Based on the responses in the interest check threat, this is an official recruitment for 4-6 players for a wall-of-text, extreme worldbuilding, classic fantasy campaign using the Fudge rpg system -- a narrative, rules-light system.
I'm first going to describe the character creation process, and the end of this post will be a wall of fluff about the Dragonlance-like setting the adventure will take place in.
Okay, first, rules -- the Fudge system. What is Fudge? Fudge is the predecessor of the FATE system -- the latter is considered to be a type of FUDGE game that eventually turned into its own system. Fudge stands for Freeform Universal Donated (later, Do-it-yourself) Gaming Engine. Here's a wikipedia entry if you'd like to read more about this history of this system: Fudge (role-playing game).
It's all free, and the main resources we'd be using can be found at the following links:
https://www.fudgerpg.com
https://fudgesrd.opengamingnetwork.com
Fantasy Fudge
Fudge is a tool box, and basically involves rating things on a seven or ten point scale (-3, -2, 0, +1, +2, +3 ... (legendary rules go higher, but that 7 point scale is the base system); this scale can apply to an ability score or a skill, etc. The system mainly involves opposed roles on this scale -- it's a fairly simple system if you look at the documents.
Ex. You have 0 in strength, and are going up against a difficulty of +2. You roll the Fudge dice and get a result of +1 -- you fail, but the effects are not as bad as if you not a -2 result, for example.
Character Creation
Character creation consists of a list of items from the Fudge system, and then a questionnaire with additional details.
The character creation rules are mainly found at this link Character Creation
Fudge rules items: Abilities, Skills, Gifts, Faults, Supernormal Powers. Basically, you'll have a list of these, and each will have a value from -3 to +3, starting at 0 with customization points based on how many of the items you have.
1. Abilities: You can pick from this list, or add anything you might want. I would aim for at least 12, and potentially up to 20 or more. There should be more granularity in areas that are significant to your core character concept -- several physical ones if you're an acrobat, for example.
Everyone needs to have abilities broadly equivalent to strength, size, and speed, since most of the combat rules require those.
Body: Agility, Aim, Appearance, Balance, Brawn, Build, Constitution, Coordination, Deftness, Dexterity, Endurance, Fatigue, Fitness, Health, Hit Points, Manual Dexterity, Muscle, Nimbleness, Quickness, Physical, Reflexes, Size, Smell, Speed, Stamina, Strength, Wound Resistance, Zip, and so on.
Mind: Cunning, Education, Intelligence, Knowledge, Learning, Mechanical, Memory, Mental, Mental Strength, Perception, Reasoning, Smarts, Technical, Wit, and so on.
Soul: Channeling, Charisma, Charm, Chutzpah, Common Sense, Coolness, Disposition, Drive, Ego, Empathy, Fate, Honor, Intuition, Luck, Magic Resistance, Magic Potential, Magical Ability, Power, Presence, Psyche, Sanity, Self Discipline, Social, Spiritual, Style, Will, Wisdom, and so on, and so on.
Other: Rank, Status, Wealth.
For attributes, you have free attribute levels to assign based on how many attributes you select (if you have 12, you get 12, if you have 20, you have 20, etc., everything starts at 0).
2. Skills
Here is a suggested list of skills -- pick the ones that make sense for your character. I would like you to pick at least 100, and as many as you want. You can also make up your own. You should have a high level of granularity for the things that are important to your character concept.
Follow,
Track,
Watch,
Acrobatics,
Athletics,
Contortionist,
Riding,
Stealth,
Swimming,
Armour Training,
Close,
Order,
Evade,
Hand-to-Hand,
Marksmanship,
Melee,
Siege Artillery,
Skirmishing,
Etiquette,
Inquiry,
Intrigue,
Leadership,
Persuasion,
Seduction,
Streetwise,
Teaching,
Wardrobe & Style,
Acting,
Composition,
Dancing,
Disguise,
Musicianship,
Oratory,
Singing,
Sleight of Hand,
Storytelling,
Animal Training,
Artistry,
Blacksmithing,
Campaigning,
Craftwork,
Drawing,
Engineering,
Farmwork,
Fieldcraft,
Gambling & Gaming,
Healing Arts,
House Keeping,
Housework,
Midwifery,
Sailing,
Shepherding,
Writing,
Commerce,
Heraldry,
Language (each one a separate skill),
Alphabet/Runeset (each one a separate skill),
Letters,
Local Expert (one area),
Navigation,
Research,
Tactics,
Alchemical Lore,
Cult Lore,
Folk Lore,
Herbal Lore,
Hermetic Lore,
Occult Lore,
Star Lore
As with attributes, you will have free attribute levels equal to how many skills you have. You have 1-2 additional skills to play with in-game if you forgot something during creation and need something in the course of the narrative.
3. Gifts/Faults -- I'm honestly okay with handwaving this -- give yourself some of each if you want. I'll come up with firmer guidelines if it's needed.
4. Supernormal Powers.
Here's the rules link: Supernormal Powers
This is a combination bin of basically feats, class abilities, racial traits, magical powers, templates. I'm at least going to start off with a super loose interpretation of this -- what you basically need is a list of all your character's feat/spell/racial/class abilities, or the near equivalent. However, you don't need to worry about pre-reqs or mechanical compatibility. All you need is a list of items, and the same scale -3 to +3 scale for anything with a combat focus (you can also have legendary values if it's justified). I'm handwaving the number of these make it equivalent to about a 20th level PF character -- I'd like to see about 100 items in this section as well (this involves just writing down a concept like 'whirlwind attack +3', it's not as hard as it sounds). You can add scale to your supernormal powers if it makes sense -- just decide for yourself.
To find ideas for supernormal powers, you can use and d20 system or other fantasy system -- just take the basic description/concept. Individual spells should be individual supernormal powers (but here, again, this is easy, because you don't have to worry about mechanics, just the concept, and you're just writing a name down, with a -3/+3 or scale value if it has a combat application).
**Personality will be done by description.
**I'll decide on Fudge points economy before the game starts.
Here are some simple examples of a character sheet -- scroll down and you'll see some fantasy examples: Tips and Examples.
Okay -- so that's the mechanical part -- the second part of the character submission is filling out this questionnaire
Name (Given, Nickname): This would include any surnames, religious names, etc., as well as names in different languages, as well as any history about how the name was given, or contexts where the character uses particular names.
Age (Age Cohort): This includes both the numerical age in years, and perhaps an alternative value in a different counting system or two, as well as where this number places the character in their culture or species' age cohorts -- i.e., a youth, teenager, middle adult, etc.
Sex/Gender/Sexuality: This refers to any information on gender presentation, species gender (does the species have a biological or cultural 'third' (or fourth, fifth) gender?), and romantic or affinitive dispositions -- hetero/homo/bi/a-sexual etc.
