A few new products I picked up at the GM's Day Sale at DriveThruRPG.
My boys are getting ready for their huge campaign finale. The giant battle against Tiamat on the Island of the Dragon Empire. Back in the dawn of time the Dragon and their Dragonfolk surrogates ruled the world from the Dragon Island. Those days are gone and the Dragon Empire has fallen. But the Island remains and that is where the characters will make their stand.
Fantastic Maps - Iconic Island
I am gearing up for the BIG finale of my years long 3e game. The final battle where the forces of good battle the forces of evil happens on an Iceland-like island in my world. I could have drawn anything, I could have even taken an older module and altered the island in Photoshop. With this product I didn't have too. It even looks almost EXACTLY like what I wanted. The ZIP file contains maps of the island. Non-marked, marked and hexed variants. Plus a BW version. There is no text or fluff to go with this, which is great, I have my own. This is my new Dragon Isle! I would love to see more products like this one.
My new island is going to need people too.
Archetypes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG)
I got this product for the new witch hexes but the rest of it is great as well. There is a cool Eastern Flavor to this and I want to see if there is more in this series. While I have a lot of cultures on my game world the one thing that has been getting the short end of my attentions are Dragonfolk/Dragonborn. This book, while not explicitly designed for that, is perfect for my needs (and the cover kinda helps with that).
So what do we get? 20 pages (with cover, credits page, OGL statement and 2 pages of "Ads"). While there is an Eastern "flavor" to this, it is presented mostly context free.
The Barbarian is based on totem animals, which is a really awesome variant. I normally don't play barbarians, but I would try one of these. The Cavaliers are the Order of the Ancestors and Order of the Creed. Monks, a natural fit, are presented as Kensai (one of my favorite classes back in the day). Imagine the typical unarmed monk, now armed. And finally, the Witch, with a bunch of new and exciting hexes based on Elemental magics or Dragon magic (see it is a perfect fit!!). In fact these are some of the best Dragon Witches I have ever seen. So this is worth the price of the book alone to me.
We also get plenty of new feats. This was a nice surprise and I am very happy with this.
Midgard: Player's Guide to the Dragon Empire
I own a few of the Midgard products, but this one really called to me. This Dragon Empire is very similar to the one I was crafting for my own game world, so this saves me some heavy lifting.
The 30 pages of this book is jam-packed. What did I like in this?
Well I love the castes. Dragons seem very arrogant and a caste system makes sense. I liked how the castes were set up as well. Lots of great role-playing potential in these. We get a bunch of new Traits and Feats.
Classes get a bit of an update as to be expected. There is a Cavalier archetype, the Order of the Firedrake (which is a PERFECT with my world's own White Drakes). The Druids have the Elemental Exarch. Fighters get Edjet Warriors, and the Magus has the Dragon Magus. We get a couple new monks, Monk of the Fiery Fist and Monk of the Wind Palm. There is also the Mystery of the Void, Greyscale and Void Elemeentalist for the Oracle, Rouge and Elementalists respectively. There is also the Dragon Emir prestige class which I am sure my son would love. The book end with new spells, exotic goods and magic items, including magic the magic carpet. Cool stuff. I am going to have to look for more books in this series.
Midgard Bestiary for Pathfinder RPG
We always need more monsters. Over a 100 new monsters for Pathfinder. Lots of really interesting ones too. I loved the Shadow Fae, Ice Maiden and Red Hag and have hooks already for all of them. The new dragon types are also very interesting and I can't wait to use a Mithril Dragon or Baby Yaga's Horsemen. In fact there are two completely separate campaigns I want to use this book in, a Dragon based one and a Witch-centric one. Both need unique monsters that the players have never seen before, and there are a number of monsters here that are perfect for one or the other or both!
Also available for 4e and AGE.
Lineage Draconis
This 28 page (27 + cover) pdf features 6 dragon crossbreads including the oft stated Orange and Yellow Dragons. But you also get the Blade, Steel, Rust and Gray Dragons. These dragons are pretty interesting and for the game I have coming up I need a lot of interesting dragons. The book also includes the Dragon Blooded "class" though it is also sort of a race. They are humanoid dragons. Plenty of things you can do with this class as well as alternate versions depending one where the blood came from.
In a neat little feature you also get the art from the book in a seperate file. So now you can show your players exactly what a Yellow Dragon looks like.
The Modern Spellcaster Basic Class
This book is for the d20 Modern Game, Pathfinder and a few other d20 based games. It presents a generic form of a spellcaster that isn't a wizard, cleric, witch or druid. In a sense it is a throwback to the older "Magic User" class. The basic premise here is to provide full powered (up to spell level 9) spellcasters from D&D like games to your Modern Games. I am not sure how this works out in play, but the concept on it's own is interesting enough. There are new feats and a fun "arcane death" table. Frankly I would like to see that expanded into an "Arcane CSI" to be used in any modern game with magical elements.
Showing posts with label world building. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world building. Show all posts
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
New Book: Darwin's Guide to Creatures, Mythical and Mundane
I got on this since it covers many of my interests well. I love old bestiaries, the Victorian age and my interest in Darwin himself.
I thought that since today was Darwin Day, Id spend some time talking about this book.
For starters it is a monster manual. Creatures mythical and mundane to pit against your Gaslight characters.
It is circa 1888 and we are at the height of the Late Victorian Empire.
The book is written as a naturalist guide, similar in some respects to Darwin's work on the Galapagos Islands in his study of finches. I tried to put myself into Darwin's shoes and write about orcs and trolls as if he had seen them himself. Not an easy task. I also tried whenever possible to avoid any supernatural agencies. That was particularly difficult. I rather like what I did about elementals, but less so about undead and will have to edit them a bit.
To prep for this book I reread Darwin's greatest work, "On the Origin of Species". If you have never read this, then please do. It is a masterwork and so ahead of it's time. This man, through careful and painstaking observation put together this theory of common descent and change of species over time. I know from reading his autobiography that this was not an idea he took lightly. He knew that this would not sit well with the clergy and especially his religious wife. But he also knew it had to be done.
Reading his autobiography got me to one of the key conceits of the book. The book is "published" in 1885 or thereabouts. Darwin was of course dead by that time. It is edited from years worth of notes by his son William Erasmus and his daughter Etty.
I wanted to stay true to the spirit of Darwin, if not the letter, but I also wanted to stay true to the game system and world. Gaslight is a world where Dracula preys on maidens in their bedchambers while Sherlock Holmes peruses Jack the Ripper and Mr. Hyde in the streets of White Chapel.
This is also giving me a chance to stat up some monsters that I have not had the chance to try out yet. In particular some dinosaurs.
Looking forward to getting this one out there too!
Cross posting this to The Freedom of Nonbelief.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Going Back to Glantri, Glantri, Glantri...
Just picked the old GAZ3 Glantri Gazetteer.
I had it before, but lost it in one of my purges over the years.
Glantri was my old stomping ground since I first picked up the Expert Set all those years ago.
Course I changed it around 8th grade (82-83), the population was tired of being controlled by creatures they barely recognized as humans, so there there was an uprising.
Eventually a king was named and the country converted to a Lawful Good religion. I began calling this "The Holy Lands of Glantri". If you were on the old MYSTARA-L lists you might have seen me post somethings about it.
I loved that the city of mostly waterways. And of course how could I not love the Glantri School of Magic.
Re-reading this now I am still impressed and can't wait to use it again. Though I wonder if I should run it as is? With the Princes in power. I really kinda like the political intrigue though I have now.
Great stuff here really. Even without my own additions.
I had it before, but lost it in one of my purges over the years.
Glantri was my old stomping ground since I first picked up the Expert Set all those years ago.
Course I changed it around 8th grade (82-83), the population was tired of being controlled by creatures they barely recognized as humans, so there there was an uprising.
Eventually a king was named and the country converted to a Lawful Good religion. I began calling this "The Holy Lands of Glantri". If you were on the old MYSTARA-L lists you might have seen me post somethings about it.
I loved that the city of mostly waterways. And of course how could I not love the Glantri School of Magic.
Re-reading this now I am still impressed and can't wait to use it again. Though I wonder if I should run it as is? With the Princes in power. I really kinda like the political intrigue though I have now.
Great stuff here really. Even without my own additions.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Playing with Earth
One of the things I love to do in gaming is also learn something. One of the things I like to learn is geography. While knowing the ins and outs the City of Greyhawk or Glantri is fun, it rarely has a use in real life. Walking the streets of London in my games though has some out-side-of-the-game utility.
But sometimes I like something for the pure fantasy sake. So I like to use maps of the Earth in different times.
Long time gamers already know of the Paleomap Map project of Earth History. It has many maps of the different stages of Earth history and potential future maps. I will admit when I first saw maps of the really old Earth it was disquieting to me. I love maps and throughout all of human history the Earth has been the same. Not so throughout ALL history and prehistory.
If you ever played in the Known World of Mystara you know this map:
Did you also know about this one?
(image from here, http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm)
That is the Late Jurasic of the Earth, 150+ Million Years Ago.
I was on the site and I also noticed this one:
(image from here, http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm)
That is the Earth in 150 Million Years. Take a look at Africa-Eurasia. Remind you of anything? It did me. How about if I rotate it about 40 degrees.
Now compare that with this:
Not perfect, but a good fit for Robert E. Howards Hyboria. Yes, I know. The Hyborian Age was in the mythical past. And my "North" is really more North East. Well...uh..pole shift! Worked for Mystara!
Going even further into the future we have this little gem.
(image from here, http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm)
Earth in 250 Million years. The new continent is called "Pangea Ultima". I call it "Zothique".
Also not quite-perfect, but they are the same thing. Pangea Ultima is the future when all the continents have merged back to one. Zothique is more or less the same thing. If the Hyborian age is some post-post apocalyptic world, then Zothique is the Dying Earth of Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith and others. Scientists are equally grim on the chance of life on Pangea Ultima.
There are other maps of the ancient Earth there. The Permian looks like it would be fun to use sometime too, or even the Eocene for something that is similar but yet alien.
Jason Vey has been tinkering on his home campaign of "The Wasted Lands" for a number of years. Here is a maps of the Paelocene and the Eocene,
Here is Jason's map
Not exactly the same, but very close. I like how it is a nice blend of REH's Hyboria and HPL's work. Plus it has Atlantic, Mu and Lemuria which I really like.
There is so much that can be done with the world we already have. So much adventure.
I know there were no humans around in the Eocene, but doesn't this look exciting? I mean even the name of the time is exciting; Eocene, the Dawn Epoch.
Maps speak to me. They always have. That one freaking sings. More than that, it is a Rock Opera. It's The Wall meets Tommy meets Operation Mindcrime and maybe just a little bit of Kilroy Was Here to keep the masses happy.
