afroakuma's Planar Questions Thread! (You ask, I'll answer)

[Flickerdart]

Clearly, red is the new black.

[Chilingsworth]

In your opinion, what sort of abilities would a Chosen of the Great Mother have (if such a thing existed)?

I'd guess among other things, some sort of ability to kill beholderkin (maybe not including true beholders.) Beholders hate "mockeries" of themselves. IIRC, they got this attitude from the Great Mother.

[LOTRfan]

I really like what you did with the Aasimars. Any chance I can ask you to do something similar with the Tieflings/Chaonds/Zenythri?

[Proud Tortoise]

Hey, your avatar is a Sauran. That's what a sauran is, Afro!

[LOTRfan]

You mean the Saurials from Forgotten Realms? Because in that case, yes!

It's a Hornhead, specifically.

[Proud Tortoise]

Oh.

.......

No, I meant saurans, the ancient spacefaring race that no one seems to have heard of but me.

[Eldest]

Oh.

.......

No, I meant saurans, the ancient spacefaring race that no one seems to have heard of but me.

I am literally posting in this thread to say that I've heard of them, though another game called Conspiracy X. Rich setting, very creepy.

Also (other reason I'm posting) is there a size limit on Spelljammer ships? Either absolute or practical? I think I read one story of somebody mounting an engine on an asteroid and using that: could you do that with a moon? A planet?

[Proud Tortoise]

Dwarves carve their ships from asteroids, but you'd need a really powerful engine to do that with a planet.

[Lapak]

I am literally posting in this thread to say that I've heard of them, though another game called Conspiracy X. Rich setting, very creepy.

Also (other reason I'm posting) is there a size limit on Spelljammer ships? Either absolute or practical? I think I read one story of somebody mounting an engine on an asteroid and using that: could you do that with a moon? A planet?

(2e Spelljammer ahead.) There is always an upper limit (except for THE Spelljammer) but it varies depending on the type of engine. The most commonly-used helms top out at 100 tons; dwarves use Forges which run off of Industrial Dwarf power - seriously, you can't operate the Forges without dwarves and they do it by mining and crafting - and range from 100 to 700 tons. I don't know that there's a RAW way to go higher than that.

Except maybe an Artifurnace; they have no listed upper limit now that I look them up.

EDIT: For clarification, 'tons' in Spelljammer turns have nothing to do with weight. A Spelljammer ton = 100 cubic yards of volume.

[Eldest]

Ok, next (few) questions, where can I find info on Artifurnaces and "THE Spelljammer"? Unless you want to just give me the info on them. In fact, where are the specifications of spelljammer design?

[Lapak]

Ok, next (few) questions, where can I find info on Artifurnaces and "THE Spelljammer"? Unless you want to just give me the info on them. In fact, where are the specifications of spelljammer design?

Well, I headed mine with (2e) because I'm reading out of the Concordance of Arcane Space, one of the books that came in the original 2nd edition Spelljammer box set (which also had a map layout of the Spelljammer, which is a legendary, possibly living ship that weighs in at 1.5 million tons.) It has specs for building ships and the other book in the set (the Lorebook of the Void) has stats for existing designs.

However, I'd be surprised if afroakuma isn't along shortly with more up-to-date sources.

That said, an Artifurnace is a spelljamming engine that runs by drawing energy from a major artifact. They have to be specifically designed and constructed around a particular artifact, and have the (extremely significant) drawbacks that
- any curse, ego domination, or other effect that owning an artifact would have affects the operator of the ship, and
- any being associated with the artifact will probably come after it. (Building an Artifurnace around the Cudgel of St. Cuthbert and then going into Greyspace may not be your best plan ever.)

[Eldest]

Well, I headed mine with (2e) because I'm reading out of the Concordance of Arcane Space, one of the books that came in the original 2nd edition Spelljammer box set (which also had a map layout of the Spelljammer, which is a legendary, possibly living ship that weighs in at 1.5 million tons.) It has specs for building ships and the other book in the set (the Lorebook of the Void) has stats for existing designs.

However, I'd be surprised if afroakuma isn't along shortly with more up-to-date sources.

That said, an Artifurnace is a spelljamming engine that runs by drawing energy from a major artifact. They have to be specifically designed and constructed around a particular artifact, and have the (extremely significant) drawbacks that
- any curse, ego domination, or other effect that owning an artifact would have affects the operator of the ship, and
- any being associated with the artifact will probably come after it. (Building an Artifurnace around the Cudgel of St. Cuthbert and then going into Greyspace may not be your best plan ever.)

Is the Artifact destroyed while being used as fuel? And I was under the impression that any given god like, say, St. Cuthbert, only mattered within a sphere. So if you got his Cudgel and rabbited right then, as long as you never came back you'd be safe?

And any more specifics on THE Spelljammer? Other than it's legendary? What kind of legends? Any detailed? Any cool features, other than it's possibly living and frickin' big?

Edit: Also, I think there's a page limit of 50 pages on threads, so you might need to make a second thread soon.

[Lapak]

Is the Artifact destroyed while being used as fuel?

No, that's the big appeal of an Artifurnace. A Furnace burns magic items but destroys them in the process; a spelljamming helm needs a caster to give up their spells for the day to power it; a lifejammer kills people; and so on. An Artifurnace provides a high-powered engine that just goes and goes forever.

And I was under the impression that any given god like, say, St. Cuthbert, only mattered within a sphere. So if you got his Cudgel and rabbited right then, as long as you never came back you'd be safe?

St. Cuthbert can't touch you directly in a sphere where he isn't worshiped, but you'd better be ready for all his followers and/or Outer Planes allies to hassle you. In many ways you'd be better off picking a non-God-related artifact, since most of them have fewer options beyond coming after you directly. Also, that still leaves the artifact's own influence; in 2e, putting St. Cuthbert's artifact in your ship would eventually turn you into a fanatic Lawful Good worshiper of St. Cuthbert who was determined to convert everyone you met.

And any more specifics on THE Spelljammer? Other than it's legendary? What kind of legends? Any detailed? Any cool features, other than it's possibly living and frickin' big?

It moves by itself, it's got a whole city on it, it comes and goes between spheres, it moves way way way faster than anything that size should, it's intentionally left vague in the setting books. It's basically the megadungeon of the setting, at least in 2nd edition; the Castle Greyhawk or Undermountain of Wildspace. Hundreds of people and groups have tried to take control of it; the remnants of their expeditions litter the surface and bowels of the ship.

[ShadowFireLance]

I've got a 2nd Question, That I think might Challenge you.

Who has more Plot's/Webs/Etc of plans Going at one time?
Graz'zt or Asmodeas?

[afroakuma]

Fifty pages and the Spectre of St. Jude looms large. Time to pack it on up and move to a new thread.