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=Vishkanya (humanoids with slight snake-like features and poisonous blood)
=Dragonborn (draconic humanoids)
=Changeling(doppleganger-kin) (descendants of humanoids and dopplegangers)
=Vishkanya (humanoids with slight snake-like features and poisonous blood)
=Dragonborn (draconic humanoids)
So, two sets of Dragonborn, two sets of Vishkanya, and some Changelings for good measure. Wow, what a wild result!
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It is said in the ancient legends that the World of Amphisbos was built from the corpse of the great two-headed serpent Placas-Tinth. And when the gods slew the serpent, each of his heads gave birth to one of the Great Races: the Brown and the Green.
In each of the races, the males and females are very different from one another: the males are large and rough, with broad wings (Dragonborn), while the females are smooth-skinned and lithe (Vishkanya).
The Brown race is suited to the dry deserts and rugged mountains, where water is scarce and life is harsh. They have learned to delve deep mines and build high towers, and some males have wings that have adapted to help them burrow through the soft sand.
The Green race lives in the fertile river valleys and swamps, where they have built mighty cities and lush farms. Some Green males use their wings to swim swiftly through the waters of their land.
So each color is suited to live apart from the other. But much like the two heads of Placas-Tinth, the two races are truly bound together into one. No one of either race, male or female, may mate with a member of their own color, or else the poison in their blood will slay them both.
So both Brown and Green must seek out the other to produce their children. Always, the offspring will have the sex of one parent, and the color of the other. When the children grow to adulthood, they join the people of their color in their suitable habitats.
But sometimes, there is a child born with no color and no sex: skin of pure white, with no scales at all, and neither male nor female (Changelings). Some say these children are blessed or cursed by the gods, or perhaps that they are the gods' own offspring, not having the blood of Placas-Tinth at all. Sometimes they are shunned by their parents, or sometimes they are showered with special affection. As these children go, they sometimes find that they can take on the appearance of either sex or color for short times, but soon they must always revert to their true forms.
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Ok let's see what I got:
Teiflings
Half-Elves
Pixie
Uldra
Locathah
Ok so two demi humans, some fey and fish people. well lets throw something together.
For now the world is called Amissus Terra and I decided to present its history in the form of a letter from a Wizard to his inquisitive niece. Hope the style choice doesn't make it hard to understand.
Dear Allandra,
I hear from your father that you have started taking a keen interest in our world and its long and sorted history. I hope I, as your Uncle, can bring some illumination to our often neglected past. Long ago their existed two kingdoms in relative harmony dominated by the two great races of the day. One was known as Mith Lome, the Grey Dusk in the common tongue, home to the ever aloof Elven People, the Guardians of the First World. The second, Alorice, was the the Utopia of Man. These great realms stood as a testament to the might of both Elven and Human peoples and the long standing alliance between the two ensured prosperity throughout the Lands. However, such peace was not to last as a great calamity, known only today as Wormwood, befell the lands and ripped these once proud nations apart. Some human and elves sought solace among each other leading to the many half-elven hovels and caravans that dot and roam the landscape in these "modern" times. Others, gave into their baser natures and in their desperation made pacts with demons and devils and all sorts of foul creatures. The descendants of these individuals now claim claim the blasted wastes as their own. Residing within their hedonistic citadels both ruling and serving their devilish companions. A third, all be it small group, took to the seas, which for reasons unknown was largely spared from the calamitous Wormwood, and over centuries of evolution and magical machinations became the honorable fishmen known as Locathah. Finally, it seems that Wormwood left rifts between the First World and our own allowing creatures native to that realm claim portions of our world as their own benefit. Two groups in particular appear to have gained the strongest foothold: the Pixies largely rule large tracks of what passes for forests these days as their own personal fiefdoms while Uldra's claim large tracks of the frozen polar reaches. I hope my overview gives you at least some understanding of our world's history and leads you to greater interest into our past.
Sincerely,
Alsemar High Wizard of Brethil Byre
1d100 → [33] = (33) Svinferblin
1d100 → [46] = (46)Albino feys
1d100 → [61] = (61) Sahuragans
1d100 → [7] = (7) Gnomes
1d100 → [1] = (1) Humans
Interesting :)
I think this is going to end up eating a good portion of my night...
Ok let's see what I got this time:
Trolls
Half-Orcs
Pseudodragons
Merfolk
Asherati
OK this one is a little too easy. Merfolk kingdoms in the ocean and rivers, Half-Orcs (Humans and Orcs in the setting interbred with the assumption Humans never got above cave-men/stone age technology) and Trolls in the Mountains, Asherati nomads living in the deserts, and Pseudodrgans serving their draconic counter-parts as the main civilization bringers in urban environments. Yawn.
OK lets see what I got this time:
Dueregar
Centaur
Fetchling
Saytr
Undine
Ok so these appear to be standard and understandable.
Welcome to Ghimirle, the Demi-Plane of Night. This is where lost souls trapped in the most dire of circumstance are transported shortly before their untimely deaths to live on in a land of perpetual night. In the impassable Mountains of Ash along the Northern border of the Demi-Plane exists the Dueregar Mining village of Shash where the cursed cousins of Dwarves toil eternally in their Adamantine mines. Stretching between the Shores of Sorrow and the Mountains of Ash exists the seemingly endless Plains of Dust inhabited by the ever roaming and nomadic Centaur herds. Along the Shores of Sorrow itself exists two separate communities. One is the village of Oras inhabited by Fletchlings that immigrated from the Plane of Shadow while the other is Dimense Amel the underwater home of the Udines.
Ok so a little bit of understanding about where this demi-plane exists. It sits on a cross-roads between the Ethereal Plane, the Plane of Shadow, and the Negetive energy Plane. So, while it is livable or standard adventures it is by no means a fun place to visit, or a place anyone visits by choice. It effectively exists as a catch all plane for those souls who have died and do not wish to depart into the after-life, so instead of going to oblivion they are manifested in new bodies here. Now, that does mean that their are a large variance of creature in the demi-plane; however, the five listed are the most dominate.
Ok I am going to see what else I get and I'll post anything that I think is good at a later date.
1d100- Duergar
1d100- Gnoll
1d100-Illumian (human-like beings infused with sorcery with glowing sigils floating around their heads)
1d100- Goliath (tall, strong humanoids with stony appearances and tough hides)
1d100- Half-OrcHmm...
Long ago, the three races of man, elf and dwarf faced their end of days as a terrifying army of orcs and goblin-kin, lead by the military genius and dam of much of the horde Zotha The Many-Wombed, fell across the land like a shroud. While the dwarves were making some progress in fighting the goblin-kin underground, the surface world was slowly being ceded to the orc. No one was more wounded by this than the elves, who, being linked to their forests as they were, slowly began to list and waste away. Pushed to consider the most desperate of ideas, human mages and what few elven sorcerers were left worked a great ritual that would merge the souls of humans and elves on a metaphysical level, unlike the physical level that created half elves. The dwarves were disgusted by the idea and refused to have anything to do with it, although it is important to note that they were not invited to take part in it due to fears of what their magic resistance would cause. The illuminans were born from the corpse of the races of human and elf, and the battle for the surface world began anew. Two souls in one body, each illuminan fought as if they were two, and with a ferocity that took their enemies by surprise. When Zotha was slain in front of her whole army during a raid by Illuminan paladin-monks, the war was more or less won, but the Illuminans were not content with mere victory. Twin-souls howling for revenge, they did not stop until every last orc was dead. A new republic was founded, lead by the very same paladins who slew The Many-Wombed herself, and it essentially linked the former human lands to the elven forests, creating the largest empire the world had ever seen.
