Life in Hell [Community Worldbuilding Project]

[DragonOfUndeath]

They built Soulheart on the Material Plane initially. Cerys' council foresaw the Catastrophe about seven hundred years before it actually happened. They also got an idea of how it was being caused. They didn't full understand that bit, but they knew magic - specifically teleportation and plane-shifting magic - was basic cause. Unfortunately there was no real way to stop it as far as they could see so they retreated into their lands and prepared for the day they knew would inevitable come when the Prime began to collapse.

ok i must have misread the text

[Pyre_Born]

ok i must have misread the text

Haha, I do it all the time

Alright, so we have the basic thread up for ideas, once we get more of a solid foundation for certain areas, should we start threads to organize everything, kind of a forum netbook setup? I'm pretty sure we've got a ways to go, but shouldn't hurt to figure out how we want to organize everything later on!

I'm also thinking we should set up a thread for the layout and specifics of the plane itself, try and get some help on environments, flora, fauna, diseases, planar effects etc.

So basically I'm thinking:
Demon Thread - Check (thanks to newD&Dfan)
Phasma Thread -
Demon Lords Thread -
The Plane of Hell Thread -

mostly some of the ideas we've really started fleshing out, and we can leave this thread as a basic overall workshop?

Just some thoughts

Peace,
Pyre

[DragonOfUndeath]

Demon Thread - Check (thanks to newD&Dfan)
Phasma Thread -
Demon Lords Thread -
The Plane of Hell Thread -

and the Shattered Lands Thread.

we need:
Ideas/Planning/Workshop: this one
Demon Thread: Here (made by me)
Phasma Thread: Here (made by Pyre Born)
Demon Lord Thread: coming soon
Shattered Lands Thread: coming soon
Hell Thread: coming soon

[Pyre_Born]

and the Shattered Lands Thread.

we need:
Ideas/Planning/Workshop: this one
Demon Thread: Here (made by me)
Demon Lord Thread: coming soon
Phasma Thread: coming soon
Shattered Lands Thread: coming soon
Hell Thread: coming soon

Knew I'd forgotten one

Also, just posted the Phasma thread here

Peace,
Pyre

[akma]

The circle sounds too secure, what are their weaknesses? Does only leeches disingrate when entar, or does all demons?
How could demons infiltrate that city?
Also, why haven`t they gone to heaven centuries ago?

[DragonOfUndeath]

The circle sounds too secure, what are their weaknesses? Does only leeches disingrate when entar, or does all demons?
How could demons infiltrate that city?
Also, why haven`t they gone to heaven centuries ago?

i think it's designed to be impregnable. that's the point. it is what the majority of the Demonic forces die trying to take. without it the refugees from the Prime Plane would have been obliterated, they would also be taken out now if Soulheart disappeared

[akma]

But the demons gain from the mortals presence - they get drug addicts, the walker got an army of mortals, they get a constant flow of souls. If they would kill all the mortals, for a short period they would gain many souls, but in the long term they would lose a lot of souls.

P.S. I thought about an emotion drug based prestige class. Here is the first draft.

Spoiler

Show

The emotion narcomancer, emotion drug based caster
Yoris watched from the side as the mysterious man appeared, wearing a black hood and riding a black steed. People fleed from him in terror. He got off the horse and took off his hood, and Yoris saw something he didn`t expect –
The mysterious man was terrified.

Requirements:
At least 2 emotion related spells known.
Level 5 caster.
Be addicted to at least 1 emotion drug.

Class skills
Spellcraft (int), knoweledgd – arcane (int), craft (int), concentration (con)

