World-BuildingThe forum for discussion about designing and building campaign settings. Come participate in a community creation or show off your own work to the forum world-builders!
Eons ago, the Lords of the Abyss took a break from their constant schemes and sat down together to create a world and all the mewling souls in it. Like a game of chess, each one would have pawns to play against each other, with the eventual victor gaining control of the world. It was an elaborate and perhaps out-of-character game for many of the princes of the Abyss (many of whom could hardly stand each other's company for more than five minutes), but the life of a demon lord is long and often tedious, and such schemes both alleviate the tedium of their existence and give them a chance to jockey against one another for position. Bound by blood and glyph to not interfere once the world was created, they each retreated to their grand scrying pools to watch Malmundus bloom.
But as is so often the way with chaotic beings, they lost interest and abandoned it. Now long since abandoned by their Abyssal overlords, the races have forged their own way in the world, casting off the yoke of demonic oppression and control.
Still, in the dark corners of the world, fiendish forces lurk, waiting patiently to send the people of Malmundus back to their fell masters.
MAP:
Spoiler
(1) Maratongo Range: A rugged, mountainous area that is sparsely populated, the Maratongo Range is the native land of the minotaurs. (2) Free Nations: A squabbling bunch of city-states and small nations, formed out of a rebellion against the Imperium. (3) Avaria: The homeland of the highborn; an island nation with lush forests and great alabaster spires. (4) Gilner: Once a vassal state of Avaria, Gilner declared its independence only recently and is trying hard to establish itself. (5) Ulfhardt: A harsh, frozen land populated by jotun and few else. (6) Varoshka: Home to cold winters and a rough, down-to-earth peasant class, as well as the mechanical genius of the gremlins. (7) Shendon: A land dominated by cliffs and rolling mountains, with plains and farms below. (8) Killikatiik: A merciless desert populated by nomadic tribes avoiding the long arm of the Imperium and the hive cities of the mantids. (9) Ssarasa: Cut through by a multitude of rivers, with jungles to the south hiding the temples and enclaves of orochi. (10) The Hand of Zuth: An isolated archipelago populated mainly by native traders and the underwater citadels of the deep ones. (11) Techtotec: Techtotec, or "The Son of Totec," the home of the lizardfolk. Techtotec is nearly as varied as the rest of the world itself, being home to jungles, marshes, deserts, a vast mountain range, and rolling plains. (12) The Dead Isles: Home to pirates, raiders, and the necrocracies of the graveborn, presided over by their vampire and lich masters. (13) Gwazri Plains: Vast, rolling plains of scrub and grass, punctuated by fetid swamps and jungle, the Gwazri Plains are home to the roving packs of the gnolls. (14) Imperial Dominion: Led by the Imperium, the scion of Deimos, the Dominion once dominated the central part of the world, though rebellions and uprisings have cost it its former glory. It remains prosperous and a major player in the world, though its relations with other nations are tense at best. (15) Argyros: Once a former Imperial colony intended to exploit the natural resources of the Gwazri Plains, it has since declared its independence. Dominated by the city of the same name, it is a bastion of civilization in the savage south.
Gameplay
Setting House Rules
General
This is an E6 campaign setting, using my E6 compendium classes.
"My children shall ooze their way into every aspect of society, adapting and spawning."
- Juiblex, the Faceless Lord
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength - Changelings are quick and adept at integrating into society, but their amorphous form leaves them spongy and weak.
• Medium Size.
• A changeling's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid Type (Shapechanger subtype).
• Slight Build: The physical stature of changelings lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category smaller. Whenever a changeling is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as Stealth), it is treated as one size smaller if doing so is advantageous. A changeling is also considered to be one size smaller when "squeezing" through a restrictive space. A changeling can use weapons designed for a creature one size smaller without penalty. However, the space and reach of a changeling remain those of a creature of their actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject's size category.
• Changeling Mutability: changelings have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as a full-round action as if using a Disguise Self spell that affects their bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of a changeling's facial features, skin color or texture, and size, within the limits given for the spell. A changeling can use this ability at will, and it lasts until the shape is changed again. A changeling reverts to its natural form when killed. True Seeing reveals its true form. When using this to create a disguise, a changeling receives a +10 circumstance bonus on the check. At 4 HD, a changeling's shape change ability now allows it to choose a Small form, and it may choose to resemble humanoid or monstrous humanoid forms. At 8 HD, a changeling is immune to any effects that would penetrate its cover or discern its true identity - this includes any attempt to read its mind or discern its lies, as well as true seeing and scrying. All attempts to do so give off information as if the changeling really is whom (or what) it is pretending to be. It may also choose a Large size when changing shape. At 12 HD, a changeling may shift into almost any person it desires - its shape change ability now allows it to select humanoid, monstrous humanoid, fey, or giant forms between Tiny and Huge size. It gains any and all physical qualities of the new form while doing so, as per the spell Alter Self.
• +2 racial bonus to Sleight of Hand and Disguise checks.
• Automatic Languages: Imperial Trade. Bonus Languages: Any except Mycon.
• Favored Class: Poet.
Personality: Changelings are expert social infiltrators, and their personalities vary according to what form they are in. On the whole, however, changelings tend to be somewhat quiet, though self-assured. They prefer to blend in to the crowd - but once they do, they do so with subtlety and expert skill. A changeling is capable of switching roles and characters in an instant, and can track and manage dozens of different identities at once. Some changelings prefer to embrace their natural form, however, using their shifting powers for specific tasks and missions, and returning to their true self when the mimicry is no longer necessary. These changelings are often smug and boastful, proud of their skills but refusing to hide behind a false personality. Changelings are perfect spies and assassins.
Physical Description: Changelings rarely attract much attention. In their natural form, changelings look like vague, nondescript humanoids. Often people will fail to recall identifying features, remembering them as completely, utterly forgettable - an assessment changelings go to great lengths to encourage. They have pale, ashen skin and wide eyes. Their face is an expressionless mask. They tend towards slight builds, rarely being taller than 5' 8", and close observers will notice that their skin seems to crawl and shift unconsciously. They favor simple, functional clothing with a good deal of elasticity (be it mundane or magical) - for obvious reasons.
Relations: Changelings get along well with most races, mainly because most races don't know that they are changelings. They find the fast-talk of fiendkin tiring, though, as they consider them to be mere poseurs in the art of deception.
Alignment: Changelings run the gamut of alignments, but most tend toward neutrality. Some drift from town to town, finding new cultures to infiltrate, but others will dedicate themselves to one identity for years at a time.
Changeling Lands: Changelings have no lands of their own, and it is rare when they congregate openly or even indeed with the knowledge of one another. They gravitate towards large towns and cities.
Language: Changelings have no language of their own, but frequently learn many others.
Names: Changelings choose simple, monosyllabic names for personal use, but may concoct elaborate names for their cover identities.
Adventurers: Changeling adventurers are usually struck with wanderlust, hoping to use their skills at social manipulation to some sort of profitable advantage.
Cog
Spoiler
"Children? What children? Oh, these old things? They aren't children, my friend. They are weapons."
- Dimitroff Stetkovno, creator of the cogs.
• +2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom - Cogs are well-constructed and highly-logical, but being constructed for servitude has left them used to taking orders and not exercising their own wills.
• Medium size
• A cog's base land speed is 30'.
• Construct type (Living Construct subtype)
• Cog Plating: a cog possesses armor plating that gives it an effective armor bonus of +2, while also giving it an arcane spell failure of 5%. This occupies the body slot and cannot be removed.
• Cog Durability: A cog possesses damage reduction of 2/- and has a 25% chance to negate the extra damage from a critical hit or a sneak attack, as Light Fortification. At 4 HD, a cog's familiarity with its armor plating reduces its penalties - its armor bonus increases by 2, the armor check penalty (if any) is reduced by 2, and any arcane spell failure is reduced by 10%. Its fortification increases to 50%. At 8 HD, a cog's damage reduction increases to 5/- and it has 75% fortification. At 12 HD, a cog's plating is perfectly integrated - they receive no armor check penalty with it, no land speed penalties, experience no arcane spell failure, and the armor bonus increases by an additional +3 (to a total of +5). A cog's fortification increases to 100% - making him immune to sneak attacks or critical hits.
• A cog possesses a natural slam attack at 1d4.
• +2 racial bonus to Craft (smithy) and Knowledge (arcana) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Varoshkan. Bonus Languages: Zheph, Low Avariani, Shendon, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Sentinel.
Personality: Cogs tend to be servile and quiet, owing to their history as slaves. They are orderly, tidy, and efficient, and rarely given to frivolity or sentiment. They are typically single-minded when faced with a task or a duty. They tend to over-analyze problems, however, and have a different reckoning of time that most races. This makes them patient, but it can also make them ponderous. They can also be frightfully naive, as their creche education can impart knowledge but rarely nuance or emotional capabilities - cogs must learn these through practice. They are excellent soldiers and manual laborers, never sleeping, never tiring, and never complaining.
Physical Description: Though there is some variety between the various models of cogs, most tend to stand fairly tall and stout, around 6' (and sometimes half as wide). Their hardwood frames are covered with varying degrees of armored plating, and most take pride in keeping themselves polished and gleaming. Their faces vary in expression based on their construction, with some cogs possessing eerily human-like visages, and others having little more than two eye sockets and a jaggedly-chiseled jaw. Many cogs choose to decorate themselves, etching designs or runes into their frames. They favor functional robes and loose tunics, but just as often choose to go without clothing at all.
Relations: Cogs tend to regard most races with an equal amount of befuddlement, straining to truly fit in. They possess an uneasy relationship with gremlins, as their decades of servitude have not been forgotten. Some band together with other cogs, but this is done out of necessity rather than camaraderie.
Alignment: Cogs tend towards lawfulness, being accustomed to taking and executing their orders without question. Despite the inauspicious nature of their form (the wood they are built from is harvested from one pine forest, sprung forth from a single acorn from Twelvetrees in the Abyss), they do not show a predilection towards evil.
Cog Lands: Cogs have no true lands of their own, though nearly all of them were created in the clockwork city of Vostok. Rumors persist of an underground city populated entirely by former slaves and cog separatists. There is a growing movement in Varoshka to rebel and claim a homeland of their own.
Language: Cogs speak Varoshkan, the common language of their creators, though nothing prevents them from developing aptitude for other languages. With their logical minds, they are quite adept at linguistics.
Names: Cogs tend towards informal names, either whatever their master uses (or used) to call them, or in the cases of free cogs, an adopted moniker. They tend to be short and descriptive of their function or passion. Some less-imaginative cogs identify as numbers, usually their serial number from their production batch.
Adventurers: Cog adventurers are almost always freed or escaped slaves, hoping to find new meaning in their lives now that their original purpose has been cast off. Cogs are rarely the leaders in adventuring parties, but they are valuable additions to any team.
New Cog Feat Abyssal Bloodiron Plating:
Prerequisite: Cog, 1st level only
Benefit: The cog's armor bonus increases to +7. However, its base land speed is reduced to 20 feet, and it is considered to be wearing heavy armor. It has a +2 maximum Dexterity bonus to AC, a -4 armor check penalty, and an arcane spell failure chance of 30%. The cog's slam attack increases to 1d8, and it gains a +4 bonus to confirm a critical hit with it.
Deep One
Spoiler
"My children shall claim the vast reaches of the seas and worship me as a god."
- Dagon, the Prince of the Depths
• +2 Wisdom, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma - Deep ones are full of eldritch lore and highly value study and scholarship, but they prefer solitude and quiet to social interaction.
• Medium Size.
• A deep one's base land speed is 30'.
• Deep ones possess a 30' swim speed.
• Humanoid Type (Aquatic subtype).
• Darkvision 60'
• Amphibious: Though deep ones are aquatic, they can survive indefinitely on land.
• Deep ones gain a single mutation feat as a bonus feat at 1st level.
• Naturally Psionic: deep ones gain one bonus power point per level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
• Deep One Lore: deep ones may use a specialized version of bardic lore, adding their intelligence modifier and level to the check. At 4 HD, when a deep one rolls a one on a knowledge check, they automatically get a free reroll and keep the second roll's results. At 8 HD, when a deep one identifies a foe using a knowledge skill, it receives a bonus of one-tenth of the total check as a bonus to overcome any spell or power resistance that the creature possesses. At 12 HD, when a deep one identifies a foe using a knowledge skill, any ally within 30' may ignore an amount of damage reduction said foe possesses equal to one-quarter of the deep one's total check.
• A deep one has a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge (psionics) and Psicraft checks.
• Automatic Languages: Deep Tongue.
• Bonus Languages: Ssarasan, Orochii, Toctectli and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Empath.
Personality: Deep ones are sages and philosophers by natural vocation, and much of their society revolves around the accumulation and spread of knowledge. They are stiff, exacting, and occasionally pedantic, with an air of condescension towards the less "enlightened" races. Teachers occupy the highest-valued positions in deep one society, and education is of paramount importance to them. They are disciplined in body as well as mind, and monastic orders are common in the reefs they call home. Their own particular mutation has a slight effect on their personality as well - deep ones with shark features tend to be more aggressive, while mollusk features usually mean that the deep one in question is more curious and adventurous than average.
Physical Description: There is little uniformity in the appearance of deep ones, though they are all at least humanoid in form. They combine aspects of different species of sea life - some deep ones possess tentacles dripping from their faces, while others have piscine qualities such as fins, spines, or webbed hands and feet. Others still have claws for hands, or elongated necks, or bony ridges. They do not find this odd (though others do). They favor clothing that doesn't hinder their ability to swim, tight-fitting leather or thin, diaphanous robes made from kelp.
Relations: Deep ones are a rare sight in the northern hemisphere, but are not unheard of in large cities. They have few enemies, though jotun and other brutes consider them weak and puny. They have recently come into conflict with the lizardfolk on the eastern shore of Totec, as the lizardfolk consider the new settlements there to be in violation of their sovereignty, but the situation has yet to blossom into violence.