That was but two generations ago, and the rest of the world, which first breathed a sigh of relief with the end of the orcish plague, is now concerned that they have simply replaced one threat with another. Word of the illuminan ways first reached the ears of others through half-orcs, whom the illumians spared due to their human(and elven!) blood. At first content to be their partners in the war, half orcs are slowly became first servants and then slaves, with only a handful winning their freedom in bizarre blood-sports the rules of which change from moment to moment. Those few who do live in the wastelands with the help of the nomadic and mercenary gnolls, who did not join Zrotha's horde ages ago only because she refused to pay them what they felt they were worth. Half orcs use their fight purses to buy their loyalty, and to become the patrons of private armies that ensure they will never be taken as slaves ever again. Rumor of illuminan mental instability and overall cruelty eventually spread to what remained of the dwarves, who had with their single minded obsession visited a grim fate upon the goblins, but were teetering on extinction themselves. Inbreeding became the only option for the race to survive, and now the mutated and evolved duergar began to explore the world above with a desire to protect what they have and conquer even more. But perhaps the strangest denizens of this world are the newest- the heretofore unknown goliaths, a silent and brooding race renown only for their hatred of the illuminans. Some say they are what becomes of illuminans who "burn out", others say they are what became of the humans who refused the bonding process with elves. They have made friendly overtures to all races save for the illuminans, and are quick to join any cause that results in problems for their enemies. Despite being bombarded with questions as to their origins and their motivations, goliaths never speak of anything other than the matter at hand.
61. Sahuagin
93. Dragon-based Humanoid (wildcard, make your own!)
26. Vishkanya (humanoids with slight snake-like features and poisonous blood)
75. Ettercap
83. Shifter (descendants of humanoids and lycanthropes)
Hmmm....
I think this is going to end up eating a good portion of my night...
Ok let's see what I got this time:
Trolls
Half-Orcs
Pseudodragons
Merfolk
AsheratiOK this one is a little too easy. Merfolk kingdoms in the ocean and rivers, Half-Orcs (Humans and Orcs in the setting interbred with the assumption Humans never got above cave-men/stone age technology) and Trolls in the Mountains, Asherati nomads living in the deserts, and Pseudodrgans serving their draconic counter-parts as the main civilization bringers in urban environments. Yawn.
I would like to see more.
Just a thought: do undead count? In other words, what if you get half-orcs in your world but no humans or orcs - could you say that a plague of undeath turned them all into zombies, leaving only their half-breed progeny?
Just a thought: do undead count? In other words, what if you get half-orcs in your world but no humans or orcs - could you say that a plague of undeath turned them all into zombies, leaving only their half-breed progeny?
AS far as I understand, the five races don't need to be the only five races around, only, they are the default five races available to player characters (and PCs must be created using one of those 5 races only).
In a default Pathfinder game, available races are humans, halflings, half-elves, half-orcs, dwarves, gnomes and elves, but there's a whole lot of other humanoid races around.
I think it would be totally legit to have a world with both humans and orcs still kicking as powerful civilization, but only their half-orc progeny playable as PCs.
Coming-up with why neither humans nor orcs aren't available as PC races is half of what makes the setting interesting...
I would like to see more.I think this is going to end up eating a good portion of my night...
Ok let's see what I got this time:
Trolls
Half-Orcs
Pseudodragons
Merfolk
AsheratiOK this one is a little too easy. Merfolk kingdoms in the ocean and rivers, Half-Orcs (Humans and Orcs in the setting interbred with the assumption Humans never got above cave-men/stone age technology) and Trolls in the Mountains, Asherati nomads living in the deserts, and Pseudodrgans serving their draconic counter-parts as the main civilization bringers in urban environments. Yawn.
Ok I'll see what I can do.
Regnum is a world on the precipice of war. Long ago the barbarian alliance of Orc and Men crossed over the great Flovious River that marked the northern border of the Zanuesial Empire, ruled by the Greak Gold Dragon Arkon. This initial incursion, known today as the First War, left the shattered tribes of orc and men scattering across the Flovious River back to the Great Oral Mountains from which they came. However, this bitter first war also left in ruins the once great Zanusial Empire and the true dragons that once ruled it long dead. Now in the shadow of that once mighty empire lives the Proud Psudodragons, care takers of what the now lost dragons left behind, and rulers of the New EMpire. Their allies and confidants, the Merfolk, rule the seven seas from their under water kingdom of Riviere while stange new barbarians haunt the Oral Mountains, said to be possessed with the intelligence of Man and the ferocity of Orcs. Others have cited tribes of creatures larger than any of the Ancient Men and twice as powerful decimating boarder towns. These fears where made all the more real when once such tribe stepped forward, calling itself the Black Rock Tribe, and offered allegiance to the New Empire in exchange for shelter. These "Half-Orcs" and "Trolls" as they call themselves now live and serve the empire at the edge of its mountainous frontier fighting the very tribes, that to the Pseudodragons and Merfolk at least, they should be calling kin. This coupled with the arrival of strange pointy-eared humanoids hailing from the deserts across the sea to the south and southeast claiming trade and friendship have left many of the Pseudodragons and Merfolk unsure of their place in the world. But, more importantly, can the New Empire hope to insult their new found friends when threats already gather from the northern mountains?
The idea was for this to be a basic roman setting. The Oral Mountains to the north symbolize the Alps, Half-Orc and Troll teritory. The Flovius River symbolizes the Rubicon of Northern Italy,where the Merfolk capitol of Riviere sits, and the Psudodragon's New Empire, as well as the old empire of the dragons, representing Rome itself, spanning from the Rubicon to Sicily. The Ahsrati in this case symbolize Carthage before the First Carthaginian War. The Black Rock Tribe, the "good" Orcs and Trolls in the eyes of everyone else, take up the area inbetween the Rubicon and the Foothills of the Oral Mountains, or the Alps as it where. Hope that helps paint a better understanding of the setting.
I'm running a planeshifting game so some of these will be used. After I get a chance to read them all that is. For now, here are my rolls.
14 fetchling
65 Derhii (winged, intelligent gorillas)
47 Nereid (aquatic nymph-like fey)
40 Ogre
98 Rogue Modron (free-willed box-like construct)
D100
56 Minotaur
76 Shae
65 Derhii
15 Ifrit
72 Dryder
Setting: The Labyrinth
Between the narrow hedges that make up the walls of the Labyrinth, live an incalculable number of beasts and terrors. Around every corner death awaits those who do not know the ways of the Labyrinth. This shadowy realm of twisting passageways and dark secrets has an odd tendency to make recently taken paths disappear without explanation. The way is shut for those who wish to leave the Labyrinth, the way is shut and there is no turning back.
Set in an inescapable maze made out of hedges, the Labyrinth is barely dominated by 5 distinct races.
1.Minotaurs: the lonely minotaurs wander the dark roads of the Labyrinth wary of others even other minotaurs. They prefer to travel alone knowing full well that large groups tend to attract the attention of the Labyrinth. Those that do travel in groups are slow to trust their companions but once they do minotaurs will give their life for them without a second thought.
2.Derhii: the Minotaurs may isolate themselves from others but the Derhii on the other hand have learned to value strength in numbers. With their great strength, limited ability to glide through the halls and an uncanny understanding of the perils and whims of the Labyrinth, the Derhii wandering troops can overcome any challenge. They have one rule, keep up with the troop because the Labyrinth loves picking off stragglers.