What maps get you excited?
But sometimes I like something for the pure fantasy sake. So I like to use maps of the Earth in different times.
Long time gamers already know of the Paleomap Map project of Earth History. It has many maps of the different stages of Earth history and potential future maps. I will admit when I first saw maps of the really old Earth it was disquieting to me. I love maps and throughout all of human history the Earth has been the same. Not so throughout ALL history and prehistory.
If you ever played in the Known World of Mystara you know this map:
Did you also know about this one?
That is the Late Jurasic of the Earth, 150+ Million Years Ago.
I was on the site and I also noticed this one:
That is the Earth in 150 Million Years. Take a look at Africa-Eurasia. Remind you of anything? It did me. How about if I rotate it about 40 degrees.
Now compare that with this:
Not perfect, but a good fit for Robert E. Howards Hyboria. Yes, I know. The Hyborian Age was in the mythical past. And my "North" is really more North East. Well...uh..pole shift! Worked for Mystara!
Going even further into the future we have this little gem.
Earth in 250 Million years. The new continent is called "Pangea Ultima". I call it "Zothique".
Also not quite-perfect, but they are the same thing. Pangea Ultima is the future when all the continents have merged back to one. Zothique is more or less the same thing. If the Hyborian age is some post-post apocalyptic world, then Zothique is the Dying Earth of Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith and others. Scientists are equally grim on the chance of life on Pangea Ultima.
There are other maps of the ancient Earth there. The Permian looks like it would be fun to use sometime too, or even the Eocene for something that is similar but yet alien.
Jason Vey has been tinkering on his home campaign of "The Wasted Lands" for a number of years. Here is a maps of the Paelocene and the Eocene,
Here is Jason's map
Not exactly the same, but very close. I like how it is a nice blend of REH's Hyboria and HPL's work. Plus it has Atlantic, Mu and Lemuria which I really like.
There is so much that can be done with the world we already have. So much adventure.
I know there were no humans around in the Eocene, but doesn't this look exciting? I mean even the name of the time is exciting; Eocene, the Dawn Epoch.
Maps speak to me. They always have. That one freaking sings. More than that, it is a Rock Opera. It's The Wall meets Tommy meets Operation Mindcrime and maybe just a little bit of Kilroy Was Here to keep the masses happy.
What maps get you excited?
Monday, October 15, 2012
How I learned to stop worrying...
and like the Realms.
(I don't quite love them yet)
I have always been a Greyhawk fan. Some of my very first games were looking for ancient Suel mysteries or exploring the dirty streets of the Free City of Greyhawk. While I ran my adventures in the Known World of Mystara, I played in Oerth and Greyhawk.
For years I even combined the two into one world, and that worked out pretty well.
I remember reading about the Realms in Dragon Mag and I was never impressed. The increased fetishization of the Drow and Drizzt worship turned me off as well. I can't tell you how much I despised "Lloth", it's LOLTH goddamn it. Any way. I saw the Realms as an upstart to Greyhawk and not even a good one to be honest. This oddly enough was right around the same time I played my first game of OD&D set in Greyhawk. To me Realms fans were snotty little kids with delusions of adequacy.
My opinions have softened since then.
This weekend before last I was at the Games Plus game auction. I was able to pick up the Forgotten Realms books for 1st and 2nd Ed. AD&D. I picked up the 3rd ed stuff a while back and had the 4e stuff from Half-Price books. All in all I was able to get all these books for under 50 bucks total.
The 1st Ed box is in fantastic shape, minus some shelf wear. The 3 and 4e books are in mint condition.
I have been using the Realms for the 4e game I am running and I have been enjoying it.
Sure, I am still using elements from the Points of Light campaign that 4e is built around, but all of it is in the new version of the Realms. There are lot of things that came together nicely for this for me really. In the 4e game I am running the kids are going to go after Orcus. Much the same way as the old H1-4 Bloodstone series a while back. That was set in the Realms, so it is kind of fitting really. Plus it would help me flesh out some of the 4e Orcus arc (HPE series). Not sure how I'll fit Hell into it all, but I might not have to worry about it.
I love the gonzo feeling of two worlds mystically crashing into each other. I like that the place has some history to it. Plus I really liked the 3e Realms book. This might irritate some long time Realms fans, but I think the Realms fits better with 3e and 4e. Greyhawk is better for 1st ed and the like. At least in my mind.
So maybe it's my age or something, but I feel I can finally sit back and appreciate what the Realms really are and not what I think or thought they were. I have the main books/sets (for the most part) for all four editions of the game. Honestly I think that is enough. People have done far more with less.
Here are my other thoughts in my introduction and use of the Realms.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/12/could-my-answer-be-in-realms.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/03/drow-should-be-lawful-evil-among-other.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-game-new-world.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/gods-of-new-game.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/01/church-of-lolth-ascendant.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/nothing-like-sun.html
(I don't quite love them yet)
I have always been a Greyhawk fan. Some of my very first games were looking for ancient Suel mysteries or exploring the dirty streets of the Free City of Greyhawk. While I ran my adventures in the Known World of Mystara, I played in Oerth and Greyhawk.
For years I even combined the two into one world, and that worked out pretty well.
I remember reading about the Realms in Dragon Mag and I was never impressed. The increased fetishization of the Drow and Drizzt worship turned me off as well. I can't tell you how much I despised "Lloth", it's LOLTH goddamn it. Any way. I saw the Realms as an upstart to Greyhawk and not even a good one to be honest. This oddly enough was right around the same time I played my first game of OD&D set in Greyhawk. To me Realms fans were snotty little kids with delusions of adequacy.
My opinions have softened since then.
This weekend before last I was at the Games Plus game auction. I was able to pick up the Forgotten Realms books for 1st and 2nd Ed. AD&D. I picked up the 3rd ed stuff a while back and had the 4e stuff from Half-Price books. All in all I was able to get all these books for under 50 bucks total.
The 1st Ed box is in fantastic shape, minus some shelf wear. The 3 and 4e books are in mint condition.
I have been using the Realms for the 4e game I am running and I have been enjoying it.
Sure, I am still using elements from the Points of Light campaign that 4e is built around, but all of it is in the new version of the Realms. There are lot of things that came together nicely for this for me really. In the 4e game I am running the kids are going to go after Orcus. Much the same way as the old H1-4 Bloodstone series a while back. That was set in the Realms, so it is kind of fitting really. Plus it would help me flesh out some of the 4e Orcus arc (HPE series). Not sure how I'll fit Hell into it all, but I might not have to worry about it.
I love the gonzo feeling of two worlds mystically crashing into each other. I like that the place has some history to it. Plus I really liked the 3e Realms book. This might irritate some long time Realms fans, but I think the Realms fits better with 3e and 4e. Greyhawk is better for 1st ed and the like. At least in my mind.
So maybe it's my age or something, but I feel I can finally sit back and appreciate what the Realms really are and not what I think or thought they were. I have the main books/sets (for the most part) for all four editions of the game. Honestly I think that is enough. People have done far more with less.
Here are my other thoughts in my introduction and use of the Realms.
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/12/could-my-answer-be-in-realms.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/03/drow-should-be-lawful-evil-among-other.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-game-new-world.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/gods-of-new-game.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/01/church-of-lolth-ascendant.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/nothing-like-sun.html
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Nothing Like The Sun...
Chanel Divinity: The Triple Moon Goddess Heresy
NOTE: This is something I had submitted to WotC during their open submission window for Dragon. They took a pass on it. But that is cool, because it means I can expand it and pass it on now to you for free.
From the Ancient Dragon Scrolls, #54:
These were the first questions asked by the first of our order, the truths they lead to though would make us shunned by both the Light and the Dark. Shunned, because deep down they know their own teachings are only half-truths their litanies incomplete. Shunned because we know the terrible, wonderful truth that the Goddesses of the moon, Sehanine, Selûne and Shar, are in truth aspects of the One Triple Goddess."
Followers of the Triple Goddess, known amongst themselves as the Sisterhood of the Triple Goddess (aka Sisters) believe that the Goddess always has been, it is mortals that have artificially split Her into component Goddesses because they can not comprehend Her in Her true form. She is Sehanine, Selûne and Shar individually and all at once. There is no contradiction. Followers of the individual Goddesses fight among themselves because their doctrines are so close to each other, yet they only have a small piece of the truer picture.
Each Aspect is much as the Goddess she represents; Sehanine is the ever youthful Maiden, Selûne the powerful Mother and Shar, the most misunderstood but still shrouded in shadow, decay and death.
The Maiden. In Her guise as Sehanine Moonbow, the Maiden is ever young. She is represents new beginnings, youth and re-birth. It is the Maiden that represents the freedom of youth but also growth. She is most often seen in lush green vegetation, the eternal Spring, the Waxing Crescent Moon. For this reason she is also most often associated with the elves and the Feywild. She is young, capricious and fickle as befits Her nature. She dallies with Gods (and sometimes Goddesses) to sow the next generations. When she does she becomes the Mother.
The Mother. In Her Aspect as the Mother, She is most often worshiped under the name Selûne. Here She is the Goddess of the Summer, the Full Moon. She is associated with the Prime Material and the practical. She is the Mother. Strong, proud, and stern if needed, but loving and understanding. Since the Spellplauge She is depicted as being full with child. Some say she is pregnant with the reborn Mystra and it is through the Mother that Magic enters the world.
The Crone. The most misunderstood of all the Aspects of the Goddess. Though to be evil She is demonized as Shar, the Dark Moon. The Crone is far, far more than that. True, She is responsible for death, darkness and decay, but these are natural processes of Life, Death and Rebirth. She is the Crone of Winter and all souls pass by Her. Forgive her if She seems bitter or cold, She only knows of Death. For this She is most often associated with the Shadowfell. She honors the followers of Shar, but does not understand their fascination with death. Death is needed so that others may live and grow. The harvest must be sown, the fields must be cleared, sometimes burned, so that new seeds and growth can occur. The Crone knows much, but the price of Her wisdom is high.
The Worshippers of The Triple Goddess
The lay worshipper of the Triple Goddess is typically female (thus the name Sisterhood), as the Goddess waxes and wanes in course with the moon, so does a woman as she progresses in life as Maiden, Mother and Crone and through only monthly cycle.
Tenets of Faith
The Triple Goddess is worshiped by anyone that worships one of her Aspects, but Her faithful know the truth.
• She is the Moon, waxing and wanning as the Moon does
• She brings Light, Life and Darkness to the World.
• She is the Goddess of Rebirth, Life and Death. Therefore her true believers can never use, or have used on them, any Raise Dead Spell; only Reincarnation.
• Share the word of the Triple Goddess, but do not attempt to convert others. They will come into the fold when they are ready.
