Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Windbit 04-01-07, 06:37 PM	Pandelphi (Ancient Greek for "Complete Mystery") Pandelphi: In this world the force that sustains existance, The Weird, can be manipulated using mysterious magic ore. The origin of this ore is a source of conflict in the world: some believe it is a gift from the gods, while others believe it is natural. It is uncertain if gods and spirits exist. Most people cannot use magic without the aid of magic ore. This ore was used for centuries to create a high magic civilization. One hundred years ago, however, a strange fog of dark energy called The Brume appeared and quickly covered almost all of the world. This fog causes strange things to happen: animals are mutated, the dead rise, and otherworldly monsters lurk in it. Only areas with a large amount of white ore buried underground are safe from The Brume. What is left of civilization has collapsed into a chaotic, low magic world. Because of the former dependence on magic, scientific progress is underdeveloped. The people of the isolated regions fight amongst each other survival, but several kingdoms have realized that the only real hope for the world is to drive away The Brume. The Weird and Magic: The Weird is a strange force that sustains all of existance. Magic is the manipulation of The Weird, and spells are classified based on what aspect of The Weird is manipulated by the spell. The types of magic are as follows: Gray: This Weird sustains the spirits of living things. It is highly morphic, and some individuals have the ability to use their own life force to cast spells. White: Light, goodness, and life are sustained by the positive energy of White Weird. Black: Darkness, evil, and undeath are sustained by the negative energy of Black Weird. Blue: Water and cold are sustained by Blue Weird. Red: Fire and heat are sustained by Red Weird. Green: Wind, electricity, and sponaneity are sustained by Green Weird. Yellow: Earth and stability are sustained by Yellow Weird. The Brume: The source of this unnatural fog is unknown. It simply appeared one day and slowly covered the majority of the world. It is filled with negative energy, and causes magical effects. It mutates life forms, creates undead, and is even host to otherworldly beings. Some of the strange inhabitants of The Brume actually seem to be made up of Brume themselves: for example, a mountain range that once was home to several types of normal dragons now is host to strange "brume dragons". The Brume cannot cover areas with large amounts of positive energy, usually in the form of white ore, or areas where normal fog could not exist, such as deserts.
GnomeNinja 04-01-07, 10:01 PM	Pandelphi is definitely the best choice there!
bakomusha 04-01-07, 11:36 PM	i 2nd that Pandelphi sounds cool, and it sounds like your also a final fantasy fan huh?
Windbit 04-01-07, 11:54 PM	I actually got the idea for fog hiding monsters from a Stephen King story called "The Mist". However, I do vaguely remember something about mist in what little of FFIX I've played. Ideas for the Use of Magic in Pandelphi -Magic is the manipulation of the forces sustaining existence, known as The Weird. -Magic is divided by color/element: White/Light, Black/Dark, Yellow/Earth, Red/Fire, Blue/Water, Green/Air, and Gray/Neutral. -Magic ore was once common, but now is hard to obtain. -Light ore repels the fog, while dark ore controls it. -Scrolls are very rare: the ink used to scribe a scroll is derived from ore of the element corresponding to the spell being scribed. -Holy symbols are made of magic ore and empowered by the Cleric's faith. Each element has different domains associated with it. -Magic ore can be used to create magic weapons. For example, a sword forged from light ore would have the holy trait. -A simple "magic cannon" can be created by firing ore from a cannon. The ore, when fired, shatters in an explosion of its element. -Most spells do not require material components in Pandelphi: Wizards study to be able to manipulate The Weird by changing their innate gray magic into other forms. However, even a sliver of magic ore corresponding to the type of spell being cast lessens the chance of spell failure. -There is no such thing as gray magic ore: gray magic is the life force naturally inherent in living things. Humans, animals, and plants could all possibly tap into gray magic. Living things that are not naturally gray have been magically altered somehow. -Clerics use their holy symbols to directly control the elements. -Sorcerors are individuals who were exposed to high levels of magic before birth. Unlike Clerics, who control The Weird through their faith and holy symbols, and Wizards, who have to study to learn how to manipulate their body's gray magic into becoming elemental, Sorcerors are born with the innate power to manipulate their body's gray magic not only to cast elemental spells, but to also manipulate the gray magic other living things as well. -Some individuals, such as Monks, have endured rigorous training to be able to tap into gray magic and use it to strengthen their bodies. Feel free to post your comments on these thoughts.
