Amiel
2010-03-26, 11:08 PM
This is what I wrote quite a while ago; Enjoy
Future Shock
Are humans merely terrestrial creatures? Beyond the solar system, beyond even the Milky Way, in the insurmountably vast universe, parallel strains of humanity have evolved and flourished.
Planets, some devoid of life, others teeming with an array of species orbit massive suns, themselves caught in the vector of galaxies. Humans are not alone here, other races too share the abundance, or sometimes lack thereof.
The future has come to these civilisations, for good or ill. Colossal transporter ships seed more planets, while agile Fury class fighters vigorously defend their homeworlds. Cybernetic enhancements and biomechanical upgrades are freely available to those wealthy enough to afford them.
There is a dark side, crime on many worlds is rampant, on some it has progressed beyond endemic. Brought upon by crushing poverty and draconian rule, these inhabitants wallow in the filth and despair of existence. Wars have extinguished entire peoples. Plagues and diseases have wiped out many more.
In the midst of all this, these races have ceased to become afraid. Desensitised to the point of extremity, they have ceased to know fear. Calamity to those "lucky" enough.
For the supernatural is real, a tangible, alive thing. Demons sow discord and devils damn. Evil gods demand worship. Angels and benevolent deities strive to help in any way they can. Hell is very real.
Curiously, as a remnant of past overdeific might, a phenomenon known as the Iscariot or Sicarius Restrictive greatly limits fiendish incursions or celestial benevolence. Fiends have found a loophole, possessing races so as to liberally indulge in vice and sin, damning their souls for eternity. Angels influence those who have yet the spark of goodness in dreams and visions.
The winds of change are on the horizon...technologies and spells guarding the races are failing, protective sigils are crumbling into so much dust and ash. An epic spell has reversed the inability to feel fear, magnifying the emotion tenfold.
One thousand years has passed, like quicksand in the hourglass, fiends and other nasties have began to walk the worlds again...
The XX
Based on the world of Novus Lucia, The secretive XX or 20, are a private, almost philanthropic organisation dedicated to the censure and extinction of fiends.
Originally founded as the Knights of the Rose Cross ten thousand years ago during an event lost to memory, the organisation has survived numerous attempts to destabilise it and tumultuous powerplays.
The members of the organisation rigorously and diligently adhere to the principle "that which does not kill me only makes me stronger." It is unfortunate though oddly fitting that its rank and file are composed of those who have suffered terribly in some way, mostly if not entirely because of fiends.
Having witnessed the true nature and full extent of the horror of these fiends first hand, most of these individuals have become emotionally deadened. Most if not all will cry, though without remorse and unflinching, as they exorcise the world of demons, devils and the foul.
The title of the organisation refers to the sections or departments that comprise it and the individuals that make up the ruling council.
There are 20 departments, with three each dedicated to combating the three fiendish "races." Raw recruits and those yet inexperienced are naturally present in the lower tiers, with the progressively more powerful in the higher.
One substantially larger section is devoted entirely to reconnaissance, information gathering and digestion of facts, while another is devoted to surveillance and monitoring.
One more is devoted to procurement and manufacture of arms.
Another is the research and experimental division.
The remaining seven divisions are unknown to the rank and file and kept, and continues to be kept, in confidence. It is whispered that the ruling council makes up the final department.
The members willingly work effectively together and they are usually briefed in depth. It is with a confidence in their abilities and desire to work well that enables and empowers the ruling council to make that decision.
The organisation seeks to help the general populace as well as it can, though because of its organised "lawlessness," fraternising with the order is frowned upon by governments. The order has also made an enemy and rival in the Most High church sanctioned ordos.
While there are members of faith in The XX, most if not all prefer the hard steel of an enchanted longsword or the solid comfort of a rapid fire rail gun. It is because of this lack of faith and its willingness to associate with the dirt of society that has made the ordos look upon it with a mixture of pity and disgust.
The secretive nature of the order allows to it to maneuver behind enemy lines and leave little trace of its presence. This is opposition and contrast to the ordos, who seek out heretics, bringing the wrath of the inquisition down upon them.
The XX make liberal use of genetic, technological or biomechanical enhancements, with little to no visual difference. As a consequence, its members are able to effectively deal with fiends; without such an obvious advantage, thousands of souls would have already been lost.
Little is known of one of its powerful members. A sybarite, he is a descendant of the exceedingly powerful maletherions.