• Do what you can to help followers of the Goddess' Aspects.
• Destroy undead. They are an abomination to the Rebirth, Life, Death cycle and therefore an affront to the Goddess.
Relations between the Worshipers.
The Sister of the Triple Goddess share many of the same practices of faith as do the followers of Sehanine, Selûne and Shar. In fact it is not uncommon that a follower of the Triple Goddess will be part of one of the other members' sects. She (and the followers are most often a she rather than a he) will quietly perform her duties next to her unsuspecting sisters, all the while knowing that only she knows the whole truth.
If discovered the follower is usually asked to renounce their heretical beliefs, other service or punishments may be required depending on the sect she belongs too.
Sehanine
The followers of Sehanine view the Triple Goddess as an interesting curiosity. They are more than willing to assume that Sehanine and Selûne could be the same and of course there are still many among the elves that believe that Sehanine is part of a Trinity with Hanali Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya, so this is not a stretch for them. Sisters are usually only asked to maintain pleasant relations with the rest of Sehanine's followers.
The Sisters see the followers of Sehanine as sweet, but hopelessly naïve. This they see as a consequence of only following the Maiden Aspect of the Goddess. They lack the experiences and wisdom that would come to them from learning from the Mother and Crone.
Angharradh
There is much similarity between the Elven Goddess Angharradh and the Triple Goddess. Cheif among these are Sehanine and their similar symbols. Sisters see Angharradh as a separate Elven Goddess more representative of the deep-seated desire in the elves to reunite their race. Unlike Angharradh, who is both the same as and seperate from her aspects, the Sisters believe that The Triple Goddess is One and Three as the same time. There is no separating Sehanine from the Goddess.
Selûne
The Selûnites see the Sisters as also being naïve, but not about the true nature of their Goddess, but instead underestimating the evil and influence of Shar. Some of the more Orthodox members even see the Sisters as a threat set up by Shar Herself to undermine them from within; something they refer to as the Heresy of the Dark Moon (in which they completely ignore Sehanine). It is not the Triunity or even Trinity they have the issues with, it is the fact they include Shar in it.
Though it is speculated that there are Sisters in some of the highest ranks of the Selûnite church.
The Sisters see the Selûnites as being blinded by their hatred of "Shar" to see the full reality; there is no "Shar" as a separate Goddess. Shar, The Crone is necessary for life to continue and grow.
The Orders
Swords of the Lady: The "Lunatics" appreciate The Sister's stance on undead, but feel their belief that Shar is part of their Goddess to heresy in the extreme. The Sister's see the Swords as dangerous fanatics.
Oracles of the Moon: The Oracles and the Sisters actually get along quite well. The Oracles tend to see more than the other followers and the Sisters find the Oracles very knowledgeble, but removed from worldly concerns.
Silverstars: Silverstars are wary of the Sisters, feeling like the Swords, that cleave a little too closely to Shar for their liking. However individually they do tend to get along since Sisters value life above all else. The Sisters admire the Silverstars and feel their cause is worthy and just. They just wished they could find the way to seeing the full Goddess.
Shar
The Followers of Shar tend to be a dark, evil lot. They view the Sisters as cowards for not embracing true evil and watering down their belief with the likes of Sehanine and Selûne. They have nothing but contempt for them. Punishments can include forced re-conversion by torture. When the Sisters were first discovered within the ranks of the Sharites they were captured and infected with Werewolf Lycanthropy. What shocked and surprised both sides were that the Sisters so infected retained their own minds when transformed; something even the Selûnites could not do.
The Sisters see the Sharites as perverters of the Goddesses true form. Yes, the Crone is shadowy and surrounded by death, but it is the ultimate destination for us all. To focus on that aspect alone is perverse. The Sisters run the greatest personal risk from the Sharites, but they are also the ones the Sisters feel the need to reach out to the most.
The Orders
Dark Justicars: The Justicars consider the Sisters to be dangerous heretics and usually kill them on sight. The Sisters avoid the Justicars at all costs. Some souls can't be saved.
Order of the Dark Moon: More accepting of the Sisters since their own tappings into the Dark Weave has lead them to believe that is of the same nature as the Weave. If this is true, then the teachings of the Sisters, as radical as they are, could also be true. The Sisters find the Order to be very austere in their thinking and are not surprised that their single minded dedication to the Shadow Weave also blinds them to the greater being of the Triple Goddess. They are not to be taken lightly, but represent the best inroad into Shar's cult they have.
Nightcloaks/Nightbringers: The Orthodoxy of the Church of Shar see the Sisters as a threat and one that must be destroyed. The Sisters view the Nightcloaks as the true poison in Shar's worship. If this dangerous element can be removed the Sisters feel the rest of the followers of Shar will become followers of the Triple Goddess.
Others
As an unaligned deity the Tripple Goddess is misunderstood by the clergy and lay member of most of the other faiths. The followers of Chantea in her form of the Great Mother have much in common with the Sisters. While the dogman and tenets of faith are very, very similar, there are enough differences to keep them from being close.
Centers of Worship
The Sisters are found everywhere that the worshipers of Sehanine, Selûne and Shar. In particular they are located in the Moonshae Isles. There are centers of worship in Waterdeep as well.
Fourth Edition
The Triple Goddess is the Unaligned Goddess of the Moon, Magic and Change.
Type: Greater God
Alignment: Unaligned
Gender: Female
Sphere: Moon
Symbol: Three interlocking circles
Domain: Arcana, Change, Moon
Special: Worshipers may take any feat or Paragon Path that is limited to Sehanine, Selûne and Shar, with alignment considerations.
The Triple Goddess find worshipers among all sorts of peoples. She is predominantly worshiped by Witches, Celestial Sorcerers, Fey and Dark Pact Warlocks, Moon Elves and Half-Elves. She is also worshipped by good or unaligned Half-Orcs. Regardless of race or class Her faithful are mostly women. Those that devote themselves to destroying Undead will also pay Her homage, especially if they hunt at night.
The worship of The Triple Goddess is strongest anywhere where the Prime Material, Shadowfell and the Feywild overlap. There is known activity in Winterhaven.
Third Edition D&D
The Triple Goddess
Goddess of the Moon, Change, Magic and Mysteries
Greater Deity
Symbol: Three interlocking circles
Home Plane: The Moon
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Moon, Magic, Night, Mysteries
Worshipers: Women, witches, Astrologers,
Cleric Alignment: Any
Domains: Arcana, Change, Moon
Favored Weapon: None (magic)
Dogma
The world is more complex than you know and there are still great mysteries. The Triple Goddess is the keeper of these mysteries, but to understand them you must first understand Her.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Forgotten_Realms_deities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehanine_Moonbow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sel%C3%BBne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shar_(Forgotten_Realms)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystra_(Forgotten_Realms)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Goddess_(Neopaganism)
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sehanine_Moonbow
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Church_of_Shar
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shar
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Silverstars
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sel%C3%BBne
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Angharradh
http://www.sorcerers.net/Worlds/FR/45.php
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/02/gods-demigods-and-heroes.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-game-new-world.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/gods-of-new-game.html
NOTE: This is something I had submitted to WotC during their open submission window for Dragon. They took a pass on it. But that is cool, because it means I can expand it and pass it on now to you for free.
From the Ancient Dragon Scrolls, #54:
Selûne was created from the primordial essence of the universe, along with her twin sister, Shar. Together, they created Chauntea (the embodiment of the world of Abeir-Toril) and some other heavenly bodies and infused these areas with life. The two goddesses then fought over the fate of their creations. From these struggles emerged the original deities of magic, war, disease, murder, death, and others. Selûne reached out of the universe and from a plane of fire, brought forth a flame and ignited a heavenly body in order to give warmth to Chauntea. This greatly enraged Shar, and she began to erase all light and warmth in the universe. Desperate and weakened because of Shar's actions, Selûne hurled some of her divine essence at her sister. Selûne's essence tore through Shar, bringing some of Shar's essence with it. This magical energy combined to form the goddess Mystryl, the original goddess of magic."So says the legends of the Realms. Selûne and Shar, sisters locked in eternal battle, eternal struggle. But this is not the observations of a few; the chosen to know the truth. It is true that siblings fight, they argue, yet do they also not love each other still? Are they not more alike than different?
These were the first questions asked by the first of our order, the truths they lead to though would make us shunned by both the Light and the Dark. Shunned, because deep down they know their own teachings are only half-truths their litanies incomplete. Shunned because we know the terrible, wonderful truth that the Goddesses of the moon, Sehanine, Selûne and Shar, are in truth aspects of the One Triple Goddess."
Followers of the Triple Goddess, known amongst themselves as the Sisterhood of the Triple Goddess (aka Sisters) believe that the Goddess always has been, it is mortals that have artificially split Her into component Goddesses because they can not comprehend Her in Her true form. She is Sehanine, Selûne and Shar individually and all at once. There is no contradiction. Followers of the individual Goddesses fight among themselves because their doctrines are so close to each other, yet they only have a small piece of the truer picture.
Each Aspect is much as the Goddess she represents; Sehanine is the ever youthful Maiden, Selûne the powerful Mother and Shar, the most misunderstood but still shrouded in shadow, decay and death.
The Maiden. In Her guise as Sehanine Moonbow, the Maiden is ever young. She is represents new beginnings, youth and re-birth. It is the Maiden that represents the freedom of youth but also growth. She is most often seen in lush green vegetation, the eternal Spring, the Waxing Crescent Moon. For this reason she is also most often associated with the elves and the Feywild. She is young, capricious and fickle as befits Her nature. She dallies with Gods (and sometimes Goddesses) to sow the next generations. When she does she becomes the Mother.
The Mother. In Her Aspect as the Mother, She is most often worshiped under the name Selûne. Here She is the Goddess of the Summer, the Full Moon. She is associated with the Prime Material and the practical. She is the Mother. Strong, proud, and stern if needed, but loving and understanding. Since the Spellplauge She is depicted as being full with child. Some say she is pregnant with the reborn Mystra and it is through the Mother that Magic enters the world.
The Crone. The most misunderstood of all the Aspects of the Goddess. Though to be evil She is demonized as Shar, the Dark Moon. The Crone is far, far more than that. True, She is responsible for death, darkness and decay, but these are natural processes of Life, Death and Rebirth. She is the Crone of Winter and all souls pass by Her. Forgive her if She seems bitter or cold, She only knows of Death. For this She is most often associated with the Shadowfell. She honors the followers of Shar, but does not understand their fascination with death. Death is needed so that others may live and grow. The harvest must be sown, the fields must be cleared, sometimes burned, so that new seeds and growth can occur. The Crone knows much, but the price of Her wisdom is high.
