Post/Author/DateTime	Post
the_one_true_shea 10-23-06, 04:56 PM	Okay, for the Dimortali City, A wide cavern, but with a low ceiling. In the center of the cavern are the following 3 buildings: a government center, a temple to Being, and the Hall of Being. These buildings are arranged so that the gov. building and the temple are facing each other and the Hall of Being is between them. Like a U, sort of, where the Hall of Being is in the bottom part. From the opening there is a stone road. With their riches, the Dimortali could pave it with gold, but that would be like humans paving their roads with bread. The road starts there and spirals outward until if finally reaches the cavern wall, where it then circles all the way up and around. Along the cavern wall are the cave homes of the people. Along the road moving outwards to the wall there are business buildings and the like. For them to reach the Hall they would have to walk along the spiral road around and around for quite awhile. This isn't that much of a problem for adults, because of their endurance, nor the children, because they just pass through to the center. The Hall is the center of civic activity. There are areas designated for public recreation where children run around, a big stage where everyone gathers to listen to speeches and watch plays, and there are the big halls where people just stand around talking or relaxing. Also, right after the main hall, after the entrance is the Food Hall. Here, the people gather for their dinner. Families may sit together or children with other children while parents eat with parents. The Government building is where the people go to to vote and it's also where the court is. The government is sort of a democracy, where the people would all vote on an issue (including minors, though only in some issues). Beforehand, though, there is a debate. Anyone is free to speak, either to say or ask just one thing or to go on stage and participate greatly. Suggestions for other solutions are always welcome. After voting, a group will count up the votes and another group will check it afterwards. Once the votes are finalized, the result is announced in the Hall of Being the next day, or earlier, depending on urgency. Court affairs, lawsuits (rare) or criminals (even rarer) are tried before an annually elected jury of 3, plus 4 more random citizens, with a total of 7 jurors. Cases are fought as the two sides see fit, though one side may object to the tactics of one side and the 3 elected jurors will decide. If in favor of the objecting party they will rechoose the other 4 jurors and retry the case, presuming the tactic went too far. If it was a mild transgression, the disfavored side isn't allowed to continue in that manner and all jurors are instructed to disregard the previous tactics. The Temple of Being is the temple to the creation god(s?). Temples to other gods would be next to this temple, along with the first few steps of the spiraling road. Along the cavern wall the opposite point of which the spiral meets the wall is the opening to the outside Underdark. Here the Dimortali leave to their mine/farms, about a 2 hours or so before the biggest meal of the day. The miners return with the metal and they carry it to the Hall for preparations of meals. This may seem like not a lot of time spent on mining, but in truth, there are always expansive stores of metals and the Dimortali miners work tirelessly all day, producing a lot more metal than a team of humans of the same size would in that time. There are about several dozen different families per city. Each with about 7 people in them, ~250-300 people in each city. That would be about 180-200 votes usually. But including kids and teens, that would be about 245-280 or so. Although that might seem a lot, it really isn't. You have a team of about 7 and they each only have to look at a person's vote and mark it down. That takes them about ten minutes. Repeat the counting and the Dimortali are done by the night. It's not like there's that much to vote on... they eat rocks after all. Even these cities would be kinda rare because the Dimortali themselves aren't that common. Cities would be spread apart widely because they wouldn't want to intrude on each other's mining sites. If the metal is eventually completely emptied from the region, the people would either break up into different groups that go to different cities, or they all migrate to another city and stay there, or they all go to another city near an uninhabited area and slowly build another city by digging out the cavern and gathering the stone to build the homes and such. In that instance, the people not working on the new city would help their host city in return for the temporary homes. The Demortali's average adult height is about 5 feet, 10 inches or so. They don't range in height as much as humans do. Their body form is exactly like a human's would be, but with longer "hair" on their heads, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Their "hair" is actually strands of bronze, silver, or gold, sometimes mixed. Demortali eye and skin color is all the same-a strange silvery gold color. Pupils are a dark golden color. The color begins to darken to a deep golden color as they become seniors. Demortali men usually wear their hair shoulder length and tied back, while womens' hair is longer and usually reach halfway to three-quarters way to their waist and is unbound. Men wear loose, plain tunics and pants casually; dark simple uniforms for mining; and have metallic tunics and pants with elaborate robes (not the stereotypical wizard/witch kind, the kind that opens in the front) over it for formal events. Women wear either simple dresses or a tunic and skirt casually; and elaborate dresses for formal events. Children look like miniature versions of the adults. Nothing about them makes people unfamiliar with the Demortali suspect that they can pass through walls. Their floating is hardly noticeable, especially with the dim lighting underground. Children wear basically smaller versions of adult clothing. The only difference in hair styles is that boys tend to have have short hair, eventually letting it grow when they get older. In battle, the Demortali wear simple clothing. Women may join battle, but as the government and Hall duties mostly lay on them and what with the need to continue mining they are usually forced to stay behind. The Demortali soldier's clothing are made from gold threads. This is because the soldiers may find themselves lacking food and may start eating their clothing to avoid starvation. Also, as eating metal regenerates them, quickly biting off a part of his own uniform may make him heal any small wounds a soldier may have gotten. "Civilized" enemy soldiers will