Exiles, My Homebrew

[Tolen Mar]

Hiya all. I've been working on a new setting, a homebrew, to play with my friends once they all move back to town (which should happen in the next few weeks). I thought I'd start posting info here, and getting some ideas/feedback. I already mentioned some of this stuff in the thread SciFantasy...it was a couple of weeks ago.

Ok, first off, here's a list of books I plan to use to create this campaign:
3.5 Core books
Arcana Unearthed
Unearthed Arcana
Arsenal
Factory
Complete Book of Eldritch Might
Chaositech
Expanded Psionics Handbook

Within the Unearthed Arcana Book, I am mostly thinking of using the vitality/wounds system, and the class based defense bonus, plus armor as DR. (The latter two options are indirectly suggested in Arsenal and Factory, they wrote their own version of those rules long before Unearthed Arcana Came out.)

I know that there will be a lot of things to consider and work out, since there are so many minor differences here and there through all of those books.

I am going to allow/use other books, but those listed above are the core of the concept I'm working on. (Mostly character resources and monster books.)

Class-wise, I'm going to allow the Druid, Fighter, Ranger, and Rogue from 3.5, the XPH classes, And all of the Arcana Unearthed Classes except Akashics. (They exist, but the players will not be allowed to play one.) Also, Monte Cook's Alternate Bard.

Now, the thinking behind this is to use the AU magic users as the wizardly types, in particular, the magister takes the place of the wizard. For the sorcerer types, I'm going to use psionics. (And drop the psionic template from AU.) You'll notice that there is little in the way of religious classes. I did that on purpose. When I get to telling you about the setting, you'll probably understand better, but right now, I really don't think the classes that get their powers from the gods fits.

Ok, so here we are, ready to start detailing the setting. The exiles are the descendants of a colony ship from earth. In order to get the equivalent of FTL to work, science had to be blended with technology. Unfortunatly, when the jumpgate opened, it smashed the ship (named Argosy), and the backwash destroyed earth. Only those aboard the now crippled Argosy were left. Once the jump finished, they were seriously off-course, with nothing they could about it. The ship crash-landed on a more or less primitive world.

By that I mean that it resembles pretty much any other standard DnD world (Elves, Dwarves, etc...).

ok, anywhere from 400 to 100 years has passed (I'm not sure how much is necesary yet). The Exiles have built Argosy city atop a ridge in the midst of Elven held territory. They have found that magic flows even more powerfully and easily on this world than it ever did on earth, so technology has taken a decidely arcane direction. (Most tech comes from Arsenal and Factory). Trade has been established with many of the 'Primitives" (any non-human race). However, there are several groups of primitives that wouls like to see all of the good guys destroyed (as usual).

Within the time period the exiles have been on this new world, several religions have developed. The city is splintered into areas held by factions each related to a different religion. Now, there is very little in the way of a pantheon. That does not mean, however, that there is no religion.

The pure-techs beleive that God punished mankind not for reaching too far with his technology, but for mixing it with arcane energy "dealing with devils."

The Argosian theocracy is the major religious power in the city, made up of people who beleive that there is nothing wrong with arcane tech, and that God had simply decided to end the cruelty and violence of Earth (aka, the Noah's Ark idea). They beleive that they have been given this new world to conquer.

The Priory of the Fallen beleive that magic and tech are both evil, and have sworn off the use of both. They are hardworking people who aren't afraid of using the arms and hands God gave them, they need nothing else.

The Aruspex Guild is made up of Clairvoyants, Seers, and so forth, and provide the Argosian Theocracy with its "thought Police" (I'll need a knew name for that but you know what they are now), who work like the inquisition to root out dissidents.

The Wardens of the Wall are a knightly order who man the outpost stations Argosy has set up. They guard against incursions by the primitives, and act as general police within Argosy limits.

The Theocratic Knights are basically the color guard for the theocracy.

