Let's Make Another Setting!

[Amaril]

It's time for another exercise in forum world-building :smallbiggrin: As usual, please limit your posting frequency to allow at least three other posts between each of yours. Try to keep your ideas fairly concise, but I won't impose a precise limit on length. I'm not planning on limiting the length of this exercise--as long as you stick to guidelines established in previous posts, you can keep posting more and more as long as you want.

So, let's get started.

1: Rather than a planet, this world is comprised of countless floating earthmotes suspended between the sky and a seemingly infinite, bottomless ocean.

[RossN]

2. There are two conflicting legends about the source of this world; one group believes it was created as a prison and the human (and other intelligent) inhabitants are descended from the original prisoners. The other group believes this world is a sanctuary for those from destroyed worlds and the inhabitants are descended from the rescued. Both groups agree people were magically brought here centuries or more ago.

[Weirdlet]

3. Those legends also state two different versions of the world's relation to the Hunters who spring forth from nowhere, brutally strike at the strongest warriors and groups, and then vanish for another century. One, that this realm is a sanctuary from them and that is why they are only seen once in a hundred years- or two, that this realm is a prison meant to hold their game for them.

[Domriso]

4. Humans are the only humanoid races in this floating world; all other intelligent races are vastly different in their physiologies. The major competitors to the Humans are a race known as the Darkana, an arachnoid-descended race which build vast webs to hold their earthmotes together.

[Amaril]

5:The smaller human cultures typically travel between earthmotes using flying mounts or, occasionally, flight magic. More technologically advanced civilizations build vast bridges to span the gaps and tie their motes together, and travel to unbridged motes using zeppelins and balloons.

[Sodalite]

6.Those legends, at least in the one aspect which they share, are not wholly incorrect. Life was brought to the earthmotes via magic. It might be easy to say that is the same, were not for the abysmal ocean beneath them. You would not be wrong to say the earthmotes were once lifeless, but you could not say the same of the waters below.

[Rizban]

7. The endless oceans below hold vast quantities of life, but they are also infinitely hostile. The ocean currents are driven by raw magical energies coursing through the oceans like arteries of energy. These currents are what make the world habitable to the earthmote dwellers, for it is only where these currents cross that an earthmote may form and stay suspended in the air.

However, the very formation of an earthmote in turn affects the currents below as if it were a magnet. The earthmote and the currents below form a balanced system where each drifts and drags the other along while simultaneously forcing the other apart. This endless dance causes the earthmotes to drift and move with the seasons.

[Zale]

8. The towering heights of the sky hold bright colorless light and fire behind a shimmering multicolored aurora. The fury of the furthest heights of they sky is so great that those earthmotes closest are nigh unlivable, yet the fire beams upon all of the motes with warming light. Legends say a paradise, or a hell, lies beyond the fire in the sky.

None who have ventured there have returned, save as falling ashes.

[Amaril]

9. There are two primary types of magic in this world--High Magic (read--Divine) and Deep Magic (read--Arcane). Each draws on one of the world's primary energy sources--High Magic pulls from the light and heat of the sky above, while Deep Magic draws its power from the life energies that drive the ever-shifting currents of the great ocean below.

[Sodalite]

10. Despite the extreme hostility of its originating locus, the myths surrounding the use of Deep Magic are largely false. Deep Magic draws upon vital energies, and besides the much-maligned Downfall spell, which draws the life from the target in the form of a rain-cloud, is largely easier to implement in the service of healing the living. High Magic, rather appropriate for its frequent use as a tool of retribution, is more lethal of the two, what with conjuring spheres of unquenchable flame and searing beams of light.

[RossN]

11. Dragons exist in this world and once ruled many of the earthmotes but now suffer under a curse than prevents them from remaining on a single earthmote for more than a day and night. They have become a nomadic race by force and lost much of their ancient culture and knowlege - some have been driven mad and become feral monsters venting their fury on human settlements. Others have held onto their minds and deal with humans as mounts and messangers in exchange for food and (temporary) shelter.

[Rizban]

12. Despite the over abundance of water, there is no natural rainfall. There are large, bloated seaweed-like plants that produce an air bladder filled with hydrogen gas, allowing them to float up into the sky away from the torrents of energy in the waters. Long filaments of roots trail in the Waters Beneath, nourishing the plant. These floating seaweed plants can be captured and used to siphon pure, drinking water up from the ocean below and are prized among the landlocked races. Unfortunately, the hydrogen gas in them is quite volatile, and floating too high into the Fires Above causes them to explode catastrophically.

[Amaril]

Ok, this is becoming far more awesome than I imagined when I started the thread. Well done guys :smallsmile: please keep it up!

A couple notes (not really proper concept additions, but little things that have been bugging me for a while:

A. This setting doesn't have a name yet! I'm thinking of calling it Shattered Lands, referring to the broken-up nature of the earthmotes, but if anyone wants to attach another idea to one of their idea posts, that would be more than welcome.

B. Constantly calling them "earthmotes" is a little awkward to type and to say, and also feels a bit like a ripoff of 4e Forgotten Realms (which is where I first encountered the term--I don't know if it came from somewhere else originally). I think we need a new name for these as well--I was thinking "shards" would be simple and appropriate, but again, ideas tacked on to other posts would be welcomed if you've got something better.

C. When I started this, I just wanted to have some fun with it and see where it went. Now, considering how awesome this setting is becoming to my sensibilities, I'm thinking I might actually want to run a play-by-post game set in it. I don't have much DM experience, but if anybody thinks they might be interested in doing this, I'd be open to seriously considering it. Please let me know if this sounds appealing, though it might be awhile regardless of people's interest in the idea.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. Please, keep checking back and keep the great ideas coming :smallbiggrin:

[Sodalite]

Hm...that post didn't contain a numbered idea, so I think I'll reserve the next one I had coming for after a few more come in. I will respond to what you've postured, though, Amaril.

Speaking about A, given the motes seem to be conglomerations of earth wherever the currents of life intersect, rather than the blasted remains of some larger world, Shattered Land doesn't quite seem right to me. Relating to my thoughts on B, maybe something like Earthly Asterism would work.

Speaking of B, I also don't quite like shards for a name, and as I looked through my thesaurus, I found an interesting synonym for crossroads. What does everyone think of Polestars as a name for the earthmotes?

Finally speaking of C, yes. Just yes. Heck, running a game, at least in my opinion, would be an excellent way of finding holes in the setting that we could then fill. We could even making filling holes part of the game, should we feel that would fun!

[Rizban]

I know I just posted, but as this is just a pointed finger at something and a suggestion rather than an actual post...

In my last post, I put forth the names of Fires Above and Waters Beneath. I think, as you suggested, Shards or Earth Shards would be an appropriate name. Seems cool to me anyway. :smalltongue:

Edit: I agree about the name not quite fitting, but shards don't necessarily have to be broken off of something and could be related to the "broken" nature of the world's surface.

Polestars sounds good, but I'd personally rather have something more "earthy" sounding than celestial. Maybe something that gives a sense of them being a place of refuge?

Heh, I'd run a game, but I'm already running 18 players through another game...

[THEChanger]

13. Earthmotes float at several differing altitudes, scattered all across the great expanse of the sky. However, much like the seaweed plants which provide them with water, Earthmotes tend to float around, and those which are higher might float into the Fires Above and be incinerated, while those too close to the Waters Below might be sucked in by the ever-shifting currents. This destruction of Earthmotes typically is a very slow one, and thus people have time to evacuate. What no one quite understands is where the new ones come from.

[Domriso]

14. The wind currents which move through the Earthmotes are far more complicated than can be understood by any normal sentient creature. As such, while methods of travel between the 'motes is common, it is also highly dangerous. Skilled "soarers" are thus highly sought after, as messengers, warriors, and scouts.

[Dragon Overlord]

15. The earthshards are mostly made of silicate rock and earth. Metals are hard to find. Most tools are made of natural materials with occasional metal tips.

[Rizban]

16. The Darkana are accomplished alchemists, capable of magically transmuting trace metals they find into the metal most needed. They even use their alchemistry to remove the trace metals from corpses for further use. They have not, however, learned how to create metal from non-metal components.

[Sodalite]

17: Given both the natural tool of their silk, and the great knowledge of alchemistry, which it should be noted is not magic in the same way High and Deep Magic are, Darkana are not especially reliant on the other cultures. For the most part, when they do interact, it is for acquisition of a rare resource, or simply out of the darkana's heart.

[C.J.Geringer]

The Ocean below and the fires above are actually edges to wholly diferent planes, and the setting is a frontier between the two, As such most outsider monster that arrive in the plane are aligned with either the ocean or the sky.

The most notable exception are rare little known "phase shifted" beings who seem to be "native outsiders". They can move trough solid matter of the motes, but are incapable of traveling trough air or water, essentially, solid material is to them like water to a fish, while air is solid to them.

This is my first time doing this, was it concise enough?

[Giegue]

In a time long before recorded history, both worlds that the frontier is caught between where at war. Rannok, the great inferno dragon, was ruler of the realm beyond the flaming heavens and Uthula the mighty kraken of the deep was the ruler of the vast ocean plane below. Rannok had a desire to spread his dominion into Uthula's world and totally destroy her. As a result, both Uthula and Rannok, in a bid to gain soldiers used their divine power to pull humans and other species from around the multiverse into their respective realms.

The war raged for centuries and in the end both Uthula and Rannok where destroyed. As a result their souls merged with their respective planes. Uthula's soul had become the magical energies that flow through the ocean-world and guide the pieces of the shattered moons(which became the earthmotes) while Rannok's soul became the everburning fire that surrounds the heavens. Magical energy from both of the two dead deities had become the force which supported the earthmotes. The humans and others dragged to these planes stayed in this place after the war, but had no home on either plane anymore. The oceans where too dangerous and the path to the heaves was now transformed into a great inferno. Even further, their magic was lost, with no deities to grant them power the had to start all over.

Deep Magic was created when humans and others learned to magical power from the mystic energy of Uthula that courses through the deep. High Magic was created when others did the same with the mystic energy of Rannok that exists in the inferno of the heavens.

Also, Dragons are rumored to be the children of Rannok and dragons in this setting cast divine magic, not arcane. Whether or not Dragons really are Rannok's children is truely unknown, and is more or less considered a myth.

[Zale]

20. Like our world, the earthmotes have many different biomes. However, their climate is affected more by their proximity to the Fires Above or the Waters Below than anything else. One of these biomes is a jungle-like habitat made from many plants interlining various earthmotes. These usually exist as close to the Fires Above as anything can safely.

[Dragon Overlord]

21. One of the biggest threats on the earthmotes is the quixars, a furry type of millipede. They are named for the sound they make. Quixars are non-magical, but very, very hard to kill.

When Quixars hatch from their eggs, they are approximately one meter long. They will then begin to eat whatever they can find. Quixars are omnivorous and will attempt to consume everything on the earthmote including other Quixars. An adult is typically 15 to 20 meters long, however, large barren earthmotes with 50 meter long Quixars have been reported.

After it has consumed all plant and animal life on the earthmote the quixar will develop an ovipositor that is capable of launching eggs well over 500 meters. In this way the terrible scourge spreads.

[Weirdlet]

22. There is little metal, except for the weapons that the Hunters sometimes leave behind if defeated. These are exceptionally rare and powerful, and highly prized to possess- but also cursed, because when the Season comes, these are the first locations that the Hunters will arrive.

[C.J.Geringer]

While the large jungle multi-motes biomes exist as close to the fires above as something safely can, there are other desertic biomes that exist usafely closer to the fires above. Some even begin to manifest low-level vulcanism, and are sometimes scoured by fire related weather patterns from the fires above. Their few inhabitant tend to have burrowing capabilities, or even live entirely underground.

[Sodalite]

24: Some, using powerful telescopes, claim to have even spotted creatures moving about on the surface of some such volcanic motes, which appeared to be made of molten stone. So far, these claims have been considered bunk due to there being no known mechanism by which lava could become animate, and the claim can't really be investigated without a telescope, considering the lethality of the environment being observed.

[Amaril]

25. Although some fear and distrust Deep Magic-users for their connection to the Waters Below, the governments (and generally the more educated) of larger civilizations value those learned in the lore of the ocean highly for their ability to predict the movements of the ocean currents--and, by extension, those of the motes. Rulers commonly employ a Deep Mage, or more than one, tasked specifically with predicting the movement of their own motes and those of their enemies.

High Mages more commonly serve as religious leaders than anything else, and many clerical organizations employ them as inquisitors to hunt criminals and the enemies of their faith.

[Amaril]

Still fantastic ideas, everybody. One recommendation--now that running a game of this setting is actually a possibility, it might be good to shift our focus a little more toward the details of specific cultures and locations rather than the larger scale (though if you have any more ideas like what we've already been doing, please post those too). Also, if anybody who wants to play a forum game has suggestions for what system we could use, that would be a good thing to discuss. I'm familiar with 3.5e, 4e and Pathfinder, but not much beyond that.

[RossN]

I sort of pictured some version of D&D - certainly the dragons I had in mind were sort of like the brass and copper dragons in size and temper. The lack of other humanoids is a bit unD&D though.

[Rizban]

26. The Fires Above and Waters Beneath may indeed be their own planes of existence, but they are essentially inaccessible. The endless oceans and burning fires are metaphysical walls that prevent access. This world, used as both prison and sanctuary in ages past, is the void between universes, a gap from which it is impossible to escape. Were a gate to be opened to allow escape, it would compromise the very existence of reality.

As such, summoning and calling magic is rare at best, as there are no other easily accessible planes. The "material" is all there is. The Hunters and other creatures capable of planar travel, often known as Walkers, exist on the edges of reality already, but even their travel threatens reality.

[Amaril]

I had expected to run the game as some form of D&D or Pathfinder--it would be perfectly reasonable to have humans be the only PC race, with the other intelligent species as NPC-only.

27. There are four main human nations in the known world, each based around cities on some of the largest motes. Humans from different nations have fairly regular contact with each other, and it is not uncommon to find humans from one country living in another. However, members of other races are much less likely to be found in any of the main human cities.

[C.J.Geringer]

28 the fifth most significant ethnicity(cultural impact-wise), is a race of nomads, who frequently travel from mote to mote, they have the most advanced knowledge regarding the movement patterns of the motes, as well as extremelly detailed and precise "migration charts", that are very jelously kept from non-nomads. they are sometimes hired for very steep prices as guides, messengers, or navegators.

They may very well be the ones with the deepest understanding of the world's nature.

[Rizban]

29. The nomads are known as the Sha'dre, which, in their own tongue, means simply "Travellers." The primary trade of the Sha'dre is water. They gather together large groups of the flying seaweed and tether them to lightweight vessels, allowing their ships to float through the skies and providing ample water supplies.

They have also domesticated a large mammal known as the Barier (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/136/b/c/barier_skywhale_by_silverbirch-d4zyl5p.jpg). These animals are used as transportation and as draft animals to pull their flying ships.

The Sha'dre are highly defensive of their ships and animals. Should they come under attack, they would prefer to slay their own animals and set fire to their ships, causing everything to explode and fall into the Waters Beneath, than to allow enemies to capture them.

[Pokonic]

29. There is a potent race that few pay much attention too: the Quixoi. (Effectivly Warforged)

A Quixoi looks slightly like a human, in that it has four limbs and a head in a roughly "huminoid" manner. The difference is that what most assume is the Quixoi's almost mechanical flesh is just that: mechanical. Within that armor shell is a shriveled ball of nerve tissue and brain cells that control there large external shells by sheer force. They are scattered, having a set number of sterile "Holds" (roughly 50 or so in number), each a baston of technology and magical power.

There are only a number of such mechanical "shells" in each Hold, with there being as many as a hundred Quixoi's per shell. The Quixoi's themselves are self-sufficant and do not require trade, as they usualy spend there lives floating in the green-gold ichor the Hold's themselves create in massive town-vats. They only send out a Armor-Bearer if a grave threat is detected that could threaten the Hold's themselves, and usualy send out such defenders in three's.

However, there have been two occasions where a Hold has been distroyed, and there are now nearly 2000 Holdless Quixoi's roaming the polestars. They tend to either group together with there fellow refuges or live alone, usualy taking mercenary jobs. While there suits are marvels of magic, naturaly repairing themselves and creating enough ichor for the Quixoi to live, they are inherently xenophobic against Quixoi from another Hold, creating issues when humans group them togther. The truth be told, the two displaced groups have a now-long history of terrorism against each other, with radical factions within each fostering hatred for the other group.

The Hihae, best known to humans as "the ones with the red-toxic green trimming", are the most scattered, with ties to several human trade groups, while the Ki'wezi, better known as the "freaky white-pink ones with the Deep fetish", continue to live roughly as they did before, and have at least two airships dedicated to slaying every Hihae they spy. Entire villages have been distroyed when a Ki'wezi ship noticed the town they had been interacting with had a new, blue-trimmed member. Those who remove there suit's colors face exile from either group, and a commen punishment in both factions is to scrach or even remove entirely the paint that adorns there metalic shells.

[Amaril]

31. Since the last Season of the Hunters 99 years ago, the largest of the human nations has been the constitutional monarchy of Kalastra. Boasting a thriving economy and a nigh-unbeatable skyship navy, the Kalastrians are widely admired and envied by many outside their borders.

The notable exceptions to this are the people of neighboring Talendra. A relatively small and poor nation, Talendra was until recently an annexed state to Kalastra. The rapid growth of Kalastrian industry resulted in large amounts of pollution and junk, most of which was traditionally dumped on the capital mote of Talendra, turning most of the Talendrans' territory into little better than a massive junkyard. 24 years ago, the Talendrans fought a brutal war of independence against Kalastra, which succeeded in granting them their own independent government. The two nations have endured singularly unpleasant relations since the end of the war.

[Sodalite]

32: Given how common trash was, and still is in Talendra, professions involved in the use or disposal of such things are just as common. It is rare to find a household without someone who has at least a year of experience as a recycler, and even rarer to find one without a hearth that can be fueled bytrash.