3.Ifrit: the Ifrit are the lights that show the way through the shadows. They are the lantern bearers and guides that come to the aid of those lost within the Labyrinth. Only they among the races prove the virtuous can survive the treacherous halls of the Labyrinth
4.Shae: if the Ifrit are the lights the Shae are undoubtedly the shadows. Many believe they serve the greater shadows that inhabit the Labyrinth. The truth is that Shae seek out travelers to aid them not to harm them. Whenever adventurers stumble upon a much needed item or convenient markings pointing the right way towards their goal, it means a Shae has taken an interest in them.
5.Dryders: the mysterious Dryders are the most sedentary of the races. They weave great webs in the halls, the oldest of them covering miles and every inch of them is watch over by its Dryder maker. The Dryder prefer feeding on the beasts that become entangled in their webs but there are not above feasting on the flesh of those that anger them. A time comes in the lives of all Dryders when they must leave their mother’s web to seek out their own lands. It is these Dryders who are the most likely to join others until they find their new home
1d100
61. Sahuagin
1d100
93. Dragon-based Humanoid (wildcard, make your own!)
1d100
26. Vishkanya (humanoids with slight snake-like features and poisonous blood)
1d100
75. Ettercap
1d100
83. Shifter (descendants of humanoids and lycanthropes)Hmmm....
This world has no name. This world has only a dim sun, starting to turn into a red giant. It has but one small sea, slowly boiling off and devoid of most life save for the Sahaugin. The nights are bitterly cold, and belong to the Shifters, who alone can bear its chill. It has a few forests, held by the Ettercaps, and a few mountains, around which the Vishakanya and Draco-kin make their homes. There is nothing else here. Primarily because everything else has been eaten.
An untold number of years ago, this was a "normal" world. Adventurers of human, elven, dwarven, gnome and halfling descent and combination thereof left their respective civilizations in an attempt to bring their light to the darkened areas of their world.
This was a bad idea.
No one knows who struck what first, but these inquisitives eventually revealed something that they simply were not meant to disturb. Civilizations fell into barbarism, then utter chaos over the course of a mortal generation as they became food for the fell Things Beneath, horrid creatures of alien form and constantly mutating appearance. At first, it was nothing but red slaughter and horrid feasting. But then, just as things seemed darkest, a handful of survivors turned the hunters into the hunted. Each race claims they were the first to do so, but all accept that individual egoism is means little in the face of what was accomplished when a collection of primitive spears, javelins, rocks, arrows, and teeth and claws brought one of Them down. Urged moreso by primal vengeance than hunger, they feasted upon the remains...and found they liked it.
The Things Below could not quit the surface fast enough, and it was only after now many generations of brutal hunting that the peoples of this nameless world have reclaimed their world and driven the Things Below back to their holes. But there is precious little left. Crude city states have formed, and there has been peace for these past dozen years, but the physiology of the natives have been permanently altered. They are carnivores now, one and all, and while there are a few dire animals that were just plain ornery enough to survive what the Things Beneath did to the landscape, all can see that even if they were hunted into extinction, it would not be enough to feed them all. Stomachs have started to rumble, and the city-states make ready for war even as they fund spelunking expeditions into the great caves left behind by the Things Below.
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⇒ Girtablilu
⇒ Thri-Kreen
⇒ Vodyanoi
⇒ Treant
⇒ Troll
The great empires of the scorpion-like girtablilu have stood supreme for thousands of years, with giant stone edifices visible from the very horizon. Yet now the world is changing, and the mighty rivers which have fed their empires since time immemorial are drying up. Famine is spreading, and now, in their weakened state, as the empires of the girtablilu prepare to war against one another for control of the dwindling food supply, war is coming from outside.
The nomadic thri-kreen of the far south, long content to herd beasts and keep to themselves, have been united under a single great leader promising them glories unimagined, a life of ease and luxury, just as soon as they claim that future by conquering the ancient cities of the girtablilu. Though they have little in the way of steel and iron arms, their spears and arrows are more than enough to threaten the girtablilu, who haven't the food to keep armies supplied, nor can they afford to spare the holy power of their priests to counter the thri-kreen shamans, when those priests devote all their efforts to creating food and water for their hungry people.
Far to the north, the treants are stirring from eons of slumber, finding themselves parched, as the rains no longer fall as often as they once did, the forests they shepherd now withering away. They know they must do something, but the girtablilu to the south are too busy trying just to survive, and so the treants have sought the aid of troll oracles, hoping to divine the cause of the changes in weather. The trolls are unconcerned by the changes to the world, for they respect only strength, and those who are too weak to find sustenance are too weak to be of concern to the trolls. They oblige the treants only because of their shared strengths and fear of fire.
The truth of the matter is that the vodyanoi living on islands dotting the islands in the eastern ocean are the ones responsible, diverting the storms to inundate their islands with rain and turn all the land they possess into soggy marshes and lush rainforests.
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89 Goliath
44 Nymph
44 Nymph
44 Nymph
45 Sprite
wtf?
Ya... The WotC random die roller doesn't seem very random.....
That or it knows what I'm rolling for and is just a pervert. :p
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79 = Ghoul
50 = Faun
71 = Dark Folk
93 = Dragon-based humanoid (wildcard, make your own)
90 = Dragonborn (draconic humanoids)
A pair of chromatic dragons had a war over a region of sodden forests and verdant bogs. The green dragon allied with the fey, breeding with the faun to craft a dragon-fey hybrid called the Scalsidhe (skAl-shEE). These creatures were serpentine mortals with fine, olive-tinted scales and comely features, yet the recurved legs and horns of their faun parentage.
Together the green dragon and his progeny joined forces with the faun to bring arcane magic to bear against the creeping stagnation of their enemy.
In the depths of the fetid mire however the scheming black dragon was far from idle. His own kobolds, in their zealous worship did his bidding and opened a gateway to the Shadow. The dragon made a deal with the Dark Folk he found there, dooming his expendable minions to their terrifying necrotic experiments to create soldiers for his war. The failures were consumed by the successes and soon an undead legion of ghouls was at the dragon's disposal.
Some few of the kobolds were spared and consigned to diabolical breeding pits. Here the black dragon sculpted his own progeny: the Dragonborn.
Unfortunately in all of this, none saw the true evil. Amid the fey were those dark forces who had sought to embrace the Shadow all along and they had manipulated the dragons to this end. While the petty creatures sired their abominations and skirmished uselessly the Fey seized upon the gateway and in an orgy of magic and blood the thing was torn asunder, plunging all the sodden land into twilight.
After a time the spreading contagion of the place was contained by powerful magic. Now an island continent unto itself, the Duskmourn Lands are in perpetual shade. Though the sun rises and sets here, allowing the Wild to survive, the Shadow never fully burns away. At noon all that can be glimpsed in the sky is a bloody sunset; most of the day the sun fades into the visage of a second moon.
Duskmourn is not some nascent demiplane or forgotten world. Rather it is a blight on the Material; a constant threat to be feared.
Even now the Elder Scions (the dragons) plot and scheme to free themselves from their prison. Most of the fey have yielded to the Shadow and freely revel in its darkness. Only the Faun and some few allies still remember sunlight in their ages-old songs and stories. They have long ago resolved with their Skalsidhe cousins to ignore their absent patron and instead focus on saving themselves from this hades. The ghouls and Dragonborn similarly have their own motivations and no longer seek the approval of their creators. The Dark Folk, now mingled freely with the Fey, are scattered and numerous, yet they hunger to spread from this place.
All seek the Shattered Gate; a fairy ring as old as time where the Revel of Twilight took place. Unfortunately the crazed magic obliterated the ring which is now scattered in millions of pieces across Duskmourn. These shards hold fell, eldritch powers in their own right but it has been surmised that perhaps enough pieces brought together correctly might either undo the bars of the cage to release the Shadow across all the Material once and for all or perhaps reverse the gate altogether and remove the darkness entirely.
