D&D 5E Seeking Help/Critique on a Setting

[Beleriphon]

The Father: Most important male in the pantheon, if not the only one. Emphasizing the "women are wiser" aspect of his race, the Father is a lusty, mischievous, carefree trickster spirit. He infuriates his spouse, the Mother, with his moments of laziness, his love of pranks, and his occasional fits of stupidity. But he loves her and is loyal to her, and his romance, passion and genuine care always soothes her temper in the end. Maybe this is too much, but I see him as being both a Love God, a Trickster God and an Adventurer God; haffuns pray to him for success in love, and to keep their marriage passionate, but they also invoke him for festivals, cherish him as their racial hero, and he inspires many haffuns who leave their homes to go adventuring.

I like that one quite a bit, perhaps a jolly fellow not unlike Santa Claus. I'd make sure to include a dotting and protective father aspect as well. One prays to Mother for a safe childbirth, and many children, but you ask Father to wreck holy vengeance is somebody hurts your child.

 

[QuietBrowser]

I like that one quite a bit, perhaps a jolly fellow not unlike Santa Claus. I'd make sure to include a dotting and protective father aspect as well. One prays to Mother for a safe childbirth, and many children, but you ask Father to wreck holy vengeance is somebody hurts your child.

Ooh, that's a really good idea! I won't comment on the resemblance to a certain other vengeful bunny character of animated media, but it really does fit with his role in the pantheon.

Hmm... maybe I've just got Zootopia on the mind, but, what if the "protector role" is divvied up between two gods? Father is basically the "Vengeance God"; when you are hurt, he will wreak a terrible punishment upon the perpetrators, but one of his daughters is the "War God", the champion of the haffun's warriors (such as they are) and the patron of their militias? She's not as powerful as her mother, but every haffun motivated to found, organize or participate in the militia prays to her for the courage, strength and skill to do their duty, even in the face of the temptations to just laze about and enjoy life until danger is upon them, like Father does?

 

[Beleriphon]

Ooh, that's a really good idea! I won't comment on the resemblance to a certain other vengeful bunny character of animated media, but it really does fit with his role in the pantheon.

Hmm... maybe I've just got Zootopia on the mind, but, what if the "protector role" is divvied up between two gods? Father is basically the "Vengeance God"; when you are hurt, he will wreak a terrible punishment upon the perpetrators, but one of his daughters is the "War God", the champion of the haffun's warriors (such as they are) and the patron of their militias? She's not as powerful as her mother, but every haffun motivated to found, organize or participate in the militia prays to her for the courage, strength and skill to do their duty, even in the face of the temptations to just laze about and enjoy life until danger is upon them, like Father does?

I like that idea. A daughter than is proactively protective, while Father is reactive but vastly more dangerous when push comes to shove. It just takes a lot of pushing and shoving to get him to move, being short sighted and lazy.

 

[QuietBrowser]

So, I've not been able to stop thinking about this for a while, and I'm a little worried about the potential offensiveness. Basically, I've been thinking on how a culture of rabbitfolk with certain gender expectations might handle homosexuality and transexuality - an odd thought, I know, but still, I couldn't help it.

In a nut shell, I couldn't shake the thought that homosexuals and transsexuals are accepted amongst haffuns, but that culturally, they are viewed as touched by the Father in his aspect as a trickster - to the point that most haffuns assume any female cleric of the Father is transsexual, even if that's not the case.

Does this make sense, or it is just blatant insensitivity? I don 't want them to be offensive, but they do have some strong gender stereotypes in their culture, and even acceptance for those outside the norm often comes in odd, less than ideal ways...

 

[Beleriphon]

In a nut shell, I couldn't shake the thought that homosexuals and transsexuals are accepted amongst haffuns, but that culturally, they are viewed as touched by the Father in his aspect as a trickster - to the point that most haffuns assume any female cleric of the Father is transsexual, even if that's not the case.

I think its an interesting take on a group of characters.

Does this make sense, or it is just blatant insensitivity? I don 't want them to be offensive, but they do have some strong gender stereotypes in their culture, and even acceptance for those outside the norm often comes in odd, less than ideal ways...

I'd actually not worry about it a whole bunch, I don't think its insensitive, but then I'm hardly the kind of person that needs to worry about such things. I'd suggest that you emphasize these creatures aren't human and rely more on rabbits as your inspiration to make sure that its intentionally setup the way you want. As it stands all you're doing is saying here's how a homosexual or transsexual character would be viewed by haffuns. They don't think it is bad, they just don't understand the nuances of such things.

 

[QuietBrowser]

I think its an interesting take on a group of characters.

I'd actually not worry about it a whole bunch, I don't think its insensitive, but then I'm hardly the kind of person that needs to worry about such things. I'd suggest that you emphasize these creatures aren't human and rely more on rabbits as your inspiration to make sure that its intentionally setup the way you want. As it stands all you're doing is saying here's how a homosexual or transsexual character would be viewed by haffuns. They don't think it is bad, they just don't understand the nuances of such things.

Thank you for the reassurance.

Well... I really don't know what to do now. I was hoping for more commentary on the draft gods, especially the newly revised Haffuns - should I edit that back into that prior post? - but in lieu of that... I don't know what to focus my development skills on now. Any suggestions, anons? Races you want to hear more on? Regions of the world?

I've got so much I could work on I can't pick a target to focus on; any requests or suggestions welcome.

 

[QuietBrowser]

...Gods, it really bugs me when this thread goes silent. Anyway, long story short, there was a ratfolk culture thread on 4chan's /tg/ board, and it actually helped me work out a lot of details for the Quietus' Ratfolk. Can anyone think of any details I'm missing here and really need to address?

* Visually inspired by "Clan Sniek", that infamous furry-made female skaven rogue clan.


* Live on the Isle of Catastrophe, in the middle of the Sea of Destruction. It's a place that can be best described as "Australia and the Mournland had a bastard child that was then used as a dumping ground by the Nazis of Wolfenstein before styling itself after Mad Max".


* They evolves from rats that scavenged in the arcane junkyards and toxic spell dumps of the hobgoblins.


* They hate the hobgoblins, because the hobgobs tried to enslave them.


* Anarchistic scavenger-punk visual & cultural motif.


* Don't take orders well; make great friends, but lousy followers.


* Cheerfully scavenge and reverse-engineer their magitek from hobgoblin magitek.


* General magitek aesthetic is "crazy but effective"; Mad Maxian or Fallout inspired.


* Energy & chemical weaponry is their favorite stuff. Plasma-casters, bile-rifles, flame-pistols, toxin-spewers, If it burns, freezes, melts, poisons or electrocutes somebody, they like it.

>What are their key ideologies?
"Freedom is the right of all beings."
"Do what thou wilt, if it harm none."
"Respect is earned, not given."
"The strong survive, the weak die."


>What kind of family units do they have?
Haven't really decided yet. I'm kind of leaning towards a gender-enforced polygynous structure, or at least the use of communal child-rearing. Not sure if either seed works...


For what its worth, their hobgoblin nemeses practice state-controlled reproduction; they don't get to breed until they're a certain rank, and then there's a council that selects a worthy mate. They stick together until they produce children, and then their fate after that depends on how much the two like each other, and respective influence. Higher ranked hobgobs have more freedom, with some basically having harems or revolving doors of baby-making-buddies.


>Do they have any kind of talent for magic?
Yes. They display strong talents for Sorcery (Wild Magic, Shadow Magic, Storm Magic, Divine Soul) and Teknomancy (Artificer class), some talents for Wizardry (Evocation, Illusion and Bladesinging), and a rare talent for psionics.

>How do they generally feel about races apart from hobgoblins?
Humans - Strong allies, they like humans, even if they think their rules can be kind of stuffy. They also think humans make neat lovers, and can breed true with each other.


Cogsoul Gnomes - They admire the gnomish way with teknomancy, and find they actually have a crazy streak that they really like. They enjoy talking shop with them.


Wildheart Gnomes - Far less interesting than the cogsouls are, and that "protect nature!" schtick of theirs is boring. Still, they're not at open war with each other.


Haffuns (Bunnyfolk) - They're fun to tease, but they respect their skill with rifles, and the two races have a certain empathy for each other. They can even interbreed; such unions usually produce either ratfolk or haffun children in a litter, but a small number of such unions do produce "kangaroo ratfolk" hybrids, which are true-breeding in turn.


Deathtouched - As far as the ratfolk are concerned, these are just extra-exotic humans.


Hutaakans (Jackalfolk) - The only race other than hobgoblins that the ratfolk hate, as a general rule. They're slavers and tyrants who won't even let the dead rest in peace... and the ratfolk normally don't even care about necromancy.


Gnolls - They sympathize with them deeply, and whilst the sheer distance keeps the two races apart, ratfolk who travel to the Dark Continent almost invariably get involved in the gnolls' underground rebellion.

Sun Elves - They think the jungle-dwelling elven amazons are crazy yet awesome. They respect their warrior prowess and their passionate natures, and are gobsmacked by the sheer feral ferocity they can exhibit.


Moon Elves - On the one hand, they admire the mysterious technologies of the lunar-dwelling elves, when they actually get to see it. On the other hand, they're so boring with how they mope and sigh and mourn themselves as dead. Makes the average ratfolk want to slap them and point out that they're still alive.

>If they're bad at following orders, how do they typically decide what to do?



To be more precise, ratfolk will follow a person they respect, but blind obedience is not their thing. You just order a ratfolk to do something, they'll tell you where to shove it.


To earn respect, you gotta show you know your stuff. Given that ratfolk are perhaps the least civilized of the major races, that tends to boil down to stunts and duels - most ritualized posturing, but actual fights to earn command are a fact of life.


That said, trust is a Major Virtue, so once respect is earned, ratfolk usually work together quite seamlessly. There's not the constant backstabbing treachery that you'd see in Skaven, nor the endless jockeying for position you'd see in Orcs.


Still, ratfolk "society" is mostly a loose coalition of roving gangs, united by a common racial enemy. It's anyone's guess at this stage what'll happen to them if the hobgoblins disappear and stop giving them something to unite against. But, hey, the Republic IS naturalizing a growing population of ratfolk, and whilst they always display an individualistic streak, they actually make very good citizens. So long as you keep them away from the head-up-their-arse blueblood types.

>What sort of behaviors are taboo or reprehensible to them?
Betrayal of kin, murdering children, and slavery are pretty much universal taboos. Otherwise, it tends to be matter of "gang culture". One band may shun the use of drugs, another may embrace them as a spiritual tool.


>How are aberrant individuals dealt with?
It depends in part on just how abhorrent the aberrant individual's behavior is. Most petty criminal types are just given a thorough drubbing from their fellows to "encourage" them to straighten out, or ultimately booted out of their gang-pack and forced away to survive if that doesn't work or isn't an option for some reason. More serious crimes are typically punished with scarification (to let other ratfolk know that this one is unwholesome in some way) followed by exile, or death.


It really depends a lot on what they did and the attitude of their gang-pack.


>How do they organize militarily?
Most skaven gang-packs are basically guerrilla warbands, fighting against hobgoblins, monsters or even each other for survival on a daily basis. When grander operations are planned, "bosses" try to coax or command other gang-packs into following their lead.


Basically... they're pretty much either guerrilla warriors or an anarchic horde.


>What sort of cuisine do they enjoy?
Ratfolk are omnivores, and will eat just about anything. Meat is particularly savored, but the race mostly tends to hunt and forage or tend small gardens/orchards. Leafy greens, root vegetables, nuts, berries and fruit make up a significant portion of their diets. They have a tendency towards sweet tooths, and those ratfolk who can access them are crazy for sweet-breads or pastries.

> Are they susceptible to any particular illnesses or ailments?
No; growing up in toxic waste dumps has made them particularly resilient to poison and disease. They can act as carriers for certain arcane plagues, but generally speaking, they shrug off anything nature throws at them in terms of disease.


> Do they have any unique slang or speech patterns?
I... couldn't answer that off the top of my head. I don't really have any ideas for languages. I'm thinking maybe borrowing some quirks from the skaven language, but I don't know about that.


> What manner of drugs are they prone to using?
Arcane drugs distilled from various mutant fungi or alchemical leakage - that is, repurposed toxic waste. These are most commonly inhaled chemical fumes or ingested serums; injections are uncommon, and dried/crystaline drugs are even less common. "Recreational" drugs are typically narcotics, hallucinogens or depressants.


> Is there anything in particular that tends to frighten them?
Loneliness. Like real rats, they're a naturally social species, so whilst they understand and even like privacy, sustained seclusion from others is really grating to them, and suffering from panic attacks when left alone is an uncommon but prominent mental illness.

>How much do they they need to eat or sleep?
Ratfolk metabolisms is definitely higher than humans. They need about a third to a half as much food again as a human on a daily basis for optimum health, and they burn off excess weight quickly. Their sleeping habits are roughly the same as humans, but they tend to take short "rat naps" rather than sleep all in eight hours - though this is more environmental than biological.


>How quickly or completely do they heal from injury?
They heal much faster from injuries, and they're surprisingly hardy. A ratfolk that isn't killed clean or bleeds out will usually recover quite well. Ratfolk also take surprisingly well to biological or even clockwork transplants.


>What is their lifespan and growth rate?
Their lifespan is more or less human-like - averaging about 70 years, but there are arcane ways of supplementing that.


Their growth-rate is... complicated. Ratfolk have a comparatively short "infant" segment to their lifecycle compared to humans; within about 5-6 months, ratfolk infants are moving about on all fours, seemingly indistinguishable from giant rats. By the age of 3, they have the functionality of a 5-year-old child. By 15, they're a physically mature adult, and will stay that way for most of their lives; it's only in the last ten years or so of life that age seems to catch up to ratfolk, leading to them collapsing virtually overnight.


>How quickly do they bear children and how many?
Ratfolk breed quite quickly - a healthy female can have a litter every six months - but their polluted blood leads to an extremely high infant mortality rate. Whilst a typical ratfolk litter is about four to sixteen, the majority of those will either be stillborn or will die within their first three days of life; a typical litter in proper tends to end up as only 1-3 living ratfolk pups.


This is a marked contrast to haffuns, who breed at more or less the same rate, but usually produce litters of 2-6 living young.

 

[QuietBrowser]

I really don't like multi-posting, and I worry about overwelming readers... but, at the same time, I'm afraid of this topic slipping into obscurity. So, I'm going to try and release at least one post of setting-related ideas or problems on a daily basis.


So, since I think Cogsoul Gnomes got a lot of development early on, let's take a look at their cousins.


Wildheart Gnomes:
Having survived the Netherstorm by bonding the forces of nature itself, wildheart gnomes naturally feel a deep empathic bond to the wilderness. This does not mean that they are against using nature - the cycle of life and death is natural itself, after all - but does mean they are opposed to its waste or destruction.


A wildheart gnome would have no problem with a man hunting an animal, or with him claiming a trophy as a reminder of his kill. But what would incense her is if that human simply took their trophy and left the valuable meat, hide and bone to rot in the wilderness. Slaughter is not hunting, and this is the kind of thing that wildheart gnomes oppose.


There are documented historical cases of vengeful gnome clans destroying human families or households that have abused the wilderness, one of the few things that rouses the gnomes to make war on humanity.


As such, whilst hunting is a status symbol for noble families in the Republic, the destructive aspects of the "Great White Hunter" archetype have not taken root in this culture; a hunter may keep the skin and horns for a trophy, but is expected to either eat their kill or give it to people who will make use of it. Many gnomes act as guides or hunter-trappers themselves, seeking to prevent overexploitation.


It's well known that "the bond", the ability of a wildheart gnome to adapt to its environment is something that happens in the early years of its life. However, an adult gnome can also undergo a mystic rite that allows them to readapt to a new environment. This rebirth requires a year-long hibernation, and causes drastic physical and psychological changes; the gnome's old identity becomes little more than hazy memories, and even gender may change. Such a "reborn" gnome is considered to be dead to their former friends and family.


Whilst wildheart gnomes have a reputation for being "primitives" who wield stone or bone weaponry, they are not inherently anti-technology. It's simply that gnomes do not possess the infrastructure to create or support most technologies, and are unlikely to desire such infrastructure if it would harm their wilderness homes. Wildheart gnome smiths do exist, but they mostly work with copper or bronze; metals that don't require the intense heat (and thus extreme fuel consumption) of iron or steel, nor do they require deep, scarring tunnels to find the raw metal.


These gnomes recognize that steel weaponry is useful, but they would rather trade for it than ravage their own homes to make it.


In general, wildheart gnomes live a subsistence-level tribal existence; family groups or lone individuals taking what they need from the land around them and carefully shepherding its restoration in order to ensure there is always food for tomorrow.


All wildheart gnomes are magical in nature. But some are more magical than others, resulting in not only traits unique to each subrace, but also in powers that can be unique to given individuals or clans. One infamous ability is that some of these gnomes have limited shapeshifting, able to assume the form of an inanimate object that blends into their current surrounding - a rock, a stump, a shrub, a mushroom, etcetera.




Forest Gnomes:
The most common of the wildheart gnome subraces, forest gnomes are found throughout the Republic. They are considered by many to be the most magical of their kind, for forest gnomes retain a strong affinity for illusion magic. They use this to ward off threats - mostly predators but also the occasional bandit.


Forest gnomes are not especially adept at climbing, having seemingly forsaken the enhanced mobility of some wildheart gnomish breeds for greater affinity at magic, but they are without a doubt the stealthiest of their race. Even without actively employing magic, forest gnomes can move swiftly and quietly through their woodland homes, leaving no trace and giving no sign as to their presence.


They have a reputation for being some of the most introspective and patient of gnomes; the forest gnome way is to watch, see and think, waiting until just the right moment to act, which fits with their cultural emphasis on stealth. However, they are also considered to be some of the most friendly gnomes; as their forest homes both support larger families and brings them more readily into contact with humans, forest gnomes tend to be more sociable than other wildheart gnomes.


Thats not to say that there aren't shy forest gnomes, but generally, once you befriend one, they are outgoing and compassionate allies who will do whatever they can to help.


Perhaps because of their environment, forest gnomes have a particularly deep affinity for animals. Almost all forest gnomes learn the arts of beastspeech, and it's rare indeed for a forest gnome arcanist to not have a familiar.




Mountain Gnomes:
Hailing predominantly from the World's End Mountains or the Hellfire Crags, mountain gnomes are the strongest and hardiest of the known gnome races. Stereotyped as tough, gruff, no-nonsense and close-lipped, even amongst a species known for its closeness to nature, mountain gnomes are regarded as a people of survivalists.


By gnomish standards, mountain gnomes have a prominent antisocial streak. This most likely stems from their choice of environments; the rugged mountains don't support large populations particularly well, keeping mountain gnomes sparser than their kindred.


Another influence of their surroundings is that whilst wildheart gnomes don't engage in widescale agriculture, mountain gnomes do; carefully encouraging the diversion of mountain streams and the growth of edible plants in areas already predisposed to harbor life, which they use to supplement their diet of hunted meat. Such grove-gardens are very precious to mountain gnomes, and mountain dwelling communities have learned to loudly announce their intentions and only take what they need; despoiling a grove-garden will incur the wrath of its owner.