Windbit 04-03-07, 12:39 PM	Here are a few concepts for the races of Pandelphi. I want to use all-new races instead of the core ones. Races of Pandelphi Humans - A very inquisitive race, they concern themselves with learning more about the world. Because of this, they are the most widespread race and live in many different areas of the world. They are affected by The Brume most of all, and being forced to live in such small areas has made many of them irritable. Deeprunners - A race of anthropomorphic eels, the deeprunners live chiefly near underwater thermal events on the ocean floor. Though incredibly agile underwater, their long, gangly bodies are clumsy on land. Deeprunner magic-users are particularly adept at controlling electricity. Because they live underwater, they are largely unaffected by The Brume. Stonedelvers - This race of short star-nosed mole people inhabits the caves and mountains of the world. Because of the fact that their ancestors mined most of the magic ore before The Brume appeared, several mutations have occured due to exposure to magical energy. As a result, many stonedelvers are innate magic-users. Stonedelvers suffer not from the perils caused by The Brume, but from the lack of trade since its occurance. Woodwalkers - A mysterious race of deer people rumored to be the descendants of ancient druids. Woodwalkers are rare and live in temperate forests. Because of their rumored origin, many woodwalkers are met with scorn by religious peoples who shun nature-worship and the belief in animism. Woodwalkers are perhaps the race most affected by The Brume: most refuse to leave their forest homes, and their woodland communities suffer from The Brume's effects. Because generations of woodwalkers have been born in The Brume's negative energy, newer generations of woodwalkers are often born as fiendish woodwalkers. The existance of fiendish woodwalkers isn't yet common knowledge for the other races. Skyclimbers - Skyclimbers are a race feathered humanoids with wings on their back. Like the woodwalkers, they are thought to be descended from normal humans who were somehow transformed. They age at the same rate as humans, and most skyclimbers can only fly until they reach puberty, at which point their wings are insufficient to allow flight. Skyclimber magic users created magic items to aid flight, but ever since The Brume appeared most of these items have been lost. Skyclimbers in possession of a flight-providing item are often employed as messengers for areas forced into isolation by The Brume.
Windbit 04-03-07, 04:19 PM	I'm thinking about making the non-humanoid races the masters of their domain. That means that they have an unfair advantage against the other races in their natural habitat, but are disadvantaged everywhere else. For example, deeprunners have perfect maneuverability underwater and waterbreathing, but a severe penalty to dexterity and movement speed when out of water. Another example is that stonedelvers can burrow, possess both darkvision and tremorsense, and can detect the location of magic items in a 100 foot-radius. However, they have a slow movement speed, and their ability to detect the location of magic items is useless in The Brume. Would this be a good idea or not?