[Rizban]

33. The Quixoi, at least their organic parts, are the descendants of the Qual'tria. Qual'tria are powerful psionic butterfly-like creatures that once soared through the skies of this world. Their massive 25 foot wingspans kept these creatures aloft indefinitely, soaring on the air currents as they traveled from mote to mote. The are the only sapient species native to this world.

Unfortunately, during the great wars between veritable deities in ages past, their race was all but destroyed. With the incursion of the other races, particularly the Darkana, the Qual'tria were unable to reproduce as they once did. Their flourishing society, disorganized as it was, began to crumble. Their misshapen offspring, unable to fly free, shriveled and died until the Quixoi were created. A few Qual'tria still live, but they now never leave their home motes and the Quixoi holds that they oversee.

The Darkana and Quixoi are hated enemies and will frequently kill one another on sight.

[Amaril]

As an aside from the proper posts, how do you guys feel about Skyscape as a name for this setting?

[Rizban]

That strikes me as decidedly meh... I don't have a better idea at the moment though.

[Amaril]

Yeah, I'm not crazy about it, but it's the best I've come up with so far (I still think Shattered Lands sounds cool, but it doesn't really fit). Unless anyone else comes up with something better, we can go with Skyscape for now and possibly change it later.

Also, is it spelled Darkana or Drakana? I'm pretty sure I've seen it both ways, so someone should decide definitively which is correct (or that they actually are both acceptable names).

[Rizban]

The original poster called them Darkana, so that's what I've been using.

[Amaril]

Ah, ok, it's just in your last official post you used the ra spelling, so I wasn't sure if that was by mistake.

[Sgt. Cookie]

34. The Dothri (Doth-ree) are a collection of exactly 47 Earthmotes. While the Dothri motes do shift aroun amongst themselves, the 47 motes always travel together. This is due to the fact the the motes are "teathered" together.

Teleportation between normal motes is tricky, due to the water's currents sometimes interfering with the teleport. This is not the case with the Dothri, however, because of the teather the motes have. Teleportation is so common on the Dothri that teleport circles have been created and are used litteraly all the time.

[Amaril]

35. The Dothri are inhabited by another of the four great human empires of the world--the religious oligarchy of Lux. Ruled by an inquisition of powerful High Mages who enforce the faith and compliance of the other Luxites strictly and mercilessly, Lux possesses the most powerful and common magic of all the human nations, despite being smaller than all but Talendra. It is largely due to the support of the Luxite Inquisition that the Talendrans were able to hold their own against the Kalastrian military and secure their independence, though the Luxites have returned to their policy of general isolation and officially terminated their alliance with the Talendrans in the years since.

[Sodalite]

36: Curiously, and despite it's extreme religious authority, Lux actually plays host to one of the most extraordinary cults. Extraordinary, because it has sole access to a magic not derived from the fires or waters, or something akin to the material alchemistry of the Darkana. This magic, not coincidentally, is remarkably well suited towards hiding itself, given its effects appear to be ordinary, if entirely metallic, objects. In reality, the magic in conjuring a small portion of the relatively vast amount of metal which has mysteriously congregated in the inter-dimensional corridors which tether the Dothri together. Such conjuring can have a variety of effects on the object being brought into ordinary reality, including but not limited to becoming entirely weightless or being effected by the passage time differently. Due to its reliance on the connections between the Dothri, however, this magic is unusable outside of that collection of motes.

The cult itself mostly sprang up in response recent, and ever so slight relaxations in the moderation of other religions, and is mostly focused on how their magic is dependent on the Dothri, and how that must mean they are, in some vague, holy in and of themselves.

[THEChanger]

37. The fourth of the great human nations is the Confederacy of Rhyddid. The Confederacy is made up of a large number of clans, each of whom govern their own earthmote as they see fit. However, each earthmote sends a representative to the capital earthmote of Cartref, to make decisions regarding the common prosperity and defense of the entire Confederacy. Though they do not possess the naval power of Kalstra or the raw magical might of Lux, the Rhyddians are fierce warriors, with a bravery-or foolishness-unmatched by any other human nation. As of now, Rhyddid boasts 123 member earthmotes, though by the stipulations of their constitution, any member is free to come and go as they choose.

[Pokonic]

38. The Kariz are not a nation, nor a people, nor a cult. Rather, they are a group of fiends who have access to a special for of teliportation magic. As it is, every earthmote has a special "frequency" that many creatures can tune into, albet without knowing that they are. While being in tune with a earthmote usualy gives one a increased sense of self and well-being, the Kariz use the inherent magical frequency to open portals to there home of Tigranoz.

Tigranoz is, as the story goes, where the souls of the evil dead go to die. This was once true, however, the area has strangly lost that property. It is also said to be in the Deep: this is false. It is, in fact, a quite large hollowed earth-mote with a gravity forcing it outword to a certiant point. This former realm of the dead has several dangers on top of dangers, from the Kariz proper, who are the grey-skinned pointy-eared decendents of living beings who managed to break into this hell and never broke out, to the fact that it is the only place in the Skyscape with any large amounts of undead within it. In fact, the Kariz are the only race with any natural necromantic talent.

Each "race" of undead, strangly enough, has a territory that they control, and are nearly all humans, save for the occasinal Kariz turncoat (with raises questions about the nature of souls). From the vampire kingdoms to the mummy lords to the ghost lands to the domain of the lichs, a extablished pecking-order of the dead exist, all enforced by the natural energies of the blasted rock they dwell in eventualy reviving any undead that "dies", which makes fighting a pointless event.

The Kariz, in fact, have only recently began traveling outside there blasted rock home, and now the varing factions of the old underworld are begining to shower the Kariz lords, who they formerly warred with for ages on end, with praise and gifts in exchange for there favor. Which, in essance, is the use of there magical portals. The one faction that has done so are the Vampires, who consider drinking Karizian blood to be like drinking lye.


The realms reaction to the sudden vampiric threat is unknown as of yet, for only a few minor motes have been made available for the bloodsuckers use. However, the Kariz have made a attempt at sending explorers out into the world, which translate's to weird grey humans showing up in adventure parties over the last dozen years and a infiltrator that has managed to rise in the ranks of the Luxian priesthood to the point of being on his way to snagging a High Mage title for himself.

[Domriso]

39. The Darkana are a curiously a-social race. While they do interact with each other, their interactions are notably less involved than those of humans. This is because the Darkana are not a communal race, as humans are. Rather than form large communities, most Darkana act in a very familial manner; a matriarch will claim a single earthmote as her domain, which she then outfits as she desires. When a male successfully "woos" her (again, very different from the human version), she will give birth to hundreds of children.

While these children remain on the earthmote, they remain under the matriarch's command, but they quickly mature and spread to further earthmotes. Due to the male Darkana being notably smaller than the females (and also produced in much greater numbers), most male Darkana end up being travellers, going from earthmote to earthmote. Thus, male Darkana are much more likely to be encountered by other races than females (who usually stick to their domainmote)

[Rizban]

40. There is no day or night cycle. The Fires Above create a perpetual day. However, most species still need sleep. Because there is no natural night to establish a circadian rhythm, the human cultures have universally created highly ritualistic sleep patterns. It is considered a grave offense to awaken someone who is asleep. In Lux, it is considered not only offensive but also a nearly unforgivable sin.

[C.J.Geringer]

In order to discover the frequence of an earth mote the Kariz, need treceive the frequency from a Kariz who was there, thus the various Kariz lords regularly sent expeditions, to gather many frequencies in order to augment their comercial and political power.

For some reason they can't travel to motes occupied by phase-shifted

[Drowlord]

42. Direction-finding might be almost impossible in this world were it not for the Five Lights, huge sunlike stars that are virtually impossible to miss and are a second source of High Magic for their worshippers. The Green Light is associated with spirituality and wisdom; the nation of Lux is the closest of the human nations to it. The Blue Light is attributed with creativity and dexterity; the nation of Kalastra is closest to it. The Red Light is closely linked with strength and power of presence; it is closest to Rhyddid. The Yellow Light is connected with luck and charisma, and is closest to Talendra. The Violet Light is connected with intelligence and wanderlust, and is closest to the Sha'dre. Instead of using north, south, east, and west, which have no meaning in such a world of motes, greenwise , bluewise, redwise, goldwise, and violetwise are used. A few humans, mostly in minor nations or Kalastra, worship them and are touched by their gods as a result.

[Sgt. Cookie]

43. Because of the Dothri's Tether, all 47 motes share the same frequency. This means that the Kariz could use the Dothri to open the largest portal to Tigranoz that has ever been.

Fortunately, the Kariz are not yet aware of the existance of the Dothri.

[Amaril]

So the Kariz have a spy amongst the ranks of the Luxite priesthood who, if they were ever to reveal the existence of the Dothri to the other Kariz, could bring about a massive undead invasion of the Skyscape? Interesting...<scribble, scribble>...

[Sgt. Cookie]

You forgot that if they were to invade the Dothri, they would also have access to a nigh unlimited amount of metal.

[Sodalite]

Lux, too, would have access to those reserves of metal. The cult worships the Dothri themselves, basically, and would probably not take kindly to an invasion of undead. Thus, they would, in all likelihood, lend their services to the Luxite military, though not before demanding religious freedom in return. To add...

44: The metal within the Dothri's connections cannot, at least yet, be effectively mined, due to the fact that when traveling through the connection, one cannot stop until one has reached their destination. Having a destination not in ordinary space would likely kill anything short of a Hunter, or other naturally inter-phased creature.

[Pokonic]

45. Those touched by the suns are seemingly mutated by the blessings they gain, with there blood and hair becoming the color of the sun they worship. A human who is born that way, according to those cultures, is said to be gifted, while more civilised peoples simply say that the mother should not have spent so much time outside.

[Drowlord]

46. The worship of the Five Lights is condemned as primitive heresy by Lux and many of the civilized nations, which worship the god of the Fires Above. The priests of the Lights call the followers of Rannok warlike and stern, not seeing the gentle and true light of the suns. However, a tiny group of humans, called the Mediava, give sanctuary to those of all religions in believing in them all. Their religion, called the Shattered Way, believes in short that in the very beginning of time, the Five Lights, Rannok, Uthula, and a being composed of all the earthmotes (named Druathan) were all at peace. The Hunters, older than any of the gods, called the hunt on the earthmote-god, and the greatest of the eight powers was shattered into uncounted pieces. With Druathan destroyed, Uthula and Rannok directly fought, the Hunters looking on in amusement. Life was almost destroyed, surviving only on the remnant of the earth god's body. Thus, they venerate the earthmotes, giving them perfect respect and worshiping them. In return, they gain a third kind of magic, not High or Deep, that they call the Blood of Druathan. It is commonly referred to as Druidism, as a short form of Druathan'ai.

The Mediava live on a rather large earthmote that contains a huge library containing priceless and ancient texts, art, and knowledge from around the skyscape. No matter that their religion is considered heresy by both the Rannokites and the Pentlucans, their archives are considered precious beyond thought. Their life magic is also prized, as it can strengthen or imitate the few precious mounts that can move to different earthmotes.

[Amaril]

Ok, our creation mythology and associated cosmology are getting pretty sophisticated now, so here's a summary of both.

Before Man came into the world, there was Rannok in the Sky and Uthula in the Sea; the Land in between was ruled by Druathan, and through the heavens the Five Lights marched together, and all were at peace. Then the hunters came from Elsewhere, and seeing the power of Druathan, they saw a mighty quarry worthy of conquest. They called a great Hunt on the god of the Land and made war against him, and so powerful was their assault that the Land itself was shattered into uncountable pieces, and Druathan was no more.

Rannok looked down from the Sky and saw that Druathan had been defeated, and that with the Land shattered, the barrier between his realm and Uthula's had collapsed. Seeing this, Rannok rejoiced, for the dragon god's hatred of the great kraken was legendary, and he descended from his lofty domain to attack his former ally, with whom he had been at peace only through Druathan's interference. But Uthula's power was an equal to Rannok's, and though both fought long and fiercely, neither could gain the upper hand, and so Rannok retreated, furious, to the Sky as Uthula descended once more into the depths.

But with Druathan dead, Rannok would never give up his desire to conquer the Sea, and Uthula knew this. And, searching for ways in which each might gain an advantage over the other, they discovered Man, and bent their divine might to transport mortalkind into their realms. They saw in Man the makings of armies, and sent them forth to do battle against the followers of their enemy, and once more there was war in the world. The Hunters looked upon the conflict between the dragon and the kraken and smiled.

The war went on, and enough time passed for mountains to become oceans. And finally, after Man could no longer remember a time before there had been war, the dragon god and the great kraken were both slain, and the conflict that had lasted forever ended at last. The kraken's soul spread through the Waters Below and they began to shift and flow with the seasons, and the dragon's essence ascended and set the very heavens ablaze. Cut off from the realms of their former gods, Man retreated to the shattered remains of Druathan's realm and settled there, and Uthula and Rannok were no more.

Enough time passed for oceans to become mountains, and Man rebuilt what the war had destroyed. Some learned to bend the power of Uthula that yet remained in the Waters Below to their will as Deep Magic, while others turned to the energy of Rannok's soul that lingered in the Fires Above and fueled High Magic. Still others rediscovered Druathan and learned to tap into his spirit that lingered in the remnants of the Land, and ever after they were known as Druids. The Five Lights marched ever onwards through the heavens, and by their course Man learned to navigate and mark the passing of seasons. The Hunters once more retreated Elsewhere, but it is said that every century, they return to the world, and at their heels follows death and chaos and the fall of empires.

Well, there we go--plenty to be getting on with :smallsmile: Keep up the good ideas everybody, and keep checking back.

[Domriso]

47. Another race within the Suspended Dominion is that of the Ooltor. One of the few races naturally at home in the earthmote territories, the Ooltor are large, floating creatures, similar in many ways to jellyfish or octopodes. However, their bodies are instead filled with a very light gas, allowing them to float. They also possess two major limbs, much like claws, as defense, with six smaller limbs, each tentacles, which are used for more delicate work.

The Ooltor are not especially strong, having not descended from predators, but their ability to float allow them to be incredible foragers and craftsmen. Personally, they choose to act as merchants and foragers, being more capable in those regards.

[Sodalite]

Hm...This makes me think.

Firstly, it seems, Man, which I take as all the mortals, since I don't see why not, is not naturally of Druathan, Rannok, or Uthula, and I wonder, where do we think that they come from, in truth?

Secondly, I'm left wondering what the Druids think of the Dothri and their connectedness, and perhaps more tantalizingly, their thoughts on the Cult of Metal.

I have a couple of number-ideas, but I guess I'll save one of them for later.

48: Within the Druathan'ai, there is a dire prophecy, one not shared with neophytes. It was once said, ages ago, and written on the single oldest item in Mediava's library, that each of the 8 would die, with each death playing some part in the next, until when the final of the Five Lights was extinguished. The only hope the prophecy gives is its prediction that in those dark days, a new god would arise from Man itself, to carry light, life, time, and meaning to whomever still lived in that faltering age.

Also, Domriso, you sneaky ninja! But now your race has got me thinking for a third idea.

[Pokonic]

Ok, our creation mythology and associated cosmology are getting pretty sophisticated now, so here's a summary of both.

Before Man came into the world, there was Rannok in the Sky and Uthula in the Sea; the Land in between was ruled by Druathan, and through the heavens the Five Lights marched together, and all were at peace. Then the hunters came from Elsewhere, and seeing the power of Druathan, they saw a mighty quarry worthy of conquest. They called a great Hunt on the god of the Land and made war against him, and so powerful was their assault that the Land itself was shattered into uncountable pieces, and Druathan was no more.

Rannok looked down from the Sky and saw that Druathan had been defeated, and that with the Land shattered, the barrier between his realm and Uthula's had collapsed. Seeing this, Rannok rejoiced, for the dragon god's hatred of the great kraken was legendary, and he descended from his lofty domain to attack his former ally, with whom he had been at peace only through Druathan's interference. But Uthula's power was an equal to Rannok's, and though both fought long and fiercely, neither could gain the upper hand, and so Rannok retreated, furious, to the Sky as Uthula descended once more into the depths.

But with Druathan dead, Rannok would never give up his desire to conquer the Sea, and Uthula knew this. And, searching for ways in which each might gain an advantage over the other, they discovered Man, and bent their divine might to transport mortalkind into their realms. They saw in Man the makings of armies, and sent them forth to do battle against the followers of their enemy, and once more there was war in the world. The Hunters looked upon the conflict between the dragon and the kraken and smiled.

The war went on, and enough time passed for mountains to become oceans. And finally, after Man could no longer remember a time before there had been war, the dragon god and the great kraken were both slain, and the conflict that had lasted forever ended at last. The kraken's soul spread through the Waters Below and they began to shift and flow with the seasons, and the dragon's essence ascended and set the very heavens ablaze. Cut off from the realms of their former gods, Man retreated to the shattered remains of Druathan's realm and settled there, and Uthula and Rannok were no more.

Enough time passed for oceans to become mountains, and Man rebuilt what the war had destroyed. Some learned to bend the power of Uthula that yet remained in the Waters Below to their will as Deep Magic, while others turned to the energy of Rannok's soul that lingered in the Fires Above and fueled High Magic. Still others rediscovered Druathan and learned to tap into his spirit that lingered in the remnants of the Land, and ever after they were known as Druids. The Five Lights marched ever onwards through the heavens, and by their course Man learned to navigate and mark the passing of seasons. The Hunters once more retreated Elsewhere, but it is said that every century, they return to the world, and at their heels follows death and chaos and the fall of empires.

Well, there we go--plenty to be getting on with :smallsmile: Keep up the good ideas everybody, and keep checking back.

Hmm, I would peg Tigranoz as the afterlife of mankind during the war. Neither side would let the souls go to there respective gods, so they simply congrigated into one of the few areas Druathan had power in. But then that chunk of Druathan became corrupt, and never let the dead leave it's dark depths, and any human that went insides it's bowels could never leave until recently, when the force keeping things in finaly became weak enough for the Kiraz to vanquish it.