Mountain gnomes mostly dwell in caves. Those that live on the lower slopes of forested mountains will also set up home under deadfalls or beneath trees, whilst those that live in more barren environments have been known to build cairn-like dwellings out of rock.


The strongest of their kind, mountain gnomes are thusly the heaviest, with even the most wiry of their ilk having dense bones and musculature that helps them to survive. Some mountain gnomes are also known for being quite hefty, or even feeling an instinctive urge to bulk up during autumn for greater protection against the cold.


Perhaps the most distinctive physical trait of the mountain gnomes is that their nails are sharp, pointed, and partially retractile. These talons help them in scaling the heights of their homeland, but also serve as essential natural weapons.




Water Gnomes:
The gnomes who took to life in the water are instantly recognizable, with their inhuman coloration, gills and pronounced webbing between their digits. Indeed, they look so much more inhuman than normal gnomes that some have mistaken them for a seperate species entirely.


Water gnomes are found throughout the Known World, but particularly favor coastal regions and large lakes. There are no major differences between freshwater and saltwater gnomes.


Highly inquisitive by nature, water gnomes frequently interact with others, and are considered much less shy and reclusive than forest gnomes. They can be annoying, but are usually respected, and their warnings are well-respected by sailors and fisherfolk, whom they frequently interact with - or even marry.




Swamp Gnomes:
Perhaps the least is known about this gnomish subrace, whose presence is restricted to the little-explored swamps of the Woundshoal and the marshy regions of Gloomlund.


Whilst mountain gnomes are the strongest, swamp gnomes are the toughest, highly resistant to poison, disease and parasites.


Swamp gnomes sport both small, claw-like nails - too short to serve as weapons - and webbing between their fingers. Unable to breathe water like their aquatic kin, swamp gnomes instead possess an unnatural aptitude for both swimming and climbing, spending their lives moving from the wet marshes beneath to the tall trees above and back.


Despite rumors, swamp gnomes are actually a surprisingly gregarious people. Well aware of how dangerous and gloomy their home is, swamp gnomes respond by being, as a rule, vibrant, chipper people who live each day as if it may be their last.

 

[QuietBrowser]

I had plans to post a great big writeup on Sun Elves today - on the history of their people, of the dangers they face in the Gardens of Zyn, of the Maiden underclass and Mothers and the ever-pregnant Queens, of their efforts at taming the beasts and plants of the savage jungles around them, and the beast-lodges that give rise to strange elfin subraces. But, things got in the way.

So, instead, I'll present two questions that are truly bugging me about the ratfolk.

Firstly; should they have gods of their own?

Secondly; as I've said, the skaven were partial inspiration for them. Thing is, the Skaven are divided into four Great Clans (disease-worshipping Pestilens, mad technomancer Skryre, mad fleshcrafter Moulder, ninja assassin Eshin) as well as the innumerable Warlord Clans. Should I go so far as to borrow inspiration from this social division as well?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

So, instead, I'll present two questions that are truly bugging me about the ratfolk.

Firstly; should they have gods of their own?

I don't see why they would have any truck with gods. They know how they were created, and that there was nothing divine about it.
If they have clerics, they might follow some of the more physical manifestations of divine power, but generally they seem a very grounded race. A ratfolk seeking power from another entity is more likely to be a warlock, but it sounds like they prefer to thrive on their own merits.

Secondly; as I've said, the skaven were partial inspiration for them. Thing is, the Skaven are divided into four Great Clans (disease-worshipping Pestilens, mad technomancer Skryre, mad fleshcrafter Moulder, ninja assassin Eshin) as well as the innumerable Warlord Clans. Should I go so far as to borrow inspiration from this social division as well?

Seems unnecessary. The gang-packs that they live in seem to be the natural unit, and they seem to have a pretty homogeneous culture. They sound like a mix of Skyre attitude and Ork social organisation. Trying to break them down further seems like introducing arbitrary divisions for the sake of it.