SHARK
First Post
Greetings!
Have any of you really done wild things with bizarre magic, or terrible technology, or strange combinations that not only push the limits of the rules and or mechanics, but also pose an awesome possiblity of totally transforming the happy little Medieval world into an absolute, magical and technological nightmare?
In my feverish mind, I've wickedly fantasized and carefully wrought such terrible, world-changing concepts in my own campaign world. From a meta-game standpoint, these experiments have been confined to an isolated continent in the campaign world where it serves as a kind of game-preserve and laboratory, a test-bed if you will, for the bizarre nightmares of the gods. I manage it so that I can work with various concepts without necessarily destabilizing the carefully balanced environment of the rest of my campaign world.
On this strange continent, for example, there are some of the following:
(1) The Republic of Zharraghan: A strange Republic, the Republic of Zharraghan is ruled by a noble tribe of Fire Giants, who compete with each other to be elected to the Hydra-Throne. They rule a form of Republican Monarchy, with hereditary Kings that have powers limited by laws, otherwise known as a constitutional monarchy. The Republic of Zharraghan also has the Tower of Steel, and the Tower of Fire, as governing and electoral organizations which administer the various states within the Republic of Zharraghan. The Hydra-Throne is a huge throne of enchanted steel and nickel, that is inlaid with enormous veins of onyx and glowing, fiery rubies. The majestic throne has twelve enormous, squat legs, each with a huge claw of mithril. The throne rests some 18 feet high, and features the serpentine forms of six Hydra heads, all of whom are alive, incredibly ancient, and they all breath fire. They serve not only as guardians of the throne, but also serve as advisors, and also as a form of testing committee for any who thinks they would be "King".
The Tower of Fire is a governing body made up of powerful Half-Dragon/Half-Fiends--a race of people that are descendants from Humans, bred with an imperious, driven family of Red Dragons, and then the offspring were bred with a noble and cunning Pit Fiend, Xianghennar. Some are Half-Dragon/Half-Fiends, while many are solely Half-Dragons. (Half-Dragon/Half-Human) The offspring then have proceeded to form houses, clans, and tribes, and to maintain standard intermarriage with each other. They have become famous for being powerful clerics, and especially wizards, specializing in fire-magics. They are also known to be formidable engineers, and skilled in administration, as well as awesome warriors.
The Tower of Steel, is composed of a highly respected governing body of whose members are a race of Dwarves. These are an unusual race of Dwarves, however. They are a race of Dwarves that have been interbred over the centuries with Earth Elementals. The dramatic result is that of a strange race of Dwarves that have skin that is the color of dark grey granite, with beards and hair the blackest of coal, and eyes of burning, molten mithril. These Dwarves are only slightly taller than standard Dwarves, but also feature several other unique traits. One, is that these Dwarves have molten mithril for blood, and they also enjoy the property of regeneration when touching or being touched by fire. The Dwarven population of the Republic of Zharraghan are famous for being ferocious warriors, powerful clerics, and vastly skilled engineers.
The noble tribe of Fire Giants are themselves an immensely powerful group of clans, many of whom are powerful clerics, and wizards. There is an ancient order of elite Knights which serves the tribe as a whole. These are the Order of the Fiery Dragon. This elite Knight order was established when the world was young, when the tribal-realm of the fire giants were being invaded by an army of righteous and glorious elves, who sought to root the evil fire giants out, and put them all to the sword as servants of Darkness.
The tribe of fire giants had allied themselves with a family of Red Dragons. The family of Red Dragons had sworn an oath to help the fire giants in time of need. The family of Red Dragons honoured their oath, and swept in to attack the hated elves, who initially mocked the dragons. The elves were initially successful, in that after suffering a grevious assault by the family of dragons, in which a whole fleet of elven warships, each packed with hundreds of elven warriors, were engulfed by the searing flames of the dragons, and the elves died in moaning, blackened agony! The elves were terrible and swift in their vengeance, however, and soon a band of elven champions sought out the family of dragons while they rested in their lair. The elven champions managed to kill the ruling mother of the dragon family in a furious assault. The dragon family was then terribly enraged, and annihilated the great elven champions.
The dragons then proceeded to hunt the elves with an insane, all-encompassing obsession. The father dragon, and the two eldest dragon-offspring all perished in the struggle with the elven invaders. There were only two young female twins that survived, and one young male. However, the elven invaders were utterly annihilated. The few remnants fled on enchanted waves under cover of fog and swift-flying winds, back to whatever realm they came from. The dragons did not die in vain, however. The dragons remaining, soon began to insure that their legacy, their eternal hatred, and the blood of their noble ancestors would live on in many forms.
In addition to mating and having dragon families of their own, the two sisters and sole surviving brother began to mate with a powerful tribe of humans that were encountered living on the Plains of Q'innlar. It is from this progeny that arose the race of Half-Dragons, that were then mixed with the Pit Fiend Xiannghennor. It is from these ancient days of sacrifice, glory, and loyalty, that a young band of fire giants that fought in those early battles, were so inspired by the Red Dragons' awesome sacrifice, and terrible courage, that they sought an audience with the surviving dragons not too long after the series of great battles across the land were concluded. In this audience, the young fire giants discussed their plans and ideas with the young dragons. It is from this meeting, and subsequent meetings, that the ancient order of knights were organized. It is from these ancient times of blood and fire that the Order of the Fiery Dragon began its own illustrious history.
The Republic of Zharraghan has developed advanced steels, forging techniques, as well as steam-engines, railroads, and trains. The Republic has gradually, over a period of sustained, progressive research, developed several families of powerful firearms, and different magic weaponry, such as Thunder Hammers, Flame-Pikes, Fire-Bolt Crossbows, and Great Swords of Might. The Republic has over the centuries, spread its railroad out to connect all of the member states, and to allow for not only swift transport of trade goods, and supplies, but most importantly, the transport of armies over long distances.
The Republic of Zharraghan remains a powerful, dominant force in the north-eastern portion of the continent of Nydhran. It's trade networks are extensive, and it's resources are not merely limited to the standard selection of resources that a more mundane kingdom might have access to. This kingdom has access to realms and resources in the deep-earth, and maintains a series of huge, powerful fortress-cities throughout the area under the Ghan-Hei Mountains. There are primal, elemental resources in vast abundance throughout the area, where magical nexus points have been discovered, and harnessed.
(2) The Kingdoms of Dhimmenar: The Kingdoms of the Dhimmenar are a political confederation of tribal kingdoms, all of various names, of surface-dwelling Quaggoth. These Quaggoth are somewhat more intelligent than standard Quaggoth, but with several noticeable differences. The surface-dwelling Quaggoth are not only immune to Cold, but they can breath a blast of frost in combat. They also have razor-sharp, retractable claws.
The Quaggoth rule by hereditary kings, and have alliances of mutual aid with each other. The Quaggoth have learned to make chainmail, standard steel shields, and good steel weapons. They prefer the use of great axes, battle axes, great swords, morningstars, and pole-arms in combat. They maintain large herds of goat, as well as auroch, and hogs. They trade neighboring humanoids and any humans who will trade with them, various meats, and rough natural resources, like timber, furs, and various ores. The Quaggoth also are commonly found hiring out as mercenaries, fighting in wars throughout the continent. They are famous for besides being ferocious berzerkers, the eerie sounding of great auroch horns as they descend from their cold, mist-enshrouded mountains to enage in battle with invaders. The Quaggoths have spread out over several mountain chains, and have gained the broad Churrach-Drann Valley. It is from this boon in resources, that the Quaggoth have come to control a large area, and to maintain their tribal forces in powerful hordes.
There are special societies within the Quaggoth tribes that are highly Psionic, with many strange powers. There are also powerful clerics within Quaggoth society.
