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Hello one and all and welcome to Talented Beasts and Where to Find Them, a game where you create a monster however you want using the amazing Talented Bestiary, band together with other freaky monsters, and try escape the mad wizard's tower of your birth, which has recently been thrown into chaos after his untimely demise!
The 'campaign' is only one in the loosest sense and takes place entirely in a 21 room wizard's tower. The game is primarily a thought exercise and a fun romp through twenty increasingly difficult levels. I utilized an old-school AD&D grognard approach to building the place where every room is only loosely connected, happens to be completely soundproof to those outside of each individual room, and oftentimes are much bigger or more varied than a room should be. My explanation? Magic of course!
Obligatory Flavor Text: Up until now, you were just a plaything of someone you only knew as The Master, an eccentric madman of a wizard. You were created by him simply to satisfy his curiosity, then locked away in a force cage and promptly forgotten.
In the scant few years of your life here, your only compatriots have been the other creations in your block and your creator's surprisingly kind homonculus, Quizzle, who has served as a sort of nanny and butler to all the master's discarded experiments.
Just the other day, your homonculus caretaker was remarking on how the master is growing increasingly careless in his experiments and that he is growing tired of arguing with him over taking proper precautions. The Master was apparently forming a massive summoning circle in Room 1 for a demon lord, something which Quizzle argued was really dangerous. The Master, as lost in his own world as he always has been, simply replied that, "The circle looks good enough to me. Not like art was really my forte anyway. What's the worst that could happen, honestly?"
It seems Quizzle's fears were well-founded, as today the force cages went down in your room, releasing each of the twenty-five creatures within. You and four others remained behind, waiting until all the insanity died down before trying to escape so that you did not get trampled. Quite reasonable considering that you were raised in a cage all your life and may, in fact, have the intelligence of a rock, but that's besides the point.
Now that the initial chaos of the mass-releasing of experiments has subsided, it should be safer to try and escape. Conveniently enough, four others seem to be thinking the exact same thing you are. Last you remember, some of the other experiments that escaped were a little... murder-y. Well, more murder-y than you are willing to risk alone, in any case. Maybe you and your four compatriots will band together like the adventurers in the books Quizzle would read to you all as bedtime stories and escape the Stalactite Tower of Wex the Wizard?
Now, on to character creation, the most important part of this trip into structured madness. I have only had four hours of sleep on two days, so if I have left something out, please feel free to kindly remind me. I will repost the rules on the Campaign Information tab along with any revisions that I need to make, so if you don't see your answer here, I likely have it posted there after someone reminded me that I excluded it.
One caveat before I list the character creation: I will only take interesting creatures. That means no creatures that are just pure stats. Use interesting combinations of abilities. Write some cool fluff on the creature. Do something other than make a dire wolf on steroids or a 36-armed mound of muscle. This game is all about exploring options and being creative, so use this opportunity to create something awesome!
(Starting CR) 10. Every other room, your CR will raise by 1. You may store any points you get from this CR increase to apply after your next level-up.
(HP) Maximum HP for maximum fun-time murder-time.
(Ability Scores) You may adjust your ability scores by up to 40% of the 'suggested values' given on the tables in the Talented Bestiary by subtracting the same amount from other ability scores. Example: if the bestiary says you have a suggested STR of 20, then you can adjust your score upwards or downwards anywhere up to 8 points. You can take these points from any of your ability scores, but remember that each ability score can be no lower than 60% and no higher than 140% of the suggested ability score. If your specific build requires a little more leeway, then message me. This rule exists to limit the 60 STR 60 CON oozes of pure, regenerating metallic muscle that I'm sure some would like to play.
(Feats) You may take any feat from d20pfsrd apart from feats like Leadership that essentially give you another character. You must qualify for the feats. Undead use CHA as CON for the purposes of qualifying for certain feats. I may allow other feats, but only after careful consideration. This is a test of the Talented Bestiary after all, not a normal campaign.
(Class, Wealth, Traits) None. You are a monster that has been created and subsequently abandoned by a mad wizard. You do not have any of these things.
(Templates) No templates are allowed. Again, testing the Talented Bestiary, not a dozen and one other things.
Again, I think I hit on everything that needed to be explained. If I did not, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing what sort of monsters you all make!
(Edit) Recruitment will be open 7-14 days, so you have plenty of time to consider your options and create your monster.