Bad BAB, good will saves, bad fort and reflex.
+1 to caster level for every level taken as emotion narcomancer.
Emotion loaded spells: At first level, the narcomancer gets +1 to bypass DR and save DC while under the effects of emotion drugs or while casting emotion related spells. Those bonuses stack. In 3rd level those bonuses rise to +2, and at 5th level to +3, and still stack.
Emotion specialization: At second level, the emotion narcomancer picks a favourite emotion. Spells cast with that emotion get +1 to bypass DR and save DC, which stacks with everything.
Spontanous spell: At fourth level, once per day, the emotion narcomancer can cast 1 emotion spell of his second highest level or lower for free, which doesn`t count against his daily limit of spells.
Spontanous emotion: At fifth level, each day that the emotion narcomancer casts an emotion spell while drugged, he must do a will save in a DC of 15 + the highest level emotion spell he cast that day. The caster needs to do the save 1d4 hours after he cast the emotion spell or the second time he casts an emotion spell in the same day. If he makes the save, nothing heppens and he doesn`t need to save for the next emotion spell he casts that day (but needs to save for the one after that). If he fails, he suffers the side effect and secondery effects of the drug that causes the same emotion as the highest level emotion spell he cast that day, and rolls again. If he fails again, his emotions explode, which cause everyone within 100 feet to make a will save in the normal DC of the spell or suffer the side effect of the emotion drug which causes the same emotion.

[Snowfire]

The circle sounds too secure, what are their weaknesses? Does only leeches disingrate when entar, or does all demons?
How could demons infiltrate that city?
Also, why haven`t they gone to heaven centuries ago?

Their main weakness is that their power is very centralised and there are just never enough Chosen to deal with everything that gets thrown at them. Soulheart's defences are by design effectively impregnable to demonic assault in any form. That's one of the reasons the Church is currently trying to stir up enough hate towards the Chosen to allow them to launch a crusade.

The Circle's main power is what they are. They have not been corrupted, or changed by Hell as they knew what was coming. And possibly more importantly, when one of the Circle dies, their soul returns to Soulheart. There they can recover and add their power to the city's defences. And when they have fully recovered, which generally takes at least a decade considering how most of them die, they can choose to be reborn into an Avatar of Soulheart.

Avatars are the Circle's answer to many of the dangers simple Chosen now face. They are constructs, formed out of the foundations of Soulheart herself and their power is immense. Unfortunately there are never enough of them either and the Circle is very nervy about losing them. The soul of the Avatar still returns to Soulheart and the stone of their form will slowly regenerate, but that process takes yet more decades to complete.

So as said above, the Chosen of Soulheart are very powerful but always too few to do everything they wish they could do.

As to your final question, they literally can't. They're the only ones who know enough about how Hell works to have a fighting chance against the Demon Lords and without that buffer, the refugees would be wiped out. Sure, the presence of mortals gives the demons some things, but it benefits only a few greatly. Soulheart is the factor that balances that equation. If Soulheart didn't exist, the Demon Lords to whom the mortals had brought only trouble - and there are quite a few of them - would simply obliterate most of the mortal presence in Hell. Those left would exist as cattle to the demons and would eventually be bred to become such.

The Circle knows that the Lords could still do this, but they also know that the Lords won't for as long as Soulheart stands. The Founders and Past Council would have destroyed the Lord that attacked Soulheart when the city first moved to Hell had the Lord not retreated and the other Lords are not willing to risk the possibility - however unlikely - that they were holding back. So they leave Soulheart alone and try to make her impotent by destroying her Chosen. But for the Circle's 'advantages' they would have lost that war of attrition long ago. The opening of the planar connection to the Shatterlands also helped greatly as it gave the Circle access to the Shining Isles and their considerably greater numbers. They can't use them as much as they would like without arousing suspicion over how they replenish their mortal losses, but they can keep their numbers relatively steady.

That prestige class is very interesting, but the final ability is massively abusable considering the fact that you can elect to fail your own saves if I remember correctly. I like the idea though.

Also, as feedback as been mostly positive, I will flesh out the Circle sometime this weekend.

[Pyre_Born]

Spoiler

Show

The emotion narcomancer, emotion drug based caster
Yoris watched from the side as the mysterious man appeared, wearing a black hood and riding a black steed. People fleed from him in terror. He got off the horse and took off his hood, and Yoris saw something he didn`t expect –
The mysterious man was terrified.

Requirements:
At least 2 emotion related spells known.
Level 5 caster.
Be addicted to at least 1 emotion drug.

