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Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 09:42 PM
Okay, this is a half/half thread. One half is just to show off (what little of) my setting that I've been working on. The other half is a cry for help, as I've got good ideas but they leave me fairly quickly (a trait further exasperated by my not writing them down). Anyway, I'll just jump straight into it.


The only name I could come up with for the world is Kulex. I'm not sure I like that though, so I'm open to name suggestions. Went with Ossa as Hecore suggested, because it really does just slide off the tongue.

Anyway, here’s the storyline thing for it.

Seventy five years ago in the Kingdom of Dekadia, a creature, both exceedingly powerful and unimaginably large, wreaked devastation and ruin across the kingdom. Dekadia’s mighty armies could do nothing against the foul creature, such was the strength and fury of the creature. The King of Dekadia was distraught, as the creature was nigh invincible, and was desperate for information about it. The king’s seer told him that the creature had been sent to wipe out Dekadia by the much smaller, but magically powerful Gurotor Empire. They had breached the barrier between the Material Plain and the Void, siphoning off the most powerful spirit from that twisted nightmare realm that they could find, which was a being known as the Beast. Ruled by a council of fiendish Warlocks and then Emperor H’vestious the III, they sought to claim the land of Dekadia for themselves, using the Beast merely as a tool to wipe the slate clean. However, even they failed to take into consideration the raw power and savage fury that the Beast held within its heart. The Beast, when approached by a council member who sought to gain control of it for himself and use it against the others, broke free of all control and soon started on a path to Gurotor seeking revenge for its manipulation. In abject horror the Council watched as the Beast devastated the Gurotor Empire, slaying many of its populace. Tried as they might, the Council could not banish the Beast back to whence it came, for it had already feasted upon too many souls, gaining power far beyond what they could have imagined. Thinking quickly, the Council formed an alliance with Dekadia to eliminate the Beast before it was too late. They formed a small group of the most powerful Wizards from Gurotor and the strongest Paladins from Dekadia to put a stop on the Beast’s rampage. Luring it into a valley, they unleashed all they had in a titanic struggle to eliminate it. The battle lasted a full day before the Beast was destroyed. The only survivor of the battle was a young Paladin of Ban’Jael named Jander. Although Jander never told tales of the battle, bards far and wide create their own versions of what happened, singing of Jander the Bold. Jander, though regarded as a true hero and loved by both countries, disappeared without a trace a year after the battle. Long and hard did the two countries search for him, but nothing remained to be found. There were stories that Jander had left the known lands to claim the frozen lands in the name of Ban’Jael, but whether this is true or not has yet to be discovered.

: Present Day:

Dark Holm, as the valley is now called, has become a wasteland. The dense woodlands it once was devastated and ruined, transformed into a harsh desert by the destructive energies unleashed by the destruction of the Beast. The Dwarves of the surrounding mountains have arisen from the ashes of the battle, horrendously changed by the near apocalyptic struggle which took place so near their homes. They erected a strangely shaped black stone castle where the remains of the Beast was buried, calling it the Necropolis of Vin. The Dwarves then enslaved the Gnomes, whose original homeland was the valley before the battle with the beast. The Dwarves claimed to be in tune with the vast reaches of the Void, where all demons originate, and threatened the nearby lands with destruction by demon fire and steel. The Kingdom of Dekadia and the Gurotor Empire, still harboring hatred for each other, ignored the new upstart country and its ridiculous claims. At the moment, there was peace, but the entire land was a powder keg waiting for the spark.

I've re-wrote it multiple times, so if anyone sees a discrepancy let me know.

Next: Races

RandomFellow
2007-12-31, 09:48 PM
I didn't notice any discrepancies.

As for name suggestions, I'm not sure and am about to leave soon but:
Vitae

Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 10:17 PM
Races


I didn't notice any discrepancies.

As for name suggestions, I'm not sure and am about to leave soon but:
Vitae

Hmm... that could work. Still, better keep my options open for now. :smallsmile: Anyway, here's the races. Now keep in mind that this is only a brief overview. They need to get more in depth later.

