Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 11:15 AM	Designer's Note: This is not my original homebrew setting. This happens to be an idea that savagely attacked me one night a few months ago and has nagged at me since then. So, I've decided to post my thoughts on this setting and see what everyone else thinks. Tarnished Sun The Tarnished Sun setting is a world of dark fantasy where depravity, death and deceit are common. The world of Kharrath was forever changed just over 1,000 years ago in a cataclysmic event known as the Sundering. On that tragic day of loss the beautiful silver moon was broken like a child's toy and the fiery golden orb of the sun was dimmed like a lamp. Today the subdued sun casts shadows and bathes the world in a peculiar light. The fractured moon is but bleached bones of a once beautiful goddess. The Old Gods Have Fallen... The gods fell and the demon cults arose to take their lofty places. The few gods that do remain are weak and wretched versions of their former glory. The demonic taint can be felt and seen everwhere, especially with magic. The demon cults often fight one another for followers and power. The fallen gods are around as well. Most have become imprisoned within their former glorious and magnificent temples. Here they sulk and scheme waiting on curious travelers to enter into their domains so they may have their way with them. The Shadows Are Everywhere... The Tarnished Sun setting has a morbid, fatalistic tone where death is always near and deceit is to be expected. Companies of adventurers seek each other for safety in numbers and the possibility of wealth and power. These motley bands stay together not out of friendship but necessity. It is nothing more than a business venture and each must do their part and earn their stay. The Sundered Lands Await... The 13 Kingdoms have been drenched under a decayed sun and smashed moon for over 1,000 long years. Many kingdoms have risen and fallen throughout this chaotic epoch. As it now stands during this tenious time only 13 kingdoms exist, however, war is the bride of the power-hungry and new kingdoms will eventually rise from the rubble and ashes of the old. Life in the 13 Kingdoms is harsh and often short. Death, deceit and depravity are constant companions finding ample room within these foul nations. Nobles plot and scheme in a never ending game of power. Anyone can be a pawn at any time used for a purpose and cast aside when their use is finished. Thieves and assassins ply their well known trades finding plenty of opportunities to test their skills. Wizards may be hermited in isolated towers delving into the sinister secrets of the arcane or pampered aristocrats using their magical gifts to advance their station. The clerics of the demon cults pander and pillage for souls to fill their vile lord's infernal gut. For many it is a blessing that life is so short under the Tarnished Sun.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 11:58 AM	The races of the Tarnished sun setting are twisted versions of those presented in the Player's Handbook. The taint that corrupts the Sundered Lands has forever changed the people. Elves The elves boast of an ancient culture and society. They have freely meddled with eldritch powers, foul demons and dark magic long before the Sundering. Elves are rare around the 13 Kingdoms and only venture forth from their lands with good reason. This has given rise to rumors and legends of elves as immortal beings capable of controlling and binding demons. Certainly these rumors are based in truth. For the most part elves are vain, arrogant and condescending to say the least. They care little for the company of non-elves unless such unions prove useful in increasing their personal power. Gnomes The gnomes of the Tarnished Sun setting are liars and cutthroats. They lack formal educations remaining illiterate, lecherous cowards. Gnomes generally gather in extended family structures around the roots of large trees. They are near roads that they "protect" by charging fees for use. Failure to pay a gnome for the use of "his" road often leads to bloodshed, typically a cowardly midnight ambush a day or two down the road. Gnomes are extremely patriarchal. The males hold all positions of power while females may or may not be clothed and are little more than slaves. Females are often traded along with rum or gold. A female is considered common currency among gnome males. Halflings The cultured and civilized halfling is a natural expert of the profit of flesh. They are the slavers of the Tarnished Sun world. Many a halfling household has become exceedingly wealthy through the slave trade. Halflings own numerous slave dens in the most populated cities of the 13 Kingdoms. In these houses of flesh the finest slaves are paraded before wealthy buyers. Magic is very important to the halfling and aids with their slave trading. Therefore, a halfling wizard is a rather common sight. Halflings are intelligent, witty and bare uncanny social graces that mark them as keen businessmen. Dwarves The greedy dwarves have laid claim to all the wealth that exists beneath the earth. They are misers and skinflints of the first order. It's said a dwarf need only hold a coin purse to tell one the exact number of gold, silver and copper coins held within. This endless wealth extracted by the gold lusting dwarves has established them as the prime banking system of the 13 Kingdoms. They are also well known for their harsh and brutal methods for extracting payments on debts. The center of the dwarven culture is their undead king, a demipower that commands his people to plunder the depths increasing their fortunes. Half Elves The half elf is very rare around the 13 Kingdoms. Elves consider sexual relations with another race very taboo. However, half elves are viewed as dark creatures with sinister otherwordly traits. The common name for a half elf is darkling. They are considered beautiful yet ominous creatures causing a sense of unease in those around them. Half Orcs The half orc finding himself in the 13 Kingdoms has escaped his harsh life among his orcish kin. A half orc is treated less than a full orc among the orc tribes. They are commonly used as slaves. A half orc born within the 13 Kingdoms has a life just as harsh. He's an abomination usually cast out onto the streets to survive. A half orc of any upbringing will often find work as a mercenary, thief or assassin. They are brutes and thugs for the various nobles houses and guilds. Humans Humans dominate the the 13 Kingdoms. They are perhaps the most deceitful and deadly of any other race. From pampered noble plotting to kill his father to low life street waif waiting to stab a merchant in the back, humans run the gamut of station, caste and background. Tieflings A world cursed with numerous demonic cults will produce the occasional tiefling or two. Within the cults tieflings are treated as near divine beings by followers and often hold positions of power. Tieflings pride themselves on the unease they cause others. It's a reminder to all that the world of Kharrath has forever changed.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 12:46 PM	Assassin The assassin is the best mediator a businessman or noble can ever have in the 13 Kingdoms. The powerful and wealthy usually keep an assassin or two on retainer for special needs. The Tarnished Sun assassin is very lethal having trained to kill others by any means necessary including their bare hands. They are considered the undisputed masters of murder. A few assassins' guilds exist throughout the 13 Kingdoms. They are all secretive, dark brotherhoods providing monastic training in the deadly arts for those that pass the initiation rituals for entrance. However, every assassin pays respect to the one and only Grandfather of Assassins. Barbarian The Sundering left the world damaged with a slippery grasp upon the reigns of civilization. Some areas fell to the more uncivilized and feral nature of man. These tribes of humans exist in the desolation wrought by the Sundering. A once great city that was the dwelling center of a prosperous kingdom a thousand years ago is now in ruins and the ancestral homeland to the barbarian of the 13 Kingdoms. Barbarians are often called beastmen due to their unkept and wild appearance. Some are more animal than man. Some scholars suggest that the Sundering released a curse upon those people dwelling in a certain area exposing them to magical chaos blending and binding the wild of nature within their very souls. Bard Entertainment has taken on various vile forms in the Tarnished Sun world. The bard practices these esoteric forms of entertainment involving blood, pain and shadow. Some bards draw awe from audiences as they torture others. Other bards have mastered the sensuous arts of the flesh drawing in the whole audience as participants. Still other bards create living art from blood and shadow. The bard walks ancient paths of sorcery and utilizes mystic performances that grant them arcane abilities. A bard typically has a patron, a nobleman usually, that follows their careers and aids them, but this aid always carries a price. Cleric The gods that once were are no more. The cleric of the Tarnished Sun world has dedicated his life to following one of the numerous demonic cults or practicing the twisted and reborn rituals of the Fallen Gods. A Cult cleric often follows rites and rituals that at one time, before the Sundering, would have had him before the executioner. Now he freely and openly follows his foul demon god and practices his vile rites for all to see. The cleric's main job is to bring as many souls to the maws of his demon god as possible. The more souls that bow and prostrate themselves before the demon adds to his growing, yet very limited divine power. The cleric maintains a campaign of fear and loathing to turn as many to his demon as possible. Such violent competition causes sudden bursts of bloodshed between rival cults. Druid The druid is a vain and fickle sensate ruling her forest as a debauched fey queen. Druids stalk the forests nude, immune to the dangers of Lathe's Wild. Druids are very rarely seen in the cities of the 13 Kingdoms and even then they are usually stark naked. A druid simply prefers the company of plants and animals to those of humankind. Rumors abound of canabilism among druids. It is said they eat those that invade and despoil their protected lands. Fighter A fighter may be a mercenary hired to protect a nobleman or a soldier of the Iron Legions of Taslantia that has deserted his post. Some fighters rise to become feared warlords around the 13 Kingdoms waging endless war to conquer their enemies. Mercenary, thief and prostitute are the three most common professions in 13 Kingdoms. A good sword arm can bring in as much gold as a desirable figure or agile fingers. Many mercenary companies exist throughout the 13 Kingdoms some more infamous than others for their carnage on the battlefield. Petty in-fighting between noble families is one of the primary sources of employment for a mercenary. Ranger In most of the wild verdant areas the only way through is by a ranger who knows the land and its hazards. The ranger is a woodsman supreme often known for deadly use of his ax and bow. Long ago rangers were dedicated foresters protecting the land as stalwart wardens. That is far from the truth on today's Kharrath. Most rangers are bandits, brigands and poachers. Many an infamous highwayman was a ranger. Rangers are perhaps the only ones that can successfully plea with the deranged druids providing safer travel. Most rangers prefer seclusion and the chaos of the Lathe's Wild to the congestion of the cities. A ranger walking through city gates is a rare sight. Sorcerer The 13 Kingdoms are awash with demons and demonic influence. The sorcerer traffics in the dark, eldritch secrets of the demons. Their powers arise from making pacts and binding demons to their will. However, binding demons is a dangerous game that often leads to the sorcerer's grisly demise. A sorcerer has access to spells through the summoning of a demon. Any magic items a sorcerer creates does so by binding a demon into the item providing fuel for the item's use. Due to the obvious hazards of this arcane profession a long lived, powerful sorcerer is rare. Thief A rogue is a silly twit fit for debauched romances. On the other hand, a thief is a cold blooded criminal who could cut a delicate throat or a gold filled purse with exceptional skill.The thief of the Tarnished Sun world is a cold, seasoned criminal experienced in all forms of larceny. Thieves are behind most of the blackmail, extortion and kidnapping in the 13 Kingdoms. Thieves' guilds are everywhere in the 13 Kingdoms. They are the corporations of crime with strings of power that lead to thrones and crowns all over the 13 Kingdoms. Secret wars among these various guilds can set the criminal underworld ablaze like oil left too close to a flame. Guilds will appear and before a season has ended be snuffed from local memory by more powerful and stable operations. Wizard A wizard of the 13 Kingdoms causes many to tremble with fear. The wizard commands charms and curses of an ancient and fell nature that can cause giants to bow, animate the dead like macabre puppets or even slay a man with a single utterance. By nature wizards of the Sundered Lands are untrusting of one another. They compete for magical secrets in a world rife with corruption and depravity. Dueling wizards is a common sight, each trying to prove they are the most powerful. Most wizards believe they are no less than gods and their personalities drip with a thick arrogance. Formal schools for wizardry do not exist as they once did before the Sundering. The art of wizardry is bestowed from master to apprentice through once forgotten ancient and eldritch practices since revived after the Sundering.