Class skills
Spellcraft (int), knoweledgd – arcane (int), craft (int), concentration (con)

Bad BAB, good will saves, bad fort and reflex.
+1 to caster level for every level taken as emotion narcomancer.
Emotion loaded spells: At first level, the narcomancer gets +1 to bypass DR and save DC while under the effects of emotion drugs or while casting emotion related spells. Those bonuses stack. In 3rd level those bonuses rise to +2, and at 5th level to +3, and still stack.
Emotion specialization: At second level, the emotion narcomancer picks a favourite emotion. Spells cast with that emotion get +1 to bypass DR and save DC, which stacks with everything.
Spontanous spell: At fourth level, once per day, the emotion narcomancer can cast 1 emotion spell of his second highest level or lower for free, which doesn`t count against his daily limit of spells.
Spontanous emotion: At fifth level, each day that the emotion narcomancer casts an emotion spell, he must do a will save in a DC of 15 + the highest level emotion spell he cast that day. The caster needs to do the save 1d4 hours after he cast the emotion spell or the second time he casts an emotion spell in the same day. If he makes the save, nothing heppens and he doesn`t need to save for the next emotion spell he casts that day (but needs to save for the one after that). If he fails, he suffers the side effect and secondery effects of the drug that causes the same emotion as the highest level emotion spell he cast that day, and rolls again. If he fails again, his emotions explode, which cause everyone within 100 feet to make the save or suffer the side effect of the emotion drug which causes the same emotion.

I like the Prestige Class a lot, once it's fleshed out it'll be a good compliment to the emotion drugs. If you want to start a thread for it, or post it on the Phasma thread, we can start working on it, and get the class and drugs working together well.

I'm also thinking of a feat chain for the class that allows the narcomancer to get people addicted to the drugs themselves. Have a Narcomancer enter a populated area and release emotions, it'd probably be a low save so everyone isn't affected, but still, one or two people is still better than nothing. Come to think of it, with Phasma and the Narcomancer, we could really get a lot of feats, spells, items, and Prestige Classes out of it.

That prestige class is very interesting, but the final ability is massively abusable considering the fact that you can elect to fail your own saves if I remember correctly. I like the idea though.

I'd say either make it so you can't fail on purpose, or give the people in the blast a save a little lower than the drug itself, so it's still potent for a capstone ability, but less so than injecting them with the drug itself.

Also, as feedback as been mostly positive, I will flesh out the Circle sometime this weekend.

Go for it on the Circle, it's definitely fits well with the theme overall.

Peace,
Pyre

[akma]

I like the Prestige Class a lot, once it's fleshed out it'll be a good compliment to the emotion drugs. If you want to start a thread for it, or post it on the Phasma thread, we can start working on it, and get the class and drugs working together well.

I posted it here becuse I wasn`t sure if it would fit the phasma thread, and it`s too setting specific to open a separate thread for it.

I'm also thinking of a feat chain for the class that allows the narcomancer to get people addicted to the drugs themselves. Have a Narcomancer enter a populated area and release emotions, it'd probably be a low save so everyone isn't affected, but still, one or two people is still better than nothing. Come to think of it, with Phasma and the Narcomancer, we could really get a lot of feats, spells, items, and Prestige Classes out of it.

A metamagic feat that enables to make people addicted to an emotion drug of the same emotion you casted (or simply a new spell).
Rage drug based barbarian.
Drug extracting items.
Maybe a cleric that uses drugs as part of his religion, which sounds shamanic for some reason to me, but with emotion drugs it won`t feel shamanic.
Guilt drug based assasin.
Emotion based weaponery.

I'd say either make it so you can't fail on purpose, or give the people in the blast a save a little lower than the drug itself, so it's still potent for a capstone ability, but less so than injecting them with the drug itself.

They get the effects, but not the addiction. Before the blast, the caster should be pretty much neutralized becuse of the effects, and the blast also effects allies. Still, the save DC is too high.

P.S. I just added the while drugged clause, becuse while not high the bonus to emotion spells is +3, and while high it`s +6, which needs a balancing factor.

[Pyre_Born]

I posted it here becuse I wasn`t sure if it would fit the phasma thread, and it`s too setting specific to open a separate thread for it.

Yeah probably a good idea here for now, once things are a little farther along we could probably make a Prestige Class thread for everything we work on here.

A metamagic feat that enables to make people addicted to an emotion drug of the same emotion you casted (or simply a new spell).
Rage drug based barbarian.
Drug extracting items.
Maybe a cleric that uses drugs as part of his religion, which sounds shamanic for some reason to me, but with emotion drugs it won`t feel shamanic.
Guilt drug based assasin.
Emotion based weaponery.

Haha, great minds think alike (wow that sounded condescending on my part ) I was thinking of most of those too

They get the effects, but not the addiction. Before the blast, the caster should be pretty much neutralized becuse of the effects, and the blast also effects allies. Still, the save DC is too high.

I'd say we should have a separate DC for the ability, as if the drug effect is diluted by the users body wanting to keep the drug for himself. Since the burst effect is on a failed save, it's his bodies way of fighting back against the drug leaving his system. That would allow the chance of addiction, even for allies, but still lowering the DC so it's not a guarantee.

P.S. I just added the while drugged clause, becuse while not high the bonus to emotion spells is +3, and while high it`s +6, which needs a balancing factor.

When I get a little more time I'll look over it see if I can think of any ideas for a balancing factor.

Peace,
Pyre

[akma]

Haha, great minds think alike (wow that sounded condescending on my part ) I was thinking of most of those too

Well, the drug extracting items already appeared in this thread.

I'd say we should have a separate DC for the ability, as if the drug effect is diluted by the users body wanting to keep the drug for himself. Since the burst effect is on a failed save, it's his bodies way of fighting back against the drug leaving his system. That would allow the chance of addiction, even for allies, but still lowering the DC so it's not a guarantee.

Battle wise it won`t matter much, since getting the enemy addicted to drugs won`t help in that battle, but fluff wise it would get emotion narcomancers more isolated (since most people won`t want to be around someone who might accidently get them addicted to supernaturel drugs).

P.S. I thought about an idea that demon lords would send demons to make mortals betray their values, becuse a ghost of someone who betrayed his values would be easier to make into a demon.

[Pyre_Born]

P.S. I thought about an idea that demon lords would send demons to make mortals betray their values, becuse a ghost of someone who betrayed his values would be easier to make into a demon.

That sounds good, it'd give a reason behind Seduction demons/Pact demons other than I'm evil. They corrupt mortal souls because it helps them out in the long run.

I just finished replying over in the Demonic Creation thread, but i think I'm gonna stop back over and edit in a list of Demon Ideas so hopefully we can figure out some abilities to match their roles.

Peace,
Pyre

[IcarusWings]

Woah... haven't posted ikn a while (sorry 'bout that, I've only been able to get on in brief snatches) and a lot's happened. I approve of pretty much everything that's going on, and I still have some ideas ticking away in my head for later.

Good Work

[Pyre_Born]

Woah... haven't posted ikn a while (sorry 'bout that, I've only been able to get on in brief snatches) and a lot's happened. I approve of pretty much everything that's going on, and I still have some ideas ticking away in my head for later.

Good Work

I was wondering if you'd disappeared on us

Hopefully with some of the side threads we can start getting stuff fleshed out a lot more

Over on the Demon Creation Thread a good point got brought up about Vile damage only getting healed on Hallowed Ground.

Now let me say first...we need to make an OGL Vile damage, because I'm pretty sure everything from Book of Vile Darkness is NOT OGL, and it seems like the perfect damage type for Demons.

Secondly, with the Hallowed ground in mind, I'm thinking that Churches hallow a certain area around them.

Thirdly, a feat or two to counter Vile(Corrupted?) Damage would make sense, I'll try to work them up.

So far I'm thinking:
A Hallowing Aura - Character with this feat can occasionally created a Hallowed Aura to allow allies to heal from Vile(Corrupted) Damage
Overcome Corruption - Allows a cleric to partially heal the damage by Vile(Corrupted) damage in an unhallowed environment.
Earth's Blessing - A Character can permanently make ground Hallowed

Just some Ideas

Peace,
Pyre

*Edit*

Corrupted Damage:
Corrupted Damage, like regular damage, results in the target losing hit points or ability damage. However, Corrupted Damage has a more damaging effect outside of Hallowed Ground. This is due to the pure corruption that arises from damage by this energy.

Corrupted Damage can only be healed (naturally or magically) on Hallowed Ground, or within the effects of a Consecrate or Hallow] spell.

While on Hallowed Ground, damage done by Corrupted energy heals at twice the normal level.