(3) The Sarrallion Empire: The Sarrallion Empire is a vast realm ruled from a group of islands that are just off the south-eastern coast of Nydhran. The Sarrallions are a race of humanoid Sea-Lion people. They have brilliant cities of majestic corral, inlaid with crystal, and roofs of shimmering pearl. They have enchanted ships that have great whale flippers, and have tremendous speed. These ships also have many other deadly enchantments, that make the Sarrallions one of the most deadly, if not the premier, naval power in the region.
The Sarrallions have a long and noble heritage. The Sarrallions are ruled by a hereditary, absolute monarch. The King does have various advisory groups, and though the King's power is vast, in practice, there are certain limitations that remain the province of the Guild of Wizards, the dominant religions, and the various Mercantile Guilds. The King is guarded by a palace guard of Sarrallions that are all heroic champions, who have armour of the most vibrant and dazzling corral, inlaid with precious mother-of-pearl, and armed with great enchanted tridents, swords, nets, and harpoons. Some have great halberds, while others have decorative shields of Lightning, and deadly spined assault rods. Some knights also have Shark-Halberds, which are enchanted weapons of great power--they also feature enchanted Shark-heads that move and bite their enemies. These Shark-Halberds are renowned for their Vorpal properties, and lightning quick attacks. The King's palace guard is actually a powerful bodyguard regiment that takes to the field of battle whenever the King goes forth, to do battle against the enemies of the realm. They are excellent warriors, and are renowned swordsmen. They are also skilled wizards, especially with sea-magics. The Sarrallions have designed small squadrons of enchanted submarines, and have other surface-going ships that feature platoons of Griffon-cavalry, able to fly out and attack from the air. The Sarrallions have important alliances with small city states of Storm Giants, who assist the Sarrallions in fortifying their cities, and in different projects, as well as warfare when necessary.
The Sarrallion cities are interwoven with powerful magic, allowing much of the mundane tasks and concerns to be addressed with magical solutions. There is thus a great deal of free time for the average Sarrallion, which has in turn led to high degrees of specialization, and advancement in many areas of magic, scholarship, and technology. The Sarrallions have developed a series of teleportational towers throughout their empire, and even in the colonies. The Sarrallion Empire has also developed Storm-Towers, which are enchanted towers of immense size that not only have the ability to control the weather in an area of the city, but also assist it with powerful magical defenses like hurricanes and streams of lightning. Within each of these towers, there are platoons of amphibious Ogres, who ride trained Behirs. Also inside, are units of magical Golems, and large hives that house Dire Giant Bees. The Storm Towers are traditionally under the command of well-trained clerics, and ferocious templars.
The Sarrallion cities all possess special amphitheaters, where there is an enormous curved wall of shimmering pearl, edged in dark green corral. These walls have subtle runes that glow a bright silver when activated, and they allow for a full visual and auditory presentation to be held, from afar, hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Sarrallion King can use these to speak, and be seen, simultaneously, by up to 10,000 Sarrallion citizens in each amphitheater. There can be any number of such amphitheaters, and they all display the same message or presentation. The Sarrallion King uses this to publicly address the citizens of the empire in a united, and expeditious manner. On occasion, various important nobles and royal bards may also communicate various messages or presentations from such a venue to the citizens.
The Sarrallion Empire has many different trade networks, both by land and by sea, that bring in the profits of a large empire to the throne. The Sarrallions also have several trade alliances with sea-borne kingdoms under the sea, where different aquatic races live. The Sarrallion Empire remains not only wealthy, but very powerful. Between it's enchanted navy, vast resources, and powerful magics, the Sarrallion Empire remains steadfast against any invaders.
____________________________________________________
These are just a few examples of some different ideas, which also develop different lines of technology and magic, and change different game dynamics. What do you think? What kinds of bizarre experiments with these themes have you engaged in?
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Have any of you really done wild things with bizarre magic, or terrible technology, or strange combinations that not only push the limits of the rules and or mechanics, but also pose an awesome possiblity of totally transforming the happy little Medieval world into an absolute, magical and technological nightmare?
In my feverish mind, I've wickedly fantasized and carefully wrought such terrible, world-changing concepts in my own campaign world. From a meta-game standpoint, these experiments have been confined to an isolated continent in the campaign world where it serves as a kind of game-preserve and laboratory, a test-bed if you will, for the bizarre nightmares of the gods. I manage it so that I can work with various concepts without necessarily destabilizing the carefully balanced environment of the rest of my campaign world.
On this strange continent, for example, there are some of the following:
(1) The Republic of Zharraghan: A strange Republic, the Republic of Zharraghan is ruled by a noble tribe of Fire Giants, who compete with each other to be elected to the Hydra-Throne. They rule a form of Republican Monarchy, with hereditary Kings that have powers limited by laws, otherwise known as a constitutional monarchy. The Republic of Zharraghan also has the Tower of Steel, and the Tower of Fire, as governing and electoral organizations which administer the various states within the Republic of Zharraghan. The Hydra-Throne is a huge throne of enchanted steel and nickel, that is inlaid with enormous veins of onyx and glowing, fiery rubies. The majestic throne has twelve enormous, squat legs, each with a huge claw of mithril. The throne rests some 18 feet high, and features the serpentine forms of six Hydra heads, all of whom are alive, incredibly ancient, and they all breath fire. They serve not only as guardians of the throne, but also serve as advisors, and also as a form of testing committee for any who thinks they would be "King".
The Tower of Fire is a governing body made up of powerful Half-Dragon/Half-Fiends--a race of people that are descendants from Humans, bred with an imperious, driven family of Red Dragons, and then the offspring were bred with a noble and cunning Pit Fiend, Xianghennar. Some are Half-Dragon/Half-Fiends, while many are solely Half-Dragons. (Half-Dragon/Half-Human) The offspring then have proceeded to form houses, clans, and tribes, and to maintain standard intermarriage with each other. They have become famous for being powerful clerics, and especially wizards, specializing in fire-magics. They are also known to be formidable engineers, and skilled in administration, as well as awesome warriors.
The Tower of Steel, is composed of a highly respected governing body of whose members are a race of Dwarves. These are an unusual race of Dwarves, however. They are a race of Dwarves that have been interbred over the centuries with Earth Elementals. The dramatic result is that of a strange race of Dwarves that have skin that is the color of dark grey granite, with beards and hair the blackest of coal, and eyes of burning, molten mithril. These Dwarves are only slightly taller than standard Dwarves, but also feature several other unique traits. One, is that these Dwarves have molten mithril for blood, and they also enjoy the property of regeneration when touching or being touched by fire. The Dwarven population of the Republic of Zharraghan are famous for being ferocious warriors, powerful clerics, and vastly skilled engineers.
The noble tribe of Fire Giants are themselves an immensely powerful group of clans, many of whom are powerful clerics, and wizards. There is an ancient order of elite Knights which serves the tribe as a whole. These are the Order of the Fiery Dragon. This elite Knight order was established when the world was young, when the tribal-realm of the fire giants were being invaded by an army of righteous and glorious elves, who sought to root the evil fire giants out, and put them all to the sword as servants of Darkness.
The tribe of fire giants had allied themselves with a family of Red Dragons. The family of Red Dragons had sworn an oath to help the fire giants in time of need. The family of Red Dragons honoured their oath, and swept in to attack the hated elves, who initially mocked the dragons. The elves were initially successful, in that after suffering a grevious assault by the family of dragons, in which a whole fleet of elven warships, each packed with hundreds of elven warriors, were engulfed by the searing flames of the dragons, and the elves died in moaning, blackened agony! The elves were terrible and swift in their vengeance, however, and soon a band of elven champions sought out the family of dragons while they rested in their lair. The elven champions managed to kill the ruling mother of the dragon family in a furious assault. The dragon family was then terribly enraged, and annihilated the great elven champions.
The dragons then proceeded to hunt the elves with an insane, all-encompassing obsession. The father dragon, and the two eldest dragon-offspring all perished in the struggle with the elven invaders. There were only two young female twins that survived, and one young male. However, the elven invaders were utterly annihilated. The few remnants fled on enchanted waves under cover of fog and swift-flying winds, back to whatever realm they came from. The dragons did not die in vain, however. The dragons remaining, soon began to insure that their legacy, their eternal hatred, and the blood of their noble ancestors would live on in many forms.
In addition to mating and having dragon families of their own, the two sisters and sole surviving brother began to mate with a powerful tribe of humans that were encountered living on the Plains of Q'innlar. It is from this progeny that arose the race of Half-Dragons, that were then mixed with the Pit Fiend Xiannghennor. It is from these ancient days of sacrifice, glory, and loyalty, that a young band of fire giants that fought in those early battles, were so inspired by the Red Dragons' awesome sacrifice, and terrible courage, that they sought an audience with the surviving dragons not too long after the series of great battles across the land were concluded. In this audience, the young fire giants discussed their plans and ideas with the young dragons. It is from this meeting, and subsequent meetings, that the ancient order of knights were organized. It is from these ancient times of blood and fire that the Order of the Fiery Dragon began its own illustrious history.
The Republic of Zharraghan has developed advanced steels, forging techniques, as well as steam-engines, railroads, and trains. The Republic has gradually, over a period of sustained, progressive research, developed several families of powerful firearms, and different magic weaponry, such as Thunder Hammers, Flame-Pikes, Fire-Bolt Crossbows, and Great Swords of Might. The Republic has over the centuries, spread its railroad out to connect all of the member states, and to allow for not only swift transport of trade goods, and supplies, but most importantly, the transport of armies over long distances.
The Republic of Zharraghan remains a powerful, dominant force in the north-eastern portion of the continent of Nydhran. It's trade networks are extensive, and it's resources are not merely limited to the standard selection of resources that a more mundane kingdom might have access to. This kingdom has access to realms and resources in the deep-earth, and maintains a series of huge, powerful fortress-cities throughout the area under the Ghan-Hei Mountains. There are primal, elemental resources in vast abundance throughout the area, where magical nexus points have been discovered, and harnessed.
(2) The Kingdoms of Dhimmenar: The Kingdoms of the Dhimmenar are a political confederation of tribal kingdoms, all of various names, of surface-dwelling Quaggoth. These Quaggoth are somewhat more intelligent than standard Quaggoth, but with several noticeable differences. The surface-dwelling Quaggoth are not only immune to Cold, but they can breath a blast of frost in combat. They also have razor-sharp, retractable claws.
The Quaggoth rule by hereditary kings, and have alliances of mutual aid with each other. The Quaggoth have learned to make chainmail, standard steel shields, and good steel weapons. They prefer the use of great axes, battle axes, great swords, morningstars, and pole-arms in combat. They maintain large herds of goat, as well as auroch, and hogs. They trade neighboring humanoids and any humans who will trade with them, various meats, and rough natural resources, like timber, furs, and various ores. The Quaggoth also are commonly found hiring out as mercenaries, fighting in wars throughout the continent. They are famous for besides being ferocious berzerkers, the eerie sounding of great auroch horns as they descend from their cold, mist-enshrouded mountains to enage in battle with invaders. The Quaggoths have spread out over several mountain chains, and have gained the broad Churrach-Drann Valley. It is from this boon in resources, that the Quaggoth have come to control a large area, and to maintain their tribal forces in powerful hordes.
There are special societies within the Quaggoth tribes that are highly Psionic, with many strange powers. There are also powerful clerics within Quaggoth society.
