SAAj's page

SAAj wrote:

Asgetrion wrote:

SAAj wrote:

I agree that it's not for everyone, but rather an alternative to those who have issues with magic in D&D being overpowered at the high end of the game. I've always thought that paladins casting fireballs from wands was a bit out of line for the class, much less barbarians who can't spell 'magic' being able to handle the flow of mana in the dozen or so enchanted items in their possession by the time they hit epic levels.

Hmmm... not to sound snarky, but Fireball is not on the paladin spell list, and Wand of Fireballs is, to my knowledge, a spell trigger item, isn't it? Besides, you don't need to "handle mana flows" in items; the magic is already in them, and items like Rings of Protection and Belt of Physical Perfection function automatically when worn (without any concentration or effort). I'm not sure which kind of items you're referring to?

I was being a bit careless with my examples. Let's say a paladin wielding a flaming burst longsword, then. Paladins don't know the first thing about controlling elemental fire, and they shouldn't be able to handle such a weapon safely any more than a modern police officer should be able to handle a flamethrower. And even items that function automatically should not do so, in my opinion. If you're going to have a magical effect on you, someone should be paying the price for it (and not just in gold). A magical effect should cost either you or another character who casts it on you. Otherwise, pure melee characters with powerful 'free' magical enhancements simply have too much going for them.

Magical weapons with special abilities don't work with "mental control"; enchantments are usually either automatically active (vorpal, keen, bane etc.) or command-word activated (flaming, flaming burst, cold, etc.). I don't see it being unfair or illogical (anybody capable of speech can utter the command word). Furthermore, in my experience "melee" classes are "inferior" to the spellcasting classes;...

Melee classes, by default, are inferior at the high end, which is why they tend to be decked out with all kinds of magic enhancements to even the odds a bit. This is what I have a problem with, and what my revised magic system strives to address. As for enhancements like Keen, these are only 'magical' because D&D lacks more precise definitions of the difference between fine craftsmanship and true magic. The only examples of craft-based special features I can think of are modular weapons that can be disassembled, elvencraft bows that double as quarterstaves, and stow-away wand chambers. Were it better defined, Keen and similar enhancements would not be magical. Something requiring a command word, especially a complex magic effect, is no different than pulling the trigger on a gun, and I believe that unless a character is trained for it, that should not come easily.

SAAj wrote:

I agree that it's not for everyone, but rather an alternative to those who have issues with magic in D&D being overpowered at the high end of the game. I've always thought that paladins casting fireballs from wands was a bit out of line for the class, much less barbarians who can't spell 'magic' being able to handle the flow of mana in the dozen or so enchanted items in their possession by the time they hit epic levels.

Hmmm... not to sound snarky, but Fireball is not on the paladin spell list, and Wand of Fireballs is, to my knowledge, a spell trigger item, isn't it? Besides, you don't need to "handle mana flows" in items; the magic is already in them, and items like Rings of Protection and Belt of Physical Perfection function automatically when worn (without any concentration or effort). I'm not sure which kind of items you're referring to?

I was being a bit careless with my examples. Let's say a paladin wielding a flaming burst longsword, then. Paladins don't know the first thing about controlling elemental fire, and they shouldn't be able to handle such a weapon safely any more than a modern police officer should be able to handle a flamethrower. And even items that function automatically should not do so, in my opinion. If you're going to have a magical effect on you, someone should be paying the price for it (and not just in gold). A magical effect should cost either you or another character who casts it on you. Otherwise, pure melee characters with powerful 'free' magical enhancements simply have too much going for them.

I'd suggest you actually state that somewhere, then, because there's nothing in the original post suggesting that spellcasting be removed from the classes that have it.

Sorry; this was kind of a rough draft. In essence, the goal is to establish links between casters and melee templars, and further to give these templars extraordinary abilities that mimic various aspects of the caster class without simply being a lesser form thereof (in other words, something unique rather than just a few spells from the caster class).

I suppose the critiques I'm looking for are what melee templars fit what caster classes thematically, and what 'abilities' (spells, class features, whatever) of each caster class the templar should embody. Because of how immensely complicated wizards/sorcerers can be, I've decided to leave them out of the mix for now and perhaps add their templars later (such as fireball-shooting wizard-monks or sorcerer-barbarian rage mages).

Actually, I would say that the Bard is the Sorcerer's "Light Templar", to use your terms.

In traditional D&D terms, I would agree. My goal with these templars, however, is to eliminate the abbreviated spellcasting altogether for extraordinary abilities that emulate the caster class they are a templar for. The lack of material components and ability to function within antimagic fields helps balance them against the casters, who have greater versatility and more potent abilities.

I think a good example of this approach is the Pathfinder sorcerer, who isn't simply a spontaneously-casting wizard, but instead receives spell-like abilities and other bonuses (though of course, my templars would lean much more heavily towards melee).

It's always bothered me that there aren't many clear and well-developed pairings of caster classes and their melee templars (the only two that really come to mind are cleric-paladin and druid-ranger). This is my take on three caster classes (wizard/sorcerer was intentionally excluded from the list, and will perhaps get its own alternate templars when the mood strikes me) and their respective melee templars. This isn't really a set of game mechanics so much as a tying up of loose ends. Please let me know what y'all think.

Cleric
Heavy Templar: Paladin (smiting, turning)
Light Templar: Monk (healing, enhancement)

Druid
Heavy Templar: Barbarian (wildshape)
Light Templar: Ranger (wild empathy)

Bard
Heavy Templar: Fighter (bardic lore)
Light Templar: Rogue (bardic performance)

Paladin: the obvious choice for a cleric, the paladin tends to focus on smites, turning, and other aggressive cleric-like abilities.
Monk: the 'other' white knight, the monk tends to focus on self-only healing and enhancements emulating beneficial cleric spells.

Barbarian: the barbarian's rage is actually a very basic form of wildshape, inherent in all creatures and potent in the barbarian.
Ranger: focused on the more serene druidic paths, the ranger receives abilities to commune with and utilize creatures and environments.

Fighter: utilizing the bard's love of lore, the fighter gains advantages against creatures, equipment, and tactics it identifies in combat.
Rogue: utilizing the bard's knack for performance, the rogue feints, evades, and otherwise baffles enemies with deceptive maneuvers.

There are also three alternate templars.

Druidic Monk: focused on divination-like abilities used to commune with the natural world itself, able to 'read' stars like a written language, 'hear' the wind speaking, etc.
Bardic Barbarian: utilizes perform skills to maximize its intimidation factor in the heat of battle, incorporating its intimidate checks into normal attacks and maneuvers.
Clerical Fighter: combat medic emphasizing defense and aid of allies, as opposed to the more offense-oriented paladins and self-only monks. Often found on the front lines.

"I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning, Ill get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see. If you don't have my money for me, I'll crack your ******' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your ******' head open again. 'Cause I'm ******' stupid. I don't give a **** about jail. That's my business. That's what I do." -Nicky Santoro, Casino

Against a target that you have successfully intimidated during this encounter, take a free melee attack of opportunity when the target attempts one of the following combat maneuvers against you, and another after recovering from the maneuver (if it is successful).

Grapple: if successful, the second free attack is upon exiting the grapple.

Trip: if successful, the second free attack is upon standing up from prone.

Overrun: if successful, the second free attack is upon standing up from prone.

Bull Rush: if successful, the second free attack is upon ending movement.

I agree that it's not for everyone, but rather an alternative to those who have issues with magic in D&D being overpowered at the high end of the game. I've always thought that paladins casting fireballs from wands was a bit out of line for the class, much less barbarians who can't spell 'magic' being able to handle the flow of mana in the dozen or so enchanted items in their possession by the time they hit epic levels.

Also, the True Casters must be given a reason to keep their identities hidden, leading to the secretive and dangerous nature of magic in the world. If they had no reason to be hidden, everyone would simply learn magic. In this system, only the most powerful True Casters dare reveal themselves (or initiates under the protection of said casters, such as at an academy of magic, sheltered from the outside world).

