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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fralex" data-source="post: 6701898" data-attributes="member: 6785902">[sblock=Page 4]Originally posted by pauldanielj2: Not only do hobgoblins believe they were chosen for greatness, they believe that the cycles of divine creation only exist as a prelude to their greatness. It's sort of like the movie "Groundhog Day", where everything just starts over and over again, repeating itself until some perfect paradigm is arrived at to break the cycle. The core belief of the Steel Empire is that the world is doomed to an endless cycle of being destroyed and created anew, and the only thing that can break the cycle is for their empire to conquer the entire world.  Originally posted by Sailing_Pirate_Ryan:The Science Monks of Torislantis revere the deity Quill, whose one and only edict to the prophet Toris was "prove that I exist". Since that time, the monks have gathered all knowledge of the world that they can, verifying its accuracy according to Quill's holy code (the scientific method). As a result, the Great Library of Torislantis is the most complete repository of knowledge on Kolhcamm, rivaled only by the library of the stone fist. Their meticulous study of science has yielded many discoveries that they hold only for themselves, such as the secret of gunpowder which keeps the hobgoblin's Steel Empire at bay.Originally posted by Uchawi:The night of the burning crest happens twice each year when Enfero aligns with Solus. At these times arcane power is unpredictable and random in effect. Most of the cultures accross Kohlcamm hold these days in reverence. None more so than the practioners of dark necromancy in the dead kingdom.Originally posted by souldoubt:The Science Monks have an intellectual rivalry with the Astromancers of Ral-Partha. It is whispered that if the cycle of the suns' alignments ever falls in such a way that three such alignments occur within the same year, the third alignment would have potentially cataclysmic effects.Originally posted by Burrytar:(Cookies to the first person who deeply connects this Enlightment & Imperialism theme to a old school dungeoncrawl hook.)Originally posted by Fralex:Skeletons are typically dressed in hooded robes and wear sometimes-ornate masks over their skulls.Originally posted by jonathan_sicari:Actura is governed by a council headed by Chancellor Pallentides, a consumate politician who is wise enough to heed the advice of the Order of the Lion, a militant order of knights loyal to the city and devoted to just governance. Thier leadership of the goblin mercenaries is part of the reason they are able to stand against the might of the Steel Empire. A new general, Greedar, the Relentless, has risen in the Empire and is making new inroads into Acturan territory. Greedar is reknowned for the discipline and steadfastness of his troops, his tactical and strategic genius and his personal combat skill (rumors persist that the last is somewhat over-rated).Originally posted by ittyan:In the glens and valleys high in the mountains of Kohlcamm, there grows a small white wildflower known as "foxpaw".  Benign to most races, it exhibits strong narcotic effects in hobgoblins.  Effects vary from mild feelings of euphoria and acceptance on contact, to a slurred, stumbling stupor when ingested.  For this reason, most goblin mercenaries and professional merchants carry on their person a small pouch of dried and ground foxpaw powder for use in quickly ending unpleasant encounters with the dominant race.  Often, a pinch of powder puffed in the face is enough to distract or otherwise disable even the most zealous sergeant long enough to get away.  However, they must be careful to conceal it well, as hobgoblin law imposes stiff penalties for possesion of foxpaw, starting with the loss of a hand for a first offense and quickly escalating to more vital extremities. Incidentally, it is not uncommon for goblin mercenaries to have a mismatched hand, ear, or other appendage taken from some poor sap who "wasn't using it anyway" and has been magically fused to their body to replace the missing part.  Often this is a sign of an experienced mercenary, and prices are higher accordingly.  The most skilled mercenaries are said to "cost an arm and a leg".Originally posted by LawfulNifty: One of these towns, the city-state of Skaeldrün, is named after its first (and still current) king, an ancient and powerful demilich. He has members of The Shadow on retainer to do his dirty work for him, earning them the nickname of The Skullbashers among the townspeople. It is rumored that the jewelled skull that appears as King Skaeldrün in public is actually a construct he controls from his true location, a sanctum deep within the catacombs that criss-cross far below the old city's streets.Originally posted by ittyan:The mighty river Urr winds lazily thru the grasslands of Ansobar, joining the sea in a huge delta at the Bay of Krippe.  The bay and the surrounding waters is home to a large population of merfolk.  The grasslands are home to a race of elves that long ago abandoned the forest.  In the delta is the half-sunken city of Pelin.  