49: Some Ooltor grow massive in size over there lifetime,while other's stay the same size no matter there age. These "Grand Ooltor" are seen as a living group of gods by there kin, and the average settlement has at least one functioning both as a figure of worship and as the primary source of protection.


Speaking of Kiraz, here is what would roughly resemble a high-ranking explorer. Note the strange clothing and the useage of shadow-based magic.

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/177/c/5/hudson_abadeer_by_masube-d54z28r.png

I regret nothing.:smallbiggrin:

[Domriso]

Also, Domriso, you sneaky ninja! But now your race has got me thinking for a third idea.

Mwahaha! I love non-standard races, and I will give them love, even if other people focus on humans. Gives more life to the setting.

Also, what about Suspended Dominion for the name of the setting? I came up with it on the fly, but it seems a nice description that carries some form of mythic weight.

[C.J.Geringer]

50: The Ooltor have a extraordinary gift for languages, so much so, that affter a certain age it is commons for them to create languages and solve language related problems as a past time, and mind training tool, much like other races use puzzles(e.g. crooswords, sudoku, etc...), as such is very common for trading companies, groups of friends and lover have an special language just for them.

This includes languages using sounds or gestures, or symbols

[Drowlord]

Hmm. Well, the Druathan'ai do worship the remnants of Druathan, so the Dothri would be especially sacred to the Mediava as a connected group of earthmotes. The Cult of Metal? They'd be very curious, as it's not explained by their texts. Probably investigating it at the moment.

As to the origin of Man, I think that the Hunters formed them from the soul-giving light of the Five Suns, the body of Druathan, the fluid motion of Uthula, and the living fire of Rannok. That's just an opinion, though.

51. Those who use the magic of the Metal Cult will feel a different interdimensional field surrounding the earthmote of Medi. It is, instead of a vast expanse of metal, a smaller (but still huge) field of adamantine. This material has been taken from in the distant past by the druids, as their earthmote has been built onto by using platforms of the material. The druids of the present, however, know not how to quarry it. Similar deposits of different materials exist in interdimensional pockets near all earthmotes that are not ordinary earthmotes.

[Amaril]

Suspended Dominion--that's perfect, I love it, that's the name :smallbiggrin: And as a handy benefit, it allows for the characters to refer to their world in general as "the Dominion", which frankly sound awesome.

Pokonic, I like your explanation for Tigranoz. I have to admit, I was a little worried that idea wouldn't fit into this setting very well, but that explanation clears up my doubts.

Drowlord--I think that's certainly one possible explanation, but then again, if the Hunters created the mortal races, why do they show up to murder them every hundred years? I'm not criticizing, I really want to know your explanation for that. In terms of that being the true explanation for mortalkind's origin, though, I think it's best to keep that as just one of many, and leave the truth ambiguous.

[Amaril]

Oh, also--real numbered post.

52. The few accounts by people who claim to have encountered a Hunter in person and survived state that the monsters cannot normally be harmed by mortal weapons. The touch of a Hunter is said to shatter any metal it comes into contact with, save for two--the unknown metal from which the hunters make their own equipment, and the adamantine of Medi. However, while the Hunters' black armor protects them from the blows of their own weapons, adamantine is said to slice through Hunter metal like so much parchment, and so is prized beyond all else among those few who study--or fight--the Hunters.

If everybody's cool with it, I can come up with stats for Hunters as a usable monster (needless to say, they will have DR/Adamantine among their attributes).

[Weirdlet]

That's cool. I hadn't settled anything about them in my mind other than that they came every hundred years, slaughtered those who put up the greatest resistance/looked the strongest, and scarpered with their trophies after. In those instances where Hunters are killed, it seems as though they can home in on their lost weapons as a starting point for their Hunts, because clearly someone who possesses or inherited such things has *something* they want.

[Sodalite]

Yeah, stats would be pretty cool. As for why they would make Man, maybe they stumbled across the same prophecy as the Druids, and felt that new god would make a good quarry. In the meantime, these little creatures would be able to put up an okay fight, as long as they gave them a hundred years or so to regroup.

Right now, I'm thinking of the Hunters as having a Blue-Orange morality, rather than being flat Evil. There's just the Hunt, and actions taken towards the Hunt are their equivalent are Good, while things unrelated or against the Hunt are their versions of Neutral and Evil, respectively. That's not a number-idea, yet, but if someone else wants to expand on it, that's great.

Also, ninja'd by Weirdlet, maybe they take the Hunt to people who have Hunter weapons first because that makes them a stronger quarry, and thus a greater challenge.

[Weirdlet]

Exactly^^ They come, see who is most powerful, and hunt/harvest. It's a once-a-century incursion that blows in like a plague of assassins, causes strategic chaos and death that often (though not always) mucks up the established order of the most prominent and the most war-like, and then sweeps out on the wind.

[Amaril]

Also, now I think about it, the possibility of the Hunters actually having created Man would tie in nicely to the whole prison world vs. sanctuary world idea from way back when we started--those who believe the Hunters created mortals believe they intentionally manipulated the gods into fighting each other and screwing up the world, knowing that the end result would be a vast hunting ground where they could kill mortals to their hearts' content without any gods to interfere. That's the origin of the "world as a prison" theory. The other version is just that Man settled in the Dominion after they were cut off from the Fires Above and the Waters Below, and the Hunters just decided that if Man was there, they might as well be hunted--thus the "world as a sanctuary" theory.

[Drowlord]

Suspended Dominion--that's perfect, I love it, that's the name :smallbiggrin: And as a handy benefit, it allows for the characters to refer to their world in general as "the Dominion", which frankly sound awesome.

Drowlord--I think that's certainly one possible explanation, but then again, if the Hunters created the mortal races, why do they show up to murder them every hundred years? I'm not criticizing, I really want to know your explanation for that. In terms of that being the true explanation for mortalkind's origin, though, I think it's best to keep that as just one of many, and leave the truth ambiguous.

True. I was responding to the question of where we thought Man did come from; I do prefer to keep it ambiguous if it comes to a decision. My reasoning went as Sodalite said: the new god of Man would be the greatest quarry for the Hunt ever seen, thus the Hunters created mankind to ensure the existence of the final god. As to statting out the Hunters, it seems a good idea to do it; they are an very important part of the Dominion.

53. Years in the Dominion are measured by the time it takes from newfire (a time when the Fires Above are brightest and the Waters Below calmest) to newfire. Dullfire (when the Fires Above are dim and the Waters Below are tempestuous), is in the middle of the year. As either of the firmaments grows wilder, the other gets calmer, until newfire or dullfire, when the process reverses itself. Dullfire and the time around it is cool and wet (almost a rainy season), and newfire and its surrounding time is hot and dry, with almost no rain. Newfire is split between spring and summer, while dullfire contains fall and winter.

[Domriso]

54. One of the more annoying races of the Dominion are those of the Tweesaal, an incredibly small race of creatures descended from rodents. No larger than watermelon, the Tweesaal are scavengers by nature, taking whatever they need to try and survive. The Tweesaal say that they themselves were the first race transplanted to the Dominion, and that all others came after, though they have no proof for such a claim.

In recent years, as the Humans came more into their own, some Tweesaal have begun to try and civilize their ways. Rather than simply hide and steal, like most are akin to do, these "reformed" Tweesaal try and help out on tasks, often doing simple things, such as clean hard to get to places, because their small size and stature has made it difficult for them to do much else.

On the other side of the coin are those Tweesaal who resent the larger races that take their resources. These Tweesaal, sometimes called "feral," choose to practice a kind of shadow war on the other races, claiming whatever earthmotes they can as their own, and stripping those controlled by other races of what resources they can find (including farmed foodstocks and tools made by the other races).

This tri-split nature of the Tweesaal, combined with their high breeding rate, have led most races, particularly Humans, to distrust the tiny creatures. Relations between the Tweesaal and other races are tenuous at best.

[Sodalite]

So, this is just how I'm imagining adamantine right now.

55: Adamantine is clear and crystalline, sort of like diamond. It's exceptionally hard and brittle, again like diamond, and so far everything that's bothered to incorporate it has been adamantine-tipped, rather than flatly made out of it. Besides a Metal Cultist drawing items from Medi's pocket, the only way to get the conditions needed to forge an item whole from adamantine would be to go one of the molten-motes that are extremely close to the Fires. Obviously, this can't be done with Man's current technologies or magics, and so has not been considered significantly.

[Rob Roy]

56: On the primitive mote of Aolso, it is said that when a child is born of the Lights, a flock of creatures resembling toads with wings that resemble jelly will come down upon them and ruin the years harvest. While this superstition has little basis in fact; the creatures are real, and called the Bheka. They are intelligent creatures that fly between the motes in search of food. The largest of the these flocks is believed to have forged a pact with the Sha'dre, though the details of the pact are unknown to all except the participants.

[Pokonic]

A question: when are we going to stop putting ideas out and start working on what we have? At this point, we have quite a few races, cultures, and places, and some could use some love.

[Rizban]

I have a bit of a problem with that summary of the cosmology.

First, the earthmotes arise as "shattered" motes and were stated originally to not have been fragments of a larger land that no longer exists.

The post saying that this world is merely the space between universes and portals between the universes weakens the fabric of reality has been seemingly forgotten... I would have thought that would have played more into the cosmology.

I have no problems with the existance of Druathan, but I don't like that established things were seemingly changed or forgotten in the summary. I was thinking that it perhaps it wasn't a direct attack against Druathan that killed him.

Assuming that Druathan was the "spirit of the world," maybe the very act of the Hunters forcing their way into the Suspended Dominion repeatedly caused direct injury to him, and it was Rannok's incursion in his attempt to reach Uthula that finally destroyed him. Their own domains being breached and damaged is then also what weakened Rannok and Uthula both to the point that their combat killed them as well.

[Amaril]

Actually, I think right now would be as good a time as any. Henceforth, I am calling a halt to all new additions to the setting of Suspended Dominion, and restricting new content to elaboration and detail of existing material.

Congratulations, everybody :smallbiggrin: Here's to the beginnings of something that will go down in roleplaying legend.

[Rob Roy]

How big is the Dominion, and how are the edges that aren't bounded by the Sea and the Fires accounted for? Does it just wrap around?

[Amaril]

Oh, sorry Rizban, I think you must have posted while my last post was loading (that seems to happen to me a lot :smallannoyed:).

You make some very good points, and now that you remind me, we might have strayed a bit from previous content established in older posts. If it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience, I think the best thing we could do would be to call a temporary halt to all posting in this thread. This will give me time to look over everything that's been posted so far and come up with compromises and refinements wherever we have contradicting material. As soon as I have the problems worked out, I'll post a comprehensive summary of the official canon of Suspended Dominion thus far, which we can use as a definitive guide to all posting in the future. I apologize for the interruption, but I don't want anyone's complaints to go unheard.

[Amaril]

Darn it, same problem happened twice :smallmad:

Anyway, Rob Roy, I didn't really have any idea in mind for the size of the known world. As for your question about the world's boundaries, I had been working on the assumption that only a limited portion of the world has been explored and mapped, and nobody knows how far the Dominion stretches, or what its edges look like if there are any.

[C.J.Geringer]

I like the ideas that the known world is a "cluster" and the nearer you get to the edges of the known, the motes get farther and farther from each other, until the time that no motes can be safely approached due to distance.

[Q. Flestrin]

This setting looks awesome!
Can I try to do the Hunters' stats for you?
NB I can only make 3.5E monsters.

[Rizban]

I was kind of picturing the Hunters as somewhere between Modrons and Inevitables myself but with an organic component that gives them the living construct subtype.

[C.J.Geringer]

I think they should be, epic or nearly epic level challenges.

How I would use them, if I was DMing:

the players mostly don´t encounter the hunters, rather they have some adventures, exploring ruins where they passed or things like that, just as an ominous piece of background that is already gone.

Then around the 12th-15th level you make an adventure where they must find and dispose(e.g.: throw at the sea, plant in a enemy base, etc..) hidden/lost hunter weapon that is in acity, before the hunters came, and wipe it out. since the PCs don't stand a chance against them. Maybe catching a terrifying glimpse of them.

And finally when they get to level 20, the hunters decide the PCs are good enough of a challenge and go after them.

[EchoKnight]

...hmm...

Is it too lat for a new person to join in? Because I have an idea for number 58...

But since there is a summary in progress, I'll have to wait.

[Rizban]

Nope, not too late at all. I'm sure we'll have this going again shortly.

If it's expanding on one of the mortal races, then I think you could probably go ahead and post it if you wanted. If it's something on a "larger" scale, then I'd hold off pending the summary.

[Sodalite]

I would advise, based on what Amaril posted, that we not have too much conversation before he comes back with all the ideas compiled.

[Amaril]

Thanks everybody, that would make things a lot easier :smallsmile:

And just to reassure everybody, I am still reading anything people post while I work on the summary. Nobody will get left out if I do it right.

Also, just an update on the Hunters--I had a pretty specific idea of how I wanted them statted up, so I think I would prefer to do it mostly myself. I had planned on them being an extremely high level challenge, though not necessarily Epic. In terms of aesthetics, Rizban, I'd actually pictured them being more organic than mechanical. I don't know what either of the creatures you mentioned are, but for my part, I had imagined the Hunters being kinda similar to the White Walkers from A Song of Ice and Fire, although without the undead creation and thematic ties to cold and winter. They'd occupy about the same cultural and mythological niche as the White Walkers, though.

[Sgt. Cookie]

I assume this counts as detail


57. Despite their highly strict religous tendencies the Lux are very liberal in all other details of society, meaning all sorts of visitors and non-permenant residents are rarely the subject of predjudice.

This also means that converts are also readily accepted into the preisthood with little to no issues.

[Calinar]

I've been watching this thread for quite awhile now, and I have to say this looks like it's becoming a great setting. While unfortunately I haven't thought of anything to add to the setting yet, it looks like it would be quite fun to run it for my group.

[Amaril]

Thanks Calinar :smallbiggrin: I hope you can forgive the small confusion while we work out the kinks of our mythology.

[Sodalite]

If I may ask, how is the compilation going, Amaril?

[Amaril]

Just sitting down to write some more of it. The Suspended Dominion Official Player's Guide should be available in just a couple days at most. It will serve as the central record of all official canon for the setting, and will be updated as new material is added.

Thanks for your patience so far everybody, you won't have long to wait.

[Sodalite]

Official Player's Guide, you say? That sounds like it would be exceptionally complicated, which in turn makes me surprised that you're saying that it'll be 2 days, at a maximum. I was half expecting you'd just make a list of the ideas, add some notes to signify inconsistencies, and be done with it.

[Amaril]

That's pretty much what I mean by Official Player's Guide, at least at this stage :smalltongue:

[Amaril]

Ok, after some deliberation, I've assembled a new and revised summary of the cosmology and mythos of Suspended Dominion, and here's what I've come up with.

Before Man came into the world, there was Rannok in the Sky and Uthula in the Sea; the border in between was ruled by Druathan, and through the heavens the Five Lights marched together, and all were at peace. Then the hunters came from Elsewhere, and seeing the power of Druathan, they saw a mighty quarry worthy of conquest. They called a great Hunt on Druathan and made war against him, and though Druathan was indeed powerful, not even a god is safe from the black blades of the Hunters, and Druathan was no more.

Rannok looked down from the Sky and saw that Druathan had been defeated, and that with his death, the barrier between his realm and Uthula’s was left unguarded. Seeing this, Rannok rejoiced, for the dragon god's hatred of the great kraken was legendary, and he descended from his lofty domain to attack his former ally, with whom he had been at peace only through Druathan's interference. But Uthula's power was an equal to Rannok's, and though both fought long and fiercely, neither could gain the upper hand, and so Rannok retreated, furious, to the Sky as Uthula descended once more into the depths.

But with Druathan dead, Rannok would never give up his desire to conquer the Sea, and Uthula knew this. And, searching for ways in which each might gain an advantage over the other, they discovered Man, and bent their divine might to transport mortalkind into their realms. They saw in Man the makings of armies, and sent them forth to do battle against the followers of their enemy, and once more there was war in the world. The Hunters looked upon the conflict between the dragon and the kraken and smiled.

The war went on, and enough time passed for mountains to become oceans. And finally, after Man could no longer remember a time before there had been war, the dragon god and the great kraken were both slain, and the conflict that had lasted forever ended at last. The kraken's soul spread through the Waters Below and they began to shift and flow with the seasons, and the dragon's essence ascended and set the very heavens ablaze. The walls which separated the realms of the gods from one another were sealed, and Man was cut off from the realms in which they had lived for generations, and Uthula and Rannok were no more.

With their former homes lost to them and no place else to which to retreat, Man surely would have been lost, but fortune or some other power smiled on them that day. For wherever the currents that carried Uthula’s soul through the Waters Below crossed paths, there formed a Shard of earth upon which mortals could stand, suspended in the space between Rannok’s realm and Uthula’s, and the blazing heat of Rannok’s soul shone down from the Fires Above and warmed them, and the remnants of Druathan's soul infused the Shards and brought forth animals and vegetation upon their surfaces. And finding these Shards, Man settled upon them, and thus the Dominion was born.

Enough time passed for oceans to become mountains, and Man rebuilt what the war had destroyed. Some learned to bend the power of Uthula that yet remained in the Waters Below to their will as Deep Magic, while others turned to the energy of Rannok's soul that lingered in the Fires Above and fueled High Magic. Still others rediscovered Druathan and learned to tap into his spirit that lingered in the Shards and the life which it had brought forth upon them, and ever after they were known as Druids. The Five Lights marched ever onwards through the heavens, and by their course Man learned to navigate and mark the passing of seasons. The Hunters once more retreated Elsewhere, but it is said that every century, they return to the world, and at their heels follows death and chaos and the fall of empires.


Now, to address some of the complaints that were made about the previous version of the summary.