The death of a True Caster and its relation to enchantments (especially its spell-like ability) is very important in relation to the creation of the Beryl worlds; the original 'gods' that forged the worlds actually sacrificed themselves to make their enchantments permanent. This is also the mechanic that keeps currently existing deities from simply killing each other off (there is no such thing as true physical immortality, even among true gods, as their bodies are subject to the laws of nature like the rest of creation). If a god were to die, all enchantments under its control (blessings upon powerful followers, magic influencing the world, etc.) would become permanent, and result in a bunch of very pissed-off followers hunting down whatever was responsible for the death of their deity. This leads gods to be wiser and more creative in the ways they keep their opponents' power in check.

SAAj wrote:

In traditional high fantasy settings, many texts are quick to point out that humans achieve their diversity and versatility due to their short lifespans. Incredibly long lifespans such as those of your halflings would result in cripplingly conservative societies that barely inch forward while those of shorter-lived races progress in new directions and experiment with new ideas. This might help to balance out the 'lesser races' by allowing them more advanced technology, governmental systems, etc., while the halflings are busy arguing with their out-of-touch elders about why bartering with livestock should no longer be the default system of currency in a world where humans have already begun mass-producing paper money and writing checks.

*blink* Whoa, I hadn't even considered that. My wife's homebrew has Elves that fill the niche my Halflings do. They are stagnant, conservative and rather staid.

This is one of the biggest insights that I've had to face with the Gerontocratic Halflings. Thank you! (And thank you for proving my wife right, as she points out that she mentioned this when I first dreamt Tinris into existence and started discussing the Halflings)

You're quite welcome; in most settings, humans are unusually short-lived, with most races being older and more conservative in comparison. It's interesting to see the opposite in Tinris, in which the powerful 'chosen' race is the exception, and all the other races are progressive innovators to some degree. It may even be the case that each of the other races encompasses some aspect of modern civilization. For example, dwarves might have modern government (democratically-elected leadership, equal rights between sexes/sub-races), humans might have modern commerce (large stock-operated agricultural operations, banking institutions, etc.), orcs might have modern technology (semi-functional electronics from their ships, advanced alchemy, etc.) and so on.

When you hear 'dwarf', you probably picture a stout humanoid with a huge, braided beard and a hammer, standing firmly on solid ground. 'Elf' probably conjures up images of a frail, pale-skinned humanoid with long, flowing hair sitting in a tree. 'Giant' is probably not a pleasant-smelling image, much less socially refined in any way. In Beryl, you are wrong on all of these accounts.

Each race has a skill that is always in-class; the new skill system is presented below the races, and encompasses almost all the skills employed in Pathfinder with the exception of a specialized few such as Escape Artist, Perform, and Sleight of Hand, which are instead presented as class features and such. Craft and Knowledge skills are also not part of this system; they are instead part of Professions, which are selected by each character and not included in the normal set of skills.

[RACIAL GROUP]
+4 Bonus (Divided Between Given Stats As Desired), +4 Save
1/2 Character Level Bonus to Skill Set
Racial Skill (Choose This Or Race's In-Class Skill)

Race Name: Description.
In-Class Skill

DWARVEN
Wisdom & Constitution, Fortitude Saves
Terrain & Weather Skills
Sentry

Volcanic: tough, heat-resistant innovators who favor precious minerals, fine craftsmanship, and tinkering. Their beards have the consistency of steel wool, and it is not uncommon to see live embers sparking in them.
Skill: Excavation

Forest: living in ancient, petrified forests, this druidic race eats minerals rather than plants and animals. Their beards have the consistency of vines and leaves, and often harbor insects and other small creatures.
Skill: Horticulture

River: dense and featuring incredible lung capacities, these dwarves live on river bottoms, lake beds, and ocean floors, fond of scouring for sunken treasure. Their beards have the consistency of seaweed, and are often used to hold pockets of air or ballast.
Skill: Appraisal

Desert: these things are creepy; barely related to dwarves more so than any other race, they are semi-organic creatures that live in self-constructed 'shells' like hermit crabs, highly resistant to virtually any weather condition. Their beards have the consistency of tough fabric, and are often used to cover the opening of their shell.
Skill: Forecast

HUMAN
Racial Stat (+2), Will Saves
Culture & History Skills
No Racial Skill

Agricultural: conservative, hard-working farmers and ranchers with stable economies and strong social values. Their eyes tend to be a deep, dark brown.
Racial Stat: Constitution or Wisdom
Skills: Leadership & Handling

Edenic: strange, reserved mystics who exist in very small numbers among larger societies, renowned for their ability as seers. Their eyes tend to be a light, misty gray.
Racial Stat: Intelligence or Wisdom
Skills: Literacy & Healing

Maritime: brave explorers and aggressive businessmen, fueled by prospects of adventure, fame, and fortune. Their eyes tend to be a bold, clear blue.
Racial Stat: Dexterity or Charisma
Skills: Astronomy & Linguistics

Giant: primitive but noble nomads with exceptional social skills developed to counter their quick tempers. Their eyes tend to be a bright, shining green.
Racial Stat: Strength or Charisma
Skills: Diplomacy & Hunting

ELVEN
Intelligence & Dexterity, Reflex Saves
Flora & Fauna Skills
Taming

Jungle: long-limbed creatures reminiscent of brachiators, these elves immerse themselves in dark arts and deceit, even towards each other. Their hair has the consistency of spider webs.
Skill: Poisoning

Tundra: a nature-oriented race that is intimately close to its environment out of necessity; survival on the harsh tundras depends on their ability to make the most of nature's bounty. Their hair has the consistency of down feathers.
Skill: Tracking

Plains: feral by nature, these barely-sentient creatures gnaw off their hands at an early age, constantly gnawing their exposed forearm bones into sharp points used for impaling prey. Their hair has the consistency of a lion's mane.
Skill: Stealth

Sea: graceful, amphibious creatures with muscular, boneless anatomies that can thrive just as easily on land as under water; they are exceptionally nimble, even among elves. Their hair has the consistency of sea anemone tentacles.
Skill: Maneuverability

HUMAN-DWARVEN
Strength, Constitution, & Wisdom, (+6) Fortitude & Reflex Saves
No Skill Bonuses
No Racial Skill

Orc: large, squarely-built ancestors of humans and dwarves who revere nature and form bonds with animals easily. They tend to be almost hairless, with hazel eyes that change color periodically.
No In-Class Skill

HUMAN-ELVEN
Dexterity, Constitution, & Charisma (+6), Fortitude & Reflex Saves
No Skill Bonuses
No Racial Skill

Halfling: small, plucky ancestors of humans and elves who love travel and live primarily nomadic lifestyles. They tend to be covered almost entirely in hair, with hazel eyes that change color periodically.
No In-Class Skill

SKILLS

FAUNA

Hunting - methods for capturing creatures, both active and passive. This includes not only trap crafting and trap setting, but also hunting maneuvers. In combat, a master hunter can set up deadly maneuvers to flank or disperse enemy formations.

Taming - methods for training creatures. This includes not only animals, but also other characters. A master of taming is also a great teacher, and can not only teach allies but also learn enemy tactics in combat.

Handling - methods for controlling and commanding creatures. This includes not only animals, but also other characters. A master handler can control the movement of a battle formation as easily as he can control his horse or an attack dog.

FLORA

Horticulture - methods for producing and gathering alchemical ingredients (mainly plants). The horticulturist can survive in the wild without rations, able to not only gather but also identify plants for various properties (healing abilities, poison, etc.).

Healing - methods for treating wounds and illnesses, primarily with the use of medicinal herbs. A healer is an all-around doctor, able to treat wounds in combat as well as concoct all manner of medicines.

Poisoning - methods for creating poisons and diseases, as well as safely inflicting them upon enemies. A poisoner not only knows how to create deadly chemicals, but also how to apply them to weapons and deliver them without any personal risk.