At some point after the landing, there was a schism. Several religious leaders took their faithful and founded similar cities after long pilgrimages. One in particular came to rest atop a volcano that turned out to be a fountain of chaos. After decades or centuries, the current ruler has outfitted his troops with twisted versions of the technology Argosy uses (Chaoistech).

anyway, thats a very brief and basic tour of what I've been working on. More will follow as I get it written up, so let the comments and questions begin!

 

[Turanil]

How these people do know that the Earth has been destroyed? As I understand, they "jumped" and came here with no hope of coming back. My suggestion would be that Earth is still okay, but since the jump-gate provoked a disaster, they didn't try it for a very long time, and believed that the ship was destroyed, plus they wouldn't know where it went. With this, you can have a new faction in fact humans coming from earth, using a pure 100% technology, etc. (more of this idea, just get a look at the Amethyst setting: link into ly signature).

Otherwise, I would make a clear difference between sorcery / psionics (i.e.: an individual with great powers but still living in medieval times), and the few cities with technology (i.e.: looking like 22th century, with flying vehicles, etc.). They would also have mecha... (see d20 mecha maybe, it's a pdf at rpgnow).

I would begin story with PCs from medieval origins, who are told these cities (of technology) are great evil - dark magic, etc. Then, as campaign progress, the players would understand that this is instead technology.

 

[Tolen Mar]

As it stands, the story has them able to watch the wave pass over them and hit earth. No, they don't know for sure its destroyed, but the odds are against it surviving (after all, most of the people who do know about this kind of thing were still in command central. Not many of the designers go up with the ship).

On the other hand, I have had thoughts about that twist as well. I was toying with one group who beleives its their destiny to find a way back to prove their worthiness. Its also a possibility that another ship from the earth (after a lengthy rebuild) finally finds its way to see about the colony ship. That would be a possible event for much later in the campaign.

I hadn't gotten so far as deciding for sure where the PC's would start, but as I was planning on the humans in a strange world it almost had to be within one of the cities. To do it from the other direction (natives warned against the magic of the cities), the other races would suddenly be allowed.

My first instinct was to restrict it to humans and start them off in Argosy City. I would have focused on urban adventures for a while, learning how widespread the corruption had gotten long before having them find out much about the primitive threat to the West. It would end in a Big Climactic Battle (TM) against the forces of the troll, bugbears, goblins, and all the chaositech forces. Assuming of course, the internal strife doesn't tear the city apart before then.

Anyway, more info will be forthcoming as I get it written up.

 

[skippy_the_witch]

You seem to be creating a campaign similar to mine with a mix of archaic weaponry and technomagical weapons and armor. For pure survivability, you need to use the ARSENAL optional DR rules. BUT, if you do that, then you will have the technomagical characters walking around in armored clothing that will stop most dagger thrusts (armored cloths level III has DR 3). Those characters wearing REAL technomagical armor will easily be able to shrug off most sword blows and arrows. My solution is to use both AC and DR, depending upon type of attack.

My justification for it is this, the technomagical society developed magic energy disipating materials, similar to what ballistic cloth in modern body armor does against bullets. Thus, technomagical armors act as DR against magic and technomagic attacks. But, these materials are also tough, so are good at deflecting normal attacks, like regular archaic armor.

I have been playtesting this for about six months now, and it seems to be working. It doesn't even add too much to the necessary book keeping.

First, all characters and monsters get an AC "class" bonus, because critters and people of the Cursed Earth are tougher then the average bears (see ARSENAL ).

Second, regular armor from the Wild (i.e. standard 3.5 DND armor) is treated like normal, just giving AC bonus to all attacks, but no DR.

Technomagical Armor gives an AC bonus against regular archaic weapon attacks, OR gives DR against magical and technomagical attacks. While this sounds like a lot of book keeping, it really isn't, since when Technomagical Armor is being used for DR, the attack is effectively a "touch" attack, a number that is already noted. The ARSENAL book lists different AC and DR values for technomagical armors.