There, merfolk and plains elves live and interact in relative harmony.Originally posted by jonathan_sicari:Drow rebels against the Illithid have invited the Steel Empire to help them. This has offerred the Empire new lands to conquer. A tribe of Gnolls, consisting of the membership of five full clans, has come out of the Witch Wood, seeking co-existence with their civilized neighbors. Despite an initial bad meeting where their heralds were butchered as raiders, negotiations have been on going.Originally posted by ittyan: It is commonly said that everyone on Kohlcamm has a dark twin in the world below, constantly attempting to influence them for the worse.  (Possibly to try and trade places?)  One's shadow changes depending upon the time of day and year as Solus and Enfero pass overhead. It can range from a single, crisp outline (like shadows on single-sunned worlds), to no shadow being cast at all, depending on the relative positions of the two suns. Most of the time one has one or two blurry dark blobs for a shadow. The composition of one's shadow is considered a reflection of the influence that one's dark twin has upon oneself at that moment. Statements or actions made while casting a full shadow are viewed askance, while those done with no shadow are trusted and honored. Marriages, trials, and the like are often timed to coincide with auspicious alignments. Some say if you can manage to kill your dark twin, then you will never cast a shadow again.Originally posted by sleypy: Smugglers say the catacombs have passages connect Skaeldrün to the rest of "Lev'n Towns." Only smuggler caravans or the truely desperate risk the underground passages. These underground pathways earn the colorfully name "Skull Crossings" due to the dangerous that lurk there and the bones pilled that dot the edges of the passage ways. Many believe that the Skull King himself is responsible for the ancient road ways. No one knows for certain, however the bone cairns contribute (for some confirm) this rumor.Originally posted by sleypy: The Mercantile nation of Gondarea is located on the northern border of the Field of Howls. The intermingling of dwarves, halfling, Yuan-Ti and kobold has lead to the majority of the population being nimble kobold and squat Yuan-ti malison. The nation was able to prosper in the hostile savannah due to developing a means to harness the lightning energy created by storm drakes. storm drakes capacity to store lighting, not to mention its delicious meat products, has allow Gondarea to prosper.Originally posted by Caliburn101.:This is an old idea of mine which I never used. Have a game world which, unbeknowst to the people living in it, is a large corner of a layer of Hell. It's there because Asmodeus wanted to increases soul-harvesting efficiency and thought bringing a population of mortals to his realm would do this. He wills a living, breathing world into existence (it's his plane after all...) and then populates it by kidnapping etc. Over millenia the true origin cosmology of the world is lost. Asmodeus and a corrupt Solar working with him pretend to be the gods of good and evil - but both harvest the souls of their faithfull - some of which serve to provide clerical magic to all and sundry via a soul burner artefact. Thus the whole world can go on as if it's normal - good gods, evil gods, good races, evil races, etc. - but everyone in the end is under Asmodeus' control and led to evil by one route or another so they can be harvested. The PCs can be the game-changers once they reach high level and figure out the ruse...  Originally posted by jonathan_sicari:Well, this is what I came up with for a write up for General Greedar. Some numbers are best guesses based on the bestiaries, mainly the Bestiary and Against the Slavelords. General Greedar[sblock]General GreedarHobgoblin Leader (Captain)/Monk 1/Ranger 2Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid)Armor Class 16 (chain mail)Hit Points 45 (5d8 + 1d6 + 2d10 + 8)Speed 25 ft.Senses darkvision 60 ft.Str 10 (+0)Dex 13 (+1)Con 12 (+1)Int 12 (+1)Wis 13 (+1)Cha 13 (+1)Alignment lawful evilLanguages Common, GoblinTRAITSCommander +2: Friendly creatures with the disciplined action that can see or hear the hobgoblin and are within 30 feet of it gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls. If multiple friendly creatures have the Commander trait, only the highest bonus applies. (Against the Slave Lords has a version of this ability that allows the bonus to any friendly creature within 30 feet, without the disciplined requirement)Steadfast: The hobgoblin cannot be frightened while it can see a friendly creature within 30 feet of it that also has this trait.Flurry of Blows: Greedar has 2 Ki points. If he makes an unarmed attack as part of an action, he can spend a ki point to make an additional unarmed attack.Hordeslayer: When you damage a creature with a weapon attack each other creature you damage this turn takes an additional 1d8 damage.Tracking: As a rangerACTIONSMultiattack: The hobgoblin makes three short sword or unarmed attacks.Melee Attack—Shortsword or Unarmed Strike: +5 to hit (reach 5 ft.; one creature). Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) piercing (bludgeoning if unarmded )damage. Unarmed strikes count as magical to penetrate resistances.Encounter Building:Level 5 xp: 350   General Greedar of the Empire of Steel is known for his Strategic and Tactical brilliance. He prefers to attack under the cover of darkness with the support of his lieutenants and Bugbear and goblins supporting his hobgoblin troops. A typical encounter for 4 level 5 characters encountering General Greedar would beXP: (740 [easy budget, tough due to numbers])General Greedar 350xp5 hobgoblins 100 (20) xp 4 Bugbears 200 (50) xpWolf 20xpWarg (Wolf, Dire) 70 xp.