Windbit 04-04-07, 10:28 AM	Classes in Pandelphi Base Classes Non-magical Barbarian - Tribes of seafaring barbarians often pillage coastal communities, but those who have been forced out of their tribes for some reason often join adventuring parties. Bard - Bards travel across the land as entertainers. They can't cast spells and aren't very good fighters, but they are very knowledgable in many subjects and have a few unique abilities. Bards don't often join adventuring parties, but those that do have their reasons. Brawler - Those who believe their own bodies can be more lethal in a fight than a sword become brawlers. Brawlers are often free spirits who don't dedicate themselves to a cause, but some decide to join adventuring parties to hone their fighting skills. Fighter - A warrior who has proven himself particularly skilled, such as a town guard who slays a fearsome beast spawned by The Fog, is often hired by a local lord as a fighter. Fighters are provided with basic equipment and a home by their lord in exchange for their services. They go adventuring because their lord ordered them to, and many have a sense of loyalty to their benefactor. Ranger - Now that most of the wilderness is shrouded in The Brume, rangers have become more valuable than ever. Like fighters, rangers are often employed by local lords as guides through The Brume. Unlike fighters, who due a lord's dirty work, rangers are specialized for venturing out into The Brume. They have an uncanny sense of direction and know the lay of the land from studying old maps and their own personal experience. Rogue - Although many rogues are common thieves, some are recruited into adventuring parties. Their unique knowledge comes in handy when an adventuring party has to explore an old dungeon that has been hidden for a century in The Brume. Many rogues join adventuring parties for the treasure and the promise of an easier life. Magic-Users Cleric - The true believers of a religion have the ability to use a holy symbol made from white ore. Their faith allows them to channel their body's Gray Weird through the symbol and convert it into magic that manipulates White Weird. Clerics seek to obey their god, and will follow the commands of the church. They are distrusting of other spellcasters: they view druids as pagan nature worshippers, sorcerors and wizards as secular atheists, and warlocks as demon worshippers. Clerics only join an adventuring party if they are commanded to. Otherwise they serve their communities using their "divine" magic. Druid - Once common, druidism has almost been forced to extinction by organized religion. Now mostly woodwalkers and isolated groups practice it. Druids are similar to clerics in that they channel their love of nature through ore to use magic. However, druids use more than white magic and so have to have red, blue, yellow, and green ore. Druids detest The Brume for polluting the wilderness, and join adventure parties hoping to find a way to rid the world of it forever. Sorcerer - Sorcerers are unique for two reasons: First, they have an innate talent for spellcasting. Second, they also have the ability to manipulate the Gray Weird inherent in most living things through concentration instead of faith. Most sorcerers are used to using magic to make their way through life and don't like to put too much effort into anything, so they often detest studying of any kind. As a consequence, they never figure-out more advanced spells. However, their mastery of Gray Weird does give them access to abilities similar to a monk's. Sorcerers often view magic as a natural part of the world and don't have much faith in religion. Ironically, sorcerors are often the children of clerics, as well as other magic users. The practice of sorcery is discouraged by many religions since they feel that sorcerers trust themselves more than the gods. Many sorcerers raised in religious families and discouraged from using their powers become rebellious. Sorcerers join adventuring parties just for the thrill of it, and many jump at the chance to showcase their powers. Warlock - Warlocks are the anti-clerics: they channel Gray Weird through a symbol made of black ore to cast simple blasts of magic. Like sorcerers and wizards, most warlocks simply view magic as a part of the world that they can manipulate as a tool. Ever since the appearance of The Brume, the number of warlocks has increased: the negative energy in The Brume causes the birth of fiendish creatures, and many warlocks are fiendish themselves. Instead of faith, they use their own selfishness to channel their Gray Weird through their "unholy" symbol. They can cast red, blue, yellow, and green magic in addition to black magic, but only simple invocations. Most warlocks only care about themselves, and the ones that join adventuring parties seek fortune and rare magic items. Wizard - These spellcasters are intrigued by magic, and spend lots of time studying spellcasting to make up for their lack of talent. Wizards cannot cast spells through force of will like sorcerers, and they can't just channel their Gray Weird through symbols like clerics and warlocks. Instead, they must procure magic ore as material components for spells. They prepare their spells in advance, and when they want to use one they must use up an adequate amount of the required ore to cast it. Because of the vast amount of time they spend sitting and studying, many wizards become overweight. Wizards are diligent and patient, the polar opposite of sorcerers. Nonetheless, many people dislike wizards because their spellcasting destroys magic ore. In kingdoms where magic ore is especially scarce, the practice of wizardry is illegal. Wizards join adventuring groups to further their knowledge and obtain more magic ore. Prestige Classes Non-magical Monk Dragoon Magic-Users Brume Summoner