Species (Subspecies): Example, Glasskrystal Kobold -- and explain what that means. Maybe they're kobolds with mind magic crystals embedded in their pink scales that contain the accumulated dreams of their ancestors?
Physiology/Physiognomy: Height, weight, musculature, body art -- piercings, tattoos, color of scales, hair, eyebrows, nails. A broken horn, etc. History of any injuries or outstanding features -- how did the character tear a wing, or gain a tattoo which signals a particular achievement in their culture.
Height,
body weight,
skin tone,
body hair,
moles,
freckles,
hair color and type,
eye color,
nose shape,
ears shape,
body shape,
body deformations,
mutilations and other variations such as amputations, scars, burns and wounds.
Dress: What outfits do they usually wear -- what's their cultural basis, what do they reflect about the character? Detail a few common outfits they might don or want to acquire.
clothing, including headgear and footwear; some clothes alter or mold the shape of the body. As for footwear, high heels make a person look taller.
style and colour of haircut (see also dreadlocks, braids, ponytail, wig, hairpin, facial hair, beard and moustache)
cosmetics, stage makeup, body paintings, permanent makeup
body modifications, such as body piercings and tattoos
plastic surgery
decorative objects (jewelry) such as a necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings
medical or body shape altering devices (e.g. tooth braces, bandages, casts, hearing aids, cervical collar, crutches, contact lenses of different colors, glasses, gold teeth)
Tools: Not martial equipment -- i.e., a handyman set handed down from a beloved relative, give some history to the individual items. Were they purchased, made, or given? How old are they? How well made are they?
jewelry
sunglasses
goggles
watch
headphones/handsfree phone headset
hair ornaments
hats and caps
Arms and Armor: Same kinds of details as with the 'tools' category -- come up with stories about each dagger and/or sword, where they were purchased, what they've been used for, etc.
Mannerisms: Any physical ticks, like always standing ram-rod straight, or thumb-twiddling?
Blushing,
crying,
fainting,
hiccup,
stuttering,
reddening of the skin due to increased blood flow due to exertion. Sweating,
shivering,
nose bleeding,
skin color changes due to sunshine or frost.
Culture (sub-culture): What is their culture and/or subculture -- i.e., a French Catholic (but equivalent fantasy concepts).
Personality: Surly? Friendly? Under what conditions (Surly to strangers, friendly to long time acquaintances?
Religion/Philosophy/Worldview: Any sort of ethical or meaning-making outlook, or combination of influences that motivates the character. Can be an organization or a perspective. Were they born into it, or acquired it? How stridently do they adhere to one or more of these affiliations?
Profession/avocation: What does the character do for a living or for hobbies -- how long have they done it? When and why did they acquire this interest?
Languages: What languages does the character speak, and how well (reading/writing/speaking level).
Special Abilities:
This is going to be the most detailed section -- think about 3-12 entries from your 'supernormal powers' section, consisting of special things the character can do and give me some fluff detail. This can be a magic system, a set of divine boons, special martial artist abilities, etc. It can embrace a wide range between a feat and a whole magic system with a number of spells described.
The key here is detail -- if it's a special martial artist move -- where does it come from, how did the character learn it, and give some narrative details -- when it's used, does the whole vicinity go quiet? When a form of casting is used, does it make the character unable to speak for several minutes, and make the air smell like sulfur? The more detail the better.
One special thing: Are they the only individual to speak a certain language? The last surviving member of a royal family?
One weakness/secret: Are they terrified of the color yellow?
Additional notes -- basically this system can be as simple or complex as you want; it basically focuses on the +3/-3 scale and checks and narrating the result. Most of it is handwaved. There are more complex rules for some things I may integrate over time, and I may use more or less complex rules for different encounters -- there are hex grid rules for combat, but I'll only use those for full on boss fights, and mostly use the simpler rules for mooks and simple encounters, for example. I may experiment with adding more rules for certain things over time.
Okay, so that's the character creation process. Now let me tell you about the setting. You're basically going to be playing a member of this setting's equivalent of the Heroes of the Lance.
The major artistic influences here, and that should shape your imagination and thinking, are as follows:
Larry Elmore
Jeff Easley
Michael Whelan
The literary influences you could think about are:
Tracy Hickman -- Dragonlance, Sovereign Stone, the Obsidian Trilogy
Tad Wililams -- Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
Anne McCaffrey -- Dragonriders of Pern
Brian Jacques -- Redwall
Jim Henson -- The Dark Crystal
The setting is a classic 'Princess and Paladins' 80s/early 90s fantasy world of medieval chivalric adventure.
Some of the further-off areas to the east have some additional influences like Wuxia films (Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, Hero, the Dog Warriors, Samurai Shamploo), and there are other continents similar to Taladas that are desertified and more sword and planet/conan, but that's not the primary adventure area.
The depiction of the Pits of the Inferno is based on Wayne Barlow's art Inferno -- and I'm taking some worldbuilding concepts from this art as well.
More detail -- this is a flat, high-fantasy planet with a dark and light side. The continents of the light side mostly look like things like dragons. The main continent of the campaign (Saradon) looks like a dragon, you're starting in an area near the 'snout'.
The kingdoms of western Saradon are based/but not 1-1 correspondence, it's a more general inspiration on the Crusader Kingdoms, the German Empire, Napoleonic France, Regency England, Tudor England, Aurthurian Camelot (Humans), ancient Rome, Greece, and Gault (Elves), 18th century Switzerland (Gnomes), Plains Tribes (US) and Wild West (Halflings), Achaemenid, Sassanid, and Qajar Iran (Dwarves) - eastern Saradon contains an orc empire in the 'tail' of the dragon (Manchu), and Thai/Burmese/Japan islands that are populated by Kitsune and other animal people.
I can produce more fluff information -- but I want to get more of a sense of character concept so I can write give more information on the right things.
In the time before days, in the age before the Song, or of the Song without Sound, the darkness was deep, and there was quiet within the darkness. Some say that the darkness itself was the sleeping form of the High Goddess Zaraynezugheth the Eternal, who is also known as Esarla, and who is believed by the cantors of the Inspired Incantation to be the chief manifestation of the Song Itself. The Mother of Dragons and of Mortals stirred in the abyss and sang the first notes of the Music of the Spheres. The notes of the First Song resounded within the void. For a long age, the Music of the Spheres resounded within the void, clear, beautiful beyond words of any language, and solitary, without any partner.
Then, notes began to answer the First Song of the Mother of Dragons, and Her first children were called forth from the darkness. These were the First Clutch, and they were three --
Nereza, the Midnight Queen, Mistress of Evil Dragons
Tenshe-Senyan, The King with Five Faces, the Manalord, and Chief Minister of the Elemental Bureaucracy
Kheryth-Khatar, the Shinning Lord, the Father of the Dawn.
