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View Full Version : [D&D 3.5 Setting and Content] Far drawing near.



Xuldarinar
2013-06-12, 12:39 PM
Im going to start with the basis of the setting, and go from there. As openings for content arise, then homebrew will be created. This will not be purely my own, intact I more than welcome others to post relevant homebrew here.
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FAR DRAWING NEAR

Long has the far-realm encroached upon the planes. Now, however, it has taken hold. The madness that is the far-realm has overtaken most of the planes. The material plane, among others, have small pockets that remain relatively intact. The rest is warped heavily, blends of the native environments with what would be expected of the far-realm. Day and night shift erratically, weather is unpredictable, and almost all life has been twisted into the stuff of nightmares.

Heaven, Hell, and everything in between

None of the planes are safe. Old hatreds have been put aside by some to deal with the immediate threat. A tenuous alliance between some of the remaining celestials and fiends exists. Still, they are forced to fight their brethren. A great deal of fiends and celestials have fallen victim to the far-realm, becoming twisted reflections of themselves. Maybe, not even the gods are safe...



Mechanics

Going without saying, make heavy use of the pseudonatural creature template (Epic level handbook, CR +10-+16), the half-farspawn template (Lords of madness, CR +1-+3, LA +4), and the psudonatural creature template (Lords of madness, CR +1 or +2). Use the lower level Psudonatural creature template on creatures existing near the edge and into the regions that are not overtaken by the far realm. Use the epic level handbook version for regions fully consumed by the far realm, and once the campaign reaches higher levels. Mix things up a bit by applying these templates to outsiders, undead, or anything else you can think of really.

Some deities may have been effected by the change. Personalities may vary, even some may be touched by the far realm. Apply the Pseudonatural Creature template (Epic level handbook) to any deity, if you have access to their stats, to reflect their new form if you would have them be victim to the far-realm. Switch up their domains a bit as desired.

Aside from templates, any aberration just about is fair game, along with outsiders and other creatures fluffed to be from or connected to the far-realm. Hold little back, for the far-realm is a dangerous place. A world tainted by its touch should too be dangerous. Though, leave some room for escape or hope as its not good to just kill off your players.

Tables based on d% should be set up and rolled upon frequently. The far-realm is a plane of madness and as such things shouldn't be predictable, even something as simple as the setting of the sun or even how many suns are in the sky at any given time. The more corrupted a region is by the far-realm, the more random and more dangerous things become.

Taint could play an interesting role here, either drawn from Unearthed arcana or heroes of horror, or even a mix of the two. The far-realm isn't evil, but it corrupts nonetheless. Change the circumstances that grant taint, add and replace certain options for traits to be gained at high taint, different bonus feats (like the aberration feats from Lords of Madness and the Illithid heritage feats from Complete Psionic), and instead of turning undead with high corruption turn into an aberration (acquire one of the templates mentioned above?).

Mind-affecting abilities, along with psionic abilities, would be stronger or simply different depending on region. Perhaps certain regions become "Wild psionic" zones, along with some becoming wild magic zones.

Entering Far Drawing Near

Perhaps its best you don't start your campaign in far drawing near setting. How would we begin to go from any given setting, to far drawing near? Well, thats up to you. Perhaps it begins as rumors, then the environment begins to change. Aberrations become more common, mind flayers are seen closer and closer to the surface, some people begin behaving oddly or even going insane abruptly. The change can go as swiftly or as slowly as the DM wants, though personally I feel one should have at least a time of transition. Even if its over the course of a couple of days. Regions starting small then growing, even if the pcs aren't aware of it.

But where should the far realm's influence extend to first? Well thats fairly simple. We have four points to move from. From the depths of the underdark, where the boundaries with the far realm are thin to begin with, from areas that portal and summoning magic is incredibly common or where natural portals between planes exist, from above, and finally from locations called Cerebrotic Blots. In the first case, you could have things be very abrupt. If the party has never even ventured into a deep cave, one day armies of aberrations along with their reality warping influence could come pouring forth. Dwarves and other races that tend to dwell underground would certainly notice first and be the first to warn others or be overtaken. In the second case, any city known for its magic would soon find itself in a troubling situation, but the transition would start slow. Maybe most wouldn't take note of it until nothing could be done and the influence's growth was beginning to go on run-away. In the third, things can be the most abrupt. In the night sky, the stars have been changing but no one is sure why. Some move, some vanish, some appear. The change even being apparent in the night if one looks. Then, one night, the reason becomes why as the aberrations arrive on the world's surface. Cerebrotic Blots, actually can be one of the easier to work from. Make them significantly more common and increase the area they encompass. As the campaign goes on, these location become more and more frequent of an occurrence. In any case, how the campaign shifts is limited by one's imagination. Maybe it has been in this setting for a long time, but the region the characters live in has been been fortunate enough to be free (or almost free) of the far-realm's influence. Maybe an elder evil is responsible, native to the far realm but the change has marked its arrival in the planes we know. Maybe Thoon is responsible, who or what ever he is.

Eberron Adaptation

Simply, in place of the far-realm extending its Xoriat, the realm of madness. Daelkyr and their creations would be significantly more common, and likely be the cause behind the change. Who knows what they created, or discovered, to bring about the change. All that is certain, is they must be stopped and hopefully the damage can be undone.