--Design Notes--
I figure with this, characters that aren't prepared will be in more danger from death if they aren't within close range of a town or hallowed area. Seeing as this is Hell after all, I think this would add to the feel of characters needing to band together and work as a team. If you aren't relatively close to a town or church you better hope you've got a healer or someone trained against corrupted energy with you.

[akma]

What about a feat that would make healing corrupted damage in unhallow ground possible?

[Pyre_Born]

What about a feat that would make healing corrupted damage in unhallow ground possible?

I knew I was forgetting something. That would definitely be a good feat choice.

Another thought, what if Hell itself isn't fully unhallowed, it's just neutral, fitting in with the Dante's Inferno idea of a Limbo-esque Hell that we were talking about around page one.

Instead, Demons produce an Unhallowing aura, meaning Demon infested areas are unhallowed, and areas not infested are pretty much free game.

This way Hell itself reacts to whats around it. Demons cause evil, battles would give a chaotic feel to the land, settlements would start to change the area, just not in the same amount as powerful beings would.

Going with that idea, emotion farms, the demon starts by making a few mortals feel certain emotions, which effects the land. Bring in more mortals and the land itself forces that emotion on them, an endless cycle, leaving the slavers to just keep the peace and extract the Phasma.

Peace,
Pyre

[Snowfire]

That sounds like an interesting way of making it work, although I would personally go for having the majority of Hell count as unhallowed ground for the purposes of healing Vile damage just because it's...well...Hell.

I have yet to write down everything I have in my head about the Circle but at least one base class, one prestige class and two or three new 'creatures' are coming out of it so far.

[Pyre_Born]

That sounds like an interesting way of making it work, although I would personally go for having the majority of Hell count as unhallowed ground for the purposes of healing Vile damage just because it's...well...Hell.

I'm gonna say that with the amount of Demons in hell, we'll make a note that unless specified, it's unhallowed ground.

I have yet to write down everything I have in my head about the Circle but at least one base class, one prestige class and two or three new 'creatures' are coming out of it so far.

Sounds good, can't wait to see some of the stuff.

How would you guys feel about making some Demonic houses or guild like structures. Possibly some type of structure system set up by the Demon Lords early on to keep the leseer Demons bickering amongst themselves?

*Edit* I'm working on possession and exorcism rules since Book of Vile Darkness is not ogl. After that I'll start working on Possession abilities over on the Demon thread. Once I've got that down, I'm going to flesh out the Church of the Walker and the Church of the Whisperer (an offshoot sect that doesn't believe the Walker is their god).

*Edit #2* Finished
Possession:

Spoiler

Show

Possession
Possession is means by which a powerful creature, usually of the upper or lower planes, as well as some undead, attempt to gain control over a mortals body and in some cases their soul.

A possessing creature can influence, and later, gain complete control of its victim. This almost always results in the death of the victim if needed for only a short time, or specific purpose.

Since Demons are such powerful creatures, they are the most commonly known users of possession. Being capable of snuffing out mortal life with little more than a thought is just one of the reasons they are feared, the loss of ones soul however strikes right at the heart of most mortals.

Many Demons refuse possession due to the limits of their natural abilities while in the shell of a mortal. However to many, the benefits of walking amongst mortals with little chance of physical harm outweighs the drawbacks.

Possession Attempts:
Possession is a two stage process, the initial contact, and then the complete possession.

Initial Contact:
When a creature first exerts its will upon a victim it is attempting to possess, the victim must attempt a Will save. A DC of 10 + 1/2 the possessing creature's HD + Charisma Mod is required in order to resist the attempt.
If the saving throw succeeds, then the victim hears strange voices, feels chills, and sometimes feels a sense of dread. These have no mechanical aspects.
On a failed saving throw, the possessing creature corrupts the victims mind. Each day, the possessor can attempt to force the victim to perform some action, usually something to cause the victims close contacts harm, or an act of blasphemy. The only restriction on this is that during this stage, the possessing creature cannot force the victim to harm itself or anyone else in a lethal way. The victim can resist this urge by succeeding at another Will save at the same DC, if failed the victim succumbs to the urge and performs the action.
The corruption of the initial contact lasts for only a short time before complete control is accomplished. To determine how long before full possession takes effect, add the Victims HD and Charisma Bonus, and do the same for the possessor. Subtract the possessors value from the Victims. A positive result is the number of days until full possession, a negative number means that the possession is immediately a full possession.