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Just a quick bit of information for people wanting to know: I will not be replying much tomorrow. I have a bit of shopping to do for my grandmother since she needs a lot of stuff for after she returns from her cardiovascular therapy in 2-3 weeks. So if I don't reply too much, just know that I will be back soon to do so.
Awesome Fal!! Thanks for trying your hand at this craziness!
Couple of quick questions:
Since we're not using classes(which I totally agree with!), are we allowed to take the class feature universal ability?
Also, would you be willing to add a few other similar features to the list? Odd that it's so limited.
Second, thoughts on lifting the type/subtype restrictions for the unique abilities?
Maybe increase the cost of them by say 50% or even double for the ones that you would normally not be able to qualify for?
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Good questions! Let me try and answer them succinctly.
Class Feature Universal Ability is allowed for PC use. It is a part of the system and the system is what we are playtesting.
Which specific features are you wanting?
Type/Subtype restrictions may be lifted for certain abilities. Generally speaking, it shouldn't be a problem, but I am leaving that answer as a blanket tentative in case I forgot something. As long as it is nothing too outlandish, it shouldn't even have increased costs. Going on a tangent, I almost always remove racial requirements on archetypes to match my 'rule of cool' mindset, especially since I am not adverse to refluffing abilities.
I have linked this recruitment and will be linking the game itself in the product discussion for the Talented Bestiary to help people see some of the crazy awesome monsters that can be created using it, so I hope people don't mind overmuch.
Hmmm, I'd better get the Talented Bestiary. :D
Ooh, I had an idea...
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Trust me Almonihah, it's definitely one of the best toolkits I have used as a GM, so the money is well-spent. When you can make things like Grizzly Gatorpedes, my own mad variation on the composite monster that I thought up when I wondered what I could make by smashing together three creatures with names beginning with A, B, and C (Alligator, bear, centipede), how can you really go wrong?
That definitely sounds interesting, Philo Pharynx. Wisps are one of my favorite creatures, especially in Ravenloft, where they are essentially their own type of creature and are really diverse in both form and personality. And wraiths are really cool too. Looking forward to your creation!
I believe this is done correctly. Some liberties taken, but I believe I more than made up for the mechanical deviations.
Ghost of a Shell
The ghost is a psychic manifestation of warrior spirit, an echo of battles that has accumulated a level of power that brings it into the physical realm, without soul, memory, or personality. It is a contradiction in existence, being both ethereal and metal, both innocent and violent.
The Wizard created the Ghost by sourcing shards of armor and weapons from battlefields and bringing them together. The dead men leave behind psychic echoes, and particularly in places where powerful magic is used, the 'flash shadow' of those deaths leaves behind huge reservoirs of psychic energy that his spells unlocked to bring the Ghost into being.
This ten foot tall hulk of shattered shields, broken breastplates, and splintered spears is shot through with rivulets of blood, as if every torn greave were a wound, every nicked blade a cut in paper-thin skin and slinks forward on a trailing mist of crimson gore. Blood and steel both trend towards the thing, sucking towards the gleaming center while a bloody halo of mist emits from the center of the torn chest, revealing a vortex deep, sucking red light. A hundred voices cry out from far away, lost in the clatter of marching boots and the sounds of fierce battle.
Ghost of a Shell
Large LE Undead (Constructed) Soldier
HD: 10
Str: 24/-
Dex: 16
Con: -
Int: 12
Wis: 16
Cha: 26
Fort: 7
Ref: 10
Will: 10
BAB: 10
FEATS: 5
Power Attack, Improved Sunder, Greater Sunder, Sundering Strike, Gatebreaker
NATURAL ARMOR: 14
Corpreal AC: 26 (Armor +14, Dex +3, Size -1)
Corporeal HP: 90/90
Incorporeal AC: 20 (Deflection +8, Dex +3, Size -1)
Incorporeal HP: 180/180
CMD: 31
CMB: +18 (Sunder +22)
Attacks: 3 slams +16 19-20/x2, 1d6+7 damage plus Ruin of War and energy drain (DC 23)
or 3 incorporeal touches +12 19-20/x2, 1d6 negative energy damage plus Ruin of War and EnDrain
Damage Threshold 40
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Lifesense: The creature can sense the living as if it had blindsight in a 60' radius.
