[Hive] How many scrolls could the Hivers scribe if the Hivers could scribe scrolls?

[blackshirt5]

I was just explaining the wonders of ENWorld to someone over AIM:

to be sure, posting on ENWorld is addicting. once you start, it's in your bloodstream and you need more and more and more.....kinda like crack, but without the bloody nose

Angcuru, cocaine snorted can give you bloody noses, but although I'm not sure, I don't think that crack can, unless you do something stupid like blow the smoke out through your nose.

 

[Carnifex]

So, you'd be a cunning linguist then, Fex?

*Blackshirt is listening to the opening theme to Record of Lodoss Wars: Chronicle of the Heroic Knight and Blind Melon's "No Rain", planning "Castle Zelyon: Sword, Sorcery, and Steam", his new dungeon crawl starring Ultimate versions of Agon, Greymore, and Tak, along with a part-dead demon hunter and a superstrong minotaur(unfortunately, Angcuru has not decided to recur yet, although if he does Ultimate Angcuru is awesomeness personified). And grumbling about how much Shannon Hoon being dead sucks.*

Rude

I wish Steam & Steel was out already, so I could now go 'if Castle Zelyon is including steam, you should check out Steam & Steel'.

But I can't Damn it. And I imagine by the time St&St comes out in December your new dungeon crawl will be underway already...

 

[blackshirt5]

Yeah; however, I can include the disclaimer on my SH that the steam part was Inspired by your book's impending arrival; more than anything else that's what did it.

 

[Carnifex]

Yeah; however, I can include the disclaimer on my SH that the steam part was Inspired by your book's impending arrival; more than anything else that's what did it.

Ah, excellent

Now... *writes more Biothaumaturgist's Handbook*

Can you think of any totem animal type creatures for me to include in a list of creatures to which a character can be essence-bound? (a biothaumaturgical process). I've got, wolf, shark, tiger, beark, serpent, horse and hawk, but would like more...

 

[blackshirt5]

Lion? Coyote(a trickster), Raven(a harbinger of death in many cultures)?

And the biothaumaturgist handbook, when is that coming out again(rough date?)? I had a few ideas for the Dark Elves in my story once that becomes available.

 

[Carnifex]

Lion? Coyote(a trickster), Raven(a harbinger of death in many cultures)?

And the biothaumaturgist handbook, when is that coming out again(rough date?)? I had a few ideas for the Dark Elves in my story once that becomes available.

Hmm, Lion and Raven both good! (Maybe making heavy Odin-connections with the Raven essence feats). Coyote - made me think of Jackal, which is definitely one I want to put in, now I think of it.

The Handbook isn't even at a first draft stage yet. The current format is kinda like this:

Intro bit

The Arcane Art of Biothaumaturgy - a bit of fluff, how you can add it into a campaign world, what the concepts of biothaumaturgy are. Some initial work done, but needs to be totally rewritten once I've written everything else.

Characters and Biothaumaturgy - 1 new skill, a lot of new feats. Actually first draft mostly done.

Tools of the Trade - first draft maybe half done.

Symbiotes & Biotech - first draft maybe half done.

Essence Bonding - first draft maybe 1/4 done.

Engineers of Pestilence - making of diseases. 1st draft over 1/2 done.

Fleshtwisting - making monsters using fleshtwisting templates - an initial draft 1/2 done, but I'm totally changing the way I'm doing this section so needs to be restarted.

Masters of Flesh and Blood - PrC's. Got a list, but this section hasn't even really been started on.

Spells - a fair number of new spells. A fair number already done from my Acrozatarim campaign, but more need to be done. So, maybe 1/2 done.

Now, the problem is that I'm having problems finding time to write the handbook *and* am feeling motivated to do so at the same time

Anyways, here's 3 symbiotes I'm going to add to the ones I've already written up in the Symbiotes section - these ones I wrote earlier this afternoon after sudden inspiration for some new types.

Barbpalm Symbiote (Colony): A barbpalm symbiote is in fact a colony of symbiotic creatures connected together. Like many invertebrates, barbpalms protect their soft bodies with tough shells; in this case, tiny chitinous growths. They embed their anchoring tendrils into the flesh of a host’s palm, so that it appears he or she has a matt of little barbs growing out of their hand. The barbpalm symbiotes draw out their sustenance from the host’s bloodstream, who in return will find the barbs extremely useful both for extra grip while climbing, and for attacking others. A character with a barbpalm symbiote colony gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Climb checks, and a +1 damage bonus with unarmed attacks.

