If Christianity in this campaign ends up going the 'Holy Trinity Route' in the future, both Gods would potentially be gaining followers. If they aren't adverse to sharing, it could be a win-win situation for both.
Well, I think the best asset here is that this blending of mythology/theology allows access to Elysium and Heaven, both of which have a set of monsters/monsterous NPC possibilities in the Bestiaries, and thus saves me a lot of time. Plus, the idea of some sort of celestial politics going on above the action could add an interesting dynamic once things start to get serious.
I know Set from Egyptian mythology. Why specifically Thaddeus of Edessa? Fairly low ranking on the Christian celestial scale unless I'm reading wrong. Is it cause of his influence in Syria, which is sort of near Egypt?
Mr. Fishy is later but he total skimmed the last page.
Semi-hostile npc's Umm, anyone the party killed would be trucking to the afterlife. Most of those "Spirits" would be angry at the least. A few of them could be honored dead going to their rightful reward. The evil priest could command these transit souls to oppose the party.
War + Highway to "Hell"= Undead and lost souls, not all of whom are hostile; merely lost, confused and afraid.
In Greek myth blood of the living could feed the restless dead and grant them corporeal form and the ability to speak with the living for a short time. Could be the dead seek passage across the river but are with out the coin to pay the Ferrryman. What would a restless spirit do to rest at last.
With the war raging on the world above the underworld could be a chaotic mess the gates are flooded with the newly dead and the restless spirits of the fallen would were not properly buried.
Mr. Fishy will remain outside of the theology discussion...Mr. Fishy has a nonaggression pact......stupid nonaggression pact.
Thank you, Mr. Fishy. You've got some excellent ideas. I'm especially fond of the idea that the war that's beginning directly over their heads is littering the gate with newly killed souls from both sides of the battle. This in itself presents a complication, an obstacle to overcome, and relevant exposition for what's happening in the outside world.
The idea that blood of the living can feed the restless dead can at the very least present some motive for hostile shades looking to feel life again. Very few of the freshly killed would be buried or burned with the coins to pay for their trip over the river, so some shades could potentially grant the PCs safe passage or even aid them if they're paid a couple gp. This would make things complicated as more shades try to take advantage of this. A blood offering to gain information from the dead would also be an interesting ritual to role play.
Nope, German orcs, Celtic gnomes, Egyptian ratfolk or Iberian Tengu isn't racist. Please don't just call the things "racist" that you don't like or consider cliché. If he wants to flavour a region with a specific culture and then turn them into a monster race, that is entirely fine. Players may love it, he may have fun running it, and it gets the monster races represented in, and attached to, the world.
What if I were to create American maggot folk. Obese waste eating capitalists that want to burrow into the world and corrupt it. I know people who would love it. I wouldn't do it do it because its racist, just like describing Germans as orcs brutal, ugly cannibalistic barbarians.
I am happy if there are German, humans, German orcs, German gnomes and so on....
Celtic is not a race it is a culture there is no common DNA shared between the Celtic people in central Turkey central and eastern Europe the Alps, Italy, Germany, Gaul, Iberia and the British isles.
What linked them together was Language and a shared culture.
I'm just gonna rule on this race issue. Rome is a purely human empire, while the rest of the world is littered with other races that exist in isolated regions. Orcs are barbarians from the mountains. On top of one mountain is a tribe of Tengus (cause bird people like heights). I think of the logic of races environmentally, not in terms of their national equivalent in the real world. Gnomes and elves like the forest, dwarves like rocky areas. This has nothing to do with nations, just that regional geography.
As for things like Germania, Gaul, Egypt, Persia, mostly these are human-centric, with slight propensity towards certain less common races. Egypt, for example, has a large catfolk population, because ancient Egyptian culture revered cats. That's not racism, just cultural extrapolation.
Let's put the issue to bed and leave what constitutes racism to the philosophers.
Here's the rough draft for the Casca NPC. Still working out his role in the storyline, but here's what I got so far.
casca:
Casca Rufio Longinus (CR 14)
Male Gladiator 9/Order of the Seal Cavalier 1/Champion 10
N Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +13 Senses Low-light vision; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+6 armour, +3 dex, +2 shield)
Hp 120 (10d10+70)
Fort +11 Ref +8 Will +6 (+2 for protecting the Spear of Destiny)
Defensive Abilities Armour Training 2, Hard to Kill, Mythic Saving Throws, Unstoppable
OFFENSE
Speed 40ft
Melee +1 gladius +15/+11 (1d6+19/17-20x2), +1 spiked shield +14 (1d4+13 plus bull rush attempt 5d6) OR +2 gladius +17/12 (1d6+19/17-20x2)
Ranged +1 returning spiked shield +15 (1d4+6)
Special Attacks challenge 1/day, tactician, mythic power 23/day, surge 1d12,
TACTICS
Before Combat Casca never brings his horse into battle. If he’s expecting a fight, he finds a safe place for his horse, then meets the enemy in the open. He drinks his potion of heroism if he’s outnumbered.
During Combat Casca levels the playing field any way he can. He snatches spellcasters out of the air if he has to, throws his shield at opponents staying at range, and uses his challenge on the biggest melee threat.