Creatures with Natural Armor are either treated like regular armor (if it is a natural animal like a rhino) or technomagical armor (if it is a magical beast). Natural armor (like stone skin) and armor bonuses (like Mage Armor) given by spells are treated as technomagical armor.

Lastly, the beings of the Wild (especially the halflings and druids) have developed special forms of archaic armor that mimic the DR capability of technomagical armors against magic. This is due to special alchemical processing of materials and hides harvested from magical plants and beasts, i.e. a suit of leather armor made from Wyvern hide. These archaic armors are treated as technomagical armors against magic attacks, with their AC armor bonus being instead considered DR.

Like I said, it sounds much more complex then it is actually working out to be. It has already saved the life of one of the players, when he got hit with blaster fire, and would have died without the DR. Remember, a heavy blast pistol can be set to do up to 5d6 with each shot and a few of the swamp goblins they have been fighting are also armed with such.

skippy
GM of The Cursed Earth

 

[Tolen Mar]

My solution is to use both AC and DR, depending upon type of attack.

So let me be sure I understand what you are saying.

Everyone Gets a Class Based Bonus to AC (Which I was doing)
Regular 3.5 Armor is AC only (I.e., primitive armor)
Technomagic armor gives AC only if its an archaic attack (sword)
Technomagic armor gives DR only if its a technomagic or magic attack (Blaster)

Is that what you meant? It almost sounds (the way you wrote it) that when you get technomagic armor you have to choose one or the other.

I was going to use the Class bonus and armor as DR rules from Unearthed Arcana (actually, I still have to compare the rules in UA and Arsenal to make firm choice) just in general, and at the same time (Armor gives some AC and some DR) but doing it this way gives me another way to differentiate the various kinds of tech between groups. I like it.

On another note, its good to see so many around who have Arsenal and Factory. Normally when I mention it to my online buddies, I get blank stares, or "never heard of it", or "Why not just use Urban Arcana?" I thought I was the only wierdo who'd bought them.

 

[skippy_the_witch]

So let me be sure I understand what you are saying.

Everyone Gets a Class Based Bonus to AC (Which I was doing)
Regular 3.5 Armor is AC only (I.e., primitive armor)
Technomagic armor gives AC only if its an archaic attack (sword)
Technomagic armor gives DR only if its a technomagic or magic attack (Blaster)

Is that what you meant? It almost sounds (the way you wrote it) that when you get technomagic armor you have to choose one or the other.

That is exactly what I meant. A wearer of technomagical armor does not get a choice, it acts as AC vs certain types of attacks and DR vs other types.

By the way, for those wierd exceptions (such as a flaming sword), my ruling is also simple, it works based off the BASE WEAPON and what type of energy enhancement it has. Thus a flaming sword is treated as a sword, while a Flash Sword (see my post on Technomagical Force Weapons) would be treated as a technomagic attack, at least when activated (an unpowered Flash Sword is just a fancy sword).

While this isn't as logical, it does maintain game balance, as a flaming weapon is only adding an additional 1d6 flame damage, while a flash weapon can add up to 3d6 damage (even more if it is a hellfire weapon). Or, for those only thinking of technomagical firearms, a flaming bow only adds 1d6 to the damage while a blazer heavy pistol can do 5d6.

One key that I have found is to also allow your non-technomagical characters and monsters to have developed sophisticated yet simple ways to mimic technomagical armors, such as alchemical coatings, alloys etc. This helps restore some balance and giving the archaic players a few more options, but the technomagical armor will still be lighter, have a higher AC, more flexible (i.e. higher dex bonus/lower armor penalty/lower spell failure), then comparable archaic armors.

I really like what I have read so far about Exiles. You've got some really cool ideas.

skippy
GM of The Cursed Earth

 

[Tolen Mar]

Ok, here is a rough first draft of the intro to my campaign, more will follow as I get it typed up.