Dwarves: The dwarven race is now split into two distinct halves, almost exactly like their hated orc enemies. The Dwarves unaffected by the destruction of the Beast are mostly of the southern mountain range, though more than a few were northern dwarves away from their ancestral home on various duties at the time. These exiled northern dwarves have taken up temporary residence in both Dekadia and the Southern Mountains with their kin.
Imperial Dwarves: Imperial Dwarves are a race of evil, greedy, spiteful little people. Their use of cutthroat tactics in both the market and on the battlefield has led many of the world’s races to despise all Dwarves in general. Seventy five years ago things were much different. The Imperial Dwarves were then just like their southern cousions, a good hearted and honorable people. How and why their worst traits have been so greatly exaggerated is unknown. They hold the secrets of black powder and their most fearsome invention, the Dwarven Castrod. So far it is impossible for anyone but an Imperial Dwarf to know the working of the Castrod, as they carefully guard the secret of its construction.
Gnome: The Gnomes are greatly changed since the Dwarves fall from grace. Their homeland, the Kingdom (or something else, not sure yet) of Svastus, which sat nestled in a valley surrounded by the mountains, was conquered and destroyed by the Dwarves when they became corrupt. They were then enslaved by the Dwarves. The few Gnomes that managed to escape now reside in Gurotor.
Halfling:

Elves: Elves have long since died out, left the world, or whatever it is that happened, leaving behind a legacy rich in magic artifacts and the Half-Elves. I'm still undecided on what exactly happened to them.
Humans: Humans are on all sides of the conflict. On one side, there are the scum of society who have allied themselves with the Dwarves as mercenaries, pirates, and sometimes slaves. On the other side, a variety of kingdoms, guilds, and societies oppose the Dwarves almost uncontested march for power. However, the largest of the human kingdoms, Dekadia, is too busy with its border skirmishes against Gurotor to do anything about the Dwarves.
Half-Elves: The Half-Elves co-exist with the Humans, and are the Nobility of Dekadia and Gurotor.
Orcs: Currently Re-writing

Lizard Folk: The Lizardfolk are a race steeped in tradition. Following the ways laid down by their ancient ancestors, the Lizardfolk are at peace with the surrounding environment. They do there best to keep their impact on nature as minimal as possible, building their housing far up in trees and fishing from many different locations instead of one central spot. They also frequently stalk the waters around the Claw islands, attacking any ships that may pass near. It is speculated that they are not actually native to the Claw islands, but the only proof of that is the distinct lack of Lizardfolk mentioned in various ancient texts on the Claw islands.
Next: Lands

Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 10:27 PM
Lands


Dekadia: http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e274/Slovak1/MapofDekadia.jpg

Dekadia is a Kingdom of considerable size, ruled by the aging King Gregory Bafram III and Queen Angelica. Gregory first came to rule six years before the coming of the Beast and the summary corruption of the dwarves. Unfortunately, the Royal Family is late in their years, and as of yet there have been no heirs. King Gregory has decreed that an heir shall be nominated from the Great Houses of the kingdom. News of this turn of events has the Houses clamoring to have someone from their own house nominated, and more than a few feuds have sprung up because of this.

The King, fearing assassins in the last years of his life, has taken upon himself to turn the capital city into a massive fortress. An unorthodox move such as this has caused more than a few citizens to believe that the king might be loosing his mind, as who would want to kill their beloved king? Still, such an expensive decision as this has put little dent in the faith of the common people. Dekadia has been the safest kingdom in a long line of kingdoms of the eastern portion of the continent. Hardly anybody goes hungry, and a lack of shelter is rarely a problem. There is no singular religion in Dekadia, instead each city sports many temples to a variety of gods. The Keep, as the capitol city is called, is the sole city to house a temple for every god.


Gurotor: Compared to Dekadia, Gurotor is barely on the map. The tiny Empire of Gurotor is run by the Emperor H’vestious V, who tried to remove the ever living Warlocks from power. However, since the near destruction of all of Gurotor, the Council has not been idle. They broke up all of Gurotor into even smaller lands, each claiming a chunk for themselves. Currently, there are nine pieces of Gurotor warring for complete dominance of all Gurotor, and all of them are locked in stalemate.