Alignment: Deep ones have a marked tendency towards lawfulness, but do not show a preference for good or evil.
Deep One Lands: Deep ones are common in the southern hemisphere of Malmundus, especially along the Zuth archipelago. Here, their coral citadels and coastal cities can be found, and the deeps are dotted with monasteries. Deep ones prefer warm water and moist, tropical climates when on land. They are commonly encountered in southern Ssarasa, and rumors speak of new towns under development on the eastern shore of Totec.
Language: Deep ones speak their own language with each other, though it is a tongue that does not lend itself well to use out of the water. They are adept with linguistics, though, and nearly every deep one speaks at least one other language.
Names: Deep ones have elaborate formal names that denote their goals, field of study, and accomplishments; these are bestowed upon them upon the day they graduate from their schools. But each deep one adopts a use-name, a casual nickname they use in everyday interaction. Deep ones amongst other races almost always use their use-name, though some more pretentious ones insist on being called by their full, formal moniker.
Adventurers: Though many deep ones prefer introspection and quiet study, they also understand the importance of field testing. Deep ones adventure to sate their curiosity about the world, to catalog its oddities, and to increase their own personal knowledge. The deep ones with mollusk features tend to be the most commonly-encountered abroad.
Mutation Feats:
Mollusk Heritage:
Prerequisite: Deep one, 1st level, no other Mutation feat
Benefit: a deep one with this feat gains a single natural tentacle attack at 1d6. It may also spit ink at a foe as a standard action. The deep one makes a ranged touch attack - if it hits, the foe is blinded for one round with no save.
Crustacean Heritage:
Prerequisite: Deep one, 1st level, no other Mutation feat
Benefit: A deep one with this feat gains a single natural claw attack at 1d6. The deep one also receives a +4 bonus on grapple checks, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity when initiating a grapple.
Eel Heritage:
Prerequisite: Deep one, 1st level, no other Mutation feat
Benefit: A deep one with this feat may use Shocking Grasp as a spell-like ability at will. Three times per day, it may treat the result of any Acrobatics check regarding escape attempts as a natural twenty. This must be declared before a roll is made.
Shark Heritage:
Prerequisite: Deep one, 1st level, no other Mutation feat
Benefit: A deep one with this feat gains a single natural bite attack at 1d6, and its swim speed increases to 40'. The deep one also receives a specialized version of scent out to 60', that only functions underwater.
"My children will be like their father - seductive, sly, and salacious, spreading their seed across the face of the world."
- Graz'zt, the Dark Prince
• +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom - Fiendkin are quick of mind and quite smooth, but tend to be brash and short-sighted.
• Medium Size.
• A fiendkin's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid Type (Human subtype).
• Resistance to fire 5
• Once per day, a fiendkin may reroll the result of a Bluff check. This must be done before the result is announced.
• Fiendkin Ancestry: A fiendkin has a +2 bonus to all Charisma-based checks when dealing with elementals or evil outsiders, and casts all (summoning) spells at +1 caster level. At 4 HD, a fiendkin may summon an evil outsider or elemental with HD equal to or less than one-half its level once per day. The outsider follows the fiendkin's commands faithfully and remains for up to five minutes or until killed. This is a (Su) ability with a caster level of the fiendkin's HD and an effective spell level of two. At 8 HD, a fiendkin becomes immune to fire. At 12 HD, a fiendkin may summon an evil outsider or elemental with HD equal to or less than its level once per day. The outsider follows the fiendkin's commands faithfully and remains for up to one hour or until killed. This is a (Su) ability with a caster level of the fiendkin's HD and an effective spell level of six.
• +2 racial bonus to Bluff and Spellcraft checks.
• Automatic Languages: Imperial Trade.
• Bonus Languages: Ssarasan, Maratongan, Zheph, Low Avariani, Varoshkan, Old Imperial, and Shendon.
• Favored Class: Scoundrel.
Personality: Fiendkin are full of variety, being the most common race on the face of Malmundus. But on the whole, they tend to be socially adept, amiable, and clever. They are quick to learn new things and settle into new locations. They are however somewhat impulsive, preferring to take decisive action rather than plan. They can be a bit oblivious and egotistical at times. They make excellent traders and merchants, and adapt into foreign cultures and societies with ease. They are also adept with magic, though they prefer formal study to natural talent.
Physical Description: Fiendkin look mostly human, albeit with a few fiendish features. Horns and tails are common, but by no means standard - other markers include blood-red eyes, light patches of scaly skin on the face and arms, and a dusky rust-colored tint to the skin. They typically have tan skin and dark hair. Men favor neatly-trimmed facial hair, while women prefer facial tattoos. Both sexes gravitate towards light, loose-fitting clothing with plenty of room for their skin to breathe.
Relations: Fiendkin are numerous and can be found in nearly every nation and society in the world, and as such they are usually accepted. Lizardfolk hold an uneasy truce with fiendkin, and permit a few of them to dwell as traders and merchants in port cities along the northern coast of Techtotec.
Alignment: Fiendkin can be found of any alignment, with no real tendency towards any.
Fiendkin Lands: Fiendkin are the dominant race of Malmundus, and can be found across the entire world. They are most comfortable in warm, dry climates, however, and are most common in the Imperium and the Free Nations. They take to deserts well, and many nomadic tribes of fiendkin can be found in the dunes of Killikatiik.
Language: Fiendkin speak the dominant language of the nation they belong to, but their facility with languages mean they often speak two or three.
Names: Fiendkin show no dominant trend in their naming, being more inclined to the cultural mores of their homeland.
Adventurers: Fiendkin, with a natural curiosity and a tendency towards adventure-seeking, take to the profession with ease. They enjoy the thrill of discovery and profit in equal amounts, satisfying both their intellectual longings and their coinpurse.
Gnoll
Spoiler
"My children shall devour the other races of the world and gnaw their bones while I exult in my bloody victory."
- Yeenoghu, Prince of Gnolls
• +2 Constitution, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence - As consummate hunters, gnoll are possessed of savage endurance and agility but they rely on natural cunning rather than logical thought.
• Medium size.
• A gnoll's base land speed is 40'.
• Humanoid Type
• Lowlight vision.
• Scent 30'
• Gnoll Ferocity: a gnoll has two natural claw attacks that do 1d6 damage each, and one natural bite attack that does 1d8 damage. At 4 HD, a gnoll's land speed increases by 10 ft. At 8 HD, a gnoll can Pounce, making a full attack at the end of a charge. At 12 HD, a gnoll's claw damage increases to 2d6, its bite damage increases to 2d8, and it can make rend attacks with its two hind claws if both foreclaws connect.
• +2 racial bonus to Listen and Survival checks.
• Automatic Languages: Gnollish.
• Bonus Languages: Zheph, Totectli, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Brawler.
Personality: Gnolls are packrunners and as such maintain a pack mentality, constantly fighting for dominance and status within the group. They are simple creatures, mostly concerned with carnal pleasures and survival, and do not value intelligence or education highly. They are quite social, however, and very affectionate with packmates and friends (though what the gnolls consider "affection" is a good deal rougher than non-gnolls would). They have a strongly-developed sense of loyalty, and a gnoll friend is usually a friend for life.
Physical Description: Gnolls stand taller than most races on Malmundus, easily topping 6', but their hunched posture means that they rarely exhibit their full height. They are covered in fur coats that range in color from black to brown to a pale white, often with spots and patches of other colors. They have sharp, yellowish claws and teeth. If they wear clothing at all, it is primarily made from tanned hides and bark.
Relations: Gnolls tend to be relatively isolationist, preferring to mingle with their own. They detest minotaurs, however, as they frequently come into conflict with them over available resources in Maratonga - gnolls from other regions are less hostile, but even a gnoll who has never seen a minotaur in its life before will still find them repugnant. Some theorize that minotaurs resemble prey too much for gnolls to ever truly be comfortable with them. Gnolls in the Imperium are frequently enslaved - in fact, the slavetraders there find the Gwazri Plains to be the best source of fresh labor.
Alignment: Gnolls exhibit a strong tendency towards chaos (they are independent and do not take to the yoke easily) and a slight preference for evil. Good gnolls are uncommon, but not unheard of - lawful ones certainly rarer.
Gnoll Lands: Gnolls are most common in the grasslands of the Gwazri Plains, though tribes can be found in the Maratonga Range and northern Ssarasa. They range where the availability of food and water takes them, and move frequently between hunting grounds and watering holes. Gnoll settlements are usually squalid and haphazard, a collection of ramshackle wooden huts and tents.
Language: Gnolls prefer to speak Gnollish, a collection of guttural consonants punctuated by barks, growls, and howling. Though they can learn other languages, they speak them with a gravelly tone and find some languages (especially Ssarasan) uncomfortably sibilant.
Names: Gnollish names are markers of their pack allegiance and their position within, long strings of rough consonants. Gnolls in the lands of other races will adopt a common name for everyday use.
Adventurers: Gnollish adventurers tend to be those exiled from their packs (a grave punishment indeed for such a social animal). Many such exiles find an adventuring party to be an acceptable substitute for the pack, and exhibit fierce loyalty to their comrades. Escaped gnollish slaves, ever on the run from Imperial trackers, may take up the adventuring life as a way to remain on the move (and to hone their combat skills in case the trackers ever catch up with them).
Gravetouched
Spoiler
"My children will never truly die, for they were never truly alive to begin with. When all else are corpses, my living dead will soldier on."
- Orcus, Prince of the Undead
• +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Dexterity - Though their forms have been imbued with undead vigor and determination, their limbs are often stiff and slow to react.
• Medium Size.
• A gravetouched's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid Type.
• Gravetouched may rebuke undead as a cleric of half their level 3/day. They may command a number of undead equal to half their hit dice, but only for one minute per level.
• Gravetouched Anatomy: Gravetouched are immune to negative energy, disease, nausea, and the sickened condition. At 4 HD, gravetouched become immune to poison, paralysis, nonlethal damage, fatigue, and exhaustion effects. At 8 HD, gravetouched may add half of their total Heal modifier to any melee damage rolls, and negative energy now heals them. At 12 HD, gravetouched become immune to stunning, energy drain, ability drain, and death effects. They also no longer take any penalties for aging.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge (religion) and Heal checks.
• Automatic Languages: Islander.
• Bonus Languages: Maratongan, Totectli, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Black mage.
Personality: Like the fiendkin, graveborn are a vast and varied race. They are cosmopolitan and magnetic, but are careful calculators and observers of society rather than enthusiastic participators. Despite this, they perform excellently in social situations, and though they are dry and display little emotion, they have a charm that is somehow both cold and compelling. They typically possess an acerbic wit and a firm grasp of sarcasm and irony. They make ideal scientists and doctors, having both a healthy detachment from their work and a keen interest in academic matters.
Physical Description: Graveborn resemble humans at first glance, though their skin seems drawn tighter across their skeleton and they are significantly paler than the fiendkin. They have a statuesque beauty to them, holding themselves with careful poise. Their hair is usually dark brown or black, and males are typically clean-shaven. Ritual scarring is common in graveborn society, as are tattoos and piercings. Older graveborn begin to resemble actual undead, with thin, emaciated forms and jutting bones. Their skin yellows and becomes leathery, and their movements become slower and more deliberate. Graveborn prefer tight-fitted suits and dresses in formal styles.
Relations: Graveborn have an antagonistic relationship with the lizardfolk and the minotaurs, as their proximity to the Dead Isles has resulted in centuries of prolonged conflict. With other races, relations are cool but peaceful, and graveborn integrate easily into other societies.
Alignment: Graveborn are quite varied, though their affinity with undeath leads to a tendency towards dispassionate evil.
Graveborn Lands: Graveborn can be found in many parts of Malmundus, though they are most widespread in the Free Nations and the Dead Isles. In the former, they are afforded the same status as any other freeman, while in the latter, they form the backbone of society, ruled over by free-willed undead lords. Though they are technically cattle to be fed upon by vampires (or worse), their masters provide a measure of protection and stability.
Language: Graveborn in the Dead Isles speak Islander, a pidgin cobbled together over centuries by the various necrocracies. Most other graveborn speak the language of their nation.
Names: Graveborn names are simple and unadorned. They take a family name and a personal name, and take great pride in their line - graveborn houses can be quite powerful and influential.
Adventurers: Graveborn adventurers are typically young and unestablished. Often they are the bored younger children of noble houses, or enterprising rebels run afoul of their dark masters. Not all graveborn accept the yoke of command, and many work to better themselves in order to free their people from the tyranny of liches and revenants.
Gremlin
Spoiler
"My children shall endeavor to manipulate and deceive, pitting empire against empire until only they remain."
- Fraz-Urb'luu, Prince of Deception
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Strength – gremlins are brilliant and have exceptional fine manipulation skills, but their small, portly frames rarely carry much muscle.
• Small: As a Small creature, a gremlin gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• 20' movement.
• Humanoid type (Goblinoid subtype).
• +2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions and enchantments.
• Gremlin Subtlety: A gremlin can cast Charm Person as an SLA 3/day. At 4 HD, a gremlin may move at full speed while hiding without taking the normal -5 penalty to the check. At 8 HD, a gremlin can cast Charm Monster as an SLA 3/day. At 12 HD, a gremlin can use the Stealth skill even while being observed, as long as there is some kind of shadow other than their own within 10 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on Disable Device and Hide checks.
• All gremlins may treat firearms as martial weapons rather than exotic.
• Automatic Languages: Varoshkan and Gremlin. Bonus Languages: Jotun, Shendon, Low Avariani, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Engineer
Personality: Gremlins are born swindlers and thieves, always concerned with profit at the expense of all else. Even those that don't steal for a living are obsessed with money. Gremlins are lazy creatures, content to gorge themselves on fine food in luxurious surroundings. Most never leave the place of their birth, growing slowly fatter and older. They have lively minds, however, and construct machines to do all their labor for them, so that they may continue to laze around. Gremlins have a preternatural ability with machinery and manual dexterity, and are extremely inventive. The best tinkers and engineers on the planet are gremlins, and despite the increased number of explosions in proximity to a gremlin's workshop, most find their products to be quite the boon.