We are Human…

…And we are not of this world. Despite our adaptations, despite our conquests, the primitives will never let us forget that simple fact.

Not that we ever could. We did not choose this world. Our ship, the Argosy, was the pinnacle of mankind’s power. With it, and others like it, we could project our presence throughout the known universe. Our scientists had discovered the Ether Realm, hyperspace to you and me. Not truly magic, nor exactly science, it allowed our ships to move instantly to any star we wished to visit. If our ancestors had known that the gates to the Ether realm, once open, swung both ways…

The cataclysm happened almost immediately. The Argosy was the first ship built, one of only three, though many more were planned, and several were being assembled in their orbital cradles. The experiments that showed us the possibility of travel worked by opening a portal to a different dimension, the Ether Realm, the realm of dreams or nightmares. It appeared perfectly safe, and we built a ship that could open a portal large enough…at least, larger than ever before. Our scientists, and sorcerers scrambled to be aboard that ship when it left earth. In fairness, a lottery was devised, less than half of 1 percent of the population were drawn. My ancestors.

Amid fanfare and celebration, the Argosy left earth orbit. At the prescribed safe distance, we engaged our Ether drives, a process that could not be stopped once started. The portal opened, and the Argosy, protected by the drive field lay witness as the energies built for travel. Those aboard the Argosy were forced to watch, in horror, as the cataclysm occurred. Waves of violet energy poured past the ship. They hit the moon, and smashed it into atoms. Nothing could protect anyone except the Ether drive. The crew watched as the wave pounded earth, leaving a burnt shell of a world. All but a handful of humans died in an instant.

Then the drive engaged. And for the Argosy, Earth was no more.

* * *

No one is certain exactly what happened. The religious among the crew claimed it was God’s punishment for tampering with the natural order; retribution for opening the doors to heaven. The survivors had to learn to live with the fact that they were the only ones left.

And then the Ether drives disengaged. They had burnt out. Apparently the furnaces of Ether space were too much for it. At any rate, it was too soon. The Argosy was nowhere near the chosen destination. Instead, the closest place to land the crippled ship was here: a world called Arran.

* * *

The ship didn’t land, so much as crash. Many more died. Life was rough for those first few unwilling colonists. The environment was difficult, though it could support our kind of life. Few of our leaders survived. Of those, most were religious zealots who swore that our blending of technology with arcane arts was what led to our downfall. They banned the practice of magical theory, which while difficult on earth, became commonplace here. On earth, it took decades of study; on Arran, one could learn to use magic almost as easily as one learned their name.

There was an uprising, and the Church of Technology was overthrown. They are still around, but lack the funds to be a true power. Other religions exist, of course. You can see their members wandering around with their robes and mystical gestures.

Now, the Theocracy of Argosy holds power. They freely spread the benefits of technology. They teach their laws to all who’ll listen, and of course, they rule Argosy City. Their order has made a pact, some say, with the darkness. They say that thanks to that pact, we are allowed to live.

But it is a hollow life. The human body was not made to live in an environment like this, awash with magical energies. That perhaps is the cruelest trick played on us by the nature of this world. We will live forever (at least, it is assumed so), but the body continues to decay, as does the mind. The oldest living man is Marinek. He lives in the Citadel at the center of Argosy City. They keep his body from decaying away deep within that tower. He was on the Argosy when it fell from the sky. He is over four hundred years old, born on Earth before the cataclysm. The Theocracy treats him as a saint. His mind is gone, and his body crumbles more every day. Marinek is the only one who has not been forced to undergo the Talak ritual. The Talak ritual releases the mind to travel the Ether Realm without the restraints of a human body.

Call it what you will, it’s murder or suicide. Most avoid the ceremony until well into their second century, a few held out until after their third. But everyone accepts their fate once the mind is gone, and body too weak to move.

* * *

That is why I look at the stars every night, my pupils. I wonder and dream what it must be like to have lived on a world full of innocence, a world where death is a natural part of life. I am getting old. I will soon accept the ritual and move on. But at least you understand where we came from. God alone knows where we are going.