The Pulse
To those willing enough, the internet is able to be perceived as a reality construct. Marketed as a cybernetic upgrade, the Pulse allows the everyday individual to directly imprint a computer unto his or her brain and traverse cyberspace. It has become exceedingly popular, as it allows a direct wetware-cyberware interface and enables the person to manifest a physical entity within the virtual world and interact with the contents of the internet and with others.
Would it be so that things are so simple. The surgery required to get the implant is curiously inexpensive. With minimal side- and after-effects, millions have flocked to get it implanted, eager to explore and savor the physical delights of the internets.
However, not all is as it seems. To ensure continuation, the integrity and maintenance of the enhancement, consumers are required to consume quantities of the expensive food Cyblex. Essentially a drug, Cyblex forces total addiction upon the consumer, and soon the consumer is focused totally upon the internet. Inevitably, as Cyblex is not a real food and contains no nutritional value, death occurs.
Though such is often a slow, agonising process; the consumer does not feel any physical pain from wasting, muscular dystrophy, etc as the mind is fully fixated upon experiencing cyberspace. Cyblex also prolongs the longevity of the consumer to beyond what would normally be a healthy lifespan. Such are the dark delights of the future.
The Fleshvats of Segmentum Nocture
Hidden within the Segmentum Nocture; those seeking intellectual illumination have always been at the forefront of the accumulation of knowledge. Numerous treatises have expounded upon various phenomena, from the seemingly inscrutable indifference of the ghost elves to the social control endorsed by the Extensialecclesiarchry of Hyperios.
Despite scholarly interest in acquiring yet more lore, there are bits of knowledge unattainable, unspeakable, forbidden. For the persistent however, such illumination is not a question of how but a question of when.
The fleshvats of Nocture fall solidly within the category of forbidden lore. Speculation is rife where their history is concerned. For the Extensialecclesiarchry, such an attitude is perfectly reasonable. But for those powerful enough or unassuming enough to dodge the red tape of bureaucratic fascism, a disturbing image appears.
For those academics of antiquity, commonality may be found with the fleshvats of the Nocture Segmentum and the fleshvats of the Segmentum Intarias, perhaps suggesting a shared past and prehistory.
Those delving further have uncovered what is perhaps the most damning article ever, cementing rumor that perhaps both Intarias and Nocture are merely experiments of the ashtariel.
As for how each dominion controls a fleshvat, the fleshvat as a non-sentient was constructed to respond willingly and well to commands imposed upon it by someone wielding the correct "key."
Now, what are fleshvats really? The one conjecture that raises the most questions and perhaps is the singularly correct theory details a failed experiment on part of the ashtariel to create a magocracy/arcanocracy. This civilisation was probably the precursor that led to the formation of the Extensialecclesiarchry.
These mages rebelled and in their hubris contrived to become deities themselves. They very nearly succeeded...which some point out was the very plan of the ashtariel all along. The ashtariel did something that caused a tremendous arcane backlash that caused each and every mage to merge. The mages of that forgotten civilisation, who once prized their intellects now were in a comatose limbo, in a vegetable state. They forever lost their ability to think and rationalise.
The primary use of the fleshvat is to grow creatures, namely humanoids; indeed, the fleshvats used by the Extensialecclesiarchry are tasked with the "production" of van'us (the powerful assassins of the Extensialecclesiarchry).
A fleshvat is able is to produce any kind of humanoid to a certain point (their character level cannot exceed 45 HD) along with any template that is deemed appropriate (so, no templates that will turn the creature into an undead).
A fleshvat cannot create outsiders (native or extraplanar) and cannot produce aberrations. But those it can create are created at an accelerated pace. A fleshvat also serves to nullify most unfortunate and degenerate effects. Only the "most advantageous genetic material" is made use of; those created by the fleshvat may (operative word) have sweeping immunities or resistances. Ie, a van'us has immunity to poison, resistance to cold and electricity 10.
Rumor has it that thieves, murders, dissenters, traitors and heretics are recycled in the pool as stock to be used for the creation of something else.
A fleshvat is a curious design, appearing as a pool of sanguine liquid some 700 km across. Obstensibly it is composed of living muscle and bone, nutrients and oxygen cause the pool to emit a throbbing, sickly green glow.
A fleshvat is a non-sentient DvR 17 entity with the following SDAs; Power of Nature, Mind of the Beast, Mass Life and Death, Gift of Life, Life Drain, Increased Damage Reduction, Increased Energy Resistance, Increased Spell Resistance, Grow Creature, Create Object, Create Greater Object, Divine Creation, Divine Splendor, Unique, Unique, Unique, Divine Spellcasting, Energy Storm
Future Shock
Are humans merely terrestrial creatures? Beyond the solar system, beyond even the Milky Way, in the insurmountably vast universe, parallel strains of humanity have evolved and flourished.