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 01:06 PM	Alternate Alignment System: Vices and Virtues The alignment system of the Dungeons and Dragons game does not fully recognize the passion, emotion and complete lack of moral authority presented in the Tarnished Sun setting. Therefore, the following system has been utilized to describe a character’s ethical and moral nature. The Tarnished Sun setting is rife with corruption and temptation. A person can become swept up in the fervor of emotion quite easily. Vices Lust/Gluttony/Greed/Sloth/Wrath/Envy/Vanity Virtues Chasity/Temperance/Charity/Diligence/Meekness/Kindness/Humility A player chooses four of the above to best represent his or her character’s moral and ethical make-up. The player may choose all four vices, all four virtues or a combination of the two. The only rule is that a player cannot choose two opposing vices or virtues. Therefore, no one can be both Lusty and Chaste or Wrathful and Meek at the same time. Urges/DC: weak/10 strong/15 unbearable/20+ The temptation to act upon a vice or virtue is triggered by an urge arising from situations that bring forth stirring passions, unignorable impulses or strong memories. To resist an urge to act upon a vice or virtue a character must make a successful Will save. Examples: A lust possessed bard walking down the Street of Forbidden Desires in chaos filled Beljuril faces a trio of beautiful buxom doxies eager to sell their services at once. Since the bard has urgent business with a powerful nobleman his urge is weak. To miss this meeting could cost the bard a sack of gold and possibly his very life. If a greedy gnome thief spies an unguarded merchant-lord swaying drunkenly down a shadow filled alley he faces a strong urge to pick him clean. His only distraction from unbearable would be the local watchmen he has not bribed recently. A half orc fighter/thief witnesses a young half orc boy assaulted in the street by two tough humans. He’s suddenly caught up in a long ago memory of the same thing happening to him as a street urchin. He’s consumed with an unbearable urge to quench his wrath upon the humans. Now to some of the good that glistens around the dull silver lining of the black cloud that has engulfed the Sundered Lands... A jaded human mercenary sits and eats forgotten bread and cheese in a partially ransacked villa during an ongoing skirmish between feuding nobles. He hears shouts and screams. Upon further investigation he sees three of his company trying to rape a young girl hiding among the villa's tossled ruins. He knows this isn't about war, it's rape, and he has a strong urge about kindness toward women. His curved long sword cleaves the head of the first man before the bread that was in his sword hand hits the dirty floor.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 01:49 PM	I suppose for all of you to gauge exactly what I'm trying to convey with this setting I need to expose my chief influences. Payback The movie with Mel Gibson as Porter, the crook on a mission to get his money back. This has a lot of what I'm looking for in Tarnished Sun. The good guy is really a bad guy but he's a little better than those around him. Also, the two crooked cops in the film are spot on for local law enforcement around the 13 Kingdoms. The Godfather Do I need to say more? Not only is this one of the greatest American movies ever made it sets up how I see most thieves' guilds around the 13 Kingdoms, a family (or family-like) enterprise. It also has a lot of ideas for guild on guild warfare. Rome HBO's original series Rome has it all - deceit, death, depravity. It was while I was watching an episode of Rome that the idea for Tarnished Sun struck me. Titus Pollo and Atia are wonderful characters to study for creating player characters in Tarnished Sun. Conan the Barbarian No other work of film or literature has inspired me more than Robert E. Howard's Conan. The film did a masterful job of bringing the gritty essence of the stories to life. The Tarnished Sun world is similar to the Hyborian age of Conan. Make no mistake Tarnished Sun is drenched in the sword and sorcery genre. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly In my opinion the greatest western ever made. This movie highlights the ambiguity of ethics and morals. The Good (Clint Eastwood) was only slightly less dispicable as the Bad (Lee Van Cleef) and of course the Ugly (Eli Wallach) is the perfect character study for a Tarnished Sun gnome. Dying Earth/Zothique The works of Jack Vance and Clark Ashton Smith are full of casual cruelty which also permeates the Tarnished Sun world. Clark Ashton Smith could write some rather macabre tales and Vance's Lianne the Wayfarer would find a nice home among the 13 Kingdoms. Elric Michael Moorcock's Elric is a favorite of mine and his descriptions of archaic rituals and practices of the ancient and fell Melniboneans fits in well with the tone and attitude of the 13 Kingdoms. Dungeons and Dragons Supplements Used Beyond the PHB, DMG, and MM the following are used: Book of Vile Darkness Libris Mortis Lords of Madness Heroes of Horror
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 02:14 PM	Magic: Dark and Seductive Magic hangs heavy in the air wherever one travels in the 13 Kingdoms. It's an intoxicating smell like perfume, wine or sex. Magical creatures are drawn to its smell like hungry beasts to fresh blood. It causes euphoria all on its on and can drive people beyond insanity to possess its secrets and its power. It dangles like forbidden fruit to many and they cannot escape its demand to be taken and eaten. This seduction is best witnessed through the wizards and sorcerers of the 13 Kingdoms as they forever quest for the sweet, forbidden secrets magic has to surrender with little regard to which wicked ends they must go to obtain them. Sorcerers make dark pacts with demonic forces to plumb the ancient secrets of magic. They willing scar their minds and fracture their souls in order for the privilege to cast eldritch spells. Wizards plunder ancient tombs and towers searching for long lost librams, tomes and scrolls traced with the spidery runes of spells. A wizard goes beyond addiction. They see themselves as gods trapped in frail mortal flesh with magic the only means of release. Magic in the Tarnished Sun world is very cinematic. All wizard and sorcerer spells have a darker more sinister quality. Spells will require odd and bizarre components. The spells themselves may be compelled to live on their own taking various forms and shapes. Magic: The Obsession The pursuit of magic, spells or items, is the wizard's greatest vice. As a rule this unbridled greed and lust for the arcane should be treated as a class based vice. Anytime a wizard spies a new spell not in his spellbook or witnesses a unique magic item he has not yet heard of he suffers from a deep urge, a nagging need to possess that spell or magic item. From that moment on (based on a failed DC roll vs. will) the wizard will consume himself with possessing what he does not yet have. If he must hire thieves or assassins to possess this new spell or magical item he will gladly part with the gold to make it so. Example: Benatyr the Brash a wizard from decadent Beljuril has spied a halfling slave-master of House Sevren punishing a belligerent slave. The slave-master produced a wand from his belt and leveled it at the slave. The slave fell to his knees with a word from the halfling, a deep slash pouring forth ruby-red blood across his chest appearing from nowhere. Benatyr immediately bit his bottom lip at the thought of possessing such a useful item. From that moment on Benatyr was obsessed with the wand the halfling used. After a failed attempt involving a trio of human mercenaries he eventually hired an assassin from the Taslantian capital city of Tane. The assassin was dealt a lethal blow by the halfling but not before the halfling succumbed to the assassin's Black Death poison. The assassin fell dead before Benatyr, in his manor, his cold grasp upon the coveted wand of punishment. As his servants took the assassin's corpse away to be thrown into the river, Benatyr held his prize before him striding into his study like a newly crowned king. Of course, he forgot that no one escapes the unholy wrath of House Sevren, especially when a family member is involved. But that's another tale to tell.
taradusis 03-25-07, 02:29 PM	You didn't forget the L/E monks did you?Their combination of vices and virtues might fit in well?Though I suppose they could be subsume into the ASSASSIN grouping.Will the PCs be Good or Evil?
MagicMouth 03-25-07, 02:42 PM	Well, this is an interesting twist compared to more traditional settings. I like it. :D I suppose the PCs take the role of antiheroes rather than heroes, being little (if any) better than the villains they fight. That alternative alignment system (which reminds me of World of Darkness) fits this concept quite well, and will hopefully help making the characters more morally ambigious.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 02:50 PM	The Demon Cults Religion in the 13 Kingdoms is composed of various demonic cults each practicing ancient and secret rites. The cults actively fear one another and have a closed door attitude to the general public. The cults discriminate against those that don't belong and recruitment is secretive and selective. The cults are loose affairs that operate in splinter cells that rarely recognize each other. Temples are usually out of the way structures on back alleys and heavily fortified. Open warfare between the cults is common. Commoners mutter prayers and curses to ward off the attention of the demons. Most commoners care little for the cults and just try to survive without becoming the next sacrificial victim whose blood is staining the altar. The Fallen Gods The power of the old gods has greatly diminished. They suffer from the wounds, scars and ravages left by the Sundering. The Fallen Gods are not as feared as the demons and their insidious cults. However, due to the decay of their pyschological ties to reality the old gods are given respect. Cults still exist for the Fallen Gods but not in the numbers they had before the Sundering. The cults have been twisted and turned into perverse forms of religion very far removed from their original intent over a thousand years ago. Dead Gods Numerous gods did not survive the Sundering, such was the unfathomed cosmic upheaval that tragic day. These dead gods answer no prays and have no clerics. However, their temples and cathedrals have not all been plundered over the last thousand years. Some of these dead gods are mere phantoms, shadows of their former might. They inhabit their ruined shrines or temples terrorizing all that wander too close. A god-ghost, as they are called, is no weak apparition they possess a good deal of power, although none of it divine. A god-ghost is a fountain of ancient knowledge and lore, but unwilling to part with that information for just anyone. In their decayed minds god-ghosts suffer from madness and psychosis. To actually have a conversation with one that doesn't result in the use of hurled spells and whirling steel is quite rare. However, if the god-ghost can be bested and beaten it may divulge some nugget of arcane lore.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 02:52 PM	You didn't forget the L/E monks did you?Their combination of vices and virtues might fit in well?Though I suppose they could be subsume into the ASSASSIN grouping.Will the PCs be Good or Evil? No monks. Sorry. The open hand damage in rolled into the assassin. As I stated above the assassin is the master of murder. :D
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 02:58 PM	Well, this is an interesting twist compared to more traditional settings. I like it. :D I suppose the PCs take the role of antiheroes rather than heroes, being little (if any) better than the villains they fight. That alternative alignment system (which reminds me of World of Darkness) fits this concept quite well, and will hopefully help making the characters more morally ambigious. Exactly. "Take the ring where? Mordor? Pftttt! I don't think so." The halfling then proceeds to place the ring of power on his finger and returns to oversee his slave den in the wildly decadent city of Beljuril. If anyone wanted to play a good aligned character that's fine but temptation's a wench from the coast. That's what the vices/virtues set up - a little temptation.