I believe it was Rizban who reminded me that initially, the Shards were supposed to have been formed from some unknown origin wherever the currents of life in the Waters Below intersected, rather than being remnants of some larger formation of land. Also, someone recalled that the space the Dominion occupies was originally supposed to have been nothing more than the space in between the Fires Above and the Waters Below, rather than a plane in its own right. In that interest, I recast Druathan as initially having been a sort of border guard between Rannok and Uthula inhabiting the space in between their realms, rather than the god of a proper plane of Land. His association with the Shards comes later, when the remaining energy left behind by his death binds with them and causes them to become habitable to life.

Rizban also mentioned that there was supposed to be an emphasis on the sealed nature of the planes, preventing transport between them without damaging the fabric of reality. I sort of had to settle on a compromise for including that by saying that it was the death of Rannok and Uthula that cut the Dominion off from their respective realms. I remember Rizban suggested that rather than the Hunters killing Druathan on purpose, it might have been their continually forcing their way into the Dominion that caused him injury and weakened him to the point where Rannok's initial attack caused his death. However, when I tried to modify that part, I couldn't really figure out a reason the Hunters would have been travelling to the Dominion at all except to, well, hunt. Since there was no life in existence at that point except the deities (as established by whoever it was who said that the mortal races had been brought from elsewhere magically, and the Dominion itself was once lifeless), then it would have had to be one deity or the other that the Hunters were after. Since nobody had really established how exactly Druathan's end came about, I figure it was fair of me to decide that it had been the doing of the Hunters. As an added benefit to this, the fact that the Hunters actually killed a god instantly makes them seem a lot more threatening to me.

If anyone, after viewing this revised summary, still has complaints that elements of the cosmology have been contradicted or overlooked, please let me know. Once it's established that we have something that everyone's happy with, I'll give the word to resume content posts. Thank you for your patience, and hopefully this will solve any problems people might have had.

[Sodalite]

After reading your post out-loud, for dramatic effect, I have to say that I'm perfectly fine with the current state of affairs. I look forward to helping with applying the mortar to all the bricks we've laid so far.

[Pokonic]

I would probably drop the stagnation of Tigranoz after the death's of the gods, being made pointless when humanity now has a choice in there afterlife.

[Amaril]

Yeah, sorry Pokonic, I kinda overlooked Tigranoz in this summary :smallfrown: Rest assured that I haven't forgotten about it, but I just couldn't think of a way to bring it up at this point. Remember that this certainly isn't a full catalogue of the mythology--think of it more like the dramatic introduction you'd put on the first page of a book, or in the intro cinematic of a game.

[Domriso]

I am mostly sated. My only question comes to the other races; where do they fit in the mythology? Or is this a human-only mythology?

[Rizban]

I like the new write up in general, except that it still ignores some of what I'd consider to be relatively "core" posts. It also takes humans and makes them extremely plot centric to the history of the world while ignoring the other races almost entirely.

I do like the direction you're going. I just do not want to see any of the creative contributions get dropped.

If you don't mind, I think that I'm going to create an organized outline of what has been presented so far and post it up.

[Rizban]

I did my best to organize everything the best that I could. I kept the original numbers intact for reference purposes and tried to not reword any of the contributions. Edits to the posts as written are noted in . I did occasionally split some of the numbered entries due to certain parts of them belonging better in a different category. In the case of splitting a post, the number was kept intact with each portion; however, this particular edit is not specifically notated.
[B]The Cosmology

Origins of the World

2. There are two conflicting legends about the source of this world; one group believes it was created as a prison and the human (and other intelligent) inhabitants are descended from the original prisoners. The other group believes this world is a sanctuary for those from destroyed worlds and the inhabitants are descended from the rescued. Both groups agree people were magically brought here centuries or more ago.

6. Those legends, at least in the one aspect which they share, are not wholly incorrect. Life was brought to the earthmotes via magic. It might be easy to say that is the same, were not for the abysmal ocean beneath them. You would not be wrong to say the earthmotes were once lifeless, but you could not say the same of the waters below.

19. In a time long before recorded history, both worlds that the frontier is caught between where at war. Rannok, the great inferno dragon, was ruler of the realm beyond the flaming heavens and Uthula the mighty kraken of the deep was the ruler of the vast ocean plane below. Rannok had a desire to spread his dominion into Uthula's world and totally destroy her. As a result, both Uthula and Rannok, in a bid to gain soldiers used their divine power to pull humans and other species from around the multiverse into their respective realms. The [mortals] dragged to these planes stayed in this place after the war, but had no home on either plane anymore. The oceans where too dangerous and the path to the heaves was now transformed into a great inferno. Even further, their magic was lost, with no deities to grant them power [they] had to start all over.


The Deities

Rannok

19. Rannok, the great inferno dragon, was ruler of the realm beyond the flaming heavens.

19. War raged for centuries and in the end both Uthula and Rannok where destroyed. As a result their souls merged with their respective planes.

Uthula

19. Uthula the mighty kraken of the deep was the ruler of the vast ocean plane below.

19. War raged for centuries and in the end both Uthula and Rannok where destroyed. As a result their souls merged with their respective planes.

Druathan

46. The worship of the Five Lights is condemned as primitive heresy by Lux and many of the civilized nations, which worship the god of the Fires Above. The priests of the Lights call the followers of Rannok warlike and stern, not seeing the gentle and true light of the suns. However, a tiny group of humans, called the Mediava, give sanctuary to those of all religions in believing in them all. Their religion, called the Shattered Way, believes in short that in the very beginning of time, the Five Lights, Rannok, Uthula, and a being composed of all the earthmotes (named Druathan) were all at peace. The Hunters, older than any of the gods, called the hunt on the earthmote-god, and the greatest of the eight powers was shattered into uncounted pieces. With Druathan destroyed, Uthula and Rannok directly fought, the Hunters looking on in amusement. Life was almost destroyed, surviving only on the remnant of the earth god's body. Thus, they venerate the earthmotes, giving them perfect respect and worshiping them. In return, they gain a third kind of magic, not High or Deep, that they call the Blood of Druathan. It is commonly referred to as Druidism, as a short form of Druathan'ai.



Magic

9. There are two primary types of magic in this world--High Magic (read--Divine) and Deep Magic (read--Arcane). Each draws on one of the world's primary energy sources--

High Magic

9. High Magic pulls from the light and heat of the sky above.

10. High Magic, rather appropriate for its frequent use as a tool of retribution, is more lethal of the two, what with conjuring spheres of unquenchable flame and searing beams of light.

19. High Magic was created when [mortals learned to harness] the mystic energy of Rannok that exists in the inferno of the heavens.

25. High Mages more commonly serve as religious leaders than anything else, and many clerical organizations employ them as inquisitors to hunt criminals and the enemies of their faith.

Deep Magic

9. Deep Magic draws its power from the life energies that drive the ever-shifting currents of the great ocean below.

10. Despite the extreme hostility of its originating locus, the myths surrounding the use of Deep Magic are largely false. Deep Magic draws upon vital energies, and besides the much-maligned Downfall spell, which draws the life from the target in the form of a rain-cloud, is largely easier to implement in the service of healing the living.

19. Deep Magic was created when [mortals] learned to [harness] magical power from the mystic energy of Uthula that courses through the deep.

25. Although some fear and distrust Deep Magic-users for their connection to the Waters Below, the governments (and generally the more educated) of larger civilizations value those learned in the lore of the ocean highly for their ability to predict the movements of the ocean currents--and, by extension, those of the motes. Rulers commonly employ a Deep Mage, or more than one, tasked specifically with predicting the movement of their own motes and those of their enemies.


Alchemistry

See Darkana

The Cult of Metal

See Lux




The World

General

1. Rather than a planet, this world is comprised of countless floating earthmotes suspended between the sky and a seemingly infinite, bottomless ocean.

12. Despite the over abundance of water, there is no natural rainfall.

15. The earthshards are mostly made of silicate rock and earth. Metals are hard to find. Most tools are made of natural materials with occasional metal tips.

18. The [Waters Beneath] and the Fires Above are actually edges to wholly diferent planes, and the setting is a frontier between the two, As such most outsider monster that arrive in the plane are aligned with either the ocean or the sky.

26. The Fires Above and Waters Beneath may indeed be their own planes of existence, but they are essentially inaccessible. The endless oceans and burning fires are metaphysical walls that prevent access. This world, used as both prison and sanctuary in ages past, is the void between universes, a gap from which it is impossible to escape. Were a gate to be opened to allow escape, it would compromise the very existence of reality.
As such, summoning and calling magic is rare at best, as there are no other easily accessible planes. The "material" is all there is. The Hunters and other creatures capable of planar travel, often known as Walkers, exist on the edges of reality already, but even their travel threatens reality.

19. Magical energy from both of the two dead deities [Rannok and Uthula] [are] the force which [supports] the earthmotes.

38. Tigranoz is, as the story goes, where the souls of the evil dead go to die. This was once true, however, the area has strangly lost that property.

40. There is no day or night cycle. The Fires Above create a perpetual day. However, most species still need sleep.

53. Years in the Dominion are measured by the time it takes from newfire (a time when the Fires Above are brightest and the Waters Below calmest) to newfire. Dullfire (when the Fires Above are dim and the Waters Below are tempestuous), is in the middle of the year. As either of the firmaments grows wilder, the other gets calmer, until newfire or dullfire, when the process reverses itself. Dullfire and the time around it is cool and [damp, though there is no rain.] Newfire and its surrounding time is hot and dry. Newfire is split between "spring" and "summer," while dullfire contains "fall" and "winter."


The Suspended Dominion

7. It is only where these [ocean] currents cross that an earthmote may form and stay suspended in the air. [The] very formation of an earthmote in turn affects the currents below as if it were a magnet. The earthmote and the currents below form a balanced system where each drifts and drags the other along while simultaneously forcing the other apart. This endless dance causes the earthmotes to drift and move with the seasons.

13. Earthmotes float at several differing altitudes, scattered all across the great expanse of the sky. However, much like the seaweed plants which provide them with water, Earthmotes tend to float around, and those which are higher might float into the Fires Above and be incinerated, while those too close to the Waters Beneath might be sucked in by the ever-shifting currents. This destruction of Earthmotes typically is a very slow one, and thus people have time to evacuate. What no one quite understands is where the new ones come from.

14. The wind currents which move through the Earthmotes are far more complicated than can be understood by any normal sentient creature. As such, while methods of travel between the 'motes is common, it is also highly dangerous. Skilled "soarers" are thus highly sought after, as messengers, warriors, and scouts.

20. The earthmotes have many different biomes. However, their climate is affected more by their proximity to the Fires Above or the Waters Beneath than anything else. One of these biomes is a jungle-like habitat made from many plants interlining various earthmotes. These usually exist as close to the Fires Above as anything can safely.

23. While the large jungle biomes exist as close to the Fires Above as something safely can, there are other desertic biomes that exist usafely closer to the fires above. Some even begin to manifest low-level vulcanism, and are sometimes scoured by fire related weather patterns from the fires above. Their few inhabitant tend to have burrowing capabilities, or even live entirely underground.

24: Some, using powerful telescopes, claim to have even spotted creatures moving about on the surface of some such volcanic motes, which appeared to be made of molten stone. So far, these claims have been considered bunk due to there being no known mechanism by which lava could become animate, and the claim can't really be investigated without a telescope, considering the lethality of the environment being observed.

34. Teleportation between normal motes is tricky, due to the water's currents sometimes interfering with the teleport.

Plants and Animals

12. There are large, bloated seaweed-like plants that produce an air bladder filled with hydrogen gas, allowing them to float up into the sky away from the torrents of energy in the waters. Long filaments of roots trail in the Waters Beneath, nourishing the plant. These floating seaweed plants can be captured and used to siphon pure, drinking water up from the ocean below and are prized among the landlocked races. Unfortunately, the hydrogen gas in them is quite volatile, and floating too high into the Fires Above causes them to explode catastrophically.

21. One of the biggest threats on the earthmotes is the quixars, a furry type of millipede. They are named for the sound they make. Quixars are non-magical, but very, very hard to kill. When Quixars hatch from their eggs, they are approximately one meter long. They will then begin to eat whatever they can find. Quixars are omnivorous and will attempt to consume everything on the earthmote including other Quixars. An adult is typically 15 to 20 meters long, however, large barren earthmotes with 50 meter long Quixars have been reported. After it has consumed all plant and animal life on the earthmote the quixar will develop an ovipositor that is capable of launching eggs well over 500 meters. In this way the terrible scourge spreads.



The Waters Beneath

7. The endless oceans below hold vast quantities of life, but they are also infinitely hostile. The ocean currents are driven by raw magical energies coursing through the oceans like arteries of energy. These currents are what make the world habitable to the earthmote dwellers.

19. Uthula's soul had become the magical energies that flow through the ocean-world and guide the ... earthmotes.


The Fires Above

8. The towering heights of the sky hold bright colorless light and fire behind a shimmering multicolored aurora. The fury of the furthest heights of they sky is so great that those earthmotes closest are nigh unlivable, yet the fire beams upon all of the motes with warming light. Legends say a paradise, or a hell, lies beyond the fire in the sky.

None who have ventured there have returned, save as falling ashes.

19. Rannok's soul became the everburning fire that surrounds the heavens.

42. Direction-finding might be almost impossible in this world were it not for the Five Lights, huge sunlike stars that are virtually impossible to miss and are a second source of High Magic for their worshippers. The Green Light is associated with spirituality and wisdom; the nation of Lux is the closest of the human nations to it. The Blue Light is attributed with creativity and dexterity; the nation of Kalastra is closest to it. The Red Light is closely linked with strength and power of presence; it is closest to Rhyddid. The Yellow Light is connected with luck and charisma, and is closest to Talendra. The Violet Light is connected with intelligence and wanderlust, and is closest to the Sha'dre. Instead of using north, south, east, and west, which have no meaning in such a world of motes, greenwise , bluewise, redwise, goldwise, and violetwise are used. A few humans, mostly in minor nations or Kalastra, worship them and are touched by their gods as a result.

45. Those touched by the suns are seemingly mutated by the blessings they gain, with there blood and hair becoming the color of the sun they worship. A human who is born that way, according to those cultures, is said to be gifted, while more civilised peoples simply say that the mother should not have spent so much time outside.





The Peoples

General

4. Humans are the only humanoid races in this floating world; all other intelligent races are vastly different in their physiologies.


The Hunters

3. Those legends also state two different versions of the world's relation to the Hunters who spring forth from nowhere, brutally strike at the strongest warriors and groups, and then vanish for another century. One, that this realm is a sanctuary from them and that is why they are only seen once in a hundred years- or two, that this realm is a prison meant to hold their game for them.

22. There is little metal, except for the weapons that the Hunters sometimes leave behind if defeated. These are exceptionally rare and powerful, and highly prized to possess- but also cursed, because when the Season comes, these are the first locations that the Hunters will arrive.

31. The last Season of the Hunters [was] 99 years ago.

52. The few accounts by people who claim to have encountered a Hunter in person and survived state that the monsters cannot normally be harmed by mortal weapons. The touch of a Hunter is said to shatter any metal it comes into contact with, save for two--the unknown metal from which the hunters make their own equipment, and the adamantine of Medi. However, while the Hunters' black armor protects them from the blows of their own weapons, adamantine is said to slice through Hunter metal like so much parchment, and so is prized beyond all else among those few who study--or fight--the Hunters.


Humans

5. The smaller human cultures typically travel between earthmotes using flying mounts or, occasionally, flight magic. More technologically advanced civilizations build vast bridges to span the gaps and tie their motes together, and travel to unbridged motes using zeppelins and balloons.

27. There are four main human nations in the known world, each based around cities on some of the largest motes. Humans from different nations have fairly regular contact with each other, and it is not uncommon to find humans from one country living in another. However, members of other races are much less likely to be found in any of the main human cities.

40.Because there is no natural night to establish a circadian rhythm, the human cultures have universally created highly ritualistic sleep patterns. It is considered a grave offense to awaken someone who is asleep.

Kalastra

31. The largest of the human nations [is] the constitutional monarchy of Kalastra. Boasting a thriving economy and a nigh-unbeatable skyship navy, the Kalastrians are widely admired and envied by many outside their borders. The notable exception to this [is] the people of neighboring Talendra.

42. The Blue Light is attributed with creativity and dexterity; the nation of Kalastra is closest to it.


Talendra

31. A relatively small and poor nation, Talendra was until recently an annexed state to Kalastra. The rapid growth of Kalastrian industry resulted in large amounts of pollution and junk, most of which was traditionally dumped on the capital mote of Talendra, turning most of the Talendrans' territory into little better than a massive junkyard. 24 years ago, the Talendrans fought a brutal war of independence against Kalastra, which succeeded in granting them their own independent government. The two nations have endured singularly unpleasant relations since the end of the war.

32: Given how common trash was, and still is in Talendra, professions involved in the use or disposal of such things are just as common. It is rare to find a household without someone who has at least a year of experience as a recycler, and even rarer to find one without a hearth that can be fueled bytrash.

35. It is largely due to the support of the Luxite Inquisition that the Talendrans were able to hold their own against the Kalastrian military and secure their independence, though the Luxites have returned to their policy of general isolation and officially terminated their alliance with the Talendrans in the years since.

42. The Yellow Light is connected with luck and charisma, and is closest to Talendra.


Lux

34. The Dothri (Doth-ree) are a collection of exactly 47 Earthmotes. While the Dothri motes do shift around amongst themselves, the 47 motes always travel together. This is due to the fact the the motes are "tethered" together.
Teleportation between normal motes is tricky, due to the water's currents sometimes interfering with the teleport. This is not the case with the Dothri, however, because of the tether the motes have. Teleportation is so common on the Dothri that teleport circles have been created and are used literaly all the time.

