Terminus, on the edge of destruction [Archive] - Wizards Community

Terminus, on the edge of destruction [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
philipk
04-05-07, 04:24 PM (Looking for ideas/critisism for my ongoing campaign. This is a bit of backstory which the PCs have no idea about, but are just now starting to uncover. Other than it's backstory, the world is generic D&D with standard D&D deities. If you're one of my players, DON'T READ!)

In the beginning, there was a great emptyness. All was quiet and at peace. Out of that emptyness, two were born. Ixthalia, the great fountain, blasted heat and energy into the darkness. Ghulurak, the great void, knew only hunger. He consumed every shed of energy his sister created, but it wasn't enough to sate his endless hunger.

The universe began to change around the two opposites. In many places, Ixthalia's influence burned brightly and created great spheres of fire. In other places, Ghulurak's influence drew all things into it, even light itself. In this way, the ancient gods were physically confined. In the area between, some of the cast off energy coalecesed into small clumps of matter. Over time, they grew to large enough proportion to contain some of the energy let out by Ixthalia's burning spheres as heat.

Many such clumps of rock lay just close enough to Ixthalia's power that they began to change in a new way. The power's influence over them created the essence of life. Energy packed to incredible density formed spirits of massive power. Many of these spirits melded with the planets themsleves and formed into rudimentary forms of life. Their power now limited by their physical forms, they began the fight for survival.

One such world, known to its inhabitants as "Terminus" was home to the young race of beings that would later branch into the races of men, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings. Through many hundreds of years of struggle and strife, they carved their lives from the rocky planet even as it became the verdant bastion of life that it now is. Magic was a dangerous part of the existance of those early lifeforms. Their power drawn from their own raw spirits, they could do wonderous things, but not without risk. When one is drawing power from onesself, one must be wary of drawing to much. The danger became all to apparent when some of the first to try died, their spirits condemed to be consumed by Ghulurak. While they knew that this was the destiny of all living things, the risk of early departure was to much for many to bear.

Over the years, they forgot their roots. Forgot the struggle between Gulurak and his sister Ixthalia. That is, until the war came.

Ghulurak had felt this world and all the energy on it. He had hungered for it, and now, he set his sights on devouring it. Knowing that Ixthalia would sense his presence if he invaded directly, he came slowly, and stealthily. His power invaded the minds of the inhabitants and drove them over the brink of madness. A circel of powerful mages that had been turned to Ghulurak's will used their power to open a gateway directly into their world. They were consumed in the act, as was the entire city in which they lived. The power spread quickly, following the lines of energy that covered the surface of the planet, consuming all in its wake.

Ixthalia sensed the intrusion, but it was to late to stop the invasion fully. She called upon as many loyal to her as she could find and fought back the power as it spread, but only managed to fight to a stalemate. Knowing that this and other worlds would be condemned to this fate, she cooked up a plan. From her most loyal mages, she selected eleven to carry out her plan. Their leader, a man named Theradin would be the only one to survive.

Ixthalia knew that even if Ghulurak were defeated this time, he could bend people to his will again. She decided that the only way to prevent this was to drive both herself and Ghulurak from the world and from the minds of all the people. They would be forgotten. Utterly. Their wills would be locked away by the great poewr to be unleashed.

The mages drew all the power from themselves and unleashed it as directed by Ixthalia. In one instant, the whole universe shook with the fury of the power, and then, all was quiet. Theradin looked around at the bodies of his companions and cried.

Cried because he could not remember why they died.

Thus ends the story of the day the Weave, and through it, the Gods and the planes, were born. Even to this day, neither the people of Terminus (a name long forgotten) nor the gods themselves know of what happened. The souls of the dead are no longer destined to be consumed, but live on in the outer planes with their patrons. Only the faithless find their way to Ghulurak's maw.

But now, in the east. Near the ruins of the city of Ghuul, an ancient hunger stirs, and a young mage has found a way to tear the weave and call it forth...
philipk
04-05-07, 05:03 PM The Weave

The Weave is the power by which both Ixthalia and Ghulurak were bound. It is the primary method to draw power for spells and the link between gods and men. Spells are cast normally inside the Weave (which is nearly everywhere).

Ghulurak and the Emptiness

Anything corrupted by Ghulurak has the life and soul slowly drained out of it. It becomes undead, and is completely immune to magic, as it is a walking tear in the weave. In the area that Ghulurak's power is present, the weave is non-existant.

Ancient Emblem Magic

The magic of the ancients drew it's power from the user's soul. As such, it was exhausting and dangerous. The PCs can use emblem magic, as they discovered an ancient book that detailed the procedure, but all they can use it to do is extend an area of personal magic (20ft centered on them) that cancels out the non-magic areas (allowing them to affect the Ghulurak-undead with magic again and use magic in the dead-magic zone). It carries the potential for fatigue/exhaustion and non-leathal damage if they fail a will save (I'm thinking about CON damage if the will save is failed by enough. It hasn't come up so far as they have only failed once, by 5). The DC increases with each use in a given day. It lasts for 1d4+level minutes.

They don't know exactly what they are doing here (channeling Ixthalia's power), but they know enough to use it sparringly.