KeshFerrar 03-25-07, 03:47 PM	So would a "good campaign" even be possible in this setting? I'm not saying the setting is bad, I like the mental exercise of the concept. It seems like a perfect campaign for Planescape -- the world is a fecund garden for the demons and devils to harvest from. However, it doesn't seem like its a world with much hope. The best campaigns would be the working for the dark side. Players looking for a happy ending would be disappointed.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 04:08 PM	Shamash the Senile The Diminished King, the Lord of Sorrows, the Sad God, the Prince of Pity The great sun god Shamash the Ever Shining is no more. He was once the paragon of goodness, truth and justice. He is all but forgotten, a miserable relic from another time. Today he is a weathered old man whose once strong muscles are useless. He sits upon his throne of tarnished gold surrounded by his conniving daughters. They play with his beard and whisper lies into his aged ears all trying to curry what little divine favor they can. A common saying across the 13 Kingdoms is "You are as forgetful as the sun." The sun god has become hard of heart and unforgiving in his fragile state of mind. His Divine Radiance once had a sprawling temple in the kingdom of Taslantia. Its white walls reflected the sun's pure rays. Now it is a mass of ruins avoided by most city dwellers for they fear it to be haunted by the sun god's ghost. The walls are old, dirty and grey defiled with all manner of perverse graffiti. Inside this rubble dwells the sun god's last great high priest. He is Viggar the Blind and his curse is to forever write the secret sins of the world on the walls of the temple. Zunn the B*tch The Tainted Lady, the Tarnished Queen, Queen of Madness The beautiful silver moon is broken, cracked and shattered;its pieces falling to the world below like falling stars setting the sky ablaze. Zunn the moon goddess is a broken woman. Her beauty is forever marred and she suffers from madness at her tragic loss. The beautiful silver goddess of fate, dreams and doorways has become the matron of locked doors, nightmares and madness. Her tantrums are legend and blamed for most foul weather around the 13 Kingdoms. Vaazha the Desirable The Maiden of Lust, the Insatiable Queen Before the Sundering the goddess of love, beauty and grace was Vaazha (Va-zha). Now the goodess seeks only to sate her lustful urges and to be worshipped for her perfect beauty. Her vanity and debauchery know no bounds. Her cult revels in the wine fueled spectacles of the flesh lasting for hours. Her clerics both male and female are known for their beauty and wanton appetites. It is said she was once the daughter of Shamash the Senile. Lathe the Wild The Green Goddess, the Wild Goddess Lathe (Lay-tha) was once the goddess of nature and mother to all sylvan creatures. However, the Sundering changed her as well. She is now as wild and chaotic as the wilderness she possesses.The forests of Kharrath are deep, dangerous places. All manner of fiendish beast lurks in the unbridled woodlands. The druids of Lathe are fanatics dedicated to her solely. They garb temselves in nothing letting nature provide all they need. They hunt the violators of their goddess's sacred forests. They punish transgressors making them ritual sacrifices to the Green Goddess. Druids have a feral nature and animal instinct just like their goddess.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-25-07, 04:12 PM	So would a "good campaign" even be possible in this setting? I'm not saying the setting is bad, I like the mental exercise of the concept. It seems like a perfect campaign for Planescape -- the world is a fecund garden for the demons and devils to harvest from. However, it doesn't seem like its a world with much hope. The best campaigns would be the working for the dark side. Players looking for a happy ending would be disappointed. Sure, with a little tinkering Tarnished Sun is harsh world where the heroes provide some source of light in the darkness. But, for my tastes I prefer this concept to be very anti-hero inspired. The good guys don't always win and sometimes it takes evil to fight evil. I prefer a very gritty setting.
Domriso 03-25-07, 04:43 PM	I think that this campaign setting is very interesting and nice. The very dark themes are something I wish I could run in a campaign. One particular thing I enjoy is the Vice/Virtue system. I personally feel that the DnD alignment system fails to totally encompass the myriad of possibilities that the real world has, and your system seems much more expressive of the real world, if a bit darker. Quite nice. I can't wait for more.
GoriceXII 03-26-07, 04:16 AM	First of all, you have three of my favourite writers of fantasy listed among your sources of inspiration: Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock. I'm very keen to see further developments based on that alone. I like how this clearly flavours your depiction of magic and deity worship--gods are strange and disturbing, magic is intriguing and yet sinister. I further find interesting the way you take traditional character types and use them according to how your campaign works. For instance the rangers of your game bear more resemblance to the bordermen and such from Howard; your wizards are more like those of all three; I like how your druids are near madmen. Your vice/virtue system is interesting--are you familiar with Pendragon at all? It has a similar system.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-26-07, 06:54 PM	I think that this campaign setting is very interesting and nice. The very dark themes are something I wish I could run in a campaign. One particular thing I enjoy is the Vice/Virtue system. I personally feel that the DnD alignment system fails to totally encompass the myriad of possibilities that the real world has, and your system seems much more expressive of the real world, if a bit darker. Quite nice. I can't wait for more. Thanks Domriso. I appreciate the comments. I'm a little proud of the vice/virtue thing myself. But, I have to give credit to White Wolf's Exalted for inspiring me on that one. I plan on using the same system for alignment in my other homebrew with maybe a twist or two.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-26-07, 07:32 PM	First of all, you have three of my favourite writers of fantasy listed among your sources of inspiration: Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock. I'm very keen to see further developments based on that alone. I like how this clearly flavours your depiction of magic and deity worship--gods are strange and disturbing, magic is intriguing and yet sinister. I further find interesting the way you take traditional character types and use them according to how your campaign works. For instance the rangers of your game bear more resemblance to the bordermen and such from Howard; your wizards are more like those of all three; I like how your druids are near madmen. Your vice/virtue system is interesting--are you familiar with Pendragon at all? It has a similar system. Nope, never played Pendragon, but, WW's Exalted had a similiar take on morals and ethics with a breaking point where the character could no longer suffer what was taking place before him. I'm new to CAS and, man, have I missed out on some great stuff. I've always been a huge REH fan. My decadent city of Beljuril is modeled after Shadizar the Wicked. I'll post more on places and people as I go over and collect my notes. I view the world of Kharrath as a very close cousin to the Hyborian Age that REH wrote about. It's a harsh setting with death and danger close by. The sword and sorcery elements of REH's Hyborian Age are accented by the pomp and grandeur of the Renaissance (not technology). Tarnished Sun has decadent bards reeking of perfume clad in silk tunics and feathered velvet cloaks joining scarred warriors in studded leather cuirasses and steel caps and wizards clad in rune covered demon skin robes of power on escapades protecting noble families from rivals or delving into ruined temples of the dead gods or trying to get the others slain for their share of the loot. REH never had a lot of strange magic and neither did CAS but Moorcock rocks on his descriptions of spell effects and his descriptive style about relics and rituals. Now that is how I see magic around the Tarnished Sun setting - old, arcane and descriptively cinematic in effect. REH and CAS were very low magic and that's not TS and neither is it truly D&D. As for rangers (and other classes) that entry was just an overview of sorts. I plan to go a little deeper in exactly how I've changed the D&D classes to suit my campaign setting. To let the cat out of the bag of holding, rangers of the Tarnished Sun setting are exactly like 1st ed. AD&D rangers including casting both druid and wiz/sor spells. But, exactly how that get their spellcasting abilities I'll leave for later. Again, thanks for the kind words.
cat_god 03-26-07, 07:35 PM	Is there a .pdf?
Zaxon D'Mir 03-26-07, 07:55 PM	Is there a .pdf? Oh, I wish. Maybe later.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-26-07, 09:05 PM	I've added an afterthought to the Nature of Magic section. I've decided to have wizards consumed with the need for spells and magical items.
TheLastEvilDrow 03-27-07, 01:11 AM	This is probably the coolest homebrew campaign setting I've read on these boards, bar none. I don't think I would ever want to play in it, and definitely not run in it (I like the whole GOOD alignment and heroes and such) but aside from my lack of interest as a D&D player, this is probably thee most interesting and thought provoking variant game world I've seen and the strange little twists and images evoked by it are very cool. Keep up the great work.
Rhineglade 03-27-07, 12:43 PM	Great work Zaxon! I really like what you have done thus far. You give a very dark aspect to your world especially with your take on the various player races. I love your version of the gnomes! Looking forward to reading more.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-27-07, 01:05 PM	Great work Zaxon! I really like what you have done thus far. You give a very dark aspect to your world especially with your take on the various player races. I love your version of the gnomes! Looking forward to reading more. Coming from you Rhineglade that means a lot! Thank you so much.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-27-07, 01:08 PM	This is probably the coolest homebrew campaign setting I've read on these boards, bar none. I don't think I would ever want to play in it, and definitely not run in it (I like the whole GOOD alignment and heroes and such) but aside from my lack of interest as a D&D player, this is probably thee most interesting and thought provoking variant game world I've seen and the strange little twists and images evoked by it are very cool. Keep up the great work. With praise like this I'm going to get a big head. :embarrass
Zaxon D'Mir 03-28-07, 07:52 PM	Sword of Sorrow The Tarnished Sun setting is brutal and harsh but not totally lacking in some humanity. Some still hold onto old codes that have been twisted with the times. The Cult of Sorrows venerates the fallen god Shamash and some warriors are drawn to serve the Sad God as a Sword of Sorrow. These melancholy souls have dedicated their lives to punishing those that cause sorrow and misery. They lack mirth and only seek to serve their fallen god. Most Swords of Sorrow are tragic warriors that have undergone some transformation of personal philosophy. Some great sadness has overwhelmed them and they seek a way to prevent any such sadness from harming others. Swords of Sorrow seek out those that oppress others and punish them accordingly. Such punishment may unfold in a series of unfortunate events leaving the oppressive party penniless, without land or title, and/or dead. At other times punishment may be a quick thrust of a long sword through exposed flesh without word or warning. The Sword of Sorrow seeks the most appropriate form of punishment, whether elaborate or simple, and dispenses it without prejudice or second thought. Swords of Sorrow are known by the yellow armor they wear and the mirthless expressions they bear. They retain most of the traditional paladin abilities of D&D save for three. They do not detect evil or evil intent, however, they are extremely sensitive to people, places and objects effected by loss, mourning or sorrow. Also, they cannot remove disease from a person but may alleviate one's sadness, sorrow or pain. Finally, a Sword of Sorrow cannot heal one by touch but rather cause overwhelming sadness and despair by touch. However, to do such they must have recently relieved someone of their suffering and sorrow in the last week.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-03-07, 06:42 PM	As I ponder the meaning of this setting, continually glossing over scribbles and scratches from the past several months, I have also remembered some of the lesser influences (though not least) that have contributed to the Tarnished Sun theme. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon/Hero I love martial arts movies but these two are perhaps the best ever made in my opinion. So, an eastern flair for psuedo martial arts and sword work is found in the Tarnished Sun setting. It is a sword and sorcery setting with hints of acrobatic wire work. I have a shadowdance ability that allows bards and assassins the power to glide weightless among the shadows. It was inspired by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Lankhmar I have not read a lot of Fritz Leiber but there is something about the series that intrigues me. What I have read of Leiber's has influenced me enough to have it represented in the Tarnished Sun setting in some form or fashion. And I almost forgot... L.A. Confidential This is one of the best crime dramas I've ever seen. The passion of the characters really made this movie great. Russell Crowe's character of a crooked but chivalry possessed cop hits on some of the elements I'm blending into Tarnished Sun. Of course, Guy Pierce's character changes the whole film from eager good to the bone supercop to I'll do whatever it takes cop. Great movie with great character studies for Tarnished Sun characters. H.P. Lovecraft Geez, this man's stuff scares the bejesus out of me, seriously. I've had many a ghoulish nightmare after reading HPL. I love The Mountains of Madness and The Dunwich Horror especially. Tarnished Sun has plenty of ancient evil that has more than a foothold in power around the Sundered Lands. Even before the Sundering the world of Kharrath was threatened by powers eldritch and perverse. These powers finally decided to take over and rule the roost. Eberron This setting has breathed a fresh breath of life into the Dungeons and Dragons game. The people and places are all very intriguing. So, I guess you could say Tarnished Sun is like Eberron on crack, just a lot more sword and sorcery flavored in the Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith traditions. I was joking around with some friends recently and it come upon me to have a core ethos sentence like the setting search, so here it goes... Conan the Barbarian meets The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in a 1950s film noir of wanton harlots, two-bit thieves and jaded anti-heros in a decadent city of sinful splendor. How's that? Yeah, it probably could use some work. Ok, back to my notes and ideas. Coming attractions include, but are not limited to: nefarious personages, setting specific prestige classes (something I love about Eberron), core class redux to fit the tone and attitude of the Tarnished Sun setting, spells of dark power, insidious magical items and descriptions of the 13 Kingdoms and the Sundered Lands. And the I Can't Believe I Forgot This Entry: Exalted Man, I can't believe I've gone over one year on this thread and completely forgot about WW's Exalted!!! I have a lot of the 1st ed of Exalted. I haven't played a single game but wow! what a setting. The fluff alone is worth the price of any of the books. I've borrowed a little influence from Exalted for TS elves, barbarians and The Abyssals have been a big influence overall on running something heavy with death and despair. Even the TS alignment system comes from something similar in the Exalted core rulebook.