Physical Description: Gremlins resemble gnomes (albeit slightly taller - most gremlins reach 4'), though with tapered ears and a predatory gleam in their eye. They have slightly-pointed teeth. Their skin tone ranges from a pale white to a muddled gray to a sickly greenish-yellow. Gremlins tend towards portliness, and they adore luxurious clothing, preferring elaborate waistcoats and brocaded epaulets.
Relations: Gremlins are rarely trusted amongst the other races, though they're not exactly hated. They're seen at best as frivolous pranksters, at worst destructive imbeciles. Cogs have a tense camaraderie with gremlins - despite being once enslaved by them (a history that has erupted in violence on multiple occasions), many cogs still maintain a sense of duty and obligation to their creators.
Alignment: The mercenary nature of gremlins gives them a marked tendency towards evil.
Gremlin Lands: Gremlins are most commonly found in Varoshka, especially the Clockwork City of Vostok, where a council of gremlin trade barons forms the ruling body. They can be found across the northern hemisphere, from Maratonga to Shendon, but they do prefer slightly colder climates.
Language: Gremlins speak Varoshkan primarily, but they also have a specialized version of this tongue that is unique to them and them alone. Developed centuries ago by gremlin thieves, it combines hand gestures and elaborate substitution ciphers to convey hidden messages. To an outsider, a gremlin speaking his "native" language seems to be speaking in incomprehensible Varoshkan slang and gesticulating wildly.
Names: Gremlins are quite prideful, and choose ostentatious names for their children. Affected titles are common and sometimes ridiculously overwrought.
Adventurers: Gremlins who embrace the adventuring life go against the norm, being lively, active, and even occasionally thin.
Highborn
Spoiler
"My children will be so beautiful that the world cannot help but bow to their will."
- Malcanthet, the Queen of the Succubi
• +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution - Highborn are master negotiators and strong-willed, but they are delicate, fragile creatures.
• Medium Size
• 30' movement.
• Humanoid Type (Human subtype).
• Highborn cast spells from the enchantment school at +1 caster level. They also receive a +1 bonus to the save DC of any enchantment spell they cast.
• Highborn Grace: A highborn may always take ten on a diplomacy check, even if rushed or threatened. At 4 HD, a highborn may make a rushed diplomacy check without the -10 penalty. At 8 HD, a highborn adds half its Charisma modifier as a deflection bonus to its AC. At 12 HD, a highborn cannot be attacked in melee unless the opponent successfully makes a Will save, with the DC being the highborn's HD plus half its Charisma modifier. Mindless creatures and creatures without visual senses are immune to this effect.
• +2 racial bonus on Diplomacy and Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Low and High Avariani. Bonus Languages: Imperial Trade, Varoshkan, and Jotun.
• Favored Classes: Noble.
Personality: Highborn simultaneously combine the best and worst aspects of beauty - they can be graceful and gracious, gentle and kind. But they can also be exclusive, condescending, and downright petty. Highborn are prideful and arrogant, but not undeservedly so - they are master diplomats and negotiators, and nothing inspires respect and admiration as a highborn noble or commander.
Physical Description: Highborn stand taller than fiendkin, but also slimmer. They have frail, thin frames. They have long, full hair that is usually light in color, ranging from light brown to pure white. They are graceful and dignified, always holding themselves straight and walking slowly and deliberately. They prefer clothing that emphasizes the beauty of their physical form, choosing tightly-fitted and revealing outfits.
Relations: Highborn consider themselves to be perfect, and any other race simply falls short. Highborn treat some races (such as gnolls) with undisguised disdain and disgust, holding them as lower than beasts.
Alignment: Highborn show no distinct preference for any particular alignment.
Highborn Lands: The island nation of Avaria is the ancestral home of the highborn. There, the highborn form the upper echelon, the pinnacle of society. All others are considered second class citizens, and treated as such.
Language: In Avaria, no self-respecting highborn citizen would be caught speaking anything but High Avariani, an elaborate and complicated language of ostentatious metaphor and confusing grammar. In Gilner and abroad, Low Avariani is more common.
Names: Highborn have extremely elaborate names, with each syllable tacking on further honorifics and accolades. They are heavy on vowels and punctuated by meaningful dramatic pauses. Less pretentious highborn will shorten their names to two or three syllables, for the benefit of the lower races.
Adventurers: Highborn are not often the adventuring type. Those who do pick up the profession are out to prove themselves the best, whether it be in swordplay or magic or the duel of words. They adventure to show their skill and superiority, and to gain wealth they may use back home to increase their status and respect amongst their fellow highborn.
Jotun
Spoiler
"My children will carve the glaciers themselves and outlast the dying of the world's sun."
- Kostchtchie, the Prince of Wrath
• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity – Jotun are almost supernaturally strong and possessed of undeniable tenacity, but the gelid blood running through their veins has the unfortunate side effect of slowing their reflexes.
• Medium size
• 30' movement.
• Humanoid type.
• Stability: Jotun are exceptionally stable on their feet. A jotun has a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing firmly on the ground.
• Resistance to cold 5.
• Jotun Strength: The physical stature of jotun lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger. Whenever a jotun is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check, the jotun is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him. A jotun is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size can affect him. A jotun can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category. At 4 HD, a jotun gains immunity to cold. At 8 HD, a jotun gains the reach of a creature one size larger than he actually is. At 12 HD, a jotun does not die in combat when he reaches -10 HP. He may take actions as normal, and does not take further damage for performing strenuous actions. When combat ends, if his HP total remains at or below -10, he immediately dies.
• +2 racial bonus to Balance and Profession (sailor) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Giant. Bonus Languages: Aquan, Sylvan, and Terran.
• Favored Class: Gladiator.
Personality: Jotun are relatively simple to understand. They are direct, aggressive, even crass. They brook no insult and only take orders from those whose strength they respect (leadership disputes are often solved through single combat). They can be rude, easily-angered, and often violent, though in the right situation their boisterousness is a blessing in disguise. They despise the trappings of high society. Jotun society is heavily patriarchal, and women are rarely allowed out of the home (if they are, they almost always become divine spellcasters). They find arcane magic to be especially distasteful, though jotun sorcerers and wizards do exist, albeit in extremely small numbers. Most are considered evil witches and killed on sight by their brethren.
Physical Description: Jotun tend, on the whole, to be large and burly and covered in wild shocks of coarse hair. Their skin ranges from pale white to a sickly greenish-brown, and they occasionally possess pronounced canines or tusks. They tend to their beards (or hair, for women) with extreme vanity and pride, tying bones, trinkets, and grisly trophies into their scruff. They wear patchwork armor and thick hides with warm wool trimming, and rarely keep their clothes clean.
Relations: Jotuns have an antagonistic relationship with most races they interact with, mainly due to their dependence on pillage as an economic strategy. The highborn especially have suffered at their hands, and the two races rarely see eye to eye.
Alignment: Jotun are quite chaotic on the whole, reveling in their independence.
Lands: The native lands of the jotun are extremely hostile, pounded by blizzards and dominated by vast glaciers. No one but the jotun could even begin to eke out an existence there. But the jotun enjoy it - the hardship makes them strong. The jotun are also a seafaring people, and many live on a permanent flotilla of warships and sea platforms, depending on raiding and plunder. Less warlike jotun live in small fishing villages along the southern coast of Ulfhardt and the surrounding islands, depending on fishing and hunting to survive.
Language: The jotun language is throaty and guttural, an ugly language to a non-native speaker. Jotun have no difficulty speaking other languages, however, and exhibit no real loyalty to their racial tongue except their upbringing.
Names: Jotun names are tough to pronounce and full of heavy consonance. A typical jotun's name will not only identify the jotun in question, but also his father and his father's father.
Adventurers: Jotun adventure for the sake of adventure itself - they love to fight and enjoy treasure. Jotuns in parties are difficult to command, so a loose grip is required. Still, though they bristle at being ordered about, they make excellent companions, ready to leap into battle at a moment's notice.
"My children shall take on the mantle of the world's most powerful beasts and monsters, thrilling in the power of dragons and behemoths."
- Demogorgon, the Prince of Demons
• +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Intelligence - Lizardfolk possess a fraction of the legendary power and presence of dragons, but they rarely put much stock in education or higher reasoning.
• Medium Size.
• A lizardfolk's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid Type (Reptilian subtype).
• Low-light vision.
• A lizardfolk's scales give it a +3 natural armor bonus.
• Lizardfolk possess a natural bite attack at 1d6.
• Lizardfolk Affinity: a lizardfolk receives a +2 bonus to all skill checks dealing with dragons and dragonkin. They are considered to be dragonblooded for the purposes of qualifying for feats and prestige classes. They also choose one element from acid (Sun), fire (Dawn), cold (Moon), negative energy (Eclipse), or lightning (Dusk), and gains resistance 5 to that element. At 4 HD, a lizardfolk gains the ability to breathe a 30' cone of its chosen element 3/day for 2d10 damage plus 1d10 for each 2 HD it has over 4, to a maximum of 6d10 damage at level 12. The DC for half-damage is Reflex-based, and equal to 10 plus the lizardfolk's level and Con modifier. At 8 HD, a lizardfolk gains spell resistance equal to 10 + its HD, as well as immunity to its chosen element. At 12 HD, a lizardfolk's breath weapon may be now used at will (albeit with a cooldown of 1d4 rounds). Its natural armor bonus increases to +6, and it grows a pair of draconic wings that allow it to fly at a speed of 40' (average).
• +2 racial bonus to Handle Animal and Ride checks.
• Automatic Languages: Totectli. Bonus Languages: Islander, Imperial Trade, and Maratongan.
• Favored Class: Red mage.
Personality: Lizardfolk tend towards stoicism, even fatalism - they believe highly that their destiny is mapped out before them by Meztli, and to deviate from that is folly at best. They are heavily xenophobic and extremely distrustful of outsiders, whom they see as interlopers and invaders. They worship dragons as veritable demi-gods. Their caste system is rigid and defined by birth, and their personalities are heavily influenced by their caste. Sun Caste are the peasants and soldiers of Totec, and are reserved and industrious. Eclipse Caste are the rogues and spies of the lizardfolk, and though they are ruthless and efficient, they are also quite methodical and precise in their ways. Dawn Caste are the heavy infantry of lizardfolk armies, and are brutish and aggressive, always looking for a fight. Dusk Caste are clever and the most adept with arcane magic - the ranks of lizardfolk sorcerers are mostly drawn from their ranks. They tend to be quite prideful, with a palpable air of arrogance and disdain towards their lesser brethren. Moon Caste form the ranks of divine casters, and tend to be healers and philosophers. They are gentler and more endearing than other lizardfolk, and are often used as diplomats.
Physical Description: Lizardfolk vary depending on their caste. The most common variety is the Sun Caste, who have mottled green-and-brown scales and spines like an iguana. Eclipse Caste lizardfolk have sickly black scales and are smaller and slimmer, resembling geckos. Dawn Caste have coats of dull, rusty red, and have toothy, crocodilian faces. Dusk Caste have vibrant blue scales and smooth skink-like faces. Moon Caste are exclusively albino and often have frilled crests surrounding their heads. They rarely wear clothes except for ceremonial robes during times of import.
Relations: Lizardfolk simply do not like the other races at all. They come into conflict with deep ones and graveborn most often, mainly due to geography. Their relationship with tieflings is more civil, but still strained - though they allow a few merchants and traders from the Imperium to exchange their wares in their lands, some factions amongst the lizardfolk are convinced that Totec is the next target of the Imperator's conquering armies. Were the lizardfolk ever to unify under one banner, they might be the ones looking to conquer the world, and the Imperium is one of the few powers that realizes this - their merchants are just as often spies, sowing discord amongst the lizardfolk factions.
Alignment: Lizardfolk alignments are extremely varied, perhaps owing to the duality of their religion. Though they have a rigid caste system, their society is a constant conflict between various feudal dragon lords. Some are benevolent and some are cruel, and their followers often share the moral outlook of their draconic patron.
Lizardfolk Lands: Techtotec is the home of the lizardfolk, and they rule it nearly without question in the name of their dragon overlords. They are numerous and have expanded to all terrain on the continent. It is fortunate that lizardfolk society is rarely unified, and squabbles constantly between tribes, or else their might combined with that of the dragons might form a considerable threat to the rest of the world.
Language: Totectli is a language unique to the lizardfolk and dragons, and rarely do outsiders take the time to learn (though this is also due to a lack of willing teachers). It is full of harsh, hissed consonants juxtaposed against smooth sibilance, and to untrained ears it sounds like a series of jumbled sounds with almost no long vowel sounds.
Names: Lizardfolk names are likewise difficult for outsiders to pronounce, and include both the tribe and caste of the lizardfolk in question. They are extremely proud of their affiliations, and insist on being called by their full name.
Adventurers: Different castes have different reasons to adventure, but even so, an adventuring lizardfolk is a noteworthy sight - they rarely leave the boundaries of Techtotec. Still, there are lizardfolk who become disillusioned with their society once they learn of the grand world outside, and these voluntary exiles form the bulk of lizardfolk heroes.
Mantid
Spoiler
"My children shall band together in great hive-cities, hunting down and spearing those soft sacks of pathetic flesh known as the other races."
- Obox-Ob, the Prince of Vermin
• +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma - Though they are unparalleled hunters, both powerful and rapid, their mindsets are so alien that they have trouble relating to other humanoids.
• Medium Size.
• A mantid's base land speed is 30'.
• A mantid possesses a climb speed of 20'.
• Monstrous Humanoid Type.
• A mantid's chitin gives it +3 natural armor.
• Mantids do not sleep and as such are immune to all sleep effects.
