My Horde in Training

[DruchiiConversion]

I'm playing in a high-powered (but low level ish for now, compared to the DM's world) campaign in which I play an egomaniac goblin psion assassin who has started a cult, and in the long-term intends to conquer the world. The DM has approved this, and doesn't discourage cheese - he just counteracts it by throwing us up against regular CR14 encounters at level 6...

Anyway. I'm an Egoist psion, but I'll end up with all the Telepath and Shaper abilities too (including Genesis, importantly). The other side of my gestalt is a combination of a level in Ranger, some Rogue levels, and a Barbarian level, as well as a level in Psion to brace my lost psion level from entering Slayer.

Enough mechanics.


My goal is to make my future nation of Goblins as productive as possible while maintaining a decent quality of life. I've had a few plans for this.

Here's a rough outline of my current plans:
THE KINGDOM OF GOBLINONIA.

The Kingdom of Goblinonia consists of four places:

a) The Land of Death-Awaiting.
b) The Halls of the Keen
c) The City of Blackshard
d) The Great Advance

The city of Blackshard is the capital of Goblinonia. It is on the Mortal Plane, and nobody lives there or works there. It contains a number of gates to the Land of Death-Awaiting, the Great Advance, and the Halls of the Keen, which are demiplanes. This is a well-built city of few buildings, but the buildings are tall, elegant, and clean. Few goblins spend much time here, it contains the Palace, the Embassies, and trading posts where the goblins may trade with outsiders. There's little to tell of it.

The Land of Death-Awaiting is the primary plane for the Goblins. The largest settlements are here, which are entirely industry-based. The place is run in a communist fashion, with the produce of the land being divided between the goblins living there, and the surplus exported to Blackshard. Time here passes at a rate of one year per second. The land is fairly lush and bountiful, and those who live here are treated well. Goblins live here from 0 to 20. By 20 they are conscripted into the Great Army, and sent to the Halls of the Keen.

The Halls of the Keen is our vast barracks, filled with our goblin troops. Time here passes at a rate of one minute per week. The goblins here are encouraged to work on their psionic powers, military training, or magic casting. The idea here is to build a very solid team spirit amongst the goblins. Because of the time dilation, goblins here will grow old very slowly - FAR slower than they are being born in the Land of Death-Awaiting, so the population here will expand rapidly. Procreation is not prohibited here, though any children are sent back to the Land of Death-Awaiting for their education, early training, and their period of productive work.

The Great Advance is our Research and Development plane, where the greatest minds who have gotten too old to serve in the Halls of the Keen as soldiers go to increase our technological abilities. Time passes at one year per minute. This is 60 times slower than the Land of Death-Awaiting, so it will be very easy to keep the pscientists well-supplied. This is where our breeding programs will take place, as well as manufacture of new advanced weapons.

The main problems I'm seeing with this is the enormous lag-times involved in messengers returning to normal time to deliver even the shortest messages. And of course, the problem of planar attack.

Bearing in mind that this mode is meant to be for army-gathering and preparing myself to lead open assault on the world, what can I do to make this a more effective plan?

[Lochar]

Genesis can't set time traits on your demi-plane.

[Arbitrarity]

Genesis can't set time traits on your demi-plane.

More accurately, psionic Genesis can't.

Genesis
Metacreativity (Creation)
Level: Shaper 9
Display: Material
Manifesting Time: One week (8 hours/day)
Range: 180 ft.; see text
Effect: A demiplane coterminous with the Astral Plane, centered on your location
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 17, XP

You create a finite plane with limited access: a demiplane. Demiplanes created by this power are very small, very minor planes. This power works best when manifested while you are on the Astral Plane. Manifestation of this power creates a local density fluctuation that precipitates the creation of a demiplane. At first, the fledgling plane grows in radius at a rate of 1 foot per day to an initial maximum radius of 180 feet as it rapidly draws substance from the surrounding astral ectoplasm. Once the new demiplane reaches its maximum size, it doesn’t really stop growing, but its growth rate decreases to only 1 foot per week (approximately a 50-foot increase in radius per year). Once your demiplane is created, you can travel to it using astral caravan, plane shift, or some other power or permanent link that you arrange for separately.