The final recorded journal entry of
Expositor Arena Pasquale
Two days prior to her Talak ritual,
AC 431, Mekana 5th.

 

[Tolen Mar]

Humanity’s Past

It was an age of prosperity, but it had been hard to achieve. In the late twenty-first century, disease and starvation were rampant. The world had outgrown its meager limits. Science had hit a wall. There was nothing more that could be done. The diseases proved unstoppable, killing vast numbers at a whim. Farmland was being swallowed up by cities that devoured their very livelihood. Most governments wanted to relieve the pressure through space colonization, but any trip was a years-long affair, and no one had broken the light-speed limit. In the end, like always, it was the wealthy that prospered. As long as you had money, you could buy the food you needed, despite the inflation rates. Which, as always, meant that the poorer became poorer.

Then came the great plague. In 2078, a super plague was born that methodically worked its way from country to country, and city to city. Only those who could lock themselves in their glass and steel towers survived unscathed.

The disaster spawned a new religious fervor. The streets filled with preachers and shamans, monks, and druids. Each one proclaimed much the same thing: Humanity was being punished for stretching beyond his reach. The only thing that varied was their dogma. Each faith proclaimed that only by converting, would one be allowed to live. Millions began to worship again.
However, faith in God (or gods, depending on the religion) was not the only answer for some. A small group calling themselves the ‘alchemists’ began to research the ancient documents from as many pagan sources as they could find. The alchemists were the first to unlock the secrets of magic locked away since the dark ages, when the inquisition burned all magic users as witches and buried any evidence that they had ever had power. The alchemists discovered a way to use magic to heal disease, and the super plague was stopped. By tapping into the natural magical field of earth, they were able to provide food in plenty for all. The rich stopped getting richer, and the poor flourished.

With the newfound resources, mankind did not need to bicker or fight as often. Differences were resolved, wars reduced in frequency. It was age of prosperity, but it would not last.

Science turned to magic as a means to resolve problems that had stymied them for decades. Guided by the alchemists, science found new ways to extend life. A plan was put into effect that would allow a ship to be sent to another star. It would be crewed by people who would live substantially longer than normal, thanks to magical gene therapy. However, before the ship was begun, the alchemists had a breakthrough. It was the Ether drive. The alchemists had found a means to build a device that could collect and focus the energy of magic into a tangible field. For the first time ever, humans saw the power of magic without only being witness to its effects. They also looked into the ether realm for the first time as well. Their first experiments showed that objects could pass into the ether realm through one portal and come out some distance away through another. There was no energy backlash, no side effects they could measure and most importantly of all, it was instantaneous. They built bigger devices, and test vehicles, and learned how to open a portal, and control where the destination opened. They sent animals first, then people. With their successes came confidence.
So they built the Argosy. It was to be the first colony ship. It carried the largest ether drives ever imagined. It could only crew a small portion of the population, but others were scheduled for construction as soon as Argosy’s test flight proved a success. No one doubted it would be. A lottery was held, and the wealthy had their last laugh. It was easy for them to buy their way aboard the ship.

No one knows for certain what happened. Some say it was a field alignment problem, others sabotage. At any rate, when the Argosy’s Ether drives came online and the portal opened, a maelstrom of energy swept out. Argosy was safe, its Ether drive field deflecting the seething energy. It was like a wave. When it passed Argosy, it smashed into the moon and the hundred smaller vessels that had come along to see Argosy off. Those aboard the Argosy could only watch as the wave smashed through those ships like tin foil. The moon was obliterated in seconds. It continued on toward earth, the oceans boiled, the mountains were thrown into the air. The wave continued past, dissipating as it went. There was nothing but a black ball where Earth had been, lit by the fires of destruction. Then Argosy entered the portal, and earth was gone.