• Naturally psionic: mantids possess one bonus power point. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
• Though a mantid possesses four arms, the lower arms require time and training to use in combat. At first, those arms may only use light weapons, and they may not add a mantid's strength modifier to damage rolls.
• A mantid's antennae give it blindsense out to 15'.
• Mantid Deftness: a mantid gains Multiweapon Fighting as a bonus feat, even if he does not qualify. At 4 HD, a mantid's secondary arms are developed enough to use fully - they may now use any one-handed weapon the mantid could normally use and may add the mantid's strength modifier to damage rolls as normal. At 8 HD, a mantid gains blindsight out to 30'. At 12 HD, a mantid takes no penalties associated with multiweapon-fighting when attacking with multiple arms - they may attack with their off-hands at no penalty, and are not penalized for using heavier-than-light weapons.
• +2 racial bonus to Jump and Spot checks.
• Automatic Languages: Kliktik. Bonus Languages: Zheph, Shendonese, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Hunter.
Personality: Mantids are survivalists and hunters to a fault, tending to see everything in terms of risk and reward, measuring how it would benefit the group the most. They weather change poorly and are bound by tradition and routine. They are single-minded and focus on tasks to the exclusion of all others, making them excellent trackers and soldiers, though not especially adept at strategy.
Physical Description: Mantids are tall and thin, to aid in radiating heat away from their bodies. Their carapaces range from dark brown to a burnished yellow. They have compound eyes and long, twitching antennae, and sharp claws at the end of their limbs that aid in climbing the cliffs and dunes of their desert home. They do not typically wear clothes, though more adventurous armorers will create combat suits for mantids - the sight of a mantid in full-plate bearing down on you is said to be one of the most frightening sights in the world.
Relations: Mantids are isolationist, and do not venture out of their hive cities often. Those that do are either adventurers or slaves in the Imperium. This leads them into direct conflict with Imperial agents. Their relationship with the nomadic tribes of desert-dwelling fiendkin is less antagonistic, but still competitive - resources in the desert are few, and there will always be conflict over them.
Alignment: Mantids tend towards law, due to their rigid society. Most of them are staunchly neutral, and do lean towards good and devil in equal (albeit lesser) amounts.
Lands: Mantids are found most often in the central deserts of Killikatik, where most of their hive cities are found. A few splinter hives exist in the eastern Gwazri Plains. They can range, however, as far as Varoshka, Shendon, and Ssarasa.
Language: Mantids speak their own insectile language, Kliktik, with each other, a language that few non-mantids even begin to understand, let alone speak fluently.
Names: Mantid names tend to be densely consonated and full of harsh, clicking sounds. Non-mantids have trouble pronouncing these names, and often a mantid will adopt a use-name amongst outsiders.
Adventurers: Mantid adventurers are often exiles from the hive cities, possessing chaotic aspects to their personality that did not mesh well with their elders. Others may maintain loyalty to their hive, but are sent out on mysterious quests that they alone fathom. They rarely speak of their motives to their comrades, but they are fiercely loyal to party members, whom they see as honorary or adopted clutch-siblings.
Minotaur
Spoiler
"My children will batter the world into submission with their bare fists and bestial fervor, hunting the civilized ones like base animals."
- Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts
• +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma - minotaurs are powerful and possess keen senses, but their tendency towards solitude and the nomadic life prevents them from developing socially.
• Medium size
• A minotaur's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid type.
• Lowlight vision.
• Minotaurs possess one natural gore attack at 1d8, which increases to 2d8 on a charge.
• Natural Cunning: A minotaur has an innate immunity to maze spells, cannot become lost, and can track enemies.
• Minotaur Resilience: minotaurs receive a +2 bonus on saving throws against poison, disease, spells and spell-like abilities. At 4 HD, a minotaur can no longer be caught flat-footed or flanked. At 8 HD, a minotaur's saving throw bonuses against poison, disease, spells, and spell-like abilities increase to +4. At 12 HD, minotaurs can no longer be surprised - they may always act in the surprise round, if any. They may also ignore any concealment or miss chance when attacking a foe.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen and Knowledge (nature) checks.
• Automatic Languages: Minosian. Bonus Languages: Islander, Maratongan, and Jotun.
• Favored Class: Green mage.
Personality: Minotaurs are stoic and relatively peaceful, content to coexist peacefully in the rugged beauty of the Maratonga Range. They are quite spiritual and ponder matters of great import for long periods of time before taking any action. To some, this may make them seem slow and inactive. They prefer observation and careful consideration to rash decisions. They do not like cities or crowd, and large groups of people make them uncomfortable - they prefer small tribes or the company of animals.
Physical Description: Minotaurs are tall and broad-shouldered, with bovine features. They are strongly-muscled and covered in downy fur that ranges from jet-black to mottled white. A male minotaur takes great pride in his horns, and decorates them with runes and jewelry accordingly. Female minotaurs, though they do not possess horns, array themselves with accessories similarly, most often carved wooden fetishes.
Relations: Minotaurs have a tense relationship with most races they come into contact with, because most of those races tend to be settlers or invaders intent on exploiting the natural resources of the Maratonga Range. They are especially hostile to Graveborn, whom they see as unsettling or unnatural at best, and abominations to be destroyed at worst.
Alignment: Minotaurs tend towards good, but more out of a natural respect for living things than an actual commitment to the ideal. They are equally drawn to law and chaos, but most are solidly neutral in that regard.
Lands: Minotaurs inhabit the Maratongan Range, where they are the dominant race. They can be found from the mountaintops and tundra to the deserts in the south, but prefer the forests and grasslands in central Maratonga.
Language: Minotaurs speak Minosian, their native language, but also frequently learn Maratongan in order to interact with settlers and colonists.
Names: Minotaur names are low, rumbling names, full of long vowels and throaty consonants.
Adventurers: Minotaurs who take to the adventuring lifestyle are often spurred forth by some sort of vision, wherein the spirits exhort them to accomplish a goal or find an item of great power. They tend not to enjoy large parties, but prefer small groups of like-minded companions. Their wanderlust makes them ideal adventurers, as those who choose to leave the Range travel far and wide on their quests.
Myconid
Spoiler
"My children shall fill the warm dark spaces of the world, feeding on rot and decay until there is none left to consume."
- Zuggtmoy, Lady of Fungi
• +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, -2 Dexterity - Myconids are resilient and devoted, but their unique composition leaves them ponderous and slow.
• Medium size
• A myconid's base land speed is 20', but myconids can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load.
• A myconid possesses a burrow speed of 10'.
• Humanoid type.
• Darkvision 60'
• Resistance to acid 5
• A myconid possesses a unique form of Wild Empathy - it may only use it to improve the attitude of plants and fungal creatures. Even unintelligent plants may be influenced in this way. A myconid adds its class level plus its Charisma modifier to the check.
• Myconid Biology - a myconid is immune to disease, sleep and paralysis. It also possesses fast healing 1. At 4 HD, a myconid may use a special version of Mirror Image as a spell-like ability 3/day. The duplicates created by this SLA are not illusionary, but otherwise function as the spell dictates. Its fast healing increases to 2. At 8 HD, a myconid becomes immune to stunning, acid, and poison. Its fast healing increases to 3. At 12 HD, a myconid can use Fission as a psi-like ability 1/day, with an effective manifester level of 12. Its fast healing increases to 4.
• +2 racial bonus to Knowledge (dungeoneering) and Sense Motive checks.
• Automatic Languages: Mycon. Bonus Languages: Imperial Trade, Varoshkan, and Shendonese.
• Favored Class: White mage.
Personality: Myconids are especially difficult to comprehend, mainly due to their unique physical composition - a myconid is not a single entity, but rather a framework of multiple sentient organisms working together in one body. As such, myconids can seem fractured, even schizophrenic, speaking of themselves plural and frequently contradicting their own actions. They frequently hum with internal conversation, which to outsiders sounds like a quiet, mysterious song. When they do act, they are slow and deliberate. Despite this strangeness, they are experts at reading others, though they do not always truly comprehend what they observe - they can pick up on subtleties of body language and pheromones that most races gloss over.
Physical Description: Myconids are squat and stout, resembling nothing quite so much as a walking, talking mushroom. Though different myconids will resembles different fungus, most of them tends towards the tree-shape of an agaric mushroom. Coloration and patterns vary wildly, and are in fact one aspect in identifying the particular myconid. They do not wear clothing and must purchase specially-fitted armor, as each myconid's composition and shape is different.
Relations: Myconids have existed for millenia in near-isolation underground, content to go about their inscrutable ways. Though they do not often engage in open warfare with the other races, they are never quite friendly - an outsider who stumbles onto a myconid settlement and cannot properly explain his presence will soon become fertilizer for the fungus gardens. They most commonly run into mantids, tengu, gremlins and fiendkin, though some cavernous networks run as far as the Gwazri Plains or southern Ssarasa.
Alignment: Despite their internal squabbling, myconids are solidly neutral, though they tend more towards chaos than to law. Though they are rather morbidly concerned with death and decay, they do not tend towards evil.
Lands: Myconids do not exist on the surface of Malmundus, but rather in the grand caverns and fissures beneath it, primarily in the northeastern part of the main continent underneath Varoshka and Shendon. They form conglomerations (they are not truly cities in a proper sense) in choice caves, tending to their fungus gardens and repelling intruders.
Language: Mycon is a difficult language, composed of three main aspects - the song (the pseudo-psychic hum of words, the only part of Mycon that is audible), the scent (a combination of odorous spores and pheromones), and the sign (a flashing pattern of bioluminescent fungus). It is almost impossible for a non-myconid to learn, and requires a special apparatus to even be attempted.
Names: Myconid names are almost impossible for outsiders to understand, as they require scent, bioluminescence, and a slight psychic aptitude to be conveyed properly. Myconids on the surface will almost always adopt a use-name.
Adventurers: Myconid adventurers are just as mysterious as the rest of the race (if not more so), seeming to possess none of the motives of most adventurers - myconids are rarely materialistic, rarely driven to seek power or prestige, and rarely concern themselves with conquest or grand missions. Some theorize that myconid adventurers are simply spies for the "Mycon Empire," but most myconid adventurers are simply naively curious about the surface world, and that profession gives them a way of learning.
Orochi
Spoiler
"My children will tap into the power of the intangible mind and give birth to a new world of nightmares."
- Pale Night, Mother of Demons.
• +2 Wisdom, +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength - Though they are strong of will and possess serpentine grace, an orochi's body is built for lithe movement rather than brute force.
• Medium size
• An orochi's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid type
• Naturally psionic: an orochi receives two bonus power points. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.
• Orochi possess a natural paralytic poison that they may use to envenom their weapons. Treat this poison as giant wasp venom, except that the DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the orochi's HD + Constitution modifier. It is a full-round action to extract and apply a dose of this poison.
• Orochi Mentalism: Orochi receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells and abilities. At 4 HD, they become immune to charm, compulsion, and possession. At 8 HD, they gain telepathy out to 30' and may manifest Read Thoughts as a psi-like ability at will. At 12 HD, they act as if under a permanent Mind Blank, though they may choose to allow beneficial effects to affect them normally.
• +2 racial bonus to Move Silently and Tumble checks.
• Automatic Languages: Orochii and Ssarasan. Bonus Languages: Shendonese, Imperial Trade, Teng, and Zheph.
• Favored Class: Blue mage.
Personality: Orochi are sly and salacious, experts in the art of seduction, infiltration, and assassination. They are notably lazy, however, and prefer lounging about in luxury to physical activity. They love intellectual pursuits, especially enjoying philosophy and the power of the mind - this affection leads many towards psychic classes. They are, however, more concerned with the argument and the competition rather than any sort of enlightenment or universal truth - orochi tend to consider the chase more thrilling than the kill. They are expert thieves, liars, and politicians.
Physical Description: Orochi are roughly human in appearance, though they possess serpentine features that give away their ancestry - they possess forked tongues and light scales on their faces and arms. Orochi men are always hairless, and women tend to possess straight, slick black hair, though many of them are bald as well. They dress in silken finery, preferring cool, loose robes to better wick away the jungle heat and humidity.
Relations: Orochi do not loathe any other race, but they do tend to see most of them are fodder for their manipulations. The only race they truly seem to get along well with is the fiendkin, whose wits and persuasive arts they find to be a match to their own. They find the tengu especially brutish. They tolerate deep ones, but secretly harbor a resentment for their intelligence - they believe the sea-people to be constantly seeking to make them seem the fool.
Alignment: Despite their talents in less-than-savory fields, most orochi are not evil. They are rarely good, but they tend to engage in a rational self-interest more than any system of morality. This self-absorption does lead them to chaotic behavior, however, as they rarely see the rule of law and order as a blessing.
Lands: Orochi are primarily found in southern Ssarasa, where their temple-cities and jungle homes are. They prefer cities and large towns, and enjoy being surrounded by people. They can be found all over the Imperium, where they enjoy a certain reputation as exotic beauties and shrewd merchants.
Language: Orochi are typically at least bilingual - with each other, they speak Orochii, their native serpentine tongue, but they almost always learn Ssarasan as well. The two are fairly similar anyway, and most Ssarasans, Orochi or no, speak a fair bit of both. Orochi have a natural aptitude for telepathy, and often communicate via mental means (provided they are experienced enough in the use).
Names: Orochi names are soft, sibilant names full of light hissing sounds.
Adventurers: Orochi adventure because life is a grand game, and adventuring is one way of winning, a way of proving their mental superiority. The riches and fame are also quite nice, as orochi lifestyles tend towards the indulgent.
Tengu
Spoiler
"My children shall soar above the pitiful land-bound races, swooping down upon them and instilling in them a crippling fear of the sky's supreme predators."
- Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution - Though tengu have excellent reflexes and supreme confidence, their hollow bones leave them somewhat less sturdy than other races.
• Medium size
• A tengu's base land speed is 30'.