Shelled Ghost: The vortex of the undead creature is the spiritual essence of psychic anguish imparted into the many weapons and armor brought together from the field of battle. When freshly created the creature has a pool temporary hit points equal to half its full normal hit points. Temporary Hit Points gained by the Ruin of War ability and energy drain fill this pool, but it can never have temporary hit points in excess of this pool (from these sources). As long as the creature has points in this pool it has a 'shell' of whirling, shattered armor, granting it a natural armor bonus and a physical presence which gives it a strength score. While damage still affects the creature as if it were incorporeal, it can no longer fly, walk through walls, or move with complete silence. It makes physical attacks and deals physical damage until its pool is depleted. Once the pool is empty the bloody vortex flies free, and the lashing tendrils of blood and anguish deal negative energy damage. The creature's physical shell (while it has points in its pool) has DR 10/Adamantine.
Ruin of War: Attacks by the creature that damage armor or weapons of war or the corpses of those who died in battle bypass all hardness, and damage dealt transfers instantly into the creature's pool of temporary hit points, restoring its shell and corporeal form. This includes any tool made specifically for use in battle; including standards, armor, weapons, bandoleers full of healing potions, the bodies of combat trained mounts, siege towers or ladders, and bundles of ammunition. The hardness of holy, reliquary, or silver arms and armor is not ignored. A construct or siege engine made solely for war takes 3d6 damage instead of 1d6 from each attack.
Incorporeal Vortex: The creature has no 'vitals' so to speak, and is immune to precision damage and sneak attacks in addition to its usual undead traits. It cannot be tripped in either form.
Vulnerability: The shell of the creature is made of the weapons of war taken from the battlefield, or the hands of its attackers. While it has points in the pool it is fully vulnerable to spells that target wood or metal as if it were a plant or construct. This includes the attack bonus gained from a shocking grasp spell against a metal target, and attacks that ignore metal armor ignore the corporeal form's armor bonus.
AP: 20/0
Undead 5ap
Energy Drain 2ap
Lifesense 2ap
Incorporeal 0ap
Shelled Ghost - Stoneskin (4, constant +2, requires fuel -1, -1 CL) 4ap
Ruin of War (To Peel and Be Peeled) 4ap (Based on Burn/Rusting Grasp)
3 slams +1 threat range 2ap
This creature, the first of its kind, is curious but malevolent. Like an amoral child it may dissect a cat to see how it works, clumsily sifting through bones and organs simply because that is what is inside the creature. Amoral apathy gives way, however, to intense loathing and destruction in the face of violence. Buried memories of hundreds of creatures who died horribly in war-time bubble to the surface and it lashes out to feed the sudden gulf of hunger left in the wake of death and war. Once all is calm again, and the corpses and their psychic echoes have been brought into the creature's growing mass, it returns to its cool apathy and malevolent curiosity. Creatures that speak and do not approach with violent intent are far more likely to be adressed and questioned.
... Also...
Armadillo Badger Camel?
AssassinBug Buffalo Crow?
Dot
For the record, this game joins the lists of games where my muse got me up at god-awful in the morning to work on my character.
But I am definitely coming together well. :)
Dot. =)
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I'm thinking I'll play The Grypheonix. :)
The Talented Bestiary has been on my list of 'things to pick up sometime' since it came out, so this is a good excuse to get it. :D
I will definitely be following this game. Enjoy, everyone!
I am working on an idea for a unique Fey creature, aptly titled the grumpkin. Think a brownie or Sprite crossed with a grumpy dwarf, then add in a touch of Rage.
I'm thinking of a fire spitting/breathing ant creature. Idea will evolve once I have the book. Just super busy. So weekend I should get it going
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After a long day of visiting Warm Springs, making sure my grandmother's medical chair came in, reading through my newly-obtained The Blight campaign setting/AP, and constructing several decklists for Hearthstone's Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion, I finally have a chance to sit down and post!
So, does anyone have questions, comments, concerns, et cetera?
I've started reading over the Talented Bestiary creature creation rules. As I understand, if I make a Huge creature, he should have a base CR of 8 before the modifications for being Huge? Does that mean he has less AP?
From what I read, you use CR8 for everything before the size mod, and CR10 for everything after the size mod, as ordered in the book, as it is a 'CR Modifier'.
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Okay, here's my friendly little ball of darkness...