The Worshippers of The Triple Goddess
The lay worshipper of the Triple Goddess is typically female (thus the name Sisterhood), as the Goddess waxes and wanes in course with the moon, so does a woman as she progresses in life as Maiden, Mother and Crone and through only monthly cycle.
Tenets of Faith
The Triple Goddess is worshiped by anyone that worships one of her Aspects, but Her faithful know the truth.
• She is the Moon, waxing and wanning as the Moon does
• She brings Light, Life and Darkness to the World.
• She is the Goddess of Rebirth, Life and Death. Therefore her true believers can never use, or have used on them, any Raise Dead Spell; only Reincarnation.
• Share the word of the Triple Goddess, but do not attempt to convert others. They will come into the fold when they are ready.
• Do what you can to help followers of the Goddess' Aspects.
• Destroy undead. They are an abomination to the Rebirth, Life, Death cycle and therefore an affront to the Goddess.
Relations between the Worshipers.
The Sister of the Triple Goddess share many of the same practices of faith as do the followers of Sehanine, Selûne and Shar. In fact it is not uncommon that a follower of the Triple Goddess will be part of one of the other members' sects. She (and the followers are most often a she rather than a he) will quietly perform her duties next to her unsuspecting sisters, all the while knowing that only she knows the whole truth.
If discovered the follower is usually asked to renounce their heretical beliefs, other service or punishments may be required depending on the sect she belongs too.
Sehanine
The followers of Sehanine view the Triple Goddess as an interesting curiosity. They are more than willing to assume that Sehanine and Selûne could be the same and of course there are still many among the elves that believe that Sehanine is part of a Trinity with Hanali Celanil and Aerdrie Faenya, so this is not a stretch for them. Sisters are usually only asked to maintain pleasant relations with the rest of Sehanine's followers.
The Sisters see the followers of Sehanine as sweet, but hopelessly naïve. This they see as a consequence of only following the Maiden Aspect of the Goddess. They lack the experiences and wisdom that would come to them from learning from the Mother and Crone.
Angharradh
There is much similarity between the Elven Goddess Angharradh and the Triple Goddess. Cheif among these are Sehanine and their similar symbols. Sisters see Angharradh as a separate Elven Goddess more representative of the deep-seated desire in the elves to reunite their race. Unlike Angharradh, who is both the same as and seperate from her aspects, the Sisters believe that The Triple Goddess is One and Three as the same time. There is no separating Sehanine from the Goddess.
Selûne
The Selûnites see the Sisters as also being naïve, but not about the true nature of their Goddess, but instead underestimating the evil and influence of Shar. Some of the more Orthodox members even see the Sisters as a threat set up by Shar Herself to undermine them from within; something they refer to as the Heresy of the Dark Moon (in which they completely ignore Sehanine). It is not the Triunity or even Trinity they have the issues with, it is the fact they include Shar in it.
Though it is speculated that there are Sisters in some of the highest ranks of the Selûnite church.
The Sisters see the Selûnites as being blinded by their hatred of "Shar" to see the full reality; there is no "Shar" as a separate Goddess. Shar, The Crone is necessary for life to continue and grow.
The Orders
Swords of the Lady: The "Lunatics" appreciate The Sister's stance on undead, but feel their belief that Shar is part of their Goddess to heresy in the extreme. The Sister's see the Swords as dangerous fanatics.
Oracles of the Moon: The Oracles and the Sisters actually get along quite well. The Oracles tend to see more than the other followers and the Sisters find the Oracles very knowledgeble, but removed from worldly concerns.
Silverstars: Silverstars are wary of the Sisters, feeling like the Swords, that cleave a little too closely to Shar for their liking. However individually they do tend to get along since Sisters value life above all else. The Sisters admire the Silverstars and feel their cause is worthy and just. They just wished they could find the way to seeing the full Goddess.
Shar
The Followers of Shar tend to be a dark, evil lot. They view the Sisters as cowards for not embracing true evil and watering down their belief with the likes of Sehanine and Selûne. They have nothing but contempt for them. Punishments can include forced re-conversion by torture. When the Sisters were first discovered within the ranks of the Sharites they were captured and infected with Werewolf Lycanthropy. What shocked and surprised both sides were that the Sisters so infected retained their own minds when transformed; something even the Selûnites could not do.
The Sisters see the Sharites as perverters of the Goddesses true form. Yes, the Crone is shadowy and surrounded by death, but it is the ultimate destination for us all. To focus on that aspect alone is perverse. The Sisters run the greatest personal risk from the Sharites, but they are also the ones the Sisters feel the need to reach out to the most.
The Orders
Dark Justicars: The Justicars consider the Sisters to be dangerous heretics and usually kill them on sight. The Sisters avoid the Justicars at all costs. Some souls can't be saved.
Order of the Dark Moon: More accepting of the Sisters since their own tappings into the Dark Weave has lead them to believe that is of the same nature as the Weave. If this is true, then the teachings of the Sisters, as radical as they are, could also be true. The Sisters find the Order to be very austere in their thinking and are not surprised that their single minded dedication to the Shadow Weave also blinds them to the greater being of the Triple Goddess. They are not to be taken lightly, but represent the best inroad into Shar's cult they have.
Nightcloaks/Nightbringers: The Orthodoxy of the Church of Shar see the Sisters as a threat and one that must be destroyed. The Sisters view the Nightcloaks as the true poison in Shar's worship. If this dangerous element can be removed the Sisters feel the rest of the followers of Shar will become followers of the Triple Goddess.
Others
As an unaligned deity the Tripple Goddess is misunderstood by the clergy and lay member of most of the other faiths. The followers of Chantea in her form of the Great Mother have much in common with the Sisters. While the dogman and tenets of faith are very, very similar, there are enough differences to keep them from being close.
Centers of Worship
The Sisters are found everywhere that the worshipers of Sehanine, Selûne and Shar. In particular they are located in the Moonshae Isles. There are centers of worship in Waterdeep as well.
The Triple Goddess is the Unaligned Goddess of the Moon, Magic and Change.
Type: Greater God
Alignment: Unaligned
Gender: Female
Sphere: Moon
Symbol: Three interlocking circles
Domain: Arcana, Change, Moon
Special: Worshipers may take any feat or Paragon Path that is limited to Sehanine, Selûne and Shar, with alignment considerations.
The Triple Goddess find worshipers among all sorts of peoples. She is predominantly worshiped by Witches, Celestial Sorcerers, Fey and Dark Pact Warlocks, Moon Elves and Half-Elves. She is also worshipped by good or unaligned Half-Orcs. Regardless of race or class Her faithful are mostly women. Those that devote themselves to destroying Undead will also pay Her homage, especially if they hunt at night.
The worship of The Triple Goddess is strongest anywhere where the Prime Material, Shadowfell and the Feywild overlap. There is known activity in Winterhaven.
Third Edition D&D
The Triple Goddess
Goddess of the Moon, Change, Magic and Mysteries
Greater Deity
Symbol: Three interlocking circles
Home Plane: The Moon
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Moon, Magic, Night, Mysteries
Worshipers: Women, witches, Astrologers,
Cleric Alignment: Any
Domains: Arcana, Change, Moon
Favored Weapon: None (magic)
Dogma
The world is more complex than you know and there are still great mysteries. The Triple Goddess is the keeper of these mysteries, but to understand them you must first understand Her.
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Forgotten_Realms_deities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sehanine_Moonbow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sel%C3%BBne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shar_(Forgotten_Realms)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystra_(Forgotten_Realms)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Goddess_(Neopaganism)
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sehanine_Moonbow
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Church_of_Shar
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shar
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Silverstars
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Sel%C3%BBne
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Angharradh
http://www.sorcerers.net/Worlds/FR/45.php
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/02/gods-demigods-and-heroes.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-game-new-world.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/07/gods-of-new-game.html
Monday, July 2, 2012
Gods of the New Game
I still don't have a name yet for my new Realms based 4e game, but things are coming together really nice.
Now back when I said I didn't know anything about the Realms. Well that wasn't true. I don't know much about the lands or the peoples. I have no idea where Elminster is from, but I could pick him out in a police line up. But one thing I do know about is the gods of the Realms.
Back when I was working on my first Witch netbook I picked up what was at that time my only Realms specific book, Faiths & Avatars. I wanted some more info on various gods, various 2nd ed Kits and the human deities. Later I picked up Powers & Pantheons and Demihuman Deities.
So Gods, I know.
I have been playing around with the plots lines of the Spellplague and the events in HPE modules.
And I have decided that I have killed of a number of the Gods.
Here is who is living and who is dead and why.
Bahamut has taken on Tyr's and Torm's portfolios. Torm was killed by Asmodeus. Is now a greater power.
Bane - Dead. Why? can't stand him. Plus I need Asmodeus as a greater threat. He killed Bane and absorbed all his power and portfolio. Part of his Reckoning of Hell. Asmodeus is still keeping Tharizdun chained up deep in Hell.
Kelemvor - Was killed by Orcus in the demon lord's attempt to regain his godhood. In my games Orcus was not a human that rose up through the ranks of demon-hood, but rather he was Death Primordial/Titan that had the powers of a god. He had been denounced and banished to the Abyss. He is searching for an artifact to give him ultimate power.
Mystra is dead, as per the book. But she won't stay that way for long.
The Raven Queen - from the D&D core and not the Realms I know. She is alive, but she has not come into her power at all. In fact she is currently in the guise of a teenage girl ala Death from the Endless. She is the vessel of Kelemvor's power.
Sehanine, Selûne and Shar are much as they are in the books. However in my world there is also a heresy and a cult dedicated to the "Triune Goddess" or the "Triple Moon Goddess" who believe that all three deities are merely part of the same greater goddess. They are respectively the Maiden, Mother and Crone.
The mother, Selûne, is pregnant with the infant Mystra. Since Kelemvor is dead, Shar is pulling double duties till the young Raven Queen is ready.
Others will appear (or die) as needed.
Back when I was working on my first Witch netbook I picked up what was at that time my only Realms specific book, Faiths & Avatars. I wanted some more info on various gods, various 2nd ed Kits and the human deities. Later I picked up Powers & Pantheons and Demihuman Deities.
So Gods, I know.
I have been playing around with the plots lines of the Spellplague and the events in HPE modules.
And I have decided that I have killed of a number of the Gods.
Here is who is living and who is dead and why.
Bahamut has taken on Tyr's and Torm's portfolios. Torm was killed by Asmodeus. Is now a greater power.
Bane - Dead. Why? can't stand him. Plus I need Asmodeus as a greater threat. He killed Bane and absorbed all his power and portfolio. Part of his Reckoning of Hell. Asmodeus is still keeping Tharizdun chained up deep in Hell.