CULTURE

Linguistics - methods for interpreting and speaking languages, including both verbal and non-verbal communication. This includes basic communication and understanding of languages the user is unfamiliar with. Linguists can also learn to understand elemental languages such as that of the wind. In combat, the linguist is keen on interpreting body language and other cues, granting insight into the enemies' intentions.

Diplomacy - methods for both charming and intimidating others. This includes both friendly and hostile creatures; a good diplomat can strike fear and uncertainty into enemies as easily as he can bluff and deceive negotiators. He can also be positive with his skills, feigning weakness to lure in enemies or earning the trust of skeptics.

Leadership - methods for assessing and commanding. A great leader can see through a lie as easily as he can gauge the strength of an enemy battalion, and in combat he can issue orders which grant his allies bonuses if they comply, such as warning them of an impending backstab or pointing out an opening in the enemy's defense.

HISTORY

Excavation - methods for unearthing and treasure-hunting. A good excavator is an archeologist of sorts, with a keen eye for architecture and a penchant for discovering secret passages and uncovering valuables that might otherwise be overlooked.

Literacy - methods for reading and writing languages. A literate character is the ONLY character in the game who can read and write, a rare and difficult skill to obtain in ancient times. Literate characters may read tomes, scrolls, books, signs, and maps, revealing information no one else has access to. They may also create their own maps and sell the information at a steep premium. Literate characters can read the stars (astrology) and other methods of divination (such as tarot cards) like written languages. In combat, a literate character may share acquired knowledge with allies, granting conditional advantages.

Appraisal - methods for accounting and bargaining. A skilled appraiser is a record-keeper, as proficient with mathematics as a literate character is with the written word. Appraisers can not only keep numerical records of their inventories, they can haggle for prices with less mathematically-inclined characters, maximizing profit. Keen appraisers can calculate probabilities, essentially able to dissect the game mechanics as dice rolls and percentages. In combat, an appraiser can assess statistical data, gauging the potential strength, health, and threat level of enemies.

TERRAIN

Stealth - methods for moving undetected and employing camouflage. A master of stealth does more than merely conceal himself from view; he can evade all senses, producing no sounds or smells, even nullifying vibrations as he moves. A key element of stealth is camouflage, which also includes disguises that allow the user to emulate another creature in sight, sound, and smell.

Tracking - methods for following trails and leaving no trace. A master tracker pays keen attention to his environment, able to identify what creatures have come and gone, and able to follow their trails. When necessary, a tracker can conceal any sign of his own passage, leaving no evidence in his wake.

Maneuverability - methods for traversing hostile or otherwise inaccessible terrain. A master of maneuverability can climb, jump, swim, or otherwise cross virtually any obstacle. In combat, he can scramble for cover or advance over ground that would cause others to stumble or slow to a crawl, granting him unmatched agility.

WEATHER

Astronomy - methods for navigating based on heavenly bodies and other universal markers. A master astronomer can determine cardinal directions both day and night, reading the sun and stars like a map, as well as keep very accurate track of time, seasonal changes, etc. He can also foretell events such as eclipses and the passing of comets.

Sentry - methods for detecting and identifying creatures. A good sentry uses all his senses to detect the presence and nature of others, intimately aware of everything around him, even in his periphery. In combat, it's difficult to hide from or sneak up on a sentry.

Forecast - methods for predicting and surviving weather conditions. A forecaster is an expert traveler, able to foresee and cope with weather conditions, which can seriously affect characters and environment alike. This includes retaining visibility and bearings in severe storms, resisting the effects of extremely cold and hot environments, etc.

This is what I've got so far. Please let me know what y'all think; I'm always eager for feedback and the chance to refine my game world.

In traditional high fantasy settings, many texts are quick to point out that humans achieve their diversity and versatility due to their short lifespans. Incredibly long lifespans such as those of your halflings would result in cripplingly conservative societies that barely inch forward while those of shorter-lived races progress in new directions and experiment with new ideas. This might help to balance out the 'lesser races' by allowing them more advanced technology, governmental systems, etc., while the halflings are busy arguing with their out-of-touch elders about why bartering with livestock should no longer be the default system of currency in a world where humans have already begun mass-producing paper money and writing checks.

I am quite fond of 3.5, Pathfinder, and similar systems, but the nature of magic in these systems has never sat well with me. I don't like the idea that, at high levels, I either have to be a caster or decked out in enchanted gear in order to survive. Pathfinder addresses this to a degree by adjusting encounter difficulty for mundane gear, but this still doesn't overcome the problem of overpowered high-end casting. All attempts to make casting prohibitive (material costs, limited uses per day, etc.) are circumvented by clever players and end up breaking the game. This is my attempt to address the issue with an alternative approach. This is a very rough concept at this point and is essentially a mod of 3.5, but with time and playtesting it will hopefully evolve into something in its own right. Here we go:

Classes are divided into 4 types.
- Pure Melee (fighter, barbarian, rogue)
- Hybrid Melee (paladin, ranger, monk)
- Bardic Caster (seer, warden, shaman)
- True Caster (wizard, cleric, druid)

Pure Melees can not cast any spells or other magic. They do receive Combats; for the 3.5 conversion, these are a group of combat-themed spells (such as True Strike, Dimension Door, and Tenser's Transformation) that are used as extraordinary abilities. Pure Melees have full progression in these Combats (meaning they ultimately end up with 9th-level Combats, like a 3.5 wizard would have 9th-level spells). In addition to Combats, each class has unique features, such as a fighter's ability to accumulate knowledge of gear and tactics like a wizard's spellbook or a barbarian's ability to use grappled enemies as weapons or even live shields.

Hybrid Melees receive 4th-level Combats from a Pure Melee class of choice and 4th-level spells from a predetermined spell list (paladin:cleric, ranger:druid, monk:wizard). They also have special class features (such as a paladin's smite or a ranger's animal companion) and can sacrifice spell slots to use higher-level Combats. Hybrid Melees do not 'cast' in the traditional sense. They can activate magic items that cast spells or spell-like abilities as if they were casting the spell themselves, the number of charges/uses per day limited by their own spells per day rather than the item. Items with a constant effect occupy a number of slots appropriate for the effect's power for as long as they are worn/active.

Bardic Casters receive 8th-level spells from 2 lists (seer:wizard/cleric, warden:wizard/druid, shaman:cleric/druid), but their casting is likewise unconventional. Bardic Casters randomly draw spells, as if from a deck of cards, and apply them to items as if they were enchanting the item with the Spell Storing enhancement (except that, instead of having only 1 charge, the item's charges are dependent on the caster's available spells per day). A Bardic Caster doesn't have to cast the drawn spell immediately; the spell can be suspended until it is ready to be enchanted or cast directly, as normal. Bardic Casters gain the ability to suspend multiple spells at a time as they level, necessary for combining enchantment effects, and useful for versatility in combat. Bardic Casters can select two of the following class features: perform, lore, and observation (this last ability allows them to gain temporary proficiency with weapons and armor upon observation of a proficient character, allowing them to wade into battle as magic-heavy Hybrid Melees).

True Casters are rare and tend to keep themselves hidden (and with good reason, as you'll see below). Wizards, Clerics, and Druids can cast either their capstone spell-like ability or 9th-level spells each day; they must choose which at the first casting of the day(Wizard:Wish, Cleric:Miracle, Druid: Polymorph [Any]). They can enchant objects in a manner similar to a Bardic Caster, but in addition to costing the wielder spell slots as usual, the enchantment only has a limited number of charges equal to the number of spell slots the True Caster expends to enchant the item. The wielder can not cast the spell more times than it has charges (which do not refresh per day; to add additional charges, the True Caster must expend extra spell slots), even if the wielder has extra spell slots available. Furthermore, the True Caster loses both the spell cast and the spell slots expended until he/she decides to disenchant the item or it is destroyed (at which point the True Caster's expended spell slots and ability to cast the spell are restored). Here's what makes being a True Caster so dangerous: if the True Caster dies while an item is enchanted with his/her spells, the enchantment becomes permanent and its charges refresh per day. This gives treasure hunters all kinds of incentive to kill True Casters and cash in on their enchanted items, and likewise makes True Casters very paranoid about enchanting items to begin with. A True Caster may enchant an item with his/her capstone spell-like ability, but the item has only one charge and the process of enchantment kills the caster (if the caster is returned to life, the item is automatically disenchanted).