Unto each of the First Clutch were born a separate family of godlings as each sang their own song into the Void, joining each their strain unto that of the First Mother, Esarla, Queen of Dragons and of the Morning Light. From the song of each of the First Clutch was born another generation of godlings – the Second Clutch. The names of the Second Clutch are these:
Unto Nereza the Queen of the Night were born the dragon gods of the Dark Symphony,
Unto Tenshe-Senyan, the Master of the Nodes, were born the hierarchies of the Elemental Bureaucracy,
And unto the Lord of Light, Kheryth-Khatar, were born the choirs of the Celestial Orchestra.
As the powers of the Second Clutch came into being, they immediately opened a great battle between their forces. Darkness raged in the formless void of the early days of the world, until the High Mother Esarla, seeing the disunity of Her children and Her children’s children, silenced the battle with a great roar which interrupted the First Song. Chastened by their creator, the three powers of the First Clutch dispersed themselves – having returned balance to creation, the Mother of All began a slumber which would last many ages, the resonance of Her song a lullaby that would accompany Her divine sleep for millennia…
The dragon gods of these three agencies in the heavens divided themselves within the void and established the planes of Darkness, of Light, and the Elemental Strongholds – and so came to be the 7,777,777 Heavens of Paradise, the 666,666 Pits of the Inferno, and the 231 billion Departments of the Elemental Strongholds of the Elemental Bureaucracy
Or… that is one fashion in which the history of the War Before the Dawn is related.
Another account holds that the dragon brothers of the First Clutch -- Tenshe-Senyan and Kheryth-Khatar --, who some believe to be twins, awoke first of the Prime Mother’s children and, taking their places of honor, respectively, at Her left and right hand, sang the stars and spheres into existence, joining their strain to that of the Mother of Dragons. However, they doubted in the perfection of their own creation, and whether they had matched the inestimable beauty of the First Song in their own strains, and this doubt mingled in the darkness, and gave birth to Nereza, the Whispering Shadow, the Queen of Maleficence. When she had awakened within the void, the Dark Queen immediately took umbrage at the strain of the First Song and sought to silence its tones. Thus it was that Nereza stealthily approached the First Mother and struck Her with venom and darkness and hate, and then death, and thereby silenced the First Song. Upon hearing the death cries of their progenitor, Esarla’s two sons immediately closed battle with the shadow – the followers of both Tenshe-Senyan and Kheryth-Khatar hold that their patron deity delivered the fatal blow to the Dark Queen.
And so, by the hand of one or both sons of Esarla, the Dark Queen Nereza was cast into the most profound depths of the darkness, those forbidden reaches of the cosmos that should become the 666,666 Pits of the Inferno.
Note, however, that the scriptures of the Dark Symphony proclaim that Nereza was first born of the children of the First Clutch, but that she remained in silence as the two sons of Esarla commenced their song. However, they, jealous of the greater beauty of her song without sound, and spurred by the jealousy of their mother, who likewise resented the greater power and beauty of the noteless strain of Her first daughter, struck down the Queen of Midnight.
In any event, all scriptures agree that Nereza was cast into the darkness, a darkness which the priests of the Dark Symphony proclaim to have been the remnant of the world that existed prior to this age. The scriptures of the Celestial Orchestra and the Elemental Bureaucracy differ on this point – holding that there has been only one, and not several, cycles of time. The dark priests proclaim that the Midnight Queen and her children were surrounded by the remnants of the Time Before Our Time, and waged a great conflict to establish themselves in the 666,666 Pits of the Inferno.
The power of Nereza was extinguished by her brothers, and her soul migrated for an age to the Sea of Midnight Waters, which lies at the bottom of the lowest pit of the Inferno, and has never been glimpsed by aught but the chief ministers of the Midnight Queen since the earliest days of the cosmos until the present hour. But her children resurrected Nereza with a great and terrible magic and she arose, recreated in a more awesome and terrible form than that which she had previously held. When she arose again within the depths of the Inferno, the first war against the Songbearer races of the Lands of Light commenced…
In the absence of the Dark Queen, the Two Brothers, Tenshe-Senyan and Kheryth-Khatar commenced the creation of Esarlon, whether solely through their song, or upon the body of the First Mother, the tales differ on this point. Some traditions hold that the world was founded upon the body of another child of Zaraynezugheth the Eternal who was slain in the War Before the Dawn, a dragon goddess of dreams and fates known as Esairlaya of the Unblinking Eye.
And it came to pass that the divine children of Kheryth-Khatar and Tenshe-Senyan, the Second Clutch, themselves bore children – the varied races of dragons, and these established themselves in the First Age of the world – the Age of the Dragons of the Dawn. One portion of Esarlon was blessed by the light of the spheres which her creators had sung into existence, while another was covered in shadow. Each portion was divided, one from the other, by the unimaginable heights of the Mountains of Soorn. Still, to this day, at the farthest reaches of the Outer Seas, these heights divide the Lands of Light from the Lands of Darkness.
The Age of the Dragons of the Dawn saw the foundation of the many lands of the Four Founding Lands of Esarlon – Saradon, Eschalia, Tabaron, and Venshan. In Saradon, the scaled children of the Lord of Light and the Fivefold King established two great draconic empires, respectively, upon the western and eastern portions of the Lands of Light. The children of the Two Brothers joined together to sing, again, the Music of the Spheres, and bore the Third Clutch, the gods of the other races of mortals, known as the dragonchildren. In turn, the Third Generation took up the strains of the First Song and created the various races of the Songbearers – the wise elves, the courageous orcs, the ingenious gnomes, the diverse races of men, the clever kitsune, the just litorians, and many others.
The Age of the Dragons of the Dawn came to a close as the dragons ceded the rule of the Lands of Light to the younger Songbearer races in order to commence the Great Journey to rejoin the First Mother in the Highest and Purest Heaven. In their wake, the realms of the dragons divided into many domains – the kitsune departed the eastern lands for the Jimonzo-Mayaburian Isles, the orcs withdrew to the Steppes of Khazayburkhan, the elves withdrew to the Peninsula of Thiseas and the Islands of Ethfimios, and many others established their own homelands, no longer brought together by the rule of the draconic children of the Second Clutch.
For a long age, the Lands of Light were at peace.
First among the powers of the Lands of Light were the kingdoms of the elves and the realm of the titans. These grew to a formidable strength, and began to subjugate their fellows. In time, the elves and titans came to strive against each other, and their empires were both destroyed in the wake of the Elf-Titan War. The island homeland of the elven capital -Achitheira- was submerged in a magical cataclysm wrought by the greatest of the titan sorcerers, and the titans were cursed with a mishappen form and twisted soul by the greatest of the elven arch mages.
No longer the fairest of creation, the titans wandered within the deep earth, and eventually found their way to the Lands of Darkness, where they joined their hate and anger with those of the other children of the Dark Symphony.