Planets, some devoid of life, others teeming with an array of species orbit massive suns, themselves caught in the vector of galaxies. Humans are not alone here, other races too share the abundance, or sometimes lack thereof.
The future has come to these civilisations, for good or ill. Colossal transporter ships seed more planets, while agile Fury class fighters vigorously defend their homeworlds. Cybernetic enhancements and biomechanical upgrades are freely available to those wealthy enough to afford them.
There is a dark side, crime on many worlds is rampant, on some it has progressed beyond endemic. Brought upon by crushing poverty and draconian rule, these inhabitants wallow in the filth and despair of existence. Wars have extinguished entire peoples. Plagues and diseases have wiped out many more.
In the midst of all this, these races have ceased to become afraid. Desensitised to the point of extremity, they have ceased to know fear. Calamity to those "lucky" enough.
For the supernatural is real, a tangible, alive thing. Demons sow discord and devils damn. Evil gods demand worship. Angels and benevolent deities strive to help in any way they can. Hell is very real.
Curiously, as a remnant of past overdeific might, a phenomenon known as the Iscariot or Sicarius Restrictive greatly limits fiendish incursions or celestial benevolence. Fiends have found a loophole, possessing races so as to liberally indulge in vice and sin, damning their souls for eternity. Angels influence those who have yet the spark of goodness in dreams and visions.
The winds of change are on the horizon...technologies and spells guarding the races are failing, protective sigils are crumbling into so much dust and ash. An epic spell has reversed the inability to feel fear, magnifying the emotion tenfold.
One thousand years has passed, like quicksand in the hourglass, fiends and other nasties have began to walk the worlds again...
The XX
Based on the world of Novus Lucia, The secretive XX or 20, are a private, almost philanthropic organisation dedicated to the censure and extinction of fiends.
Originally founded as the Knights of the Rose Cross ten thousand years ago during an event lost to memory, the organisation has survived numerous attempts to destabilise it and tumultuous powerplays.
The members of the organisation rigorously and diligently adhere to the principle "that which does not kill me only makes me stronger." It is unfortunate though oddly fitting that its rank and file are composed of those who have suffered terribly in some way, mostly if not entirely because of fiends.
Having witnessed the true nature and full extent of the horror of these fiends first hand, most of these individuals have become emotionally deadened. Most if not all will cry, though without remorse and unflinching, as they exorcise the world of demons, devils and the foul.
The title of the organisation refers to the sections or departments that comprise it and the individuals that make up the ruling council.
There are 20 departments, with three each dedicated to combating the three fiendish "races." Raw recruits and those yet inexperienced are naturally present in the lower tiers, with the progressively more powerful in the higher.
One substantially larger section is devoted entirely to reconnaissance, information gathering and digestion of facts, while another is devoted to surveillance and monitoring.
One more is devoted to procurement and manufacture of arms.
Another is the research and experimental division.
The remaining seven divisions are unknown to the rank and file and kept, and continues to be kept, in confidence. It is whispered that the ruling council makes up the final department.
The members willingly work effectively together and they are usually briefed in depth. It is with a confidence in their abilities and desire to work well that enables and empowers the ruling council to make that decision.
The organisation seeks to help the general populace as well as it can, though because of its organised "lawlessness," fraternising with the order is frowned upon by governments. The order has also made an enemy and rival in the Most High church sanctioned ordos.
While there are members of faith in The XX, most if not all prefer the hard steel of an enchanted longsword or the solid comfort of a rapid fire rail gun. It is because of this lack of faith and its willingness to associate with the dirt of society that has made the ordos look upon it with a mixture of pity and disgust.
The secretive nature of the order allows to it to maneuver behind enemy lines and leave little trace of its presence. This is opposition and contrast to the ordos, who seek out heretics, bringing the wrath of the inquisition down upon them.
The XX make liberal use of genetic, technological or biomechanical enhancements, with little to no visual difference. As a consequence, its members are able to effectively deal with fiends; without such an obvious advantage, thousands of souls would have already been lost.
Little is known of one of its powerful members. A sybarite, he is a descendant of the exceedingly powerful maletherions.
