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<blockquote data-quote="paradox42" data-source="post: 5223401" data-attributes="member: 29746"><p><strong>The Independent Thought</strong></p><p></p><p>After the party was finished with Fate, the God of Secrets- who had specifically been Seeded by Thought/Madness way back at the start of all this (the other character having been Seeded by Thought/Dream) was determined to follow the Metatron carrier and turn his Seed into a full-blown Shard. So, the party next went off to the Pure-Madness cosmos. I asked for what portion the Secrets God (who was manifesting the travel effect) wanted to target, and he said random. I decided there was maybe a 1% chance that he'd end up somewhere he wanted to be, namely close to Thought Itself. I didn't tell them this of course, I just had the party members roll (though only the Secrets guy mattered).</p><p></p><p>So of course, the percentile dice he rolled came up 01. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p>For Thought's cosmic throne room, I opted to interpret Lovecraft through the veil of <em>Science!!!</em> and had the party end up in a universe that looked startlingly familiar, with a black sky/background dotted with stars- albeit a <strong>lot</strong> of stars, because they were right outside what appeared to be a supermassive black hole at the heart of a galaxy. All things considered, that was what really drew the party's attention to that wreath of a hundred or so planets, orbiting the event horizon inside the inner limit of the accretion disk and maintaining their atmospheres, all despite the clear and obvious impossibility of any real planet being able to do something like that without super-high-tech anti-gravity devices embedded throughout the crust and covering the surface (they should have not only lost the atmospheres to the black hole, but also been torn apart from tidal forces themselves, orbiting that close). The sheer weirdness of that spectacle was compounded by the fact that party members with Cosmic Consciousness- not to mention the Seeds the PCs were all carrying- could hear <em>sounds</em> reverberating through the atmospheres of these improbable worlds. Specifically, musical tones, sounding mostly like wind instruments- flutes, and the like. As if that weren't enough, the same musical tones reverberated throughout the accretion disk, despite the vacuum between the planets (and their atmospheres) and the inner limit of the disk. Those who listened too closely to the <em><strong>MUSIC</strong></em> or used Divination-type effects to try and figure out what was going on, found themselves making Will saves against damage to all three mental ability scores at once, as the sounds somehow "spoke to their souls" and started lulling them to "sleep" or at any rate unconsciousness.</p><p></p><p>After some time spent on that puzzle, the PCs- using Moiranna's <em>Gate</em> ability since there was no Astral Plane here for regular <em>Gates</em> to work- transported inside the event horizon itself, where they witnessed an even stranger sight that I described thusly: "In this place, Everything is Falling. At the Bottom is an enormous, tentacled Mass that reaches out and grabs things at random from the infalling material, and pulls it down into the main body to be absorbed. THIS looks thoroughly Far Realm to all of you, and is more what you expected when you came here. The enormous Mass is bright green in color. You can sense the <em><strong>MUSIC</strong></em> all around you here- in fact, inside the event horizon it seems to be even stronger than it is in the accretion disk. You are now Falling towards the Mass as well; however, the Mass is still some several AU below you. It appears to be at least as large as a planet, but size is distorted and difficult to judge here. The Mass is apparently a living thing of some sort, though grotesque and abominable in the extreme. Billions of eyes dot is surface in apparently random places, as do millions of tentacles (some miles in diameter and hundreds of miles long)."</p><p></p><p>Of course, the Mass was Thought, and after a brief but brain-twisting conversation, the God of Secrets got rid of his Seed and got instead an acknowledgement from Thought that he was a separate being. I should mention the significance of this; my conception of this First One and the reason it is so powerful, is that Thought literally <strong>is</strong> that throughout Reality- wherever there is mind, of any sort, there is Thought. Thought is literally and inextricably bound into every being or entity that has numbers in all three mental ability scores. So, this god actually got Thought to recognize him as an entity separate from Itself, hence the name of the template he got: Independent Thought. This being (as it turned out) so near the end of the campaign, we never actually specified how this template would change his appearance, but I here and now will suggest that it should be something along the lines of how reaching 10th level as an Alienist changes one- in other words, he becomes more "Far Realmy" in look. Turning greener, slimy/greasy, growing a few extra tentacular appendages, that sort of thing. But, on to the rules text.