This system strives to give Pure Melees the advantage of using purely extraordinary abilities, allowing them to operate in antimagic fields and other situations that render magic users helpless (or at the very least, complicate things for them). It also strives to allow players to play True Casters, but at a steep price that genuinely requires a lot of intelligence, wisdom, and charisma on the player's part to stay alive.

A number of special factors help add flavor to the class and enforce role-playing to a degree. For example, a wizard has to be VERY clever to safely cast Wish on a daily basis without suffering some fairly serious consequences, so there will be no such thing as a dull-witted wizard player. A cleric's Miracle has a percent chance of success based on whether the requested action falls within the deity's portfolio and within the cleric's chosen domains, giving them incentive to stick to their deity's strengths and tactics both in combat and out. A druid's spells vary in effect based on the environment in which they are being cast (a blizzard in a jungle is much weaker than a fireball near a volcano, for example). The power of a paladin's smite depends on the difference between his alignment and his target's, giving the paladin incentive to hunt down those opposed to his ideals (a paladin in this system is not necessarily lawful good). The effectiveness of a bardic caster's perform abilities are tied to his/her fame as well as the size of the audience, giving the performer incentive to be a loud, attention-craving show-off in the spirit of a real bard. These are just a few ways in which game mechanics help 'force' role-play.

This is a broad overview of the system; please let me know what you think. I understand that this is rather vague, and I would be more than happy to answer any questions regarding specific classes, system mechanics, etc.

There's a 3.5 fighter variant from Dragon called the Targetteer. It had the ability to increase the threat range of one attack per round by sacrificing other attacks in that round (1 point of threat per attack sacrificed). This is more or less the equivalent of taking time to aim, like an assassin, but per round as opposed to having a multiple-round downtime in which you're just sitting there. The extra damage from the critical doesn't really offset the extra damage from the sacrificed attacks until you factor in feats, gear, and other effects that are critical-only, at which point it can get very interesting.

Loving the responses so far, and the forethought and insight they show. It is my opinion that every good craftsperson needs someone to provide feedback, and so I completely understand how it can be to effectively shout at the void and hear nothing back.

That said, really really digging on what's been shown so far.

Next round! (Most of these, I imagine, are very campaign specific rather than world specific, but I am mostly looking for your 'vision' rather than an integration)

1) How does one Land's myth affect the others? You mention that the Lowlands have unicorns, for example, do the other Lands have legends thereof? Why? How?

2) Is there a coherent planar structure for this Prime? By which I mean that many campaign worlds build their own cosmology, does this exist in its own as well? To better flesh this out, I'll point to both Golarion and Eberron. Golarion has its own build of the Planes, as they exist as interconnected shells. Eberron has its own as well, with each plane being reimagined almost completely with different names and looks and feels (Xoriat, the plane of madness, for example)

3) Do other Primes interact at all with Beryl? How?

4) Does Beryl exist within the Phlogiston/Arcane Space? (Spelljammer)

5) With such large landmasses, is there a resource challenge? (Beyond the mana flows, of course) If not, what are wars actually fought over?

6) Does time travel exist?

7) Does magic work differently between one Land and another?

Thanks for understanding; the questions are helping me refine concepts I had previously only thought about in passing. Here we go:

1) Each world has myths regarding the others, varying greatly per era. For example, in the modern era, the Lower Lands are seen as the equivalent of Hell or Hades, and the mythical creatures that emerge from them are more reminiscent of ancient evils than unicorns and the like (for example, medieval leprechauns, who grant wishes and attempt to twist them to the wisher's misfortune, might emerge from the modern Lower Lands). In the Great Hunt era, in which the Upper Lands suffered mana shortages, the creatures were like something you would find at the bottom of the sea; the fish are still clearly fish, for example, but quite frightening and even deformed by our standards (even the 'angelic' aerial creatures would be closer to the medieval gargoyle-like angels than the family-friendly cherubs we are familiar with). In general, legends of magical creatures originate from the Lower Lands, tales of heroes and feats of heroism originate from the Middle Lands, and tales of angels and demons (or simply 'monsters', depending on what religious organization you ask) originate from the Upper Lands.

2) The magic system that accompanies Beryl does have its own set of 'planes', so to speak. Each world is actually a very small, almost insignificantly small, part of a larger whole. The other 'systems' within each world are like different planes.

The Lower Lands have an unending grid of rings stretching outward; this constitutes their sky. When the Holy scarabs are on one side of the ring, it is night on the other side. However, since all the rings are simply the same ring being viewed from different angles, the night side sees the Holy scarabs faintly on the other rings, creating a perfectly symmetrical grid of 'stars'. However, a few of these 'stars' don't seem to shine in sync with the others. In reality, there are alternate rings hidden among the endless grid; traveling to one of these doesn't simply land you on the other side of your own ring, but rather on another ring altogether. These alternate rings are different versions of the main ring representing different planes, each usually the domain of a deity or other powerful supernatural force.

The Middle Lands are actually an inverted planet of sorts; the entire sphere moves through the light of Eternity like a planet. If mortals can somehow make it out of one of the star-holes and survive in Eternity (such as by studying and learning how to emulate the fabric that forms the night sky), they will see that there are countless other fabric spheres floating around in the void, each its own world like their own.

The Upper Lands have a ring of permafrost around the 'borders' (the waterfalls where gravity inverts), as the water freezes a certain distance out from the point in the eye of the hurricane where the light of Eternity shines out onto the world. The only surface-dwelling creatures of the Upper Lands live on this permafrost, and the immense ice floes are so massive that even the powerful gravitational pull of the borders is only enough to slowly erode their edges; the land masses stay in place while water flows by underneath, new ice forming near their inner borders as their outer borders are slowly chipped away by the upward pull. On occasion, these land masses are forced, by events natural or supernatural, outward, being torn to pieces by the fierce gravity of the borders but temporarily blocking the upward waterfalls and providing a glimpse into what lies beyond: calm seas and skies punctuated by other hurricane/whirlpool combinations like theirs, each its own self-sufficient system, or plane. Blocking the water flow with the land masses is not the only way out of the 'gravity cylinder', of course, but it is definitely easier than just about any other method.

The Outer Lands are the most interesting; they are simply a solar system enclosed in an atmosphere within OUR universe. The void beyond their sky is deep space, and the invaders from the void who hunt dragons are a spacefaring civilization that may or may not be future humans. Other solar systems and celestial formations (such as nebulae or asteroid belts) act as planes, and are inhabited by true gods.

3) Yes, in the sense that the Outer Plane is our world. This allows for a steampunk or sci-fi element that could even be a new era in which the invaders come to dominate the worlds of Beryl.

4) No; although I am quite fond of Spelljammer's take on classical astronomy, Beryl is a small part of our universe.

5) Each world's population is relative to its size, so despite how large they are, resources are still a problem for the equally-large populations. Wars are fought primarily over resources, as they are in any setting, but wars of principle, religion, and even personal vendettas are not unheard of.

6) In the magic system that accompanies Beryl, chronomancy (the manipulation of time) is a universal crime that makes the most vile and perverse necromancy look like minor vandalism in comparison. Unlike necromancy and other practices which mock or defile the process of creation, absolutely no deity endorses chronomancy, as it disrupts the composition of the universe in a manner not even true gods can easily anticipate or keep in check. That said, it exists; just be very, very careful with it, as it is meant to have devastating repercussions.