Kelemvor - Was killed by Orcus in the demon lord's attempt to regain his godhood. In my games Orcus was not a human that rose up through the ranks of demon-hood, but rather he was Death Primordial/Titan that had the powers of a god. He had been denounced and banished to the Abyss. He is searching for an artifact to give him ultimate power.
Mystra is dead, as per the book. But she won't stay that way for long.
The Raven Queen - from the D&D core and not the Realms I know. She is alive, but she has not come into her power at all. In fact she is currently in the guise of a teenage girl ala Death from the Endless. She is the vessel of Kelemvor's power.
Sehanine, Selûne and Shar are much as they are in the books. However in my world there is also a heresy and a cult dedicated to the "Triune Goddess" or the "Triple Moon Goddess" who believe that all three deities are merely part of the same greater goddess. They are respectively the Maiden, Mother and Crone.
The mother, Selûne, is pregnant with the infant Mystra. Since Kelemvor is dead, Shar is pulling double duties till the young Raven Queen is ready.
Others will appear (or die) as needed.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Tomorrow it Begins!
Tomorrow I start my* new D&D group.
So far where is what we know.
Two of the kids are mine. Three are the sons of my friend Greg and two are friends of my oldest son. The two new kids have never played anything before.
Greg's kids have played a lot of games, mine have played a variety of D&D games, most notably our 3.x Dragon Slayers game.
We are going with the Orcus wants to become the God of Death plot line. The differences will be that it's Kelemvor that has died due to the Spellplauge and the Raven Queen is only a Godling, her power untapped. This makes her a more likely target to Orcus than the mature Raven Queen. I'll admit there are some things from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" that I want to try out too. I am still doing many of the ideas from this post back in 2010, except these characters are not the descendants of the 3.x characters and I am going to smash a world into this one.
Honestly I think it is going to be great. 4e has it's detractors, but we still had fun with it. Plus my son plays in a Castles & Crusades game with 3 of the other kids listed above and my two boys are still finishing up their 3.x game where I used all the old 1st Ed modules. We get to do all sorts of schools here.
(*really my son's)
So far where is what we know.
- We are playing D&D 4th Edition with the plan of going from 1st to 30th level
- I will have *7* players aged 8 to 12 1/2
- We are playing in the Forgotten Realms as it is in the 4th Ed books.
- We are going to do the H-P-E Modules starting with "The Keep On the Shadowfell"
Two of the kids are mine. Three are the sons of my friend Greg and two are friends of my oldest son. The two new kids have never played anything before.
Greg's kids have played a lot of games, mine have played a variety of D&D games, most notably our 3.x Dragon Slayers game.
We are going with the Orcus wants to become the God of Death plot line. The differences will be that it's Kelemvor that has died due to the Spellplauge and the Raven Queen is only a Godling, her power untapped. This makes her a more likely target to Orcus than the mature Raven Queen. I'll admit there are some things from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" that I want to try out too. I am still doing many of the ideas from this post back in 2010, except these characters are not the descendants of the 3.x characters and I am going to smash a world into this one.
Honestly I think it is going to be great. 4e has it's detractors, but we still had fun with it. Plus my son plays in a Castles & Crusades game with 3 of the other kids listed above and my two boys are still finishing up their 3.x game where I used all the old 1st Ed modules. We get to do all sorts of schools here.
(*really my son's)
Friday, June 22, 2012
New Game, New World
I am gearing up for my new game. I posted about it already a couple days back. Since then I have picked up another new player.
What I have been considering for this game is moving it away from my normal world of Mystoerth to something new. Or at least new for me. I am considering, very seriously, the Forgotten Realms.
I talked about this a while back. I picked up the Player's Guide then, and just got the Campaign Guide.
I own some Realms books as PDFs. They were one of the things I grabbed in the mad dash before DriveThru took them all down.
I mentioned before that I was never a fan of the Realms. I considered it to be a pretender to Greyhawk and not a very worthy one at that. In fact one of the first examples of my own Nerd Rage was how Anti-Realms I used to be because it took the spotlight away from my beloved Greyhawk.
I picked up the 3.0 Realms Guide when it came out and I admit I liked it. I felt it was a good book and all it really was missing was monsters. The new 4e campaign books are a good model too. Though this time I feel I have enough monsters.
But what I like the most about the 4e Realms book is how completely gonzo it is. Smash two planets together to get one world! I love that! Spell plagues? Bring it on! Races from Abeir now showing up? Fantastic!
I will be honest. I know next to nothing about the Realms. Nada. Zip.
Never read the novels, never played in the Realms EVER.
In fact most of what I know comes not from books or games, but from Wikipedia and the Forgotten Realms Wiki.
Normally I think this would be an issue. But since I am using the 4e material and it is about 100 years after all the events in 3e, not to mention world-changing events at that, that it is ok if that the players know nothing. All I need to worry about is their local part of the world.
The iconic NPCs are never going to show up, nor in fact will my sons' characters from our 3.x game.
I want this story to be about these characters right now.
I am also still planning to use the HPE modules for these characters to fight Orcus. Since it is the Realms I am going to add some of the materials from the old H-series, The Bloodstone Wars.
So here are my questions to those of you far more familiar with the Realms than me.
Thanks!
I am feeling really excited about this and want it to work out well.
What I have been considering for this game is moving it away from my normal world of Mystoerth to something new. Or at least new for me. I am considering, very seriously, the Forgotten Realms.
I talked about this a while back. I picked up the Player's Guide then, and just got the Campaign Guide.
I own some Realms books as PDFs. They were one of the things I grabbed in the mad dash before DriveThru took them all down.
I mentioned before that I was never a fan of the Realms. I considered it to be a pretender to Greyhawk and not a very worthy one at that. In fact one of the first examples of my own Nerd Rage was how Anti-Realms I used to be because it took the spotlight away from my beloved Greyhawk.
I picked up the 3.0 Realms Guide when it came out and I admit I liked it. I felt it was a good book and all it really was missing was monsters. The new 4e campaign books are a good model too. Though this time I feel I have enough monsters.
But what I like the most about the 4e Realms book is how completely gonzo it is. Smash two planets together to get one world! I love that! Spell plagues? Bring it on! Races from Abeir now showing up? Fantastic!
I will be honest. I know next to nothing about the Realms. Nada. Zip.
Never read the novels, never played in the Realms EVER.
In fact most of what I know comes not from books or games, but from Wikipedia and the Forgotten Realms Wiki.
Normally I think this would be an issue. But since I am using the 4e material and it is about 100 years after all the events in 3e, not to mention world-changing events at that, that it is ok if that the players know nothing. All I need to worry about is their local part of the world.
The iconic NPCs are never going to show up, nor in fact will my sons' characters from our 3.x game.
I want this story to be about these characters right now.
I am also still planning to use the HPE modules for these characters to fight Orcus. Since it is the Realms I am going to add some of the materials from the old H-series, The Bloodstone Wars.
So here are my questions to those of you far more familiar with the Realms than me.
- Should I read over any of the older material?
- Where is a good place to start the characters? IE. What is "The Village of Hommlet" for the Realms?
- Anything I should about running the Realms say as opposed to running Greyhawk?
Thanks!
I am feeling really excited about this and want it to work out well.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Mary Pickford Blogathon
Today I am participating in the Mary Pickford blogathon hosted over at Classic Movies.
http://www.aclassicmovieblog.com/2012/04/mary-pickford-blogathon-announcement.html
Please stop by all the bloggers participating and see what they have to say about this Hollywood Legend.
Today I want to talk about the ONLY Mary Pickford movie I have ever seen. This movie though has had such a profound impact on my gaming and later writing that I would be remiss if I didn't talk about it at least once here.
Sparrows (1926)
I saw this movie back when I was in Junior High School. One of the great things about growing in my family is we are all movie buffs and we (dad, mom and my brothers and sisters) all have different tastes. Sparrows is one from my Dad's collection (though I am sure my brother Daniel has seen it too). Now I don't recall if I saw it on tape or on one of those Classic Movie channels back in the early days of cable TV. But I have very distinct memories of this movie.
First, and this might run me afoul of my blogging cohorts today, I don't like Mary Pickford. OR rather, I should say I didn't like her in this. What I think was supposed to be a quiet reserve of faith and strength to me became a weak and ineffectual character. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Sparrows was to me a horror movie. That is how I was introduced to it, and those were the eyes I viewed it. It was not though horror as I was expecting. You can read up on the plot on Wikipedia, I want to talk about what I saw and the effect it had on me.
I guess I like and hate this movie for all the wrong reasons. Molly (Pickford) was to me weak and spent too much time looking to God to solve her problems when I felt she should have been trying to solve them on her own. In fact the only time she and the children in the movie are safe is when she gets up and moves them on her own. I have (maybe because I am an atheist) always been fascinated by the "strong, silent faithful" type. I like it when they succeed, but most often I expect them to fail. I wanted the kids to escape, but Molly seemed like a poor candidate to help them.
Then there is Mr. Grimes. Not since the Baron and Baroness Bomburst of Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had I seen a character more evil in his disregard of children (my mom ran a Day Care, in my mind the most evil thing was to hate or harm a child). He left a lasting impression to be sure. So lasting that to this day I have an evil necromancer character who lives in a swap (like Grimes) who hates children.
In my mind the dichotomous battle was set. Old, evil, Grimes versus the young, pure Molly. And so help me if I didn't like Grimes better. I really wanted the kids to rise up and just beat the living shit out that guy and his wife. But they never did, worse, Molly keeps looking up to the sky like she is getting some private communique. Like that is going to help.
I think about this movie fairly often to be honest. Many things I wrote after I watched it will bubble back up in things I write today. I still used swamps as my ultimate hideout of evil (but that could also be in part to the Legion of Doom).
Reflecting back now I would like to see this again, if for no other reason than to give this film it's due with more mature eyes and sensibilities.
Though the metaphorical descendants of Grimes (his own children if you will) will live on in my games for some more years.
Of course in the movie good triumphs over evil, but not because good was smarter/better but because evil was dumb. I can't help but think how this movie would have been handled by Jonathan Demme and if Grimes had been more like Hannibal Lector. Grimes was "Jr. High evil" not "world evil" to paraphrase Kim Possible (who also makes Molly look bad). There is a movie for you. "Sparrows 2000", the bad guy is a Lecter/Buffalo Bill like evil and the hero is a fiery red-head Kim Possible type. Nah. It looses a lot in the translation. As much as Sparrows fails to measure up by my jaded standards today, it was quite effective when it came out and when I first saw it.
So to the movie I remember I do owe a creative debt.
http://www.aclassicmovieblog.com/2012/04/mary-pickford-blogathon-announcement.html
Please stop by all the bloggers participating and see what they have to say about this Hollywood Legend.