In the wake of the decline of the elven and titan civilizations, the human mages of Arkantos, many of whom it is said had elven blood from the archmages of Achitheira, established a great empire that would rule the Lands of Light for a long age. The capital of Arkantos was the fabled city of Spiritheria, City of Topless Spires, and it lay within the innermost regions of the blighted wasteland now known as the Graven Steppes.
Just as in the Lands of Light, the Lands of Darkness were, in the First Age, ruled by the draconic children of the Second Clutch of the Dark Symphony. The Second Clutch of the Mother of Midnight, like those of the Two Brothers, in turn raised their own wordless strain and created godling slaves – the divine progenitors of the goblin peoples – the goblins, the bugbears, the hobgoblins, and others. For a long age, the dragons and their scaled children brutally ruled other peoples of the Lands of Darkness. They were the Scaled Tyrants, and their yoke was heavy upon their servants. For uncounted years, the goblins and their brother races toiled in agony to raise numberless monuments to the greatness of Nereza and her First Children among the Scaled Tyrants.
In the midst of this darkness, the deformed titans, the first of the ogres, emigrated from the Lands of Light, and found the Lands of Darkness. Joining the slaves of the Scaled Tyrants, they still retained old knowledge from their previous rule in the Lands of Light, and the ogre mages instructed the goblin warlocks in the spells by which they might throw off the Curse of Servitude which bound their peoples to the rule of the dragons. In the Great Revolt, the hero-god Torgash led the Third Clutch of Nereza against the Second Clutch, and thereby overthrew the rule of the Scaled Tyrants, who were then imprisoned beneath the titanic monuments of the Lands of Darkness. The kobolds and other children of the dragons were driven into the wastes and beneath the earth, and the goblins established a mighty empire which ruled virtually the entirety of the Lands of Darkness.
Even the Mother of Midnight, the Dark Queen Nereza, was laid low, her undead shade cast into the Outer Abyss beyond even the 666,666 Pits of the Inferno. But the great generals of the goblin lords were not satisfied. The reports of the ogre magi told them of bright lands of richness and health, and so they slowly began to dig the World Maw, a great tunnel by which they would pass from the Lands of Darkness to the Lands of Light. Their great beasts dug at the roots of the world for millennia until, on one dark day, they emerged from the midst of the topless towers of Spiritheria, capital of the magical realm of Arkantos. The realm of the Empermancers was quickly overthrown, and the once boundless riches of the imperial heartland devastated by the goblin war machine. The forces of the goblin generals seized all the western lands of Saradon, and were only held back by elemental fortifications quickly established by the orc emperor of the Ageless Empire of Aangang.
In the Age of Agony, for so was this time of darkness named, the majority of the Songbearer races suffered the oppression of the goblins and their allies, and prayed fervently for the departed dragons and dragon gods of the Second Clutch to deliver them from their ceaseless misery.
In time, the dragons and dragon gods of the Second Clutch returned from the Great Journey and, together with the beleaguered Gods of Light, dispatched saviors to the races of the Songbearers. After a long age, the hero children Sorin and Mystralia was born to slaves of the goblins, and led the forces of the Songbearers against the forces of darkness, driving them back into the depths of the World Maw, and closing the gap with the Great Seal.
However, in the wake of their victory the heroic pair fell into strife. Mystralia devoted herself to the veneration of the First Clutch and their returned children, while Sorin preached a new revelation – all gods were in fact representations of the One God, the First Song. The generals of Sorin established the realm of Palinsar and the apprentices of Mystralia established the sorcerous realm of Myrasthal. The two realms divided western Saradon amongst their powers, and guarded, together, the ruins of Spiritheria and the Great Seal. The emissaries of Palinsar were dispatched to the far corners of Saradon, where they established many new realms among the former colonies of Arkantos. However, most of the non-human races resisted the revelation of Sorin, and a new mistrust emerged between his followers and the polytheists of the other Songbearer races, as well as the dragon disciples of the sorcerers of Myrasthal.
However, the forces of darkness were only temporarily defeated. With the retreat of the goblin generals from their occupation of the Lands of Light, their hold over the Lands of Darkness was also imperiled. The cults of the Second Clutch arose, awoke their sleeping masters, and the Dark Queen herself was called forth to new life from the Outer Abyss. The dragon lords of the Dark Symphony, the Scaled Tyrants of the ancient Age of the Dragons of Dusk when the reptilian races ruled the Lands of Darkness, revived the ancient legions of the First Clutch and prepared to launch a final war against the enemies of the Midnight Queen.
And so the Scaled Tyrants and their legions ascended the World Maw and broke the Great Seal – the forces of the magi of Myrasthal and the paladins of Palinsar fought valiantly in the ruins of Spiritheria to hold the Great Seal, but their sacrifice was for naught. The seemingly endless legions of the Dark Symphony poured forth once again from the Great Seal and quickly overwhelmed the Graven Steppes.
The border lands of Palinsar formed the Crusader States of Celothia, Herment, Jehannette, Rykeld, Mighel, Seraphinus and Perchavel to hold the line against the legions of darkness, and a new age of conflict began between the forces of the Dark Queen and the Two Brothers.
The tide of conflict shifted over the course of several hundred years, but in the Battle of the Vorson Plateau, the Dark Symphony overcame the gods of the Celestial Orchestra, as well as many representatives of the Elemental Bureaucracy, and banished them from the lands of Esarlon. Since that day, the Songbearers of Western Saradon have slowly lost the war against the forces of the Dark Symphony – and now the legions of darkness are on the verge of breaking the Crusader States and pouring forth to dominate the entirety of the Lands of Light.
At this time, perhaps the greatest conflict in the battle is found in the Siege of Eboncross, great port of the Crusader State of Celothia. It is here, friends, that we begin our tale….
The City of Eboncross was founded by the barghest shadow mage Lassolk Iltur during the Age of Agony, when the goblin generals of the Third Clutch led their forces forth from the World Maw to conquer the Lands of Light, destroying the ancient magical empire of Arkantos. During this period, Eboncross served as one of the primary ports of Western Saradon, the continent of Esarlon where the invasion of the forces of the Dark Symphony commenced through the World Maw. The city is built on the western and eastern banks of the wide waters of the Hudter River. In the midst of the Hudter River is the Isle of Waljour, which contains the central district of Eboncross. The eastern portion consists of the remains of the city founded by Lassolk Iltur, and its haphazard street design reflects the influence of goblin city-planners, who designed the district to be a dense warren that was both difficult to navigate by attackers and easy to defend from their opponents among the crusaders of the Songbearer races. The western district of Eboncross is built of the ruins of the ancient city of Iyrirora, a center of magic learning in the former Kingdom of Vrulidor, a successor realm of the fabled Empermancers of Arkantos that survived for some period during the Age of Agony, resisting the forces of the goblin generals. Up until the beginning of the Age of Discordance, when the Dark Symphony conquered the gods of the Celestial Orchestra, Eboncross was a major city of the Crusader Kingdom of the Celothia Dynasty -- in the last years of the Age of Glory, during the decline of Celothia and the other Crusader States of the Graven Steppes in the face of assault by the forces of darkness streaming from the World Maw, Eboncross became partially independent along with the realm of its hereditary ruler, the Baron of Surea. And so it has remained the second great city of the Barony of Surea besides its capital at Vam-Osatin, which is located further in the hinterlands.
