nikolokolus
Arcane
- Joined
- May 8, 2013
- Messages
- 4,090
This thread is now "closed." If you are participating or following along, go here
(same campaign, same world, different rule system).
(same campaign, same world, different rule system).
Introduction:
I'm going to try and spare everyone playing in this game a lot of unnecessary exposition, but since this is all taking place in an alternate Earth, home-brewed world, a certain amount of setting the stage is unavoidable. I'll post the short version below and provide a link to a couple of documents that highlight some of the broad-stroke details of the world's geography, climate, cultures and gods.
If you need to ask out-of-character questions that aren't directly tied to events happening within the game, please try to remember to post them in the original recruiting thread HERE or at least frame them inside of a "spoiler" tag.
If you need to ask out-of-character questions that aren't directly tied to events happening within the game, please try to remember to post them in the original recruiting thread HERE or at least frame them inside of a "spoiler" tag.
Die Roller & Character Management:
When you roll up your character's attributes use the dice roller at: www.unseenservant.com (click HERE for an in-depth How-to)
Sign up for a free account and create a character linking to campaign ID: 247 I'll repost stat blocks below in the thread so everything is easy to reference in one location; this is going to make keeping track of characters much, much easier. If you need to make edits to your character (like swapping ability points) just let me know via PM so I can go in and review things. Furthermore, whenever I ask for a die roll, you'll be able to roll on-the-fly, but you can also create macros which can be very helpful. The nicest thing is that it keeps an archive of all rolls for every character.
Sign up for a free account and create a character linking to campaign ID: 247 I'll repost stat blocks below in the thread so everything is easy to reference in one location; this is going to make keeping track of characters much, much easier. If you need to make edits to your character (like swapping ability points) just let me know via PM so I can go in and review things. Furthermore, whenever I ask for a die roll, you'll be able to roll on-the-fly, but you can also create macros which can be very helpful. The nicest thing is that it keeps an archive of all rolls for every character.
Rules & Mechanics:
Swords & Wizardry Complete
The house rules I use for S&W are pretty player friendly. Review the linked pdf for specifics, but in general low-level characters are bit more survivable, competent, and versatile than the base game. If people have any strenuous objections to anything, send me a PM; nothing is set in stone.
Setting:
Theia is the known world of an alternate Earth that exists along an uncertain timeline. The world diverges from our own in several key ways:
- The Ice Age never ended.
- Parts of H.P Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and R.E. Howard's mythoi are an inextricable part of the world's cosmology, alongside certain pantheons and deities from Earth's antiquity.
- Over 2,000 years ago something went terribly wrong with the sky. A full solar cycle now takes 1,456 days to complete. The familiar yellow disc of Sol has been replaced with a large, lurid, orange orb and solitary Luna is now accompanied by a fast moving, ruddy-brown satellite known as Phobos.
- Atlantis, Lemuria, Hyperborea and Ultima Thule are (or were) real places.
- Although the continents and geography of Old Earth are different, cultures from antiquity have persisted and flourished; Pseudo-celts, quasi-Hellenes and ersatz Sumerians along with mythical races like Atlanteans, Hyperboreans, and chthonic dwarfs.
You are under no obligation to pick a patron god or pantheon for your character unless you are a Paladin (always Mitra), a Cleric, or a Druid (always Keltic or Kimmerian). In general, most people are polytheistic and worship a number of gods common to their cultural background. Some deities are universal (like the cult of Mitra and the Imperial Cult of the Autarch) and adherents can be found anywhere, while other gods are specific to certain locales (like the patronizing city-state gods of Acadia).
Alignment:
The vast majority of people in the world are Neutral; oblivious or indifferent to any great cosmic struggle between Law and Chaos in higher realities. Describing a character as Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic bespeaks more about their general tendencies and habits of thought than it does their allegiances . . . at least until characters become powerful enough that their actions draw the attention of higher powers.
Alignment:
The vast majority of people in the world are Neutral; oblivious or indifferent to any great cosmic struggle between Law and Chaos in higher realities. Describing a character as Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic bespeaks more about their general tendencies and habits of thought than it does their allegiances . . . at least until characters become powerful enough that their actions draw the attention of higher powers.