Ishmayl 04-03-07, 07:42 PM	I'm very intrigued. In particular, I really like the Virtues and Vices system. The setting reminds me a lot of the Midnight setting by Fantasy Flight Games - in a good way though, not in a plagiaristic way! :) Have you ever seen it or played any of it?
Zaxon D'Mir 04-03-07, 08:11 PM	I'm very intrigued. In particular, I really like the Virtues and Vices system. The setting reminds me a lot of the Midnight setting by Fantasy Flight Games - in a good way though, not in a plagiaristic way! :) Have you ever seen it or played any of it? Thank you Ishmyl. No, I'm not familiar with the Midnight setting. I've heard about it but don't know any of the particulars.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-03-07, 09:27 PM	Just to let some of you know I've tinkered with the vices/virtues section and probably will again in the very near future. As a further note, I'll be pruning and trimming, adding and subtracting elements here and there in previous posts, so be advised to look from the first post forward every now and then to see the changes and give me some feedback. Thanks!
GoriceXII 04-04-07, 09:16 AM	Looking forward to it. I like your other sources of inspiration too. Oddly your descriptive phrase works--Conan and the Man with No Name similarly are in it for themselves and yet have a certain undeniable integrity--though not that of someone you might like to introduce to your sister...
Zaxon D'Mir 04-19-07, 09:39 PM	What brings you down my road? Common gnomish greeting (usually before they rob you). The gnome of the Tarnished Sun setting is a study in lechery, greed and ignorance. They care little for the written word, most can scarcely write their names. The gnomish language is fairly dead. It's a pidgin dialect composed of mispronouced elder gnomish with smatterings of trade common, orcish and a hint of the lower halfling dialect. Most consider it a gutter language good for only swearing (because gnomes can swear like no other race on Kharrath!). The teenagers of Taslantia have adopted it as a fad. Gnomes keep up with local rumors and gossip but care little for real history and formal education. Most gnomes could not name the king of Taslantia if their lives depended on it and were living in the capital city of Tane to boot! That kind of knowledge is trivial to them. Gnomes have a reputation around Kharrath as the providers of the moderate narcotic called tangle foot. Tangle foot is found under certain tree roots and ground into a thick mixture. A gnome is not a gnome without his pouch of tangle foot on him (usually next to his rum or hidden dagger). One pouch of tangle foot is worth 2 to 5 silver pieces depending on location. Some gnomes travel to the larger cities to sell tangle foot for a while and return with wild stories and plenty of loot to gamble and drink away. To say a gnome is lazy is like saying Beljuril is decadent. Everyone knows it to be the utmost truth. A gnome only lifts his finger if a coin or rum is involved. A gnome can sit and drink rum all day, smoke tangle foot, and gamble what little he has away at the local gathering hole for the area hovels. The clan chiefs usually sit in the darkest corner and discuss how they will divide the booty from the local "road protection" that week as they drink large quanities of rum. Clan chiefs are the end all and be all of gnome life. If the clan chief ain't happy, then someone winds up dead. Gnomish males pride themselves on their appearance. They may have their hair braided in gold or silver (a status symbol) or even have teeth replaced with gold, silver or a gemstone. It has been known for some males that lost an eye in some clan dispute to wear a glistening gem as an ocular fashion. The gnomes' hair and moustaches are usually oiled and curled. Of course in gnomish society the choice rewards always favor the males. A female is no better than a slave. Most females are kept naked and their job is to wait hand and foot upon their husband. Some males have four or five wives. A female is common currency too. Just like rum or gold, a female can be spent in gnomish society. Two females of marrying age can slack the thirst for vengence of any clan chief. A fair number of gnome females leave their roadside families and journey into larger cities trying to escape their lives as naked slaves to drunken gnomish males. Without surprise these females usually become thieves and quickly dispense a gnome male or two in the guild to let it be known they are no one's slaves anymore. The world at large sees gnomes as liars and thieves. To a gnome this is a mark of honor and they do not disappoint. They live up to every rumor and stereotype their race has to offer. The art of lying is given a master's caress by the gnomish tongue. A gnome can weave the most impossible tale with honeyed words and make it sound the stone truth if it ever was.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-19-07, 10:03 PM	Multiclassed Characters in the Tarnished Sun Setting Sorcerer/Cleric The combination of the sorcerer and cleric classes is perhaps the most powerful within the Tarnished Sun setting. Both classes have intimate knowledge of demons and dark magic. Balzaric of the Seven Blazes is a powerful sorcerer/cleric in the city of Beljuril. Fighter/Thief Another popular combination is the fighter/thief. Many mercenaries around the 13 Kingdoms have levels in both classes. When not fighting in some skirmish between kings they practice their larcenous behavior in the ripe cities. Fighter/Wizard/Thief The rarest combination is the fighter/wizard/thief. This combination is most frequently pursued by elves and half elves. A prestige class unique to the Tarnished Sun setting exists that favors this combination. Ranger/Thief Also known as the Highwayman’s Delight this class combination is imperative to the bandits, outriders and highwaymen of the 13 Kingdoms. Wizard/Assassin A popular combination for assassins is to delve into the shadows of wizardry gaining invaluable knowledge of the occult and spell casting abilities. Assassins who do practice the magical arts find that they are more adept at slaying while remaining unseen. The only known guild that has only wizard/assassins is the Moon Shadow guild in the city of Beljuril. Thief/Wizard The thieves of the Tarnished Sun setting are a versatile lot able to adapt to their surroundings quickly. Many thieves will dabble in other classes to help bolster their abilities and further their careers. The best combination to do such is the thief/wizard. The combination of stealth and spell casting can aid in providing a lucrative career. Halflings are drawn to this combination more than any other race. Cleric/Assassin A favorite of half-orcs is the cleric/assassin. The demon goddess Shr'rr (pronounced Sheer-ree), the Night Queen, the Lady of Murder has numerous members of this deadly class combination in her dark cult. The cleric's deadly spell selection combined with the assassin's mastery of stealth makes this combination exceedingly lethal. Some goblin chieftains have arisen to their positions of prominence in the tribe by following the path of the cleric/assassin.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-19-07, 10:16 PM	Magic: Flaunted and Flavored The use of magic around the Sundered Lands is nothing like the lowly incantations cast by the wizards and clerics of most sword and sorcery tales. Robert E. Howard kept magic dark and ominous but not ever prevalent in the Conan saga. However, magic is a huge part of the Dungeons and Dragons game. The game would not be as enjoyable if magic was treated as something unique or exceedingly rare. Therefore, the dark and tortured world of Kharrath is steeped in eldritch dweomers, illicit incantations and foul rites. Magic is to be expected at every turn. Although the spellcasters themselves may be of some rarity their use of magic is not. Wizards and sorcerers have made a foul repute for themselves and have done so by gaudy or brazen demonstrations of their powers. A wizard is arrogant by nature and revels in the awe and fear she can inspire among the onlookers of a village, town or city. A fairly common sight: A necromancer riding into Beljuril on a conjured steed of bone will not have the populace in a fit of flight. Most will make way for him knowing that he is a necromancer of lethal skill. An uncommon, rarer sight: An elven sorcerer strides into Beljuril adorned with a cloak of fiendish power and a hell staff and a minor demon slave. An elf in the 13 Kingdoms is a very uncommon sight causing many a head to turn and more than one foot to flee. His presence will undoubtedly alert other spellcasters causing an even greater commotion. A very rare sight: A powerful half elven wizard/sorcerer reclining on her massive liter held aloft by four undead giants with a major demon slave shackled by her side enters the city of Tane. She also enters with a small army of undead, incarnate spells and a nearly naked, muscular human male bearing the runes on his body of a living spellbook. Some of the populace will flee at such a spectacle while others give her a very wide lane to travel on. All in all events and spectacles similiar to the above are never considered truly out of place or beyond the pale for the setting. These things happen in enough frequency that everyone expects a little dark magic to creep into their lives in some way. Magic in the Tarnished Sun setting is just simply magic. There exists a fine line between what is considered arcane and divine. This idea is rooted in the early swords and sorcery tales where evil priests such as Conan’s arch-nemesis Thoth-Amon cast spells that were more akin to that of a wizard, not a priest. To clerics, wizards and sorcerers it is all considered the occult. Spell Effects Needless to say, magic has been reshaped and reborn under the twisted torment wrought by the Sundering. A spell may take on visual, auditory and olfactory changes. These twists and turns to spellcasting are left up to the evil whim of the Dungeon Master and players. Summoning powerful monsters or invoking spells of great power (levels 8-9) can cause the sky to turn dark or the very ground to shake. At times the life forces of nearby people may be sucked away to fuel such potent spells. Magic although prevalent around the Sundered Lands should have some strings attached to be feared as the work of the mighty. It should retain some of the sword and sorcery colorings of being ancient and foul as well. Components Every spell should have some trigger or reagent. Even the spells in the PHB that don’t require components should be given some form of component that meets its effects. Spell components could include: bones of the ancient dead, the hair of a virgin, a bone that choked a glutton, tongue of a blasphemer or the powered blood of a vampire. Anything that seems exotic and esoteric can be a spell component. Of course lower level spells will not require rare or unique components. However, components should be interesting and unique in flavor. Obtaining vital spell components should be part of any Tarnished Sun adventure. No wizard is going to pass up the chance to reap and rape what he can for components. A wizard can tell the difference in real components and those faked for profit. Such trickery is dealt with harshly. Many a zombie servant lived a previous life as a thief-charlatan before serving his death as punishment for cheating a wizard. Incarnate Spells The Sundering unraveled the fabric of magic causing certain laws of magic to become bent or broken. One such law is that which allows magic to live as a sentient creature. Spells now may exist beyond their use sometimes and due to the unnatural and chaotic atmosphere of Tarnished Sun live on causing havok and mayhem wherever they appear. These incarnate spells can be mastered and made thralls to wily and crafty wizards and sorcerers. An incarnate spell can be mastered but it consumes a spell level appropriate for its power. Incarnate spells have long and varied histories dating back to the Sundering. A spell becoming incarnate now requires a special circumstance, some upheaval akin to the Sundering itself. Game Designer's Note: The incarnate spell idea is from another homebrew but I thought it might fit well in Tarnished Sun. I'm also thinking about a character class similar to a ToM binder that deals with incarnate spells exclusively.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-19-07, 10:22 PM	Wizard Haunts Every major city has one, a wizard haunt. Somewhere in that city is a place where every arcane caster for miles around comes together to trade arcane lore, magical items and spell components. This bazaar of the bizarre attracts not only wizards and sorcerers but vampires, liches and far worse. This is the only time most arcane casters come into contact with one another that does not involve threats and hurled spells. Duels are frowned upon at such meetings. Admittance into a haunt is a spell or magical item ready for trade. Also, rare spell tomes and minor artifacts will not only garner admittance but provide the best table and wine in the establishment. The Broken Wand This wizards’ haunt is located in the city of Tane. It is not public in its advertisement of being a gathering spot for connoisseurs of the occult. This establishment is carefully observed by spies loyal to the Royal Archmage of Taslantia. Some wizards have found themselves imprisoned in the dungeons because the Archmage took a fancy to some bauble or bit of parchment in their possession. The Naughty Nymph The legendary and fabled Naughty Nymph has been the stuff of lurid tales for uncounted years. It is one of the infamous landmarks of the city of Beljuril. It is said to have incantations etched upon its walls and magical items in every vase. The whole affair is some twisted version of libidinous orgy, frat house and mad wizard’s laboratory. The establishment has a long and illustrious clientele.
RobbyPants 04-20-07, 03:20 PM	Nicely done! :D I just posted a similar setting on this forum earlier today, before I found this one. This one is a more extreme version of mine, and is better thought out. I may adopt it (or parts of it) in my next campign. As it stands, I was planning on running a more grizzly, survivor campaign anyway, so this will be some nice flavor! :plotting: Keep up the good work! :D
cat_god 04-21-07, 03:10 PM	This is an awsome setting. It's right up there with Wal-Mart Pst Apocalypse.
EvilDeathBee 04-22-07, 10:03 PM	This is incredible! Dark and depressing, with plenty of easy to find plot hooks and campaigns. This reminds me of Steven Brust's "Book of Jhreg" series, with a world of sorrow, and short lives. I am dissapointed in the lack of clerics, but the rouge is my next favorite class, which is in no short supply. :D
Soloran 04-24-07, 06:27 PM	A well deserved :bump:
GrimshofHighSorcery 04-24-07, 10:42 PM	All I can say is WOW:clap: I seriously love this and I am thinking of running my next campaign in this. I love how different it is. Bravo! Bruce
Plague_Lord 05-04-07, 03:21 PM	I relly like what you've done with the classes. If you have any more info on this setting I'd love to read it.
armeniantwins 05-04-07, 05:01 PM	I must say, I am very impressed. I am running a dark (not to this extent!) campaign right now, but this one definitely trumps it! Anyway, I hope this works out well for you.
drunkonduty 05-17-07, 03:40 AM	Just came across this today. Very nice setting. Enjoying it immensely. More more! :cheer:
Asmodeur 05-17-07, 06:55 AM	One of the most interesting setups for a homebrew setting that I have yet to read. Keep up the great work.
Zaxon D'Mir 12-17-07, 02:06 PM	Blood Merchant The Tarnished Sun world is awash with death and deceit. The opportunities abound for a group of adventurers to grab a sack of gold for swinging a sword or hurling a spell. Sometimes it takes someone with a special talent to offer these opportunities to the out of work adventurer. This is the job of the blood merchant. They match up the opportunity with the adventurers. The blood merchant can be found in larger cities collecting the numerous rumors of brewing wars, possible heists and future kidnappings that could prove lucritive to a hungry, down and out company of adventurers. The blood merchant often feeds off the low end of the adventurer spectrum providing a scrap here and there. After the adventurers gain a little infamy they usually no longer need a blood merchant's services. The only thing a blood merchant offers is employment for a nominal fee. The blood merchant gets paid first and may even demand a back-end payment from whatever the adventurers take during the job. Of course, the blood merchant will rat out the adventurers if threatened. So dealing with a blood merchant has its good points (frequent employment) and certainly its down side (the blood merchant's lack of loyalty). Typical Blood Merchant: Tul Manskor Fighter 3/ Thief 2 Vices: Greed, Gluttony, Lust ST 12 CON 14 DEX 13 INT 14 WIS 10 CHR 13 Tul has been a blood merchant for twenty two years. He served in the Iron Legions of Taslantia for fifteen years seeing duty in five of the thirteen kingdoms. Tul still uses his contacts in the Legions to find adventurers the odd job here and there. Tul is also a thief in good standing with the thieves' guild of Tane (The Night Lords of Tane) and pays well for their full protection. Tul is no longer the muscular soldier he was all those years ago. He's tall, but fat, with thinning hair and a full beard. He often wears leather armor covered by a richly embroidered heavy robe (that covers his short sword well).
Zaxon D'Mir 12-17-07, 02:26 PM	The Temples of Vaazha The activities of temple revelries in the houses of Vaazha are legendary. These temples have become the meeting places for adventurers looking for employment. All sorts of people from differing social stations parade around a temple revelry looking for more than just the carnal pleasures. Temples of Vaazha are open affairs strewn with pillows, rugs and braziers. Scantily clad slaves poor wine as musicians play the pipes within a smokey haze. Temple dancers glide through the throngs dancing for those interested. Clerics of the temple engage in the festivities with wild abandon as well. They provide useful spells to prolong and enhance the pleasurable atmosphere. One area may contain a nobleman entertaining his mistresses while in another area sit two guildmasters discussing mutual business as they admire the performance of a trio of glitter adorned dancers. Here, within these carnal walls, a wily and clever adventurer can find ample work. Temples of Vaazha are also weapon free areas. Most people are lightly dressed at the most so hidden weapons and items are rare. This has led to the common use of these temples to conduct other forms of business. The clergy tolerates other activities as long as violence does not erupt. This can cause a far worse incident occurring. These temples are famous for raising eunuch giants to serve as temple guards.
Zaxon D'Mir 12-17-07, 03:33 PM	Lathe's Wrath The once benevolent goddess of nature has become wild and untamed showing the most furious and chaotic aspects of nature as her traits. The Sundering caused the goddess to release her wrath upon the lands she once protected. Now Lathe's Wrath has given forests a dark, primordial appearance. The dense canopies of the massive trees tower over both men and giants allowing for shafts of ethereal amber light to gently illuminate the mosses, lichens and giant toadstools of the carpet-like forest floor. The deep woodlands are very rarely ventured into because they hold onto the old horrors of the Sundering, ghosts and shadows of forest beings sick with vengence and a hatred for their untimely fate. Intelligent vegetation has certainly increased since the Sundering. The once rare veggie pygmies are becoming a growing problem often in open conflict with goblins and orcs for land and resources. Elder treants are commanding armies of druids capable of choking off trade between kingdoms causing much grief for the nobles. Even in the cities areas of the untamed wild burst forth. Some cities have had forests creep up of the decades and now suffocate and choke the landscape. Cities that existed before the Sundering have become ghostly shells of their former glory. They are overgrown ruins waiting for the daring or the foolish to come calling.
Zaxon D'Mir 12-17-07, 07:28 PM	My, my, I could fetch a pretty piece for you. Easy on the eyes, strong back and all off your teeth too. A halfling appraising one of his companions. Halflings are the premiere slavers and flesh marketeers of all the 13 Kingdoms. They control dozens of private and public slave markets, called flesh dens, located in major cities throughout the 13 Kingdoms. A halfling owned slave is a well fed and cared for slave that fetches twice what they would elsewhere. The cultured and civilized halfling appears well adorned and well mannered at all times. They are so well mannered and refined as to be rude. They always prefer to take a master to slave mentality with all non-halflings. When asked to pass the salt it is a command, not a favor. Halflings therefore have evolved into shrewd diplomats and negotiators rarely leaving a meeting without a compromise that favors them. Halflings are a wealthy race that divides itself into communual houses. A house is not a shared bloodline, except maybe for a few in the ruling positions, and encompasses numerous halflings under one banner and crest. There are two dozen different houses, some rather small with less than a hundred members while the rare few ancient households from before the Sundering contain several thousand. A halfling loves magic for it helps them in their vile vocation. A halfling wizard is a fairly common sight in the large cities. Halfling wizards prefer spells that can command, control or punish. Halfling wizards with levels in thief are best suited for the Slave Lord and Painbringer prestige classes both unique to the Tarnished Sun setting.
TheAnthroDM 12-17-07, 11:25 PM	Alright this campaign seems awesome. I'd like to rework spells, abilties, and creature to represent vices, and virtues.(Aka, Sorcerers and Wizards have a Vice Requirement: Lust(Arcane Knowledge) or Greed(Magic Items)) Would you be willing to look over some of my work after it's done, or would you rather keep the virtures and vices simply how they are? P.S.: I need clarification on what the Theif and Assassin classes 'are'
Jedi_Master_Trobon 12-18-07, 03:21 AM	I suppose for all of you to gauge exactly what I'm trying to convey with this setting I need to expose my chief influences. Payback The movie with Mel Gibson as Porter, the crook on a mission to get his money back. This has a lot of what I'm looking for in Tarnished Sun. The good guy is really a bad guy but he's a little better than those around him. Also, the two crooked cops in the film are spot on for local law enforcement around the 13 Kingdoms. The Godfather Do I need to say more? Not only is this one of the greatest American movies ever made it sets up how I see most thieves' guilds around the 13 Kingdoms, a family (or family-like) enterprise. It also has a lot of ideas for guild on guild warfare. Rome HBO's original series Rome has it all - deceit, death, depravity. It was while I was watching an episode of Rome that the idea for Tarnished Sun struck me. Titus Pollo and Atia are wonderful characters to study for creating player characters in Tarnished Sun. Conan the Barbarian No other work of film or literature has inspired me more than Robert E. Howard's Conan. The film did a masterful job of bringing the gritty essence of the stories to life. The Tarnished Sun world is similar to the Hyborian age of Conan. Make no mistake Tarnished Sun is drenched in the sword and sorcery genre. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly In my opinion the greatest western ever made. This movie highlights the ambiguity of ethics and morals. The Good (Clint Eastwood) was only slightly less dispicable as the Bad (Lee Van Cleef) and of course the Ugly (Eli Wallach) is the perfect character study for a Tarnished Sun gnome. Dying Earth/Zothique The works of Jack Vance and Clark Ashton Smith are full of casual cruelty which also permeates the Tarnished Sun world. Clark Ashton Smith could write some rather macabre tales and Vance's Lianne the Wayfarer would find a nice home among the 13 Kingdoms. Elric Michael Moorcock's Elric is a favorite of mine and his descriptions of archaic rituals and practices of the ancient and fell Melniboneans fits in well with the tone and attitude of the 13 Kingdoms. Dungeons and Dragons Supplements Used Beyond the PHB, DMG, and MM the following are used: Book of Vile Darkness Libris Mortis Lords of Madness Heroes of Horror REALLY? I mean I know your not copying it, but Dark Sun isn't an influence on this? At all?