actually strip a dead Demortali for their golden clothing. The weapons the Demortali usually wield are either their own powerful fists, stone carved weapons, or (if the city can afford the loss of food) metal weapons. Demortali are capable of becoming mages especially powerful with spells that use metals as components. Demortali spellcasters often either cast spells that have some effect on or from metal, or cast spells having to do with the dead. These spellcasters don't resurrect the dead, but commune with them or call forth spiritual weapons (such as using calling forth his/her ancestors to form an explosion of energy or creating a temporary sword made of willing ancestral souls). They almost never force spirits to do their will, but instead request their aid. These are suggestions and stuff for D&D stuff, etc.: -The kids have +X(I guess, 2) on Dexterity (I think) and -X on Constitution, whereas the adults have -X on Dexterity and +X on Constitution. All of these people get +Y on Charisma. The kids, being incorporeal, are obviously less sturdy, but more agile. The adults are very sturdy and have high endurance, but their metallic bodies slows them down. All of these people are naturally kind, even towards peculiar strangers. Only hostile advances causes these people to respond in a hostile manner. -The kids are Incorporeal and the adults have Ghost Touch (I think that's what Bandido said), but only towards their own young. -They all have Darkvision. -The kids all float slightly above the ground, about a half-foot without any focus. They can move in any direction without any pause or thought. They move in that direction by simply wishing to move that way. -The kids all have Absorb Metal, which lets them absorb metal into their bodies by "touching" it by will. About 5 cubic centimeters per 15 seconds. A little bit bigger than a rubics cube every two rounds.. so a sword in about 6 rounds. Moving the absorbed metal away from the child would stop the process. If a predominantly metal item is subjected to the child's Absorb Metal long enough that at least 40% of it is absorbed, the item will be rendered unusable. -Adults have Metal Skin, which protects them almost completely from wooden weapons, and metallic/stone weapons' total damage would be reduced according to the weapon's hardness compared to the skin's hardness. Metal Skin also makes them recieve more fire damage. Rusting spells deal damage to them while spells that "derust" something can heal damage, but only damage dealt by rust spells. -Kids and adults share Metal-Based Body. This makes it so that as they eat/absorb metal into their bodies, they heal damage. -Teenagers, or children going through puberty, have the properties of children, but may spontaneously change so that it has the properties of an adult for 6d20 minutes. Checks for the change is done every round (I still have no idea how long's a round) and the check is done by rolling a d12. The change takes place if the rolled number is from 9 to 12. If any part of the teen is within a solid object when she takes on the properties of an adult, that part is stuck within the object, as if it were stuck in a hole in the object. Nothing other than discomfort is done to the teen because of this. -Dimortali Fists: A Dimortali's natural weapons are considered a slam attack. -Metalic Metabolism: Dimortali do not suffer from dehydration, and do not require normal food to survive. Instead a Dimortali must absorb (via touch) 2 ounces of solid metal every day. This metal is destroyed/ingested via a spell-like natural ability. Failure to meet this requirment results in the Dimortali suffering from a form of starvation otherwise identical to a normal character. Demortali (I'll just do the stats, Dream Spinner, you fill in the blanks in a normal race entry if you want, but it's not really needed.) Demortalorum racial stats (The name 'Demortalus' appears to be Latin {certainly its plural follows Latin declension}, and demortalorum is the genitive plural, which is as close to an adjective as you're going to get) +4 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity: The metallic frame of the Demortali is extremely sturdy, but rigid, and often unmanoeuvrable. All Demortali are charming, and friendly. Medium size: As medium-sized creatures, Demortalorum have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size. Demortalorum base speed is 30 ft. Demortalorum base burrowing speed is 10 ft Natural weapons: Slap d6/d6. Dermortali have large fists that deal out forceful blows to their enemies. Natural Armour +4: The demortalorum hard metallic skin helps deflect blows. Ghost touch (Ex): the natural weapons of a demortalus have the special weapon ability Ghost Touch. The demortali are incorporeal before puberty, and this ability allows them to interact with their young. Darkvision: Demortali can see in the dark up to 120 ft. Darkvision is black and white, but otherwise functions the same as normal vision. Fire vulnerability (Ex): Demortali take double damage from fire on a failed save. Their metal skin conducts heat to their innards surprisingly well. Eat Metal: Instead of normal food, Demortali eat metal, and must consume 3 pounds of metal, or 6 pounds of unrefined ore, a day to avoid starving. When they eat metal, they heal 1 HP for each pound they eat. +4 racial bonus to Profession: Miner and Craft: Blacksmith. The denortali have much practice at finding, refining, and shaping metal. Damage reduction 4/metal: The metal skin of a Demortalus resists most blows, but their ability to incorporate metal into their bodies unfortunately applies to metal weapons too. Favoured Class: Fighter. The natural abilities of demortali allow them to excel in the front line. Level Adjustment: +2. Demortali are more powerful than standard PC races, and consequently gain levels more slowly. Hmmm, I'm really not sure about these. The LA...are they worth it? I'd hate to see one of these encounter a rust monster :D . I'll do the children later, but as a monster, probably. Iyala: Thanx for the links. I can't get the Magic set editor (I get told that I have to download it directly from his website, when I'm already there :confused: ) but the M:tG editor works fantastically! I've made some cards, so how do I post them here? Should I e-mail them to you so you can attach them? The IMG tag doesn't apppear to work here....
the_one_true_shea 10-23-06, 04:59 PM	I really think these guys are super neat.. mainly because the kids would have to be "monster entries" One problem I have with the.. "too nice" Going through their description "everyone gets along" nothing to vote on, court is almost an after thought.. I mean talk about shiny happy people. Wheres the "struggle?" There must be conflict for there to be heroics!