43. Because of the Dothri's Tether, all 47 motes share the same frequency.


35. The Dothri are inhabited by another of the four great human empires of the world--the religious oligarchy of Lux. Ruled by an inquisition of powerful High Mages who enforce the faith and compliance of the other Luxites strictly and mercilessly, Lux possesses the most powerful and common magic of all the human nations, despite being smaller than all but Talendra. It is largely due to the support of the Luxite Inquisition that the Talendrans were able to hold their own against the Kalastrian military and secure their independence, though the Luxites have returned to their policy of general isolation and officially terminated their alliance with the Talendrans in the years since.

36. Curiously, and despite it's extreme religious authority, Lux actually plays host to one of the most extraordinary cults. Extraordinary, because it has sole access to a magic not derived from the fires or waters, or something akin to the material alchemistry of the Darkana. This magic, not coincidentally, is remarkably well suited towards hiding itself, given its effects appear to be ordinary, if entirely metallic, objects. In reality, the magic in conjuring a small portion of the relatively vast amount of metal which has mysteriously congregated in the inter-dimensional corridors which tether the Dothri together. Such conjuring can have a variety of effects on the object being brought into ordinary reality, including but not limited to becoming entirely weightless or being effected by the passage time differently. Due to its reliance on the connections between the Dothri, however, this magic is unusable outside of that collection of motes.
The cult itself mostly sprang up in response recent, and ever so slight relaxations in the moderation of other religions, and is mostly focused on how their magic is dependent on the Dothri, and how that must mean they are, in some vague, holy in and of themselves.

44: The metal within the Dothri's connections cannot, at least yet, be effectively mined, due to the fact that when traveling through the connection, one cannot stop until one has reached their destination. Having a destination not in ordinary space would likely kill anything short of a Hunter, or other naturally inter-phased creature.

51. Those who use the magic of the Metal Cult will feel a different interdimensional field surrounding the earthmote of Medi.


40. In Lux, [waking someone up] is considered not only offensive but also a nearly unforgivable sin.

42. The Green Light is associated with spirituality and wisdom; the nation of Lux is the closest of the human nations to it.

46. The worship of the Five Lights is condemned as primitive heresy by Lux and many of the civilized nations, which worship the god of the Fires Above.

57. Despite their highly strict religous tendencies the Lux are very liberal in all other details of society, meaning all sorts of visitors and non-permenant residents are rarely the subject of predjudice. This also means that converts are also readily accepted into the preisthood with little to no issues.


Confederacy of Rhyddid

37. The fourth of the great human nations is the Confederacy of Rhyddid. The Confederacy is made up of a large number of clans, each of whom govern their own earthmote as they see fit. However, each earthmote sends a representative to the capital earthmote of Cartref, to make decisions regarding the common prosperity and defense of the entire Confederacy. Though they do not possess the naval power of Kalstra or the raw magical might of Lux, the Rhyddians are fierce warriors, with a bravery-or foolishness-unmatched by any other human nation. As of now, Rhyddid boasts 123 member earthmotes, though by the stipulations of their constitution, any member is free to come and go as they choose.

42. The Red Light is closely linked with strength and power of presence; it is closest to Rhyddid.



Sha'dre (nomads)

28. The fifth most significant ethnicity(cultural impact-wise), is a race of nomads, who frequently travel from mote to mote, they have the most advanced knowledge regarding the movement patterns of the motes, as well as extremelly detailed and precise "migration charts", that are very jelously kept from non-nomads. they are sometimes hired for very steep prices as guides, messengers, or navegators. They may very well be the ones with the deepest understanding of the world's nature.

29. The nomads are known as the Sha'dre, which, in their own tongue, means simply "Travellers." The primary trade of the Sha'dre is water. They gather together large groups of the flying seaweed and tether them to lightweight vessels, allowing their ships to float through the skies and providing ample water supplies.
They have also domesticated a large mammal known as the Barier (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/136/b/c/barier_skywhale_by_silverbirch-d4zyl5p.jpg). These animals are used as transportation and as draft animals to pull their flying ships.
The Sha'dre are highly defensive of their ships and animals. Should they come under attack, they would prefer to slay their own animals and set fire to their ships, causing everything to explode and fall into the Waters Beneath, than to allow enemies to capture them.

42. The Violet Light is connected with intelligence and wanderlust, and is closest to the Sha'dre.


Minor Factions

46. The Mediava live on a rather large earthmote that contains a huge library containing priceless and ancient texts, art, and knowledge from around the skyscape. No matter that their religion is considered heresy by both the Rannokites and the Pentlucans, their archives are considered precious beyond thought. Their life magic is also prized, as it can strengthen or imitate the few precious mounts that can move to different earthmotes.

48: Within the Druathan'ai, there is a dire prophecy, one not shared with neophytes. It was once said, ages ago, and written on the single oldest item in Mediava's library, that each of the 8 would die, with each death playing some part in the next, until when the final of the Five Lights was extinguished. The only hope the prophecy gives is its prediction that in those dark days, a new god would arise from Man itself, to carry light, life, time, and meaning to whomever still lived in that faltering age.

51. Those who use the magic of the Metal Cult will feel a different interdimensional field surrounding the earthmote of Medi. It is, instead of a vast expanse of metal, a smaller (but still huge) field of adamantine. This material was taken in the distant past by the druids, [and] their earthmote has been built onto [it] by using platforms of the material. The druids of the present, however, know not how to quarry it. Similar deposits of different materials exist in interdimensional pockets near all earthmotes that are not ordinary earthmotes.

55: Adamantine is clear and crystalline, sort of like diamond. It's exceptionally hard and brittle, again like diamond, and so far everything that's bothered to incorporate it has been adamantine-tipped, rather than flatly made out of it. Besides a Metal Cultist drawing items from Medi's pocket, the only way to get the conditions needed to forge an item whole from adamantine would be to go one of the molten-motes that are extremely close to the Fires. Obviously, this can't be done with Man's current technologies or magics, and so has not been considered significantly.





Darkana

4. The major competitors to the Humans are a race known as the Darkana, an arachnoid-descended race which build vast webs to hold their earthmotes together.

16. The Darkana are accomplished alchemists, capable of magically transmuting trace metals they find into the metal most needed. They even use their alchemistry to remove the trace metals from corpses for further use. They have not, however, learned how to create metal from non-metal components.

17. Given both the natural tool of their silk, and the great knowledge of alchemistry, which it should be noted is not magic in the same way High and Deep Magic are, Darkana are not especially reliant on the other cultures. For the most part, when they do interact, it is for acquisition of a rare resource, or simply out of the darkana's heart.

33.The Darkana and Quixoi are hated enemies and will frequently kill one another on sight.

39. The Darkana are a curiously a-social race. While they do interact with each other, their interactions are notably less involved than those of humans. This is because the Darkana are not a communal race, as humans are. Rather than form large communities, most Darkana act in a very familial manner; a matriarch will claim a single earthmote as her domain, which she then outfits as she desires. When a male successfully "woos" her (again, very different from the human version), she will give birth to hundreds of children.
While these children remain on the earthmote, they remain under the matriarch's command, but they quickly mature and spread to further earthmotes. Due to the male Darkana being notably smaller than the females (and also produced in much greater numbers), most male Darkana end up being travellers, going from earthmote to earthmote. Thus, male Darkana are much more likely to be encountered by other races than females (who usually stick to their domainmote)


Dragons

11. Dragons exist in this world and once ruled many of the earthmotes but now suffer under a curse [that] prevents them from remaining on a single earthmote for more than a day and night. They have become a nomadic race by force and lost much of their ancient culture and knowlege - some have been driven mad and become feral monsters venting their fury on human settlements. Others have held onto their minds and deal with humans as mounts and messangers in exchange for food and (temporary) shelter.

19. Dragons are rumored to be the children of Rannok and dragons in this setting cast divine magic, not arcane. Whether or not Dragons really are Rannok's children is truely unknown, and is more or less considered a myth.


Quixoi

30. There is a potent race that few pay much attention too: the Quixoi. (Effectivly Warforged)
A Quixoi looks slightly like a human, in that it has four limbs and a head in a roughly "huminoid" manner. The difference is that what most assume is the Quixoi's almost mechanical flesh is just that: mechanical. Within that armor shell is a shriveled ball of nerve tissue and brain cells that control [their] large external shells by sheer force. They are scattered, having a set number of sterile "Holds" (roughly 50 or so in number), each a baston of technology and magical power.
There are only a [small] number of such mechanical "shells" in each Hold, with there being as many as a hundred Quixoi's per shell. The Quixoi's themselves are self-sufficant and do not require trade, as they usualy spend there lives floating in the green-gold ichor the Hold's themselves create in massive town-vats. They only send out an Armor-Bearer if a grave threat is detected that could threaten the Holds themselves, and usualy send out such defenders in threes.
However, there have been two [recent] occasions [when] a Hold has been destroyed, and there are now nearly 2000 Holdless Quixoi's roaming the [earthmotes]. They tend to either group together with [their] fellow refugees or live alone, usually taking mercenary jobs. While [their] suits are marvels of magic, naturally repairing themselves and creating enough ichor for the Quixoi to live, they are inherently xenophobic against Quixoi from another Hold, creating issues when [other races] group them togther. The truth be told, the two displaced groups [known as the Hihae and the Ki'wezi] have a now-long history of terrorism against each other, with radical factions within each fostering hatred for the other group.

33. The Quixoi, at least their organic parts, are the descendants of the Qual'tria.


The Hihae

30.The Hihae, best known to humans as "the ones with the red-toxic green trimming", are the most scattered, with ties to several human trade groups.


The Ki'wezi

30.The Ki'wezi, better known as the "freaky white-pink ones with the Deep fetish", continue to live roughly as they did before, and have at least two airships dedicated to slaying every Hihae they spy. Entire villages have been distroyed when a Ki'wezi ship noticed the town they had been interacting with had a new, blue-trimmed member. Those who remove [their] suit's colors face exile from either group, and a common punishment in both factions is to scrach or even remove entirely the paint that adorns [their] metalic shells.


Qual'tria

33. Qual'tria are powerful psionic butterfly-like creatures that once soared through the skies of this world. Their massive 25 foot wingspans kept these creatures aloft indefinitely, soaring on the air currents as they traveled from mote to mote. The are the only sapient species native to this world.
Unfortunately, during the great wars between deities in ages past, their race was all but destroyed. With the incursion of the other races, particularly the Darkana, the Qual'tria were unable to reproduce as they once did. Their flourishing society, disorganized as it was, began to crumble. Their misshapen offspring, unable to fly free, shriveled and died until the Quixoi were created. A few Qual'tria still live, but they now never leave their home motes and the Quixoi holds that they oversee.
The Darkana and Quixoi are hated enemies and will frequently kill one another on sight.




Kariz

38. The Kariz are not a nation, nor a people, nor a cult. Rather, they are a group of fiends who have access to a special for of teliportation magic. As it is, every earthmote has a special "frequency" that many creatures can tune into, albet without knowing that they are. While being in tune with a earthmote usualy gives one a increased sense of self and well-being, the Kariz use the inherent magical frequency to open portals to there home of Tigranoz.
Tigranoz is, as the story goes, where the souls of the evil dead go to die. This was once true, however, the area has strangly lost that property. It is also said to be in the Deep: this is false. It is, in fact, a quite large, hollowed earth-mote with a gravity forcing it outward to a certiant point. This former realm of the dead has several dangers on top of [the usual] dangers, from the Kariz proper, who are the grey-skinned, pointy-eared decendents of living beings who managed to break into this hell and never broke out, to the fact that it is the only place in the [Suspended Dominion] with any large [numbers] of undead within it. In fact, the Kariz are the only race with any natural necromantic talent.
Each "race" of undead, strangly enough, has a territory that they control, and are nearly all humans, save for the occasinal Kariz turncoat (with raises questions about the nature of souls). From the vampire kingdoms to the mummy lords to the ghost lands to the domain of the lichs, a extablished pecking-order of the dead exist, all enforced by the natural energies of the blasted rock they dwell in eventually reviving any undead that "dies", which makes fighting a pointless event.
The Kariz, in fact, only recently began traveling outside [their] blasted rock home, and now the [various] factions of the old underworld are begining to shower the Kariz lords, who they formerly warred with for ages on end, with praise and gifts in exchange for [their] favor, which, in essance, is the use of [their] magical portals. The one faction that has done so [most] [is] the Vampires, who consider drinking Karizian blood to be like drinking lye.
The realms' reaction to the sudden vampiric threat is unknown as of yet, for only a few minor motes have been made available for the bloodsuckers use. However, the Kariz have made a attempt at sending explorers out into the world, which translate's to weird grey humans showing up in adventure parties over the last dozen years and a infiltrator that has managed to rise in the ranks of the Luxian priesthood to the point of being on his way to snagging a High Mage title for himself.

41. In order to discover the frequency of an earth mote, the Kariz need to receive the frequency from a Kariz who was there, thus the various Kariz lords regularly send expeditions, to gather many frequencies in order to augment their commercial and political power. For some reason they can't travel to motes occupied by phase-shifted [beings].

43. Because of the Dothri's Tether, all 47 motes share the same frequency. This means that the Kariz could use the Dothri to open the largest portal to Tigranoz that has ever been. Fortunately, the Kariz are not yet aware of the existance of the Dothri.


Ooltor

47. Another race within the Suspended Dominion is that of the Ooltor. One of the few races naturally at home in the earthmote territories, the Ooltor are large, floating creatures, similar in many ways to jellyfish or octopodes. However, their bodies are instead filled with a very light gas, allowing them to float. They also possess two major limbs, much like claws, as defense, with six smaller limbs, each tentacles, which are used for more delicate work.
The Ooltor are not especially strong, having not descended from predators, but their ability to float allows them to be incredible foragers and craftsmen. Personally, they choose to act as merchants and foragers, being more capable in those regards.

49. Some Ooltor grow massive in size over there lifetime, while others stay the same size no matter there age. These "Grand Ooltor" are seen as a living group of gods by there kin, and the average settlement has at least one functioning both as a figure of worship and as the primary source of protection.

50. The Ooltor have a extraordinary gift for languages, so much so, that affter a certain age it is common for them to create languages and solve language related problems as a past tim, and mind training tool, much like other races use puzzles (e.g. crooswords, sudoku, etc...), as such [it] is very common for trading companies, groups of friends and lovers [to] have a special language just for them. [Their constructed] languages use sounds, gestures, or symbols [equally].


Tweesaal

54. One of the more annoying races of the Dominion are those of the Tweesaal, an incredibly small race of creatures descended from rodents. No larger than watermelon, the Tweesaal are scavengers by nature, taking whatever they need to try and survive. The Tweesaal say that they themselves were the first race transplanted to the Dominion, and that all others came after, though they have no proof for such a claim.
In recent years, as the Humans came more into their own, some Tweesaal have begun to try and civilize their ways. Rather than simply hide and steal, like most are akin to do, these "reformed" Tweesaal try and help out on tasks, often doing simple things, such as clean hard to get to places, because their small size and stature has made it difficult for them to do much else.
On the other side of the coin are those Tweesaal who resent the larger races that take their resources. These Tweesaal, sometimes called "feral," choose to practice a kind of shadow war on the other races, claiming whatever earthmotes they can as their own, and stripping those controlled by other races of what resources they can find (including farmed foodstocks and tools made by the other races).
This tri-split nature of the Tweesaal, combined with their high breeding rate, have led most races, particularly Humans, to distrust the tiny creatures. Relations between the Tweesaal and other races are tenuous at best.


Bheka

56: On the primitive mote of Aolso, it is said that when a child is born of the Lights, a flock of creatures resembling toads with wings that resemble jelly will come down upon them and ruin the years harvest. While this superstition has little basis in fact; the creatures are real, and called the Bheka. They are intelligent creatures that fly between the motes in search of food. The largest of the these flocks is believed to have forged a pact with the Sha'dre, though the details of the pact are unknown to all except the participants.



Ousiders

18. [There are] "phase shifted" beings who seem to be "native outsiders". They can move trough solid matter of the motes, but are incapable of traveling trough air or water, essentially, solid material is to them like water to a fish, while air is solid to them. [To them, the earthmotes are like pockets of air in a universe of solid material.]

[Amaril]

I should note that when I use the term "Man" in the mythological sense, I'm referring to all the sentient races. I assume, however, that this mythology is written from a human perspective, leading it to be more focused on humans exclusively. This perspective is not necessarily accurate.

[C.J.Geringer]

I have a question


I was going to write a numbered post about how the reason the Ooltor, resemble aquatic bean was because they were made by Ulthula, and how their gift for languages was engineered to allow them to crack secret communication and forge alliances, with whomever they find,thus strengthening her armies.

And later another one about the darkana coming here in order to study teh effects of the war on the edge of the planes, only to be stranded on the dominion after the war.

But if "man" mean all sentient races, then I can´t do that since it contradicts an earlier post.

So what is the verdict?

[Rizban]

I think the cosmology is shifting to be too focused on this mythical war frm eons past. Why don't we focus more on the world as it is now and flesh that out? We can work backwards later to create a congruent back story that fits the existing facts.

[Amaril]

Rizban has it right, I think. We should focus more on the world's present state of affairs. Let's leave the mythology for now and come back to it later if it ever becomes really important.

[Rizban]

If it looks good to you, you might consider editing the compilation I made into the first post. That would allow people to easily find it, see where the setting is now, and reference things easier. Just a thought.

[C.J.Geringer]

Ok, then how about this to flesh out the Kariz, and expand on how they deal with other races?:

58: one of the major focus of Kariz culture, is the contract. They believe that contracts give order and stability, to societies, and interpersonal relations. and the more important things are the more important it is to have a contract. As such long term misunderstandings among the Kariz are rare, for example if a couple fights over something, they go to their contract and see who is wrong and what reparations are necessary. If not they go to an arbiter who is considered a neutral third party.

Due to this contract focus the Kariz are very reliable, but inflexible. This makes difficult for them to become friends with other races, because the more interested in forming a friendship they get, the more insistent they get about a contract. Since to other races a contract means a legal document meant normally to protect someone legally, the other races react by thinking that what they thought was a blooming friendship was no more than a business association getting a bit hurt, accepting the contract and reverting to a very formal relationship which hurts the Kariz since right after the moment they officially become friends they stop being treated as friends(sometimes leading them to believe they were manipulated to form a contract with someone which is enough to make an enemy of the Kariz), or get angry that someone they are starting to think of as a friend distrusts them so.