Character Creation:
Race & Culture:
Use the house rules section on character creation to help you decide how to flesh out your character. Just remember that certain bog-standard fantasy races like Elves and Half-Elves aren't available, they are replaced by a somewhat analogous race of near-humans called Hyperboreans; a race renowned for their cruelty, decadence, and talent for sorcery. Halflings and Dwarfs are also slightly modified from their well-worn high fantasy tropes; not so much different mechanically, as they are in terms of culture, temperament and history. If you choose to play a human, pick one of the cultural groups listed in the Player's Gazetteer.
A quick synopsis of the various playable human cultures and near-human races available.
Humans:
Characters of 3 to 7 intelligence can only speak their cultural or racial tongue (haltingly and poorly). If Intelligence is 8 or greater and thus the character has additional languages, you are strongly encouraged to pick Illyrian - the lingua franca of Inner Theia, but if you don't want to speak "Common" you are free to do as you wish.
Character Backstories:
Just a sentence or two should suffice. The main thing is to come up with a reason for why your character is suddenly an itinerant who can't hold down a "real" job.
Use the house rules section on character creation to help you decide how to flesh out your character. Just remember that certain bog-standard fantasy races like Elves and Half-Elves aren't available, they are replaced by a somewhat analogous race of near-humans called Hyperboreans; a race renowned for their cruelty, decadence, and talent for sorcery. Halflings and Dwarfs are also slightly modified from their well-worn high fantasy tropes; not so much different mechanically, as they are in terms of culture, temperament and history. If you choose to play a human, pick one of the cultural groups listed in the Player's Gazetteer.
A quick synopsis of the various playable human cultures and near-human races available.
Humans:
- Acadians: Desert dwelling men of the east. Similar to ancient Babylonian culture mixed with Bedouin characteristics, from Earth's antiquity.
- Illyrians: The "common men" of Theia. Illyrians were conquered by their Hyperborean masters thousands of years ago and form the lowest class of citizenry in the Commorian Imperium. Analogous to earth's ancient Hellenic people.
- Kelts: Men of the west. People similar to the ancient Gaels, Britons, and Cyrmru of Bronze Age Europe, but supposes they never succumbed to the conquest of Rome.
- Kimmerians: A barbarous race from the Arran Mountains, who were driven from their home by the Kurgan horde. Their diaspora has scattered their surviving numbers across Theia. Somewhat analogous to the Caucasuses dwelling Cimmerians of Earth's antiquity.
- Kurgans: Nomadic tribes of hunters and herders from the taiga and steppe of the frozen north. Analogous to Earth's Hunnic, Turkic and proto-Slavic peoples from Earth's prehistory. They are probably best known for their use of strange, two-legged, furred lizards for mounts and beasts of burden and their hordes that occasionally erupt from the hinterlands to raid and pillage.
- Stgyians: A lawless, ancient land of vine-choked jungles, crumbling ruins, and dark secrets. There is no earthly analog for this place, its people, or its customs. Native Stygians are dark-skinned jungle dwellers, while the rest of Stygia is composed of foreigners that ply the seas as pirates or are lured by tales of treasure.
- Dwarfs: A stunted, weird folk born from worms of the Underearth. Dwarfs are a sexless (but male appearing) race, bereft of pride, love or joy. The only thing that numbs their spirit is to make war or toil in pursuit of precious metals and gems.
- Halflings: Diminutive, sycophantic vermin is how most people view this race of rat-catchers, midden cleaners and natural thieves.
- Hyperboreans: A fair-haired, fair-skinned race of great stature, long life-span and a dark, sorcerous reputation. A sort of cross between Micheal Moorcock's Melnibonéans and the mythical race described by Herodotus.
Characters of 3 to 7 intelligence can only speak their cultural or racial tongue (haltingly and poorly). If Intelligence is 8 or greater and thus the character has additional languages, you are strongly encouraged to pick Illyrian - the lingua franca of Inner Theia, but if you don't want to speak "Common" you are free to do as you wish.
Character Backstories:
Just a sentence or two should suffice. The main thing is to come up with a reason for why your character is suddenly an itinerant who can't hold down a "real" job.
Starting Point:
A little bit of geographical context that might help with character creation:
The jump-off point for the campaign is near the small port-city Odessos, a semi-autonomous, fortified, trading post of the Commorian Imperium. Odessos sits in a sheltered bay along the western shore of the Aixenos Sea, a large inland body of water at the center of the known world. The city also marks the western edge of Commorium's practical domain; the river Don, that empties into Odessos Bay, forms the unofficial border between Imperial Illyria and Keltic lands of Getae to the north. For further context, travel to the Imperial city of Commorium is a month's journey southeast by caravan, the Kurgan Steppe stretches across unknown distances north of the Aixenos, Acadia lies well east of Commorium, and a couple Dwarfish holdfasts are known to be somewhere southwest in the Haemus Mons.
Odessos is a mixed city, with representatives of just about every race from Inner Theia. Illyrians and Kelts are by far the most common, Kimmerians and Halflings are somewhat uncommon, Kurgan and Acadian's are rare, and Hyperboreans and Dwarfs are very rare (usually outcasts, who have been banished).
The jump-off point for the campaign is near the small port-city Odessos, a semi-autonomous, fortified, trading post of the Commorian Imperium. Odessos sits in a sheltered bay along the western shore of the Aixenos Sea, a large inland body of water at the center of the known world. The city also marks the western edge of Commorium's practical domain; the river Don, that empties into Odessos Bay, forms the unofficial border between Imperial Illyria and Keltic lands of Getae to the north. For further context, travel to the Imperial city of Commorium is a month's journey southeast by caravan, the Kurgan Steppe stretches across unknown distances north of the Aixenos, Acadia lies well east of Commorium, and a couple Dwarfish holdfasts are known to be somewhere southwest in the Haemus Mons.
Odessos is a mixed city, with representatives of just about every race from Inner Theia. Illyrians and Kelts are by far the most common, Kimmerians and Halflings are somewhat uncommon, Kurgan and Acadian's are rare, and Hyperboreans and Dwarfs are very rare (usually outcasts, who have been banished).
Getae - Zelkor's Ferry: Begin at the Beginning
Getae - Zelkor's Ferry: Blessed Dawn
Getae - Zelkor's Landing: The Crossing
Odessos: Ill Met in Odessos
Odessos - Grand Bazaar: Night Bird
Odessos - Grand Bazaar: Everybody's a Critic
Odessos - The Undercity: Flight Into Darkness
Odessos - The Undercity: The Fall of Heron
Odessos - Lowtown: The Broken Anchor
Odessos - Lowtown: Father Inniros
Odessos - Lowtown: The Trial
Odessos - Lowtown: Reunion and Parting
Odessos - Lowtown: The Tower of Koren Ghul
The Tower of Koren Ghul: A Wizard's Sanctuary
Pictland: Into the Wilds
Pictland: The Dolmens
Pictland: Coming to Crannógmere
Pictland: The Big Bad Wolf
Pictland: The Tomb of Ulfheonar
Pictland: The Taking of The Spear
Pictland: The Slaying of Blaidd Mawr
Pictland: The End of King Talorc
Pictland: A Revelation
Getae - Zelkor's Ferry: Blessed Dawn
Getae - Zelkor's Landing: The Crossing
Odessos: Ill Met in Odessos
Odessos - Grand Bazaar: Night Bird
Odessos - Grand Bazaar: Everybody's a Critic
Odessos - The Undercity: Flight Into Darkness
Odessos - The Undercity: The Fall of Heron
Odessos - Lowtown: The Broken Anchor
Odessos - Lowtown: Father Inniros
Odessos - Lowtown: The Trial
Odessos - Lowtown: Reunion and Parting
Odessos - Lowtown: The Tower of Koren Ghul
The Tower of Koren Ghul: A Wizard's Sanctuary
Pictland: Into the Wilds
Pictland: The Dolmens
Pictland: Coming to Crannógmere
Pictland: The Big Bad Wolf
Pictland: The Tomb of Ulfheonar
Pictland: The Taking of The Spear
Pictland: The Slaying of Blaidd Mawr
Pictland: The End of King Talorc
Pictland: A Revelation
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