[/sblock]Originally posted by cranebump:The hamlet of Halvant Knoll sits atop rich veins of mithral, which it mines and exports...when not being extorted by the Arachnil. The spider cult's promises to bring about a "day of cleansing" terrifies the Halvant Coundil of Merchant Lords, who believe the cult controls huge numbers of phase spiders. The Merchant Lords would indeed pay a pretty penny to have this problem solved. The problem is that it's been attempted 7 times already, none successful. Strangely no great cleansing has yet occurred, but retaliatory raids by Arachnil sorcerers leading large numbers of Wolf Spiders has happened twice.Originally posted by mathfreaksquared:The last time they did so, a woman named Ormahr escaped to the newly created world with the help of Rhenny O' Shea. Cursing the gods, who have no concern for their own creations, she founded the Ormahr. Also, the Whale is a celestial animal, and during the week (month?) of the whale, the tide is unpredictable and the waves massive. There have also been sightings of creatures as big as cities underwater during these times. This is another of the 5 Great Mysteries. Originally posted by sleypy: What few if any realize is that the god are not driven purely by hubris. The lays upon layer of abandoned worlds act as a buffer reinforcing the Old Ones prison. More then just a physical barrier, the multitude of orphaned worlds hold the corrupting touch of the Old Ones at bay. Ormahr caught a glimpse of the gods true reason for abandoning their creations, but does not fully grasp the implications. The old one Ansah, cause of the most recent abandonment, came to Ormahr in the guise of the gods' oldest creation. It claimed to be all that was left of the first race abandoned by the gods. With Ormahr escape into the new world, Ansah was unable to completely enthraw Ormahr. However it did manage to sow the first seeds of her discontent with the gods.Originally posted by Uchawi:In the fields of Anosbar, next to one of the giant's teeth called Sun Spiral Cathedral, the orcs found an elven female child during the high summer solstice that always casts a shadow duing the day. She is mute, and does not show much affection, but she has symbol of Terius the Harbringer, first of the old ones, burned into her palm. She was found at the base of stairs that climbs to the abandoned cathedral that rests on the craggy face cliff face. It is rumored to be built during the age of the first ones, and anyone that dares to venture into the spiralling structure is never seen again.Originally posted by mathfreaksquared:This "workable calender" is contrary to the other post, which came first. So... let's revise: The seasons are named the season of Rising, Moving, Dying, and Sleeping, which correspond to Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter respectively. Each week is 10 days long, and a year is 360 days long, consisting of 36 weeks. A season is 90 days long and consists of 9 weeks. Each week is named after an animal or monster, and the current list includes Preying Mantis, Whale, Frog, Fox, Snake, Bear, and Deer. The week of the frog comes at the end of the season of Dying, just before the year "ends." There are no months. Originally posted by mathfreaksquared:Geographical Addition: The floating temples of M'llaran rest on magical clouds. They are the domain of storm genasi. In these temples, couatls are worshipped like guardian dieties, and storm elementals are considered their servants.  Geographical Addition:In the south lies Bloodlurk Marsh, the domain of the Mosquite Vampires. Unlike ordinary vampires, the Mosquite Vampires are not vulnerable to sunlight. They also do not have batlike powers or any relating to shadows, (thought they are undead.) However, they can command mosquitos, transform into montrous mosquitos, and drain blood from people extremely fast.  Cultural Addition: In most human cities, gnomes are mustrusted and stereotyped as theives. They are widely regarded as evil, even moreso than goblins and kobolds. Originally posted by Foxface: Good catch.  Are you suggesting that there are 36 celestial animals, or 9 celestial animals that are repeated 4 times per year?Originally posted by jtfowler:Foxface, I would say nine animals that are repeated four times a year. The first season, "Rising" would have the animals as rising, naturally. Every 9 weeks, the animal would repeat in the next season? Rising Fox [9 weeks] Moving Fox [9 weeks] Dying Fox [9 weeks] Sleeping Fox [9 weeks] Rising Fox, etc. Recent legend speaks of a tyrant of a Green Dragon, Webrunner to the locals, nestled deep in the mangrove jungles along the Southern Seas. His favored servants are the giant spiders that live in the canopy, their webs blocking much of the sunlight from reaching the flooded floor. The story is that he viciously guards a wealth beyond measure..Originally posted by Burrytar:Someone also invented that the animal-weeks corresponded time-wise with the visual movement of the world's rings through the constellations.  