(I'm hoping this turns out more Benny Hill and not an elk incident of our very own. :P)
Oh we eclipsed the Elk incident well and truly since :P
No issues with the Paladin code Hilde - looks pretty good to me.
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So while in Hawaii I was struck by the banyan trees and how both awesome and alien they looked - with their large canopy and aerial roots descending from branches to form new trunks and such.... and figured that they would serve as good inspiration for a deity or form of nature worship - one that focuses on the symbiotic relationship shared between plants and animals. It's purview would emcompass all forms of symbiosis - beneficial, benign and destructive.
Since I've always been telling myself in my head that I should at least make some kind of an attempt to funnel some creativity into a short module or something of the like I thought I might use this as an inspiration for sparking that off.
Pondering slightly more I'm thinking that a minor deity would be the more apt choice and that led me towards the Eldest and the First World. A home within the Evergrove or the Riftwood - and the avatar of the deity itself taking on that of a strangler fig. At the fig's core is a long dead treant - choked of life by the fig's branches and merely acting as an empty shell, a dead heart of an indifferent deity.
Servants would be leshy, fungi and other animals that thrive off the life and death of others. The deity itself would be true neutral giving the spectrum of both good and evil followers depending on the nature of the symbiosis they venerated.
Adventure idea would be along the lines of a rift / portal from the first world opening up and dumping one of it's more powerful subjects into the material world. (Something like a Yellow Musk Creeper, but I'd build up a custom creature). The plant begins to affect those that encounter it leading to a need to act. Would attempt to build ambiguity into the situation as the plant improves some subjects while killing others.
So... good-ish idea? - or total pish?
The idea of those sorts of symbiotic relationships have always been something of a fascination for me as well. Usually it goes somewhere very Lovecraftian in my thought process, as I love having nature as this giant, indifferent and very alien sort of force that humans can't really comprehend in its entirety. The idea of that sort of thing bonding itself with a person in a symbiotic relationship could go in some very interesting (and potentially horrific) directions, especially if the plants begin to influence the host in a way which works more towards the interests of the plant (Propogation, etc.)
So yeah, sounds like something that might be really cool. I'd be interested in seeing where you'd take it.
I'm a bit too brain dead still from this summer semester (which is finally over) to give you much useful feedback, but I would like to say that it sounds awesome and like something I would be in too.
Can I expect we'll be seeing yellow musk creepers on the list of horrifying things from Grungir that want us dead? I can't say I'm entirely opposed to the idea (but holy crap, I've never read their entry. They're pretty terrifying)
Heh - nah, this wouldn't impact on the Reign of Winter at all. It's more a nascent idea for trying to see if I could actually physically write a module length adventure.
So thinking in PFS terms, a Module is roughly three scenarios.
Maybe wrote it that way? Have a three section 'arc' that equates to roughly a module in length and allows you to have clean break points?
Shifty - yeah, when I get to conceptualizing the storyline I'll do something like that to help 'chunk' up the adventure into bits and pieces. Like when I'm writing programs at work I tend to do best falling down on it from high-concept and splintering into detail as I go.
If I get my butt into gear and get going I might even write up the other idea I had for what happens when a necromancer animates what's left of a horse after a nithing pole's been erected.
The Halfhand will (finally) level up over the night, methinks.
I'm mulling over taking Enlarge Person as a level 2 spell, but I can't really think of how I can fluff it appropriately for the campaign and/or the Halfhand's shadow-magic. It's a nice spell, but it really sticks out like a sore thumb. Any ideas?
Not really, we used it no sweat! :)
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As the last of the Halfhand's words is birthed and dies upon his lips he touches Olaf's arm with a three fingered palm that is deathly cold. The chill courses through the Ulfen's veins to his chest where his lungs react by sucking in breath like a man plunged into frigid waters. As the air is drawn within Olaf's form swells as his lungs fill to bursting and beyond. With each furtive but powerful beat of his heart his presence grows until he towers above those that surround him. Skin darkened as though his form was filled with nether essence he exhales a bestial roar worthy of the ursine beasts he venerates... and turns violent eye and axe upon those that dare stand before him.
Seems flavorful enough no?
Yes, it certainly does. Cheers!
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Interesting - Lord Grimdark's next book Half a King will be in a different world to the First Law trilogy.
It’s set in a very different world with what you might call a viking or anglo-saxon feel. It’s much more focused, with a single point of view. It’s not so overtly ‘gritty’ although it’s a long way from smooth. It is punchy. It has drive. I aimed to deliver a slap in the face with every page.
niiiiice
So... good-ish idea? - or total pish?
My first thought was to remember a module in Dungeon Magazine that mirrored Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Alien plant breaks through from another dimension and slowly grows in this barn. The farmer comes to check it out, the plant grabs him, eats him and a pod appears. A few days later a clone of the farmer pops out and begins bringing other victims into the barn. Enter the PCs.