77IM 04-04-07, 10:42 AM	Would this be a good idea or not? Not if you want them to be viable PC races. Under this proposal, a PC stonedelver in an underground adventure is going to totally outshine the rest of the party, but in an above-ground adventure is going to sit on the sidelines feeling useless. It is possible to make a system like this work, but you need to make sure the discrepancies between the racial abilities in the environment and out of it, are small enough so that PCs don't suffer a wild power swing between adventures. BTW this is a really awesome setting idea. However I don't find the term "fog" particularly inspiring or scary -- it seems too mundane. I looked it up on the thesaurus and my favorite synonyms are "brume" (a rare word for fog) and "miasma" (toxic fumes). I'm curious about what human civilization is up to. I'm intrigued by the idea that the "glorious ancient civilization" collapsed only 100 years ago so a lot of their toys should still be lying around. I also like the "survival-horror" aspect of pockets of civilization surrounded by the fog of evil. -- 77IM, likes "quotes"
Windbit 04-04-07, 12:19 PM	Well, I'm about to go to work, so I should have plenty of time for brainstorming the history of Pandelphi. Also, thanks for the suggestions for another name. Brume is an interesting word. Once concept I'm toying with is the progress of technology and science as a replacement for magic. For example, a village surrounded by Brume could be hit with an epidemic of some sort of disease, and without a cleric to cure them the local doctor would be forced to try and save his town or be killed by enraged townspeople. An adventuring party with a cleric that happens on this town could heal them and be praised as heroes, but the town doctor may resent all his research into finding a cure being wasted. BTW, I'm having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how Pandelphi's magic should work. I'd rather there not be a lot of magic-using classes, so I was thinking about getting rid of the bard and the rangers' spellcasting abilitiy and replacing sorcerors and wizards with mages who have an innate ability to use magic and another class who relies on the use of magic ore. However, I would have to come up with some new abilities for the bard and ranger to replace their magic use, as well as make a new magic-using class and merge sorcerors and wizards into a single class.
Windbit 04-05-07, 10:30 AM	Magic ore is very important in Pandelphi. Like oil in our world, wars were fought over areas with large amounts of it. Stonedelver nations who limited the output of magic ore were often attacked mericelessly. Magic ore holds the potential for using any spell of the correct element, provided the sample is large enough and the user knows what they are doing. The civilizations of the world used this ore for contructing their cities, as well as defending them. When The Brume appeared, it quickly covered most of the land. The great cities had to be quickly evacuated, and most of their great treasures still lay hidden in the mists. The magic weapons the refugees had were disassembled to make use of the magic ore making them up to build new cities. White ore, which is used for holy magic, has the ability to repel The Brume, so much of the magic items made of it were destroyed and the ore used to make a boundary around the lands not covered by Brume to protect them. Most of the known ore mines are running out of this precious resource. Kingdoms fight one another over this and other resources. The only hope is for new sources of ore and other resources to be found. For that to happen, several kingdoms are preparing expeditions into The Brume. Perhaps the appearance of The Brume is a blessing in disguise: it prevented world war. If The Brume is banished from the world, then the nations will rush in to scavenge what they can from the once hidden cities, erupting in a new conflict.
Windbit 04-05-07, 07:58 PM	I'd really like some feedback on this. Here are a few questions I would appreciate being answered. -Are my races interesting and/or viable? -Is it possible for me to replace all material components with varying amounts of magic ore? -Are their any spell lists that group spells by their element? -What could I do to make bards and rangers who can't cast spells playable? -Are their any monsters that would be particulary suited to living in The Brume? -Does anything in my magic system (The Weird and Magic Ore in particular) conflict with the 3.5 ED rules? -Are their any obvious problems I've somehow overlooked?