Dark Holm:

High Plains:

Orcish Divide:

Dwarven Lands:

Fields of Chaos: The Fields of Chaos, a strip of land separating the Dwarven/Orcish peninsula from the mainland, ruthlessly protected by an unknown and highly deadly magic. Whilst the origin of the spell is a mystery, its savage effects are all to well known to anyone striving to cross it’s deadly expanse. Lightning storms that remain fixed in place no matter the wind, striking randomly below an innumerable amount of times, thick banks of fog that leave strong men frost bitten and sapped of energy, Lava that flows after unwary travelers, all this and more await any who dare to cross this expanse of land. It is significantly safer to simply sail from the southern most tip of Dekadia or from the Western Plains, though both routes have their fare share of danger. The sailing from Dekadia passes between the Elfen Forest and the Claw Islands to reach the Dwarven coast. It risks both attacks from the Lizardfolk raiders and the beasts of the forest. The Western plains route extends around the Orcish Divide, risking attacks by Orc longboats. As of this time, there are no truly safe ways to reach the Dwarven Lands.
Island of the Frost King: The Island of the Frost King is a bleak and desolate place, ravaged by nearly yearlong blizzards and storms. Out of the few times that it is visible through the middle of summer, it is just possible to make out the shining white points of the ruined towers that dot the island. From what scholars can find in ancient texts, the island, despite the harsh weather, was the only other known location of an Elven City. There have been many tries at exploring the ruins, but the extreme weather has prevented any lasting expedition. Little else is known about the island.
Throne of the Gods: There is place in the world that very few people know of, a place secreted in a remote corner of the world far from the eyes of men. The few that have heard of the place would simply scoff, saying that there is no such place, that it’s just the story drunken sailors tell to scare the landlubbers. Unknown to them, it does exist. The Throne of the Gods, a mysterious metal cube that rises out of the ocean at seemingly unpredictable times and places. As the stories go, the Throne, made of a metal so hard that not even a dragon could penetrate it, would swiftly rise out of the ocean. Then, a bell would toll, which would grow louder and louder with each tolling. And then, thousands of sea monsters, summoned by the tolling of the bell would arrive. The waters boiling with activity, it would be insanity to try and approach the Throne. At the thirteenth striking of the bell, the cube would sink back down into the waters, having fulfilled its unknowable task. Soon after, the sea monsters would follow, leaving the waters calm again. Why does it do this? How does it move from place to place? No one knows, or cares. It is just a story told by old sailors who have had one too many to drink.


Next: Deities

Hecore
2007-12-31, 10:36 PM
No real discrepancies, though I'd tweak a few things with the story. First off I'd want a little background on the Beast. Something as simple as 'The warlocks of Gurotar contacted a plane beyond mortal ken and dragged back with them something... unwholesome.' would work well.

Secondly, I'd set it up that these events didn't happen over a thousand years ago; it seems so cliche. Also, the current situation seems to indicate that only a few hundred years have passed. It shouldn't have taken that long for evil Dwarves to build a castle and enslave the Gnomes, and it seems unlikely that two kingdoms would hate each other after a millenia.

Lastly, don't have the Dwarves invent the 'gun'. Your players will end up referring to them as that, but it makes your world seem less fanastic if the DM calls them as such. You can still have them in your game, just give them a different name.


As for the worlds name... maybe Ossa? The Greek goddess of fame, repute, infamy and scandal - and it doesn't sound half-bad coming off the tongue.

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll
2007-12-31, 10:41 PM
Seems good. Do you have a map?

As for lizardmen, I always have some sort of outsider arrive at one point, and they could fit that role.

Nomads, marooned sailors, imigrants, refugees, anything works.

Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 10:59 PM
Deities

Note: Unlike Clerics in other games, Clerics do not have to be within one step of their Deities alignment. The gods do not care how you act so long as you are furthering their causes.

Human Gods:
Ban’Jael, The Warmonger
Ban'Jael, the ubiquitous war god. Fairly obvious what he does. He has a hand in all battles, guiding his most devout to victory.

Portfolio- War, battle, destruction, honor, victory
Domains- Destruction, Good, War
Symbol- Bastard sword etched with thin curly lines
Favored Weapon- Bastard Sword
Alignment- Neutral Good

Casadoon, Lord of Nature and Magic
Casadoon fills the roll of both Boccob and that woodsy god (can’t remember his name).

Portfolio- Nature, animals, magic,
Domains- Magic, Plant, Sun, Animals,
Symbol- Roots growing up into the air out of a boulder
Favored Weapon- Staff
Alignment- Neutral

Grim’ard, The Dead God
There always needs to be an evil god or two, so here is the first one. The obviously evil god of death. Everybody has to go through his realm and pass judgment before they may go on to their afterlife (which is different depending on the god worshiped).

Portfolio- Death, Undeath, disease, famine
Domains- Evil, Death, Strength, Earth
Symbol- An axe made out of bone
Favored weapon- Battle Axe
Alignment- Neutral Evil

Xinrof, Prince of Insanity
This is the other evil god. He has no obvious purpose, other than to sow discord and strife throughout the world. Great at parties.

Portfolio- Luck
Domains- Chaos, Trickery, Luck
Symbol- Any irregular pattern, often in the form of tangled lines of various colors.
Favored weapon- Dire Flail
Alignment- Chaotic Neutral

Jyrus, The Great Protector
The god of the average joe. Kinda takes the roll of Pelor in that regard. He is the foil of Xinrof.

Portfolio- Family, justice,
Domains- Law, Protection, Healing, Travel
Symbol- Any regular pattern, often squares and triangles fit snugly together
Favored weapon- Halberd
Alignment- Lawful Neutral

The Discoverer
The creator of the Material Plain, the Astral Plain, the whole shebang. I don’t like the name currently, but ‘The Architect’ was too hokey.

Portfolio- Money, Inanimate objects, Government, Buisness
Domains- Law, Knowledge, Air, Earth, Fire, Water
Symbol- Interlocking gears and cogs.
Favored Weapon-
Alignment- True Neutral

Orc/Ork'han Gods:
Dwarven Gods:
Lizardfolk Gods: In progress...

So that's what I have so far. I've got no story on any of their activities yet, though (like so many other things) I'm working on it.

Next: Map

Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 11:11 PM
No real discrepancies, though I'd tweak a few things with the story. First off I'd want a little background on the Beast. Something as simple as 'The warlocks of Gurotar contacted a plane beyond mortal ken and dragged back with them something... unwholesome.' would work well.

Secondly, I'd set it up that these events didn't happen over a thousand years ago; it seems so cliche. Also, the current situation seems to indicate that only a few hundred years have passed. It shouldn't have taken that long for evil Dwarves to build a castle and enslave the Gnomes, and it seems unlikely that two kingdoms would hate each other after a millenia.

Lastly, don't have the Dwarves invent the 'gun'. Your players will end up referring to them as that, but it makes your world seem less fanastic if the DM calls them as such. You can still have them in your game, just give them a different name.


As for the worlds name... maybe Ossa? The Greek goddess of fame, repute, infamy and scandal - and it doesn't sound half-bad coming off the tongue.

Well for the first two, like I said I re-wrote this thing many a time. It started out as an RP story in Gaia Online. I've toyed with the idea and squashed it all out of shape, so yeah it's gonna be messy. And that reminds me that I need a timeline. One thousand years ago is very cliche. Hmm.... maybe fifty years? That way it can have a whole war recovery feeling about it.

Okay, they won't be called guns. But what then? Maybe Dwarven Hand Cannons? Or Dwarven Gan'tivs or some other weird sounding name.

@Gwyn_ap_Nud: That could work. Refugees would really work, as well as open up a whole nother plot line for DMs. What would a race of strong and fierce lizard men run from? And about that map, the only set geography is the Dark Holm. The rest is up in the air at the moment. It's the first thing I'm going to work on.

Hecore
2007-12-31, 11:59 PM
Well, the best name I could come up with after thinking it over for a few minutes was a Dwarven Castrod. It sounds real enough and has the 'root words' of Cast (as in to throw) and Rod, and I think this works for a firearm.

I really like the 50 years idea - I'd make it so the dwarves were working the gnomes as slaves in the construction of their tower. This makes the tower fit into the timeline and helps develop the character of these new dwarves.

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 12:05 AM
Well, the best name I could come up with after thinking it over for a few minutes was a Dwarven Castrod. It sounds real enough and has the 'root words' of Cast (as in to throw) and Rod, and I think this works for a firearm.

I really like the 50 years idea - I'd make it so the dwarves were working the gnomes as slaves in the construction of their tower. This makes the tower fit into the timeline and helps develop the character of these new dwarves.

Dwarven Castrod sounds good. But what about cannons?

I've actualy changed it to 75 years, so as to better fit with the Dekadian kings reign being the most peaceful. Acutaly... thats kinda cheesy anyway. I'll remove that and turn it back to 50.

Hecore
2008-01-01, 12:09 AM
Well... I think Wallbreacher might work with the theme.

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 12:29 AM
Yeah that sounds right. Also, Gnomish slaves pretty much automatically mean they employ a variety of toxins and explosives. Could get intresting. :smallbiggrin:

BRC
2008-01-01, 01:30 AM
Yeah that sounds right. Also, Gnomish slaves pretty much automatically mean they employ a variety of toxins and explosives. Could get intresting. :smallbiggrin:
Hey, Ive got some fluff for the dwarven Death-Teams, I'll get to crunching it later.
Dwarven Death-Teams


We should be okay in here, unless the shorties have death teams.
What do we do if they have Death Teams?
We run.
What! we'll get shot down if we leave this house, were almost certainly going to die the moment we leave here.
Your right, the key word is "Almost"

Of all the Dwarven forces none are more feared than the Death-Teams, these dwarves wade into battle and saturate an area with toxic gas, most often a yellowish gas known as Mine Fog, since it naturally occurs in many mines. The dwarves put it in capsules and use it in combat with specially trained Death Teams. Death Teams train in a special enclosed tunnel system underneath the Tower, They are almost completally enclosed, with only vetern death-team members entering and leaving with food, during the training period of six months the potential death-team members undergo rigerous combat training, the entire time Mine Fog and other toxic gasses are gradually being added to the air. By the end of the training, any surviving dwarves have an almost complete immunity to the gasses they tend to use, though the presence of the gasses tends to leave them more sickly than most dwarves
Template, Death-Team Conditioned

Requirements
Race: dwarf.
The Base creature gains immunity to Mine Fog and a +8 inherent bonus on fort checks to resist inhaled poisions. They also suffer a Constitution penalty of -2
LA: +0

In Battle the death teams direct other dwarves to trap the enemy in an area such as an enclosed building, a trench, or even a small clearing. The death team members then move in and fire canisters from their modified Castrods, these canisters burst on impact and release Mine Fog, which kills or weakens most people who are exposed to it, after thirty seconds or so the death team moves in to finish off the weakened survivors, relying on their conditioning and equipment to keep them from the effects of the gasses.

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 03:49 PM
Hey, Ive got some fluff for the dwarven Death-Teams, I'll get to crunching it later.
Dwarven Death-Teams


We should be okay in here, unless the shorties have death teams.
What do we do if they have Death Teams?
We run.
What! we'll get shot down if we leave this house, were almost certainly going to die the moment we leave here.
Your right, the key word is "Almost"

Of all the Dwarven forces none are more feared than the Death-Teams, these dwarves wade into battle and saturate an area with toxic gas, most often a yellowish gas known as Mine Fog, since it naturally occurs in many mines. The dwarves put it in capsules and use it in combat with specially trained Death Teams. Death Teams train in a special enclosed tunnel system underneath the Tower, They are almost completally enclosed, with only vetern death-team members entering and leaving with food, during the training period of six months the potential death-team members undergo rigerous combat training, the entire time Mine Fog and other toxic gasses are gradually being added to the air. By the end of the training, any surviving dwarves have an almost complete immunity to the gasses they tend to use, though the presence of the gasses tends to leave them more sickly than most dwarves
Template, Death-Team Conditioned

Requirements
Race: dwarf.
The Base creature gains immunity to Mine Fog and a +8 inherent bonus on fort checks to resist inhaled poisions. They also suffer a Constitution penalty of -2
LA: +0

In Battle the death teams direct other dwarves to trap the enemy in an area such as an enclosed building, a trench, or even a small clearing. The death team members then move in and fire canisters from their modified Castrods, these canisters burst on impact and release Mine Fog, which kills or weakens most people who are exposed to it, after thirty seconds or so the death team moves in to finish off the weakened survivors, relying on their conditioning and equipment to keep them from the effects of the gasses.