89 Goliath
44 Nymph
44 Nymph
44 Nymph
45 Sprite
hmm..... ok..... here's my initial thoughts
On the verdant world of Thera the daughters of the triple goddess reign supreme.
The Daughter of Summer revere the goddess as the Maiden (life, light, youth, etc).
The Daughters of Twilight revere the goddess as the Mother (balance, nature, etc).
The Daughters of Winter revere the goddess as the Crone (entropy, death, etc).
The men of this world are seen as big lumbering brutes and are looked down upon.
The Sprites serve the goddess in all her incarnations or sometimes not at all.
Maybe play up the whole oppression of the matriarchy angle. haha :p
Where has this thread been all my life??
7 - Gnomes
69 - Thriae (race of all female bee humanoids)
25 - Vanara (Monkey-folk)
95 - Plant-based humanoid (WILD CARD)
25 - Vanara (Monkey-folk)
..............
Rain Forrest planet it is! :D
Because of these conditions, however, life on the plant’s surface (save for some caves and oasis’ scattered around the planet) is nearly impossible, as the average temperature fluxuates from 80-280 degrees Fahrenheit, based on the season and volcanic activity. The constant heat causes an almost constant fuxuation in moisture, causing heavy rains several times a week. Many trees have adapted to catch rain water in large pools, hundreds of feet above the surface, where the water won’t evaporate as quickly, enabling both the tree and other creatures with plentiful fresh water. The only race capable of calling the surface its home is the well-adapted and rightly-named Furnace Apes.
These rough, red brutes are unharmed by the burning environment, and have even shaped their livelihood around it: the mineral and heat enriched surface makes for ideal mining and smithing conditions, and the Furnace Apes take full advantage of this. If Dwarves existed, they sure would be jealous! Most Furnace Ape adventurers set out with dreams of finding mysterious, precious metals amid Decidula’s many ancient ruins; at least, the ruins sturdy enough, or located luckily enough to have withstood the great heat that hasn’t always covered the forest floor. Some other adventurers wish to prove themselves worthy males of the Thriae, for Furnace Apes are rarely chosen for the task.
Another notable race not living among the branches would be the clever Gnomes. As their natural habitat is usually below ground, the same is said for the Gnomes of Decidula. Using the geothermal energies readily available to them, the Gnomes have created inner casings lining the walls of their cavernous tunnels and cities, which almost completely reflect the great heat of the crust. The heat that isn’t reflected is used to heat their homes, power their machines, and more! Most of their subterranean tunnels protrude from the ground; tough, metal tubes filled with elevators, which bring passengers to high-up branches, or deep within fortified caves, well out of reach of the toxic fumes and crippling heat of the magma fields. Many Gnome adventurers do so out of spite; most other races look at the Gnomes with pity, needing to live underground to avoid burning or falling. The Gnomes of Decidula set out to prove they’re even better at treasure hunting than the more mobile races.
While the surface and tunnels of Decidula are also shared by many other beasts, the majority of life can be found amid the infinite branches above. The Thriae watch over the other races with a sense of responsibility. Just like their diminutive counterparts keep floral populations in check, so too do these humanoid bees keep watch over the interactions of the forest’s intelligent species from their many combs among the branches. As a race of all females, however, they too rely on other races to flourish. Males (preferably of Gnomes or Vanara) are often invited to live out luxurious lives comparable to that of royalty in exchange for their fertility. The other races are often accepting of these terms, as the Thriae are renowned for their powers of divination and prophecy, and will offer a vision of good fortune to a community to offer up a male. Thriae adventurers often pick up the profession with the modest notion of keeping an eye on their charges. Without a watchful eye, a careless adventurer may bring back a harmful artifact from a lost crypt and deal irreparable damage to its community, thus thinning the selection of males for the hive.
The Vanara live some of the most simple lives of Decidula’s intelligent races. Their communities are built on games and leisure. Though a few Vanara will commit themselves to a craft, or even an obedient sect, most simply enjoy swinging and playing. The favorite pastime of the Vanara is to play tricks on their fiery cousins. It is certainly a rare occasion that a Furnace Ape can catch a Vanara, especially when the Vanara’s prank is to drop whatever he thinks will annoy the Ape most on his unsuspecting head from hundreds of feet in the trees. Vanara adventurers are most common, and do so simply because they’re bored. A swaray with a salamander, or a standoff with a horde of kobolds will surely liven up the moment!
The final, and oldest civilized race of Decidula are the Sporfins. With very deep-seated traditions, and off-center way of looking at the world, the Sporfins are easily the most alienated race of Decidula. They don’t mind this stigma, for they quite agree with it: the Gnomes and Thriae are naïve to think they have any sway one way or the other over the natural order of the world, the Furnace Apes are foolish and act too hastily, and the Vanara are little better than common monkeys. Still, the Sporfins get on well enough with the other races, despite their prejudices; it takes a great deal for a Sporfin to hold a grudge. If you manage to create one, however, your entire lineage forever to come may as well have made the slight yesterday, for Sporfins forget just as slowly as they do anything else, which is saying quite a lot. Sporfin adventures take up the cause out of tradition. It signifies the natural progression of things for possessions and lives to be passed on from one to another.
+2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, -2 Strength. Thriae are quick in both mind and body, but tend come with frail frames
Monstrous Humanoid: Thriae have the Monstrous Humanoid type.
Darkvision: Thriae have Darkvision 60’
Medium: Thriae are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Thriae have base speed of 30' and a fly speed of 30' (good).
Resistant: Thriae gain a +2 racial bonus on mind-affecting effects and poisons.
Skill Training: Thriae add the following skills to their list of Class Skills: Fly, Survival
Sting: Thriae gain a natural sting attack. This attack deals 1d4 (p) damage plus Strength. It also inflicts poison.
Poison: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + ½ user’s HD + user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.
Languages: Thriae begin play speaking Sylvan and Thriae. Thriae with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Auran, Celestial, Draconic, Gnome, Undercommon, Vanarian.
Classic Vanara
+2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity, -4 Charisma. Sporfins are resilient mentally and physically, but tend to move and converse much slower than others.
Plant: Sporfins have the Plant type.
Low-light Vision: Sporfins can see in dim light twice as far as Humans (whatever those are).
Plant immunities: Sporfins are immune to all mind-affecting effects, as well as paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, and stunning
Plant Insomnia: Sporfins breath and eat, but do not require sleep.
Small: Sporfins are small creatures and gain a +1 size bonus to their AC, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, a -1 size penalty on their Combat Maneuver checks and to their CMD, and a +4 size bonus on Stealth checks.
Slow Speed: Sporfins have a base speed of 20’ and a climb speed of 20’.
Camouflage: Sporfins receive a +4 racial bonus on Stealth checks while within a forest terrain.
Fire Vulnerability: Sporfins gain Vulnerability to Fire.
Treespeech: Sporfins have the ability to converse with plants as if subject to a continual Speak With Plants Spell.
Languages: Sporfins begin play speaking Sylvan. Sporlings with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Aquan, Gnome, Terran, Thriae, Undercommon, Vanarian.
+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. Silverbacks are strong and pensive, but also stubborn and ignorant.
Furnace Ape: Furnace Apes are humanoids with the Furnace Ape subtype.
Fire Subtype: Furnace Apes have the Fire subtype.
Medium: Furnace Apes are medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Fast Speed: Furnace Apes have a move speed of 40’
Natural Armor: Furnace Apes gain a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.
Stability: Furnace Apes receive a +4 racial bonus to their CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while they’re standing on the ground.
Fire Immunity: Furnace Apes are immune to fire damage.
Craftsman: Furnace Apes gain a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks to create objects from metal or stone.