Wispwraith experiment 29 CR 10
NE Small Undead (air, incorporeal, nightshade)
Initiative +7; Senses Darkvision 60', Low-light, Darksense; Perception +18
Aura Desecrating Aura
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Defense
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AC 25, touch 25, flat-footed 18 (+7 dex, +6 deflection, +1 size, +1 dodge)
HP 192 (12d8+96)
Fort +12, Ref +17, Will +11
Defensive Abilities Channel Resistance +4, incorporeal, natural invisibility Immune magic, undead traits
Weaknesses sunlight powerlessness, light aversion
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Offense
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Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
Melee Shock +18 touch (4d6+2 electricty +1d6 Con drain/19-20, x2+Stun)
Special Attacks channel negative energy 9/day (5d6, DC 29); Telekinesis (Su) usable once every d4 rounds, CL 12
Spell-like abilities (CL 12, concentration +18)
. . At-Will - Castiagte (DC 17)
. . 3/day - Protective Penumbra
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Statistics
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Str —, Dex 24, Con —, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 22
BaseAtk +9; CMB +12; CMD 19
Feats dodge, flyby attack, improved critical (touch), iron will, selective channeling, shatter resolve
Skills Acrobatics +22, Fly +21, Intimidate +21, Perception +18, Spellcraft +14, Stealth +22, Use Magic Device +21
Languages Aklo, Common
SQ darksense, feed on fear
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Special Abilities
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Constitution Drain (Su) Creatures hit by a wispwraith’s touch attack must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. On each successful attack, the wispwraith gains 5 temporary hit points. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Darksense (Ex) Wispwraiths gain true seeing in dim light and darkness. Regardless of light conditions, they can detect living creatures and their health within 60 feet, as blindsense with deathwatch continuously active. Mind blank and nondetection prevent the latter effect but not the wispwraith’s true seeing.
Desecrating Aura (Su) All wispwraiths have a 30-foot-radius emanation equivalent to a desecrate spell centered on a shrine of evil power. Undead within this radius (including the wispwraith) gain a +2 profane bonus on attack and damage rolls and saving throws, as well as +2 hit points per die, and the save DC of channeled negative energy is
increased by +6 (these adjustments are included for the wispwraith). This aura can be negated by dispel evil, but a wispwraith can reactivate it on its turn as a free action. A desecrating aura suppresses and is suppressed by consecrate or hallow; both effects are negated within any overlapping area of effect.
Electricity (Ex) On a critical hit, the creature struck must make a Fortitude save (DC 22) or be stunned for 1 round.
Feed on Fear (Su) Any time a wispwraith is within 30 feet of a dying creature or creature subject to a fear effect, it gains fast healing 5.
Immunity to Magic (Ex) Wispwraiths are immune to all spells and spell-like abilities that allow spell resistance, except magic missile and maze.
Light Aversion (Ex) A wispwraith in bright light becomes sickened—the penalties from this condition are doubled when the wispwraith is in natural sunlight.
Natural Invisibility (Ex) Wispwraiths have the ability to extinguish their natural darkness as a move action, effectively becoming invisible, as per the spell.
Sunlight Powerlessness (Ex) A wispwraith caught in sunlight cannot attack and is staggered.
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That is super badass Philo!! Should be lots of fun with my creation!
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My concept has evolved into a half ooze abomination
An ant ooze that spews out the equivalent of alchemest fire in a 30ft cone. And bites you with fiery poison
I've got a rough idea of what I'm doing with The Grypheonix now. I may not have quite enough AP for all the abilities I want, though, so I may have to pass on a couple. This weekend's going to be busy for me, though, so I don't know when I'll have the time to nail down the details.
From CR 8 + Huge
HD: 9
Feats: 5
Fort 6
Ref 6
Will 3
Natural Armor 9
Magical Beast (Fire) -> Immune Fire, Vulnerable Cold
Str 22 +8 (from Huge)
Dex 14 -4 (from Huge)
Con 20 +8 (from Huge)
Int 8
Wis 18
Cha 18
AP: 20
Breath Weapon
Burn (w/ Aura)
Flight
Natural Attacks
Pounce
Quadruped
Rake
Grab
Swallow Whole
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Posting that I am monitoring the thread for any sign of questions. If you have any, by all means, ask them! If your question is whether you will face a Dire Ardvaark, the answer is no. If your question is how a raven is like a writing desk, it is because they are both heavily splotched black and are always adorned by feather quills. You're welcome on me answering the Alice in Wonderland question.