• Humanoid type
• Resistance to lightning 5
• Tengu may use Intimidate to demoralize a foe as a swift action once per encounter.
• Tengu Flight: a tengu has a vestigial pair of wings that aid in movement, giving him a +10 racial bonus to jump checks. At 4 HD, it may use them to glide. It may move forward 20' for every 10' of vertical distance traveled, and it is no longer subject to falling damage. It may also fly at a speed of 20' (average) for a number of rounds per day equal to its level plus its Constitution modifier. These rounds need not be consecutive. At 8 HD, a tengu may use its developing wings as it pleases, giving it a fly speed of 40' (good). It may not fly while carrying a medium or heavier load. It also becomes immune to lightning. At 12 HD, a tengu's fly speed increases to 60' (perfect), and it may fly with any load that does not exceed its total encumbrance.
• +2 racial bonus to Balance and Intimidate checks.
• Automatic Languages: Teng. Bonus Languages: Shendonese, Ssarasan, and Imperial Trade.
• Favored Class: Zealot.
Personality: Tengu are bold and direct, products of a warrior culture that brooks no weakness. They are bound by a culture of honor and tradition, however, and so rarely fill the role of raging savage. They are expert tacticians and generals, and use their aerial supremacy to great advantage. Despite their military strength, they are not expansionist, preferring to safeguard their homes for themselves and their people - despite their abrasive nature, they are fiercely loyal to their flock. They do not express much curiosity at other cultures, can be extremely arrogant, and consider most people to be beneath them. They are competitive and boastful. They enjoy artistic and intellectual pursuits, particularly painting and poetry, preferring simple, powerful things to long-winded or overly-academic ones.
Physical Description: Tengu stand upright taller than the average human, with powerful chests and large shoulders. They have wings sprouting from their back, and their faces are that of birds. Most tengu have crow-like faces, though certain tribes with resemblances other birds are known - in the Killikatik desert, there are tengu with vulture-like features, and in the mountains of northern Maratongo, some tengu with eagle faces can be found. They prefer clothing that does not restrict their flight, and choose either tight-fitting robes with slits cut for their wings or minimalistic armor.
Relations: Tengu see most other races as uncivilized barbarians, rodents huddling together en masse. They have a good deal of disdain for them, but are capable of setting aside their feelings for higher causes, especially in the case of a common enemy. Tengu find orochi to be deceptive and slothful, consider fiendkin notorious liars, and despise the gremlins for much the same reasons.
Alignment: Tengu tend towards lawfulness and a militaristic neutrality between good and evil - they care for their own, but will trample any who get in their way.
Lands: Tengu make their homes in the cliffs and mountains of northern Shendon, though some can be found in the extreme northwest of the Maratongan range. Isolated aeries can be found in the tallest buildings of Shendoni and Ssarasan cities, and tengu tend to cling together even in the settlements of other races.
Language: Teng is a language of tonal chirps, squawks and screeches, a tongue only the Tengu can speak without specialized training. Many tengu will also speak Shendonese, if only to properly voice threats towards others.
Names: Tengu names are musical and long, more a section of a song than anything else. Like other races with divergent languages and culture, they will adopt a use-name in non-tengu society, preferably one that boasts of their prowess in battle.
Adventurers: Tengu, as obsessed as they are with proving their honor and ability in combat, are naturally drawn to the adventuring profession. They also sport an affection for shiny things and baubles, and enjoy the jewels and coins they can receive as payment or spoils for their work.
Race
Adulthood
Average Lifespan
Average Height
Average Weight
Changelings
16 yrs
75 yrs
5'4"
120 lbs.
Cog
Creation
Theoretically infinite
6'2"
300 lbs.
Deep One
20 yrs
100 yrs
5'6"
140 lbs.
Fiendkin
16 yrs
75 yrs
5'8"
160 lbs.
Gnoll
12 yrs
60 yrs
6'10"
250 lbs.
Gravetouched
16 yrs
150 yrs
5'8"
160 lbs.
Gremlin
18 yrs
90 yrs
4'5"
75 lbs.
Highborn
22 yrs
120 yrs
5'10"
140 lbs.
Jotun
15 yrs
70 yrs
6'2"
200 lbs.
Lizardfolk
12 yrs
60 yrs
6'
250 lbs.
Mantid
10 yrs
50 yrs
6'6"
240 lbs.
Minotaur
14 yrs
65 yrs
6'10"
280 lbs.
Myconid
30 yrs
300 yrs
5'6"
300 lbs.
Orochi
16 yrs
75 yrs
5'6"
140 lbs.
Tengu
15 yrs
70 yrs
5'10"
120 lbs.
Language
One prays in Old Imperial, swears in Jotun, and bargains in Trade. But for love? Why, my friend, you'd be a fool to whisper anything other than Zheph in your paramour's ear.
- Barram, Imperium trader.
Deep Speech
Difficult to speak above water, deep speech is a bubbly, light tongue with a high dependency on vowels. Few consonants in other languages actually see use in Deep Speech, as many of the sounds they make cannot be properly heard when submerged.
Gnollish
Howls, barks, and growls help the gnoll communicate, though they have recognizable words. Gnollish is rough and guttural, but not quite so forceful as Jotun.
Gremlin
Gremlin language sounds like Varoshkan, but no typical Varoshkan will be able to glean the full meaning, as gremlins use elaborate substitution ciphers, and hand signals to deceive onlookers while delivering their true intent in code.
High Avariani
Ostentatious in the utmost, High Avariani is a confusing, looping language, full of roundabout imagery and metaphor. It is often said that High Avariani says in one minute what most of us say in a sentence.
Imperial Trade
The most common tongue on Malmundus. It's the common tongue of the Imperium, as well as the countries formerly under its control (for the most part). Taking loan words from Varoshkan, Zheph, and Low Avariani, most folks understand at least a little of it.
Islander
Islander is a composite language, a creole cobbled together over time from the various native languages of the tribes and clans in the Isles, as well as traders from the Imperium.
Jotun
Harsh and guttural, Jotun is rarely more than a functional language. Poetry and speeches are not written in it, though most words exclaimed when one drops a hammer on one's foot are in Jotun.
Kliktik
The native tongue of the Mantids, Kliktik is extremely difficult for an outsider to learn, as it requires clicking one's mandibles and claws together to make fine points. Though it can be learned (typically, non-mantids cobble together the required sounds by gnashing their teeth or snapping their fingers), most common folk consider it to be insectile gibberish. Kliktik has no alphabet, as mantids do not use a system of writing.
Low Avariani
The common tongue of Avaria, northern Gilner, and some of the Free Nations. Low Avariani pares away the excess of High Avariani while adding hints of Imperial. Low Avariani is an ideal language for story-telling and bawdy tales, ribald without being crass, full of colorful descriptive language without being pretenetious.
Maratongan
The settlers and colonists of Maratongo have been separated from the Imperium for long enough that their language has shifted, though it has remained somewhat similar. Less formal than Old Imperial but not quite as much of a pidgin as Trade, Maratongan is the tongue of choice for the fiercely independent people of the ranges.
Minosian
Minotaurs and few others speak this tongue, a deep, tonal language accented by low rumblings and snorts.
Mycon
Mycon, like Kliktik, is exceptionally difficult to learn, as mycons frequently use bioluminescence and varying scented spores to communicate subtle changes in meaning. Mycon merchants sell translation devices, which are large sacs filled with spores - intrepid linguists place their fingers in notches in the sac and blow to eject specific spores, very much like one would play the bagpipes.
Old Imperial Exacting, stiff, and extremely proper, Old Imperial sees little use outside the Imperium, mostly for official documents and scientific or magical study. The nobility and upper classes of the Imperium (as well as some of the Free Nations) would never deign to be heard speaking Trade, and so Old Imperial sees use there.
Orochii
A sibilant, hissing tongue spoken almost exclusively by the Orochi.
Shendonese
The eastern seaboard of Malmundus, being isolated for so long by the unforgiving desert, has developed its unique tongue nominally based upon Imperial, full of long vowels and tonal-dependent meaning. While an Imperial citizen might pick out a few familiar words, most of the language is quite foreign.
Ssarasan
Restrained, poetic, and given to aphorism, ssarasan is a sage's language, full of rhetorical flourishes. While it is not nearly so drawn out as High Avariani, it is a complicated language to learn.
Teng
The unique speech of the Tengu, it is a tonal, almost song-like language punctuated by shrieks and squawks.
Totectli
The speech of the dragons themselves, or so the lizardfolk maintain. Totectli is difficult for most, though not because of any physical deficiency like those trying to learn Mycon or Kliktik - Totectli combines consonants and sounds that most people find dissonant, even discomforting.
Varoshkan
Full of heavy consonants, Varoshkan is at heart a peasant's language, direct and forthright.
Zheph A flowing, lilting language primarily used by desert nomads and tribes in the east of the Imperium. It sees some use in Shendon and northern Ssarasa.
Alignment: Lawful Good Appearance: Albia appears as a stern yet beautiful angel in full battle regalia, astride a pure white unicorn. Personality: Albia is kind and gentle, but can exhibit a terrible righteous rage when confronted with evil. She is stubborn, even implacably so at times, and when she proclaims a crusade she rarely can be persuaded to reverse it. But when her wrath is not provoked, she is typically quiet and maternal, bubbling over with concern and care for her adherents. Though she is far from egotistical, she believes firmly that her way is the only correct way through life, and that those who choose otherwise are either ignorant or wayward souls, needing to be escorted back to the flock. Dogma: Albia exhorts her followers to spread peace, plenty and kindness, but she's not above extending that peace at the point of a sword - in fact, the military arm of her church can be ruthlessly expansionist. She promotes in a benevolent caste system, with each aspect contributing their work to a greater good. She promotes the development of medicine and the healing arts, and has no particular moratorium against magic as long as it is used for the common good. She is also something of a fertility goddess, at least within the confines of socially-acceptable marriage and family. Followers & Organization: Albia's is an extremely well-organized religion, with clerics and priests being arrayed in a grand hierarchy, the head of which resides in the capital of Avariana. Her religion appeals particularly to the highborn (as it gives them justification for their oppression of the lower classes), as well as nobility around the world. Peasants, though kept low by her church, appreciate her message of hearth and home and the importance of community and family. Expectant mothers in particular call upon her for painless childbirth. Her priests are known as Archons. Relationships: Albia gets along well with Nambi (whom she sees as a mostly benevolent force, if somewhat inconstant) and Zhephara, whose sense of order she appreciates. Byelobog's goals often align with hers, though he is certainly more distant about them. She despises the wanton destruction and slaughter of Yurugu and Agunua, and finds Korgoth, Jax, and Falun much too flighty for her tastes. She appreciates Deimos' respect for the law, if not his more tyrannical tendencies, and sees Papa Gaston as a necessary evil (but one to be thwarted when possible). She has few dealings with Tarowa, and their relationship is tense. But her foe above all others is Meridia, who represents the systematic undermining of everything she holds dear. Portfolio: Valor, civilization, community, medicine, mercy, lawful societies, nobility, marriage, motherhood, courtly love, and the greater good. Domains: Celestial, City, Community, Family, Healing, Hope, Life, Nobility, Renewal
Agunua, the Drowning Tide
Spoiler
Alignment: Chaotic Evil Appearance: Agunua appears as a grand and terrible kraken, flanked by fiendish sharks. Personality: Agunua is half-mad, and it shows. His countenance is terrible and he is flighty in the extreme, changing his mind often. He is as likely to devour a worshipper as he is to grant his boon. He is confident, however, and brooks no contradiction (though he might contradict himself routinely). When lucid, he can be conniving and cunning, exhibiting a calculating intelligence that belies his terrible rages. Dogma: Agunua desires, above all else, the complete and total prostration of all people in front of the might of the sea. This half-mad god is more a pure force of nature than a deity, exulting in storms and disasters. There is little rhyme or reason to his work. He demands the worship, or at least the respect, of all who would traverse the sea. He would see his influence spread wide, and he encourages his followers to raid and pillage in his name. Followers & Organization: Agunua is rarely openly worshipped in civilized lands, but his influence is felt along the coasts, welcome or not. Most port cities will tolerate his worship, but his praises are sung more often in an attempt to ward him off than to request his blessing. His church is often as capricious as he is, taking root in abandoned wharfside warehouses or beachside caves. But other cells put on a civilized front, promoting maritime trade and the education of sailors - the church often offers patronage to explorers and colonists. More dastardly pirates and raiders see him as an ally, an uncaring force that culls the weak and benefits the strong, but nearly all sailors will at least attempt to appease him before setting out on a voyage. His priests are known as Tidesingers. Relationships: Agunua rarely gets along well with other gods, seeing all as fodder for his destructive force. Yurugu, however, he sees more as a rival as an enemy, and they will occasionally collaborate to nefarious ends. Portfolio: The ocean, sailors and pirates, ships, insanity, storms, disaster and destruction. Domains: Blackwater, Destruction, Force, Madness, Ocean, Passion, Storm, Water, Watery Death
Byelebog, the Grand Builder
Spoiler
Alignment: True Neutral Appearance: Byelebog appears as a soot-covered blacksmith, with mithril golems as attendants. Personality: Byelebog is detached and pragmatic, looking upon all works with an objective eye for detail and craftsmanship. He is a deity of few words and rarely intervenes directly. He is content to watch civilization develop, and to subtly encourage the efforts of science and industry. Dogma: Byelebog exhorts his followers to build grand works, whether they be a finely wrought longbow or an ornate castle. He promotes the flow of coin and trade as the wheel upon which civilization turns. Society lives and dies on the trade of goods and services. Followers & Organization: Byelobog is, above all else, the god of the middle class. Craftsmen and merchants everywhere give him praise, hoping that he will bless them with success and wealth. He considers the cogs to be one of Malmundus' finest creations, and is often their patron. His priests are known as Forgetenders. Relationships: Byelobog maintains friendships with Albia and Zhephara, due to their mutual interest in civilized life. He does not often mesh with Yurugu, due to his interest in savage existence, but occasionally collaborates with Agunua when it comes to maritime endeavors. Mostly, Byelobog is detached enough to tolerate most deities. Portfolio: Metalworking, constructs, artisans and merchants, craft, money and trade, wealth, science, and masonry. Domains: Artifice, Commerce, Craft, Creation, Fire, Metal, Trade, Warforged, Wealth
Deimos, the Tyrant King
Spoiler
Alignment: Lawful Evil Appearance: Deimos appears as an imposing man in burnt obsidian armor, riding a chariot led by nightmares. Personality: Deimos is self-possessed and infinitely proud, fully confident in his own inevitable conquest of the entire world. He is a schemer and a Machiavellan conniver in the extreme, ever concocting plots to dominate the people of Malmundus. Dogma: Deimos desire no less than complete dominion over the entire world, and he exhorts his followers to go forth and conquer wherever and whenever possible. He champions the dominance of the weak by the strong, and promotes a clear and distinct hierarchy of slave and master. The poor masses exist to be ruled, and the ruling class deserves its lot by virtue of military might and tight reins on power. He demands respect from his followers for both his superiority as a deity and for the divine right of his chosen tyrants. Followers & Organization: Deimos' followers are found primarily amongst the Imperium. The Imperator himself is a cleric of Deimos, and the religion is the official state religion (though the Imperial Cult is popular amongst the common folk). Dictators and would-be warlords everywhere worship Deimos, as well as slavers and soldiers. Less bloodthirsty adherents appreciate his love of law and order, even if his methods are too draconian for some tastes. His priests are known as Primarchs. Relationships: Deimos dedicates himself first and foremost to the destruction of his hated enemy Falun, whose message of freedom and independence he loathes with every aspect of his divine body. He considers Jax a nuisance to be crushed, and treats most good deities with contempt. He maintains a grudging camaraderie with Zhephara. Portfolio: Conquest, warfare, tactics, fear, tyranny, slavery, domination, and oppression. Domains: Diabolic, Domination, Fear, Hatred, Pride, Summoner, Temptation, Tyrant, War
Falun, the Windrider
Spoiler
Alignment: Chaotic Good Appearance: Falun appears as a teenaged boy atop a giant eagle, with rocs swooping around him. Personality: Falun is cheery and amiable, though he is often hesitant to intervene directly for fear of coddling his worshippers. He is whimsical and often rakish, possessed of an irreverent humor and a general disdain for the status quo. Dogma: Falun believes in the rights of each individual to determine their own destiny, without interference from masters, kings, or gods. New ideas are to be embraced and explored. Falun is also the master of the skies above, and the fickle winds are evidence of his changing favor. Followers & Organization: Falun's church is a loose one, with single priests singing his praises more often than an organization or a codified ministry. Travelers around the world offer prayers to him for safe and fruitful journeys. His operatives are often itinerant, wandering the globe to spread his message of hope and freedom. Though they are often persecuted by the powers that be, Falun works indirectly to ensure their well-being and continued proselytization. Freedom fighters, rebels, and well-meaning anarchists number amongst his worshippers, and most folk with a desire to go their own way in life rather than be dominated by forces out of their control profess their faith in Falun. His priests are known as Messengers. Relationships: Falun and Jax have had a long and fruitful association, both reveling in the pleasures life has to offer. Falun and Deimos are the worst of enemies, however - Falun despises slavery and works to thwart Deimos' efforts at every turn. Portfolio: Freedom, the sky, discovery, wind, rebellion, individualism, speed, travelers and roads. Domains: Air, Celerity, Herald, Liberation, Portal, Sky, Travel, Weather, Windstorm
Jax, the Ever-Changing
Spoiler
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Appearance: Jax appears as a tall, thin wanderer in black leather, his face covered except for his eyes. He always appears alone. Personality: Jax is eternally cheerful, roguish, and quick to showcase his razor-sharp sardonic wit. He is often the knowing fool, professing simplicity while entertaining grand and calculating gambits. He more than any other deity enjoys mingling amongst the common people in disguise, reveling in the base pleasures of life. With few notions of grandeur, he is truly a god of the people, content to share in their pleasures and hardships with a smile on his face. Dogma: Jax encourages his followers to enjoy life while it lasts, as it is fleeting and ephemeral. He supports pleasure in many forms, from righteous exultation to potentially sinful indulgence, though he is loathe to condone violent or destructive behavior. Wine, women (or men) and song are the greatest pleasures one can aspire do. "Do what thou wilt," is his maxim. Followers & Organization: Jax has no formal church, and his priests are little more than carousers and revelers. Still, his worship is common in most areas during festivals and merry-making, and he is at least tolerated if not accepted in all parts of the world. Tricksters, illusionists, and con artists are common adherents, in spirit if not in true faith. His priests are known as Travelers. Relationships: While lawful deities find his frivolity tiring, most deities find him to be a nuisance rather than a nemesis. He maintains excellent working relationships with Falun and Korgoth, and he can at least respect the savage freedom of Agunua and Yurugu, though he does not agree with the violence of their methods. Portfolio: Hedonism, the common folk, enjoyment, chaos, tricksters, deception, lies, and illusion. Domains: Chaos, Charm, Fey, Illusion, Joy, Luck, Pleasure, Transformation, Trickery
Korgoth, the Great Titan
Spoiler
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Appearance: Korgoth appears as an immense bearded giant, with winter wolves at his side. Personality: Boisterous, stubborn, and almost eternally in a state of drunken cheer, Korgoth is truly a god of the people - he entertains little conceit and would be much happier joining his followers in mead halls and on the battlefield rather than lording over them from on high. Dogma: Korgot believes that life is a constant test of strength, whether it be of muscle or wit. The cold winter air weeds out the weak from the strong, and makes men of boys, and so Korgoth is the patron of trials and tribulations. Hardship forges a person, and so Korgoth urges his followers not to shy away from adversity, but to embrace it and overcome it. Followers & Organization: Korgoth sees little formal worship except amongst the Jotun, where he is respected above all others as a testament to strength. While rank-and-file soldiers do not often offer him praise, less-civilized warriors see him as the champion of battle, an eternal testament to the crucible of war. His worship is most common in the northern reaches, where a hard-scrabble sense of survival holds sway. His priests are known as Battlebrothers and Battlesisters. Relationships: Korgoth holds disdain for the stuffy pretensions of lawful deities, and Zhephara's dogmatic adherence to rule and tradition he finds especially abhorrent. He can at least respect Deimos' strength of arms, though he finds slavery distasteful. He gets along well with Falun, Jax, Agunua, and even Yurugu. Violence does not bother him, but he finds that Yurugu's sadistic pleasure in slaughter undermines the point of battle. Portfolio: Battle, strength, independence, self-reliance, winter, frost, barbarians, and alcohol. Domains: Cold, Competition, Courage, Retribution, Revered Ancestor, Rune, Strength, Winter
Meridia, the Queen of Darkness
Spoiler
Alignment: Neutral Evil Appearance: Meridia appears as a dark, shadowy sylph, surrounded by shambling mounds. Personality: Meridia is cold and eerily serene, a goddess of few words yet many threats. She tolerates no weakness and expects her adherents to do the same. She is ruthless and efficient, her actions marked by cruelty and yet also expediency. She wastes nothing and accomplishes much with little. Dogma: Take what you can, and hold it only by your own power. Seize every opportunity and advantage you can, for life is short and fleeting and one must capitalize upon it while it lasts. Darkness and night are the perfect cover for sinister acts. Followers & Organization: Meridia's church works in secret, meeting in ruined temples under the cover of night. Thieves and murderers praise her name, and ask her aid in ensuring that their deeds never come to light. Corrupt nobles seek her help in undoing their rivals, whether through poison, blackmail, or other fell deeds. All things that wish to hide from the sun are considered her followers. Her priests are known as Blackhearts. Relationships: Meridia despises Albia, and works to destroy her efforts at every turn. She is generally opposed to all good gods, but does not discriminate between lawful and chaotic ones. Portfolio: The underground, darkness, decay, oozes and fungi, secrets, betrayal, malevolence, opportunity, calculated evil, sadism, and thievery. Domains: Cavern, Corruption, Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Evil, Ooze, Slime, Shadow
Nambi, the Dream Serpent
Spoiler
Alignment: Neutral Good Appearance: Nambi appears as a shining couatl, with hissing nagas as handmaidens. Personality: Nambi is a mystic deity, speaking in riddles often and rarely stating things directly, preferring to subtly lead her worshippers to the correct conclusions. She is perhaps the wisest and most knowledgeable of all the gods, but dispenses this wisdom in very small doses. Dogma: Magic is one of the greatest tools given to mortals, and its misuse, whether for destructive or selfish ends, is one of the greatest sins possible. As such, Nambi supports the regulation and proper training of all magic-users. She also exhorts her followers to preserve and spread knowledge to all who desire it, making sure that colleges, academies, and other institutes of higher learning gain a foothold in even the most rural societies. Followers & Organization: Nambi's church tasks itself with the oversight and education of mages, and in many cities is the primary sponsor of schools of wizardry. Priests work side by side with mages to ensure that magic is respected and used with care. Clerics of her church operate in a loose hierarchy, with operatives given a certain amount of trust in their duties. While the grand cleric still reserves the right to make final decisions, they rarely need to countermand the acts of their subordinates. Nambi's church also maintains grand libraries and promotes literacy throughout their sphere on influence, and legions of scribes attempt to record and preserve knowledge for future generations. Her priests are known as Magisters. Relationships: Nambi rarely comes into conflict with other deities, since even evil gods know that angering the goddess of magic is a distinctly foolish idea. Portfolio: Magic, spellcasters, the power of the mind, knowledge and revelation, sleep and dreams, and benevolence. Domains: Good, Dream, Knowledge, Magic, Meditation, Mind, Mysticism, Spell
Papa Gaston, Baron of the Crossroads
Spoiler
Alignment: Neutral Evil Appearance: Papa Gaston appears as a smiling lich, laughing heartily next to his ghoulish servants. Personality: Despite his skeletal appearance, Papa Gaston is full of humor and dry, acerbic wit. He has a well-honed sense of irony and the eternal patience of one who knows that eventually, all things will belong to him. Though he is greedy and manipulative, he is hardly destructive - why bother ruining what will soon be yours? Dogma: Papa Gaston is the gatekeeper of the dead, a dull gray realm where his law alone holds sway. He is the judge of all, and doles out justice according to his own whims. He exhorts his followers to respect the power of death, both in terms of it as a tool and a state of being - he considers the undead to be "living" symbols of death's power, his emissaries in the flesh. He instructs his adherents to make the common people fear death, emphasizing the randomness and uncaring nature of it. All are subject to the reaper's blade, and he goes to lengths to ensure that none forget that fact. Followers & Organization: Papa Gaston's worship is widespread but not particularly cohesive; his priests tend to dwell in small cells shared with the undead, both sentient and non. They have a sense of loyalty to other cells, but the hierarchy is defined more by what each individual priest can grab and hold onto rather than any codified structure. In the Dead Isles, he is worshipped as the primary deity, the head of their burgeoning necrocracy. Necromancers, death cultists, and assassins claim him as a patron - the latter especially are a formidable part of his church, as they increase both its material wealth and spread Gaston's dread name. Amongst the common folk, he is invoked to provide safe passage to the afterlife or pleaded with to spare a dying loved-one. Those who wish to prolong their lives beyond the natural length also pray to Papa Gaston to stay his hand, and he frequently does. He is a patient god. He can wait. His priests are known as Keepers. Relationships: Papa Gaston finds little benefit in working with other deities, but he rarely does anything to directly oppose them. He is content to watch his realm swell with souls. Papa Gaston plays the devil's advocate when souls are claimed by his compatriots in his court, and this role has often rubbed other deities the wrong way. Portfolio: Death, disease, murder, the afterlife, jealousy, avarice, selfishness, necromancy and the undead. Domains: Death, Deathbound, Envy, Greed, Necromancer, Pestilence, Planning, Spirit, Undeath
Tarowa, the Earthfather
Spoiler
Alignment: True Neutral Appearance: Tarowa appears as an earth elemental covered in grass, moss, and vines, with dire bears for companions. Personality: Though he seems imposing, Tarowa is a patient and wise god, carefully considering all options and potential impact before making decisions. This can make him seem ponderous and slow, but when he does act, he acts with suddenness and conviction. Dogma: Tarowa instructs his followers to respect both the terrible majesty and the vast bounty of nature, its capacity for creation and destruction, and the influence it holds over all lives on the planet. He holds the concept of balance and neutrality highly, trusting in the self-correcting tendency of nature. He champions moderation in all things: overindulgence now can lead to scarcity later, and although nature will provide, it never hurts to leave a little with which it can actually do so tomorrow. Tarowa believes in renewal and recuperation - leave some fields fallow so that the soil can replenish itself. Followers & Organization: Tarowa's priests meet in loose circles in wilderness areas, each led by a nominal council that gives voice to the concerns of all involved. They are intimately familiar with the common folk, holding vast esteem in the eyes of peasants and those whose livelihood springs forth from the forests, meadows, and mountains. Farmers, hunters, rangers, and druids all hold Tarowa in the highest regard, and it is the rare settlement that looks upon his emissaries with any suspicion. Even the largest cities try to maintain green spaces and respect his clergy, as almost all are dependent on the bounty of nature for their continued survival. His priests are known as Gardeners, and he readily accepts druids as part of his clergy. Relationships: Tarowa maintains civil relations with nearly all his fellow deities, as many of them have vested interests in at least some parts of the natural world. His coolest relations are with Albia, whose championship of civilization he often finds to encroach on the natural world, and with Deimos, whose attempts to impose his will on the entire realm Tarowa finds laughable at best. Portfolio: The earth, beasts, plants, the harvest, plenty, conservation of nature, and growth. Domains: Animal, Balance, Bestial, Earth, Endurance, Feast, Plant, Summer
Totec and Meztli, Children of the Void Beyond
Spoiler
Alignment: Lawful Evil (Totec) and Chaotic Good (Meztli) Appearance: Totec and Meztli appear as grand dragons, one blazing red like the sun and the other pure white like the moon. To the lizardfolk, this is more than symbolism - Totec's transcended form is the sun, and Meztli's the moon. Personality: Totec is aggressive and physical, quick to anger and action, but also driven and a commanding leader. Meztli is quiet and reflective, a calming influence on her paramour. They play off each other constantly, and when they make their countenances known to their people, they rarely appear without the other. Dogma: Totec and Meztli are paradoxical, as diametrically opposed as day and night but both equally integral to lizardfolk society. Lizardfolk don't find this odd in the slightest - Totec holds sway during the day, and is the herald of industriousness and war. He is the crop-grower but also the punisher, the harsh heat of the sun made divine. He gives life but demands it in return - in blood, preferably, either in sacrifice or in ritualized warfare. Meztli, on the other hand, requires less from her worshippers but gives less in return - her presence is appreciated mostly as rest and relief from the sweltering heat of Totec, but promotes inactivity in the cold-blooded lizardfolk. Nighttime is a time of reflection and repose for the lizardfolk, and Meztli is a symbol of gentleness. She is the herald of the stars, as well, and lizardfolk believe that the future can be read in them. To this end, she is the patroness of prophecy amongst the lizardfolk, and as her worship slowly becomes known around the rest of the world, non-reptilian oracles have begun to seek her aid as well. Followers & Organization: Totec and Meztli are almost exclusively lizardfolk deities, their worship being practically unheard of in other parts of the globe, with the exception of the Dead Isles, the Hand of Zuth, and the cosmopolitan city of Argyros. Even there, non-lizardfolk adherents are exceptionally rare. Both are worshipped together despite their drastic alignment difference, and lizardfolk find it extremely odd when outsiders suggest that this is somehow contradictory. Life is full of extremes, after all, and can swing violently from one to the other - why should the gods be any different? Their priests are known as Voidcallers. Relationships: Totec and Meztli have almost no interaction with the other deities, finding them to be alien and strange. Their reactions are often returned in kind. Relations between them are likewise odd - they are husband and wife and both consider themselves loving parents to their children, but like many couples, their ideas of childrearing differ drastically. They have three demi-god children - Atlan (LG), the patron of sorcery and study; Itzli (CE), the patron of assassins, thieves, and darkness; and Teteo (TN), the patron of nature and beasts. Portfolio: Lizardfolk, dragons, astronomy, prophecy, and the sun and the moon. Domains: Destiny, Dragon, Glory, Moon, Oracle, Prophecy, Scalykind, Sun, Time
Yurugu, the Devourer
Spoiler
Alignment: Chaotic Evil Appearance: Yurugu always appears as disgusting, slavering vermin, whether a gigantic multiheaded worm or a collection of writhing maggots in a vaguely humanoid form. Personality: Yurugu is savage and fierce, an eternally-hungering deity with little patience for honeyed entreaties or wordy speeches. He is direct and rash, concerned only with slaking his ineffable lusts. Dogma: The only thing that matters is desire - whether it be for food, sex, rage, slaughter, or anything else. Indulge yourself as often and as deeply as possible, for tomorrow you may be devoured yourself. Give in to your bloodlust, to your bestial nature - for all are beasts at the core, slaves to instinct and to survival. Nothing is forbidden and nothing is discouraged - all pleasures are yours to enjoy. Anyone who tries to stop you, who tries to impose moderation on you, must learn the folly of interfering. Followers & Organization: Yurugu has almost no formal worship - his relationship with his followers is practically on an individual level. His priests are expected to live his tenets by example, and to go out and fulfill their base desires as violently as possible. Some societies worship a less-destructive aspect of Yurugu as a god of the hunt, but these are small, isolated pockets. His priests are known as Dreadmaws. Relationships: Yurugu is despised by most gods as a destroyer and mindless beast of a deity. Portfolio: Slaughter, monsters, hunger, the hunt, sacrifice, excess, sexual perversion and lust, and suffering. Domains: Demonic, Fury, Gluttony, Hunger, Lust, Spite, Suffering, Thirst, Wrath
Zhephara, the Scion of Order
Spoiler
Alignment: Lawful Neutral Appearance: Zhephara appears as a stern desert warrior, kept company by scarab-headed maruts. Personality: Zhephara is forthright and wastes no words, preferring to get to his point as quickly and efficiently as possible. He prefers to counsel his chosen, dispensing it as wisdom rather than command them overtly, but will not hesitate to do so if the situation demands it. He is always honest and true to his word, and offers even his greatest foes a fair chance in conflict. Dogma: Zhephara urges respect for legitimate rulers, long-held traditions, and general order. A person's word is their honor and their bond, and all should be held to it. Zhephara despises deceit of any kind, and encourages his followers to be truthful and forward in all their dealings. He is a constant crusader against indolence and corruption, and his austerity is legendary. Zhephara is not opposed to slavery, as long as slaves are treated with decency - a clear master and servant relationship is desirable. The strong protect the weak, and in turn the weak serve the strong faithfully. Especially in the desert, where he feels most at home, society's survival depends on all doing their part and respecting the order of things. The machine of civilization is far more important than any individual part, and care must be taken to keep it well-oiled and running smoothly. Treachery and insubordination cause the entire endeavor to falter and fail. Followers & Organization: Zhephara's worship is most common in desert regions, though his emphasis on law and order makes him well-regarded in societies across the world. His church is rigid and heavily-structured, with a significant emphasis placed on ritual and tradition. In many smaller villages without formal courts, the priest of Zhephara is the final arbiter in disputes. The military arm of his church is significant, though not as expansionist as others - they respect the sovereignty of nations and other churches, but defend their faith with zeal and fanatic devotion. His priests are known as Prelates. Relationships: Zhephara's respect for the rule of law is paramount, and as such his best allies are Albia and Deimos. He finds Falun's idealism misguided, Jax's frivolity tiring, Korgoth's barbarism pointless, and Yurugu's rampages an outrage to be quashed at every opportunity. Agunua he finds particularly abhorrent. Portfolio: The desert, agreements and accords, asceticism, guardians, laws and contracts, order, inevitability, honor, and truth. Domains: Exorcism, Inquisition, Fate, Law, Pact, Protection, Purification, Sand, Truth
Other Religions
Spoiler
The Way of Zuth Alignment: Lawful Neutral Appearance: Zuth is a philosophy, not a religion, and as such has no representative. Dogma: The Way of Zuth exhorts its followers to perfect themselves in body and mind, to develop their skills in psychic arts, and to maintain perspective on all things. They do not involve themselves in conflicts between good and evil, law and chaos, but prefer to observe and reflect. They believe that all beings have the capacity to ascend to a higher spiritual plane, and use meditation and martial discipline to help achieve such a state. Portfolio: Self-discipline, self-perfection, knowledge, meditation, determinism, and psionics. Followers & Organization: Adherents of Zuth are primarily orochi, deep ones, and Ssarasan fiendkin. They embrace psionic arts as a tool for self-perfection. They are a peaceful philosophy, though they practice martial arts, and readily accept any and all people who wish to learn. They collect in monasteries along the southern peninsula of Ssarasa and the surrounding islands, with their main hierarchy located on the Hand of Zuth. Most monasteries remain in quiet isolation, however, unless instructed otherwise by the head priest. Their priests are known as Wayfarers. Relationships: The Way has no formal allies or enemies amongst the gods, but lawful deities are more apt to embrace it than others. As it is an essentially internal philosophy, it rarely comes into conflict with gods. Domains: Balance, Destiny, Knowledge, Law, Meditation, Mentalism, Mind, Planning.
Geography
Amaranthus
The capital city of the Imperium, Amaranthus is dominated by blood-red spires. Sitting at the heart of a river delta, it is the breadbasket of the Imperium and the seat of the Imperator.
Avaria
Consisting of two main islands off the northern coast of the main continent, Avaria is a land of rolling hills, dense forests, and alabaster towers. This is the home of the highborn, and they take care to ensure that its beauty is preserved.
The Free Nations
Gilner
Gilner is primarily made up of low-lying farmland, full of fields and arable acres. It is primarily inhabited by fiendkin, jotun, and highborn. The eastern half of the nation is separated from Varoshka by a mountain range, and is notably more hostile than the mellow west. Cities on the northern coast are constantly on the watch for Jotun raiders.
Gwazri Plains
The ancestral home of the gnolls, the Gwazri Plains are also home to a few Imperial settlements and a handful of mantid hive-cities in the east.
The Imperium
Having once dominated nearly the entire northern continent, the Imperium has fallen to a shadow of its former self. It now occupies the southern coast of the Inner Sea and a narrow strip of territory extending east towards northern Ssarasa.
The Inner Sea
Novantum
Novantum is the main settlement in Maratongo, a ramshackle city of brick and coarse lumber. It is mainly home to hunters, loggers, and pioneers, and the opportunities for profit and adventure attract races from across the world.
Taras
Shendon
Ssarasa
Ssima
The capital city of Ssarasa, Ssima is a glittering emerald jewel on the coast of the Southern Sea. It sits next to a fetid swamp and a vast jungle.
Tengun
Tengun is the tengu name for the eastern island of Shendon, what they consider their chosen land. It is a harsh, mountainous island with little arable land, but the tengu cultivate what they can. The cliffs and peaks are perfect for their aeries.
Techtotec
Vostok, the Clockwork City
People and Culture
Famous Figures
Aramov
The nominal leader of the Dead Isles, Aramov is a millenia-old lich. He rules the main isle of Lethe with surprising enlightenment for a half-mad dictator, allowing his subjects relative freedom as long as he is left undisturbed to pursue his research into the nature of life and death.
Baron Ossiano
Baron Ossiano (known most frequently as simply "The Baron") is a vampire lord and the ruler of one of the smaller Dead Isles. He has a difficult relationship with Aramov - though he officially recognizes the lich's superiority, his agents work to subvert and disrupt Aramov whenever possible. Ossiano is exceptionally debonair and maintains a highly-civilized veneer when out in public, and the port city he rules reflects this veneer of gentility.
Bartolus
Bartolus is the chief mage of the Imperial court, a clever old man with a penchant for the calling and controlling of extraplanar entities. He has a number of pacts with demonic allies, and does little to hide this. He oversees the Academium Arcanum in Amaranthus.
Dimitroff Stetkovno (deceased)
Dimitroff, a rather diminutive gremlin, was a brilliant inventor and mechanic, specializing in golems and clockwork constructs. His crowning achievement was a completely sentient construct, which he named the cog. In his latter years, he began to work extensively on the transference of souls and personalities into inert metal frames, though the notes that were recovered after his death were fragmented and indecipherable.
Metuus
The Grand Primarch of the church of Deimos, Metuus is a brutal, tyrannical man who nevertheless can be extremely subtle and persuasive. He serves as the chief adviser to the current Imperator, and is widely believed to be the true power behind the throne.
Ophelina Faerendenthia
The current queen of Avaria, Ophelina is a shrewd and careful monarch caught in the unenviable position of having to deal with the newly-independent Gilner. Though she is relatively young, she has proven to be powerful and quite charming at state functions.
The First
Little is known about this figure except that it was the first cog created, imbued with the greatest of Dimitroff Stetkovno's technical brilliance. Hushed whispers in Varoshkan circles say that The First is organizing a systematic genocide of all Varoshkans, especially the gremlins, so that the cogs may claim the land as their own.
Titus Dominius I (deceased)
The first Imperator, Titus Dominius was a bold and powerful fiendkin, with dreams of conquest and power. He worshipped no gods, and instead believed only in the power of himself and his citizens.
Titus Dominius XXII
The current Imperator, Titus ascended to the throne at the tender age of nineteen, ripe for manipulation. Now in his early thirties, he is nonetheless controlled by his advisers and generals. He is notoriously weak-willed, and spends his days indulging in bacchanals of wine and women.
Zuth (deceased)
Zuth was an ancient orochi master of discipline and mental might, and is credited with being the first Malmundian to tap into the potential of psychic power. His philosophy spread throughout the southeastern regions of Malmundus over the course of thousands of years, but he is never worshipped as a god himself.