The notion, I believe, was that it was "rising" when the rings were just entering the constellation, "sleeping" when the rings were just leaving, etc.  I thought an important implication of the idea was that as one animal goes to sleep, another awakens. (It'd be cool if the constellations actually seemed to shift in pose to reflect this story.  Maybe the rings have a magnifying effect.  Somehow.  A natural telescope!) So I'd suggest going with 36 animal constellations, perhaps with nine of them larger and/or more culturally important than the others.  This gives leeway for different cultures to emphasize a different set of nine animals as the superior animals.  Yes, that'd still leave something like a month-long period of 4 weeks, but conceptually the important thing would be three inferior animal weeks followed by one superior-animal week.Originally posted by mathfreaksquared:Well, because some things already refer to the week of the fox or the week of the snake, it might be better to have 36 celestial animals. Also, I think there was a post that said "the week of the fox is in the spring," or something of that vein. The week of the frog is already confirmed to be the last week of the year. So... lets go with 36 celestial animals. It's just easier. Also, it provides more room to create a mythos and define the world. If 36 is too much... we could always reduce the year length or increase the week length. Burrytars idea about the inferior/superior constellations is interesting. Then we could also correlate anything to do with the month cycle to this cycle. However, I'm not sure it makes sense that every culture emphasizes exactly nine animals that are each separated by exactly three weeks... I like the idea thar different cultures emphasize different animals, but I think turning it into a sequence is a bit too much. Also, I think it would make sense if the animal constellations got larger/brighter during their week, and maybe moved as well.  Also, I made a mistake in the calender, the "new year" should be in spring. I noticed this when I was looking for the post that mentioned that the week of the fox was in the spring.  So, to clarify: There are 35 constellations. (The moth fell, and thus it's old week, which came just after the fox's, is the 'blank week.') The toad is in the Season of Sleeping, just before the Season of Rising and the new year, of which the first week is the week of the fox.  Also, some more details:The week of the Crow is the first week in the Season of Dying, and during this week, people put up massive scarecrows to ward off evil and death. On the week of the Fox, foxpaw grows extremely fast, sprouting up where ever possible. At the end of the week, most of them wither away. Hunters don't hunt on the week of the Deer, because it is superstition that on this week, catching any prey brings bad luck. The week of the Preying Mantis is the second week in the Season of Dying, and it is believed that all crops should be harvested in this week, or else they will wither when it ends. Originally posted by souldoubt:The so-called "blank week" is also known as the Week of the Mask.  It is unique in being the only week not associated with an animal, as this time of year is associated with a patch of apparently blank sky, where only recently the Astromancers have discovered the dead constellation which they dubbed "The Mask."  In certain years (every four years?), the Week of the Mask lasts eleven days instead of ten.  In the vast majority of cultures, being born on the eleventh day of the Week of the Mask is considered either very good luck, or very bad luck; very few societies are neutral on this subject, believing very strongly one way or the other. The weeks are marked according to where the constellations cross the Rings in the night sky.  (This is as opposed to our western Zodiac, which has to do with where the sun rises in relation to constellations.)Originally posted by Foxface:I'm beginning to favor 35 animals plus the mask (formally the moth) for each week.Originally posted by mathfreaksquared:There are no other planes besides the material plane. However, in the farthest reaches of the world, there are places roughly anologous to planes called Domains. Domains are places that have inherent magic. Within them, the laws of the world may be different. One domain is the Faerie, which lies far west, past the ancient forests of Addas.  The Mole is a celestial animal. It's week is in the Season of Moving, and during that week, the number of earthquakes is unusually high. The Dove is a celestial animal. Wars are temporarily stopped for it's week, which is in the Season of Rising.  Also, I'm pretty sure I read that the Moth constellation fell from the sky where the city of Moth now stands. So we may want to change that thing about the mask. But... the idea that the mask was one of the celestial animals is a great idea, definantely keep that. It would also be interesting if the ultimate representation of the creature was killed, and that's why the constellation went out... it could be an extinct animal, too.  