One small question. 40% of Int 8 isn't quite enough to get up to Int 12 with the adjustments. Would it be fine to adjust up to Int 12 anyway?
Okay, I *think* The Gryphoenix is all done. Stats are in this alias--please look over them and let me know if anything looks off.
Hope to have a build up tonight
This sounds delightfully crazy. Too bad all I've done with the systems so far is make a 'dead god' and turned Newborn Astral Deva into a class.
sounds fun, but don't have the cash for that book.
Would you allow Monster classes as substitute?
And if yes can I use a race as my base and do modifications so it so it is more of an creature made from an experiment?
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In light of Dragoncon being around the corner, as well as my own furious preparations I made for it the past week, I am extending recruitment until a week after it ends. If anyone is going and has played FF14, my girlfriend and I are going as Edda and Evare. My mask took quite a while to craft and her scythe had to be properly whittled, painted, and lacquered.
Monster classes are not allowed, as this is a test of the Talented Bestiary.
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Well, if you're going to make us wait, then you had better post pictures of you two in costume. :)
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Not a problem! I'll try to keep any photos of the wild party out of it. If anyone is going, I would be up for sharing a round of drinks and talking turkey.
Only about 6 days to go until Dragoncon commences! That means that you all have around three weeks to complete your monsters. I hope that's ample time to have some amazing monstrosities.
One question: is everyone cool with me linking this game in about twenty different threads? I've gotten a lot of people interested in seeing how things proceed, including the author of the book himself, so I'm planning on making the game where everyone can dot and delete in gameplay to bookmark for easy reference.
Here's what I have so far. Skills and feats next.
Rakshasa-4AP
Sneak Attack-5AP
Inquisitor Spellcasting-5AP
Greater Invisibility- Base 4+At Will(2) /2 = 3
Bite-Base 0+1 size increase(2)+1.5str(1) +crit range increase(2)= 5AP
Multiweapon Mastery-Base 1+full attack(1)= 2AP
DR-Base 2/good and piercing+5(2)+10(2) = 4AP
All Around Vision- 1AP
Bleed-Base 2+1d6(1AP) = 3AP
Mind Thurst- Base 2+3/day(2)+60ft(1)= 5AP DC 20
Talsiman-Base 2+Keen(1)+1(1)+Thundering(1) =5AP
Poison- Base 2+1d6(1)+Con(1)+1rd4(2) =6 AP DC 22
Unholy Grace- 2AP
HD: 12
BAB: +9
Fort+4, Ref+4, Will+8
Natural Armor+9
Str 20
Dex 20
Con 22
Int 14
Cha 22
Wis 12
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Looks sneaky, Monkeygod... I like it.
So I'm back to answer questions. The Con was great, apart from a certain incident that shall be unnamed. Got to meet the voice actor of Aqua from KH:BBS, among other things, so it was awesome.
Does anyone have any questions?
Giving people fair warning: there are 12 days left until recruitment closes. If you wish to have a chance at getting in, you will need to be finished by then.
(Edit) Is there a PFS resource page somewhere? I apparently had an illegal feat down due to what I was told was a recent ban when I asked a friend to review my character build.
Hey, just curious, everybody still interested in this?
Yes!
Cool idea, though I don't own the Talented Bestiary.
Are the details available online somewhere?
yes!
(to the first, not the second)
No rules online, but it is ON SALE today only.
Damn. I would have waited.
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Just giving everyone a heads up, our power has been out since about 1:00 PM due to Irma coming through. The power company is dragging along as usual, so if anyone has any questions, I will answer them as soon as possible. It seems everyone has things in order so far, unless I missed a post the last few days.
Just a quick note before I sign off my laptop with it's ~20% battery: I have been in talks recently with one of the players here on the thread and, if this campaign concludes to my satisfaction, I will be running a full-on game at some point in the future. To give everyone an idea of what that campaign is, I will just say that it is a homebrew campaign and setting that I am building an entire 'wiki' for and that PCs will have alternate monster forms built using the system we are using here. Once I get power back online and am able to get the world lore wiki to a semi-usable state, I will likely link it to those who express interest to see if people might be up for it after this game concludes. Note that I am not committing myself to any game until this one finishes. I am just giving people an idea of what to look forward to if we finish this game and all goes well. If anyone wants to chat about the specifics of what I put in spoilers, please do so through a private message, as I have no desire to derail this thread with the setting for a game months in the future.