Pyromaniac: Furnace Apes are treated as +1 level higher when casting spells with the fire descriptor, using granted powers of the Fire domain, using bloodline powers of the fire elemental bloodline, using the revelations of the oracle's flame mystery, and determining the damage of alchemist bombs that deal fire damage. This trait does not give members of this race early access to level-based powers; it only affects powers that they could already use without this trait. If a member of this race has a Charisma score of 11 or higher, it also gains the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—Dancing Lights, Flare, Prestidigitation, Produce Flame. The caster level for these spell-like abilities is equal to the user's character level.
Claws: Furnace Apes gain 2 claw attacks. These are primary attacks and deal 1d4 (b and s) damage plus strength.
Cold Vulnerability: Furnace Apes are vulnerable to cold damage.
Languages: Furnace Apes begin play speaking Sylvan and Undercommon. Furnace Apes with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Gnome, Ignan, Thriae, Vanaran.
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Centaur, minotaur, grippli, ifrit, vishkanya
The world was once populated by humans and dumb animals. Given free reign, the humans spent their time fighting one another, and enforcing wholesale subjugation of the entire world. They turned entire lands to ash in their rage, spread diseases and disrupted the very essence of humanity, to turn themselves into an idealized master race. It seemed, for so many years, that nothing could set a limit to humanity.
Then one day, their world empire turned its eyes to the stars. And, long dormant under the continual onslaught from humanity, just as the last countdown of the first colonization rocket stood ready, the Living Earth laid a curse on her first and brightest children. The curse changed every human alive into an animal that better reflected their natures. The slothful and lazy were turned into frogs. The brutal and violent became minotaurs of ancient legend. The liars and sadists became poisonous like snakes, the cowardly were given the hooves of a horse to better flee, as centaurs. And finally, worst of all, the lecherous and prideful were given an ever-burning fire inside. Every facet of society crumpled immediately. Mass starvation ensued, and worldwide horror plagued the planet for many years. From a population of billions, only a few millions survived. Still, now united with others of their new kinds, the tainted ones fought tooth and nail to rebuild society, of a sort. All over the world, tiny pockets of civilization sprung up.
The curse that was laid on the old humans did not enforce any particular outlook in the new tribes, but traces of the old sins remained. The tribes did breed true, and new cultures sprung up. Work started on finding out what humanity once knew, but the process was long and painstaking. Information had decayed, libraries burnt for heating, and the old artifacts they uncovered were rusted, incomprehensible and dangerous, so work was slow. The old cities were poisonous, dangerous places, full of old machine monsters, animals, feral people of the various tribes, and all sorts of other dangers.
A hundred years later, a new dawn is breaking. The centaurs, no longer the cowardly beastmen they were, but rather civilized cityfolk in various reclaimed large towns. Civilization itself is very important to them, and they put great effort into etiquette, dressing well, and have codified laws, duty and honour as best they can, working from what sources they have deciphered of the old world. Their militaries use firearms and leather coats in highly regimented cavalry units. They are beginning to open up trade routes across the known world, sending out explorers, all paying respect to their Queen Elyssa II. The minotaurs have their own societies, living in small herding villages in the mountains, defended with impressive fortifications and entire regions reshaped to confuse intruders, with shifting alliances and pacts joining them in a political mire. From time to time, they butt their heads against the centaur military, to little effect. Even so, the most powerful of their village leaders, Bartox One-eye, insists on the policy of skirmishing and refusing to approve full-scale trade with the centaurs. Ifrits and Vishkanyas found common cause against the Beastmen, and have built up several small cities from the ground up, and these are always hotbeds of intrigue and corruption. Of course, it's a dangerous place to live, but neither tribe would have it any other way. Their land is fractured, with thousands of tiny settlements of towers and turrets that only vaguely resemble a kingdom. They know they cannot stand against the centaurs, so they placate them with gifts whenever possible, and make sure to keep an extensive number of ambassadors with the centaurs. They are making serious inroads into the arts of magic and technology, and eventually they hope to find something powerful enough to hand them ultimate power in the new world. Finally, the gripplis have kept out of the eye of the others, withdrawing into the deep, endless forests and swamps. They are based in self-sufficient tiny villages, but they are growing worried... it seems something is growing, deeper in the forest. Whatever it is, the gripplis are growing more and more aware that they are not going to be able to withstand it on their own.
And perhaps, this is the beginning of the final part of the curse?
So... a steampunk setting, using various high-tech rules, with allowance for exploration of a badly damaged Earth, intrigue and diplomacy, fighting beasts and horrors of the lost age of humanity, with low magic, supplemented by ancient and new technology. I think it could be interesting. And of course, fluffy dresses and goggles are a must.
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Ooh, this looks like a very cool thread! Thanks for pulling it back to the top of the message boards. I rolled my races, but it's going to take some thought before I come back and flesh out the world in more detail.
08 (x2) Orcs (lots of 'em!)
29 Merfolk
57 Trolls
93 Dragon Humanoids (create your own)
Now that's an interesting mix. I have some ideas . . .
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Short version – dragons dominate most of the world, aided by their minions, the dragonsworn. The only groups to successfully oppose the dragons' onslaught are the orcs and trolls inhabiting the mountainous highlands, and the merfolk who live under the sea. Fierce tribes of raider orcs still ride the open plains, though the indirectly serve the dragons’ purposes by restricting travel between dragon-controlled cities.
The gods had a gentlemen’s agreement. Each was welcome to grant miraculous powers to their priests, raise up great temples, and inspire mighty heroes, but no god was to manifest physically in the world. The destruction would simply be too great if the gods walked, and battled, among mortals. So all the gods refrained from such actions. All except one . . .
Ashrak, the god of dragons, took the form of a mighty dragon and led his people in a devastating war of conquest. The other gods either would not, or could not oppose Ashrak directly, and so dragons came to rule supreme over all the lands. Either directly, or through their dragonsworn minions, dragons came to control all aspects of life. No army was raised without a dragon to lead them into battle. No alliance was formed without the approval of the dragons. No trade caravan traveled from one city to another without paying steep tribute to those dragons whose territory it crossed. Only in the mountainous highlands, and in the depths of the sea does any resistance remain to the draconic domination. And those who wish to remain on the good side of the dragons are quick to point out that nobody would really want that territory anyway.
Few, if any, humans remain that have not sworn loyalty to Ashrak. To be merely human is seen as a weakness and a curse, and the most loyal servants of Ashrak are blessed with signs of his favor. Minor blessings might be exhibited as a few scales on the face, or clawed toes on the feet (and such a dragonsworn would gladly go without shoes to show off his draconic features). Greater blessings include golden dragon eyes, that can see through the darkest night, or a limited ability to breathe fire. Dragonsworn traits are often passed on from parents to children, and so there is a nuanced caste system where dragonsworn endeavor to marry, and bear children with, other dragonsworn of roughly equal draconic character.
The great heroes of the dragonsworn stand head and shoulders over either men or orcs. They fight with fearsome claws, and fiery breath, and their thick scaly hides protect them from blows in battle. They are nearly invincible to any except the dragons they call master, and they lord it over those who are not so blest. These are the generals that fight the dragons’ wars, the mayors that oversee the dragons’ cities, and the high priests who carry the word of Ashrak to all those who were not so fortunate to be born a dragon.
The plains orcs are skilled riders and raiders, traveling quickly from one place to another on their wyrmling mounts. Wyrmlings are not true dragons (no dragon would condescend to be used as a mount for lesser beings, like orcs) but large lizards that roam the grasslands. Wyrmlings are approximately the size of bison, and have sharp teeth and claws and a nasty temperament. The plains orcs are only able to train them for riding when they can procure wyrmling eggs, and train the young lizards from birth.