Edit: Okay, so it turns out there was one post about "myths of a giant's tooth falling where the city of Moth stands," and then there was another post describing competing legends that speak of a Moth constellation that fell from the sky. Hmm... we could say that the crater was made by the steller beast of the moth while the constellation existed, and that it later burned out, or we could say that the mask was actually a different constellation, and there are only 34 existing constellations. I don't really care, either way, so the next poster can decide. Originally posted by Miladoon:Just want to point out that the north pole region is tied into the plane of water and the south pole region is tied into the plane of fire.  The take is from the L&L article that talked about creating some settings that are border planes.  Kohlcamm has opposing border planes at its poles.Originally posted by ittyan: Why can't it be both?  For races with pointy horns or ears (like Elves, Hobgoblins, Gnomes, &c.) it would be natural to have a mask shaped like a moth to hide one's identifying facial features.  Maybe in hobgoblin-ese the word for mask and moth is one and the same (or close enough to invite ambiguity) due to their similar shapes.  Or maybe the linguistic connection is a holdover from the previous world, when the Moth was a proper celestial animal. Also for animals/weeks, don't forget the dnd-specific.  Case in point, I propose there be a week of the Owlbear.Originally posted by Miladoon:The Displacer Beast Week. Where in the nine hells did I put me sword?  <img src="http://community.wizards.com/sites/all/modules/custom/forest_site/smileys/wizards/crazy.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Originally posted by ittyan: The ruling council of Pelin consists of ten representatives, half chosen from the elven population and half from the merfolk.  Up to half of each half may be made up of half-elf/half-merfolk citizens, with half that many having half votes for either half.  In a pinch, a halfling may stand in for a half-session at most. Currently the city's biggest threat is the green dragon Webrunner and his spiders. During the week of the Whale the entire city floods and the merfolk have the city to themselves.  Conversely, during the week of the [insert appropriate animal] the tide goes out, and the river Urr slows to a trickle, leaving the entire city dry for the elves.Originally posted by souldoubt:Both of these seem to contradict the Astromancers of Ral-Partha discovering the plane(t)s in a previous post.... They could be reconciled, such that the north pole houses a gateway to Aquam, the plane(t) of water, and the south pole houses a gateway to Enfero, the second sun of Kohlcamm which is also believed to be the plane of fire.  (Enfero and the plane(t) of water were established in a previous post, though the latter was not named.)  The Domains could either be other plane(t)s or totally separate realms that don't orbit the suns of Kohlcamm and are quite literally "on another plane of existence." Some of this also contradicts earlier posts.  To clarify:The two different explanations for the crater of Moth are competing myths/theories as to the origin of the crater.  One legend states that there was once a moth constellation that fell (and thus the moth-like shape of the crater), and the other legend states that the crater was created by a truly massive Giant's Tooth (because Moth lies at the edge of the plains of Ansobar, where the Giant's Teeth fall).  The crater is actually one of the Five Great Mysteries, so while some may take the side of one legend or the other, there's no consensus on which is true.  As to the Mask, it is a blank patch of sky, consisting of no stars; only recently have the Astromancers of Ral-Partha used an extremely powerful telescope to observed the dead remains of 9 stars in the space identified as the Mask, which may or may not confirm the legend of the constellation of the moth, depending on who you ask.  (This is stuff that's all established in earlier posts, I just consollidated it.)Originally posted by sleypy: Thanks for the catch souldoubt. I'd missed a few of those details. I'll remove the post you quoted of mine.Originally posted by Orethalion: The polar elemental portals leak water and fire into the center of the planet.  As a result the entire world has an abundance of geysers, vents and hot springs caused by the steam seeking outlets to the surface of the planet.  Mining is very hazardous as it is common to delve into the wrong spot, cooking the miners in seconds.  Refined metals are more valuable and rare than on other worlds.Originally posted by souldoubt:Lungfish?  Coelacanth?  Otter?Originally posted by sleypy: Some carry the completely unfounded belief that the Giant's Teeth belong to a unfathomable celestial creature. They also will try to convince you that one of its massive tooth had pierced  Moth before it fell to Kolhcamm.  These thoughts are, however, the ravings of the mad. The very thought of the Teeth of Ansobar belonging to an entity powerful enough to slay a stellar animal is the first step towards madness.Originally posted by Miladoon:  We also have evidence of border planes found in one of Kohlcamm's rings.Originally posted by BRJN:The Pirates of the Dagger Coast (pg 1) hang out in an area between two wealthy empires.  The empires are hostile to each other, but trade goods via third parties.  The pirates are thickest in the 'no-mans-land' where neither Imperial Navy goes.  One 'third party' is a legitimate city-state with a very good natural harbor.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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