7) Magic works (more or less) the same way in all 4 worlds, but the levels of mana in each world affect magic differently in each world. For example, when the Lower Lands abound with mana, divination spells have no natural chance of failure due to failed concentration checks. When the Middle Lands are starved of mana, destructive evocation spells are cast at +3 caster levels, but have a 1% chance per adjusted caster level of backfiring on the caster. Small differences like these affect the worlds based on mana levels, but the fundamental nature of magic is the same in all worlds (these examples use the D&D casting system; Beryl's own magic system works a bit differently). Other planes/systems within each world may significantly alter the rules of magic, often based on a deity's whim.

There you have it; it's becoming increasingly difficult to talk about Beryl without introducing its magic system, so I suppose I'll have to do that fairly soon. I'll write it up tonight and hopefully have it up by tomorrow.

Well, I love a good story and I'm also a rather rabid and voracious reader. QED, I try and read as much about as many worlds as I can so that I can assimilate the parts I like in the things I'm doing.

FWIW, I'm doing my own world over here: http://worldoftinris.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/tinris-wip-v0-3/

That said, I guess the next question that comes up is... what sorts of creatures populate these worlds? Obviously you're following the 'this is a Prime' school of thought, and therefore the obvious answer is "If it's in the Bestiary/SRD then it exists here" but I'm curious what sorts of unique creatures exist in your own view of the world.

How are the 'standard' races different here?
Are they different between one Land and another?
Is there general inter-racial harmony amongst the races on each Land?
What drives people to become better? (Obviously it could be just Maslow's Hierarchy)

These and other things are what I wonder when reading your source.

I'll be sure to give your world a thorough read-through tonight. As for the bestiary, each world's populace is tied to its geology. Over time, many creatures from one world have overlapped into another, and it is difficult for even the most learned historians to say for sure what the origins of a race are.

The Middle Lands feature most of what would be considered 'natural' creatures and races that are tied strongly to the land in some way. Halflings, Dwarves, and Humans all hail from the Middle Lands.

The Lower Lands have a strong magical presence, and so most 'magical' or at least mythical creatures originate from there. Many types of elves populate the Lower Lands, as do creatures such as unicorns.

The Upper Lands are almost entirely marine or aerial in nature. The marine inhabitants are quite large compared to other creatures, as the water supports their mass much more easily. The aerial creatures are quite large as well, as there is little or no place for them to land except the water's surface, forcing them to have large, gliding wings like birds of prey. Many creatures that others see as 'angelic' in nature come from the Upper Lands.

There is war within each world, just as there is between worlds. There are cases of grand alliances and long stretches of peace (such as between most of the Upper Lands' sentient creatures in the modern era), but these are oases in an ocean of conflict, as is the norm for most high-fantasy worlds.

The motives for betterment are often simply survival, but a very Anglo-Saxon sense of duty and service pervades. All sentient creatures worship in some way or another (even those without gods 'worship' or idolize legendary rebels and infidels), and these relationships drive civilizations and individuals alike.

There are a lot of little stories and intricacies that can be gleaned from the way the worlds are set up. I'll be adding more backstory tonight after work.

With that said, some feedback.

1) What happens if the lands eliminate the majority of the population of another. In the modern, this seems very likely for the Midland/Upland alliance to depopulate completely the Lowlanders. Is there any sort of 'eternal cycle' that ensures a rebirth of a devestated land? It would seem that the Lands are inextricably linked, so one land's complete devestation might have Epic Consequences(tm)

2) Do Midlanders actually worship Uplanders? Are there Clerics and/or Paladins? If yes, do Uplanders worship anyone? Clerics/Paladins among them?

3) Who created all of this?

4) What is the general level of technology and magic on each Land?

5) What is the general governmental style of each Land?

6) Is there an established diplomatic protocol between Lands?

7) Are adventurers and heroes common? What purpose do they serve and what role do they take in the overarching setting? (Do they kick doors and take treasure in dungeons? Do they champion the interLands war(s)?)

Why thank you; I am quite humbled by the fact that you are humbled. To answer your questions:

1) It is possible, though highly improbable, for a world to go 'extinct', and it is theorized by a number of scholars that, like our world, theirs have gone through multiple 'mass extinctions'. There are even rumors of exalted organizations that exist to maintain balance on a cosmic scale, transcending the worlds and their petty rivalries (more on this below). Even without such intervention, it is exceedingly difficult for a world to be completely killed off. Here's why:

-As the world's mana 'dries up', the weaker creatures die or are killed first. The 'drier' a world, the stronger the average creature in that world. A world on the verge of extinction is populated by only the toughest, most powerful inhabitants, since they were the only ones who could survive in such extreme conditions.
-The world's mana reserves affect the world it feeds, so after the spike in death rates, the lower (and exceptionally tougher, thus harder to kill) population likewise weakens that world, which in turn experiences mass extinctions and weakens the world above it. This ripple effect causes mass extinctions in the tertiary world to feed mana back into the originally-starving world, rejuvenating it somewhat.
-A combination of toughened inhabitants and mana-starved invaders makes it easy to deplete but exponentially difficult to actually kill off a world, to the point where it would have to be specifically orchestrated in order for such an event to even take place. That's not to say it hasn't happened before, or could again, just that it's very difficult.

Let's say a world does die. This means the world it feeds also dies eventually. The massive influxes of death in this world feed immense amounts of mana into the only remaining world. It thus experiences a huge burst in population, and the resulting rise in death rates slowly feeds new mana into the originally-extinct world. The cycles of life and death begin anew, feeding mana into the next dead world, until all three are functional again. In this manner, it is virtually impossible for a world to permanently die unless all 3 worlds are killed off simultaneously and completely (which would require horrific power by an outside force; the Outlanders from which the dragons seek refuge may well be capable of such destruction).

2) Because this world is meant to be compatible with virtually any system, this aspect of Beryl is variable. At the very least, the Midlanders of the current era see the Uplanders as patron saints of sorts, if not outright gods. In large pantheons with many minor deities, it may even be the case that certain minor deities are Uplanders (or Lowlanders, ancient Midlanders, or even Outlanders), mortals who ascended to demigodhood or minor godhood. True (more powerful) gods exist outside of this cycle of worlds, and may or may not frown on this sort of worship. I have a magic system that makes this world tick like clockwork (perhaps I'll make another post dedicated to it), but it is safe to say that Uplanders (and other powerful mortals) who are worshiped are either very powerful arcane casters who can alter reality with Wishes or very powerful clerics who worship true gods and alter reality with Miracles. Their followers may or may not be aware that they are not 'true' gods; even if they know, they may not care, preferring to worship something they can more easily relate to rather than a nigh-unapproachable (much less comprehensible) deity.

So yes, Uplanders and other powerful mortals may have clerics and paladins who receive powers and spells from them, which they receive through actual immortal gods that they, in turn, worship.

3) Again, this is based largely on the game being played. The simplest answer is that the entirety of Beryl is simply the Material Plane, and whoever created that plane in the game you're playing created these worlds. In my magic system, the gods that created Beryl and all living creatures sacrificed themselves to cast the equivalent of Permanency on their creations, and very few, if any, mortals actually know these creators once existed.

4 & 5) Each world is easily several times the size of Earth (to put it in perspective, keep in mind that the 'sky' in the Middle Lands is the opposite disk's ocean, and that ocean is so vast that even Asia or Africa-sized continents can not be seen as green specks against the blue). That means each world is as varied as the Material Plane in whatever game you're playing (usually meaning it encompasses technology from Neolithic to Steampunk, with magic being anywhere from forbidden to inseparable from any aspect of life; government styles tend to range from theocracies/monarchies to pseudo-democratic/tribal councils, as is the norm in high fantasy).

A few factors to affect each world as a whole. For example, a mana-starved world will probably be much more prone towards higher technology (as desperate creatures strive to maximize efficiency) and less stable governments (as social order falls apart and traditional medieval systems lose influence). In addition, each world is unique in certain ways:

Lowlanders tend toward moderate technology and a stronger connection to magic, since the Holy Norths and Souths are a very tangible and essential part of their world. Because the world is not divided by large tracts of water, Lowlander societies tend to be decentralized and well-connected, as opposed to the more authoritarian style of rule that emerges when societies are isolated from each other.