You determine the environment within the demiplane when you manifest genesis, reflecting most any desire you can visualize. You determine factors such as atmosphere, water, temperature, and the general shape of the terrain. This power cannot create life (including vegetation), nor can it create construction (such as buildings, roads, wells, dungeons, and so forth). You must add these details in some other fashion if you desire. You can’t create lingering psionic effects with this power; you have to add those separately, if desired. Similarly, you can’t create a demiplane out of esoteric material, such as silver or uranium; you’re limited to stone and dirt. You can’t manipulate the time trait on your demiplane; its time trait is as the Material Plane. Once your demiplane reaches 180 feet in radius, you can manifest this power again to gradually add another 180 feet of radius to it, and so on.

XP Cost
1,000 XP.

Compared to
Genesis
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Sor/Wiz 9, Creation 9
Components: V, S, M, XP
Casting Time: 1 week (8 hours/day)
Range: 180 ft. (see text)
Effect: A demiplane coterminous with the Ethereal Plane, centered on your location
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

The spellcaster creates a finite plane with limited access: a demiplane. Demiplanes created by this power are very small, very minor planes.

A character can only cast this spell while on the Ethereal Plane. When he or she casts the spell, a local density fluctuation precipitates the creation of a demiplane. At first, the fledgling plane grows at a rate of 1 foot in radius per day to an initial maximum radius of 180 feet as it rapidly draws substance from surrounding ethereal vapors and protomatter.

The spellcaster determines the environment within the demiplane when he or she first casts genesis, reflecting most any desire the spellcaster can visualize. The spellcaster determines factors such as atmosphere, water, temperature, and the general shape of the terrain. This spell cannot create life (including vegetation), nor can it create construction (such as buildings, roads, wells, dungeons, and so forth). The spellcaster must add these things in some other fashion if he or she desires. Once the basic demiplane reaches its maximum size, the spellcaster can continue to cast this spell to enlarge the demiplane, adding another 180 feet of radius to the demiplane each time.

Material Component
A crystalline sphere

XP Cost
5,000 XP.

[DruchiiConversion]

Sorry, I should have clarified...

The group leading this is headed by me, and it's an inter-party group of conspirators (all gestalt). One such character is a Psion/Wizard, and he will be supplying me with Genesis castings.

In addition, if he dies, my cohort is a cleric, and will be equally able to dispense Genesis casting to me at high-level.

I feel silly now. :smallredface:

[Hyozo]

I wouldn't suggest having all the youths in a demiplane with a time trait of 1 year = 1 second. Why? A level one party gets in, one round later the demiplane's entire population is a level nine party.

[RandomNPC]

i may be thinking of a prestiege class with the genisis ability from manual of the planes. but isn't that a 1 per caster thing, meaning the wizard could only create one of those planes?

[Lochar]

i may be thinking of a prestiege class with the genisis ability from manual of the planes. but isn't that a 1 per caster thing, meaning the wizard could only create one of those planes?

No, it's just that it takes a very, very long time to create. And it takes XP to cast, and XP to make it bigger than 180 foot radius if you don't want to wait for hundreds of years 'material plane time' to have a decent sized demi-plane.

[tahu88810]

Hmm...you have some pretty good ideas.

Hopefully you'll be taking Leadership...you will take Leadership, won't you?

[DruchiiConversion]

Hmm...you have some pretty good ideas.

Hopefully you'll be taking Leadership...you will take Leadership, won't you?

Already got it, hence the cohort. ;)

[Moff Chumley]

Your DM doesn't mind cheese... Then I assume that you are going to take advantage of one of those infinite Gate tricks... have fun. :smallwink: