Chronicles of Riddick future setting

[dwayne]

Ok hows this

NECROMONGER LORD: the holy half dead
A necromonger lord is an undead being that has been to the undervers and returned, usually a powerful necromonger who’s made the journey and came back as more than what he was.
A necromonger lord appears just as he did before the transformation but darkness seems to fallow him about.
necromonger lord speak Common plus any other languages they knew in life.

CREATING A NECROMONGER LORD
“necromonger lord” is an acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature.
A necromonger lord has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature’s type does not change.
Hit Dice: no change.
Armor Class: no change.
Attack: A necromonger lord has a touch attack that it can use at will. If the base creature can use weapons, the necromonger lord retains this ability. A creature with natural weapons retains those natural weapons. A necromonger lord fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack or its primary natural weapon (if it has any). A necromonger lord armed with a weapon uses its touch or a weapon, as it desires.
Full Attack: A necromonger lord fighting without weapons uses either its touch attack (see above) or its natural weapons (if it has any). If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack along with a touch as a natural secondary attack, provided it has a way to make that attack (either a free hand or a natural weapon that it can use as a secondary attack).
Damage: A necromonger lord without natural weapons has a touch attack that uses negative energy to rip the soul from a living creature; a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 necromonger lord’s HD + necromonger lord’s Cha modifier) will prevent the loss of the soul an instant death.
Special Attacks: A necromonger lord retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described below. Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 necromonger lord’s HD + necromonger lord’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted.
Soul Rip (Ex): at wil A necromonger lord can surround its hands in a nimbus of black flame that remains until he touches someone. A character touched by A necromonger lord (with a melee touch attack roll) must make a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 necromonger lord’s HD + necromonger lord’s Cha modifier) or die instantly.
Special Qualities: A necromonger lord retains all the base creature’s special qualities and gains those described below.
Quickness (Ex): necromonger lords can move at an accelerated rate of movement. The Duration of this effect is 1d4+1 rounds the necromonger lord moves and acts more quickly than normal. This extra speed has several effects. When making a full attack action, a necromonger lord may take one extra full round action. (This effect is not cumulative with similar effects, such as that provided by a weapon of speed,. Example manifesting two powers in a round, two whirlwind attacks or taking a healing injection, move your full movement rate, adjusted, and making a full round of attacks on a subject.)
A necromonger lord gains a +4 bonus on attack rolls and a +4 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses.
All of the necromonger lord’s modes of movement (including land movement, burrow, climb, fly, and swim) increase by 60 feet, to a maximum of 4 times the subject’s normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature’s jumping distance as normal for increased speed.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +6, Dex +6, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +2.
Skills: necromonger lords have a +8 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature + 2.
Allegiances : The undervers, necromongers.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +4.

 

[Mystaros]

Great thread! I really loved CoR, thought it had a lot of potential to be a science fiction classic... if only it had about 10 more minutes of exposition and history and if only the combat scenes had been a bit clearer. The director's cut cleared up a lot of these things (though it created as many questions as it answered, really), and it definitely sounds like I have to pick up the novelization.

Here are some random thoughts I have had on the setting:

This is obviously our own universe, a couple centuries hence... maybe a thousand years or more, even. The planet Crematoria was settled by Russians; you can tell not only by the accents and names of the prison keepers, but also by the writing on the various trappings. That would also explain the strange method of naming, as the original Russian could have been something equivalent to "Crematorium," but it got mistranslated into the galactic common tongue as "Crematoria."

I've read somewhere that there will be at least the four classical Elements of elementals; water, fire, and earth in addition to air. I would say that over time, as humans spread out through the galaxy, they discovered planets that were "elemental nodes" in the old D&D meaning of the term, where the planets were as tightly "connected" to an elemental "verse" as they were to the "prime plane." Humans who settled on those planets either died or gained an elemental template of the apprpriate type, and their offspring were pure-blooded elementals.

The Necromongers (all it is is a fancy way of saying "death dealers," which is what they were) have, in D&D terms, discovered the connection to the Negative Material Plane, thus their powers to ignore pain and wounds.

I've always imagined the Furyian race to be descended from the last, exiled remnants of the United States Marine Corps after the "fall of Old Earth." The settlers concentrated on the martial arts and survivalist capabilities, and thus has Iron Will, +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Wis, and -2 Cha, plus bonuses to various Wis based important skills (like Spot and such) to make up for their general deficiency in overall Wisdom. Before being slaughtered by the Grand Marshall and the Necromongers, Furyians made the best mercenary warriors across the galaxy, sort of like the Swiss in medieval days... and thus the overall negative attitude toward modern "mercs," who are little more than rogues and bounty hunters, not warriors.

But anyhoo, I don't have any of my scribbled notes with me on this holiday trip, so I'll have to dig those out when I get home... after getting and reading the novelization...

 

[PJ-Mason]

I've read somewhere that there will be at least the four classical Elements of elementals; water, fire, and earth in addition to air.

There is a 5th element...Ether.

Some time this week i plan on watching the two DVDs (PB and COR)and take notes while watching them for names, systems, etc. See what i can come up with.

 

[hero4hire]

There is a 5th element...Ether.

Some time this week i plan on watching the two DVDs (PB and COR)and take notes while watching them for names, systems, etc. See what i can come up with.

The cartoon that bridged the movies also had some nifty info.

I hear the video game was chock full of info.

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

Dvayne, thank You for considering my ramblings.

Now we need to create Necromonger Template, here are my proposals for You to judge.

Necromonger, acquired template that can be added to any humanoid creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature.)
A necromonger has all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature’s type does not change.
Hit Dice: no change.
Armor Class: no change.
Attack: A necromonger retains attacks of the base creature.
Full Attack: A necromonger retains attacks of the base creature.
Damage: With weapons or natural attacks.
Special Attacks: A necromonger retains all special attacks of the base creature.
Special Qualities:
Fear is for the weak(Ex): Necromongers do not tolerate fear in any form, and eradicate
weak from their ranks very quickly. Thus all who remain are immune to fear effects and
morale effects.
Pain is delusion(Ex): Necromongers are immune to pain and thus gain DR 3/- and Energy Resistance to all Energy types 3. immune to all pain effects, if not to pain damage that
pass trough Energy Rresistance.
Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Con +2, Cha +2.
Necromongers are fanatical in their devotion and are tough and strong from their constant
martial training. You keep what You kill.
Skills: necromongers have a +4 racial bonus on Listen, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature + 1.
Allegiances : The undervers, necromongers.
Advancement: Like base creature, necromongers have also acces to special Prestige Classes unique for them.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +1.


And for the Prestige classes ... I can see some possibilities:
Necromonger Warrior, who trains his pain immunity to levels that are suprising even for other necromongers. You know ... this guy with the dagger in his back. Waiting for opinions and/or proposals.
Soul Readers, even if these creatures were just sitting in their wait and their role in "CoR" was limited to shouting "Furyan ! He's Furyan !" after scanning Riddick.
These are clearly undead, dwayne ... You have field field for expression.
Spirit Bloodhounds, these funny guys who were tracking Riddick and other people. Their masks disarmed me completly. And I would call this Class Prestige with a big wink. THese guys surely wasn't high in Necromonger social standing.

 

[PJ-Mason]

The cartoon that bridged the movies also had some nifty info.

I hear the video game was chock full of info.

Well anyone with either the cartoon or game can chime in with anything they think is vital.

 

[Falanor]

The Purifier is also Furyan, and it shows a female Furyan (Shirah) in the director's cut... Riddick had an "Eyeshine" surgery done on himself at the Butcher Bay prison. That's the reason for his lowlight vision, and light sensitivity.

It's my opinion that Riddick is essentially a world class athlete. He's fast, tough, and strong. But not as a racial factor, as seen with The Purifier. What I might give them as a "Racial" bonus would be a Will save bonus. "Furyans... Defiant to the end."

According to the game, Escape from Butcher Bay, the eyeshine is not something that he got done. He goes to the surgeon and passes out shortly there after and wakes up with the surgeon looking at him really really shocked about what happened. Also the little voice in his head tells him in the begining that he is not just human.

 

[Psion]

I liked it being cheesy, actually. It felt like some of my early experiences in RPGs, and I think that was the feel Vin Diesel was trying to get across. That and Conan.

My thoughts exactly. CoR struck me as "Conan in space."

Perhaps a few riffs out of conan d20 are in order...

 

[Psion]

According to the game, Escape from Butcher Bay, the eyeshine is not something that he got done. He goes to the surgeon and passes out shortly there after and wakes up with the surgeon looking at him really really shocked about what happened. Also the little voice in his head tells him in the begining that he is not just human.

Aargh! Gnash!

Sometimes I loathe peripheral takes on canon.

 

[PJ-Mason]

Aargh! Gnash!

Sometimes I loathe peripheral takes on canon.

No kidding. I'm not taking anything as higher canon than the movies. feh!
Although i could see Riddick lying about how it happened to appear tougher. He was playing the intimidate card when he explained the eyes in PB. Still, i don't like the "i passed out and all i got were these weird eyes" riff. ick.