Zaxon D'Mir 12-18-07, 03:21 PM	REALLY? I mean I know your not copying it, but Dark Sun isn't an influence on this? At all? Dark Sun influenced the way I approached Tarnished Sun's classes and races. I wanted something very setting specific. Other than that it really didn't influence much.
Zaxon D'Mir 12-18-07, 03:56 PM	Alright this campaign seems awesome. I'd like to rework spells, abilties, and creature to represent vices, and virtues.(Aka, Sorcerers and Wizards have a Vice Requirement: Lust(Arcane Knowledge) or Greed(Magic Items)) Would you be willing to look over some of my work after it's done, or would you rather keep the virtures and vices simply how they are? P.S.: I need clarification on what the Theif and Assassin classes 'are' I prefer to keep the vices/virtues rather general. They are passions and compulsions that are played upon to help throw a twist into the concept of a player character. If you happen to like the idea of adding specificity to the vices and virtues, go for it. I have mentioned something similiar (under the heading Magic: The Obsession) to your idea as a way to drive spellcasters and keep up the cuthroat tone of the setting. Patience on the thief and assassin. I'm a 1e old schooler and love the concept of a thief and assassin. My thief concept for TS involves some 1e influence mixed with a little Eberron. The thief gains some mechanics involving contacts/snitches, repute/imfamy and magical tattoos. A thief gets marked with tattoos that allow for spell-like abilities. These tattoos also denote station or rank within the guild structure. I'm borrowing a little Eberron/Yakuza on that one. However, it's not one tattoo (Eberron) but several over the thief's career and rise to power within the guild (Yakuza). A Tarnished Sun thief should be known for his colorful, life-like tattoos that he flaunts to intimidate others. My concept for the assassin is simply a mix of 1e assassin, 3.5 rogue and 3.5 monk. A TS assassin has the death dealing abilities of a 1e/3.5 PrC assassin with the open hand damage of a 3.5 monk (as I've stated before the assassin is the master of murder) but has a few of the 3.5 rogue abilities too. I've also thrown in the ranger's combat style options to increase his lethalness. I'm also bringing in my version of the Grandfather of Assassins from 1e as a high level PrC. Only one assassin can be the GoA at any given time. Killing the current GoA is the prereq. for the PrC.
Zaxon D'Mir 01-03-08, 11:47 PM	Secrets of the Sundering The Sundering occurred exactly 1,128 years ago. This global catastrophy changed the lands and the people of Kharrath as the essenses of thirteen demon gods of old returned to the prime material plane to exert their rulership. The ruling pantheon of gods was completely caught off guard as the golden gates of their heavenly realm were penetrated by the demon horde of the Thousand Hells. As divine blood was spilled on purest alabaster and ran in rivers down the golden streets the gods thought of only one thing -How could this be? It was simply elven revenge for a war fought and lost 2,000 years before. The elves freed the ancient demon gods from powerful phylactery prisons that had existed as artifacts in all corners of Kharrath. The elves had imprisoned the demon gods thousands of years ago when mankind was little more than savages fighting each other over fresh water and hunting grounds. The elves had summoned the demons for their invaluable arcane lore that stretched back to the Dawning of the World when these demons were all powerful mortal creatures before they became twisted and corrupted by elder powers themselves. The elves summoned them and trapped them in special vessels to imprison their essences. Each demon had a phylactery that best suited their domain of influence. For instance, Azrulan the Ancient a demon god of fiendish lore and evil magic was encased within a large iron-shod tome. The tome was placed within its own tower and surrounded by caretakers allowing only the most powerful wizards of the elven realms to stare upon is rigid pages of blackened flesh. Elves and Humanity found they could not co-exist. In fact, the elves thought of humans as little more than talking animals capable of insignificant acts they thought bold and daring. The elven queen of the age, Her Greatness, Sessque'el (meaning Gentle Wind in elvish) the First of the First, Queen of All Elves, First Lady of the Moon and Stars (a ancient title her great-great-grandmother took by blood from an elven noble) ordered that humans should be exterminated if the elves were to survive and thrive on Kharrath. Within seven days nearly one thousand elven war galleys sailed from the elven ancestral homeland to the main human continent of Cerulea. In the weeks it took to cross the vast ocean the humans did not cower in fear and prepare for death. They prepared for war. Kingdoms that once feuded at the slightest breeze between them found themselves allies each willing to bleed for one another and their independence. The war raged like a perpetual storm for nearly one hundred years. Elves founded dominions overseeing the slavery and genocide of the human race. Other races including the dwarves and halflings joined the humans in their endeavor to defeat the elves. Losses were high for the humans (and the dwarves as well) but the elves were pushing the bounds of extinction for their race. Thousands and thousands of elven corpses littered battlefields. The elves were using their dark magic to raise up the elven dead to serve beyond death itself. Yet, they were losing the war at a fast pace. The greatest strength of the humans was their gods. The humans had found comfort, peace and might through their gods. The gods answered their prays. The gods provided needed miracles and seemly impossible victories. The elves had come to especially fear the battle priests of the humans. Then one morning the combined human forces grouped on a mist layered battlefield only to find the elves had vanished with the night. Weeks later as the human pursuers reached the distant shores of western Cerulea they saw only the sails of the remaining elven ships disappearing in the horizon. Humans never heard from nor saw an elf for almost a thousand years. Over this time peace reigned over the continent of Cerulea as the humans forged alliances and made solemn covenants and pacts with their all powerful, benelovent gods. Back in their ancestral lands across the ocean the elves seethed and sulked slowly preparing for the demise of the humans. Then they thought of the unthinkable -We must destroy the human gods. But how they wandered? Then it was obvious, release the demon gods of old and allow them to exact revenge. The phylacteries had become misplaced or lost with the passing years. The elves spent centuries collecting the artifacts until they finally had them all. And so, the elves undertook elaborate rituals, sacrificing thousands of slaves and numerous magical items of great power. Sessque'el the Bloody Queen struck a most wicked pact and for their release the demon gods agreed. The demon gods sprang from their prisons as the skies darkened and the land shook neath desperate knees. They gathered their combined might to assault the heavenly abode of the gods. The elves had no idea that the world would break like a child's toy...and after dealing with the gods the demons had other more devious plans for the conniving elves and their decadent queen.
Danahan 01-27-08, 09:15 PM	Wow, I really love the flavor, and especially the Vice/Virtue system. For my upcoming gothic horror campaign, I’ve been trying to find a way to scrap alignment without throwing things out of whack. With a cerebral campaign like mine with lots of conspiracy, the detect evil spell can definitely ruin any meticulous plotting. I’d love to be able to use your mechanic!
wrexham3 01-28-08, 04:26 AM	I've only just come across this setting, Zaxon. Brilliant. I've only had a chance to skim through it and I'll give it the time it deserves later today. I'm a big fan of Howard, Lovecraft and Moorcock too. I like the whole 'decadent kingdoms and corrupt gods' concept. One of the best homebrews on these boards. :bravo:
Zaxon D'Mir 03-30-08, 09:44 PM	Thanks Wrexham3 and Danahan. I was not aware that you guys posted replies until yesterday when I decided to get into a Tarnished Sun mood. A Tarnished sun mood only strikes every three months or so. I'm not the kind of guy to stay mired in a setting that's predominantly evil. Just so happens I got a double dose of fantasy flicks yesterday, Eragon and The Scorpion King to be exact, and they helped ease me into a Tarnished Sun mood. Besides it's my birthday today (March 30) I'm giving myself a birthday present. I'm delving back into the 13 Kingdoms and the horrors of the Sundering for a while longer.
Zaxon D'Mir 03-30-08, 10:28 PM	Goblins The Tarnished Sun goblin is black as pitch with red gleaming eyes that promise as much misery it can muster upon any who cross its path. They are the bastard children of darkness, the unholy spawn of the demon goddess of night and murder, Shr'rr (pronounced Sheer-ree). They are clever and uncanny able to survive on razor wits forged and honed from a harsh life. The elves enslaved them and used them as their army of darkness for a thousand years. A goblin to this day will refuse to slay an elf because of a inbred fear of retribution. Some rogue elves around the 13 Kingdoms command numerous goblins as minions or henchmen. Murder is as near and dear to a goblin as water is to a fish. The favored class of a goblin is assassin. Entire goblin tribes may be hired as murderous bands able to strike quickly, quietly and with a lethalness unmatched by any other race on Kharrath. Individual goblins may find employment through various assassin guilds around the 13 Kingdoms. However, a few goblins roaming around civilized areas, especially a cosmopolitan metropolis like Tane, would send a wave of fear through the populace demanding the horrid beasts be slaughtered for such arrogance and insolence as to step foot into their city. Goblin tribes revolve around their warchiefs. The warchief is the strongest, most cruel, most clever goblin of the tribe. He or she has amassed wealth in kills, magic and/or gold. Since Shr'rr the Night Spider is their perverse goddess of darkness, murder and poison they use various spiders and spider venom to slay their enemies. A goblin is the perfect henchmen for the Tarnished Sun setting. They are clever and agile creatures that remain loyal as long as they are fed and paid well. Due to the goblins' affinity for spiders they are open for PrCs usually reserved for drow in other settings. A certain goblin tribe may be considered some ancient progenitor of them all. This tribe may have favored class ninja (as CA with a few tweaks).
GrimshofHighSorcery 03-30-08, 11:25 PM	Happy Birthday there Zaxon! I am currently working on a Tarnished Sun Campaign, the only thing is I can't decide whether or not I want to use the core rules, or use Iron Heroes. Either way I love it! -Bruce Decided to do standard D&D because the players are afraid of trying something new
Zaxon D'Mir 04-05-08, 02:18 PM	Happy Birthday there Zaxon! I am currently working on a Tarnished Sun Campaign, the only thing is I can't decide whether or not I want to use the core rules, or use Iron Heroes. Either way I love it! -Bruce Decided to do standard D&D because the players are afraid of trying something new Thanks for the BD shout out Bruce. So, you guys are trying TS using regular D&D rules or not trying TS because it's too new? If you want to lighten up on the atmosphere o' evil that TS has go for it. I'm thinking about tweaking the heaviness of death and depravity here anyway. This may be a tad too much. We'll see.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-05-08, 03:02 PM	The Bard The Tarnished Sun bard is part wizard, part fighter and part thief. They belong to ancient orders of sorcery that chronicle obscene and nefarious lore. These bard colleges are clandestine orders hidden away from the general populace. The primary job of the bard is to entertain using his fiendish knowledge of the depraved. The Tarnished Sun Bard has the following abilities: Fiendish Lore A bard's knowledge revolves around the fiendish, the perverse and fabled evil. This ability works exactly as bardic knowledge in the PHB. The bard has fiendish lore at 1st level. Path of Sorcery Spells are like poetry and song to a bard. Long ago these spells were written down composing arcane epics. These epics became pathways to sorcery by retelling the tale and releasing its eldritch power. A bard chooses a path of sorcery at 1st, 7th and 14th levels. This path of sorcery is a collection of spells based on a theme. What kind of path chosen usually depends on the bard's college. Some colleges favor more necromantic or shadow themes while others have very hedonistic/erotic themes. A bard can only cast those spells within his paths of sorcery that he has chosen. Mystic Performance A bard can choose a mystic performance at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th levels. A mystic performance allows a bard to tap into ancient and arcane powers derived from long ago tales involving storytelling, song or dance. A mystic performance can be invoked once/day per point of charisma bonus the bard has with a minimum of once/day. Dark Secret A dark secret is a long ago power drenched in foul fable and archaic ritual. Dark secrets add a special ability power that a bard can use at will or that is always in use. A bard gains use of a dark secret at 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th levels.
