Friday, November 27, 2015

the races of the other world with no name

The following are the most prominent races present in the other world with no name (or lizard world, for reference purposes), which is the planet that the last post is set in

The Lizard People
the most prominent race in the world. they essentially function as this planet's version of humans, but since mammals are extremely rare and always exceedingly violent and disgusting, humans are not present at all. there are many different cultures, ethnicities, subspecies, etc., just like humans

Elves
Since they are extraterrestrial in origin, they can be found on many different worlds. However, I have already written about them. a lot. Just think alien almost humanoid sadists, and you have the majority of what they are down.

Dark Elves (Drow)
the Dark Elves are the opposite of elves in every way. they are pacifists, instead of living in space they live underground and on the ocean floor, they are exceedingly religious (elves are all athiests), and they have inverted color palettes. for every elf alive, there is a mirror dark elf that hides away somewhere underground, worshiping the center of the world. think inverted color palette pacifist evangelical christians who worship the center of the world. Sometimes they will mutate into the terribly inverted nilbogs.

Homonculi
the homonculi are created by wizards, witches, cultists, alchemists, priests, etc. for many purposes. They are small creatures of flesh, brought to life through some arcane means, and augmented for some purposes by their creators. they are different from golems in that a golem is a hunk of material puppetted by esoteric and eldritch forces, whereas a homonculus is an actual living creature of flesh and blood (although they do tend to have unnatural abilities, and all have regenerative properties). If you cast dispel magic on a golem, it would fall apart. If you cast dispel magic on a homonculus, nothing would happen, for now they are living creatures.


Robots
Robots are created by roving factories that swallow all of the resources that they come across and produce artificial beings that they drop off while crawling. They are made of stone, metal, plastic, wood, bone, and many other sorts of material, and they are powered by some mysterious energy. They can look like anything, and are usually made for some specific use, though that use is usually not known by the robot.

The K'Kladorf
k'kladorf are a race of eyeless giant mole crickets that live underground. They see the world through their sensitive hairs and antennae, and speak with a clicking and clacking insect language. They are hoarders of all materials/goods/items, which don't necessarily have to be valuable, and they are very paranoid at all times. They revere those who go up to the surface as heroes, like how we honor astronauts, and they are incredibly individualistic. K'kladorf enclaves/holds don't have a true leader, because each cricket believes themself to be the leader.
most orcas probably look like this

The Orcas
Orcas are semi-humanoid, larger than a human intelligent whales from The Wall of Whales. They have mouths filled with ravor-sharp teeth, and come in many sorts, ranging from smaller dolphin-men to great blue whale ogres. They are all obsessed with violence and with killing things, and that is truly all that they live for. Also they are famous for their "sexual depravity".
This was drawn by my friend xenon, whose art can be found at twcannibalism.tumblr.com!

Lycanthropes
Werewolves come from the moon. Or, rather, one of the moons. They are a strange "mutant" kind of lizard person, changed by alien parasitic worms into some kind of mammalian predator, somewhere between a hound and a person, or maybe (though less common), some other mammal and a person. They are incredibly varied, even in the same familial group, and the disease can be passed down from parent to child. However, these worms are newly introduced, and thus only newly infected first generation werewolves exist.

The Vermis
The Vermis are undead creatures. They are made when a living being is eaten by worms, who absorb the person's consciousness and wish to continue that person's life, as an undead conglomeration of worms and bugs. Some say that there are more mindless versions of these creatures that are made through other means, such as druidic magic, the powers and influence of The Graveyard, or by some collective consciousness of a group of creatures.

Gorgons
Gorgons are intelligent mammal-like reptiles with incredibly powerful venom and poisonous skin. Some say that the venom and poison of a gorgon can turn you to stone, but this is almost completely unfounded. Their venom/poison paralyzes whoever is subjected to it. They will usually walk on all fours, but can walk in a more upright fashion for a short time.

Cadavers
The Cadavers are undead creatures, in a similar vein to the Vermis, though they are more of a being's corpse rather than the creatures that fed upon a being. If something can die and leave behind a corpse, it can become a Cadaver. Cadavers will usually be rotting meaty creatures, preserved dead flesh, or a dusty and ancient skeleton, though any kind of dead thing at any point of decomposition or preservation is an option. Unlike the Vermis, cadavers usually forget their past lives before death, or only have the faintest of recollections of them.

Undines
Undines are a race of aquatic amazons, of a sort. They are an all female race of fish people who have formed many warring empires and nations underwater, and even some that crawl up onto land. When underwater, they appear to be dunkleosteus, but with great variety of skin tone and other such features (some might have bright red hair-like gills coming forth from their heads). When above water, they take on a humanoid form, but they retain the toothy and bony faces of those antediluvian aquatics. They are violent, but in a more military style, rather than the Orca type of brutal combat.

is this game a gonzo game?? yes

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

I HAVE BEEN GONE FOR A WHILE AND I HAVE MANY THINGS

SORRY ABOUT MY ABSENCE

but while i was gone, I was working on many things! I began an over-skype dungeons and dragons game (which i will be posting about over here), and I am working a second over-skype dnd game, which will be played shortly. The first game is entirely improvisation (or almost entirely) so i cannot really talk about it, but the second game is more planned out. it will be a large-ish wilderness sandbox, found in a region of one of the two main planets for my main dungeons and dragons setting (I created a new world solely for this game) I am here to talk about the region, through the use of jeff rient's 20 questions.