Oooo, that’s good. Just so you know, I was planning to go with a different dwarf type than regular. I was leaning toward the Fireblood Dwarves from Dragon Magic, except with a few tweaks here or there. I'm not sure if it would be balenced or not (someone would have to double check it for me), but I was thinking that instead of all that stuff geared against Dragons, is should be against something else. Maybe elves. Well wait, Elf Dodge wouldn’t work out so well. Maybe make a mix of Fireblood Dwarf and Desert Dwarf. Hmm… okay that is my second project. Anyway, back to your work commie. That is again great fluff, and you even guessed right that the whole valley would be laced with (secret) tunnels. :smallsmile:

EDIT: That reminds me, what are these dwarves going to be called? They are gonna have different statistics than the regular dwarf, so they can't be just Dwarves. I was entertaining the idea of Chaos Dwarf, but it's been done already (Warhammer), so it has to be something else. Evil Dwarf is going to be a placeholder whilst I draw up it's stat sheet thing. If anybody has a good name for evil mutant dwarves, speak up. :smallsmile:

BRC
2008-01-01, 03:58 PM
Oooo, that’s good. Just so you know, I was planning to go with a different dwarf type than regular. I was leaning toward the Fireblood Dwarves from Dragon Magic, except with a few tweaks here or there. I'm not sure if it would be balenced or not (someone would have to double check it for me), but I was thinking that instead of all that stuff geared against Dragons, is should be against something else. Maybe elves. Well wait, Elf Dodge wouldn’t work out so well. Maybe make a mix of Fireblood Dwarf and Desert Dwarf. Hmm… okay that is my second project. Anyway, back to your work commie. That is again great fluff, and you even guessed right that the whole valley would be laced with (secret) tunnels. :smallsmile:
Racial Requirement can be changed.
EDIT: In terms of the name, are their going to be other dwarves arounnd who arn't evil. if not you don't really need another name for these dwarves. If you need a distinction you could call them either "Imperial Dwarves" (or somthing like that), or use Duregar, the name for a race of evil dwarves in the SRD.

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 04:06 PM
Racial Requirement can be changed.
EDIT: In terms of the name, are their going to be other dwarves arounnd who arn't evil. if not you don't really need another name for these dwarves. If you need a distinction you could call them either "Imperial Dwarves" (or somthing like that), or use Duregar, the name for a race of evil dwarves in the SRD.

Your right. I hadn't thought about how some dwarves could have escaped being warped. That would add a really nifty edge to roleplay though. Regular dwarves being discriminated against because of their peoples actions, despite it not being their faults. :smallbiggrin: Imperial Dwarves is good. I'll write up a new section for regular dwarves.

BRC
2008-01-01, 04:43 PM
Regular dwarves being discriminated against because of their peoples actions, despite it not being their faults..
Two words: Drizzt dwarf

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 04:51 PM
Okay, this is what I've drawn up for Imperial Dwarves.

Imperial Dwarves: Sorry, under revision.


EDIT: Oh god, I sure hope that nobody makes an emo dwarf. Dwarves are suppose to be tough and gruff. They would probably get angry over their mistreatment and start breaking some noses. Not that it would help their image doing that. :smallbiggrin:

Ghal Marak
2008-01-01, 07:22 PM
World Map

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e274/Slovak1/Ossa-Varient2.png

The map is probably definitely going to change as I work out who goes where, so the map above may be changed at any time.