Today I want to talk about the ONLY Mary Pickford movie I have ever seen. This movie though has had such a profound impact on my gaming and later writing that I would be remiss if I didn't talk about it at least once here.
Sparrows (1926)
I saw this movie back when I was in Junior High School. One of the great things about growing in my family is we are all movie buffs and we (dad, mom and my brothers and sisters) all have different tastes. Sparrows is one from my Dad's collection (though I am sure my brother Daniel has seen it too). Now I don't recall if I saw it on tape or on one of those Classic Movie channels back in the early days of cable TV. But I have very distinct memories of this movie.
First, and this might run me afoul of my blogging cohorts today, I don't like Mary Pickford. OR rather, I should say I didn't like her in this. What I think was supposed to be a quiet reserve of faith and strength to me became a weak and ineffectual character. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Sparrows was to me a horror movie. That is how I was introduced to it, and those were the eyes I viewed it. It was not though horror as I was expecting. You can read up on the plot on Wikipedia, I want to talk about what I saw and the effect it had on me.
I guess I like and hate this movie for all the wrong reasons. Molly (Pickford) was to me weak and spent too much time looking to God to solve her problems when I felt she should have been trying to solve them on her own. In fact the only time she and the children in the movie are safe is when she gets up and moves them on her own. I have (maybe because I am an atheist) always been fascinated by the "strong, silent faithful" type. I like it when they succeed, but most often I expect them to fail. I wanted the kids to escape, but Molly seemed like a poor candidate to help them.
Then there is Mr. Grimes. Not since the Baron and Baroness Bomburst of Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had I seen a character more evil in his disregard of children (my mom ran a Day Care, in my mind the most evil thing was to hate or harm a child). He left a lasting impression to be sure. So lasting that to this day I have an evil necromancer character who lives in a swap (like Grimes) who hates children.
In my mind the dichotomous battle was set. Old, evil, Grimes versus the young, pure Molly. And so help me if I didn't like Grimes better. I really wanted the kids to rise up and just beat the living shit out that guy and his wife. But they never did, worse, Molly keeps looking up to the sky like she is getting some private communique. Like that is going to help.
I think about this movie fairly often to be honest. Many things I wrote after I watched it will bubble back up in things I write today. I still used swamps as my ultimate hideout of evil (but that could also be in part to the Legion of Doom).
Reflecting back now I would like to see this again, if for no other reason than to give this film it's due with more mature eyes and sensibilities.
Though the metaphorical descendants of Grimes (his own children if you will) will live on in my games for some more years.
Of course in the movie good triumphs over evil, but not because good was smarter/better but because evil was dumb. I can't help but think how this movie would have been handled by Jonathan Demme and if Grimes had been more like Hannibal Lector. Grimes was "Jr. High evil" not "world evil" to paraphrase Kim Possible (who also makes Molly look bad). There is a movie for you. "Sparrows 2000", the bad guy is a Lecter/Buffalo Bill like evil and the hero is a fiery red-head Kim Possible type. Nah. It looses a lot in the translation. As much as Sparrows fails to measure up by my jaded standards today, it was quite effective when it came out and when I first saw it.
So to the movie I remember I do owe a creative debt.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Oh the Places You'll Go!
I love maps. Old maps, new maps, maps that never were.
Here are few that catch my fancies, and fantasies.
I'd love to plan a game sometime for the far future of Earth. Maybe something along the lines of Dying Earth or Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique cycle.
(image from here, http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm)
Given my love for the roots of D&D, Victorian adventure and weird SciFi I have also had a desire to play on a Mars that Never Was, a Mars with oceans.
Likely using some of the Warriors of Mars ideas from Jason Vey's site.
The Places I Could Go, indeed.
Here are few that catch my fancies, and fantasies.
I'd love to plan a game sometime for the far future of Earth. Maybe something along the lines of Dying Earth or Clark Ashton Smith's Zothique cycle.
Given my love for the roots of D&D, Victorian adventure and weird SciFi I have also had a desire to play on a Mars that Never Was, a Mars with oceans.
Likely using some of the Warriors of Mars ideas from Jason Vey's site.
The Places I Could Go, indeed.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Question for you all
I was digging through the depths of my hard drive tonight and I found the remains of one of my oldest documents.
"The Urban Survival Guide" was going to be a guide book for living in and running adventures in cities.
I never finished it but it got me thinking.
Have you all ever used cities as a main adventure area? In a D&D like game?
I have Vornheim and it is awesome, but any city is fine for this discussion.
"The Urban Survival Guide" was going to be a guide book for living in and running adventures in cities.
I never finished it but it got me thinking.
Have you all ever used cities as a main adventure area? In a D&D like game?
I have Vornheim and it is awesome, but any city is fine for this discussion.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Old Maps
I love old maps. Especially ones from the dawn of discovery when map makers had equal parts of skill, imagination and daring. Sure I would not want one in my GPS car system, but for my game table? Yes Please!
Here is one I was reading today while waiting for something else.
That's Taprobana. An island in the Indian Ocean.
Sure we have an island there now anyway, Sri Lanka, but Taprobana is cool. It is an island of wizards, fakirs and shamans. A place to go to learn the highest magics, the most ancient of all arcane secrets.
They also have tea. Which is a plus.
I just need to find a place for it in my own world.
Here is one I was reading today while waiting for something else.
That's Taprobana. An island in the Indian Ocean.
Sure we have an island there now anyway, Sri Lanka, but Taprobana is cool. It is an island of wizards, fakirs and shamans. A place to go to learn the highest magics, the most ancient of all arcane secrets.
They also have tea. Which is a plus.
I just need to find a place for it in my own world.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Oh Hell!
There are some new posts over at The Land of Nod about Hell:
Going to #&!!
Ruminations on the Netherworld
I like what he has so far.
I have been going on a similar path myself:
Going (Up) to Hell? Cosmology
Post 666
Let's be honest here. Hell is interesting. It is the ultimate mega dungeon Everything there can be killed and not only that, it is a good thing to do!
What I have been struggling with though is cosmology.
IF there is a multiverse in my game (and there is) then does each world have it's own Hell? Or do all Hells connect to each other.
Obviously one answer is that in the core of my world there is my Hell and in the core of the Land of Nod there is another Hell and so on... Another is they are all the same place, just different points of view and different access points.
The other issue I still have is how to get Hell and the Abyss to work together. Sur eI could make the same place and have the demons be the thralls of the devils, but that robs them of some of their chaotic power.
I should figure this out soon. The Dragonslayers are about to get a copy of the Demonomicon and I want to do an whole arc where they fight Orcus.
Could the Antechamber of Hell/Limbo also be the Abyss? Is it big enough to support all the demons I need? The Earth currently is home to almost 7 billion people. How many demons then are there? According to many of the myths of the time there is anywhere from 6,666 to 133 million demons, with up to 72 demonic leaders.
According to the 4th ed Manual of the Planes Hell is a planet that is 7,000 in diameter. If my world is roughly the same size as Earth then Hell can be inside the Earth with 460 some odd miles between the the two surfaces. The deepest part of the Earth is under 7 miles deep and I recall reading somewhere that the deepest we have ever dug is 2 miles. So plenty of room for demons, devils and all sorts of beasties.
Even if the Underdark is 10 miles deep that is still a lot of room.
So I think I have enough room. Now where to put them all.
Other useful links:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dra/400ninehells
http://kotgl.blogspot.com/2010/01/kill-planes-abyss.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell
Going to #&!!
Ruminations on the Netherworld
I like what he has so far.
I have been going on a similar path myself:
Going (Up) to Hell? Cosmology
Post 666
Let's be honest here. Hell is interesting. It is the ultimate mega dungeon Everything there can be killed and not only that, it is a good thing to do!
What I have been struggling with though is cosmology.
IF there is a multiverse in my game (and there is) then does each world have it's own Hell? Or do all Hells connect to each other.
Obviously one answer is that in the core of my world there is my Hell and in the core of the Land of Nod there is another Hell and so on... Another is they are all the same place, just different points of view and different access points.
The other issue I still have is how to get Hell and the Abyss to work together. Sur eI could make the same place and have the demons be the thralls of the devils, but that robs them of some of their chaotic power.
I should figure this out soon. The Dragonslayers are about to get a copy of the Demonomicon and I want to do an whole arc where they fight Orcus.
Could the Antechamber of Hell/Limbo also be the Abyss? Is it big enough to support all the demons I need? The Earth currently is home to almost 7 billion people. How many demons then are there? According to many of the myths of the time there is anywhere from 6,666 to 133 million demons, with up to 72 demonic leaders.
According to the 4th ed Manual of the Planes Hell is a planet that is 7,000 in diameter. If my world is roughly the same size as Earth then Hell can be inside the Earth with 460 some odd miles between the the two surfaces. The deepest part of the Earth is under 7 miles deep and I recall reading somewhere that the deepest we have ever dug is 2 miles. So plenty of room for demons, devils and all sorts of beasties.
Even if the Underdark is 10 miles deep that is still a lot of room.
So I think I have enough room. Now where to put them all.
Other useful links:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dra/400ninehells
http://kotgl.blogspot.com/2010/01/kill-planes-abyss.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Post 666
I have talked about Hell before and some of it's inhabitants and some potential inhabitants. If I follow this logic then devils would be the ultimate foe for the elves. Not that I don't mind this idea at all. But I think I might focus it a bit more. Combine the story of Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lolth's shunning/betrayal and I can paint a pretty detailed idea of what Hell is in my world.
Hell is the ultimate prison for the fallen. Gods, Angels and other powers are cast out and into hell.
Let's start with a couple of Goddess that give me some problems.
Tiamat is a Goddess and Queen of all evil dragons. She has always been listed as having a domain on the first level of Hell. I have never really liked that to be honest. Tiamat is in Babylonian myth primal Chaos. If anything she should be in the Abyss. Using the new 4e cosmology that would place her in the Elemental Chaos, which is really the perfect place for her. In Dragonlance her home was always called "the Abyss". In my games I always called her realm Tehom, which means Abyss in Hebrew and is associated with the mythical Tiamat. So she really has no place in Hell. Who should replace her?
Lolth on the other hand is better fit. Her story is more in line with the casting out of the Angels into Hell. Though I am not sure I want her in Hell proper, maybe more of the Ante-chamber to Hell, near the Underdark. This would be similar to the first level of Hell that Dante claimed the Pagans went too. So I am trading a giant dragon for a giant spider. For a bit of tongue in cheek continuity I would make Tiamat and Lolth allies. They have different goals and motivations, but I see them as felling they have a common history so if it benefits them to share an alliance, then they would. Lolth's realm is still called the Demonweb and she still has a number of demons in her employ.