Any tribes of plains orcs that would not swear fealty to the dragons were methodically hunted down and killed. The orcs’ speed, which allowed them to dominate the open plains, was slow compared to a dragon on the wing, and the plains orcs’ distrust for all things magical left them vulnerable to the priests and wizards who served Ashrak. Though some tribes fought bravely, they were quickly overmatched. The remaining tribes still roam the plains in between the dragons’ cities, but they know not to attack any travelers who bear signs of the dragons’ protection. They do serve as an additional deterrant to any who would attempt to move from town to town without the dragons’ approval.
When the mountain orcs chose to resist the coming of the dragons, they enjoyed two advantages over the plains orcs. First, they could retreat to their labyrinthine tunnels inside the mountains, where the dragons could not reach them, and could only attack via proxy. Second, the mountain orcs employed shamans, who prayed to the trickster god, Nyx, for aid. Though no god would opposed Ashrak directly, none has done more than Nyx to oppose the dragon god indirectly, and with his aid the mountain orcs have been able to largely nullify any magical attack brought against them.
Once a people with a proud warrior heritage like the plains orcs, the mountain orcs have reinvented themselves as a people of stealth and trickery. They strike against the dragons, and then fade back into the mountains to regroup and mount another assault. They do not appear to have made a significant impact on the dragon-ruled lowlands, but they remain a threat that the dragons cannot completely eliminate. As such, they serve as an inspiration to all others who might dare to oppose Ashrak and the dragons.
The mountain trolls have long been enemies of the mountain orcs, and one of the dragons’ early attempts to eliminate the mountain orcs was by forging an alliance with the trolls. It appeared to be working well in the beginning. The natural strength and toughness of the trolls, directed with the cunning strategy of the dragons took a heavy toll on the orcs. However, while individual trolls are slow-witted, large groups of trolls are capable of a group intelligence greater than any individual troll. As the dragons gathered more trolls together to make focused strikes against the orcish resistance, the trolls realized that they were being used as sacrificial shock troops in the dragons’ armies.
In several engagements, large forces of trolls dramatically broke from fighting with the orcs and turned on their supposed allies, the dragons and the dragonsworn, inflicting heavy losses. The dragons responded with equal violence, killing many trolls with their fiery breath, but the alliance was broken beyond repair. The mountain regions are now divided between three sides – dragonsworn, orcs and trolls – none of which trust the others. The trolls continue to meet in large gatherings, called Trollmoots, to bring their best thinking and problem solving skills to bear on their current predicament.
The other area that has not fallen under the control of the dragons is under the sea, where the merfolk have built their empire. Their cities are protected under vast magical domes that, so far, have repulsed all attacks from the dragons and their allies. The dragons insist that they have not actually tried very hard to break through the merfolk defenses, and they don’t really care about what happens under the water. For now there exists and uneasy peace between the two, but little diplomacy takes place between them.
It is in the underwater cities of the merfolk that much of the surface lore has been gathered for future generations. Treatises describing the weaknesses of various dragons (heretical texts in the eyes of Ashrak) are carefully preserved and studied by the merfolk. The merfolk libraries also contain many holy books for gods once worshiped on the surface, and there is something of a fad for creating cults to lost gods. Thus, it is not uncommon to see merfolk sporting symbols of gods once worshipped by other races, and trying to recreate forgotten rituals.
So I'm using this table to generate racial compositions for a few kingdoms that I want to include in my homebrew game. Its sort of an early California setting in that its a lot of unsettled area that is only just starting to have serious nations sprouting up.
I think I got some of the coolest combinations ever:
1. Mongrelmen
2. Human/Troll (One of my PCs is a half-elf trollslayer!)
3. Derhii
4. Dhampir/Ghoul (I couldn't make that up if I tried.)
5. Elf (Gonna be hard; I've said there are no elves here.)
6. Flumph
7. Drow/Dragonborn (Here's the real question: Who is subjugated in this equation?)
8. Bariaur/Vanara (I'm not even sure if the Bariaur are an existing creature or not!)
9. Gnoll (THERE'S a keeper!)
10. Halfling / Sprite
Lots of fun possibilities here!
hmmm.
cecaelia
Duergar
Derro
Suli
Ooze-based humanoid
hmmm.
interesting.
In the land of Jamon-Ro, there exist many terrible beings living underneath the great desert cities of the Suli. The children scare each other with stories of the narglfarp, a fearsome dark man who seems to melt as he walks, and fears the light. Of course, there is much more truth to these stories than the great lore-keepers would have the children believe. Many times over the years, the Derro and Duergar living in the fast cave system underneath Jamon-Ro have allied with each other temporarily, and led raids on the great desert cities of the Suli, taking hundreds of prisoners with them as they escape back to the safety of the caves. There, they experiment on them, and the few who do survive are used as weapons by the warring races, melting in the sun, and fearing the light. Some of the Suli escaped the cities during the most recent raid, and went into the sea bordering the desert. There, the transmutationists among their rank made them more suited to underwater life, giving them tentacles like an octopus, so that they could live away from the terrible fears of what lives under the desert of Jamon-Ro.
Yeee, fun!
dang, now I want to rewrite this into an epic poem. I like this exercise quite a bit.
An interesting challenge!
Nymph
Grindylow
Dragon-Based Humanoid
Changeling
Troll
OK, off to work on this...
[Mon Dec 2 17:20:58 2013 UTC] 5d100 (37+58+86+41+54) + 0 = 276
37: Wayang
58: Gnoll
86: Asherati
41: Dryad
54: Naga
A dake ages campaign setting based on celtic mythology where Indian themed invader are pushing into lands once occupied by humans. Humans have been wiped out and the only remaining vestiges have been transformed into dryads by a mass ritual to preserve the race. The invaders drive Naga slaves, many of who have defected. The local population is primarily gnolls and wayangs who use to be in service to the humans who are now nothing more than shivering forest dwellers. A bastion of hope rises however as the Asherati, ancient allies to the dryad/humans who have slumbered for 1,000 years now stalk out of the desert to drive the scourge from the land. Under a united banner the forces of the realm repel the (totally roman inspired) Indian themed invaders who look like giant 2 story tall representations of clockwork Shiva, powered by divine energy from a neutral god who believes the entire world should be leveled.
Using the I don't have a wife, so I'll ask the Internet method, I got
72. Drider
74. Serpentfolk
13. Aasimar (humanoids with celestial ancestry)
15. Ifrit (humanoids with efreet ancestry)
50. Faun
Inside a planetoid hurtling through the Void, the Aasimar build cities around their Temples of the Forgotten Sun, which bathe enough land in light to feed their people and keep the Fauns as shepherds. In the darkness between their cities, Ifrit nomads navigate the wine-dark seas and crevasse-riddled lands by the constellations of Aasimar cities on the opposite surface of the world, and the Serpentfolk erect the arcane spires of their metropoles.
The reason for their banishment has been lost to the ages, and the earliest records give only hints. It is said that the Drider contemplatives know the truth, having once worshipped a demon goddess before renouncing their ways and searching to balance Law and Chaos. As the only beings who have visited the true surface, they are also the guardians of the whole, as well as the only observers to whatever calamity awaits the world.
The Aasimar generally live in good-aligned theocracies dedicated to penance for whatever transgression their ancestors committed. Daily prayers involving communal castings of Daylight at the break of day at the temples around which their cities are built allow for an effect which covers square miles.
The Fauns, being the only race which requires light to see, spend their lives generally within the lands of the Aasimar, who sometimes regard them, due to their natural dislike of labor in favor of wine and dancing, as shiftless and and in constant need of support as a people.