My second thought was that I seem to remember a Pathfinder module on the same subject? Carrion Hill, I think? I'm not certain as I never read it, wanting to play it.
I don't know how this jibes with your idea, it's simply what came to me. Perhaps it would serve as source material for you, perhaps I am way off base.
If you are going to bring the Fey into this, I think it would be appropriate to have a good/bad duality to it. I don't want to railroad your idea - but what if you did something like this:
Everything in Kyonin is blooming - trees are bearing fruit monthly, crops are ready to be harvested every other week and animal life has become incredibly abundant. The sometimes retreating elven court is tasting a renaissance economically, culturally and in terms of their population.
On the other hand, not everyone is happy with this situation. The price of everything in the surrounding kingdoms have fallen and many huntsmen and farmers have fallen on very hard times. This is generating ill-will towards the elves, isolating them further from their neighbors just as they are moving toward a golden age.
Module 1: Strange plant creatures appear and the PCs are called in by the Pathfinder Society. They eventually find the Banyan God in the heart of the forest and report to the Court.
Module 2: An evil sect from the River Kingdoms moves into the forest, sacrificing the abundant life force in a ritual to generate an army of the dead. PCs discover this group and barely escape with their lives.
Module 3: The evil sect is taken over by a creature from the dark fey realms. This creature begins to pervert the Banyan God, using it's life generating force to make unseelie creatures. He ties his fate to the Banyan God and the PCs have to decide whether or not to kill him as they will kill the good life force as well.
If the PCs kill the evil fey, then the Banyan God goes boom. If they don't, the Elven Court is forced to do so lest they lose the entire forest. Either way, after all the combat and drama, a young elven druid finds a small sapling with roots growing in all directions. Once planted, the Banyan God begins to grow again, allowing PCs to worship it as a minor deity.
Anyway, that's probably way more than you wanted, but there you go. Seems to me like it would make a really good AP, but those take a long time to write.
Did I say too much? I'm sorry if I seemed to take your idea and run away with it. I like the idea.
I have been thinking about writing Bastard Hall in Ulastav as a Ravenloft style mega-dungeon. You've kind of inspired me to pick that project back up.
Hilde - nah, you didn't say too much at all. I'd want to keep it to a small size though as anything larger and I'd just never finish it.
Duality and moral ambiguity would definitely be one of the driving themes I'd try to make work - as those sort of stories are the ones I like best as well. Setting neutral as well just to keep it flexible.
Tommyknockers was another book that came to mind too as a inspiration source.
Interesting - Lord Grimdark's next book Half a King will be in a different world to the First Law trilogy.
It’s set in a very different world with what you might call a viking or anglo-saxon feel. It’s much more focused, with a single point of view. It’s not so overtly ‘gritty’ although it’s a long way from smooth. It is punchy. It has drive. I aimed to deliver a slap in the face with every page.
Google says that'd be Joe Abercrombie, right? I've spent a lot of time eyeing his books, but I'd never once read any. Perhaps this will be the one I pick up.
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Google says that'd be Joe Abercrombie, right? I've spent a lot of time eyeing his books, but I'd never once read any. Perhaps this will be the one I pick up.
The First Law trilogy are great, and the follow on standalones work better if you read them after first law.
This new one could be an interesting introduction.
Echo Shifty's wisdom - First Law is mighty; Best Served Cold is nasty and The Heroes is brutally brilliant. Red Country was more of a let down for me on reflection - perhaps why he's chosen to go down a new setting route..?
For me (and I am clearly bias) the Northmen elements of the First Law et al, were always the most enjoyable - so a Viking/Anglo Saxon setting ticks minn boxes :)
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If you want a wee preview - the First Law trilogy is currently being done comic style, and Abercrombie is releasing pages from them for free online.
Thusly the website - it's still early times in the story, but will give ye a wee flavor.
If you read the books you might look at BD a little more askance though...
If you had to give someone an elevator pitch for the books, what would you say? (Im always looking for new good books)
Dark, bloody, unrelenting and fecking good.
If you like low fantasy, grey on grey morality and an overarching plot that carries you to the end before resolving in a twisty yet satisfying manner - pick The First Law.
After all You have to be realistic about these things.
Or from the man's website:
Epic fantasy. Its all the same, no?
There’s a grumpy wizard, a deadly barbarian, a jumped-up nobleman and some feisty girl, more than likely. They’re all engaged in a mysterious quest to bring that from there, and they’re all made out of cardboard. Probably there’s a dark lord of some kind involved. They talk like extras from a bad soap opera. They fight like extras from a bad cop show. Probably there’s a prophecy, and a farmboy with mysterious parentage, and if not a magic tower, then certainly a strange tall building of some kind. There’ll be battles, there’ll be intrigue, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a magic sword came up somewhere along the way.