However, Eboncross has come under assault by the forces of the blue dragons known as the Azure Tyrants, servants of Amon-Xysyn, Goddess of the Ostracized and Negther-Nurdar, God of the Abyss, two prominent dragon deities of the Second Clutch of the Dark Symphony. The Azure Tyrant Zakorth-Imentairth the Sky Shearer, a vampire and priest of Amon-Xysyn and Negther-Nurdar, has gathered a vast host of goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, giants, kobolds, lizardfolk, troglodytes, and many others and laid siege to the great city. Already, the eastern districts of Eboncross have fallen to the attackers, and the forces of the Legion of Ash, the name given to the army of Zakorth-Imentarith, have occupied the eastern shores of the Hudter River. The seemingly endless pinpoints of their bonfires threaten the western districts of the imperiled city day and night. The valiant defenders have destroyed the bridge that once united the Isle of Waljour with the eastern districts, but it is feared that the forces of the Legion of Ash will soon build enough battle barges to renew their assault on the western districts of Eboncross.
Emissaries of all the Songbearer races have been summoned by the plaintive missives of Knight-Commander Batsuen of the White-Fire, Lord Commander of the Legion of the Dawn, an ancient order of templars dedicated to Telara-Niara, Dragon Goddess of Beauty, the Dawn, and the Flute. This ancient knightly sodality defends the city in an uneasy alliance with the crusaders of the Exalted Choir, one of the many legions of old Palinsar, representatives of the monotheistic faith of Sorin the Savior, the founder of the Church of the Exalted Incantation, which proclaims that all gods are representatives of the One Song. Duke Casthros of Surea, the hereditary ruler of the region, prepares the defense of Van-Osatin, which lies further north along the Hudter River. It will surely soon come under attack if Eboncross falls to the forces of the Legion of Ash.
Checking in, haven't read everything yet, but looking forward to it
I've read everything here, and some of the FUDGE site, but it's going to take me quite some time to write up a proper character.
Are we starting in Eboncross? I'd like to know a bit more about the quest we'll be on as I start to make a character. I feel like the backstory and character description is higher stakes than in most game, as it'll be more important than usual to game play. I want to make sure that I make a character that's properly motivated for what we'll be doing; I'll have more fun that way.
Under 1. Abilities - are you using the words attributes and abilities synonymously? If so, as I read it, if I take 13 abilities, they all start at 0/"fair". For each one I increase by 1 point, I need to decrease another by one point. Is that correct? So we're basically choosing a number of abilities, some to be better at, and some to be worse at?
And the same would go for skills?
I was strangely excited to see Michael Whelan on your list, he's been my favorite fantasy artist for decades. I'll go out of my way to read a book if he's done the cover for it. I've also enjoyed all the books on your list, though I haven't read Redwall.
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I explore my character ideas...
Are we starting in Eboncross? I'd like to know a bit more about the quest we'll be on as I start to make a character. I feel like the backstory and character description is higher stakes than in most game, as it'll be more important than usual to game play. I want to make sure that I make a character that's properly motivated for what we'll be doing; I'll have more fun that way.
Under 1. Abilities - are you using the words attributes and abilities synonymously? If so, as I read it, if I take 13 abilities, they all start at 0/"fair". For each one I increase by 1 point, I need to decrease another by one point. Is that correct? So we're basically choosing a number of abilities, some to be better at, and some to be worse at?
And the same would go for skills?
I was strangely excited to see Michael Whelan on your list, he's been my favorite fantasy artist for decades. I'll go out of my way to read a book if he's done the cover for it. I've also enjoyed all the books on your list, though I haven't read Redwall.
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I explore my character ideas...
Yes, you're gathered at Eboncross to break the siege of the Legion of Ash. You can be from across the continent -- all the major powers are sending representatives to advise and aid.
For abilities -- if you have 13, they all start at 0 and you have an additional 13 points to customize among all those stats. So you could have 3 at 3, and 3 and 2, and 8 at 0, for example.
Same thing for skills.
Ah, that makes way more sense, thanks.
Another question is tone of the game. The lore feels very lofty and serious. Shall we take our cue from that?
Yeah, its sort of quasi biblical high fantasy with a small amount of humor like the lotr films.
Would it make sense for the Kitsune to be there? Sounds like they're on an island, not the continent? I've never played in a game that allowed kitsune, and would be interested in exploring them.
Do our special abilities have to come from our Supernormal powers, or can they be wholly separate?
Also, is the 'about 100' Supernormal powers a hard limit, or can we potentially have more?
Do our special abilities have to come from our Supernormal powers, or can they be wholly separate?
Also, is the 'about 100' Supernormal powers a hard limit, or can we potentially have more?
Its not a hard number, it's just a rough minimum to give you an idea what to work with.
In Fudge -- if you look at the rules, the 'supernormal powers' basically cover racial abilities, feats, and class abilities. What are you thinking about?
Would it make sense for the Kitsune to be there? Sounds like they're on an island, not the continent? I've never played in a game that allowed kitsune, and would be interested in exploring them.
There are Kitsune in the Japanese/Southeast Asian island areas, along with other animorphs. I can give you some more info on that area. Maybe I'll go ahead and set up a campaign page and discord so I can show you maps and stuff.
There are Kitsune in the Japanese/Southeast Asian island areas, along with other animorphs. I can give you some more info on that area. Maybe I'll go ahead and set up a campaign page and discord so I can show you maps and stuff.
That would be helpful, so we don't have to keep digging this page out of the recruitment thread.
That would be helpful, so we don't have to keep digging this page out of the recruitment thread.There are Kitsune in the Japanese/Southeast Asian island areas, along with other animorphs. I can give you some more info on that area. Maybe I'll go ahead and set up a campaign page and discord so I can show you maps and stuff.
I'll start working on it this weekend.
If it makes sense in the game world, I'm leaning towards a Kitsune bard-type character. She's had hardship, and is more serious than her most of her species typically is, but not adverse to the occasional bit of mischief. I'm starting to slowly put together her crunch.
Do you have a format you'd prefer it in? I'll work on it on paper until I'm mostly there, then I assume just type it up in the profile page unless there's a better place for it.
EDIT: Did you mean to write 100 -200 for skills? There are only ~70 in that list.
If it makes sense in the game world, I'm leaning towards a Kitsune bard-type character. She's had hardship, and is more serious than her most of her species typically is, but not adverse to the occasional bit of mischief. I'm starting to slowly put together her crunch.
Do you have a format you'd prefer it in? I'll work on it on paper until I'm mostly there, then I assume just type it up in the profile page unless there's a better place for it.
