Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Need_A_Life 08-02-06, 03:25 PM	First, the background: I am creating the 'fluff' for a continent in the campaign I am a player of (not really an interesting story), I'd like feedback and ideas from what I post here (I won't write it all here, it'll be ~20 pages of translating) The continent is one huge desert (except a cluster of islands west of the continent, though they're tainted lands [as per Heroes of Horror]). Formerly the continent was ruled entirely by mages and magic was essential to ones daily life, this major empire shattered when a powerful mage destroyed the leaders at the very top and the Mages Council (sort of like the general government) failed to restore order in time to avoid a total collapse of their society. Now there are thousands of tribes dotting the landscape of the desert, though only six major groups exist; The Shining Claw, The Firewarriors, The Scorpionguards, The Sandwarriors, The Water Guardians and finally... the elves. The major groups are: - The Shining Claw: A tribe that is rapidly gaining political and military power, it is lead by the son of the chieftain (the chieftain is off on another continent at the moment). It intends to reclaim the power of their ancient empire and unite all the tribes under one banner. So far they have managed to gain control over the Sandwarriors, though should they begin to take military action the rest would quickly fall under their control. - The Firewarriors: This tribe has gone through rough times, incompetent leadership has meant that this tribe has been near extinction several times, though it still exists and has significant magical power at their disposal in the form of evocation spells. - The Scorpionguard: The smallest of the major tribes, this group has had their souls bound to an artifact due to an ancient oath and they await the day that a prophecy is fulfilled and a certain reincarnated god will free them from their magical bonds. They are your typical assassin-themed tribe, they're disciplined and deadly, though refrain from war. - The Sandwarriors: The ancient slaves of the old empire fled into an uninhabited area of the continent when the empire fell. They were since found and accepted as near-equals and has lived in peace for a long while. The Shining Claw recently gave them an ultimatum to surrender which they felt forced to do, leaving their armed forces under the command of the Shining Claw. Their major general, the most influencial man in the tribe, believes that it is the best way, having been promised that they will not be slaves in a new empire. - The Water Guardians: This is an "outsider tribe", they are xenophobic and attack all who try to enter their area, meaning that very little is known about them. They are the sworn enemies of all the other tribes (except the Sandwarriors) as they have a religion that is the very opposite of the one commonly practiced (they want to make the desert into a large forest). - The Elves: Devil-worshippers. They worship Desert Devils as gods and live in the tainted shadowlands west of the continent. Because of their wicked deeds they are consistently attacked by members of the Firewarriors which has fuelled mutual hate through centuries. Anyway, I have been doing this for quite a while now and I am asking for help. Any help you people could provide, such as ideas or critique would be greatly appreciated.
KyussWren 08-02-06, 05:25 PM	Hmm. I like the water guardians. It all looks very detailed. Do you have a map already? Also were there any specific basic classes or prestige classes associated with any of the tribes?
Wyrmul 08-02-06, 06:36 PM	When in doubt, steal. Take a look at Dark Sun and Al Quadim. Find bits that you like, mix and match, then put a new spin on them. Second, come up with a timeline for the past few hundred years. Nothing too detailed, but enought to put the setting in context of it's history. I have a working timeline (http://dancingspheres.wikispaces.com/Timeline) for a setting that I am working on. When did the taint start? What caused it initially? Why was the old Mage government overthrown, few destroy societies just because they can. What effect have the elves had on the society over the years.
Need_A_Life 08-05-06, 06:49 AM	Yes, I have a map and a timeline, the timeline is in danish though, so that won't help much. As for classes: - The Shining Claw: Mostly sorcerers - The Firewarriors: Warmages and spellswords - The Scorpionguard: Rogue/Assassins - The Sandwarriors: Mostly rangers, though also quite a few barbarians - The Water Guardians: Druis - The Elves: I don't know... When did the taint start? What caused it initially? The taint started when a powerful being was created during the second era of the Sandempire (the empire spanded all over the continent and was as high magic as Sigil), this being is called Am'kraketh and is believed to be the Taint Incarnate, though that was not the intention. He is pretty much a deity-like force. When he was created the concentration of taint began to spread like a disease and my character will try to stop it ASAP. Why was the old Mage government overthrown, few destroy societies just because they can.QUOTE] The mage government itself was ruled by a three leaders at a time, commonly known as The Three. At the end of the second era, there was only one of these remaining and no replacements had been selected, but one day the remaining mage called for everyone to assemble before the palace and hear what he had to say. He announced that he would be retiring but that a great and powerful leader would stand in his place; Am'kraketh. Though due to his delusions, Am'kraketh cast disintegrate upon the remaining leader and used spells to flee from what he thought was an elaborate plot to destroy him. While the government itself still existed, the chaos that followed was too extensive to stop and within a few short centuries the entire empire had collapsed and many tribes had formed. [QUOTE]What effect have the elves had on the society over the years. Not really much, the Firewarriors once had their king abducted by them (they kidnapped him because he led a campaign to invade the area they lived in) and demanded that all forces on the island be surrendered to them or they'd kill him. The Firewarriors did not surrender and the king was killed, there the hatred was born. As many of the tribes has alliances that has lasted the better part of a millenia they naturally helped their allies get revenge. In time the reason has been forgotten by the general population. The map (http://www.freewebs.com/chaosorcosmos/Det%20Sydlige%20Kontinent.bmp) It is a fairly large file, but I needed it a decent size.