Midlanders tend toward higher technology and less emphasis on magic, since maritime lifestyles require a good deal of manufacturing and ingenuity and the nature of magical phenomena in the Middle Lands is much less accessible, occurring mostly on the undersides of the disks where most mortals will never venture. Civilizations are divided by oceans, and tend to develop top-heavy governments that generally don't get along, as they are all intent on expanding ever outward and acquiring more resources.

Uplanders have a huge variety of technology and magic that, unfortunately, is mostly inapplicable outside of a marine environment. Most other mortals aren't even aware they have such resources at their disposal, since the marine Uplanders are, by nature, larger than other creatures and can simply overcome them with raw physical power. Uplander societies tend toward anarchy, as nothing is ever static in the ever-churning oceans and skies of their world and there is little point in well-established social order. There are exceptions, of course, but it is much less common to see a rigidly-structured society in the Upper Lands than in other, less dynamic settings.

6) The diplomatic efforts between the worlds are essentially the different eras, though there are elements of each during any time period. For example, even during the modern era, in which the Midlanders are allied with the Uplanders, ancient 'sea monsters' (Uplanders from the Sport of Gods era) stalk the oceans of the Middle Lands, amusing themselves with the destruction of lesser beings. At the same time, demon hunters from the Great Hunt era might aid Midlanders in hunting down these creatures, even going so far as to work with the 'good' Uplanders of the modern era in doing so. These alliances are usually between specific (oftentimes very powerful and far-reaching) cultures of the worlds, but it is almost impossible to get an entire world to agree on any one policy or course of action (imagine the UN trying to pass resolutions without modern long-distance communication or even a complete map of the world). The only consistent rule regarding inter-world relations is that the vast majority of mortals, regardless of what world they are from, have no idea how their own world works, much less that others exist. All they know of this cosmology is what they've heard from fairy tales.

7) That depends entirely on the party. The way I would play a Beryl campaign is to let the party start out in the Middle Lands with no idea that they are not in a 'normal' world (they don't even know the sky above them is an ocean, much less that other worlds exist). As they explore (or accidentally stumble upon) the intricacies of their world and others, they interact with various creatures from the worlds and decide who to make alliances with (for example, they could ally with a powerful Lowlander and join him in the Great Hunt, raiding the Upper Lands and slaying 'sea monsters', or help a dragon fight off the Outer World invaders that are trying to capture it). They could just as readily join a group of druids who travel from world to world slaying creatures to 'maintain the balance', or try to forge some sort of everlasting peace between all the worlds with the blessings of true gods and whatever creatures watch over the mana cycles. They could just as easily decide to never leave their home country and just go on a good old-fashioned adventure to the nearest dungeon.

I hope I answered your questions sufficiently. Thanks for taking notice; I've been trying to get attention for Beryl for quite a while now, and I'd given up on anyone actually offering feedback. If you've got regular groups you play with or know someone who would be willing to try it in a campaign, please let me know how y'all like it. I'm hoping it gains enough popularity and exposure to warrant an actual campaign text (or even become the default setting for a game system).

ALTERNATE ALLIANCES
A History of the Worlds

The True Cycles

In the beginning, there were the True Cycles, in which each world simply defended itself from the world it fed and attacked the world that fed it. Though this may seem like a brutal existence, it adhered closely to the way a predator/prey relationship functions in nature. Each world prospered fairly steadily, with influxes and shortages of mana self-regulating, as is nature's tendency.

Religion: Druids, regardless of what world they are from, insist upon this state of being as the purest and most natural. Though their seemingly savage outlook on life and death frightens and disgusts most civilized creatures, druids insist that balance is more important than the well-being of one select group. Many druids, for this reason, seclude themselves from civilized life and will relentlessly hunt down mortals without regard for their sentience or self-appointed importance.

The Sport of Gods

The first alliance to form was between the Lower and Upper Lands. In those days, Uplanders and Lowlanders were significantly more powerful, and the Middle Lands were a dark, mana-weak place they used as an arena of sorts. They played a game of sorts; the Uplander and Lowlander would pick out a target (usually a powerful Midlander, but sometimes an entire civilization or region) and compete to destroy it. If the Uplander won, the Lowlander would be bound to its service until it destroyed an equally powerful target (the death of Midlanders fed the Upper Lands, making this doubly profitable for the Uplanders). If the Lowlander won, however, the Uplander would be bound to sacrifice Uplanders of equal power, oftentimes through ritual suicide (this compensated the Lowlanders for the mana they fed to the Upper Lands, in the interest of fair sport). In this manner, both the Upper and Lower Lands grew mana-rich and powerful, their inhabitants rising to the status of demigods and raining destruction on the pitiful Middle Lands they toyed with. On occasion, powerful Uplanders and Lowlanders would have epic duels to the death, tearing the Middle Lands asunder in their terrifying shows of strength.

Religion: Midlanders of this time period followed religions similar to the pre-Abrahamic pantheons, such as the ancient Greek and Norse gods. Midlanders saw these deities as neither good nor evil; simply strong where they were weak, crushing them underfoot like insects. A fierce self-sufficiency pervaded such societies, but humility was equally emphasized. Sometimes, the only way to survive was to strike a deal with the nigh-indestructible beings that ravaged the world, often in the form of worship and sacrifices.

The Great Hunt

Over time, bonds formed between the Lower and Middle Lands, as they were much more similar in composition than the all-marine Upper Lands and their otherworldly life forms. The Midlanders found the powerful Lowlanders much easier to appease for this reason, and as soon as civilizations of the Middle Lands developed flight and began traveling to the Lower Lands, cultural exchange blossomed. Feeling that they had the upper hand, the Lowlanders united with the Midlanders to fight off the Uplanders and claim the Middle Lands as their domain. By protecting the Midlanders against the natural and supernatural dangers of their world, the Lowlanders drastically reduced their death rate, starving the Upper Lands and weakening their inhabitants. Further, large groups of 'demon hunters', Lowlanders specially trained to hunt Uplanders, scoured the Middle Lands for their quarry. Even if the Uplanders succeeded in killing them, the death of the Lowlanders simply fueled with Middle Lands, giving the Midlanders more strength to repel the Uplanders. Thus, the Midlanders prospered under the protection of their powerful allies.

Religion: Midlanders of this time period worshiped in a very shamanistic and animistic manner, placing emphasis on 'spirits', 'guardians', and other supernatural beings very similar to them in composition, rather than grandiose deities towering over them, incomprehensible and alien in nature. The powerful Lowlanders watched over the Midlanders, helped develop their societies, and influenced a great many aspects of their lives, resulting in them being worshiped as patron guardians or totemic spirits. In the modern era, in which the Uplanders are allied with the Midlanders, such religious practices are seen as heretical.

How about a colossal planetary mass that has dwarf stars as satellites? How about having it move through an atmosphere that causes it to take irregular, aerodynamic shapes as its surface erodes in the wind? How about making the stars leave comet-like tails as they interact with the weather patterns the planet moves through?

Sound intriguing? If so, shameless plug:

http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/communityContent/houseRules/berylNewCampaignWorld

The Beryl universe is a cosmology that can easily be adopted for use with D&D, Pathfinder, and virtually any other game world with minor alterations, since it details the composition of the world on a level not addressed by most of these systems.

MANA CYCLES

To understand the different 'layers' into which the universe of Beryl is divided, we must first understand how it functions in terms of energy consumption. When a creature dies in the Middle Lands, which are the equivalent of Earth, its life energies (but not necessarily its soul) pass into the Upper Lands. This life energy is converted into mana which fuels the natural processes of the Upper Lands. In this way, the Middle Lands 'feed' the Upper Lands and are in turn 'fed' by the Lower Lands. The Lower Lands feed the Middle Lands and are in turn fed by the Upper Lands. This is simply the way the Material Plane functions; for the sake of D&D and other systems that rely on the existence of the Ethereal Plane and other such layers of existence, those are still in place as normal.