EDIT: Did you mean to write 100 -200 for skills? There are only ~70 in that list.
I have a longer list -- I pasted the wrong thing. I'll update that on the campaign page when I have time to put it together this weekend.
I also found this online. https://fudgesrd.opengamingnetwork.com/fantasy-fudge-2/character-creation/s kill-descriptions/
Here's some more fluff:
This is the main continent -- the 'snout' of the dragon contains the Graven Steppes and, bordering on the east, the Crusader States. The graven steppes are the former territories of Palinsar and Mystralia, and are now overrun by the forces of the Dark Symphony. The crusader states are the remnants of the former western border of Palinsar (Palinsar and Mystralia split the territory in the 'snout' roughly in half around the Great Seal, with the former to the west, and the latter to the east, at the tip of the snout.
The west of the crusader states is 'Central Saradon', which contains many realms. These are built on the legacy of the elven and titan empires. They include
Empire of Karsten (full metal alchemist-esque 2nd reich German Empire ruled by an emperor who is advised by several artistic councils of magicians that manifest their arts through various sciences -- alchemy, music, etc. the emperor is considered the great maestro and man of science. It is undercut by a secret society which worships Nereza as the Black Sun and the True God; they have a quasi-Protestant sect of the Exalted Incantation which split from the main body of the religion in Gael Dumont -- these groups are based around individual prophets who are regional and deliver new scriptures to their followers (basically a mix of mormonism and some of the radical protestant sects of the holy roman empire region).
Gael Dumont -- based on Napoleonic france and the ancien regime of Louis XIV. They draw extensively from elven influence, and there is still a large elven population in their woodlands. The Exalted Incantation fractured into multiple sects after it converted the former polytheistic state. They each have a separate primarch and holy see -- one venerates a trinitarian concept of the brother of light, the master of the elements, and the mother of songs, and the other has a fourfold concept that includes a dragon god of color and the mind (basically, a psionic, gem-dragon deity, in addition to the existing metalic and oriental dragon gods). These two religions exist side by side, and there is also a civil war between an emperor of the republic and the high king of the empire -- each controlling different regions of the country. The religious conflict does not completely align with the political one, though there are tendencies on both sides. The elves are most closely aligned with the High King. This strife has made the realm weak and they are being invaded by Karsten and the island realm of Georgiana.
Georgiana and Gloriana -- these two island realms are based, loosely, on regency period england and tudor period england. Georgiana is a industrial power that has an enormous fleet that is hundred times larger than any other power, combined. Only the submersible fleet of Karsten can compete with them. They are otherwise an agricultural, agrarian society ruled by nobles that has several super cities that contain the offices of state. They are ruled by a queen who, historically, had little power, but has coopted the 3 chambers of the parliament by making herself the speaker, the head of the senate, and a the chief justice, as well as the high cardinal of their state religion -- which is based around the brother of light and a dragon goddess who is his daughter.
Gloriana is Tudor England -- there is a civil war between eight different queens who were the daughters of the late king, and their dragon-riding legions. Georgiana may try to take advantage of this situation to unify their islands, which lie to the north of Georgiana, in the future.
The Republic of Tarquinius -- this is the elf successor state of the high elven empire, and has a roman culture. They have griffin riding legions.
The Pandoric League -- these dark elves have a greek culture and are another successor state of the elven empire, closer to the original, atlantean culture of that civilization. They have hydra and gorgon-riding cavalry.
The Jade, Malachite, and Jasper Coasts -- these regions, one of which lies on the south of the continent, and 2 which are on the northern side, towards the 'back', are made up of city-states and independent principalities that exist on the bones of the ancient elven empire. Some are pirate and slaver city-states. Nearby countries conspire itermittently to exert control over them.
The Dwarven realm lies in the north, between central saradon and the 'wings' -- Mirzaii. It has a blend of persian and arabian culture, and a strong affiliation with fire. They are also prominent as mercenaries, as are the gnomes
The Kantons of Gironnas are the gnome realm -- they are located high in the mountains above Gael Dumont and Karsten. They have a swiss, clockwork culture and ingenious flying machines and warforged.
The halflings occupy a border territory on the western side of central Saradon that includes a group of 'townfolk' that are similar to 1700-1800 American settlers, and a horse-archer population that are similar to the Comanche and other great planes nations. This region was the former Titan empire.
The elemental barrier -- created by manifest zones of pure elemental substance generated by mile-tall orichalum towers, divides central saradon from the orc empire, which exists in a series of river valleys in the 'tail' of the dragon, and the isles of the kitsune, which are influenced by Japan and south asia, and like off the eastern side of the map, off to the right beyond the end of the tail.
The traditional Kitsune gods were the mother goddess of the sun Amerasu, who was also the patron of the imperial house. The sun goddess was associated with this instrument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xun_(instrument). The rest of the pantheon were basically Japan X as a pantheon -- a drummer god, an 'electric guitar' god, a composer god etc. However, with their banishment/imprisonment, the society has changed to basically venerating millions of 'small gods' of different brooks, mountains etc., as well as 'inevitables' -- the lingering spirits of great warriors. The current two emperors claim to still be representatives of the Sun Goddess, but in reality their power comes from different sources.
Kitsune -- the isles of the Kitsune lie off the coast of the peninsula that contains the orc empire. There are two separate kitsune cultures, each with a rival emperor. The northern one is ruled by a false emperor who is a figurehead for warlords. The false emperor is really empowered by the forces of the Dark Symphony. The southern kingdom is ruled directly by the true emperor, who is a child of the sun goddess.
Oh, and here's the longer list of skills. You might also look at something like Rolemaster or another d100 system for inspiration.
Thanks for the info dump! Some questions(mechanical & fluff):
1) For attributes & skills, if drop a given trait into the negative, would that give us an extra 'bonus' level similar to how if you drop an ability score in standard PF using point buy, you get extra points? Ie, if I have 20 attributes, I get 20 levels to spend. If I drop say 5 of them down to mediocre, would that give me 5 extra attribute levels to spend elsewhere?
2) Can you give more info about Gloriana, The Republic of Tarquinius, and The Pandoric League?
3) Are the The Jade, Malachite, and Jasper Coasts also Elven successor states? I can't tell. Would like more info on them either way.
4) Is Gael Dumont the current Elven capital(assuming they have one)? If not what is?
5) Is there a deity of the moon?
6) Finally, can you give me more info on the ancient elven and titan empires that are no more?
(1) yes, but this isn't such a finely tuned system that it's going to be worth a lot of theory crafting. A lot of things are just going to be simple checks, and I'll just top using the attribute someone bumped up to 20 by fiat if that messes up the light system. Like use intelligence instead of perception for "look for things" rolls.
(2) Georgiana is like regency period England (that's the Napoleonic Wars during the time when George III was ill and his son George the II was the regent (i.e., Regency); it's associated with Jane Austen, Georgian architecture, such as the circle at Bath, and the gothic and romantic movements.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_era#Regent's_Park_and_Londo n_Zoo.