Gods and Hubris

The Gods themselves do not know what created the world or themselves. In their Hubris, they assume that they did it, and have conviced themsleves that it is so. Only Boccob suspects that something may be different, but he does not discuss it with the other gods. The party met him and he gave them some ideas on where to look for information and helped them find the info on the ancient ways of magic. He doesn't want to interfere to much because he suspects (correctly) that through him Ghulurak could seep into the outer planes and begin to consume them as well.
Yakman
04-06-07, 11:11 AM interesting.

but drop the gods. keep the weaves though.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
philipk 04-05-07, 04:24 PM	(Looking for ideas/critisism for my ongoing campaign. This is a bit of backstory which the PCs have no idea about, but are just now starting to uncover. Other than it's backstory, the world is generic D&D with standard D&D deities. If you're one of my players, DON'T READ!) In the beginning, there was a great emptyness. All was quiet and at peace. Out of that emptyness, two were born. Ixthalia, the great fountain, blasted heat and energy into the darkness. Ghulurak, the great void, knew only hunger. He consumed every shed of energy his sister created, but it wasn't enough to sate his endless hunger. The universe began to change around the two opposites. In many places, Ixthalia's influence burned brightly and created great spheres of fire. In other places, Ghulurak's influence drew all things into it, even light itself. In this way, the ancient gods were physically confined. In the area between, some of the cast off energy coalecesed into small clumps of matter. Over time, they grew to large enough proportion to contain some of the energy let out by Ixthalia's burning spheres as heat. Many such clumps of rock lay just close enough to Ixthalia's power that they began to change in a new way. The power's influence over them created the essence of life. Energy packed to incredible density formed spirits of massive power. Many of these spirits melded with the planets themsleves and formed into rudimentary forms of life. Their power now limited by their physical forms, they began the fight for survival. One such world, known to its inhabitants as "Terminus" was home to the young race of beings that would later branch into the races of men, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings. Through many hundreds of years of struggle and strife, they carved their lives from the rocky planet even as it became the verdant bastion of life that it now is. Magic was a dangerous part of the existance of those early lifeforms. Their power drawn from their own raw spirits, they could do wonderous things, but not without risk. When one is drawing power from onesself, one must be wary of drawing to much. The danger became all to apparent when some of the first to try died, their spirits condemed to be consumed by Ghulurak. While they knew that this was the destiny of all living things, the risk of early departure was to much for many to bear. Over the years, they forgot their roots. Forgot the struggle between Gulurak and his sister Ixthalia. That is, until the war came. Ghulurak had felt this world and all the energy on it. He had hungered for it, and now, he set his sights on devouring it. Knowing that Ixthalia would sense his presence if he invaded directly, he came slowly, and stealthily. His power invaded the minds of the inhabitants and drove them over the brink of madness. A circel of powerful mages that had been turned to Ghulurak's will used their power to open a gateway directly into their world. They were consumed in the act, as was the entire city in which they lived. The power spread quickly, following the lines of energy that covered the surface of the planet, consuming all in its wake. Ixthalia sensed the intrusion, but it was to late to stop the invasion fully. She called upon as many loyal to her as she could find and fought back the power as it spread, but only managed to fight to a stalemate. Knowing that this and other worlds would be condemned to this fate, she cooked up a plan. From her most loyal mages, she selected eleven to carry out her plan. Their leader, a man named Theradin would be the only one to survive. Ixthalia knew that even if Ghulurak were defeated this time, he could bend people to his will again. She decided that the only way to prevent this was to drive both herself and Ghulurak from the world and from the minds of all the people. They would be forgotten. Utterly. Their wills would be locked away by the great poewr to be unleashed. The mages drew all the power from themselves and unleashed it as directed by Ixthalia. In one instant, the whole universe shook with the fury of the power, and then, all was quiet. Theradin looked around at the bodies of his companions and cried. Cried because he could not remember why they died. Thus ends the story of the day the Weave, and through it, the Gods and the planes, were born. Even to this day, neither the people of Terminus (a name long forgotten) nor the gods themselves know of what happened. The souls of the dead are no longer destined to be consumed, but live on in the outer planes with their patrons. Only the faithless find their way to Ghulurak's maw. But now, in the east. Near the ruins of the city of Ghuul, an ancient hunger stirs, and a young mage has found a way to tear the weave and call it forth...
philipk 04-05-07, 05:03 PM	The Weave The Weave is the power by which both Ixthalia and Ghulurak were bound. It is the primary method to draw power for spells and the link between gods and men. Spells are cast normally inside the Weave (which is nearly everywhere). Ghulurak and the Emptiness Anything corrupted by Ghulurak has the life and soul slowly drained out of it. It becomes undead, and is completely immune to magic, as it is a walking tear in the weave. In the area that Ghulurak's power is present, the weave is non-existant. Ancient Emblem Magic The magic of the ancients drew it's power from the user's soul. As such, it was exhausting and dangerous. The PCs can use emblem magic, as they discovered an ancient book that detailed the procedure, but all they can use it to do is extend an area of personal magic (20ft centered on them) that cancels out the non-magic areas (allowing them to affect the Ghulurak-undead with magic again and use magic in the dead-magic zone). It carries the potential for fatigue/exhaustion and non-leathal damage if they fail a will save (I'm thinking about CON damage if the will save is failed by enough. It hasn't come up so far as they have only failed once, by 5). The DC increases with each use in a given day. It lasts for 1d4+level minutes. They don't know exactly what they are doing here (channeling Ixthalia's power), but they know enough to use it sparringly. Gods and Hubris The Gods themselves do not know what created the world or themselves. In their Hubris, they assume that they did it, and have conviced themsleves that it is so. Only Boccob suspects that something may be different, but he does not discuss it with the other gods. The party met him and he gave them some ideas on where to look for information and helped them find the info on the ancient ways of magic. He doesn't want to interfere to much because he suspects (correctly) that through him Ghulurak could seep into the outer planes and begin to consume them as well.
Yakman 04-06-07, 11:11 AM	interesting. but drop the gods. keep the weaves though.