Musk Symbiote: This small symbiotic creature wraps itself around the neck of the host, entwining its muscular, scaled tendrils to appear as a necklace or amulet. Musk symbiotes usually bear an attractive pattern on their scales, furthering this guise as an item of jewelry.

A musk symbiote draws nutrients from the blood of the host, and, as its name would suggest, secretes a heady musk into the air around it. The perfumed scent is actually laced with suggestive and mind-influencing chemicals, making those that inhale it perceive the symbiote’s host in a more favourable light. A character with a musk symbiote gains a +2 enhancement bonus to their Charisma score, and a +1 bonus to the DC of any spells with the Mind-Affecting descriptor that they target against anyone within 30ft.

Miasmatic Symbiote: While a musk symbiote secretes chemicals that attract others to the host, a miasmatic symbiote does quite the opposite. Made by brewing troglodyte traits into cultured tissues, a miasmatic symbiote is a slimy, fleshy lump that is attached across the neck, where it quietly draws sustenance from the host’s blood by pushing tendrils through their skin. When the host is angry or frightened, the symbiote picks up the chemical changes in the blood and immediately secretes a foul, oily chemical with the same effects as troglodyte musk. All living creatures, except troglodytes and other creatures with miasmatic symbiotes, that are within 30ft of the host must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 11 + Con bonus of host) or be sickened for 10 rounds. Creatures that successfully saved cannot be affected by the same symbiote’s miasma for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect from the sickened creature. Creatures with immunity to poisons are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws.

 

[blackshirt5]

Fancy!

Carnifex, help me out here; do you think it's better to have the town already established near the castle that the adventurers fall back to, or should I run adventures with them helping to set it up and protect it, so it's more "theirs"?

And how would I justify their not being a town nearby? This is a big draw for adventurers and scholars.

 

[Carnifex]

Fancy!

Carnifex, help me out here; do you think it's better to have the town already established near the castle that the adventurers fall back to, or should I run adventures with them helping to set it up and protect it, so it's more "theirs"?

And how would I justify their not being a town nearby? This is a big draw for adventurers and scholars.

You can't really just 'set up' a town unless you're a lord with enough political and land-owning clout to be able to offer an attractive proposal in moving to the new town site. So, it seems unlikely that a mere band of adventurers are going to be able to just create a good situation for a settlement to spring up. Even if they do, these things take a lot of time; decades, at least. And just having a draw for adventurers and scholars isn't enough to bring in inhabitants to reach a town population - it needs other long-term prospects, like rich natural resources such as mines.

As such, if there's a pre-existing settlement it is likely to just be a village, unless the area does have good natural resources and a draw for lots of people to go there (if it's steam-tech of course, and the settlement is on a river, then it might be a prime site for factories and hence will draw in those seeking work).

 

[blackshirt5]

Actually I was originally thinking that the resource would be the steady influx of adventurers; adventurers can always use an inn, a tavern, blacksmiths, etc. Admittedly I didn't put a TON of thought into it, so if you could help me out, that'd be great.

Another thought was that of putting the village on the Plains of Silvegras; it was an idea I had for a magical aberration wherein the grass on this one plain is actually made of silver that can be harvested once a year.

 

[Carnifex]

Actually I was originally thinking that the resource would be the steady influx of adventurers; adventurers can always use an inn, a tavern, blacksmiths, etc. Admittedly I didn't put a TON of thought into it, so if you could help me out, that'd be great.

Another thought was that of putting the village on the Plains of Silvegras; it was an idea I had for a magical aberration wherein the grass on this one plain is actually made of silver that can be harvested once a year.

Steady influx of adventurers needs to be clarified.

See, even a fair number of newcomers going through town - lets say, the ridiculously high number of 1 party per week - is not actually bringing in that much cash to the local economy. They're also probably coming prepared with much of their own gear already, if they're seasoned adventurers.

And if these people are all going in and not coming out again, then pretty soon the flow of adventurers will be reduced down to a trickle of real die-hards and powerful people.

What exactly is the nature of this castle? What is it that brings all these adventurers here, without exhausting whatever that attractive resource is?