Devils in my Game
Demons are easy. They are evil, chaotic outsiders bent on destruction of everything. Devils are much more complicated. I say in my game Devils are only Fallen Angels. That means there are a finite number of them and once they are gone, that is it. There are a lot of creatures that are called devils, but most of them are demons pressed into service. Since they have been forced into service by the Devils they have changed, they can evolve into greater forms. Pit Fiends are those fiends that have reason up in ranks. The True Devils still look down on them.
Since I started this post, Dreams of the Lich House posted a bit about using Satan/The Tempter in your games. It is a good read. It also ties in nicely with the Milton/Dante-ish cosmology I want to use for Hell. I would keep the 9 layers. The top most being the "Ante-Chamber of Hell" and the rest each ruled by an Arch Duke. Also each Arch Duke is responsible for one of the Seven Deadly sins.
| Layer | Name | Arch-Duke | Deadly Sin |
| 1 | Avernus | none | na |
| 2 | Dis | Dispater | Envy |
| 3 | Minauros | Mammon | Greed |
| 4 | Phlegethos | Belial | Sloth |
| 5 | Stygia | Geryon | Wrath |
| 6 | Malbolge | Glayssa | Lust |
| 7 | Maladomini | Baalzebul/Beelzebub | Gluttony |
| 8 | Cania | Mephistopheles | Pride |
| 9 | Nessus | Asmodeus | * |
Glayssa was given Lust, Asmodeus' old sin since he is now in charge. His though is the sin of betrayal.
In the 4e cosmology Asmodeus was the angel guarding the prison that Tharizdun was held in. Tharizdûn corrupted him and Asmodues and his angels all fell. I have decided that Tharizdun is still chained, but the greatest deceit is that he is not where all the gods think he is. He is in fact buried deep in Hell where Asmodeus taps his power. This is how he has been elevated to near Godhood. Of course this might be Tharizdun plan to to trap Asmodeus in his thrall even more.
Chances are good that the Dragonslayers will run into the cult of Tharizdun sometime soon. I just need something to do with them.
I am not planning on the Dragonslayers going to Hell anytime soon, so this all might be for nothing.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Divine Intervention and the Nature of Dieties
How do you do divine intervention in your games?
Following up on the post about Clerics I have thought about how Gods interact with mortals. Typically I give any character a base 1% chance to get divine intervention when they ask for it. This is modified by how well they adhere to the tenets of their faith, the nature of their god, and even level (higher level characters can do more). Of course nothing comes without a price.
In my 4e game coming up I am thinking that that the players will be visited often by the Raven Queen's avatar, in the form of a young girl ala Death from DC's Vertigo line and borrowing heavily from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" books. I might even introduce her in the current adventure arc.
Presently the Dragonslayers are going after Tiamat. While they acknowledge that she is the "Goddess of Evil Dragons" to them that just makes her bigger and more powerful to kill. I am thinking I am ok with that for the most part. It could be that Gods in my game are beings that just got really, really powerful.
If that is the case why do they need worshipers? What purpose then is divine intervention for?
I had a character once who I took briefly into the Planescape setting. Basically he was a jerk and didn't think that gods were anything special (sound familiar?), just powerful humans (or humanoids). I later expanded his belief into an entire Plansescape faction, The Hermetic Order of Sigil, though he was not a member.
Interesting that all these years later I am still going back to the basic assumptions of my games and trying to figure out the underlying realities.
Following up on the post about Clerics I have thought about how Gods interact with mortals. Typically I give any character a base 1% chance to get divine intervention when they ask for it. This is modified by how well they adhere to the tenets of their faith, the nature of their god, and even level (higher level characters can do more). Of course nothing comes without a price.
In my 4e game coming up I am thinking that that the players will be visited often by the Raven Queen's avatar, in the form of a young girl ala Death from DC's Vertigo line and borrowing heavily from Amber Benson's "Death's Daughter" books. I might even introduce her in the current adventure arc.
Presently the Dragonslayers are going after Tiamat. While they acknowledge that she is the "Goddess of Evil Dragons" to them that just makes her bigger and more powerful to kill. I am thinking I am ok with that for the most part. It could be that Gods in my game are beings that just got really, really powerful.
If that is the case why do they need worshipers? What purpose then is divine intervention for?
I had a character once who I took briefly into the Planescape setting. Basically he was a jerk and didn't think that gods were anything special (sound familiar?), just powerful humans (or humanoids). I later expanded his belief into an entire Plansescape faction, The Hermetic Order of Sigil, though he was not a member.
Interesting that all these years later I am still going back to the basic assumptions of my games and trying to figure out the underlying realities.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Hunting trolls should be like this...
Trolls are ubiquitous in FRPGs. Just go to Chapter 2 of The Hobbit and you will see why.
The trouble is they are so ubiquitous that they often get forgotten as a real threat. Not surprising really. When you live in a world of dragons, demons and other horrors, the simple troll can seem, well, quaint.
Well they shouldn't be. Trolls were once the "demons" of the world. They were the monsters.
To help us remember that there is a new film out of Norway (where Trolls still sleep) called "Troll Hunter"
http://www.trollhunterfilm.com/
http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/05/troll-hunter-directed-by-andre-vredal.html
And here is one of the trolls,
That's a troll worthy of your characters.
I have always preferred the the more Scandinavian Troll over the green rubbery one from the Monster Manual. I like trolls that look like they are made out of rock and earth. So for that, here is the Troll I have used in Basic Era format.
Earth Troll
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 10d8* (50 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d8+3
Special: Darkvision 90 ft., regeneration, vulnerability to sunlight
Movement: 30 ft., burrow 40 ft.
No. Appearing: 1 (1-3 in lair)
Saves: Fighter 10
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:
Earth Trolls are relatives of the normal troll and make their lairs deep within the subterranean realms of the earth or in dense forests where the sunlight is easily avoided. Most creatures avoid Earth Trolls, as they are completely malign and evil, attacking any living creature, especially when hungry. They are quite fond of humanoid flesh and usually stage raids upon surface dwellers every month. Because of this, they are often encountered in large surface caves in the sections well outside the reach of sunlight.
Earth Trolls are 10 feet tall and weigh about 1,200 pounds with females being slightly larger. They resemble their smaller relatives in most respects, but some accounts have them appearing as rather large and misshapen gnomes. The Earth Troll’s hide is stone gray or brown, its hair is black or brown, and its eyes are dull brown. Like its counterpart, the Earth Troll’s arms and legs are long and thin. Its arms end in sharpened talons, and its legs sport great three-toed feet. Earth trolls will attempt to dress or adorn themselves in whatever rags, hides and bits of clothing they can find.
Earth trolls are a little smarter that their more common cousins. While they still do not have concept of strategy, they are smart enough to speak and to use some simple weapons.
Earth trolls speak the language of all trolls, some have been known to speak orc or goblin as well.
Earth Trolls attack any living thing that enters their territory, usually doing so for food. They will band together for very simple ambush tactics but that is about the extent of their strategy and planning. Most of the time an earth troll will flail relentlessly at its foes with its powerful claws until either it or its opponent is dead, but some have been known to use a large club and others even a spear or sword.
Regeneration: An earth troll heals only if it is underground and touching dirt or earth. If in contact with the earth it heals 3 hit-points per round. If contact is lost, say the troll is levitated or flying, then the healing stops. Trolls turned to stone heal hit points (but not lost limbs).
Vulnerability to Sunlight: An earth troll exposed to natural sunlight (not merely a spell or magical item that replicates sunlight) is instantly turned to stone (as if by the flesh to stone spell) if it fails a Petrify save. This effect is permanent, but can be dispelled if the earth troll is removed from the sunlight and stone to flesh is cast on it.
--
Section 15 Copyright Notice
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks is Copyright ©2003, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team.
Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Copyright © 2006-2008. Chris Gonnerman.
Labyrinth LordTM. Copyright © 2007, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
"Earth Troll" Copyright ©2011, Timothy S. Brannan
The trouble is they are so ubiquitous that they often get forgotten as a real threat. Not surprising really. When you live in a world of dragons, demons and other horrors, the simple troll can seem, well, quaint.
Well they shouldn't be. Trolls were once the "demons" of the world. They were the monsters.
To help us remember that there is a new film out of Norway (where Trolls still sleep) called "Troll Hunter"
http://www.trollhunterfilm.com/
http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/05/troll-hunter-directed-by-andre-vredal.html
And here is one of the trolls,
That's a troll worthy of your characters.
I have always preferred the the more Scandinavian Troll over the green rubbery one from the Monster Manual. I like trolls that look like they are made out of rock and earth. So for that, here is the Troll I have used in Basic Era format.
Earth Troll
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 10d8* (50 hp)
No. of Attacks: 2 claws / 1 bite
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d8+3
Special: Darkvision 90 ft., regeneration, vulnerability to sunlight
Movement: 30 ft., burrow 40 ft.
No. Appearing: 1 (1-3 in lair)
Saves: Fighter 10
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Chaotic
XP:
Earth Trolls are relatives of the normal troll and make their lairs deep within the subterranean realms of the earth or in dense forests where the sunlight is easily avoided. Most creatures avoid Earth Trolls, as they are completely malign and evil, attacking any living creature, especially when hungry. They are quite fond of humanoid flesh and usually stage raids upon surface dwellers every month. Because of this, they are often encountered in large surface caves in the sections well outside the reach of sunlight.
Earth Trolls are 10 feet tall and weigh about 1,200 pounds with females being slightly larger. They resemble their smaller relatives in most respects, but some accounts have them appearing as rather large and misshapen gnomes. The Earth Troll’s hide is stone gray or brown, its hair is black or brown, and its eyes are dull brown. Like its counterpart, the Earth Troll’s arms and legs are long and thin. Its arms end in sharpened talons, and its legs sport great three-toed feet. Earth trolls will attempt to dress or adorn themselves in whatever rags, hides and bits of clothing they can find.
Earth trolls are a little smarter that their more common cousins. While they still do not have concept of strategy, they are smart enough to speak and to use some simple weapons.
Earth trolls speak the language of all trolls, some have been known to speak orc or goblin as well.
Earth Trolls attack any living thing that enters their territory, usually doing so for food. They will band together for very simple ambush tactics but that is about the extent of their strategy and planning. Most of the time an earth troll will flail relentlessly at its foes with its powerful claws until either it or its opponent is dead, but some have been known to use a large club and others even a spear or sword.
Regeneration: An earth troll heals only if it is underground and touching dirt or earth. If in contact with the earth it heals 3 hit-points per round. If contact is lost, say the troll is levitated or flying, then the healing stops. Trolls turned to stone heal hit points (but not lost limbs).
Vulnerability to Sunlight: An earth troll exposed to natural sunlight (not merely a spell or magical item that replicates sunlight) is instantly turned to stone (as if by the flesh to stone spell) if it fails a Petrify save. This effect is permanent, but can be dispelled if the earth troll is removed from the sunlight and stone to flesh is cast on it.