</p><p></p><p><strong>Creating an Independent Thought</strong></p><p></p><p>"Independent Thought" is an acquired template that can be applied to any deity with at least Divine Rank 4 and 100 hit dice, which has a non-Lawful alignment. It uses all of the deity's abilities and statistics, except as noted below.</p><p></p><p><strong>Size and Type:</strong> The deity gains the Chaotic subtype if it did not have it already.</p><p><strong>Hit Dice:</strong> The deity does not gain any extra HD, but its hit dice change to d100s for all current and future hit dice. The deity continues to gain maximum hit points per hit die, as standard for its Divine Rank.</p><p><strong>Speed:</strong> The deity's speed values change to 10 times its original speeds (that is, the base speed values it had without divine or other templates).</p><p><strong>AC:</strong> The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on AC.</p><p><strong>Attack:</strong> The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on all attack rolls.</p><p><strong>Damage:</strong> All attacks made by the Independent Thought, whether natural attacks or by weapon, gain a +24 insight bonus to damage. This even applies to spells which deal hit point damage, and the bonus applies to each target of any such spell the deity uses (for example, a <em>Magic Missile</em> spell would deal an extra 24 points of damage to each target, whether or not any target was hit with more than one missile, while a <em>Fireball</em> would simply deal an extra 24 points of damage to creatures in its area before Reflex saves are rolled). Finally, all of the Independent Thought's natural attack forms (if it has any) are treated as Epic and Chaotic for the purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction.</p><p><strong>Special Attacks:</strong> An Independent Thought retains all special attacks it had before, and gains the following:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Calculated Spellcasting (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on all checks against Spell Resistance.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Rotting (WIS) Storm (Ex):</u></em> As a standard action, the Independent Thought can fill his or her Divine Aura with a field of energy that distorts the senses and thoughts of all creatures caught within it. This deals 1 point of WIS drain per 160 HD of the Independent Thought (minimum 1 point), and furthermore continues to cause the same damage in subsequent rounds (this "repeating" damage continues for 1 round per Divine Rank of the Independent Thought, even if the creature leaves the Storm). Creatures within one move of the outside of the deity's Aura are entitled to Reflex saves (DC 44 + the deity's CHA modifier + the deity's Divine Rank) to leave the field before it reaches full strength, and if successful take only half damage (though any damage taken is repeated in later rounds like normal). Creatures that are not able or not willing to leave the field with a move action, or which fail the save, take full damage. Damage taken in multiple rounds stacks: that is, if a creature takes 1 point of drain in round 1, stays in the field (taking 1 repeating point of drain and 1 point of "new" drain) on round 2, and then finally leaves the field during round 3 (after taking 2 points of repeating drain from rounds 1 and 2, and 1 point of "new drain" for round 3), then all three "repeating drain" effects continue going until they run their course. Once the Storm is active, it stays active until the Independent Thought dismisses it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Spell-Like Ability:</u></em> At will- <em>Quickened Replicate Casting</em>. The Independent Thought is able to use <em>Replicate Casting</em> as a Swift action, once per round. Furthermore, unlike the normal spell, the Independent Thought can replicate up to 9th-level spells with this ability, and replicating a spell that has a casting time of 1 or more rounds still takes the deity just 1 swift action.</li> </ul><p><strong>Special Qualities:</strong> An Independent Thought retains all special qualities it had before, and gains the following:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Acid Absorption (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought gains Acid Absorption 500. The first 500 points of Acid damage that hit the deity in a given round heal it instead of hurting it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Damage Reduction (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought gains Damage Reduction 50/Epic and Lawful. If the deity already had existing DR of the "/Epic and Lawful" type, then that DR is increased by 50 instead.