Timeline
-200,000 Before Imperium - The demon lords come together to create Malmundus and its races. -199,990 B.I. - The demon lords leave Malmundus and seal it from all but their own eyes, each leaving behind one aspect to oversee their people. -180,000 B.I. - The aspects left behind by the demon lords begin to set themselves up as gods. After a few thousand years, their worship is strong enough to actually do so - they become quasi-deities. Their ties to their masters are officially broken, but the demon lords can do nothing - Malmundus is sealed even beyond their power. -120,000 B.I. - The fabled city of Aurum is founded by a peaceful coalition of many races. Thirty thousand years of peace reign, with Aurumites creating wonders of magic and technology. -90,000 B.I. - War breaks out between the lizardfolk and the other races. They eventually call on powerful draconic magic to shatter the main continent and split Techtotec from the landmass. In the resulting cataclysm, Aurum is destroyed and lost in the newly-created Inner Sea. The various peoples who survive disperse throughout the Inner Sea region. Thousands of years of hardship and ignorance follow. -32,000 B.I. - Zuth is born. -31,900 B.I. - Zuth, by now a wizened old man, disappears entirely. His disciplines find no message or sign of him. -20,000 B.I. - Aramov is born in the Dead Isles. Upon his death, he ascends to lichdom. -14,000 B.I. - According to legends, the first king of Avaria unites the Highborn under one rule and leads them to their promised island. They remain isolated for several millenia. -2,000 B.I. - Avaria settles Gilner. -600 B.I. - A group of nomadic fiendkin settle on the southern edge of the Inner Sea. They name their settlement Amaranthus. -34 B.I. - Titus Dominius is born. -5 B.I. - Titus Dominius unites the squabbling fiendkin of the Inner Sea and claims it at his own. 0 B.I. - Titus Dominius declares himself Imperator - the Imperium is founded. 14 After Imperium - War officially breaks out between Avaria and the Imperium. 20 A.I. - Titus Dominius takes ill and dies. The Imperium blames this on Highborn agents. Titus Dominius' son, Titus II, ascends to the throne. 40 A.I. - The colony of Argyros is founded on an island just off the southern coast of the Gwazri plains. Thousands of Imperium slaves are shipped here to work in the silver mines. 67 A.I. - Peace is declared between Avaria and the Imperium, with the Imperium occupying many Avarian territories along the north coast of the Inner Sea and southern Gilner. 75 A.I. - The Imperium reaches its apex - it controls territory from Maratongo to Shendon, from Varoshka to Ssarasa. Avaria and its vassal state Gilner continue to maintain an uneasy peace, marked by intermittent fighting. 90 A.I. - The Imperium founds Novantum along the shores of Lake Toromoa in Maratongo. Lumber and iron begins to flow back along the trade routes to the Imperium. 150 A.I. - The Imperium's extended reach begins to work against it - groups of other races, sick of the iron grip, start to rebel. 170 A.I. - The tengu of the eastern island of Shendon are the first to successfully rebel, driving Imperial forces out of their home. 219 A.I. - Dimitroff Stetkovno is born in Vostok. 230 A.I. - The orochii and common folk of southern Ssarasa rebel against the Imperium; Imperial forces are forced to retreat to the northern half of the peninsula. 250 A.I. - Unrest at home impels the Imperator to call home the troops and commanders stationed at Argyros; the island city never officially declares its independence, but begins to govern itself nonetheless. 265 A.I. - Dimitroff Stetkovno creates the first cog. 275 A.I. - Varoshka contracts Stetkovno to manufacture the cogs as soldiers in their war against the Imperium. 323 A.I. - Stetkovno supposedly dies, but his body is never recovered. His laboratory is pillaged by his rivals, who use his notes to construct cogs of their own. 345 A.I. - Varoshka, aided by its newly constructed soldiers, is able to throw off the constraints of the Imperium once and for all. Cogs are still used as slaves and soldiers. 397 A.I. - The Free Nations are founded by a coalition of city-states attempting to throw off Imperial rule. Tarantum is the nominal leader; it renames itself Taras to symbolize its liberation. Avaria seizes the opportunity to reclaim several territories in southern Gilner; this ignites a rebellion in the protectorate against the highborn. 442 A.I. - Gilner officially declares its independence; a tense truce remains between it and Avaria. 488 A.I. - The current Imperator, Titus XXII, ascends to the throne at only nineteen years old - he is popularly considered an indulgent, ineffective Imperator, a petulant brat in imperial clothing. Metuus, the Grand Primarch of the church of Deimos, solidifies his grip on Imperial rule, "advising" the young Imperator. 492 A.I. - Popular unrest finally results in Varoshka granting official freedom to the cogs. Hundreds of cogs come out of hiding and rejoin Varoshkan society. Manufacturing of new cogs ceases. 500 A.I. - The current era.
It looks good, though so far the Giantkin are OP compared to the others.
__________________
Avapony by Dirtytabs!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiki Snakes
Finding out that the ennui and cynicism of our times is not, after all, an unavoidable unreverseable fate does kind of throw your world-view off, potentially.
Slam attack, 1d4 damage.
Living construct: Immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exuastion, sickened, and energy drain. Gains light fortification, a +2 AC bonus and 5% arcane spell failure. Does not need to eat, sleep or breath. If reduced to -10 HP, the warforged is inert not dead, and does not take additional damage from bleeding out but does take any damage dealt to him. THe warforged does not heal naturally and recieves only half the benefit from healing spells. Blah blah, you know the rest.
At 5HD the warforged gains damage reduction 4/adamantine, which stacks with existing damage reduction of the same type. At 10HD, the warforged is immune to sneak attacks and critical hits. At 15HD the slam damage increases to 2d4 and gains a second slam attack.
Grave touched could be along these lines:
Slam attack, 1d4 damage.
Resist control: +4 bonus against control and turn undead.
Living undead: Immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exuastion, sickened, and energy drain. Gains light fortification, and does not need to eat, sleep or breath. If reduced to -10 HP, the gravetouched is inert not dead, and does not take additional damage from bleeding out but does take any damage dealt to him. Gravetouched do not heal naturally and is healed with inflict spells and harmed with cure spells.
As for special abilities, I'm not sure. I'm thinking either ghoul paralysis or wight energy drain.
Tengu:
2claw attacks, 1d6 damage.
Wings: Tengu gain +10 bonus to jump checks. When falling, the tengu's wings unfurl as a reflexive action whether the tengu is conscious or not, and prevent all falling damage and for every 5 feet fallen they may move 20 feet horizontally but only if conscious with average manueverability. At 5HD the tengu may fly at 20ft speed for a number of rounds equal to 3+constitution bonus, after which time the tengu becomes fatigued. Tengu often combine flight with gliding to extend the distance of their flight. At 10HD the tengu gains a 40ft flight speed. At 15HD the tengu gains 2 rake attacks with its hind claws while flying.
Those are just rough outlines really, hopefully its some help.
Fatigue makes me wax philosophic and/or babble. If I've posted something strange and tangential, that is probably the cause. This entry would be an example.
The fluff for this world is pretty intriguing as scarce as it is, and the completed races are, for the most part, awesome.
The one I found most disappointing though was the Gremlin. With it's racial traits you'd be pretty stupid NOT to play an Illusionist of some kind. The other finished races seem to be much more open to different builds/classes.
Oh wait, no...I only checked the first post, then the last one. I'm a horrible person, there's a reason I never notice thread necromancy, and apparently when I mistake things for it, too.
Nah, it's only three weeks after the last post before it becomes necromancy. I'm pretty sure you're good.
Also, I have some ideas for the Myconid's racial stats: the ability to multiply. As the 5th level ability, try allowing the use of reanimating spores- the same type as mentioned in MM2, though they mature in 1d4 rounds and they fall apart in 1d4 days. For the 10th level ability, perhaps do something with turning a corpse into a plant creature, permanently, the HD of which is based on the HD of the converted creature. It feels nothing special towards the Myconid who created it, so if they want to control it, they have to use Rebuke Plants or some such thing. That could actually make a pretty good level 1 ability. As the level 15 ability, perhaps the ability to take a temporary negative level to create a level 1 character- any class- and then additional negative levels for a corresponding increase in the temporary character's level, but no more than 1/2 the Myconid's total level. After they die, the Myconid loses the negative levels with no penalty- and, if they die while they have another character out, they are reincarnated as that character with no level loss. For the capstone, try the ability to use Fission 3/day. Which could be awesome.[/2cents]
__________________ Xykon avatar by Elagune. Innistrad, coming soon to a D&D 3.5 game near you!
1. Whoese children are the warforged going to be? I'm rather interested in the idea of them as demon-spawn, that's just kinda awesome.
2. Being born of demons I have to ask what race relations will be like? You mentioned they've cast off the dark powers that spawned them, but are they going to be generally xenophobic toward one another?
3. Was it intentional to have the map look similar to Earth, or is that just some coincidence I'm overthinking?
Anyway, keep it up, looks like it'll be great fun. I've been wanting to run a campaign with an abyssal flavor for a while.
1. Whoese children are the warforged going to be? I'm rather interested in the idea of them as demon-spawn, that's just kinda awesome.
2. Being born of demons I have to ask what race relations will be like? You mentioned they've cast off the dark powers that spawned them, but are they going to be generally xenophobic toward one another?
3. Was it intentional to have the map look similar to Earth, or is that just some coincidence I'm overthinking?
Anyway, keep it up, looks like it'll be great fun. I've been wanting to run a campaign with an abyssal flavor for a while.
1. The Warforged do not have an abyssal progenitor, being rather the creation of the gremlins. As the only race truly "native" to the world, they're going to have an interesting role to play. Mostly, I just really like the 'forged, and I wanted to include them somehow.
2. Here's how I see major politics: one major power is the centered republic, which is relatively cosmopolitan and accepting of all races, though predominantly fiendling. However, they are ruthlessly expansionist. The highborn have an island nation that they are quite proud of, but are constantly fighting off incursions from the giantkin to their northeast, while the last major empire is the reptilian one to the south. I would like to move away from racial nations, but some of them demand it. The most human-like races (i.e. graveborn, highborn, fiendling, giantkin, and gremlin) will probably be fairly accepting of each other and perhaps the stranger races, while the likes of gnolls, deep ones, mantids, and lizardfolk will likely have more racially homogenous societies. Changelings infiltrate society where they can, and myconids are underground isolationists, a curiosity on the surface.
3. Intentional, but attempting to move away from it: it provided me with a convenient template, but the final map will be much altered. The gods so far are likewise drawn from real world mythology, until I can suitably alter them.
Made some essential changes to the races. Attempted to "humanize" a few of them, while still retaining their basic theme. World was seeming too kitchen sink-ish, what with a hyena-race, a bird-race, a mantis-race, a snake-race, a lizard-race, a minotaur-race, and a fish-race. Didn't like minotaurs as a race; a bit too specific despite the overwhelming fit with Baphomet. Now sort of a baseline giant/orc/bruiser combo, called Jotun. Gnolls were miscegenated into a beastman race (probably not to Yeenoghu's liking, but it's set thousands of years after the demon lords stopped interfering/caring), giving them a bit more possible variety, while still filling the mobile hit-and-run fighter role. Yuan-ti changed to Scaled Sisters; Lizardfolk broadened to Dracons (would like to play up their theocratic society and worship of dragon gods).
Attempting to maintain a certain degree of familiarity (i.e., elves, dwarves, gnomes, gnolls, yuan-ti and orcs) while still making them unique to the setting. Mostly by playing up their faults.
Still not entirely sold on Scaled Sisters, by the way, though I like the direction they're heading towards in my head. My other idea for Pale Night's chosen was something Far Realm-y, aberrant and weird. Still set on psychic potential (this is my way of attempting to differentiate obyriths from tanar'ri - Dagon, Obox-Ob, and Pale Night's scions all are predisposed to psionics). Perhaps a race descended from mind flayers? Thoughts?
A few changes, crunch-wise too: Jotun's size increases reined in a bit, but they've received increased ability to battle on past the point of death, as it were. Still somewhat stumped on dvergar abilities other than the whole dwarven resilience to magic thing. Would like abilities that make them tankier - possibly scaling natural armor (I would like to take the DR away from them and give it to the warforged). Suggestions?
Also still taking ideas for abilities for races that have not yet been written. Dracons will probably end up with acid-spitting abilities. Tengu natural flight. Changelings shapeshifting abilities. Mantids multiweapon fighting capabilities. Gravetouched will develop undead immunities. None of these are set in stone, though, if you have any other brilliant revelations. Deep ones I am at a loss far so far, and though I like the suggested Myconid abilities, I wouldn't mind hearing a few more ideas for them.
Made some essential changes to the races. Attempted to "humanize" a few of them, while still retaining their basic theme. World was seeming too kitchen sink-ish, what with a hyena-race, a bird-race, a mantis-race, a snake-race, a lizard-race, a minotaur-race, and a fish-race. Didn't like minotaurs as a race; a bit too specific despite the overwhelming fit with Baphomet. Now sort of a baseline giant/orc/bruiser combo, called Jotun. Gnolls were miscegenated into a beastman race (probably not to Yeenoghu's liking, but it's set thousands of years after the demon lords stopped interfering/caring), giving them a bit more possible variety, while still filling the mobile hit-and-run fighter role. Yuan-ti changed to Scaled Sisters; Lizardfolk broadened to Dracons (would like to play up their theocratic society and worship of dragon gods).
Aww... I preferred it more kitchen sink-ish.
I do very much like all the new crunch. Kudos especially on the changes to the Gremlin so that it's more widely applicable to different classes!
Okay, rolled back a few changes, after some thought. Gnolls and Minotaurs just make sense, given their progenitors.
Next question: Deep Ones. Fish people? Squid people? Somewhere in between?
Also, potentially envisioning an E6-E10 range for this. Would like to maintain grit, while still being a bit fantastical. Opinions? So far, my gut is leaning towards E8.
Fatigue makes me wax philosophic and/or babble. If I've posted something strange and tangential, that is probably the cause. This entry would be an example.
For the Deep Ones, you could give them a basic setup for their racial traits and give them a wide selection of first-level racial feats to determine the type of mutation, perhaps. That is, of course, if you're wanting to make them general sea mutants, which would be a pretty interesting race. Of course, you'd have to have a way to distinguish them from everything they might end of resembling, then. (Illithid, sahuagin, kapoacinth, etc...)
I too feel that somewhere in between would be good for 'em, the sea's full of all sorts of crazy ****. Angler fish-folk would be...interesting.
Also, I'm unbelievably glad you're bringin' the gnolls back. :D
I don't know why, but I freaking love gnolls.
Spoiler
EDIT: Another option for the deep ones being to make them as similar to Lovecraft's as possible. :D
__________________
Great thanks to Dirtytabs for that ponytar.
Okay, rolled back a few changes, after some thought. Gnolls and Minotaurs just make sense, given their progenitors.
Next question: Deep Ones. Fish people? Squid people? Somewhere in between?
Also, potentially envisioning an E6-E10 range for this. Would like to maintain grit, while still being a bit fantastical. Opinions? So far, my gut is leaning towards E8.
I liked seeing the Deep Ones as Illithids, but something in between illithid and Davy Jones from Pirates would probably be even more awesome. And the mutation-based racial feats Necro_EX suggested is liquid gold.
Also, can the Minotaur have his Natural Cunning back, please?
RSS Feeds: 
Malmundi (A 3.5 Campaign Setting)