NOTE: If the letters are too small to read, just save it into paint and magnify it. That’s as good as it gets, because I’ve increased the size of the map I don’t know how many times. :smallsigh:

Next: Cosmology

Ghal Marak
2008-01-08, 11:14 PM
Cosmology

This is where the alternate plains of existence will go once I write more about them.

The Void:

Ghal Marak
2008-01-22, 01:30 AM
So... is that everything? Catagory wize that is, not content wize. It's full of holes, but I think it's everything. Oh, timeline. Hmm...

Oh, also, Bump.

Blackadder
2008-01-22, 02:44 AM
1. Gnome Enslavement
First, I like odd-numbered years. So saying it was 370 years ago today is so much better than 1000 year ago. Nothing happened a thousand years ago. You've got that covered with your 75 year gap.

The question I have is were the dwarves instant-warped to bad? Or was it a gradual thing? I ask for fluff reasons, did the day the battle end did the Dwarves become instantly bad and ruthless? Or it could be interesting for fluff reasons to say valley was un-livable for some time(Months to a year or two) post Beast fight.

Why that? Simple, if the gnomes home was in the valley, and the valley was unlivable, then logically they would have to leave it for a time and take refuge elsewhere? Like say with a certain group of soon to be Imperial Dwarves? It makes more sense on a short time setting on how the Dwarves totally enslaved a group of people without anyone else reacting.


2. Half elves
Are the Half-Elves genetic throw-backs? Without elves around to keep making half-elves how do they keep cropping up? Perhaps make Half-Elves a genetic trait? Half Elf to Half-Elf always breeds a Half-Elf, but Half-Elf with human can breed human or Half-Elf, like red hair sometimes the Half-Elf condition crops up randomly in the family tree?
This of course opens the door to various Half-elf treatments, if you want to look on the Half-Elf condition as just another reflection(Such as red-hair) then they are anyone else. If it's look on as unlucky or ill-natural then Half-Elves could be discriminated against.

But something tells me that perhaps it would be best if Half-Elves are looked on as lucky, after all Half elves live an extra 50 years over standard Humans and have sharper senses than standard.

Again all of this comes out of the "no elves to make more half-elves" issue you currently have. Follow me?

Ghal Marak
2008-01-22, 02:54 AM
Ah, all good questions, and I have answers to them as well. However, it is 1:58 in the morning and I need a little sleep. When I wake up tomorow, I'll hop on the computer and answere them. :smallbiggrin: And thanks for reminding me about that stuff. Totaly forgot about them for a little while.

Okay, so, #1:

The way I envisioned the dwarves corruption into the Imperial Dwarves, it was a slow process, one that they didn't even know was happening. The unique combination of magical fallout, demonic blood, and time at slowly warped the Dwarves psyche, making them paranoid, greedy, and utterly without qualms over killing non-dwarves.

Now, about that unlivable valley idea of yours. That’s pretty good. It could have been radioactive-like for a year. No, two years is better. And it would produce the desired effect of turning the valley into a desert. And having the Gnomes fleeing into the dwarven holds is also a good idea. Being made slaves in the deep dark, where nobody else would know. By the time they emerged from their ancient holds, it was already too late. The Gnomes spirits have long been broken, so they don’t care weather or not they go free. Rad.

#2:

The way I see Half-elves, is that no matter what race the partner is, it always produces a Half-Elf. Of course, if they were to mate with an Orc (which would be highly unlikely), the result might be a Half-Orc/Half-Elf. They first came into existence long ago when the elves were still apart of the world, and when they left the Half-Elves were all that remained. Other than ruins of course.

About that lucky thing. That gave me an idea. The Half-elves could be the nobility of Dekadia. That would differentiate them from the last free Gnomes residing in Gurotor, who has the whole “Second class citizens” feel to them.

Ghal Marak
2008-04-15, 08:15 PM
Wow, it's been a while since I've done anything with this. :smalleek:

Things just poped up and it got lost in the shuffle I guess. Anywho, I've made a few changes that so far are not reflected up in the information above.

I've changed the map around a tad. Created an indepth (somewhat) map of Dekadia. Started working on indepth map of Gurotor. And.. well, that's it. I'll post the changes above soon.