Is this ok?

[Amaril]

Sure, perfectly good material. Let's make sure we balance our additions so we flesh out everything, though--right now, for examlpe, Kalastra has almost no lore associated with it, while Lux has a LOT, so let's try to make disparities like that a little more balanced.

[Calinar]

The Kalastra Monarchy generally takes a hands off approach with trade and business in their kingdom, some might say too much so. They generally try to keep much of the destructive practices out of their central cluster of mote. However this protection doesn't extend to any of the annexed motes or more remote ones, Talendra is likely the best example of the former. The Monarchy has been known to send out scouts to search for motes with specific resources to "Annex" should they find the numbers of these resources being brought in to Kalastra drops even slightly. Quite often this annexation is done through force or threats of force, you will also find Kalastran survey teams flood to every new mote that appears in an attempt to claim it first.

[C.J.Geringer]

@ Rizban: Could you please post in your rummary on the "outsiders" part that most outsiders are aligned with one of the two planes of which the dominion is the frontier?

The phase shifter are rather the exeption.

[Rizban]

Which post was that in?

I'm not sure Amaril likes my summary or wants to use it. Unless I hear differently, I don't think that I'll continue updating it.

[Amaril]

Actually Rizban, I thought your summary was fantastic :smallsmile: Please keep updating it if you have the chance, it should be a big help.

[Rob Roy]

Can we get Rizban's summary edited into the OP so it's easier to find and increases accessibility to new contributers?

59(Or is it 60?) The Bheka can communicate through high pitched shrieks, but this only a simplified version of whatever language the Bheka natively speaks, used when communicating to non-Bheka and over distance. The true tongue of any given flock is carried through the variety of scents that an individual's mucus creates, and these scents can be changed at will by an individual Bheka. No flock has a written language, and all agreements with them are carried verbally. An individual Bheka never forgets. Luckily, Bheka tend to die of old age by the time they are 10 years of age.

In fact, the oldest Bheka known to have lived died at thirteen years of age. Due to their short life spans, they reach sexual maturity just after their first year; on average one will have over two hundred children, of which anywhere between 2-5 will survive to maturity. When a child reaches maturity, it and it's flock participate in a naming ritual, after which the new adult is considered to be a man (in the sense of an intelligent being, without regards to sex or species) rather than an animal.

[Domriso]

61. The Darkana religion is a vast and difficult thing to decipher. However, those who understand the religion often find themselves better able to interact with the arachnoid creatures.

It is said by the Darkana that the many varied families are all descended from a primary lineage, known as the Zaltaj'quial (which translates roughly to "Forebearers"). The Zaltaj'quial were brought to the dominion by an unknown means; they spent the beginning few centuries searching out information on how they were brought here.

As the Zaltaj'quial grew more accustomed to the Dominion (and more aware that they would likely never leave), more and more of the younger generations spread to other earthmotes. This eventually led to the far-spread "country" that now exists. As certain family lines came to control larger numbers of earthmotes, fights between the different families became common, as resources became more important. As these family wars were waged, the home motes of the Zaltaj'quial were lost to history. This lack of knowledge is one of the few common points of the all the family mythologies, and is a point of shame and anger amongst all the many families.

By the modern times, there are more than three hundred recognized families among the Darkana. Each family has their own personal mythologies, most incorporating legends and stories of famous members of their family (although cross-lineages have led to many families sharing important figures, often playing different roles), and this has, notably, led to each Darkana lineage possessing incredibly long and detailed (and conflicting) epics. Further confusing the nature of these epics is the fact that most of the modern lineages split from older lineages at some point in the past, but some of the older lineages still exist today! So, finding common ground on any mythical Darkana figure is a difficult task, at best.

The short lifespans of the Darkana only contributes to this confusion. In fact, a position of great authority among the Darkana lineages (and one of the few professions that actively interact with other lineages) is that of the Mythweavers. These are the Darkana who spend their entire lives researching, memorizing, and sharing the many epics of the Darkana.

[Xuc Xac]

Why does this worl'd have so ma'ny unnecessa'ry apostro'phes?

[Domriso]

Where are there unnecessary apostrophes?

[Xuc Xac]

Where are there unnecessary apostrophes?

Druathan'ai
Sha'dre
Ki'wezi
Qual'tria
Zaltaj'quial

It doesn't look like a glo'al stop would fit in any of those words and they don't appear to be contractions, so what function does the apostrophe serve in any of those words? And, while I'm asking questions, is there any particular reason that the inhabitants of this world use the cheap B-movie alien naming convention of "cram Q, Z, and X into everything so we can dominate at Scrabble"?

[Domriso]

Well, I can't speak for the first four, but Zaltaj'quial has an apostrophe to differentiate the "j" sound from the "q" sound (so, it's more of a tahj-kyowl, rather than ta-zkial). As for the z and q in Zaltaj'quial, it's there to accentuate the nature of the Darkana language, which I've up until now imagined as possessing a propensity for hard consonants and clicks. I suppose I should put it out there that I was imagining a German pronunciation for the "z" in "Zaltaj'quial," but that's neither here nor there...

In short, I don't see much of a problem with the apostrophe or unusual letters in my usage. And, hell, it's an alien setting. Other conventions might just be ordinary.

[C.J.Geringer]

Which post was that in?


post 21, would have been numbered idea 18.

[Rizban]

Druathan'ai
Sha'dre
Ki'wezi
Qual'tria
Zaltaj'quial

It doesn't look like a glo'al stop would fit in any of those words and they don't appear to be contractions, so what function does the apostrophe serve in any of those words? And, while I'm asking questions, is there any particular reason that the inhabitants of this world use the cheap B-movie alien naming convention of "cram Q, Z, and X into everything so we can dominate at Scrabble"?

For Sha'dre, I intended the apostrophe as a distinct stop between the syllables as well as indication that it is pronounced sha dre not shad re.

[Amaril]

Some of the annoyance people might have at the use of apostrophes (which I, personally, have no problem with) might be solved by replacing a few of them with hyphens. Sha-dre seems to indicate the same pronunciation as Sha'dre.

And yes, I'll edit Rizban's summary into the OP as soon as I get a chance.

[Rizban]

Sha-dre makes the word look "stretched." Besides, that one actually is proper use of an apostrophe to indicate pronunciation.

Edit: Also, looking back, that was the first use of an apostrophe in a name. If anything, it should get to keep it just because it was the first and therefore not yet overdone. :smallbiggrin:

[Sodalite]

Additionally, I think Druathan'ai is, actually, a contraction of Druathan with another word, probably something that translates to follower.

For the Quiloxi names, I'm less sure, but I imagine that they're just punctuation, and the names are closer to a sentence than a word.

[Amaril]

I believe one of the Quixoi faction names was more commonly replaced with "those with the toxic-green striping" or something similar. What if the apostrophe represents a contraction of a Quixoi sentence that actually means exactly that? That would explain most of the factions having names with apostrophes.

[Drowlord]

Druathan'ai
Sha'dre
Ki'wezi
Qual'tria
Zaltaj'quial

It doesn't look like a glo'al stop would fit in any of those words and they don't appear to be contractions, so what function does the apostrophe serve in any of those words? And, while I'm asking questions, is there any particular reason that the inhabitants of this world use the cheap B-movie alien naming convention of "cram Q, Z, and X into everything so we can dominate at Scrabble"?

Druathan'ai can be written Druathan-ai or Druathan Ai. Aí means "blood" (deriving from Greek), thus Druathan's Ai (or Druathan's Blood). It's then contracted to Druathan'ai. So yes, Druathan'ai is a contraction. I cannot speak for the others.

62. Kalastra has a considerable advantage in expansion and war in the form of alchemetric devices. Its airships are imbued and added on to constantly with gadgets and weapons made from its huge scrap deposits, as well as its earthmotes being transformed by huge buildings and structures. The reason for the trade of alchemical secrets with the Darkana is unknown, but may have to do with the fact that the two barely fought off, with great loss of warriors and heroes, a Hunter group that had invaded the earthmotes between them.

[Pokonic]

Kariz

38. The Kariz are not a nation, nor a people, nor a cult. Rather, they are a group of fiends who have access to a special for of teliportation magic. As it is, every earthmote has a special "frequency" that many creatures can tune into, albet without knowing that they are. While being in tune with a earthmote usualy gives one a increased sense of self and well-being, the Kariz use the inherent magical frequency to open portals to there home of Tigranoz.
Tigranoz is, as the story goes, where the souls of the evil dead go to die. This was once true, however, the area has strangly lost that property. It is also said to be in the Deep: this is false. It is, in fact, a quite large, hollowed earth-mote with a gravity forcing it outward to a certiant point. This former realm of the dead has several dangers on top of [the usual] dangers, from the Kariz proper, who are the grey-skinned, pointy-eared decendents of living beings who managed to break into this hell and never broke out, to the fact that it is the only place in the [Suspended Dominion] with any large [numbers] of undead within it. In fact, the Kariz are the only race with any natural necromantic talent.
Each "race" of undead, strangly enough, has a territory that they control, and are nearly all humans, save for the occasinal Kariz turncoat (with raises questions about the nature of souls). From the vampire kingdoms to the mummy lords to the ghost lands to the domain of the lichs, a extablished pecking-order of the dead exist, all enforced by the natural energies of the blasted rock they dwell in eventually reviving any undead that "dies", which makes fighting a pointless event.
The Kariz, in fact, only recently began traveling outside [their] blasted rock home, and now the [various] factions of the old underworld are begining to shower the Kariz lords, who they formerly warred with for ages on end, with praise and gifts in exchange for [their] favor, which, in essance, is the use of [their] magical portals. The one faction that has done so [most] [is] the Vampires, who consider drinking Karizian blood to be like drinking lye.
The realms' reaction to the sudden vampiric threat is unknown as of yet, for only a few minor motes have been made available for the bloodsuckers use. However, the Kariz have made a attempt at sending explorers out into the world, which translate's to weird grey humans showing up in adventure parties over the last dozen years and a infiltrator that has managed to rise in the ranks of the Luxian priesthood to the point of being on his way to snagging a High Mage title for himself.

41. In order to discover the frequency of an earth mote, the Kariz need to receive the frequency from a Kariz who was there, thus the various Kariz lords regularly send expeditions, to gather many frequencies in order to augment their commercial and political power. For some reason they can't travel to motes occupied by phase-shifted [beings].

43. Because of the Dothri's Tether, all 47 motes share the same frequency. This means that the Kariz could use the Dothri to open the largest portal to Tigranoz that has ever been. Fortunately, the Kariz are not yet aware of the existance of the Dothri.



For simplicity, the first edited version of the above for wholeness. (Because dang it, there my babies. My horribly malformed bat-eared pigment-lacking deamonic warlock babies and there horrible nightmare-realm)

Tigranoz
Most think of it as a plane of existance within the Deeps that holds the dead of evil men. This is mostly true, in that it exists. However, it is not it's own plane of existance nor is it within the Deeps. For, after the great cosmic war, mankind was not shuffled off to this giant soul-prison and forgotten, but rather were able to go to the realms of there gods. Hence, it has not had a new soul enter it since the end of the great cosmic war, not that it's inhabitance cares.

For, as a closed realm of the dead, it was forced to develop it's own cultures, of a sort. It could be said that each undead power within the larger-on-the-inside earthmote pratice the ways of there pre-war cultures in a twisted setting, being made fit to a eternal lifestyle. For there unlife is eternal, for this soul-prison continues to support the dead's existance even when seemingly distroy, and gives sentinence to traditionaly brainless dead. For example, two zombies who fought with eachother during the Origins of the world on the two opposing sides might fight to the seeming re-death once, revive a few hours later, and get what passes for a drink in a ghoul-run marrow-beer tavern and exchange stories with there war buddies.

The afterlife is pretty chill like that, frankly. A few untold eons of constent fighting looses it's spirit when it's apparent that there is no use.

Tagonoz's varied "peoples" include the

Bonelands, which is supposedly ruled over by a group of the most powerful creatures within them, as determined by a bi-decade duel by the entire Lich population, but is in essance a anarchy with each Lich and what servents he can bind to his will staking a claim to a area and using the ground (bones all the way down) to create there castles. Other powers in the bonelands include the varying Ghast-Princes and there typicaly supportive Thane-Ghouls competing warrens and the thousands of Skeleton groups that dwell on the surface, either wandering around half-asleep or under the command of a Death Knight commander.


Balefire Steppes, which is by far the least tamed of the areas within it. Unlike many other places within the Tagonozian underworld, most creatures avoid the this eternaly-burning area due to the magical fire that hurts even undead creatures. This fire, called "Baleflame" is green-gold in color and gives off no heat but attacks what a creature is, hurting even spirits not bound to physical bodies and is lethal to Originaly a place that followers of Rannok made sacred, the inhabitance of this forever-molten plane include mad Effigies that occasinaly leave this realm to kidnap and throw a creature into one of the great vast canyons in the area to let them suffer a true eternal damnation. This practice tends to create insane Flameskulls, while the unfortunate incorparal undead bound in such a manner are transformed into more Effigies. The only true rulers of the area are the few Dracolich's that have managed to excape undetected by the general powers of the underworld by burrowing into the lavalike underground and waiting for a time when they can fly again. (Note: Undead converted in this matter would produce green-gold flame that is otherwise normal fire, as apposed to regular fire)

The Moldering Miles are the home to the lands more fleshy types: Zombies gather in great groups to find work and fun, while Boneclaws and such often find work outside of there homelands as upper-ranked servents and overseers. Notably the largest region in the underworld, it can best be seen as the "center" of the realm. Notably, it has no true ruler, but the Kiraz tend to keep there largest settlements outside the Vampire realm in this area.

The Onyx Sands are the home to what is best known as the closest thing to a unfied culture in the realm. Untold numbers of undead serve as servents to the Mummy upper-class, who tell tales that they were once there lords eons ago before the war that distroyed there culture. Most think this is a load of undead horsecrap, but they reward those that please them and are known for there gifts, so most powers in the realm let there eccentricites go unquestioned and simply smile and nod at there rambelings.

The Vampires....what can one way about the Vampires? Nearly all of them are part of a noble house or somesuch, but any chance at unification they might have had was distroyed when there King, who ruled them since the time before new souls stopped appearing in the realm, was slain by a low-ranking Kiraz-born youngling. Not only did that, according to some increadably old rule in existance that even the most rule-lawyery Vamp had at the back of there mind, but said youngling's creation was a secret kept from the court, so they got to see a nameless Kiraz-born vampire slay her creator with what might have been the last onion bulb in existance in the entire underworld.

This was already bad enough for the purely human set-in-there-ways vampire lords to accept a freakish Kiraz as there Queen, but then the stake was hammered into the heart: the girl was the daughter of a Kirazian mage-lord who often did blows with the Vampire, only to leave the afterlife as a whole to infiltrate a "outsiders" cultural center, who, as a final action to make peace with the King, gave up his daugher as a bride. Naturaly, this resulted as a final act to anger the vampires even more. There supposed Queen stopped bothering to arrive at the counsel meetings, apparently in hiding, and the Kirazian yeomen they formerly kept under control have begun to become restless. Now, a few groups among them are taking drastic steps: they have approched the Kirazian lords in general for the ability to make use of there newfangled portals to the outside, and as payment they will free there bondsmen. So far, little more than a quarter of the noble houses have done so, but it's only a matter of time before they are forced to conform to there bretheren and seek out new blood, literaly.







In short, I don't see much of a problem with the apostrophe or unusual letters in my usage. And, hell, it's an alien setting. Other conventions might just be ordinary.

This. Hell, the Olotar's naming conventions might translate into something akin to 3w*[Ef'ska]quiblozi^1402 if written in common, but they have the ability to make it far more feasable for mear thickly-made creatures to understand.


I believe one of the Quixoi faction names was more commonly replaced with "those with the toxic-green striping" or something similar. What if the apostrophe represents a contraction of a Quixoi sentence that actually means exactly that? That would explain most of the factions having names with apostrophes.

Actualy, that discription would be from a typical human observer who takes care in not to offend the local metalic heavly-armed mercanary without being formaly. Each Hold was stocked with it's own unique color-coated armor-bodies, with combinations from all over the rainbow, but the fact that there are only two known abandoned Hold's makes this fact obscure to most.

A Hold would be nameless, honestly, with each little secluded group of bodyless Quixoi having developed a sub-writing inside there vaults derived from a commen root one. For example, getting one from who identifies as Hihae to read a transcript of aKi'wezitext would be akin to make a person well versed in French make out a Spanish one, with both having trouble with Qual'tria, which could be considered the Latin of this individual group of entities.

Notably, they do not have a vocal language, with the Qual'tria always used to telipathic speach and there grublike ichor-dwelling decendents being incapable of such things. Rather, the armor-bodies have a sort of universal translator built into it that, among other things, let's a individual understand whats being spoken around him and lets him speak using a artifical voice built into the suits. And no, no one knows why how the mind-reading butterflies had that much forsight, and it's a minor topic with too many questions and far too few facts avaliable.

[Rob Roy]

63: While no one is aware of exactly how long man has existed in the Dominion, they have been around long enough for the city of Tezel, named after the mote on which it resides, to rise and fall. While the ruins have been long since picked clean, there are still reports of "Tezel-esque" ruins being found in the interiors of some of the larger primitive or even the uninhabited motes. Authentic Tezel pottery and weapons are highly prized on the collectors market, though one must be careful of forgeries. More interesting to scholars however, is the fact that the language found at all these sights has yet to be translated; as well as the mystery of how a culture that has no stable or hangars could have settlements across so many different motes. It is often assumed that the Tezel culture was destroyed by the Hunters, but there is no hard evidence of this.

[EchoKnight]

64: Just becuase all life from the Waters Below is hostile, doesn't mean people don't have a use for them. Low flying airships occasionally try to 'go fishing'. It's generally seen as risky, foolish and not worth the effort but lucky and talented crews have been able to fend off the more dangerous of sea monsters and take back 'deep fish'.

It's mostly just Skimmer-Snakes, (a type of eel that moves very fast along the surface of the Deep), and Flying Fins, (flying fish that jumps out of water to catch 'extra' prey), but any kind of 'Deep Fish' will fetch a good price. After all, it is a rare delicacy.

[Rizban]

65. While the brave, or foolhardy, do go fishing along the surface of the deep, this is more dangerous due to the nature of the Waters Beneath than of the sea life. The currents of the waters are known to spark and flash with energy. Vessels drawing too near to a strong current are struck by lightning like energy of raw mana, destroying all known substances on a metaphysical level. Living creatures struck the the energy discorporate into a fine mist and become one with the Waters Beneath, their life essences merging with the currents.

[Calinar]

66. On the motes close to the Waters Beneath, there forms a special crystal that stores some of the magic that leak in from the Waters. But harvesting it is both difficult and risky because of the hostility of the environment and fact that these small patches are often rare and covered by ice the sheets of ice that cover such motes. The crystals themselves are generally no bigger than the fist of a man and are perfectly clear. These crystals are greatly prized by deep mages for their unique magical properties. Only someone truly foolish would attempt to mine such crystals, as even it the warmest clothing you would freeze to death in a few hours.

[Sgt. Cookie]

67 The motes where the crystals are found are often small, meaning that with enough force it is possible to move them. Deep Mages are often brought along on, or they themselves bring, crews who's task is to mine these crystals. This is because Deep Mages can create a sort of "pull" on small motes filled with these crystals, simply by being near them.

This comes with its own risks, as Mana Strikes are also attracted to Deep Mages.

[Rizban]

68. Any attempt to use High Magic with a Deep Magic crystal causes the crystal to violently explode. Mana surges between the shard form patterns similar to the currents. Anything killed by this energy discharge immediatley dissolves and jons the currents.

The High Mage never survives.

[C.J.Geringer]

69: The Darkana have old records of experiments with High crystals analogous to deep crystals, how they were found or harvested is a mystery since the motes closer to the fire above are even more inhospitable than the ones near the water. But if a person were to get one, they would be get very rich indeed.

[Amaril]

70. Since the molten motes at high altitudes tend to be much bigger and heavier than the frozen ones near the water, the strategy of pulling them into a more hospitable zone and mining them there is less viable. The Luxite Inquisition is currently funneling large quantities of its funding into researching ways to move the molten motes and gain access to reserves of High crystals.

[Rizban]

71. Unbeknownst to the High Mages desperately seeking access to the upper motes for mining, the High Magic crystals are entirely mythical. The ancient records of the Darkana were written as a speculative exercise by a young Darkana Alchemist based on alchemisty experiments he witnessed as an apprentice that were performed on a Deep Magic crystal. The idea that there might be a matching analogue to the Deep Magic crystals fascinated him. However, after years of searching and alchemical experimentation, he came to the realization that no such thing exists and abandoned all research. His theoretical writings are now believed by most to be fact, despite their fictional origins.

[Sgt. Cookie]

72 The Darkarna Alchemist did note however, that if you were to "discharge" a Deep Magic crystal, a task that possible in theory but has never actualy been done, you could take it upto the Fires and recharge it there.

[Rob Roy]

73: There have however, been innumerable attempts to discharge deep crystals, most of which have ended in casualties or what appears to be teleportation, though none of those who have been teleported have been found. Those few who have suffered neither of these fates have written many papers, most of them on speculation of where some victims went, or opinion essays on why these experiments were bad ideas.

[Calinar]

Wow, I didn't think my deep crystal idea would get such iteration.

74. Although Kalastra has a hereditary constitutional monarchy, they have recently lost most of their power and most of their authority comes from their wealth and ability to influence the common folk. The true power now lies with the Royal Council, which is made up of each of the heads of the 13 noble houses. The other two council branches are the Guild's Council and the Merchant's Council.

[Amaril]

75. The recent shift in Kalastra's political landscape was largely the result of maneuvering by a small number of the Royal Councilors, who were dissatisfied with the failure of the previous king, Jaden Vinland III, to beat down the Talendran uprising. His daughter, Maria Vinland I, now continues to suffer the consequences.

[Rob Roy]

76: Some Darkana matriarchs are known to use enslaved Bheka as watchdogs.

Totally not related to this. (http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/03/tiny-frogs-and-giant-spiders/)

[Pokonic]

76: Some Darkana matriarchs are known to use enslaved Bheka as watchdogs.

Totally not related to this. (http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/03/tiny-frogs-and-giant-spiders/)

These inslaved Bheka have been treated over the generations by the most powerful of alchemical substances thinkable to the point that, in this day and age, the decendents of the first slaves now natural produce a thick toxin from there pores. This toxin smells horrible to normal Bheka, and as such there would be little chance for a lucky former slave to be accepted into "normal" Bheka society, which the matriarchs often remind them of.

[C.J.Geringer]

78: An important organization in the dominion is the Galdad Consortium, a Very powerful merchant guild specialized in inter-mote trading and transport, consisting of a extensive "mercantile air navy" and a network of offices and warehouses for the dominion. It is very rare for any adventuring group to not have contact with them be it as employers, as a form of transport, or as a way to procure rare items.

Even Official expeditions frequently use the Consortium services for transport.

[Rob Roy]

79: The Consortium is headquartered in Kalastra, and is most influential there and in Talendra, despite the official trade embargo employed by Kalestra against the rebel state. It is practically non-existent in Lux, due to the ease of teleportation magic between the Dothri. The Consortium has bad relations with the Sha'dre tribes due to the Consortium's violent attempts to drive them out of it's operating area (and, consequentially, some Sha'dre tribes are known to attack Consortium shipping). The Consortium has been accused of sowing internal dissent among the clans of Rhyddid, which has lead to relations between Kalastra and the Confederacy worsening.

[Rizban]

80. The Sha'dre have long been in a trade war with the Consortium. As the main sellers of drinkable water in the world, the Sha'dre have long held control of the trade lanes. However, the Consortium has recently begun changing their tactics to one of direct attack and assault rather than mere economic tactics. This has caused the Sha'dre to seek allies, and they have turned to the Confederacy and to the Darkana for support. It is becoming increasingly common to find Sha'dre trade ships have been enhanced with Darkana alchemistry in the form of strong, lightweight armor and explosive bombards akin to primitive cannons.

[THEChanger]

81. The internal dissent the Consortium was accused of spreading, in fact, only has tangental ties to the organization. A son of one of the most powerful members of the guild attempted a hostile takeover of an unclaimed mote, without the knowledge of his father. He then applied for membership in the Confederacy, much to the anger of many current member motes. The son's tactics were seen as dishonorable and cowardly by many more conservative motes, while a minority saw a connection to the Consortium as a method by which the Confederacy as a whole could be strengthened. Because of strange by-laws in the way mote application is handled, said mote is still technically being reviewed, despite having applied for membership five newfires ago.

[Sgt. Cookie]

82 The reason the Son took over the mote was because it bore a striking resemblance to the motes near the water that contain Deep Crystals. Because of it's size, roughly eight times larger than a "standard" crystal bearing mote, nobody really recognised it. The Son, having recently returned from Captaining a crystal mining expedition, had seen similar motes. Both in size and "texture", thus he captured the mote almost as soon as he saw it.

His reason for joining the confederacy was for protection, before starting mining operations, although the technical status of "his" mote have put a hold to his plans.

[Amaril]

83. Though Talendra owes their independence largely to support from the Luxite military, they do possess one critical asset of their own that helped them in their war against Kalastra--the Invisible Hand, widely recognized as the most deadly order of assassins in the Dominion. The identities of the Hand's members are completely secret, but a fair amount of information is available about the organization's methods and traditions. For instance, they are known to make frequent use of Deep Magic in their work, and prospective assassins gifted in the arcane arts are highly sought after by the Hand's leaders. The motto of the Hand is also fairly common knowledge, and its mere utterance is enough to terrify many--"ask not for whom the bell tolls, lest it toll for thee".

[Rizban]

84. The Sha'dre have just formed an alliance with three powerful ancient dragons. The nomadic nature of the two groups makes for a good pairing, and staying with the traders gives the dragons the sense of permanency for which they have longed.

[Rob Roy]

85: As Kalastra is a constitutional monarchy, the real power in the state is not held by the King, but by officials elected into the Kalastran Senate, which is divided into the House of the Bloods (Consisting of officials born into the position) and the House of the Public (The more powerful of the two; officials are elected from the common people). There are 3 powerful political factions. Redundant.

[Calinar]

86. The Invisible Hand isn't the only advantage Talendra has, They have formed an elite ground unit as well called the Iron Vanguard to give them an advantage over Kalastra in a ground battle. Using the metal they gained from Lux during their brief alliance they began equipping their best warriors with metal armor and weapons. Due to the limited amount of metal that was gained, only the 40 best soldier in Talendra have the honor of being part of the Iron Vanguard. The metal arms and armor are precious and are always well maintained, Talendra makes sure to funnel whatever metal is needed to make repairs for the Vanguard since the armor cannot be replaced. When one of the Vanguard falls in battle the number one priority is to recover his armor and weapon so another can take his place.

[Calinar]

Sorry to say this Rob, but we have already made the Kalastran government in #74 and 75. Its a bit similar to what you posted but with 3 Council branches with the nobles currently holding power and the queen's power being mostly wealth and swaying popular opinion in the people.

[Rob Roy]

Ah, didn't see it. Must have gotten lost in the posts. Or, more likely, I'm blind. Thanks for pointing that out.

EDIT
Not being sarcastic.

[Pokonic]

87. Each dragon has a color determined by which sun it was "closer" to during it's youth. Young dragons are wingless, grey-brown creatures called "drakes" who are either carried on a young mothers back, clinging to it with temperary pads where there claws will later replace, or left with a Sha'dre group. The nomads care for the nonsentinent younglings from the dog-sized drakelings they are born as to the time when they have matured into horse-sized Drakes. A Sha'dre youth who manages to impress a drake of any age might gain it's trust, but such a bond breaks down over time. You see, a Drake, when it becomes tired and sleepy even during the day, is abandoned by the nomads on a mote. Said drake will, over the course of several years hidden inside a cavern or another safe place, transform from a instinctual wingless creature into a sentinent, winged Dragon with a majestic array of scales. The three ancient dragons that have allied with the traders are actualy simply attempting to remember there childhood, for they still remember there former caretaker's scent thousands of years after his death and have identified his only living direct decendent by smell alown.


In essance, dragons give birth to a clutch of wingless, uninteligent dragonkin-like creatures that are cared for/used as beasts of burden by the Sha'dre, and only they know the truth about "young dragons". A "dieing" drake is left by itself on a isolated mote, and over about five year's it sleeps only to awaken, functionaly, as a Adult-catagory member of whatever type it ends up as.

[Rizban]

Dragons can't stay on a mote for longer than one day and one night. This was stated previously.

Also, the Sha'dre have only just formed initial alliances with a few dragons. That wouldn't really be workable if they have a long history of raising dragon young.

Apart from that, I do like the concept...

[Rob Roy]

I was going to have an updated version of Rizban's chart in this post, but I'm about ready to fall asleep as I type this, and realized this as was updating, so I'll edit it in tomorrow. Anyway, when two canon violating additions happen right after each other, I figure it's a necessity. The next number is 86, yes?

[Pokonic]

Dragons can't stay on a mote for longer than one day and one night. This was stated previously.

Also, the Sha'dre have only just formed initial alliances with a few dragons. That wouldn't really be workable if they have a long history of raising dragon young.



Well, yes. Until they wake up after a few good years nap, there weird drakes. The day there eyes open and they spread there wings, they take off quickly.

The part about the alliance could just be limited to young "dragons". A actual dragon interacting with them would be rare unless it had eggs to lay, and one coming back to the nest, so to speak, would be even more so.

[Rizban]

84. The Sha'dre have just formed an alliance with three powerful ancient dragons. The nomadic nature of the two groups makes for a good pairing, and staying with the traders gives the dragons the sense of permanency for which they have longed.This was my whole post. You're essentially saying that you're "undoing" it and suggesting that they would only have an alliance to care for the eggs.

My post was supposed to be an expansion of the earlier seeking allies against the Consortium posts by forging a new alliance with dragons, something that I had figured hadn't happened before in the history of the world. I did not see them as merely becoming nannies...

[Amaril]

It does seem as though Pokonic's post contradicts Rizban's a bit. However, Rizban, if a dragon can only remain on a given mote for a day and a night, how exactly would their alliance with the Sha'dre remain workable? Even being a nomadic culture, I imagined the Sha'dre staying in most places for more than a day--unless they rarely even land on motes at all, and usually stick to their ships and flotillas?

I look forward to seeing how this gets resolved :smallsmile:

[Rizban]

unless they rarely even land on motes at all, and usually stick to their ships and flotillasThis is how I envisioned the water traders among them. If it's okay, I'm going to go ahead and add a number to codify this without actually really adding anything new.

88. The Sha'dre gather together the large, explosive floating seaweed plants that still don't have a name called Kilm. It wouldn't be safe to keep those near a mote where people would be tempted to steal them and risk having them all detonate. As such, the Sha'dre keep them moving at all times, stopping only long enough to unload the harvested water on an uninhabited mote, leaving it for the next group of Sha'dre to pick up and sell to the other peoples of the Suspended Dominion.

[Pokonic]

I was attempting to create a reason how, extactly, the dragons managed to breed and keep a viable population base when mommy has no idea where daddy is and mommy cannot stay in one place for more than a day. In the case that no, the nomad's do not raise the dragons, the following could replace the post as a whole:

A dragon, heavy with eggs, typicly chooses the largest/most stable earthmote in the area as it's brooding place. After digging a large nest, it quickly lays there clutch and leave's.

Now, the important part is what happens when the eggs hatch.

Rather than tiny mini-dragons, nearly blind, grey, slimy little lizard-creatures the size of dogs emurge from the eggs. Often, a single clutch might have as many as twenty or so drakelings, and they behave much like how one would think reptilan wolves would act: moderatly playful, rather social, and hunt in groups.

Often, such a group of drakes become the local bane of any town they live near. They grow slowly, and never quite stray from the cave they were layed in. They resemble stunted dragons at birth, all stubby and thick-limbed, but as they age they grow longer and more, well, dragonlike, eventualy growing to the size of horses. Because of the natural threat such powerful, communal meat-eaters pose to a settlement, there heads are often worth quite the bounty, and "younglings" are worth even moreso as pets. Notably, they cannot be tamed, and almost all accounts of taming a lap-drake ends in a dead owner.

Eventualy, after more than fifty or so years of fattening themselves with flesh, the survivers of the brood, often less than three or four in number, go there seperate ways and carve out sleeping-dens for themselves. After little more than five years of hibernating, the newly spawned dragons awaken with colored scales, self-awareness, and a instinct to travel away from there home earthmote.

[Sgt. Cookie]

90 Though rare, sometimes a Drakeling and a Human bond with one another, on both a social and spiritual basis. This is NOT "taming" a but rather a connection that develops between Drakeling and Human.

This usually occurs when a danger to both Drakeling and Human is on the Earthmote. Forced together by circumstance, the Human and Drakeling "work", for lack of a better term, together to defeat this threat. This earns the trust of the young dragon.

This connection between Dragon and Man has a curious effect on both, the Youngling hibernates after a mere Decade or so after the bond was formed, although the period remains unchanged, and the Human's lifespan increases three fold.

Upon awakening, the newly aware Dragon seeks out its bondmate, who himself knows of the Dragon's new state, and the two of them leave the Earthmote.

These so-called "Dragon riders" are an incredible sight to behold, soaring across the skyscape, floating on the cross winds always eager to see what's next. They are also highly feared and respected for their battle prowess.

It is rumoured that a telepathic connection exists between Dragon and Rider, allowing the two to communicate regardless of distance.

The decedents of a Rider possess the same bond to the Dragon, meaning a single Dragon could be the mount* for several generations of a particular family.

*Although that term is not correct, because of what it implies, both Dragon and Rider accept that it is the best term to use for discussion purposes

[Domriso]

91. Dragon flesh is something of an incredibly rare delicacy amongst the Darkana. While drakelings are not a hard thing to capture (especially amongst a well-laid web), Dragons are. The further negative connotations of killing and consuming a sentient creature make knowledge of this delicacy almost unknown outside of the individual Families. The Darkana vehemently deny any allegations of Dragon-consumption, and sometimes employ assassins to end rumor-mongering.

[Rizban]

92. Because of the familial bond with the dragon, the original rider's descendants suffer the same curse as the dragon, never being able to stay on a single mote for more than a night and a day. This curse persists for 23 generations; however, most descendants are unable to find willing mates, especially those descendants not chosen by the dragon.

[Sgt. Cookie]

93 For a Dragon to abandon the decendents of it's riders a monumental falling out must have occured. Dragons are patient enough that simple childish antics, though annoying, are not irksome enough to break the bond, it takes a great breech of trust for the Dragon to forsake a rider's decendents.

[Rizban]

94 Still, only one person can be "the rider" at a time, this Rider is chosen by the dragon. Any other descendants must find their own means of transportation, as most dragons are either not strong enough or are unwilling to carry more than one person at a time.

If unclear, the curse carries not just to the direct line of succession but to all descendants of the original rider. The count on the generations "resets" for each successive chosen Rider's descendants.

Though the dragon does not abandon them, it is often not feasible for the dragon to support the entire extended family of a Rider's offspring.

[Amaril]

95. Depending on the personality of an individual dragon, the relationship it has with its followers varies widely. A dragon who matures to be compassionate and co-operative will be greatly revered by its rider's descendants, most of whom will die to protect their draconic ally (and for good reason, as this bond of trust and friendship goes both ways). Those who emerge from their hibernation as tyrannical monsters, however, are more akin to slave drivers for their followers, dragging them along on their travels and forcing them to do all the hard work of finding sustenance and shelter. Curiously, the nature of a mature bonded dragon often seems to be determined by the personality of its original rider--the one it first bonded with as a young drake.

[Pokonic]

96. Much of dragonic magic revolves around altering there body. A dragon's breath weapon is determaned by the biome of the mote it is "born" on, for example. Most evil dragons do not lay eggs with true drakes residing in them, oh no. Rather, mutated beasts come from such unions of hate.

Hydra's are amongst the most cruel, often having a caustic bite and with horrible appetites. Wyvern's are brutal, stupid beasts that are unfortunatly common enough that that they are a viable species. Finaly, the most unarguably powerful of the "typical" mutants are the Linnorms, brutal abominations that wreak the mote they exist on in there slaughter.

Notably, some very powerful, individual dragonkin exist, some unique. The legendary five-headed dragon Taiet lurks is known to have been the spawn of a extremaly hateful wrymess, and has the horrific scorpian tail of a wyvern and the inteligence of a thousand years of survival, while the legendary Sin that Stalks is a feathered Linnorm that has somehow acheaved flight who's head is wanted by the Luxites for a unknown reason.

Dragonspawn, as these base creatures are called, frightenedly enough, do not suffer the same wandering curse as true dragons. No bond between a dragonspawn and another creature has ever been reported, and Good dragons try to slay them whenever possible.

[Sgt. Cookie]

97. Technicaly, all Dragons can produce Dragonspawn, but the level of hatred required to produce one is almost uncomprehensable to Good Dragons.

[Domriso]

98. In fact, the terms "evil dragon" and "good dragon" are misleading; no dragon is specifically born into a certain ideology. Rather, it is their experiences growing which lead to their individual disposition. While certain personality traits are common amongst the many forms of dragons, these are a generalization, almost to the point of stereotyping.

Likewise, the amount of "hate" need to birth a dragonspawn clutch is somewhat ambiguous. Often it is anger and malice directed at a specific being or race (sometimes even culture) that bring forth the creation of a dragonspawn clutch. (An interesting note is that many dragonspawn possess traits seemingly created to harm and endanger whatever the target of the parent-dragon's hate was).

Furthermore, there is a terribly common trait amongst dragonspawn to be cruel and hostile to other dragons, even to their own parents. This is the usual reason most dragons kill dragonspawn on sight; their own lives are often in peril by the dragonspawns' mere existence.

[C.J.Geringer]

98: Psionich powers are rare and seem with distrust in most places, since they are aligned neither with the ocean nor the sky, the exception being the Quixoi, which see psionism as a the dominions natural equivalent of high magic, and deep magic(which are foreign powers derived from the sky and ocean planes), and are descended from psionic creatures natural to the dominion;

The Lux theocracy steadfastly refuses to accept the existence of psyonich powers, since they do not figure in their mythology. and the inquisition prosecutes any one who tries to disseminate the "herectical theories of psionism"

[Landis963]

99. Psionic powers actually emanate from specific motes. These motes have two things in common; they have several veins of adamantine crystal embedded deep within, and they ride a current of magic which causes the adamantine to vibrate. This vibration (known as "singing" among surviving psions) is only audible to the developing ears of a child, and only induces psionics over several weeks while the child in question sleeps. For this reason, the various races have not discovered the connection between adamantine and psionics yet.

[IanCole]

I am incredibly interested to see how you guys will make this work in an actual game. I would like to run this, albeit with some slight modifications. I just can't get rid of my dwarves like this.

[Pokonic]

100.

There is a Darkana broodmother who, because of her nesting near a large psionic mote, has spawned a entire subspecies of Darkana. Known as the Seliqi, these Darkana have inherent psionic powers and blue-grey chitin that has caused them to be hated by there kin, who see them too close to there old racial enemies for them to accept them.

[artofregicide]

101: I hope this is up to the standard of excellent material you guys have been creating.

The Hunters are not a solitary predators, nor an entirely homogenous race. Though little is known about their society or hierarchy, it is believed that they have these.

The lowest rung are the Hounds, which may or may not be actual Hunters. As quadrupeds, which in shape do not resemble their masters, but share their signature black armor. These creatures are the loyal companions of Hunting groups and are sent in to track down prey which escapes their masters, and can be used as shock troops should the Hunters encounter a true fight.

Hounds do not rely on scent, but magical detection, and have a hyper-awareness which disallows them from being flanked. In addition, they can see through most illusions and invisibility. They move with blinding speed, and can temporarily phase through solid objects. Offensively, they strike with twin scythe-like arms that protrude from their backs, along with raking front claws, all made from the same black material. They do not, however, bite, nor do they seem to have teeth at all.

(Suggested CR below 20: but also typically working in packs of 2-4 per Hunter)

[C.J.Geringer]

Sounds good to me.

102:Another very rare source of psionic power are the phase shifted being who sometimes awaken psionic powers in those who came in contact with them, regardless of the composition of the mote.

[Amaril]

Well, I'd been thinking people were pretty much done with this, but you guys seem to be breathing some life into this thread again, and for that, I thank you :smallsmile:

103. Although little is known about the hierarchies or compositions of Hunter packs beyond the number of Hounds they contain (this is easiest to see because the Hounds look obviously different), one common belief is that each pack is led, or at least guided, by one particular Hunter known alternately as a Summoner or a Caller. While no specific sighting of one of these creatures has been recorded, their existence is theorized due to one common element of almost all Hunter attacks in recorded history. According to the few survivors, the first sign of danger was the sound of a horn, unlike any other horn they had ever heard--a low, ululating howl that stood their hair on end and sent shivers down their spines (if you know what a didgeridoo sounds like, that's what I'm thinking of). Since this one common thread to all accounts of the Hunters' attacks is so pervasive, scholars have developed the theory that the leaders of packs blow these horns to signal that the Hunt has begun.

[Calinar]

104. Because of their innate psionic connection, the Quixoi prefer to build their strongholds on motes with large deposits of adamaintium. The Quixoi find the vibrations that they give off both comforting and pleasant.

[Landis963]

105. Because the psionic "singing" only occurs when the magical currents that propel the motes vibrate the adamantium inside, the (Holdless) Quixoi have been known to abandon motes seemingly at random (to an outside observer). However, if a mote is otherwise favorable in all other respects, then the loss of the psionic hum will not trigger an exodus from the mote.

Does not fit with previous idea of Quixoi.

105. When the conditions are right, the hum the crystals produce is extremely high-pitched, so much so that psions refer to the sound as "singing", e.g. "the crystals sang to me for several fires" "can you hear the singing?", etc.

[artofregicide]

106: The Hunters have a strange code on conduct while hunting. They seek out the most "worthy" (often meaning dangerous and powerful) prey first, while they do not seem to even notice those who pose little to no threat. Unless provoked, a Hunter will not intentionally attack standers-by, nor hunt down unrelated prey. On the other hand, once Hunter has acquired a target, they pursue it relentlessly until either the Hunter or the quarry is destroyed. This includes those with powerful magical or psionic gifts, great leaders, those who possess Hunter weapons or gear, and such great creatures such as Dragons. Hunters seem to take some care not to accidentally crush the children or young when making their hunt, however hiding amongst them or using them as shields will not save their intended prey.

Another fascinating piece of Hunter protocol is the Hunt itself, which usually begins with Hunters in groups, anywhere from a a half-dozen to two score (40). Yet when they find their prey, a solitary Hunter will attempt to slay it, without the help of his comrades or Hounds. If the prey manages (rarely) to defeat the Hunter in question, the remainder usually leave in peace, but bring the body of the fallen with them. There are exceptions to this rule: particularly powerful, or elusive prey can bring the attention of whole platoons of Hunters. As well, when assaulting cities or other fortifications, Hunters tend to fight in number. Though it seems reasonable that the Hunters would respond to an army levied against them with increased numbers, few armies have the power to challenge even a lone Hunter.

[simval]

I'm new here, so I will post only a small fact.

107 : It is said that some Hunters fear the Fires Above and the Water Below, they tend to hunt down preys which are not close to any of the two. Only the most powerful Hunters have the guts to go there.

[Landis963]

I'm new here, so I will post only a small fact.

107 : It is said that some Hunters fear the Fires Above and the Water Below, they tend to hunt down preys which are not close to any of the two. Only the most powerful Hunters have the guts to go there.

Looks good. And welcome to the thread - it's always nice to save one of these things from oblivion for a bit longer. (However, there is a limit on how often one can add to the thread, which should be in the OP but if not here it is; three other people must post facts before you can post another.) If Amaril wants to waive that limit in the interest of keeping the thread alive, he can respond. (Also it's been a while since his last fact)

[artofregicide]

Feel free to add: There's nothing wrong with contributing.

That said, I agree with Landis963. We should figure out from Amaril if we're done with the thread.

I've been planning to compile all the information into a single place; unfortunately: procrastination and laziness.

But regardless, welcome!

[C.J.Geringer]

108: One of the most powerful wild card in the dominion is the lambent feather brotherhood. A well organized company of Pegasus-riding mercenaries and raiders who fights for the highest bidders

[Sgt. Cookie]

109 The Lambent Feather Brotherhood and the Dragon Riders, of all alignments, have a bitter rivalry. Little is said why, but it is rumoured that it is due to the Brotherhood enslaving their mounts.

[artofregicide]

110: The High Marshals of Lambent Brotherhood are easily recognizable by their Pegasus mounts armored with a precious and fire resistant golden metal. This is complemented by yellow, orange, and gold feathers which simulate burning flames as they swoop down upon their foes, which further frustrates the Dragons and their Riders, especially those fire-aligned.

Second only to the Patrons of the Brotherhood, the High Marshals are tasked with the most dangerous missions, including engaging Dragons and sometimes Hunters in combat. As well, a High Marshal leads a small platoon of Pegasus Knights into battle, flying at the head of the charge.

Should a High Marshal survive long enough to retire, they are voted into Patronhood, or if rejected, usually take up teaching the new recruits of the Brotherhood.

[Landis963]

111. The Lambent Brotherhood would be the first to tell you that they do not "enslave" their equine mounts, they merely break them in as one would a wild terrestrial horse. However, the Dragons see little difference, especially those that befriend and willingly carry humans. EDIT: to clarify, the pegasi are no smarter than your average terrestrial horse.

[simval]

112. An old legend talks about a time of war, a time of danger during which the Lambent Brotherhood and the Dragon Riders were allies. They fought against a cruel King whose real name got lost in the centuries, but is still called The Unborn King. Rumors say that he was a vampire (can't seem to find the post about undeads though) but nothing as been proved.

The children of many lands are still being told this story, and many dream of an age when it will become true again.

[C.J.Geringer]

deleted, posted under a misundertanding

[artofregicide]

Despite all the rumors about the brotherhood and dragons, and the derisive comments the brotherhood says about dragons, there are no confirmed sightings of the brotherhood riding dragons.

If that is because they do not actually enslave dragons, or because they have some other use for dragons is unknown.


The Lambent Brotherhood would be the first to tell you that they do not "enslave" their mounts, they merely break them in as one would a wild terrestrial horse. However, the Dragons see little difference, especially those that befriend and willingly carry humans. EDIT: to clarify, the pegasi are no smarter than your average terrestrial horse.

Okay, I'm confused: Do the Lambent Brotherhood enslave pegasi or Dragons?

Or both?

[Sgt. Cookie]

No, just Pegasi. I'm not really sure what the Brotherhood riding Dragons bit was about, though.

[C.J.Geringer]

Okay, I'm confused: Do the Lambent Brotherhood enslave pegasi or Dragons?

Or both?

They are pegasus riders. Later I misread "their" on SGt. Cookie´s post about the riders hating the brotherhood for enslaving "their" mounts to mean the dragon riders, and thus thought that he meant there was a rumor that the brotherhood enslaved dragons for some purpose.

I have read it again, and deleting the posts I have made under this misunderstanding, sorry.

[artofregicide]

They are pegasus riders. Later I misread "their" on SGt. Cookie´s post about the riders hating the brotherhood for enslaving "their" mounts to mean the dragon riders, and thus thought that he meant there was a rumor that the brotherhood enslaved dragons for some purpose.

I have read it again, and deleting the posts I have made under this misunderstanding, sorry.

No problem!

113: The Patrons of the Brotherhood are the wealthiest and most respected of the retired Lambent Riders. They fund the operations of the Brotherhood, and see to the signing of contracts and execution of raids. Most of these claim to have slain a Dragon, or several, but in truth, few have. Unlike the High Marshals, or even the Training Captains, the Patrons tend to be made soft by their time in luxury, too old and fat to properly ride their Pegasi except for show. That does not make them dangerous, or even less dangerous than the High Marshals. In his lifetime, a Patron has established himself as ruthless and cunning, as well as brave and talented in battle. Patrons rely on all the protections that money can buy, magical and mundane, as well as their Chapter of Knights. And this defense is not unwarranted: every season that the Hunters come, at least one Patron is attacked, and often killed.

[Rizban]

114 - The secret goal of the Brotherhood is the resurrection of Rannok. Only the Patrons know of this goal, directing their lesser "brothers" towards it unknowingly.

[Pokonic]

115. Several orders of beast-riders exist, with the Brotherhood mearly being the most well known. The Knights Griffonic were a once noble and proud group of human fighters, but fell into obscurity when there mount of choice became nearly extinct sans for a few eggs magicly preserved in a secret shrine in Lux. The Hippogriffic Knights of Kalastrian are the last vestiges of these fighters, and while a rare sight are utterly deadly. At most, 70 Hippogriff riders exist, but they are seen as heros by the general populace and are often sent out to eliminate enemies of the state.

The Unbriam Order, another such band of beast-riders, had tamed the legendary Manticores to there will, but there historic hatred of those of the Lambent has caused them to be contained to a few stragglers who now often are forced to hide there membership and mounts from others. However, they are still quite powerful, dispite there scattered nature and ways, and are generaly a affiable lot of younger folk willing to adapt as the times change.

Finaly, the Pyreflame Princes are a arrogent, undeniably evil group who have been said to twist there own cruel beasts into existance, the foul Gorgans. Said to possess a stare which can freeze a creature into stone, they have hardy scaled hides and resemble great winged bulls, they have never been seen not carrying one of the darked-cloaked warlocks. Some whisper that there masters are not truly human, as well....

[Amaril]

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to respond to inquiries about the status of this thread (I was on vacation in Hawaii :smallbiggrin:) As far as I'm concerned, I'm done with this setting. It's been a fun one to participate in, but I think I'm pretty much out of stuff to contribute. Anyone else who wants to keep posting is welcome to do so (I'll wipe out the post frequency restrictions for that purpose), and if you want to try to make a compilation of setting details for the use of yourself or others, by all means. As for me, though, I'm going to move on to the next project. Maybe we can make a sci-fi setting next...

[Sgt. Cookie]

Nah, we should do an urban fantasy setting, moddled after 1800s era britain.

[Sodalite]

I apologize for the stopping in my participation, and I would enjoy being a part of the next thread as well.

If I could put in a word, is it necessary to decide on the genre the world will be, before we even begin building? Is there some reason against making the world and seeing afterwards if any genres are suitable for it that I have missed?

[artofregicide]

Hey, please post the link to the next setting, regardless of what it is. :smallwink:

I'm working on a complete compilation. I will link to it on this forum, once it's done, and PM Amaril. I will add any new posts to the compilation, but I can't promise that I'll upkeep it once the compilation done.

116: The some members of the Hunters are excellent flyers, leaving a trail of strange dark smoke boiling around them as they soar. Yet they lack traditional wings, though their armor is mounted with two black wings, with crystalline "feathers". A few samples of the material has been recovered: which is dense, and doesn't float, much less aid flight. They are, however, extremely sharp and are utilized as projectiles by the Hunters. On the tip of a spear, arrow, or bolt, they make they pierce all but the heaviest of armors. Regardless, the exact mechanics of Hunter flight are completely unknown.

Furthermore, land-locked Hunters rely on massive Warships, which seem to be simultaneously alive and machine, with moving appendages and an exterior protected by thick plates of the black metal, and with long reddish spikes protruding at intervals.

[Sgt. Cookie]

I apologize for the stopping in my participation, and I would enjoy being a part of the next thread as well.

If I could put in a word, is it necessary to decide on the genre the world will be, before we even begin building? Is there some reason against making the world and seeing afterwards if any genres are suitable for it that I have missed?

It's to prevent cross polination, as it were. If one person posts an idea for a cyberpunk world, while another posts something that would be better suited to, say, cuthulu mythos, then the ideas would end up as a mish mash of conflicting ideas that leaves a horrid taste in everyones' mouths.

[Amaril]

It's to prevent cross polination, as it were. If one person posts an idea for a cyberpunk world, while another posts something that would be better suited to, say, cuthulu mythos, then the ideas would end up as a mish mash of conflicting ideas that leaves a horrid taste in everyones' mouths.

Exactly. Anyway, if you're a world-building enthusiast, please keep an eye out for the start of my next community build :smallsmile: Only time will tell what sort of world it becomes!

[simval]

Well, I'd be interested in continuing to working on this setting, because he's pretty epic in my opinion !

If artofregicide really makes a document which contains everything, I'll read it all and could add rules, informations, explications...

[Pokonic]

Well, I'd be interested in continuing to working on this setting, because he's pretty epic in my opinion !

If artofregicide really makes a document which contains everything, I'll read it all and could add rules, informations, explications...

Indeed. There's a lot of good stuff in here that, if it gets codified into one big polished thingamabobber, would make a good setting.

[artofregicide]

Well, I'd be interested in continuing to working on this setting, because he's pretty epic in my opinion !

If artofregicide really makes a document which contains everything, I'll read it all and could add rules, informations, explications...


Indeed. There's a lot of good stuff in here that, if it gets codified into one big polished thingamabobber, would make a good setting.

Working on it. Feel free to do any compilation yourself, and we can collaborate.