The Ifrits, being temperamentally suited to nomadism, have become wandering bands, much like Gypsies or Berbers. They perform an important role as traders and ersatz diplomats.
The Serpentfolk are of the arcane line, and have constructed their societies around the search for arcane perfection. As such, their magocratic polises are structured much like large widarding academies. Those from other races who study the arcane arts have done so under the tutelage of Serpentfolk masters.
The Driders, having lost their faith in the spider queen, have rededicated themselves to a life of balance, having shifted from CE to NE. They act as the caretakers of nature, living in the dark caverns that riddle the inner surface of the planetoid.
I've been in a creative mood and have wanted to do this for a while! So, let's do it!
82 - Changeling (Eberron style)
56 - Minotaur
61 - Sahuagin
38 - Grippli
58 - Gnoll
My setting is a semi-apocalyptic sword and sorcery setting with bits of multiple D&D settings thrown in. (Though, I see my beastmen origin has been done before... and just a couple posts up too)
In ages past, the island continent of Elxan-Dar was an eternal battleground by several foreign nations and local colonies. Countless civilizations battled in the name of gods, glory, and imperial conquest. Among the rising factions was the mage-cult of mercenaries known as the Mystics of Abain, known for ruthless tactics, clever espionage, and consorting with distant powers.
When their homeland became threatened by the growing violence, they consulted a power growing closer during a cosmic alignment. In exchange for their power, the energies of the demiplane flooded Elxan-Dar. Out of desperation, countless factions declared ceasefire and attempted to retreat, only for eldritch energies to capture them.
Residents soon discovered that dark power had turned them into beastmen based on the environment they live in. Some reveled in their new animalistic nature, while others sought to rebuild from the damage done. As for the nation of Abain, the forces granted them the abilities of shapeshifting and camouflage (changelings) to reflect their past of spying and sellsword business. As the power began to flee during the end of the cosmic alignment, "The Changed" found their new forms permanent, attempting to rebuild civilization regardless. 4 decades have passed since the unnamed forces have ended the war.
Despite countless nations of "The Changed", a couple new kingdoms arose as political power houses.
Abain - This nation is led by the interests of both trade and magicks. Unlike the others, there is no king in charge of this land, but a conjoined business effort. Denizens often hide behind uncanny versions of their past selves whenever visitors are present to masquerade as normal humans, mostly out of shame. However, business private police exploit their new powers to better survey Abain's bustling cities and act as spies for hire.
Filrian Mountains - Home of the Minotaur Kingdom. These beastmen are experts of divination magicks and hand to hand combat. Their focus in the former comes from a deep paranoia woven into their minds by the dark powers’ magick, leading them to fear outsiders and Abaini alike. Their latter is a natural boon granted by their immerse girth and goring horns, as weapon training from a young age. Their empire is driven by a heavily xenophobic militarism where worth is determined by ones station given by the government. For them, fascist rule ensures strong government, better production, and a more powerful state. In terms of religion, fallen heroes are worshipped as gods. Fallen males are seen as avatars of death and war, while fallen females are seen as avatars of life and empire building.
Uldinek Bay – The chaotic nation of the Sahuagin, this semi anarchistic colony is driven by a mix of basic instinct and desire for freedom. These beings have gradually developed an immense hatred for non-aquatic creatures, partially due to mental effects of the dark powers magick, but mostly out of jealousy. They don’t have a home location per se, but more so several independent tribes surrounding the island of Elxan-Dar. Despite being arguably the largest of all beastmen population, their disorganized and quasi insane nature often hampers efforts to accomplish larger goals. Their main hope is that all tribes can unite to either drown the rest of the country or hope to turn the other denizens into fellow creatures of the sea.
Taronom Marshlands – Among the least warped were the Taronomians. While they have changed into amphibians, they’ve retained their quiet-unless-provoked nature. Unlike the other nations, the Grippli have tried to form trade organizations with Abain in hopes of establishing a new empire through economics rather than violent conquest. Despite these somewhat innocent sounding pursuits, their end goal is to drain the funds of the other colonies and control all resources. Passages in and out of this territory are infamous for highwaymen.
Arivana Plains – The Arivanans have always relied on the wisdom of their sorcerer-queens to guide them in their harsh desert home. As such, the dark powers converted them into hyena beings known by outsiders as gnolls. While the minotaurs live under militaristic rule, their harshness knows limits. The gnolls have become known for using prisoners and slaves alike for cruel magical experiments and coliseum death matches. However, they are far from barbaric, save for the lowest of their social castes, who have turned away from their "divine matriarchs"
That's okay. Let's just say I wasn't the first to think of it. =)
One thing another poster said is worth repeating: these are the 5 races you're building the setting around as PC races, but they don't have to be the ONLY races.
Ex: most vanilla games of PF include goblins as monsters for the PCs to fight. Since they only advance through classes this makes them an NPC race. Sure, you might play the We Be Goblins adventure to be PC goblins, but this is the exception, not the rule.
So, if you get a setting with NEAR humans but no human PC races, think of the goblin scenario. The humans might still be around, but they're the ENEMIES in this setting. Maybe they're decadent and wicked; perhaps they exist only in stasis for genetic fodder; they might just simply live in another part of the setting. There might be more to your setting than ONLY these races.
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I don't know why this was threadsurrected, but I'm glad it was. I know I already played, but I want to play again!
Lizardfolk (again?)
Thriae (bee-people)
Aberration-based-humanoid wildcard
Strix (also again?)
Changelings as in Male-Hag-Children
You know, I am not happy with getting two of the same races as the first time. I'm going to switch one out:
Odds, I switch out lizardfolk, evens, I switch out Strix.
And they shall be replaced by...
*sigh*
Y'all should see my pbp luck.
The strix shall be replaced by Girtablilu (centauroids with a scorpion-like lower half + claws) .
So I have lizard people, bee people, scorpion people, spawn of outsiders, and an aberrant sort of creature of my own design.
This will take some time. I'm thinking maybe some place twisted by lower planar energies. I think there will also be a big desert.
I am also going to break more rules and take some creative license to say my hagspawn/changelings are both male and female, because frankly it wouldn't make sense for them to be a dominant race on the planet, if there's only males spawned from races that procreate via male/female unions. I guess they could continue on as hags showed up to mate with their offspring, and then they continued to have only male children but that just doesn't ring true with me, and I'd rather the hags be in the past of the world rather than the present.
It was threadsurrected because I hadn't played yet.
Just found it.
This may take a minute.
58 Gnoll
66 Girtablilu
85 Darfellan
8 Orc
44 Nymph
66 Girtablilu, What the hell is a girtablilu.
While I haven't done any serious work on it recently, I'm still working on my Dark Woods setting born from this tread. So without any pretension to go into much details, let's have another go at this.
[childish excitement]
: Dragonborn (draconic humanoids)
: Centaur
: Vodyanoi (salamander-like humanoids)
: Tengu
: Nixie
OK, so a world without mammals. All reptilians, avians and and "fish-poeple"
Dragonsborns will be what their description says: draconic humanoids.
Centaur will be similar to dragonborns,but with the lower body of a lizard instead.
Tengus shall be a "cousin" race to the dragonborns. Oooh, I could have giant birds/rocs to be to the tengu what dragons are to dragonborns...
Vodyanois and Nixies will be the males and females of same specie with strong physical gender differences.
On we go...
Ooze-based Humanoid
Drow
Minotaur
Plant-based humanoid
Dark Folk
Hmn, you'll hear from me soon. Just look at the moon and imagine what kind of thing could happen there in a fantasy setting.