GrimshofHighSorcery 04-05-08, 08:25 PM	Thanks for the BD shout out Bruce. So, you guys are trying TS using regular D&D rules or not trying TS because it's too new? If you want to lighten up on the atmosphere o' evil that TS has go for it. I'm thinking about tweaking the heaviness of death and depravity here anyway. This may be a tad too much. We'll see. no I am using the Core Rules because they are too afraid to try Iron Heroes:P they are all for TS, as they are all fans of the darker evil games! I am currently putting together a book with some info for the players and the world. So once its done, I will be running TS! Thanks for the bard class, looks awesome
Zaxon D'Mir 04-05-08, 10:33 PM	Sample Mystic Performances: Bloodsong The fabled Dance of Death made legendary by elven bards before the Sundering. This dance relates the epic tale of a warrior battling his way through ancient horrors in the Thousand Hells to exact his vengence upon the demon lord that betrayed him. More than just a mere dance it is a lethal sword style capable of slaying quickly and elegantly. Shadowdance The legendary shadowdance gives its performer near weightless agility to glide among the shadows like a shade. A performer of the shadowdance can call the surrounding shadow to aid him, conceal him and travel unseen through them like a breeze. Sample Dark Secrets: Demon's Endurance A foul ritual involving the dreaded whips of the Sisters of Pain and the initiation rites of the Abyssal Acolytes bestows upon one the stamina to withstand both mental anguish and physical agony.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-05-08, 10:41 PM	no I am using the Core Rules because they are too afraid to try Iron Heroes:P they are all for TS, as they are all fans of the darker evil games! I am currently putting together a book with some info for the players and the world. So once its done, I will be running TS! Thanks for the bard class, looks awesome Thanks! I'm honored that you would like to run something that I've created. The bard needs a tweak or two though. I'm going to meditate a bit on that one. The assassin class should be up soon too. Hey, any ideas you want to share go right ahead. Oh, and just so everyone knows this I'm keeping Tarnished Sun 3.5. I will not try to convert this over to 4e because 3.5 was such an inspiration in the overall design of the setting. I think TS would lose some of its appeal through a 4e conversion.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-05-08, 11:23 PM	Magic? You think you know magic? Stand aside you fool! - an elven apprentice wizard to the Royal Archmage of Taslantia There are two words that sum up elven culture best - arrogant and ancient. The elven people built tall towers of crystal and cities of purest alabaster when humans could barely walk upright. The continent of Cerulea was theirs and theirs alone. No other humanoid races dared to confront the might of the elven people. The arrogance grew until one day the elves in their lust for all things arcane and forbidden nearly destroyed Cerulea itself. Lathe, goddess of nature, the mother of the elves turned her back upon her favorite children. She cast them off Cerulea and made them find another land, no longer bestowing her blessings upon them. An elf is a sight to behold for the normal mortal. Hair spun of the ancient sun or moon when they held such beautiful hues before the Sundering. Elven skin is perfect without bleamish. Eyes are pools of seductive radiance that dance with a faerie fire all their own. Voices are so melodious as to charm the birds from the trees to their gentle and delicate elven hands. An elf is beyond just handsome or beautiful. They bare unearthly beauty and grace. And each elf knows this full well. They are the gods' gift to this world and every creature should bow before them in homage and respect. Elves stay secluded on their on island nation far away from Cerulea. Here they dwell in a land that has seen better days. Cities are almost empty and near ruin. Roads are nearly overgrown with weed and vine. Once fantastic castles of colored glass lay broken and shattered along hillsides. This is the elven legacy since the Sundering. Their race is bordering on extinction. The fabled Queen of All Elves, Sess'que'el lays naked on her silks and pillows ignoring the plight of her people as she tastes the sweetest taboos of the arcane and the flesh. An elf on Cerulea is rare enough to turn heads and cause people to stare slackjawed at the sight. They come to find a better way of life on Cerulea. Their homeland is dying and they wish to rid themselves of the lingering smell of death they have come to know all too well. An elf comes for one thing, power, for himself or his people; it doesn't matter it's all the same.
Aryxbez 04-06-08, 02:13 AM	I have to say, I like Conan, Robert E.Howard, and therefore indeed find your campaign interesting. I wouldn't mind trying to play a character in it, I like the idea of the paladin order that are essentially sorrow sponges/asorbers. I can see playing a character like that, trying to do good by "slaying Evil", yet have weaknesses like lust or something. I can also see barbarian, I think mostly thanks to Conan being referenced. I agree on your thoughts that D&D's original Alignment won't cut it for this setting. So I think this virtue/vice is a pretty good change. My wonders is on game balance, since in 3.5, Cleric,Druid,Wizard pretty much own the land that is core. I guess the game still functions similiar, still buying magic items to retain balance. I also think ye should organize some links in the first post for all the information on this setting. As you seem to have some information throuhout the board. I was just thinking it would be good for those just visiting this thread, and in the future. Also ye do know there be a Conan D20 yes? (mentioned it in case ye knew, and perhaps could get some ideas from it)
Zaxon D'Mir 04-06-08, 12:19 PM	I have to say, I like Conan, Robert E.Howard, and therefore indeed find your campaign interesting. I wouldn't mind trying to play a character in it, I like the idea of the paladin order that are essentially sorrow sponges/asorbers. I can see playing a character like that, trying to do good by "slaying Evil", yet have weaknesses like lust or something. I can also see barbarian, I think mostly thanks to Conan being referenced. I agree on your thoughts that D&D's original Alignment won't cut it for this setting. So I think this virtue/vice is a pretty good change. My wonders is on game balance, since in 3.5, Cleric,Druid,Wizard pretty much own the land that is core. I guess the game still functions similiar, still buying magic items to retain balance. I also think ye should organize some links in the first post for all the information on this setting. As you seem to have some information throuhout the board. I was just thinking it would be good for those just visiting this thread, and in the future. Also ye do know there be a Conan D20 yes? (mentioned it in case ye knew, and perhaps could get some ideas from it) Yeah, Conan is a heavy influence on Tarnished Sun. Whether the original REH stories or the later tales from L. Camp de Sprague, Robert Jordan, Leonard Carpenter or Sean A. Moore I've found plenty of harsh and gritty Hyborian influence. I must say other than the original tales of REH only The Grim Grey God by Sean A. Moore has really got that Tarnished Sun feel. I'm not big on Conan d20 because I prefer the more liberal use of magic in D&D. But, magic item shops don't exist around the 13 Kingdoms. The rare wizard haunt here or there is the only thing close to ye olde magic shop. I'm not a big game balance kinda guy. That crap gives you a headache if you try to maintain balance in a completely imaginary fantasy world where real world physics and logic go straightout the window. I play by what feels right at the time. I'm an unashamed, unapologetic power gamer. So, Tarnished Sun will be higher on the power scale than other rpg settings. And I can't do any links because when it comes to computer jujitsu I'm a raging igmo.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-06-08, 01:19 PM	The Assassin The Tarnished Sun assassin is the master of murder. He strides through the shadows nearly invisible to all but the most perceptive eyes. The work of an assassin is never finished in the 13 Kingdoms there is always someone else that needs to be killed. The Tarnished Sun assassin has the same BAB, saves and sneak attack progression as the rogue in the PHB but has the following class features: Death Attack, Poison Use, Improved Unarmed Strike The assassin has all three of these abilities including sneak attack at 1st level. Open Hand Damage An assassin has the same open hand damage of a monk of the same level. Furthermore, the assassin can only deal lethal damage with open hand attacks. Evasion The assassin gains the evasion ability as a rogue at 4th level. Uncanny Dodge The assassin gains the uncanny dodge ability as a rogue at 6th level. Improved Uncanny Dodge The assassin gains improved uncanny dodge as a rogue at 10th level. Combat Style An assassin gains the ranger's combat style options at 3rd, 9th and 15th levels. This represents the advanced combat training a Tarnished Sun assassin receives as he ascends through the guild ranks. Shadow Stride Starting at 7th level the assassin is capable of maintaining his full movement within the shadows without suffering any impairment to his stealth rolls. Hide in Plain Sight The assassin is granted the hide in plain sight ability at 15th level. Death Touch At 17th level the assassin is granted the dreaded death touch ability. To use this ability the assassin must study his target for one minute without being disturbed. After this the assassin makes one open hand attack against the target. If the hit is successful the target must make a save vs. DC of the assassin's level plus his Dex modifier. If the save is failed the target dies instantly otherwise the target takes the regular open hand damage.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-06-08, 02:53 PM	The 13 Demon Gods of the Tarnished Sun setting are not gods in game terms. They are powerful beings and they can bestow spells to their clerics but they are not gods. The 13 have physical manifestations that appear from the vaguely human to the outright unhumanly grotesque. They have divided the world of Kharrath between them each asserting power and dominion in various areas around the Sundered Lands. The 13 Kingdoms remain their cauldron of chaos that they perpetually stir for their own whimsy and vanity. The 13 Kingdoms are no more than a hapless victim slowly being tortured by each of the demons for their own perverse pleasure. The 13 demon gods are all tied to unique phylacteries that allow them to exist in the prime material plane. These phylacteries were all considered artifacts of legendary evil. In truth they were prisons for the ancient demon gods of old. These phylacteries still exist, most have been hidden away by the demon gods themselves. However, some have been lost and forgotten. It is said to control a phylactery is to control the demon god, like a hell hound on a magical leash. There are those that quest for these lost phylacteries in hopes of imprisoning the demons inside them again and restoring some of Kharrath back to its former glory. The 13 demon gods maintain a constant war among themselves as they have for countless eons. Sometimes silent and secret and in others vulgar and violent in its display. Each wishes to capture the power that the other possesses. By maintaining their cults of fanatic followers each has a small army to use against the other. Cult wars begin as small flickering flames and end as death pyres raging upward to the heavens. All suffer in the wake of widespread cult violence. Assassins are used like invisible armies clad in shadow and silence. Wizards, clerics and sorcerers use their nefarious powers unleashing black death or hellish flame or summoning ancient vulgarities from the deepest of the Thousand Hells to fight mercilessly, often destroying large areas of cities. These followers do not engage in war for the sake of their ideologies, but for the unbridled glory of sheer power. One such apocalyptic war raged through Tane destroying buildings and killing thousands in a few short days. A minor plague was unleashed killing a thousand more as abyssal horrors stalked the streets slaying all they encountered. The Taslantian king ordered in the entire 1st and 3rd Legions to quell the slaughter. After three weeks and over 4,000 dead legionnaires the cult war was ended.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-06-08, 04:20 PM	Shr'rr, the Night Spider, the Dark Queen, the Lady of Pain Shr'rr (pronounced Sheer-ree) is the ancient foul power of darkness, murder, pain and poison. Her symbol is a black spider, a form she commonly assumes to followers. The night and the darkness are hers as are all that dwell in its black depths. She manifests in a swirl of living shadow appearing as a beautiful human female with skin as white as milk and blackest hair that falls in flowing ripples to a black ichoress pool around her feet. She cloaks herself in thin gossamers of shadow revealing her ample sensuality beneath. Her delicate white hands branish long black fingernails capable of causing great pain. Her greatest temple is the Arachnathedral, a massive black monolith of iron in the shape of a spider. It looms like a hideous monstrosity above the cityscape of Beljuril. At night when its eight eyes burn with flames, screams of agony and cries for mercy can be heard as unnerving whispers in the chill of the night air. When one enters the Iron Spider they are rarely seen again. Thieves lust for her riches but refuse to face certain death even for such great wealth. To temp this fortress of horrors is seen as absolute madness by many thieves. Beljuril is the center of Shr'rr worship for the 13 Kingdoms. Her domain lies in the bleak and forboding Gurragh Mountains in wastes beyond the dark kingdom of Yoth. Deep within the bowels of this ancient mountain range she makes her lair. From here she challenges anyone to try and take her power away as she plots against her demon peers. Shr'rr has supreme mastery over darkness and shadow manifesting any spell with those descriptors as a 25th level caster. Furthermore, she can cast any necromantic spell as an 18th level caster. Shr'rr can also manifest the abilities of a 17th level assassin. However, her death touch DC is 30.