Morale Being immortal, Casca always fights to the death. If killed, he rises again in 24 hours and hunts down his killers.
STATISTICS
Str 22, Dex 16, Con 14, lnt 10, Wis 13, Cha 13
Base Atk +10/+5; CMB +16; CMD 19
Feats: Dazzling Display (mythic), Dramatic Display, Improved Critical (mythic; gladius), Improved Shield Bash, Performance Weapon Mastery, Power Attack, Shield Slam (mythic), Savage Display, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (mythic, throwing shield), Weapon Focus (mythic, gladius), Weapon Specialization (gladius). Teamwork Shake it Off
Skills: Acrobatics +10 (+15 when jumping), Climb +10, Handle Animal +5, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Linguistics +4, Perception +9, Profession (soldier) +4, Ride +4
Languages: Common, Dwarf, all
SQ: Fame, Weapon Training (light blades), Amazing Initiative, Recuperation, Force of Will, Immortal, Legendary Hero, Tongues
Combat Gear potion of cure severe wounds, feather token (bird), potion of heroism
Other Gear +1 furyborn gladius, masterwork agile vital guard mithral breastplate, +1 spiked quickdraw returning shield, ring of feather falling, boots of striding and springing, cloak of the duskwalker, heavy horse (combat trained)
Champion Strike: Fleet Charge
1st Tier: Aerial Assault, Climbing Master, Limitless Range, Tear Apart, Uncanny Grapple
3rd Tier: Pure Destiny, To the Death
6th Tier: Tongues, Shatter Spells, Sweeping Strike,
Legendary Champion
Nope, German orcs, Celtic gnomes, Egyptian ratfolk or Iberian Tengu isn't racist. Please don't just call the things "racist" that you don't like or consider cliché. If he wants to flavour a region with a specific culture and then turn them into a monster race, that is entirely fine. Players may love it, he may have fun running it, and it gets the monster races represented in, and attached to, the world.
What if I were to create American maggot folk. Obese waste eating capitalists that want to burrow into the world and corrupt it. I know people who would love it. I wouldn't do it do it because its racist, just like describing Germans as orcs brutal, ugly cannibalistic barbarians.
I am happy if there are German, humans, German orcs, German gnomes and so on....
Celtic is not a race it is a culture there is no common DNA shared between the Celtic people in central Turkey central and eastern Europe the Alps, Italy, Germany, Gaul, Iberia and the British isles.
What linked them together was Language and a shared culture.
I would be down for such a race being added to a setting. It reminds me of the slimy evil merchant faction in gal civ 2.
Sorry to pull you up, but Americans aren't a race. The United States of America is a collection of peoples (ethnicities) and beliefs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with presenting greedy elites and/or economic rationalists as maggots. I think the word you are looking for is classist.
You can try to use that, don't present American business in a negative light! But given how badly American plutocrats and the high up in business professions have damaged the environment and hoarded and consumed such a high percentage of the world's resources, I wonder why you would defend them.
Thank you for the faction idea. I was working on snake people hiding from dragons, but this could fly (or crawl to the feast).
Sorry to bear bad news but the Roman gods were originally nothing like the Greek gods e.g. Mars was a fertility god of springtime and a protector of cattle. Don’t get me started on the Etruscan gods! (What a mess that pantheon is.)
Since the gods and their magic are real in your Roman-ish game, they would have an influence; they would also be at odds with the Olympic pantheon. Pantheon conflict can be a great source of adventure. Also, Greco-Roman mythology did have vampires: Empusae and Lamiae per Theoi.com - a great resource website.
Although I advise against including Christianity or Judaism in your campaign, I would add Norse mythology since our concepts of dwarves, elves and dark elves began there. This also adds more pantheon conflict.
The Norse, Greek and Roman pantheons are exceedingly large; I advise against adding more divinities to your adventures. Depending on the location of the land masses, your world may not need other mythologies. Adapting fantasy races to these myths may not prove too difficult e.g. Orcs worship a one-eyed god; Odin immediately springs to mind.
Most importantly, maybe your party should take a short break while you organize and write. If you’re too rushed, the final product will not be enjoyable. Maybe your party should help e.g. submit their ideas in writing to you; you shouldn’t be the only one trying to make this work. Perhaps your group should restart the campaign after you reorganize and rewrite. Many RPG publications adapting Greco-Roman mythology exist; you should give yourself time to review them.
If you haven't watched the HBO series Rome you should watch it for ideas and such. they talk about the gods and have rituals and such on their regularly. It could give you all kinds of ideas.
If you haven't watched the HBO series Rome you should watch it for ideas and such. they talk about the gods and have rituals and such on their regularly. It could give you all kinds of ideas.
Be advised though, that while Pullo and Vorenus are awesome characters in the series, and were both mentioned by name by Caeser in The Gallic Wars, they are highly stylized, and not at all the two men Caeser mentions. Caeser's were both Centurions, and thus equals, unlike in the series.
eltacolibre wrote:
Christianity/Judaism usually tend to make people uncomfortable at gaming table, so I usually just avoid it for any setting
Nobody's uncomfortable with religion at the gaming table. We're Canadian.
I'm sure there's a good comeback to this, but it eludes me. Eh!