-Rebalanced races, each of which is roughly equivalent to 35 points if one uses the ARG as a measuring tool, to match their new lore. Each race has new, signature abilities, such as the Dwarves being able to wreathe their body's in a crackling aurora borealis that not only deals damage but can also magnetize to attract or repel metallic objects, Ifrit being able to heal wounds and/or cure a number of effects with a cleansing flame, Drow being able to physically walk into a creature's dreams, and Orcs having the ability to go into a deadly battle trance where they discard their immense discipline and allow their thoughts and actions to blend into one, making them immune to all effects targeting the mind and allowing them to make extra attacks.
-Options for half-breed characters of all sorts. Each unique crossing will have a name they go by in the setting, but each will be relatively unique in the blending of their parent's traits. For the love of all that is holy, please don't make demi-ling jokes for half-halfling/half-whatevers! While some of the particulars of this system will leave for some rather... disturbing implications, it allows for unique characters. And, since one of the major NPCs of the setting is a half-ifrit/half-elf, I can't really exclude it without being something of a hypocrite. I have prepared myself for the wave of catfolk-human hybrids sure to come, if that is proof how much I thought the implications through. Some exceptions exist, of course, as Lizardfolk are incompatible with most mammalian-type races and construct races like Witchwyrds are incompatible with everything, but in general, crossbreeds are allowed.
-Reimagined monsters with unique signature abilities. The Thorn-blessed created by the high elves are basically kytons with all instances of 'chains and leather' replaced with thorny vines and who have unique abilities like nightmare pollen and the ability to drain blood through their thorns... and create vampiric minions with mind-numbing scents from those they completely drain. The redesigned versions of the Rakshasa creatures, on the other hand, were formerly catfolk whose spiritually-sensitive souls were consumed by the darkness of the Void, turning into creatures of shadow and unholy blue flame that yearn to consume light, life, and the very essence of 'being' in a desire to become whole again, an effort made impossible by the flames of the Void that wreathe them.
-Explained metaphysics in the setting, including why most natural undead are hate-filled abominations, why mortals are... mortal, how the flow of souls works, why necromantic magic isn't intrinsically evil, et cetera. There are no weak contrivances or incredibly vague reasons in the setting, as I want players to get the gist of why things are the way they are, even if their characters do not. To give people an example, souls in in the setting of formed of pure, radiant energy from the Supernal Firmament. When they journey to the mortal world, they must pass through the Antipodal Veil, a sheathe of the Void itself that wraps the mortal world. This is why mortals, unlike most every creature from the outer planes, have the capacity to wield by light and dark magic alike. It also explains their mortality, as the powers of darkness are tied to the Void, which sap away the vitality of the shell the soul inhabits, slowly killing it with age. It also explains why the wicked sometimes rise as hate-filled undead, as their souls are too infused with the darkness to pass back beyond the Antipodal Veil and so remain bound to the mortal world despite their body's death. The shadowy energy that suffuses the undead ever yearns for more, which is why those slain by certain undead may rise as undead themselves, as the energy 'gifts itself' to the mortal in the moment before it dies, preventing it from moving on and slowly corrupting it over the course of days.
-Alignment being cut in favor of two new energy types and descriptors. Villains can wield the light as well as the dark and heroes can wield the dark as well as the light. People are judged by their actions, not where they arbitrarily stand on a nine-piece pie.
-A rearranged outer planes with more weirdness than ever before. If anyone has played Mage the Awakening 2E and knows how the Supernal Realm and the Abyss are, the Supernal Firmament and the Void are pretty similar. Thoughts and concepts actually have physical form in the outer planes and explains much about why gods want mortal faith. In the Supernal Firmament, one might walk across an ephemeral bridge formed from the hopes and prayers of mortals into a palace formed of the crystallized faith of a god's followers or one might pluck a 'fruit' of song from a bejeweled tree whose gemlike branches produce a faint melody as the gentle breeze flits through them. The Void, however, is a place of nightmares formed from the shattered shards of innumerable worlds and the withered souls of those consumed by it's power. In the Void, legions of voidspawn, the setting name for all non-devil fiends, walk among black sands that move to devour mortals foolish enough to tread on them and fly among impossibly tall, jagged mountain ranges littered with the broken, empty husks of innumerable civilizations.
