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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Viktyr Gehrig" data-source="post: 2620461" data-attributes="member: 9249">I'd been thinking that it's normally distant for lengths of time-- possibly millenia-- and is then close to the idylls for a span of decades before trailing away again.I could spread those decades into a century or two by spreading the idylls out, so that it passes close to one system, and then another, and another, and another. Of course, it also passes close to non-idyllic worlds, and they feel its effects, but they're largely under the Aberrations' radar. Maybe the Elan Traitors are hiding there.I've managed to nail down a few more details:Classes/Races/PHB Stuff:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The list of "standard" races includes all of the races in the PHB, plus Orc and Hobgoblin. I'm thinking that, to qualify as a standard race, a race must have a significant native population on three out of the five idylls.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Non-standard races are definitely allowed-- at least in my games-- but I'm going to place them sparingly, with a mind to where they fit in on other planets. The most common non-standard races are going to be Elan, Lizardfolk, Thri-Kreen, Nezumi, and Kobolds, followed by standard races and reptilians with draconic templates.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Githyanki and Githzerai will probably become major during the first campaign, but are unavailable beforehand.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Classes are pretty open-- the only class I normally allow that doesn't fit this setting is the Favored Soul, because of the remote and possibly non-existent gods. I'm making a good deal of changes to the Cleric and Druid classes, but it shouldn't be difficult to use the standard versions if you prefer.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tainted classes, including Alienist and Warlock, will be available for PC usage. You can be tainted and still heroic. Taint isn't really evil, so much as it is alien and incomprehensible-- though the creatures responsible for spreading the taint are definitely Evil.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Guns will be fairly rare and primarily wielded by Gnomes and Giff-- making most of them the wrong size for the majority of PCs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I don't have any regional feats designed yet, but I'm going to start doing that as soon as I start breaking the races down by planet. There will be special regional feats for Darkworlders and people from the City.</li> </ul>Before I get into regions, I just want to note that I suck at naming things and haven't named anything yet.Civilized Space:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The five idylls-- also called Empire Worlds-- are really the heart of the setting, and I'm probably going to start the first campaign with groundling PCs on and from one of them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Empires have small navies; they're Empires in name only, and don't even control the other planets orbiting their stars.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The majority of defined planets will be in the star systems around the idylls.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Empire Worlds are in an ever-shifting game of brinksmanship and espionage with one another. This generates a lot of work for adventurers.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The City planet is probably the first destination for anyone leaving one of the five Empire Worlds. This means it most likely has a central location, which makes sense for the people who built it. It can't be in the dead-center of the universe, because of the Void-- but it could orbit the Void at about half the distance that each idyll's Sun does.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The City has no star of its own; it relies on ambient heat and magical lights maintained by the city's magewrights. The City was designed to make this as efficient as possible with the assistance of perfectly shaped and placed mirrors.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There is no night-time in the City. It's kept slightly brighter than twilight at all times; natives close their windows to sleep, and Darkworlders wear goggles. People who need more light either make it or buy it.</li> </ul>The Pseudonatural World and the Dark World:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The horrible gas-giant bathes its moon in a pale, sickly light; it isn't bright enough to see by or to trigger Drow light-blindness. Darkworld Humans have the Night-Adapted template from Galactic Races.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Only Aberrations and Outsiders can survive in the Pseudonatural World, because they're immune to Taint. Only Illithids are known to be able to leave it-- and no Elan, Loyal or Traitor, has ever gone there and come back.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Other than being an object of fear, the pseudonatural world doesn't actually do anything. All of the action takes place in the Dark World.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There are no Good-aligned societies on the Dark world. The Gnomes and some of the Humans are Neutral. Good beings either escape or die-- and far more Evil beings escape than Good ones.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The races of the Dark World-- Human, Orc, Drow, Duergar and Svirfneblin-- are embroiled in a five-way genocidal war, though they occasionally form alliances. The Humans and Svirfneblin are generally considered to be allied, but the occasional "unsanctioned" raid occurs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Occasionally, especially when the gas giant is nearing civilized space, the humanoid races declare a truce, both to focus on piracy and to gang-up on the Illithids, who become much more active during these times.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The gas giant's orbit takes it from within a couple days' journey from each of the idylls to a couple years' journey away in its unusual, slow orbit.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The gas giant passes near civilized space for a couple of years out of every two or three centuries, as noted above. It's on its way in now, and will make its closest approach in about three or four years. It's about seven weeks away by ship.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This orbit means that the gas giant is moving fast as hell-- faster than any other celestial body. That means that it goes a very long way out when it leaves.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I know these times are very quick on an astronomical scale; it's intentional, to make sure that short-lived Humans don't forget about the horrors before they come back. At my original numbers, not even Elves would be worrying about the aliens' return.</li> </ul>Frontier Space:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I have next-to-nothing on this, except the idea that there are stranger races to be found in Frontier Space-- despite that most planets are already inhabited by the Standard Races. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Generally, when dealing with non-humanoids, creatures from the Monster Manual are from civilized space; the later the monster book, the further away from civilized space you find them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I am thinking that the bug races are from Frontier Space; native Thri-Kreen were driven to civilized space by the Xixchil, and Dromites are actually a modified servitor race of the Xixchil. Despite being Aberrations, Xixchil are opposed to the pseudonaturals-- because of their inherently irreligious and logical mindset-- and might prove to be a powerful ally against them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I was originally going to put Giff on the African idyll, but I think they might be better in Frontier Space. Because of their inability to use magic, they rely on other races for spelljamming, and they are losing a nasty guerilla war against the savage halflings of their homeworld. They're on their way to becoming the wandering mercenaries of Spelljammer.</li> </ul>Cosmology and Magic:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Incarnum is a major part of how magic works-- it's a component of divine and arcane magic, especially summoning. Most summoning spells are actually conjurations which create "Outsiders" out of incarnum. I may invent some soulmelds which reflect this.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Intelligent conjured creatures reflect the theological beliefs of their conjurers, raising many questions; like most cosmological questions, I have no intention of answering them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Psionics is going to be integral to the setting, though I'm going to try to work out details for removing or ignoring it. Psionics is distinct from every form of magic, and this setting will likely use modifications of the Psionics Are Different variant.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spelljammers tap into the Astral Plane to generate speed-- possibly by ignoring Materal physical/magical laws.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Arcane magic is more Astral than Ethereal, and arcane casters may have an edge in spelljamming. Divine magic draws heavily from the Ethereal, which is a plane of spirits and dreams.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I may or may not keep the Shadow plane, but I intend to allow classes that draw heavily on Shadow</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spells that access the Far Realm are rare and high-level. They're mostly limited to tainted casters, and may even be exclusive to them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Aside from Spelljamming, I have no idea what sort of setting-specific magic I should include.</li> </ul>Pseudonatural Taint:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">This concept is getting far more of my attention than it should-- I don't intend it to dominate the campaign to nearly the extent that it's seeming to.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">As per Oriental Adventures and Unearthed Arcana, Taint acts as a penalty to Constitution and Wisdom. I am thinking of replacing this with Wisdom and all interaction skills.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Taint is not evil. Evil Outsiders have no protection against it, though Outsiders rarely manifest long enough for Taint to become an issue. (They lose any Taint they have when the spell duration ends; rogue Outsiders acquire Taint normally.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Taint is acquired more slowly than in Unearthed Arcana.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Characters can recover from Taint on their own, at the same rate as ability damage, but characters who have been Tainted acquire a Minimum Taint score.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The cosmetic effects of Taint are as disturbing as the OA/UA effects, and almost as unpleasant, but are less disease-like and more mutation-like. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Humanoids who acquire enough Taint become Monstrous Humanoids. Animals become Magical Beasts. Tainted PrCs are all transformational and change the character's creature type to Aberration at 10th level.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Undead and Aberrations are wholly immune to the penalties caused by Taint, but Aberrations automatically qualify for feats and classes with a Taint prerequisite.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Warlocks and Tainted PrCs gain a quality called Taint Resistance, which negates the penalties of a certain amount of taint and gives a bonus to saving throws to resist acquiring more Taint. The apotheosis ability of Tainted PrCs makes characters immune to Taint.</li> </ul>I need to start detailing worlds, especially the idylls, and start hammering out regional feats. I also need to start naming things. I'm also going to look over some of my Spelljammer material, as well as the stuff archived on Beyond the Moons, and start working on the details of spelljamming.</blockquote>

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