Worth a try -
= Undine
= Undine
= Svirfneblin
= Grippli
= Gnoll
Gee, wow. Two Undine in a row. Alright, I'll get back to the thread once I write it up.
Mostly to see what the die roller will spit out.
: Nymph
: Strix
: Dwarf
: Centaur
: Half-elf
Three of these races appeared in another run through of this exercise using the Invisible Castle roller, since folded into my home setting. The others are fey-related which also featured heavily. Using that for something else. Dwarves dominated that one as well, resilient buggers. Moving on.
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: Sylph
: Half-elf
: Sylph
: Dryad
: Construct-based Humanoid
The sylphs and fey/dryad/elves also appeared in the prior Invisible Castle creation epic. Hit me again!
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: Locathah
: Catfolk
: Ogre
: Lizardfolk
: Nereid
Thundercats with a Tigersharks crossover.
Greatest. Setting. Ever.
Can't get that concept out of my head now.
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: Vampire
: Nixie
: Cecaelia
: Human
: Treant
Hmm, I like. Filing away for later use.
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: Thri-Kreen (four armed insectoid race)
: Grindylow (the goblin equivalent of Cecaelia)
: Kobold
: Nagaji (reptilian humanoids originally created by the naga as a servant race)
: Dhampir (half-humanoid/half-vampire)
Hell yes! Deserves more thought.
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: Dryad
: Dryad
: Aasimar
: Harpy
: Undine
Looking for something to form a nice mini-setting of a mostly traditional bend. While this has that, nothing's coming to me. Previous two were gonzo, this one is sort of ho-hum and retreads on the fey, bird-people and planetouched themes of my home setting.
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: Sylph
: Drider
: Strix
: Tanuki
: Duergar
Not even funny how close this comes to my off-forum dwarf-centric attempt.
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: Samsaran (reincarnated blue-skinned humanoids)
: Harpy
: Serpentfolk
: Uldra (small blue-skinned fey adapted for cold environments)
: Medusa
Not bad, interesting even. Very snake themed.
Right, at this point I'll just admit I have a dice rolling problem.
Consolidating the stragglers that aren't a retread of my home setting.
- Construct-based Humanoid
- Tanuki
- Samsaran
- Serpentfolk
- Medusa
Going to throw a wildcard in there in case the serpentfolk and medusa ideas bleed together.
: Construct - Okay, the Medusa aren't mythological medusa but human-machine hybrids with the snake element being artificial. The sorceries of this bond is related to the serpentfolk. Guess the medusa and samsarans will be stand-ins for humans. Still need one more:
: Sasquatch, going the Wookie or Mok route.
Using the World Building Exercise 3 thread, rolling two roles/occupations for each race to create a spectrum of expertise/focus.
- Construct Humanoid: > Frontier Warriors & Wayfinders (take that as guides and maybe explorers of ruins)
- Tanuki: > Defenders & Tribal Shamans
- Samsaran: > Dilettantes & Masters of the Bow (by the gods, they're blue-skinned Elves)
- Serpentfolk: > Priests & Tacticians
- Medusa: > Enlightened Ones & Military Leaders
- Sasquatch: > Skilled Apprentices & Driven Avengers
Only point I really want clarification on is Skilled Apprentices of what? The answer is Knight of the Silver Sword.
Actually maybe we'll answer what otherworldly archetypes influence the more pious peoples or even the non-pious ones as a few run too close to theme to offer much variety.
The Constructs are influenced by a concept involving (roll three, reduce down to one singular overarching objective or origin): : Stargazer, Unwilling Mage, Pirate
Created by unwilling mages from the stars, the Constructs were used as raiders to despoil entire planets. A cataclysm separated and freed them from their manipulators, destroying what passed for their old civilization (a foothold on this world). They now travail the ruins of said fallen civilization, looking ever towards the stars of their birth. Perhaps they can one day gather the resources and magic to free their creators from the grasp of their ancient overlords.
The Tanuki Tribal Shamans venerate spirits of (a dichotomy with an outlier, a trio, or some complex gamut): : Mysterious Wise One, Spellcasting Warrior, Land's Redeemer
A spiritual archetype for each adventuring role in their society with an overall goal to save the land or reclaim the land.
Samsaran ideology involves (roll three, make it a byzantine affair) : Heretic, Agent, Rebel
Samsarans have a complex society balanced between agency and rebellion with some heretical outliers.
Serpentfolk have a pantheon (of five at least) : Dark Curious, Dilettante, Bored Noble, Warrior of the Nameless Good, Priest
Medusa enlightenment is a concept of two or more seemingly contradictory ideas : War Dancer, Rugged Frontierman, Berzerker Cultist
Sasquatch have two wildcard factors, one positive, one negative : Crone's Ranger, Storyteller
Need to clarity a few of the serpent gods (roll two, pick one)
- Dark Curious & Scientist or Trap Master
- Dilettante & Sage & Skilled Veteran (couldn't decide , sage it is)
- Bored Noble & Negotiator or Dark Curious
- Warrior of the Nameless Good & City Speaker or Questing Knight
- Priest & War Mage or Spellsword
The detritus will form the basis of a dark pantheon:
- The Master of Traps or the Masters of the Trap, perhaps an aspect of the Dark Curious Scientist
- The Skilled Veteran, perhaps a dark warrior god of barbarians, tyrants, and atrocities opposes the erudite Dilettante, and probably the Noble Negotiator as well.
- The Dark Curious Scientist antagonizes himself/herself and is the nemesis of the Bored Noble Negotiator
- The Questing Knight (& Beastmaster) is a crusader who is the bane of the urbane Warrior of Nameless Good.
- An dark arcane War Mage/Spellsword (& Giver of Blessings, Wayfinder, Construct connection?) contests with the War Priest (& Knight of the Realm (another variant of the Priest is the nemesis of the Good City-Warrior?), Dilettante (a relationship with the Dilettante?), Driven Avenger (influence with the Sasquatches?)). Needed a bit more as these last few results are similar to priests or another deity.
The Medusa options didn't offer much for "enlightened", another three gives me: Loremaster, Doomspeaker, Mysterious Wise One (connection between the Wise one of the Tanuki and the Medusa beliefs?). The Medusa are mind-body-integrated, zen-raging, trance-channeling, apocalypse warrior-monks.
Feel like I need more granularity for the Sasquatches. Scientist, Chosen One
(+) Crone's Ranger and Scientist: The Constructs are rangers, perhaps a Crone works into their history/culture and is connected with the Sasquatches. The Serpentfolk gods (Scientist and Sage) play a positive role for the Sasquatches
(-) Storyteller and Chosen One: Stories foretell a Chosen One who the Sasquatches will have to face or will be hunted by.
Buffering..................................................
Using the famous wife method I got 5 15 59 75 99 when I think of one ill post
Edit: all I can think of is.
Ifrit overlords
Adlet enforcers (wolf cops)
Half elfs slaves (dunno why seemed like the most likely to be slaves in worst part of town)
Mul. All I can think of is miners
Ettercaps? Dunno post when I know what it is
This is probably cliche but show me one idea that isn't cliche or unoriginal
Edit: edit: ettercaps spiderloving trap.making socially inept (hating to be with more than 8 total) so I don't know they could be hunters? Or in a arena forced to fight against another for ... and half elder that disobey the masters get sent in for spider fodder
Edit: edit: edit: she changed it to 92 construct based humanoid I'm thinking rock em sock em robots in arena maybe the miner mul's has skill points craft same with half sofa the battle to see who wins the favor of the ifrit and adlets
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40
94
96
53
14
Let's check that table...
40=Ogres
94= ooze-based humanoids
96= thri-kreen
53= medusae
14= fetchings
Eh, what? Shae based whasis? I need to look these guys up.