Gloriana was the name for Elizabeth I in her personality cult persona as the virgin queen of England, and that's the era that's evoked by that name. The warring queens are each trying to take on the mantle of their mother, and its a mix of that culture with the dragon riding elite of the Vallyrians of GoT. Like the Dance of Dragons, this kingdom is a mix of War of the Roses high chivalry and Tudor England with GoT backstabbing among the different queens. There are also witch academies, knightly orders. There's another island kingdom called Valiant in this area which is Arthuriana proper -- but Gloriana has some of those influences, but in a later historical period -- Tudor England, as opposed to the high middle ages.
The Republic of Tarquinius -- this is the roman republic of the Carthaginian Wars, but with Elves. There's a senate and intermittent 'dictators' -- who are significant war leaders. There's a griffin calvary and legions of soldiers with gladius swords and tower shields. They're an expansionist alliance of city-states that are founded on the ancient elven empire in the same way that Rome looked back to their mythic historical origin in Troy. They are attempting to revive their fortunes by embracing this legacy. They are at war with the elven populations of Gale Dumont, who are more druidic and celtic in cultural flavor, and who they see as properly their subjects, but having 'strayed from the fold'.
The Pandoric League are dark elves based on a combination of Sparta and Athens during the Peloponnesian War -- they have hoplites, but they also have a democratic council. They also have guilds of philosophers and inventors that, like the Republic, are trying to revive the traditions of the ancient Elven Empire. They will probably come into conflict with the Republic, and are already in a cold war with them over control of some island territories. They sit next to one another, geographically. They are supply covert aid to the elven tribes of Gael Dumont.
The Jade, Malachite, and Jasper Coasts are on top of former elven lands, but they're not successor states in the same fashion. The Republic and League were actually founded by survivors of the Elven Empire.
Gale Dumont is a human kingdom -- there are tribes of elves on the borderlands between this realm and the Republic, but they're not a part of the government. If there is an elven capital, it's the capital of the Republic -- that's the largest elven nation, with the most political influence in this period.
There are several different moon deities, as there are a number of different moons.
The elven empire and titan empires were both based on pulp concepts of Atlantis and Mu -- magitech flying machines, ancient psionic and energy technology, portals to other dimensions.
Would everyone be interested in setting up a Discord to organize this game? I'd be able to directly answer questions and share more visual material about the setting.
Hey Everyone! Im very interested in joining in. I've played quite a few systems but I've only been doing PBP a few years. Hey Angie (I've played alongside Angie, GM'd and been GM'd by her). I like the idea of playing a human Monk with a cross between 'The 39th Chamber of Shaolin'/'Last Airbender'/'Iron Fist'. I'm going through your world building in the next few days, Sebecloki, to match flavour.
Never tried FUDGE - gonna be a bell curve.
Good to meet the rest of you.
Hey Everyone! Im very interested in joining in. I've played quite a few systems but I've only been doing PBP a few years. Hey Angie (I've played alongside Angie, GM'd and been GM'd by her). I like the idea of playing a human Monk with a cross between 'The 39th Chamber of Shaolin'/'Last Airbender'/'Iron Fist'. I'm going through your world building in the next few days, Sebecloki, to match flavour.
Never tried FUDGE - gonna be a bell curve.
Good to meet the rest of you.
There's definitely a place for that -- the orcs rule a three kingdoms era type empire, but they started out as a mongol/turkic horse archer people that conquered a urban river valley realm made up of humans and haflings -- I can give you more info on that history.
Hey Everyone! Im very interested in joining in. I've played quite a few systems but I've only been doing PBP a few years. Hey Angie (I've played alongside Angie, GM'd and been GM'd by her). I like the idea of playing a human Monk with a cross between 'The 39th Chamber of Shaolin'/'Last Airbender'/'Iron Fist'. I'm going through your world building in the next few days, Sebecloki, to match flavour.
Never tried FUDGE - gonna be a bell curve.
Good to meet the rest of you.
Welcome!! I'm excited we have some others interested in this! Is Angie still planning on playing?? She hasn't posted in some time(the 28th).
Overall, the fudge system isn't that complicated, a lot less so if you've ever played any White-Wolf games(as they seem similar, at least to me).
The main gist is there's 7 total 'ranks' one has in a given stat, and that determines how good or bad you are at it. For example, your monk is probably at least Good at/in most(if not all) of the physical stats.
@Seb, A discord would be most helpful, but I would prefer if the game itself was run here on Paizo. I like discord for organization, and discussion, but I find Paizo to be just a bit better for the actual game.
Hello! I'm still in, just slowly ruminating on my character.
Welcome!! I'm excited we have some others interested in this! Is Angie still planning on playing?? She hasn't posted in some time(the 28th).
Thanks Monkeygod! Good to meet you!
I hope people are still interested in this, I'm fairly excited, but I've suffered a rather irritating problem with my laptop over the last week or so: My n key doesn't really work, so I need to copy/paste in order to type anything with the letter n in it. Suffice to say, it's kinda messed up my ability to work on any PCs. Hoping to resolve it soon.
I just came across this, may be interested. What sort of posting rate is this game looking for?
I hope people are still interested in this, I'm fairly excited, but I've suffered a rather irritating problem with my laptop over the last week or so: My n key doesn't really work, so I need to copy/paste in order to type anything with the letter n in it. Suffice to say, it's kinda messed up my ability to work on any PCs. Hoping to resolve it soon.
I had that happen on a keyboard during clinical at nursing school -- I finally got into the system (another issue getting it set up), and I tried to sign onto a computer to do charting, and the one key that didn't work on the keyboard was one I needed for my password. It was a fun day.
Also, some questions for Sebecloki
Thanks :)
Also, some questions for Sebecloki
Are dragons of most varieties currently present in the world? Are all dragons considered (un)holy? For instance how do the people of Gloriana view their dragon mounts?
Is travel to/from the Heavens and Elemental Strongholds possible for individuals of the PCs’ stature, or even at all? Or have these realms been effectively completely sealed off from Esarlon by the Dark Symphony? Thanks :)
I think we should aim for 1/week long posts if everyone feels they can keep interest at that rate. The posts would be more like POV snippets from a GOT novel than a typical post, and there would be more player agency to move the story along and a "yes, and" approach to story telling. Does everyone feel like that would work?
Dragons of all varieties are present -- the good ones are considered to be agents of good, the evil, evil, and the neutral gem dragons and elemental eastern dragons, neutral.
Gloriana mostly has metallic dragon mounts, but at least one of the queens is evil and has a blue dragon or blue/copper hybrid as her mount.