ALLIANCES

In ancient times, most creatures had no idea there were worlds beyond their own; the closest any mortals came to an understanding of the worlds' structure was an acknowledgement of the afterlife. Nature ebbed and flowed, sometimes generous, sometimes unforgiving. Beyond the level of curiosity normal for sentient beings, mortals did not question these fundamental functions of their worlds. As civilizations rose and fell, however, great mystics and scholars began to piece together an understanding of the world beyond their perception. In time, through a combination of luck, miracles, and methods lost to us, mortals bridged the gap between the worlds and came to understand the nature of the mana cycles.

Naturally, all mortals want to live forever in beautiful worlds. So it came to be that whenever a world experienced a famine, natural disaster, or other irregular flow of mana, its inhabitants embarked on crusades against the creatures of the world that fed theirs, claiming their lives to bring prosperity back to their own homelands. These vicious cycles continued for eons, but slowly, steadily, alliances were forming. No one can say for sure why these pacts formed the way they did, as it could have just as easily gone the other way, but as it so happened, large groups of influential mortals from the Middle and Upper Lands came to a mutually-beneficial truce.

The premise was simple: the Middle Lands woulds support the prosperity of the Upper Lands to the greatest degree possible, through sacrifices both material and spiritual. This would increase the lifespans of the Upper Lands' creatures, who had already declared an internal cease-fire and developed into a peaceful super-civilization. The significant decrease in death rates in the Upper Lands would starve the Lower Lands of mana, weakening their armies and making it easy for the Middle Lands' defenders to fight them off. Often, the creatures of the Upper Lands would invest some of their bounty back into the Middle Lands, to bolster their defenses against the ever-desperate armies of the Lower Lands and sometimes just as a token of good will.

In time, the creatures of the Middle Lands came to see the Upper Lands' dwellers as powerful beings of goodness and prosperity, and the Lower Lands' invading armies as evil, destructive agents of chaos and ruin. Physically weaker than the inhabitants of the Middle Lands, and virtually insignificant in comparison to the well-nourished beings of the Upper Lands, the Lower Lands' denizens survive largely through cunning, exceptional violence, and a general disregard for personal safety. If they were not twisted and evil initially, they certainly are now; starvation, desperation, and the loss of everything once loved and lived for will do that to just about any creature, now matter how 'good'.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS

The Middle Lands

Standing on the ground, the Middle Lands look and feel exactly like Earth. Looks can be deceiving. The Middle Lands are not a sphere, but rather two slightly concave discs of land whose edges you can literally fall off. When you look up, you aren't seeing a sky; you're looking up at the ocean of the other disc. Each disc is so massive, and so great is the distance between them, that even the largest of continents are imperceptible specs against the vast ocean that forms the sky. At the center of each disc is a gaping hole, which focuses scattered starlight from the underside of the disc into one massive beam. This is the 'sun'; each disc's sun shines onto the other disc's surface as they slowly move past each other. This is the day cycle. When they are fully past each other, they move past each other in the opposite direction, with their backs facing each other this time and their surfaces facing out toward the stars. This is the night cycle.

Each disc has its own cloud layer; these layers cling to the surface of each world and replenish the oceans as they empty out into the void at the edges of the discs. During the day, the cloud layers interact, while at night, each layer follows its own disc out to face the stars. Each disc also has its own moon; the two moons alternate cycles (while one is full, the other is new, etc.). The moons sometimes follow the surface briefly into the day, but generally stay on the star side of each disc regardless of which way its surface is facing. The cloud layers are a spirit world of sorts; mastery of the clouds is what originally led the mortals of the Middle Lands to bridge the gap. Each moon is a spiritual portal of sorts, allowing travel between the Lands.

Gravity always pulls toward the discs, so the underside of the discs are generally not inhabited by animals. Plants and creatures which can cling to the underside thrive here, seeming bizarre and unearthly compared to the creatures of the surface. Many spirits and other supernatural beings not bound by the effects of gravity also seek refuge on the undersides. The underside of each disc houses a massive 'lens' of unknown material that focuses the starlight behind it into the beam perceived by surface dwellers as the sun. The hole in the center of each disc, and the lens itself, is incalculably hot, and water turns to steam near it. It is theoretically possible for adventurers with proper methods of resisting the heat to approach it at 'sunset', climb down through the hole, and emerge on the underside of the disc before being instantly disintegrated by 'sunrise', but no one is that crazy.

The edges of the discs end in waterfalls that plunge over into the starry skies below, but layers of multicolored mists form a deadly illusion. The sea seems to stretch on endlessly to the horizon, but these are merely vapors. Beautiful hues of blue, purple, red, and orange constitute these mists; they are what cause the sky to change color as it slowly yields to the night sky. The sky itself is merely a canvas stretched across the burning light of Eternity. Think of the discs floating around each other inside a tennis ball filled with small holes. The holes are stars; light from the 'outside' (Eternity) shines in through these holes, and is focused into sunlight by the lenses on the discs (the light of the moons is of a different nature, and not directly to the suns). Any creatures unfortunate enough to fall off the surface of a disc into the night sky land on this 'canvas' and slide along it into one of the star-holes, instantly reduced to nothing by the light of Eternity. There are rumors of lost civilizations that have somehow anchored themselves to the canvas and draw sustenance from the light of Eternity itself, but that's absolutely ridiculous.

Scholars agree that the moons somehow resupply the clouds with water, as it would otherwise fall off the edges of the discs and empty into Eternity. No one can say for certain how this occurs, even after having bridged the gap between the worlds.

The Upper Lands

The Upper Lands have no land mass; they are comprised of a massive, infinitely deep ocean and a massive, infinitely high sky. All creatures of the Upper Lands are marine (this does not necessarily mean they breathe water or can't leave it), while their spirits reside in the skies above their ocean. At the center of the ocean is an ever-churning whirlpool that somehow pushes all sea water outward instead of pulling it in. Overhead, an ever-howling hurricane rages, its eye aligned with the eye of the whirlpool. The light of Eternity shines in a brilliant shaft from the eye of the storm down onto the world; the portal to the other Lands lies within the eye of the whirlpool.

At the edges of the ocean, gravity reverses and pours in waterfalls up into the sky. There, it slowly, steadily vaporizes and falls back to the ocean via the hurricane. Most of the creatures the inhabitants of the Middle Lands interact with dwell near or on the surface of the ocean. Very few mortals regularly venture into the upper cloud cover or beyond, and even fewer stray into the unending depths far below. This is not to say there aren't vast underwater civilizations, just that they are all buoyant to some degree, and there is no ocean floor to speak of. Generally, the mortals of the sea are devoted to an understanding of 'how?' and pursue the sciences with great zeal. Their knowledge of ocean currents, weather patterns, and various beautiful phenomena that characterize the Upper Lands is a point of pride for these mortals. The spirits in the clouds above tend to concern themselves more with 'why?', focusing on religious studies. Though they don't have much tangible progress to show for their pursuits, you'd be hard-pressed to find a mortal scholar who wouldn't give up all his worldly possessions for a brief conversation with one of these beings.

There is no way to penetrate the powerful, fast-moving curtain of waterfalls surrounding the Upper Lands; the water falls infinitely upward, and there is no way to discern where it actually vaporizes and falls back to the ocean. It is a subject of heated debate among the scholars of the Upper Lands whether there is any proof that it ever turns into the clouds above, or if these two elements are not directly related, much like the clouds and oceans of the Middle Lands. There are no 'stars' in the Upper Lands per se, but whenever it rains, the entire world goes dark and the eye of the hurricane casts its light through cloud patterns in beautiful arrays that appear to the creatures of the Middle Lands as some surreal combination of rainbows and aurorae.