At the same instant the ship entered the portal, it exited near an alien star. Their original course had been laid in for Alpha Centauri. The navigators were quick to determine that they were off course, but were at a loss as to where they really were. Emotions were high. Anger, depression, rage; no one was unaffected.

The Ether drives had shut down, and refused to start. The main power plants were failing. Argosy needed to land or everyone aboard would die. On momentum alone, the ship drifted toward the fifth planet from the star, and the only one too far from it to boil and yet too close to freeze. Once in the atmosphere, the power plants died completely, thrusting the ship into darkness. In the crash, many more died. And yet many more lived. Mankind had come to Arran.

Humanity’s New Age

The first year was one of turmoil. With mostly formerly wealthy aristocrats as most of the passengers, arguments sparked off over who should take charge. The first mate of the Argosy, Lieutenant William Henderson, took command. He was the only one of the crew to survive. He helped the survivors retrieve the colony equipment from the hold, and began to set up a place to live. Much of the equipment was damaged, but enough was salvaged to house everyone. Henderson organized hunting parties to explore the region and bring back likely sources of food. More died of sickness from an unfamiliar world, but no one starved.

The first year brought contact with the Faen and Elves. Compared to what the survivors were used to, both societies were primitive. The elves took a stance of wariness, and refused to allow any land be used by humankind. They eventually started trade, but tensions always remained high. The faen were a surprise. They seemed to hit it off immediately with the new arrivals. They helped establish a neutral border, and helped with the early stages of defense.

Then Lt. Henderson led an exploration party to the east, and was never heard from again. With Henderson gone, the church of technology rose in power. It was their belief that God had punished mankind for dealing with dark forces. The cataclysm was direct proof of that. They tried to purge the arcane. They established the border stations and the wall, and declared all primitives to be agents of evil. The faen were forcibly removed from within the limits of Argosy City, an event they haven’t forgotten. The pure-techs, as they became known, made it illegal to use arcane energy for any means. They began an inquisition designed to root out all traitorous behavior that could lead to another cataclysm. They also established the Aruspex Guild. The guild was originally chartered under the assumption that all who joined were damned. The pure-techs considered the guild a necessary evil, and used their power to augment the inquisition.

The resulting invasion of privacy sparked the first battle. It would be called a war, aside from the fact that only a few thousand ever fought. The pure-techs were obliterated when a Guilder led a force in rebellion against the citadel. There were several factions, and the guilders didn’t hold power long. For ten years, power shifted back and forth.

Finally, a man named Marinek brought peace. He gathered members from each faction onto neutral ground. No weapons were allowed. He created from that group the Theocracy of Argosy. The Theocracy still holds power today. Each faction in Argosy City has members in the Theocracy. It was and is a religious order whose members vote on policy as their version of God’s will directs them. It is a system prone to corruption, but it works.

Even though the Theocracy has held power for over three hundred years, they have not gone the entire time without some troubles. A splinter group formed. They claimed to be God’s Chosen. They demanded more power within the theocracy as God had given their leadership visions that they would rule Argosy, and eventually Arran. Such ideas set off a fire that led to another battle. When it was over, those known as God’s Chosen were put down. The leaders took their faithful and left. God’s Chosen established Eden, a citadel in the mountains to the west. Little has been heard from them since, though their spies still turn up on occasion.

 

[Acid_crash]

Your game setting sounds really cool, and it's definately one I'd enjoy exploring as a player in the game.

 

[Tolen Mar]

Hey thanks. Either later tonite or sometime tomorrow Im going to have a chance to write up the info about the larger religious groups and get it posted.

I have a few ideas for PrC's, but nothing set in stone yet.

Then I'll have to work out for certain which set of rules (where there are multiple choices, like the armor as DR thing) I'm going to try. I have maps of the planet and the region, but no way to post them.

One thing I'm thinking of doing is making it so the schism with God's Chosen also caused many other groups to leave and found their own cities. Then there could be some trade among them all with skyships being the fastest form of travel (the world is very moutainous and full of jungle).