(3) The Sarrallion Empire: The Sarrallion Empire is a vast realm ruled from a group of islands that are just off the south-eastern coast of Nydhran. The Sarrallions are a race of humanoid Sea-Lion people. They have brilliant cities of majestic corral, inlaid with crystal, and roofs of shimmering pearl. They have enchanted ships that have great whale flippers, and have tremendous speed. These ships also have many other deadly enchantments, that make the Sarrallions one of the most deadly, if not the premier, naval power in the region.
The Sarrallions have a long and noble heritage. The Sarrallions are ruled by a hereditary, absolute monarch. The King does have various advisory groups, and though the King's power is vast, in practice, there are certain limitations that remain the province of the Guild of Wizards, the dominant religions, and the various Mercantile Guilds. The King is guarded by a palace guard of Sarrallions that are all heroic champions, who have armour of the most vibrant and dazzling corral, inlaid with precious mother-of-pearl, and armed with great enchanted tridents, swords, nets, and harpoons. Some have great halberds, while others have decorative shields of Lightning, and deadly spined assault rods. Some knights also have Shark-Halberds, which are enchanted weapons of great power--they also feature enchanted Shark-heads that move and bite their enemies. These Shark-Halberds are renowned for their Vorpal properties, and lightning quick attacks. The King's palace guard is actually a powerful bodyguard regiment that takes to the field of battle whenever the King goes forth, to do battle against the enemies of the realm. They are excellent warriors, and are renowned swordsmen. They are also skilled wizards, especially with sea-magics. The Sarrallions have designed small squadrons of enchanted submarines, and have other surface-going ships that feature platoons of Griffon-cavalry, able to fly out and attack from the air. The Sarrallions have important alliances with small city states of Storm Giants, who assist the Sarrallions in fortifying their cities, and in different projects, as well as warfare when necessary.
The Sarrallion cities are interwoven with powerful magic, allowing much of the mundane tasks and concerns to be addressed with magical solutions. There is thus a great deal of free time for the average Sarrallion, which has in turn led to high degrees of specialization, and advancement in many areas of magic, scholarship, and technology. The Sarrallions have developed a series of teleportational towers throughout their empire, and even in the colonies. The Sarrallion Empire has also developed Storm-Towers, which are enchanted towers of immense size that not only have the ability to control the weather in an area of the city, but also assist it with powerful magical defenses like hurricanes and streams of lightning. Within each of these towers, there are platoons of amphibious Ogres, who ride trained Behirs. Also inside, are units of magical Golems, and large hives that house Dire Giant Bees. The Storm Towers are traditionally under the command of well-trained clerics, and ferocious templars.
The Sarrallion cities all possess special amphitheaters, where there is an enormous curved wall of shimmering pearl, edged in dark green corral. These walls have subtle runes that glow a bright silver when activated, and they allow for a full visual and auditory presentation to be held, from afar, hundreds or thousands of miles away. The Sarrallion King can use these to speak, and be seen, simultaneously, by up to 10,000 Sarrallion citizens in each amphitheater. There can be any number of such amphitheaters, and they all display the same message or presentation. The Sarrallion King uses this to publicly address the citizens of the empire in a united, and expeditious manner. On occasion, various important nobles and royal bards may also communicate various messages or presentations from such a venue to the citizens.
The Sarrallion Empire has many different trade networks, both by land and by sea, that bring in the profits of a large empire to the throne. The Sarrallions also have several trade alliances with sea-borne kingdoms under the sea, where different aquatic races live. The Sarrallion Empire remains not only wealthy, but very powerful. Between it's enchanted navy, vast resources, and powerful magics, the Sarrallion Empire remains steadfast against any invaders.
____________________________________________________
These are just a few examples of some different ideas, which also develop different lines of technology and magic, and change different game dynamics. What do you think? What kinds of bizarre experiments with these themes have you engaged in?
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
) hordes of monstrous humanoids.