I don’t need to read that again.
I want to read a fantasy with all the grit, and cruelty, and humour of real life. Where good and evil are a matter of where you stand, just like in the real world. I want dialogue that actually sounds like people talking, and action that actually feels like people fighting. I want magic and adventure, sure, but I want it to hurt. I want blood, sweat, and tears, and plenty of them. I want to read about characters as selfish, as flawed, as complicated, and as unpredictable as real people. I want a fantasy that can shock and surprise, amuse and horrify, delight and excite me, all at once.
I spent a long time looking, and I couldn’t find a set of books quite like that. So I thought I’d write some.
You like your fantasy with the edges left on?
Try The First Law.
See I'm torn on the comic adaptation DMVoV; not convinced the clean style of art works for Abercrombie's books. Wished they looked a little more "Northlanders" and less "stereotypical" fantasy/superheroic - but that's just me in dour Scots mode.
Elevator pitch...
Bleak fantasy.
Flawed heroes.
Nasty violence.
Gritty sex.
Broken and remoulded stereotypes (some literally).
A world that is familiar and yet not.
Oh and The Bloody Nine...
If you read the books you might look at BD a little more askance though...
Who me? ;)
+1 for the Abercrombie books. Haven't gotten to Red Country yet, but the First Law books were a quick and fun read.
Plus, they have an *inquisitor*!
Abercrombie admits himself that he was starting to burn out re: The First Law world with Red Country... hope it was going to be more [I]Old Man Logan{/I] than it was - still a good read mind but won't spoiler it fer ye.
Interestingly his new books will be aimed at the teen reader market... will be curious to see if/how he keeps the grimness I personally enjoy.
If there is something you want for him, and are nearing being able to afford it, I'd "loan" him the rest (assuming it's within her means).
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Bahahaha, yes, so much yes. Of course now, I'll always think of Elghund wearing Mulgore Chapstick ;)
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First of all... O.o
Secondly, everyone but Skane gets to add an additional +10gp to their split of hte loot (we split his 50g for buying the Taldon ingot 5 ways). So yay!
Thirdly, Klo's picking up a Healer's Kit, just a heads up. :)
And just so I have it saved somewhere before wiping the loot from the loot doc.
We all received 316.29 g for loot (wiht an additional +10g for everyone but Skane).
... and now the doc is cleared (except for the stuff everyone's claimed as group loot – still tracked at the bottom under your name). Skäne, make sure to move your ingot is written on your sheet, cause I'm removing it from the group loot page as it's not group loot anymore. :D
Already done.
Now let's go find some more... afore the wee folk run off with it!
Agreed! >:D
Any of you (preferably non-US citizens) interested in joining up with my team for this years GISHWHES (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen)? We're shy a person (15 to a team) so otherwise we'll get assigned a random person. It would be better to work with someone I know at least a little, and we are in need of more non-US residents on our team.
The minimum fee is $10 (but you can spend more for perks). For those of you who watch Supernatural, it was created and is hosted by the actor who plays Castiel, Misha Collins. The prize, should we win, is an expenses paid trip to Canada to meet Misha, board a boat and travel to some currently undisclosed location! If you're interested, message me and I'll give you my email as the person who refereed you and the name of our team (you'll need it to be placed with me).
Update will be incoming tonight - haven't been able to skerrick away enough time at work today to do a decent job of either the Sidhe or the Taighean, and last night was interrupted by fencing and some reasonably full on thigh muscle strains.
Sore touché too? ;) heheh.
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Skane - a very nice reason to look forward to Bestiary 4:
Three other demon lords get stats in the fall when we release Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4. In there you'll see Dagon, Kostchtchie, and Pazuzu.
Not sure about a scavenger hunt, weird to do solo on the far side of the world :p
Not sure about a scavenger hunt, weird to do solo on the far side of the world :p
We have people in Maribyrnong, Geraldton, and Melbourne. Any of those places near you? Also, with GISHWHES it's very common for members to make their family and friends help them out with tasks. Last year, I convinced my mom to let me make her house look like a huge wild party had taken place, my little brother to wear a cucumber kilt, and my best friend to let me put stick on jewels all over her boobs.
Melbourne is roughly 875km
Maribyrnong is 871km
and Geraldton is a lazy 4,300km from Sydney.
Australia's a big place eh? :P
Lol, thanks for looking that up for me Mark, I was being lazy lol.
Seriously though, Shifty, it would be so totally awesome if you did it. Twigs said he might, but he's not sure yet. We've still got one slot to fill. Registration ends the 5th, hunt begins the 11th!