Need_A_Life 08-15-06, 12:20 PM	Bump?
Orchomenos 08-17-06, 11:22 AM	- The Scorpionguard: The smallest of the major tribes, this group has had their souls bound to an artifact due to an ancient oath and they await the day that a prophecy is fulfilled and a certain reincarnated god will free them from their magical bonds. They are your typical assassin-themed tribe, they're disciplined and deadly, though refrain from war. Are they waiting the Scorpion King? More job for The Rock/Dwayne Johnson? :P Are all these tribes (semi-)nomadic, or do they hold some major cities? Do they have fixed territories, with many settlements in this territories? Or are they mixed in many areas? Why do the Sandwarrior have to surrender to Shining Claws? EDIT: I just saw you had a link to a map, but my job's firewall prevent me from seeing it.
Need_A_Life 08-21-06, 03:49 AM	The ones described have settlements whereas the smaller (unnamed, undescribed) tribes are nomadic Why do the Sandwarrior have to surrender to Shining Claws Because their general decided to do so, taking 9/10ths of their soldiers with him. 1500 vs. 15000 is hardly a good idea.
Need_A_Life 09-05-06, 03:23 PM	Bump and update: The Water Guardians have been conquered (and enslaved) by the Firewarriors under the leadership of a (now deceased) chieftain named Haman Tutam, his brother now rules in his stead. As leader of the Shining Claw I will take any provocation from his brother (a man who p**ses me off) as a personal insult and the Shining Claws troops are preparing to mobilize. The Scorpionguard is being unusually ninja-like and have been killing innocents under the claim that they are under the influence of Taint, something we haven't been able to confirm, but nor have we found evidence to the contrary. The elves are thus far silent, but they should prepare for a massive attack as I have promised my troops to defeating them as soon as someone provides additional troops enough that we could make serious progress into the Shadowlands. By the way, if I did not mention it before, this is part of the campaign I'm in, though the continent was made by me.
Galamere 09-06-06, 04:49 AM	I'm more curious as to what information you are wanting input on? Fluff only or mechanics/inner working/classes and the like. In terms of fluff I would expand a bit more on the Elves, give them a faction name as well, as they are sand devil worshipers perhaps use something based off of that, perhaps a name that is based off of one of these creatures main abilities (I'm afraid I do not have the Sandstorm book so my information can be limited) If they have a water sapping ability (think opposite of the Drown spell) then perhaps the name of Harbingers of Thirst (I'm just spitballing of course) or even the Disciples of the Wastes. Anything really to help bring them up with the more intimidating names of the others. As for a fitting class for them, as devil worshipers I would probably go with a class like the Warlock (if you want a caster) or the Dervish/ Desert Wind focused Swordsages. Anything that can help further the mystique of these people, perhaps a large(er) population of them are tieflings as well, who knows, that's more your call, I am just throwing out ideas to get the ball rolling as it were. If it looks like I'm not coming back here then just PM me (if you like any of my ideas, my skills are more in character backgrounds however), it is my shame it's rare that I come to these boards.
Need_A_Life 09-06-06, 06:21 AM	Thank you, Galamere. I am looking for input of any kind, just anything to spice up this rather cliche (in my opinion) continent
Galamere 09-06-06, 03:00 PM	No problem mate, as I've said I like to help :) From some of your other posts it have said that the elves are so far silent, but should be expecting a massive attack. (sorry, I just read that post as well as many of the others, I was a bit hasty last night due to the time) and that over all have not really don a whole lot, so perhaps making them something of the 'boogie man' of this continent would be an interesting idea. Taking a page from old horror movies/fantasy books and make them something that very nearly no one knows about, or at the least you would have to be in their deepest circles of trust to find out about. Always have rumors circulating, but if ever actually asked people instantly clam up, and nothing short of a natural 20 on a diplomacy/intimidate/gather information will get them anything. To help and further enhance these kind of situations it's good to look at books such as old Ravenloft (it would fit like a glove with the tainted areas of your continent) Heroes of Horror (as you already know) and perhaps some of the corrupted monsters of the Oriental Adventures handbook
Need_A_Life 09-07-06, 04:29 PM	About the elves: The elves inhabit a small cluster of islands west of the main continent, commonly referred to as the Shadowlands. Its original name was Gri'thahana, though the people who named it has fled back to the main continent long ago when the Taint began spreading. The reason that the elves even bother to live there is that their position within the old Empire were less than ideal, in fact the most well-respected elves were a step below slaves. The elves don't follow Am'kraketh (the man responsible for the fall of the old empire), though he uses the same territory as they do. Instead the elves worship Aratons (from Sandstorm), desert devils who twist the elven population towards evil. In fact, the elven freedom and liberty they are known for in the PHB is long gone, they are like devils and twist words accordingly.
Galamere 09-08-06, 01:58 AM	the elven freedom and liberty they are known for in the PHB is long gone, they are like devils and twist words accordingly. Hehe...that just sounds cool :) In that case i think you have themm well thought out afterall. I was under the missconception that because they were simply 'the elves' that you had simply not gotten to them yet :)
Need_A_Life 09-08-06, 05:00 AM	Well... basically I only did that because I really detest elves and thought of a reason for the group to commit genocide. Anyway, what I would really like is constructive critisism. If anyone would care to create an NPC or two, I'd also appreciate that. Regards, Need_A_Life