A quick question for Mr. Logue. In the Savage Tidings article for Dragon #352, you wrote up brief descriptions of the seven Olman tribes that the PCs could possible ally themselves with for the coming pirate attack. The Usi tribe was not included in the printed article - would you by any chance still have any notes on that tribe's cultural traits and beliefs? Enquiring 'Tiders want to know! ;P
Many thanks in advance sir - my PCs are visiting the tribes now, and they've only got two more villages to go before they get there!!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
That is actually in the realm of Gary Holian's uber Greyhawk knowledge. You could query him tomorrow evening on #greychat or on the forums at Cannonfire!
(No, I wasn't yelling that last word. It's actually written that way.)
That is actually in the realm of Gary Holian's uber Greyhawk knowledge. You could query him tomorrow evening on #greychat or on the forums at Cannonfire!
(No, I wasn't yelling that last word. It's actually written that way.)
Thanks for the heads-up Steve, I may try to check that out tomorrow. I've already had to pull something out of my hat for my PCs last week, so it's mostly academic now, I fear.
David - if you want an idea to start you off, I made my Usi into a combination of pearl divers and farmers (since their island appears to not be as rocky as the others nearby). I didn't really flesh out any cultural highpoints except for respecting those who could swim well in turbulent reef environments. I tried instead to distract my PCs with an attack by another of the Infamous Seven, the dragon eel Baaragrauth (my PCs were not amused...heh heh). >)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
Did we ever find out what happened to the Usi?
Reposting here from the original in the Dragon messageboards. (I'd link it, but this will get the info searchable in STAP forum too :)
Nicolas Logue (Contributor), Thu, Feb 1, 2007, 12:07 AM Reply
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Urp!
Totally forgot until now all! Sorry! Here's the blurb:
Usi: Once an extremely warlike tribe, the Usi is now ensorcelled by foreign religion. Missionaries make weekly visits displaying divine power, and somehow speaking fluent Olman dialect (tongues). These missionaries promise the Usi a great place in the destiny of the Isle of Dread and possibly a resurgence of the great Olman Empire of history. The Usi likely ignore any party unaffiliated with the missionaries (Scarlet Brotherhood), unless of course they can show up the visiting priests with a more impressive exhibition of sacred power. Usi were the first Olmans to master the art of Olman Tattoo magic, and PCs bearing tattoos gained from other Olman villages automatically have the respect of the Usi.
I just added the paranthticals (tongues and Scarlet Brotherhood) now to make things more clear for y'all. Hope this helps. For those seeking ways for their party to secure the Usi's aid in Tides of Dread: Tattoo = respect. Divine Magic = Grandaddy Respect.
Reposting here from the original in the Dragon messageboards. (I'd link it, but this will get the info searchable in STAP forum too :)
Nicolas Logue (Contributor), Thu, Feb 1, 2007, 12:07 AM Reply
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Urp!
Totally forgot until now all! Sorry! Here's the blurb:
Usi: Once an extremely warlike tribe, the Usi is now ensorcelled by foreign religion. Missionaries make weekly visits displaying divine power, and somehow speaking fluent Olman dialect (tongues). These missionaries promise the Usi a great place in the destiny of the Isle of Dread and possibly a resurgence of the great Olman Empire of history. The Usi likely ignore any party unaffiliated with the missionaries (Scarlet Brotherhood), unless of course they can show up the visiting priests with a more impressive exhibition of sacred power. Usi were the first Olmans to master the art of Olman Tattoo magic, and PCs bearing tattoos gained from other Olman villages automatically have the respect of the Usi.
I just added the paranthticals (tongues and Scarlet Brotherhood) now to make things more clear for y'all. Hope this helps. For those seeking ways for their party to secure the Usi's aid in Tides of Dread: Tattoo = respect. Divine Magic = Grandaddy Respect.
Thanks for the find Jaatu, I completely missed that! My my my - how time flies when you're saving the world ;)
As posted further up, I went a different direction at that time with my Usi tribe. The PCs got their respect and support in buckets when they saved several of their fishermen from the jaws of the dragon eel Baaragrauth. They actually managed to kill the cranky beast too, though not without some unexpected 'side effects' of killing one of the Seven (heh heh).
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
They actually managed to kill the cranky beast too, though not without some unexpected 'side effects' of killing one of the Seven (heh heh).
Side effects? Care to elaborate?
They actually managed to kill the cranky beast too, though not without some unexpected 'side effects' of killing one of the Seven (heh heh).Side effects? Care to elaborate?
Glad to ellegua! (Apologies in advance for the length):
I decided to make the Seven a bit more 'mystical' than they were written. In my version of STAP, the Isle of Dread has a very strong tie to the primal forces of nature at its wildest. It is almost a living thing in its own right, but only in the most abstract sense.
When the first Savage Tide came and threw down old Thanaclan and tainted the land with the close proximity of abyssal energies, the Isle reacted. Just as a body creates and sends out antibodies to firght of invading viruses, it spawned the Seven to try and hold the abyssal horrors in check.
I've houseruled it so there would always be seven guardians of the Isle, though this was generally known only by the shamans of the Olman tribes who accepted that as part of the Isle's natural cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The PCs found this out when they killed Baaragrauth. The party's druid and NPC ranger kind of 'shared' an animal companion (long story) which happened to be a crested felldrake (yes, like Gut-Tugger, but good). She was with the party when Baaragrauth attacked, and was almost killed by him (bitten to within 2 hp of dying). When the party killed him, the felldrake started to change, growing in size right before their eyes and regenerating all the damage she had taken. The mantle of one of the Seven was thus passed on to another generation...(basically advanced her HD and size, plus added the templates I had given to Baaragrauth to make him a proper challenge for my gestalt campaign).
I ruled that the condition passed between creatures of the same type only (Baaragrauth and the felldrake both shared the Dragon type, for example), and could be passed on either by injuring a creature of the same type, or more spontaneously if one of the Seven dies of old age or from the wounds of a creature of a different type.
My STAP campaign has been paused for about a year now - we stopped after the siege of Farshore, while the party is taking care of 'downtime' stuff before the next adventure. They are concerned about what's going to happen to the felldrake in the long run - they believe that she cannot leave the environs of the Isle anymore because she is now bound to it, and they are concerned that she may become feral and turn on them.
It's been a lot of fun playing around with this idea - especially since my version of Manthalay Meravanchi is the ultimate big game hunter and is always looking for new trophies.... >)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"