The Lower Lands

The Lower Lands were once breathtaking, but eons of mana starvation have left this world barren and brittle. The Lower Lands are unique in that their portals and source of Eternity's light are both living things. Scarab-like creatures known as Holy Norths and Holy Souths are the lifeblood of the Lower Lands. Holy Norths are similar to fireflies, and emit the light of Eternity. Holy Souths are similar to butterflies, reflecting the light off their prominent wings. There are no day/night cycles in the Lower Lands, simply migrating swarms of Holy scarabs that travel in regular cycles around the world. The world itself is something like a ring with a single continuous surface (imagine looping a strip of paper to form a ring, but twisting it once so that instead of an inner and outer surface, there is one continuous surface).

Gravity functions very oddly in the Lower Lands, with the ring always pulling inward toward itself, no matter which 'side' of it a creature is standing on. Once, a massive central river-ocean ran through the core of the ring, but it has since dried up almost entirely. Dense forests used to cover the ring's surface as well, the tallest trees on the 'inside' surfaces reaching past each other (this world is no smaller than the others, meaning these trees were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of MILES tall). Looking at it from a distance, it was impossible to tell the Lower Lands weren't a spherical world, due to the thick vegetation that entwined to create a biomass more dense than the world itself. Sadly, large skeletal husks of petrified trees and the indestructible carcasses of the Holy scarabs are all that remain of the world's former glory. Without the Holy Norths and Holy Souths to create and refract the light of Eternity, the Lower Lands are plunged in perpetual darkness.

If mortals from the Middle Lands could see the skies of the Lower Lands, they would be thoroughly bewildered. Like the set of infinite reflections created by a pair of mirrors facing each other, those looking out from the ring see an infinite number of rings stretching into the distance. Oddly enough, those aren't different rings; they are actually looking at the other side of their own world. If a creature were to somehow jump off the surface of the ring and fly/fall towards another ring in the sky, all the creatures of the world would see him falling toward all the rings in all directions, and he would simply find himself on the other side of the ring. To put it in perspective, imagine blasting off in a shuttle from America, flying straight away from the Earth, and running nose-first into China on the same Earth. This bizarre property of the Lower Lands is the subject of much speculation among scholars of all worlds.

The Outer Lands

The mortals of the Middle Lands can, through death or other, less natural means, visit the Upper Lands or the Lower Lands. This should logically mean that mortals of the Upper Lands and Lower Lands can visit both other worlds as well, but this is not the case. There is something beyond both of them that mortals of the Middle Lands can not set foot in, the Outer Lands. This world does not seem to feed, or be fed by, any of the other worlds, but it stands between the Upper and Lower Lands. Mortals from the Upper Lands can visit the Middle and Outer Lands, while mortals from the Lower Lands can visit the Middle and Outer Lands. This world and the creatures that inhabit it are unlike anything else in the Beryl universe. Dragons hail from this far-flung world, and are somehow able to cross into any other world. Though little is known of these majestic and powerful beings, it seems that they are in fact refugees, fleeing from terrors so unyielding that even they are powerless in comparison. Though dragons are as varied as any other mortal creature, even the most righteous and benevolent of dragons knows it must retain an aura of power and respect to prosper among lesser mortals, and so none of them speak of the horrors that hunt them and drive them from their homelands.

The Outer Lands are perhaps the most beautiful in the Beryl universe; at their core is a living 'star' that exudes a dim, moon-like light and rains life-giving water outward; all the dragons that pass into other worlds make some sort of pilgrimage to this star, leading scholars to believe it contains a portal like the moons of the Middle Lands. The entire star system is cloaked in an atmosphere created by the interaction of the star's rain and various 'moons'. Orbiting the star are 'planets', large solid masses sculpted by the winds into aerodynamic shapes like wings and corkscrews. Each of these planets is gigantic, most of them easily as large as the discs in the Middle Lands. Orbiting the planets are 'moons', which are actually small stars that emit the light of Eternity. The misty atmosphere pervading the star system is created when rain hits these moons and turns to steam. Day/night cycles on the planets are a thing of truly unearthly splendor; each planet's unique shape, combined with the trajectory of its moon(s), creates distinct patterns of light and darkness unevenly splayed across its surface(s). Like comets, the orbiting moons leave tails of flame as they meet resistance from the system's weather patterns, so sunsets are often marked by trails of fiery residue illuminating the surface long after the actual moon has 'set'.

Little is known about any other inhabitants of the Outer Worlds, but it is clear enough that most of them are aerial creatures. Beyond the edges of atmosphere (dictated by the furthest reaches to which the star can propel its rain), there is an unending void. Peppering this void are stars (real stars, not the star-holes of the Middle Lands). For ages, dragons would stare longingly out into the sea of stars and wonder what lay beyond their own. It is believed that they had begun to venture forth with armor that would let them survive in the absolutely cold, airless void, but before they could make any real progress, something from that infinite darkness found them first.

This is, in a nutshell, the Beryl universe. Personally, I feel unsatisfied with the Upper Worlds, and will probably be making some changes to make them more dynamic and varied. Please let me know what you think of Beryl; any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.

SAAj wrote:

I have a game world I'd like to submit, but I'm not sure about what kind of copyright covers such a thing. My game world is not simply a campaign setting comprised of history, characters, and places, but an entire cosmology with its own natural laws. If I copyright it as a word document, the way a poem or novel would be, is my idea protected, or simply my writing describing the idea? Is this the sort of thing an Open Game License applies to?

I apologize if this isn't the right forum for these sorts of questions; it seemed like the most fitting place to ask, since this is where I would be posting my ideas.

No one is going to steal your idea. Or conversely, 100 other people have already had your idea. It's the execution that counts.

Think about it - publishers *want* ideas from writers, if they stole a good idea, it would shut them down for the next idea.

You're not submitting this unsolicited are you? If you're just sending people a manuscript then shame on you for wasting trees (or electrons). Unsolicited manuscripts will end up in the round file (or the slush pile, which is pretty much the same thing.)

If it's solicited, then no worries, eh?

No, this is just for the purposes of submitting it here as homebrew. I write song lyrics as well, and there are certain dos and don'ts in the music industry about submitting material to public sources (such as forums) without copyrights. I was just making sure there weren't similar issues with this sort of material.

tejón wrote:

One of my favorite characters originated in a one-on-one game (v3.0). We traded off the DM job, and each ran 2 characters.

dulsin wrote:

Just for the love of god don't let them be a gestalt monk/druid.

...why?

Because the very idea of a grizzly bear doing flurry of blows causes a rift in the fabric of reality.

Oh, you mean the Wild Monk? Gotta love Dragon Magazine :)

I have a game world I'd like to submit, but I'm not sure about what kind of copyright covers such a thing. My game world is not simply a campaign setting comprised of history, characters, and places, but an entire cosmology with its own natural laws. If I copyright it as a word document, the way a poem or novel would be, is my idea protected, or simply my writing describing the idea? Is this the sort of thing an Open Game License applies to?

I apologize if this isn't the right forum for these sorts of questions; it seemed like the most fitting place to ask, since this is where I would be posting my ideas.

Sorry if this has already been stated, but why not rule that unarmed attacks have a reach of 0' and require you to be in the same hex as the opponent, like grappling? In reality, even a kick doesn't have as much reach as a longsword; if you're skeptical, try sparring someone who's wielding a yardstick and see how difficult it is to get past it into striking range. Even martial arts that fight hand-to-hand versus weaponry, such as Aikido, do so by moving in to the opponent's space to deny them the reach advantage of the weapon.

Improved Unarmed Combat could get rid of the AoO provoked by moving into the opponent's square, just like Improved Grapple. This would also give unarmed combatants a somewhat realistic edge against weapon wielders, who would have to take a step back before attacking to avoid -4 penalties to hit, just as if they were in a grapple. By this logic, small weapons like daggers would also require the attacker to be in the opponent's square, so a rule would have to be devised differentiating between such weapons and unarmed attacks (such as allowing unarmed attacks during a grapple without penalty, and incurring a -4 penalty to daggers and other such weapons in a grapple as usual).