as any elf, man, or dwarf. They formed the Ironsouled Legion, a band of heroes who took on the greatest and deadliest of foes, asking nothing in payment but to be treated as equals. In time, their deeds became legend, and if folk didn't exactly love warforged after that, they began to accept they could be anything they chose to be.
Most warforged were destroyed in the first century after Skallidane's Fall, and many more died since then, as their natures take them towards dangerous careers. However, while the old rituals of warforged creation have been lost, it was found that a warforged could give up a small portion of their incarnum to animate another. The creation of the body takes 10000 gp and the soul-sacrifice takes 1000 XP, making this a rare process, but common enough that the race can continue -- and that many warforged take up adventuring to pay for the process of having 'children'.
Post-Crush, the warforged find themselves in a world where humanoid machines are sometimes feared, but often admired. The worlds of anime and tales of mecha appealed to them, and some have begun to paint themselves as Gundams or Transformers in the hopes of appearing to the Earthborn as heroes.
Ironsouled Legion
Ironsouled Legion
In the past of Arith, the Ironsouled Legion emerged from the ruins of Skallidane, to prove to the people of the world that beings of steel could be beings of soul. The Legion became legend, and the tales of its deeds have been told and retold by bards for centuries. The legion is not dead, though -- it existed right up to the Crush -- and beyond. Now, in a strange new world built from the mangled corpses of two older worlds, its members -- scattered, isolated, hunted, and feared -- still uphold the ideals of its founders.
The Ironsouled Legion
Symbol: The symbol of the Ironsouled Legion is a bright blue anvil, upon which is superimposed a white heart.
Background, Goals, and Dreams: The Ironsouled Legion exists to provide examples of heroism, honor, and nobility among the Warforged. While not every Warforged is a member of the legion -- or aspires to such nobility -- the Legion believes that if they can proved Warforged can be heroes, the rest of the world will at least give an unproven member of the race the benefit of the doubt.
Missions on behalf of the Legion often involve great risk, impossible odds, and worthy causes. Depending on the skills of the members of the Legion, they may be sent as front-line fighters, scouts, or bodyguards. Hunting down evil Warforged is one of the Legion's primary missions.
Type:Fighting Company
Scale:7
Affiliation Score Criteria:Only Warforged can join the Legion. Further, all must be of Good alignment (and will be tested) and maintain the highest standards of heroism. Cowardice is the worst flaw imaginable; second to that is acting in a way which shames all Warforged. The Legion encourages Warforged to go beyond the stereotypes, and so, Bards, Wizards, and even Druids can be found among their number.
Criterion
Character Level +1/2 PC's Level
BAB 5 or higher +1
BAB 10 or higher +2
Leadership Feat +2
Paladin +2
Completes a mission for the Legion +1
Dies on a mission +2
Acts to increase the reputation of the Warforged +2
Kills an evil Warforged +1
Acts in a cowardly fashion -10
Brings shame to all Warforged -10
Friendly association with evil Warforged -8
Friendly assocation with evil non-Warforged -5
Creates a new Warforged +1
Titles, Benefits & Duties: The Ironsouled Legion are warriors, first and foremost; even those without fighter type levels are expected to enter combat on a regular basis. There are no idle scholars or philosophers among the Ironsouled! As they progress through the ranks, members are expected to take on greater duties and assume the mantle of leadership, often volunteering their services to command armies of other races, if they are willing be so led.
3 or lower Not a member, or a member who has not proved himself.
4-10 Coppersouled: +2 on all Charisma-based skill checks with other Warforged; +1 on attack rolls against evil Warforged
11-15 Bronzesouled +4 on all Charisma-based skill checks with other Warforged; +2 on all Charisma based skill checks with non-evil being; +2 on attack rolls against evil Warforged
16-20 Ironsouled: Gain one Fighter bonus feat; +4 on all saving throws against fear; +3 on all attack rolls against evil Warforged
21-30 Adamantinesouled: +6 on all attempts to influence Good beings and +3 on all attempts to influence non-evil beings; +4 on all attack rolls against evil Warforged; +2 to natural AC bonus
31+ Mithralsouled: Gain two fighter bonus feats.
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