KeshFerrar 04-05-07, 08:39 PM	I'd have to agree with 77IM, if you want to use the races outside their environment it'd be best to make them good, but not that good. I believe the races are ok. I think they would give players enough options. The deeprunners and skyclimbers are the most different from the "core." However, I believe of all the races I like the Woodwalkers the best. Something about their natural ways and determination to stay. Elves (that aren't) with an attitude. And for coolness value you could have the "ore" be like mercury when its refined. Metallic, yet liquid at room temperature. And I don't see why you couldn't replace all other components with the ore...you'd just need to come up with a campaign conversion rule (just a small tweak). RE Classes: You could just remove the bard and the ranger...its sacrilege I know. But the ranger without magic is a fighter with a few rogue levels, and the bard (if you don't keep the inspiring abilities) is a rogue and fighter as well. Sorry, nothing too coherent.
Windbit 04-05-07, 09:46 PM	I could somehow change some of the bard's abilities to be non-magical. Now that I think of it, though, maybe I should make the ranger a spellcaster. I was somewhat inspired by the Breath of Fire video game series when it comes to the races. Most races in that series are anthropomorphic animals, and there is also a winged race of humanoids. Also, the concept of magic ore is inspired by Breath of Fire III's chrysm. However, I feel my magic ore is vastly different from chrysm. I usually don't like to base things too much off of video games, but I'll forgive myself this time.
Windbit 04-06-07, 09:23 AM	The Church of Living Thrones Overview The dominant religion in the regions of Pandelphi near the Cybele Sea, The Church of Living Thrones believes in one deity who can manifest himself in several aspects simultaneously. This deity's true form is called Metatron, and his aspects are collectively known as the Powers. Copies of the religion's holy book, called Sanctus Editio, are only permitted to priests and clerics. Priests teach believers from Sanctus Editio, while clerics are only permitted to use it to convert non-believers, and then guide the converts to a priest for further instruction. Followers of The Church of Living Thrones believe that non-believers will be sent to the Underworld upon their death, the average believer will be sent to the Overworld, a cleric will become a servant of Metatron called a Living Throne (where the church gets its name), and priests will become enforcers of the will of Metatron on Pandelphi called Seraphs. The Church has had no trouble converting people since the appearance of The Brume: priests teach that The Brume was sent by Metatron as a punishment for their wicked ways. The otherworldy creatures that are spawned by The Brume are called demons and devils from the Underworld. The Church has had a big impact on the area surrounding the Cybele Sea. All other religions have been driven out, with the exception of druids living in the forests. Clerics are often sent out to convince warring kingdoms to make peace with each other, performing "miracles" to instill fear of divine retribution in the rulers. Now that several of the region's kingdoms are preparing to send expeditions out into The Brume, the Church has given its blessing and is sending clerics to aid the adventuring parties. Metatron and his aspects Metatron - The creator and provider of light. This is his true form, and he remains in the Overworld at all times. His domains are: Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Sun Silex - The provider of earth. His domains are: Earth, Protection, Strength Ventosus - The provider of wind. His domains are: Air, Healing, Travel Exuro - The provider of fire. His domains are: Fire, Sun, War Fons - The provider of water. His domains are: Healing, Luck, Water Diabolus - The provider of darkness. Though followers of The Church of Living Thrones are taught to detest evil, they believe that Metatron gave them freewill and will give a person evil if he asks for it. He has no domains, as believers do not worship him and non-believers do not think he exists. The Services of the Church -Priests teach the people in temples on Sunday. -Clerics travel to villages without temples as missionaries. -There are several shrines throughout the area devoted to Metatron; these shrines were created centuries ago from white ore, and the faith of their creators was so powerful that the shrines continue to heal the sick to this day. -Clerics visiting villages without a nearby shrine to Metatron often use their powers to heal the sick, purify contaminated food and drink, and perform various other tasks to aid the townspeople. -The Church usually acts as quickly as possible to resolve conflict by convincing the warring kingdoms that their conflict is unrighteous, often showcasing the holy powers of clerics or several Church artifacts.