The Pulse
To those willing enough, the internet is able to be perceived as a reality construct. Marketed as a cybernetic upgrade, the Pulse allows the everyday individual to directly imprint a computer unto his or her brain and traverse cyberspace. It has become exceedingly popular, as it allows a direct wetware-cyberware interface and enables the person to manifest a physical entity within the virtual world and interact with the contents of the internet and with others.
Would it be so that things are so simple. The surgery required to get the implant is curiously inexpensive. With minimal side- and after-effects, millions have flocked to get it implanted, eager to explore and savor the physical delights of the internets.
However, not all is as it seems. To ensure continuation, the integrity and maintenance of the enhancement, consumers are required to consume quantities of the expensive food Cyblex. Essentially a drug, Cyblex forces total addiction upon the consumer, and soon the consumer is focused totally upon the internet. Inevitably, as Cyblex is not a real food and contains no nutritional value, death occurs.
Though such is often a slow, agonising process; the consumer does not feel any physical pain from wasting, muscular dystrophy, etc as the mind is fully fixated upon experiencing cyberspace. Cyblex also prolongs the longevity of the consumer to beyond what would normally be a healthy lifespan. Such are the dark delights of the future.
The Fleshvats of Segmentum Nocture
Hidden within the Segmentum Nocture; those seeking intellectual illumination have always been at the forefront of the accumulation of knowledge. Numerous treatises have expounded upon various phenomena, from the seemingly inscrutable indifference of the ghost elves to the social control endorsed by the Extensialecclesiarchry of Hyperios.
Despite scholarly interest in acquiring yet more lore, there are bits of knowledge unattainable, unspeakable, forbidden. For the persistent however, such illumination is not a question of how but a question of when.
The fleshvats of Nocture fall solidly within the category of forbidden lore. Speculation is rife where their history is concerned. For the Extensialecclesiarchry, such an attitude is perfectly reasonable. But for those powerful enough or unassuming enough to dodge the red tape of bureaucratic fascism, a disturbing image appears.
For those academics of antiquity, commonality may be found with the fleshvats of the Nocture Segmentum and the fleshvats of the Segmentum Intarias, perhaps suggesting a shared past and prehistory.
Those delving further have uncovered what is perhaps the most damning article ever, cementing rumor that perhaps both Intarias and Nocture are merely experiments of the ashtariel.
As for how each dominion controls a fleshvat, the fleshvat as a non-sentient was constructed to respond willingly and well to commands imposed upon it by someone wielding the correct "key."
Now, what are fleshvats really? The one conjecture that raises the most questions and perhaps is the singularly correct theory details a failed experiment on part of the ashtariel to create a magocracy/arcanocracy. This civilisation was probably the precursor that led to the formation of the Extensialecclesiarchry.
These mages rebelled and in their hubris contrived to become deities themselves. They very nearly succeeded...which some point out was the very plan of the ashtariel all along. The ashtariel did something that caused a tremendous arcane backlash that caused each and every mage to merge. The mages of that forgotten civilisation, who once prized their intellects now were in a comatose limbo, in a vegetable state. They forever lost their ability to think and rationalise.
The primary use of the fleshvat is to grow creatures, namely humanoids; indeed, the fleshvats used by the Extensialecclesiarchry are tasked with the "production" of van'us (the powerful assassins of the Extensialecclesiarchry).
A fleshvat is able is to produce any kind of humanoid to a certain point (their character level cannot exceed 45 HD) along with any template that is deemed appropriate (so, no templates that will turn the creature into an undead).
A fleshvat cannot create outsiders (native or extraplanar) and cannot produce aberrations. But those it can create are created at an accelerated pace. A fleshvat also serves to nullify most unfortunate and degenerate effects. Only the "most advantageous genetic material" is made use of; those created by the fleshvat may (operative word) have sweeping immunities or resistances. Ie, a van'us has immunity to poison, resistance to cold and electricity 10.
Rumor has it that thieves, murders, dissenters, traitors and heretics are recycled in the pool as stock to be used for the creation of something else.
A fleshvat is a curious design, appearing as a pool of sanguine liquid some 700 km across. Obstensibly it is composed of living muscle and bone, nutrients and oxygen cause the pool to emit a throbbing, sickly green glow.
A fleshvat is a non-sentient DvR 17 entity with the following SDAs; Power of Nature, Mind of the Beast, Mass Life and Death, Gift of Life, Life Drain, Increased Damage Reduction, Increased Energy Resistance, Increased Spell Resistance, Grow Creature, Create Object, Create Greater Object, Divine Creation, Divine Splendor, Unique, Unique, Unique, Divine Spellcasting, Energy Storm