  1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
Well there are a whole lot of religions, but the most prominent (at least on this continent) is The Concordance of Ahjax, it is a church that worships lots of different saints, demigods, bishops, etc. who are all lesser to an ultimate being named Ahjax, who is actually an only-semiconscious reptilian titan who floats through space with a belly full of serpents. Other major cults and religions include a great dog made of and embodying energy named Growl, a sentient spirit of natural disasters who takes on the form of a roving stormcloud, the floating and screaming god/planet known only as The Graveyard, a weird being of pure chaos and weirdness from the place between dimensions, an embodiment of the network of all of life, and so many small godlings, demigods, demons, spirits, etc.
  1. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
the town that the players begin the story in (The Citystate of Karm) is fairly economic and industrial, and so standard equipment is easily enough purchased there. Other nations ad towns will have their own shops as well, though what they consider standard might vary.
  1. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
Most of your characters would be "monsters" that might require special armor and gear. all of the playable races are much stranger than the average fantasy equivalent, and the closest things to humanoids are the extraterrestrial sadist elves and the most populous race, the lizard people
  1. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
On the coast of the northern half of the region (the region is on the outward portion of an ocean gulf), there are the constantly warring twin nations of The Court of Xigzaea and the Court of Xigzuu. They are ruled by wizard siblings who hate each others guts, and got 8 other cosmic weirdos and spirits each to help them destroy the other. They might be the most powerful wizard in all the land, but of course wizards everywhere are constantly ascending into the heavens, turning themselves into liches, mutating their form into some monstrous version, seeing the truth behind reality, etc.
  1. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
obviously it is the first and forever king of The First Nation! or maybe its that giant jarl to the north, or the other giant jarl to the north. How about the dictator that rules the nation at Point Unpleasant? I've heard he was pretty good at fighting. Wasn't there some big muscle-y lady a while ago who tried to free all of the slaves in the whole region? she had a big sword i think. Lots of people are constantly doing amazing feats of strength and winning wars and battling monsters and whatnot
  1. Who is the richest person in the land?
We all know this! the terrible roving robot factories that trawl over the entire world and take resources, only to craft them into living beings. those machines have taken so many resources, they must be the richest! or maybe its some wizard. might be the beauracro-council of Karm, they have a lot of factories and stores and whatnot. Most rulers are pretty rich, just in general. Its probably some terrible moster or dragon or god though
  1. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
why would you ever go to magic to heal yourself, you fool! do you want to grow a second face on your shoulder or some eyeball on your foot or something? if you really want to use magic for something that won't just heal with a good amount of morphine cough syrup and waiting, most doctors have some minor witchcraft skill, and you could totally ask around for some sorcerer who could try to fix you up. there might be some woodland witches that'll help you, and some priests/cult leaders/clerics as well
  1. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
Firstly, undeath is not a disease, how could you be so bigoted. secondly, alignment change isn't really a thing in this setting. However, for most of that other stuff? look for a doctor or wizard or priest that can help you. They'll probably have an ad in the local paper, or maybe some sign up at their storefront. Curing death might be a bit more expensive, and i hop you like still rotting/being incorporeal. However, there is one thing that cannot be cured, and that is lycanthropy. Once you have the worms of the hound in you, you cannot get rid of them, no matter how hard you try. Any amount of mammal worm in your body is too many mammal worms.
  1. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
There are a lot of organizations that more arcane types can belong to. So many that most cannot be named here. You could, of course, go into service as an apprentice in the Wizard Courts, or you could learn from a pack of wilderland druids. You might get your power from a higher being, in which case you might belong to a church of some sort. There are lots of small sorcerer schools, and most cultures have their own types of magic and magic-users. There are so many schools, cults, monastic sects, etc.
  1. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
anywhere you can find any other kind of NPC, though they will oftentimes band together into guilds and sects and houses and whatnot. The Citystate of Karm has many merchants and engineers in it, as well as many economists
  1. Where can I hire mercenaries?
anywhere good adventuring gear is sold, or at the MultiRegional Mercenary Militia, a company that allows for mercenaries to get licenses and work for even more money than they could before. Most major cities have an office of theirs.
  1. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
Many places. In the Nation-State of Ath, all religion and bowing down to higher than mortal beings is illegal. In the Nation-State of the Concordance of Ahjax, all worship of religions other than the Concordance of Ahjax is forbidden. Most rulers have their own fears and superstitions that influence their lawmaking, and thus, many countries have some esoteric and confusing rules.
  1. Which way to the nearest tavern?
Ask the local Drunkard. every town has a Drunkard. they might not be drunk on alcohol, however
  1. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
There are so many. like i mentioned above, there are the roving robot factories, but those are huge and hard to destroy. There are the Orcas from the Wall of Whales (an ocean to the north, which is actually nowhere close to the region but orcas end up everywhere) (orcas are sort of this settings replacement for orcs, as they are bigger than human-sized intelligent whales that can sort of waddle on land). Probably some wizard just made some horrifying concoction of two beasts that everybody hates for killing all of their livestock. there are many monsters that rove the wilderness.
  1. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
Lots of wars, between lots of countries. 
  1. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
Yup, you just have to find them. Only one is very famous throughout the entire region, and that is the Imperial Arena of Point Unpleasant, where dissenters to the dictator are thrown. It is famous primarily because of horror stories that escapees from the nation tell of it.
  1. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
So many. The chaotic weirdness demon I mentioned above is trying to intrude upon the world, and thus there are followers of it, and every cult/monastic sect/etc. is a secret society
  1. What is there to eat around here?
Some places have fine dining, others have meat pies and rat-on-a-stick, some places have only dirt and potatoes, some places have basically fast food
  1. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
lots of them, especially the ones rumored to be hidden in The First Nation, if you can get over the walls
  1. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
Just over the hill. or maybe in the sewer, the cave just outside of town, the nation to the south/north/east/west, etc.