--
Section 15 Copyright Notice
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks is Copyright ©2003, Timothy S. Brannan and the Netbook of Witches Team.
Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game Copyright © 2006-2008. Chris Gonnerman.
Labyrinth LordTM. Copyright © 2007, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
"Earth Troll" Copyright ©2011, Timothy S. Brannan
Thursday, February 10, 2011
How I stat out characters
Usually I have something in mind or I want to try out a new system with something I already know or a combination of the two. But how do I take a character like Zatanna, or Red Sonja, or Willow and Tara or anyone and figure out how they are supposed to "be" in a particular system. I have a couple of things I like to do and it has usually worked pretty well for me.
I always start out with what the character can do and who is this character supposed to be in my mind. If I am working on Dirty Nel then I have a good idea, "sassy street faerie prostitute. cute. smarter than anyone gives her credit for. Enjoys her creature comforts and knows how to get them." Some of that doesn't translate into game stats. Well...most games anyway. But a lot of it does. I know she has quite a bit of knowledge about the world, street life and the occult. I know she has a bit of magic in her and I also have a good idea about what her fighting prowess is like.
Skills
In most systems there are skills. I look for signature skills the character has, say being able to program computers or speaking 4 languages and figure out how these are represented in the system. For someone like Willow I look for high numbers in computers, science but also occult knowledge. I know this is going to suck up most of her points and want to get them figured out first. Plus they are very iconic to the character. If I am working on Batwoman then I want to be sure her acrobatics are good, if I have Robin Sena I know she is young and most of her skills are weak except for things like occult knowledge and maybe her languages.
I like to stay within the rules as much as I can. This helps me define the character in terms of that world's reality. If a Unisystem character gets 25 points for skills then I need to have good reasons for going to 35. If I am using PL 9 as a base for Tarot and PL 11 for Tara in Mutants and Masterminds then I want their skills to comparable to those realities.
Skills are good Rosetta Stone really. Most systems have them and there are lot of good translations. Knowledge (Supernatural) could be the same thing as Occultism or Occult Knowledge.
Magic
Since I tend to make a lot of magic using characters using magic as another yardstick is good. For D&D and d20-like games I know they need a certain spell and they need to be a certain level to cast that. That is how I came up with Willow and Tara's levels in d20 Mod, a combination of spells and skills.
In a game like Ghosts of Albion the same is true, but then I can decide on how many levels of magic they might need.
For something like d20, this is pretty easy to work backwards from. Find the spells, find the levels that can cast those spells, fill in the details.
For a point buy system like Ghosts, it is only part of the equation.
Combat
A lot of games feature combat or fighting. To ignore this does the character an injustice. Even in Call of Cthulhu or Doctor Who the character might need to stop running or talking and fight it out. Thinking about combat like a skill then is a good way to figure out a character. In M&M I know Tarot for example is a better fighter than Willow or Zatanna, but she can't match either of them (or even come close) in magic. That doesn't mean she can go toe to toe with the likes of Red Sonja either. It means that there is a good balance to be had. Where that balance is sometimes is up for debate. My Red Sonja may be different that someone else's based on the same PL (to use an Mutants and Masterminds example).
Feel
This is less "quantitative" really. I'll start with a premise, "Willow is the most powerful witch in my game" then I work down from her. I think what would it take to get the character to this level, what would it take to get a different character to a similar level.
For characters like the Hex Girls I want to make them total novices at magic. So in Unisystem they have Magic 1 or 2 tops. But still give the points where they would be better than average, music and showmanship. I usually feel pretty confident in my builds, but each one usually takes longer than say just stating up John or Jane Doe Character.
Sometimes I have such strong idea for a character concept, like Justice, that I also just like to see the character in different systems too. In the case of Willow and Tara I am also seeing if I can stat them up in as many systems as I can.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Orcs of Mystoerth
I have talked about the Desert Orcs of the Zakhara Desert and their allies the Desert Elves. I also plan to use Harvard's more bestial Orcs of Blackmoor for my Blackmoor area (north pole).
Sure my Orcs have a lot in common with Tolkien's Orcs, but I also borrow a lot from Shadowrun, Orkworld and other games. I also like to think of orcs as some sort of human predecessor/off-shot. Almost like the gods were trying to make humans (or maybe the elves were) and the orcs were their disastrous first draft. That would put more emphasis on the human-orc wars than the orc-elven ones. Unless there are some good reasons for the elves to be involved.
My write-up on Goblins can be read here, in case you were curious.
History of the Orcs
Orcs began as one of the first experiments of creating life by the elves. It is said that the greatest sin is that of hubris. In this hubris, feeling they were equal to the gods that had made them, the first elves, nearly immortal beings of great power, created the first orc through their magic. They wished to instill the sturdiness of the dwarves (a race created at the same time as the elves), the tenacity of the goblins and the adaptability of this new race known as human. Though to their horror what they created were the Orcs; a word that means "horror" in the elf tongue. The elves did not know what to do with there creations, so they hid them away in dark mountains, and underground and anywhere where the clime was harsh hoping that nature could do what they could not, kill their creations. But nature didn't instead she took iron of the Orcs and tempered it into steel. The orcs flourished and when the other races discovered what had been done it was too late to stop the orcs.
The hatred of the orcs and elves comes from this point. Orcs see elves and are reminded of what they are not, elves see orcs and are reminded of the failures of their own race. Even if the true knowledge of the elves and orcs has been lost to all but the most learned scholars, the racial memory runs deep.
If orcs just fundamentally hate elves, their hatred of dwarves is more pragmatic. Dwarves and orcs are often found in the same locales fighting over the same resources. So far the only race orcs have seen as worth enough to be considered equal foes are humans.
Background
All orcs have a number of qualities in common. They are typically much stronger than humans and elves, have bestial or "primitive" features. Orcs will cross-bred with anything, but favor goblins, hobgoblins, humans, and ogres. Orcs have interbred with trolls and some hill giants in the past which has re introduced some randomness into their genetic makeup. Though it should be stated that orcs do not prefer this. Orcs are extremely proud of their heritage and consider themselves to be the best of all species as they are the only species to live in every part of the world. Though they are dimly aware that their success is due in part of their adaptability and ability to interbred with others.
Orcs give birth to 1-2 young at a time. The gestation period for an Orc is 4 months. A feamle orc can produce as many as 4 to 6 young per year, but only half will survive their first year. Orcs grow fast, with babies able to walk within months and eat meats by 1 year old. Orcs also reach sexual maturity at age 10 and are considered adults soon after. Female orcs choose mates based on their physical size and their ability to gain meat for the family unit. Males must show prowess in battle and kill any rivals for the female's attention. All orcs have a sense of honor, but it only applies to other orcs. Though they have been known to extend the same code to humans; a race they see as a worthy adversary.
Some orcs do enjoy the taste of human flesh, but they typically only eat human (or demi-human) flesh as a means to strike fear into foes or as part of a shamanistic ritual. Orcs are omnivores, though most prefer only meat. Elk, caribou and reindeer are the chief staples of their diet (depending on territory). No matter what though orcs will not eat the flesh of another orc. That is one taboo they will not break.
Grey Orcs - these are the common orcs of the "Oerth" part of my world. These are the brutish, violent orcs of most D&D worlds. They are found through out the Flanaess. These orcs extend far to the north where they are the original stock of the Blackmoor Orcs. Some scholars believe that these are orcs are the offspring of the Uruks and generations of interbreeding with goblinoids. These orcs are fond of raiding human villages for food and supplies. Some of these orcs have skin tone that is almost pinkish in hue, but they are still called Grey orcs. The largest concentration of Grey orcs are located in the Pomarj region. Here the Empire of Turrosh Mak still reigns as it has since CY 584 (the current CY in my game is CY915). The line of Turrosh Mak greatly favors the Uruk ancestry found in the Grey Orc line. The current orc emperor is Turrosh Bane XIV who came to power after murdering his father and brothers. Bane is devious, intelligent and violent in the extreme.
Green Orcs - The common orc of the "Msytara" side of my world. Like the greys these orcs are violent and brutish. These orcs though also have an bit higher intelligence than their grey cousins and are bit better organized, they constantly fall prey to clan fighting among lesser Green Orc chieftains. Unlike the Greys and the Uruk there is no one leader to try to unite these orcs. These orcs are common to much of the Empire of Thyatis and can also be found in the deep southern jungles of of Pelatan. The largest collection of Green orcs can be found in the Broken Lands outside Glantri.
White Orcs - These are green orcs that have adapted to the frozen wastes north of Hyborea and Norwold.
In the Northwest corner of Brun there is Hyborea and here the White Orcs have interbred with the Animalistic Orcs of Blackmoor to produce a breed of orc that is both strong, violent and smart. These orcs though seldom organize enough to become more of a threat outside of a raiding party. Due to the inherent adaptability of the orcs, these orcs have skin that is bone white. Better to hide in the frozen wastes they call home.
Blackmoor Orcs - These orcs are much more bestial in appearance and manner. Their sizes vary considerably and many have pronounced horns, claws, fur and other "animalistic" features. It is believed these orcs have been the results of the the strange experiments that were common to Blackmoor before the great explosion. These orcs have also interbred so much with goblins and bugbears that within Blackmoor it is nearly impossible to tell the two races apart.
Uruks - Also known as High Orcs or even Black Orcs, these orcs consider themselves to be the pinnacle of the orc race. Their skin is dark and they stand nearly a head taller than men. They are thickly muscled, often with pronounced tusks in their lower jaw and they are fiercely intelligent. While, maybe not more so than humans, but they have a cunning that makes them a horror in battle. Their mortality rate is very high so that they never produce great numbers. Their society is ordered, militaristic and violent. They have a single leader, currently a charismatic chieftain, that can control thousands of these orcs. If the Uruks ever decide to go to war with humanity then it will be a war that engulfs the world.
Desert Orcs - an off-shoot of the Greens. They live in a land where they are at peace with the elves. In fact Desert orcs and desert elves consider each other to be brothers. This relationship was forged thousands of years ago when the rose up together to fight of the evil of the Necromancer Kings. Living under the harsh desert sun has turned the orcs complexion to more of a brown color.
More detail has been posted here, Desert Elves and Orcs.
Half-Orcs - Most times when an orc inter-breeds with another species the result is an orc. The orc may have certain qualities that are similar to their non-orc parent (Goblin-Orcs are smaller, Ogre-Orcs are larger). Though there are often times individuals that seem to posses the better qualities of both parents. These half-orcs can often find a place for themselves in the human lands or the orcs. Half-orcs are more common among the Green and Grey orcs, though all orc sub-species have produced a half-orc one time or another.
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