It's theoretically possible to travel through portals from Esarlon to the 7,777,777 summits of paradise, the 666,666 pits of the inferno, or the 231 billion departments of the elemental bureaucracy -- I'm not really sure that will come up in game much. The summits are sort of empty since the good gods have almost all been sealed away/put to sleep by the evil gods, and they're just mountains on infinite size with lots of dragon-angels and similar beings -- there's not necc. an obvious adventure hook there, and the places are so unimaginably huge -- in terms of 3x planar mechanics, each of the seven million summits is a plane of infinite size, that I'm not really sure how that would look as a real adventure. The pits of the inferno are the same -- I suppose there's an element of demonic warfare in those between Nereza and her children and the original inhabitants of the inferno, which are a species from the previous version/cycle/incarnation of the universe, but that too, involves lots of impossibly huge demonic cities and journeys over wastelands larger than entire prime material worlds.
What exactly are you imagining with the idea of planar travel?
An initial thought was some sort of Hermes-esque messenger/courier between the mortal world and the Heavens, but sounds like that wouldn’t really be a thing. No worries - if there’s one thing I’m not short on, it’s character ideas.
Currently bouncing around ideas for an orc champion descended from a li lung, and a shape-changing druid/witch type raised by a coven of hags/titans. Will post more once I’ve narrowed down the key concepts for each of them.
Currently bouncing around ideas for an orc champion descended from a li lung, and a shape-changing druid/witch type raised by a coven of hags/titans. Will post more once I’ve narrowed down the key concepts for each of them.
Oooo, I'm thinkin of goin with a powerful mage type(ie Morgan La Fay, Maleficent, or Iggwilv), who is the child of an elf and titan(prior to their warring). Perhaps we could belong to the same coven, or I could be your mentor. Maybe even we're related somehow.
My concepts have gelled into the below; given that characters should be “equivalent to about a 20th level PF character,” I’m assuming that by and large they’ll already be eminent individuals in their own spheres - big fish in small ponds, as it were.
@Monkeygod: Didn’t see your reply until I came to post this. If we both decide to go with our titan/hag related concepts I’m sure together we can work some sort of relation out :)
@Sebecloki & All: Constructive feedback will be welcomed!
I really like both of those concepts Goodwicki!! Though obviously, I like the hag shifter just a bit more, lol.
@Angie, Corey Are you too still around and interested??
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Angie here. I'm still in. I'm working on Chihiromi, a kitsune wandering bard/storyteller/historian. I've done a fair bit of work on her physical traits and backstory, and am working on her "stats". It looks like we're going to be fairly caster-heavy, so I think I'll have her lean towards monk-like skills, so she can be useful in combat as well.
I'm still working on mine. E'urus, the fool lybrarian for a Shao Lin-esque mountain temple. Still a ways to go.
@Sebecloki I'm enjoying making E'urus but he is a character concept from before I became interested in your campaign. As I reread your worldbuild I'm not sure he's in the same spirit. Also, I feel like he's a bit of a crossover with where Chihiromi is going - he's a monk with a little elemental channeling. Finally, I feel like it might be good to make someone who is more of a physical type.
I'm thinking now of a mercenary from Gael Dumont. A kind of rogue/fighter (with maybe just a little flavour of swashbuckler) type from an amoral Lanister-esque family. He showed a lot of promise, their new young exemplar who towed the family line.
Until he was killed on the battlefield and something brought him back. He hasn't gone back to his family. He's still working as a mercenary under a new name while he tries to figure out what's going on. He tries to be the scoundrel he was before but a voice keeps coming to him. A witch's voice? The voice of his saviour? A split personality?
It wants him to follow a more righteous path.
I believe I can build this new character faster than my previous - now that I have some practice.
Here's my 'word storm' for the half-orc / li lung champion
Rumbling - gravelly/basso profondo voice
Armed - adamantine greatsword, retractable claws, grievous bite
Armored - ornate, full suit + helm
Mighty- thick, muscular, long-limbed
Immovable - when in contact with the ground
Destructive - hew-in-twain; humanoid wrecking ball
Resilient- cannot be crushed
Animalistic - coarse fur, cat’s eyes, toothy maw, predator grace
Earthy Appetites - eats dirt, stone, metal, gems
Secrets of Subterranea - burrow through earth, see in darkness, excellent climber; tremorsense?
Strength of Simplicity - prefers simple, direct actions/solutions - the more complicated a thing, the easier it is to break
Oath is Bond - actions should match words
Grudgingly Duty-Bound - serves 2 masters (mortal and Elemental), neither to his liking
Currently I'm using the following ability scores, cribbed from the AD&D 2nd edition Player’s Option: Skills & Powers book: Stamina, Muscle, Aim, Balance, Health, Fitness, Reason, Knowledge, Intuition, Willpower, Leadership, and Appearance.
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There's no hurry -- I won't have time to start this for at least a month, take your time, I've been on these boards for years, and I'll be around.
I also have at least several weeks of prep to do. I've managed to get Foundry running on Forge for what I want to do and tested it with a few players to make sure everything loads.
This will be a unique audio-visual experience -- I have maps of all the continents that are hex maps that are far larger than anything ever published. (I'm talking millions and millions of hexes, like 30,000 hex x 30,000 hex maps with tens of millions of hexes) and hundreds of named cities. There will be a map of the Great Duchy of Surea you'll use to navigate from town to town.
I also have city maps that are on a similar scale -- the map of Eboncross is 45,000 x 145,000 pixels and has 90,000 buildings -- you'll be able to move your tokens around street by street as you explore. The entire world will exist in an incredible degree of verisimilitude -- you'll literally be able to go anywhere in hundreds of thousands of square miles, sort of like Daggerfall or the LOTRO MMO.
This will however, take me several weeks to upload--I have to split the maps into dozens of pieces and upload them as tiles, but I'm confident the result will be jawdropping when I'm done.
I think we should aim for 1/week long posts if everyone feels they can keep interest at that rate. The posts would be more like POV snippets from a GOT novel than a typical post, and there would be more player agency to move the story along and a "yes, and" approach to story telling. Does everyone feel like that would work?
I'm used to quick post daily and the idea of longer posts 1/w is exciting. I'm curious about how this works with resolving combat and I'm looking forward to finding out.
Do you have names for languages? Is there a dominant language? I've written down 'common'.
I have temporarily listed them like so:
Languages (read/write/speak)
Heraldric (fair/poor/poor) - latin-esque; a dead language
Gael Dumont (good/good/great) - primary language
Gironnas Gnome (poor/terrible/fair) - the family has done some trade with tKo Gironnas
Elven? (mediocre/mediocre/mediocre) - learned through church study
Common? (fair/fair/good) - learned as a youth and improved while soldiering
Goblin? (poor/terrible/mediocre) - learned recently while working as a mercenary in Eboncross
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Hey DM, could you please set up the gameplay tab? If this is showing up in my campaigns, it'll be a lot easier for me to remember to work on it. :)
Sebecloki If you ever come back around to this feel free drop me a PM to let me know :)