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Insane Senses (Ex):</u></em> All of the deity's senses expand to 10 times their base range.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Legendary Intelligence (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought's INT score is doubled, after all additive bonuses granted by race or templates (including the +72 granted by Independent Thought itself) are added, but before any effects from spells, items, or other temporary effects are considered.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Psychometry (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought has truly astounding analytical capability, and can literally read opponents at a glance. The deity is able to read the game statistics (including current totals of variable qualities such as hit points and spell slots) of any creature within his or her sensory range, at will.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><em><u>Superior Spell Resistance (Ex):</u></em> The Independent Thought gains SR equal to 34 + its hit dice. Furthermore, all spells used against the deity must check this special SR <strong>twice</strong> in order to function; if either check fails, the spell fails to overcome the SR at all.</li> </ul><p><strong>Saves:</strong> The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus to all saves.</p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> Change as follows: STR +24, DEX +24, CON +24, INT +72, WIS +72, CHA +72. The deity also gains double INT, due to Legendary Intelligence (see above), but only after this +72 (and any other bonuses from race or other templates, including DR) are added.</p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> The Independent Thought gains both Maven and Omnicompetent, if it did not already have them; all skills are raised to their maximum possible ranks by hit dice. Furthermore, the deity gains a +24 insight bonus on all skills.</p><p></p><p><strong>Challenge Rating:</strong> Same as the deity +53.</p><p><strong>Level Adjustment:</strong> Same as the deity's Level Adjustment +80.</p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> The Independent Thought changes to Chaotic alignment, if it was not previously Chaotic, but the Good/Evil alignment component does not typically change.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This ended up being the last Shard template created for my game, because the one remaining character who didn't have one (the carrier of Thought/Dream's Seed) decided not to pursue a Shard. Interestingly, that same character was this party's contribution to the Seventh First One, during the Grand Nexus- so in a way, he got far better than a Shard could have been anyway.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="paradox42, post: 5223401, member: 29746"] [b]The Independent Thought[/b] After the party was finished with Fate, the God of Secrets- who had specifically been Seeded by Thought/Madness way back at the start of all this (the other character having been Seeded by Thought/Dream) was determined to follow the Metatron carrier and turn his Seed into a full-blown Shard. So, the party next went off to the Pure-Madness cosmos. I asked for what portion the Secrets God (who was manifesting the travel effect) wanted to target, and he said random. I decided there was maybe a 1% chance that he'd end up somewhere he wanted to be, namely close to Thought Itself. I didn't tell them this of course, I just had the party members roll (though only the Secrets guy mattered). So of course, the percentile dice he rolled came up 01. :p For Thought's cosmic throne room, I opted to interpret Lovecraft through the veil of [I]Science!!![/I] and had the party end up in a universe that looked startlingly familiar, with a black sky/background dotted with stars- albeit a [B]lot[/B] of stars, because they were right outside what appeared to be a supermassive black hole at the heart of a galaxy. All things considered, that was what really drew the party's attention to that wreath of a hundred or so planets, orbiting the event horizon inside the inner limit of the accretion disk and maintaining their atmospheres, all despite the clear and obvious impossibility of any real planet being able to do something like that without super-high-tech anti-gravity devices embedded throughout the crust and covering the surface (they should have not only lost the atmospheres to the black hole, but also been torn apart from tidal forces themselves, orbiting that close). The sheer weirdness of that spectacle was compounded by the fact that party members with Cosmic Consciousness- not to mention the Seeds the PCs were all carrying- could