-A complex pantheon of twenty one beings of immense power whose composite fragments are worshipped in various guises by the mortal races. There are twenty-one divine beings of the Supernal Firmament: the Creator who yet sleeps from his labors in creating the multiverse, the Thirteen who are the gods yet uncorrupted by the void and the Seven who are gods corrupted by the void into pawns in it's apocalyptic schemes. This is leaving out the powerful Archfey born from the world itself who pursue their own strange agendas, the 33 lords of the voidspawn who work to bring about the end of all things, and all the other godlike beings of the setting who have worshippers, but one should get the gist of things.
-A more morally grey setting where everything is not as clear-cut and players need to make real decisions beyond 'kill omnicidal maniac/guy who pinged evil'. In fact, the big bad of the setting that is probably beyond any player power, roughly equivalent to Rovagug in terms of malice and overall place in the setting, is the Void. The Void is a plane/entity that spontaneously came into being when the Creator took the raw proto-matter from the time before creation and made the multiverse as it is known. The Void was spontaneously birthed from the emptiness that was left and yearns to make itself whole again by destroying reality and reconstituting itself from the shattered pieces. It may be malicious and thoroughly inimical to mortal life, but it's motivations are at least understandable and raises questions on who has more right to reality: those who live in now or that whose existence and subsequent agony is due to other being's possessing that reality that was stolen from it.
-Magic using mana instead of spell slots. Mana is much easier to track and provides only minor buffs to casters
-Locus Magic is a new type of magic inspired by an old supplement. Only those with both arcane and divine spells can access the powerful Locus Magic and even then only by taking permanent cuts to their mana pool to gain access to the wondrous and powerful abilities, the options of which include but are not limited to: the ability to sculpt pure light into objects, the ability to walk between spaces in an instant instead of more normal means of mobility, and the ability to will illusions into partial-reality.
-Non-magic classes getting pools that let them perform a bit better and will not only compensate for increased spellcasting versatility from the point above, but will also make them a bit more beefy than normal.
-Cutting feat taxes for martials, which is always a plus.
-And the ability for players of this game to port over their creatures as being part of the world's canon lore. Yes, gryphoenixes, wispwraiths, and sneaky rakshasa may be a part of the setting as much as owlbears, intellect devourers, and red dragons.
And now my laptop is sitting on around 13%, so I'm going to sign off soon. Is everyone else pumped for this dungeon crawl?
So, when were we going to start this game again? As in, this one, not the possible follow-on. :D
Hey... soo... those of you who have the Talented Bestiary...
If I may ask. What did you think of the Dire Turducken?
I ask for reasons.
To be honest, I mostly ignored the example creatures. :D
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Odd, I thought I replied to this last night. Ah well.
Recruitment ends on the 19th. Depending on how ready players are, we will either begin then or the 20th, their preference. I have been trying to give everyone a bit extra time due to the last few Cons that I am sure people have been attending. The process of perfecting a monster takes a decent amount of time and I wanted to make sure people had time to get finished.
That said, I am curious why more have not even posted concepts? I know about double the number of people stated interest than have finished concepts. I love the concepts we have, of course.
The Dire Turducken was definitely an interesting option. I plan on using it in a special Thanksgiving one-shot with a new home group I have pulled together. And possibly a more light-hearted murder-hobo style game.
On a completely unrelated note, a friend of mine was wanting to know if I could combine Pathfinder and Starfinder, as he was curious if it could work. I'm going to combine them and the old d20 supplement on mechs for a technomagical mech setting. Anyone have any thoughts on using EAC to also apply to Pathfinder spells, with the caster's SL counting towards penetrating the EAC? It would be a way to make full casters much less of a tier 0 class and would make sense in the setting.
Okay. Neat. I was asking because it was the creature I got put in as part of the kickstarter rewards. I actually used that concept during one of my thanksgiving adventure specials and it was amazing. I was just seeing if people liked it or not. :)
Okay. Neat. I was asking because it was the creature I got put in as part of the kickstarter rewards. I actually used that concept during one of my thanksgiving adventure specials and it was amazing. I was just seeing if people liked it or not. :)
I love it. I ran it against my players on day(they'd heard of a 'foul beast' in rumor and didn't do much fact checking, hehe) and it exploded and came back just once. They still smile and/or groan when it gets mentioned.