Example
A 12 HD Demon with a +5 Cha Bonus (17 total) tries to possess a 18 HD(level) Human with a +6 Cha (24 total). 24-17=7 Days till total possession, assuming Initial Contact succeeded.

Full Possession:
Once full control is seized, a possessing creature can do as it pleases with the victim. Full possession is equivalent to magic jar except that not receptacle is required and their is no time limit. The possessing spirit cannot use its supernatural powers, however its spirit augments the mortal frame, it uses its own mental abilities, and (if better than the victims) its own physical ability scores.
While in possession of a mortal body, the being is anchored to the plane it is on. This means that banishment,*dismissal,*dispel evil, or other similar spells cannot force it out of the body, or to its home plane.

Exorcism
In order to perform an exorcism, their must be at least one person present with at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (Religion). The exorcist must have access to a holy symbol, and the exorcism must take place relatively free of interruptions. Finally in order to perform an exorcism, the possessed victim must be present and bound in some fashion.
Only a single person is required to perform an exorcism, however it is often helpful to have aid in the form of religiously knowledgeable persons, or physically powerful persons.
Once all preparations are complete, the exorcism can begin. Once started, any interruption of more than a minute per exorcist's level will end the exorcism attempt, wasting the efforts.
At the start of the exorcism, the exorcist must announce his intention to banish the possessing soul from the victim, and must formally declare his will to bear against the soul. Following that the exorcist must brandish the holy symbol in some way and recite an exorcism litany. This must be done for a minimum of 8 hours.
At the end of each 8 hour session, the exorcist can try to draw the possessing soul out of the victim. To do this he must roll a Knowledge (Religion) skill check, modified as follows;
- +1 if performed in a church of the exorcists faith, +2 if it is a church of the exorcists own parish.
- A maximum of 2 assistants can use aid another to augment the exorcists check
- Bonus equal to the exorcists charisma bonus
- +1 bonus for each time the possessing spirit has resisted the exorcism
- +2 bonus if the exorcist uses a turning attempt (1 per session)
- +4 if the exorcist has exorcised this possessing soul before
- +2 bonus if the exorcist uses blessed candles
- +1 bonus if the exorcist uses a holy symbol forged by a priest of at least 10th level

The result of the check is sets the Will save DC which the possessing spirit must attempt. The possessing spirit gains a +2 bonus to this save if is in full possession of the victim.

If the possessing soul succeeds, then it has resisted the exorcism, and another attempt must be made. If it fails, one of two things happens. If it had only corrupted the victim then it is banished from the body, back to its own. If it had full possession, then its hold over the victim is weakened, and the victim is considered only to be corrupted.
Should the possessing soul resist the attempt, or be weakened to corrupting, then the exorcist can make another attempt after 8 hours, using the results above. The exorcism is over once the possessing soul is banished from the victim.
If the possessing soul that had its control weakened to corrupting succeeds in resisting the second exorcism, it returns to full possession of the victim.

The Costs of Exorcism:
Exorcism are extremely taxing on the body and soul of the exorcist. At the conclusion of the second hour of an exorcism and each hour thereafter the exorcist must make a fortitude save. The DC is 10 + 1 per hour after the first. So an exorcist in the 5th hour of a session must attempt a save against a DC of 14. If the save is successful, there are no adverse effects, however, if the save fails, the exorcist takes 1d6 nonlethal damage and becomes fatigued. The exorcist also becomes fatigued if the possessing soul resists the exorcism attempt. If the exorcist is already fatigued, he becomes exhausted.
In order to eliminate fatigue, the exorcist must rest for a full night, ending the exorcism attempt. An exorcist with a qualified assistant however can allow the assistant to take over the exorcism while he rests.

Failed Exorcism:
The exorcist who becomes exhausted from the attempt and has no one to take over the ritual fails the exorcism. The possessing soul retains control, and the exorcist that attempted the ritual cannot attempt to exorcise that soul for a year and a day.

Peace,
Pyre

[Pyre_Born]

Bumping the thread. I've been down with the flu, so not much work on my end, but I'm trying to get some more stuff written up for the thread.

Peace,
Pyre