hear [I]sounds[/I] reverberating through the atmospheres of these improbable worlds. Specifically, musical tones, sounding mostly like wind instruments- flutes, and the like. As if that weren't enough, the same musical tones reverberated throughout the accretion disk, despite the vacuum between the planets (and their atmospheres) and the inner limit of the disk. Those who listened too closely to the [I][B]MUSIC[/B][/I] or used Divination-type effects to try and figure out what was going on, found themselves making Will saves against damage to all three mental ability scores at once, as the sounds somehow "spoke to their souls" and started lulling them to "sleep" or at any rate unconsciousness. After some time spent on that puzzle, the PCs- using Moiranna's [I]Gate[/I] ability since there was no Astral Plane here for regular [I]Gates[/I] to work- transported inside the event horizon itself, where they witnessed an even stranger sight that I described thusly: "In this place, Everything is Falling. At the Bottom is an enormous, tentacled Mass that reaches out and grabs things at random from the infalling material, and pulls it down into the main body to be absorbed. THIS looks thoroughly Far Realm to all of you, and is more what you expected when you came here. The enormous Mass is bright green in color. You can sense the [I][B]MUSIC[/B][/I] all around you here- in fact, inside the event horizon it seems to be even stronger than it is in the accretion disk. You are now Falling towards the Mass as well; however, the Mass is still some several AU below you. It appears to be at least as large as a planet, but size is distorted and difficult to judge here. The Mass is apparently a living thing of some sort, though grotesque and abominable in the extreme. Billions of eyes dot is surface in apparently random places, as do millions of tentacles (some miles in diameter and hundreds of miles long)." Of course, the Mass was Thought, and after a brief but brain-twisting conversation, the God of Secrets got rid of his Seed and got instead an acknowledgement from Thought that he was a separate being. I should mention the significance of this; my conception of this First One and the reason it is so powerful, is that Thought literally [B]is[/B] that throughout Reality- wherever there is mind, of any sort, there is Thought. Thought is literally and inextricably bound into every being or entity that has numbers in all three mental ability scores. So, this god actually got Thought to recognize him as an entity separate from Itself, hence the name of the template he got: Independent Thought. This being (as it turned out) so near the end of the campaign, we never actually specified how this template would change his appearance, but I here and now will suggest that it should be something along the lines of how reaching 10th level as an Alienist changes one- in other words, he becomes more "Far Realmy" in look. Turning greener, slimy/greasy, growing a few extra tentacular appendages, that sort of thing. But, on to the rules text. [B]Creating an Independent Thought[/B] "Independent Thought" is an acquired template that can be applied to any deity with at least Divine Rank 4 and 100 hit dice, which has a non-Lawful alignment. It uses all of the deity's abilities and statistics, except as noted below. [B]Size and Type:[/B] The deity gains the Chaotic subtype if it did not have it already. [B]Hit Dice:[/B] The deity does not gain any extra HD, but its hit dice change to d100s for all current and future hit dice. The deity continues to gain maximum hit points per hit die, as standard for its Divine Rank. [B]Speed:[/B] The deity's speed values change to 10 times its original speeds (that is, the base speed values it had without divine or other templates). [B]AC:[/B] The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on AC. [B]Attack:[/B] The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on all attack rolls. [B]Damage:[/B] All attacks made by the Independent Thought, whether natural attacks or by weapon, gain a +24 insight bonus to damage. This even applies to spells which deal hit point damage, and the bonus applies to each target of any such spell the deity uses (for example, a [I]Magic Missile[/I] spell would deal an extra 24 points of damage to each target, whether or not any target was hit with more than one missile, while a [I]Fireball[/I] would simply deal an extra 24 points of damage to creatures in its area before Reflex saves are rolled). Finally, all of the Independent Thought's natural attack forms (if it has any) are treated as Epic and Chaotic for the purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction. [B]Special Attacks:[/B] An Independent Thought retains all special attacks it had before, and gains the following: [LIST] [*][I][U]Calculated Spellcasting (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus on all checks against Spell Resistance. [*][I][U]Rotting (WIS) Storm (Ex):[/U][/I] As a standard action, the Independent Thought can fill his or her Divine Aura with a field of energy that distorts the senses and thoughts of all creatures caught within it. This deals 1 point of WIS drain per 160 HD of the Independent Thought (minimum 1 point), and furthermore continues to cause the same damage in subsequent rounds (this "repeating" damage continues for 1 round per Divine Rank of the Independent Thought, even if the creature leaves the Storm). Creatures within one move of the outside of the deity's Aura are entitled to Reflex saves (DC 44 + the deity's CHA modifier + the deity's Divine Rank) to leave the field before it reaches full strength, and if successful take only half damage (though any damage taken is repeated in later rounds like normal). Creatures that are not able or not willing to leave the field with a move action, or which fail the save, take full damage. Damage taken in multiple rounds stacks: that is, if a creature takes 1 point of drain in round 1, stays in the field (taking 1 repeating point of drain and 1 point of "new" drain) on round 2, and then finally leaves the field during round 3 (after taking 2 points of repeating drain from rounds 1 and 2, and 1 point of "new drain" for round 3), then all three "repeating drain" effects continue going until they run their course. Once the Storm is active, it stays active until the Independent Thought dismisses it. [*][I][U]Spell-Like Ability:[/U][/I] At will- [I]Quickened Replicate Casting[/I]. The Independent Thought is able to use [I]Replicate Casting[/I] as a Swift action, once per round. Furthermore, unlike the normal spell, the Independent Thought can replicate up to 9th-level spells with this ability, and replicating a spell that has a casting time of 1 or more rounds still takes the deity just 1 swift action. [/LIST] [B]Special Qualities:[/B] An Independent Thought retains all special qualities it had before, and gains the following: [LIST] [*][I][U]Acid Absorption (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought gains Acid Absorption 500. The first 500 points of Acid damage that hit the deity in a given round heal it instead of hurting it. [*][I][U]Damage Reduction (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought gains Damage Reduction 50/Epic and Lawful. If the deity already had existing DR of the "/Epic and Lawful" type, then that DR is increased by 50 instead. [*][I][U]Insane Senses (Ex):[/U][/I] All of the deity's senses expand to 10 times their base range. [*][I][U]Legendary Intelligence (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought's INT score is doubled, after all additive bonuses granted by race or templates (including the +72 granted by Independent Thought itself) are added, but before any effects from spells, items, or other temporary effects are considered. [*][I][U]Psychometry (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought has truly astounding analytical capability, and can literally read opponents at a glance. The deity is able to read the game statistics (including current totals of variable qualities such as hit points and spell slots) of any creature within his or her sensory range, at will. [*][I][U]Superior Spell Resistance (Ex):[/U][/I] The Independent Thought gains SR equal to 34 + its hit dice. Furthermore, all spells used against the deity must check this special SR [B]twice[/B] in order to function; if either check fails, the spell fails to overcome the SR at all. [/LIST] [B]Saves:[/B] The Independent Thought gains a +24 insight bonus to all saves. [B]Abilities:[/B] Change as follows: STR +24, DEX +24, CON +24, INT +72, WIS +72, CHA +72. The deity also gains double INT, due to Legendary Intelligence (see above), but only after this +72 (and any other bonuses from race or other templates, including DR) are added. [B]Skills:[/B] The Independent Thought gains both Maven and Omnicompetent, if it did not already have them; all skills are raised to their maximum possible ranks by hit dice. Furthermore, the deity gains a +24 insight bonus on all skills. [B]Challenge Rating:[/B] Same as the deity +53. [B]Level Adjustment:[/B] Same as the deity's Level Adjustment +80. [B]Alignment:[/B] The Independent Thought changes to Chaotic alignment, if it was not previously Chaotic, but the Good/Evil alignment component does not typically change. This ended up being the last Shard template created for my game, because the one remaining character who didn't have one (the carrier of Thought/Dream's Seed) decided not to pursue a Shard. Interestingly, that same character was this party's contribution to the Seventh First One, during the Grand Nexus- so in a way, he got far better than a Shard could have been anyway. [/QUOTE]
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