Zaxon D'Mir 04-06-08, 04:45 PM	Warlock A logical character class for the Tarnished Sun setting would be the warlock. The warlock of Tarnished Sun makes dark pacts with demon gods or their more powerful minions. The tiefling is the obvious racial choice for a warlock character. Multiclass warlocks exist most notable would be the cleric/warlock or sorcerer/warlock. Binder The binder was persecuted for centuries before the Sundering. The followers of Shamash considered it a foul blasphemy. Since the upheaval of the Sundering the binder has had a resurgence. A binder is a far more common sight now than in any other time. Unique vestiges for the Tarnished Sun binder exist with most just cosmic shadows of forgotten gods and iconic personages pre-Sundering. Binders very rarely multiclass. The cleric/binder is perhaps the most common option. Swordsage The elves were the first to introduce the swordsage. Since that time a few fortress colleges teaching the ancient arts of sword-magic have appeared, yet remain in secluded locales. A swordsage/thief or swordsage/assassin are possible encounters around Beljuril. Queen Sess'que'el is said to have a royal bodyguard composed solely of swordsages. Warblade Another lethal legacy of the elves is the warblade. Before the Sundering the entire elvish army was almost entirely a medium infantry of warblades. The warblade is a rare class around the 13 Kingdoms. A small cadre of warblades fight in the service of Taslantia with the 4th Legion under the banner of the Black Phoenix.
Zaxon D'Mir 05-10-08, 05:32 PM	The Tarnished Sun setting is a world of dark fantasy where depravity, death and deceit are common. The world of Kharrath was forever changed just over 1,000 years ago in a cataclysmic event known as the Sundering. On that tragic day of loss the beautiful silver moon was broken like a child's toy and the fiery golden orb of the sun was dimmed like a lamp. Today the subdued sun casts shadows and bathes the world in a peculiar light. The fractured moon is but bleached bones of a once beautiful goddess. This excerpt from the introduction hints at the possible unique cinematic visuals. Tarnished Sun is drenched in a thick, heavy coating of color like the 1950s technicolor masterpieces Quo Vadis and The Ten Commandments. The visuals are stark and eye-popping to behold. This radiant, rich tapestry of colors is shrouded in the opaque, surreal qualities of a heavy CGI format like 300 or Sin City. The Tarnished Sun setting is fueled by unbridled passions and raw emotions. The feelings of characters should be as bold as the colorful clothes they wear or the rich landscape they inhabit. The weather could follow the emotions of NPCs (especially the more powerful ones). Kings in denial could live in fog filled kingdoms or princes plotting murder do so on cold, black nights as though the bitter wind holds death itself. The feelings and emotions of others are NPCs all their own. To the eyes of those of the Tarnished Sun setting an unnatural allure appeal can enthrall and bewitch. They behold ocular delights that feed the senses and stir the passions. The lips of a courtesan burn with a fiery red begging to be kissed in the eyes of the lustful. The emerald ring of a merchant lord sparkles with such flare as to bedazzle the eyes and enslave the attentions of the greedy.
Zaxon D'Mir 05-10-08, 06:43 PM	The minor demons that infest the Tarnished Sun setting are considered the currency of power to the summoning sorcerer, but to others they are a most baleful plague of maleficence that strangles the very soul of Kharrath. These minor demons thrive in this world of raw emotion and driving passion. They are the spark to the oil left by the Sundering. To the minor demons this world is a great feast that they have just begun to enjoy. Pain Demon The pain demon loves to cause as much physical harm as possible. They prefer to possess the meek to use them as instruments of pain administration. The demon usually remains incorporeal waiting long days for the right victim to come along. They can manifest as human-like shadows with indistinct features possessing an aura of dread. Pain Demons are used by socerers to fuel such wicked monstrosities as succubus corsets and wands of punishment. Sorcerers may also control pain demons to personally use their pain causing ability and aura of dread. Lust Demon The lust demon feeds off sexually charged emotions and can be found possessing victims at random at most temples dedicated to the perversities of Vaazha the Insatible Queen. A lust demon prefers a noncorporeal form existing as a forbidden whisper in a tempted ear. However, this demon's manifestation is most pleasing to the eye taking the shape of a beautiful female or handsome male with red eyes and strange otherwordly voices. Lust Demons are used by sorcerers to fuel magical items of a perverse sexual nature best left to the vile whims of the DM. One item that can be discussed briefly here is the ring of vile vigor that allows the wearer to wine and wench the night away without need of rest or food. It appears as a golden band wrought with tiny ruby-eyed succubi enjoying each other's...ahem...company. Pox Demon The pox demon is an ugly, foul being. It prefers to take a corporeal form that inflicts disgust and fear. It manifests as a putrid dwarf-like being covered in open, festering sores and drenched in pus. The pox demon can cause disease in anyone it possesses. It is long believed by scholars that a band of pox demons formed an alliance that caused the Great Plague in the second century after the Sundering. Millions perished that century. A sorcerer might summon a pox demon to infect a merchant house for a rival wishing to obtain their political and business positions. The pox demon does not hide and wait like the others. It is bold and reckless in its usage. It wishes for those it infects to cower in fear as it stalks them. Sorrow Demon This demon can suck the hope from the most iron willed soul. They are terrible blights upon the spirit causing utter despair in those they possess. Some scholars say these foul spirits can cause more pain than a Pain Demon because all of it is psychological. The scarred mind once inhabited by a sorrow demon is never the same. The sorrow demon remains unseen, incorporeal. They have no known manifestion form. A sorcerer uses a sorrow demon as a form of punishment against someone that has slighted him. He allows the demon to wreak mental anguish upon his foe until all that remains is a sad shell praying for death to release him from such suffering.
Zaxon D'Mir 05-10-08, 07:27 PM	Azrulan the Ancient; The Dark One Most Foul, Scholar of Sin Azrulan (pro. As-rue-lawn) is the demon god of dark, fiendish lore. He dwells in an abyssal library known as the Vault. Here collections of tomes and librams line black walls. A plethora of other macabre and fiendish displays and creations cover the floor or hang from the tall ceilings like trophies. Azrulan is ancient and powerful. Dark magic is his dominion and he's a dark master knowing more than most wizards will ever dream of obtaining. He tempts those to succumb to his dark treats, to taste the sugar-sick sweetness of pure evil, through the profane and vulgar use of magic. The demon god of evil magic has skin as black as pitch and towers over seven feet tall. His eyes glow a hellish red piercing their way into someone's soul. His face is handsome in a much too perfect way. His silver-white hair is kept in a long ponytail that trails the ground behind him. He wears red robes adorned with various runes and sigils that move as if floating in a sea of blood. He holds in his grasp a staff of charred bone said to be the remains of a long dead demon god that drew his wrath and existed just long enough to regret it. It is said the staff holds all the powers of a staff of the magi plus many more.
Zaxon D'Mir 05-11-08, 10:44 PM	No wizard of Kharrath holds the sheer political power of the Royal Archmage. Her name is Scarlett the Sensuous, a fiery haired witch of such beauty as to make a man fight a dragon barehanded for a single night in her arms. In days of old she was a wizarding wench before she truly understood her potential and tapped the rare power of magic. She apprenticed under Azrulan the Ancient for nearly a century. In return for her knowledge of the arcane and eternal youth she provided Azrulan with a feast of a thousand souls. Scarlet is powerful. She knows many charms and curses that can make the demon gods themselves tremble with fear. As the years brought chaos and tumult she never aged but grew even more powerful. She met a young, yet powerful, Taslantian general named Tuvos the Terrible. He had dreams of taking the fabled ruby throne of Taslantia for himself. The two became lovers and colluded in a plan to overthrow the king. Zaias II was as inept and perverse as his father. He was soft and weak prefering silken robes and a perfumed hairbrush to a shirt of mail and a blood stained sword. Tovas started a vocal campaign among his follow soldiers complaining about the king's distain for the common man and outright hatred of the soldiers in his service. Within a few months five legions swore an oath of loyalty to Tovas, including the much feared Taslantian war wizards. In the Summer of Blood and Salt, Tovas attacked the royal villa along the eastern coast in the fishing town of Sallas. Zaias had the protection of three remaining legions loyal to him. Tovas spoke to these three generals privately and by dawn the next day Zaias' head was delivered to him on a golden platter. He placed the blood soaked crown upon his head as the legions bowed before him and called him King Tovas I. As payment for her invaluable aid Scarlet was called Royal Archmage. She has served Tovas for twenty years and as he has grayed with the years she has remained as youthful as a seventeen year old maid. Tovas has grown weak seeing conspiracy in every shadow. She now seeks aid in disposing of this king and taking the ruby throne as hers.
Zaxon D'Mir 11-23-08, 01:15 AM	Just a little bump to see if I can get a few new comments. I haven't forgotten about this setting I plan on adding and altering a good bit around the Christmas holidays. Also, I'm thinking very seriously about using a lot of the Pathfinder changes.
taradusis 11-23-08, 12:25 PM	In 2 ed they had a DARK SUN supplement called Gladiator that detailed various arenas used in the Dark Sun world it might still be available in PDF from RPGANOW.com? I 'm also surprised there aren't more race wars in this type of setting,perhaps a KKK or Neo-nazi type movement? What about secret government breeding programs?
Talisman 11-23-08, 07:32 PM	Okay, this looks seriously cool. I am going to have to use this setting at some point (though, in a gamge crew of 6, 5 of whom are GM's, Cthulhu only knows when I'll get to). Love the Vices/Virtues, particularly since I've never liked alignments. My only tweak would be to make them scale with level...say [base DC] + 1/2 your character level.