PLEASE Help w/ Homebrew

jdavis,

you are asking some very good and (in some cases) very difficult questions. Some of them I have answers for, some I don't. I need to focus in though, and quit jumping around I think, and concentrate on one thing at a time.

Most of the good/safe areas, I have decided, exist within the walled confines of the cities. That's one reason for clerics and paladins, to make the cities safe for the normal population. Another reason that the holy people exist is because they always have. Their existence predates the dark times. When problems began to surface, their duties changed a bit and protecting innocents became a priority. Actually, the paladins won't be traditional D&D paladins. But the LG ones will have some of the same characteristics. I have decided to make the paladin type more of a prestige class, where upon achieving it, there is some kind of knighting ceremony. To qualify for this, isn't as much a LG thing as it is being courageous and valorous.

As far as the roles the clerics play, they do a lot more rituals of blessing and sanctification to help people resist the effects of the neg. energy. Also their are laws in place making church/temple attendence manditory. So, some of the clerics would also fulfill roles similar to that of an inquisitor.

Yes people do exist outside the safe areas, but conditions aren't good. How bad? I am not sure yet. I am working on something where exposure to neg. energy would be similar to the effects radiation has on ones genetic make up.

The mind flayers are behind the whole thing. They have bulit an artifact that withdrawls neg. energy from the universe in an attempt to convert that neg. energy into a power that would amplify their own psionic power. Most of them remain safe by staying in the underdark. There are some however that protect the artifact, which is located high atop some mountains well hidden and well protected.

I like your idea of a temple located in the heart of undead teritory, as the means (or one way) characters arrive at the truth.

The world itself has been changing this way for the last 5 centuries.

These are a few thoughts I have had. So far there is actually very few things written in stone.
 

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You can build some pretty big walls in 5 centuries. I could see vast walls that stretch for miles and emit a soft glow that keeps the undead at bay. The insiders would be basically lawful peoples who are controled by the temples, military service of some sort would be manditory and wall maintainance would be of high priority. Personal freedoms would be severly limited and controlled for the good of the community. The outsiders would be the chaotic peoples who try to band together and survive but could not cope with the strict life inside the walls, these people would be your survivor types (could have rangers and druids to perform the functions of the clerics). After 5 centuries of living unprotected the people outside the wall would either of mutated in some way or of developed some protection or immunity, those inside the wall would depend on church rituals to hold the negative energy at bay (I see huge temples with thousands of chanting voices). I can also invision huge warehouses with clerics tending gardens inside and using spells to give enough light for the plants.) I see burial rituals being tremendously important to those inside the wall and out too. There would have to be some provision for battles to keep the dead from rising and joining the other side too, this would have a affect on adventurers too, If you were too far away from a town and couldn't revive a fallen adventurer you would have to destroy the body or protect it in some way.
 

For a couple other ideas,.......The undead BBEG has made an item that generates a huge version of the 9th level spell from relics and rituals that make a solar eclipse

Or......He could have opened a direct portal to the negative energy plane

or combine the 2 effects into one evill artifact..
 

jdavis said:
You can build some pretty big walls in 5 centuries. I could see vast walls that stretch for miles and emit a soft glow that keeps the undead at bay. The insiders would be basically lawful peoples who are controled by the temples, military service of some sort would be manditory and wall maintainance would be of high priority. Personal freedoms would be severly limited and controlled for the good of the community. The outsiders would be the chaotic peoples who try to band together and survive but could not cope with the strict life inside the walls, these people would be your survivor types (could have rangers and druids to perform the functions of the clerics). After 5 centuries of living unprotected the people outside the wall would either of mutated in some way or of developed some protection or immunity, those inside the wall would depend on church rituals to hold the negative energy at bay (I see huge temples with thousands of chanting voices). I can also invision huge warehouses with clerics tending gardens inside and using spells to give enough light for the plants.) I see burial rituals being tremendously important to those inside the wall and out too. There would have to be some provision for battles to keep the dead from rising and joining the other side too, this would have a affect on adventurers too, If you were too far away from a town and couldn't revive a fallen adventurer you would have to destroy the body or protect it in some way.

Very good thoughts indeed. I really liked your thoughts about the dead rising. It does seem likely that with all that neg. energy flowing, dying in the wilderness could be more of a curse.
 

Also really like the ideas with the druids and rangers. I think they would serve as great protectors and priests for those who could not live the tenets or obey the laws within the cities.

Switching gears a bit, how plausable does the whole illithid deal sound? I guess I can afford to get a little be far fetched with them since a goal of the campaign is that their artifact is ultimately destroyed.
 

I'd play up the fact that the illithid are not native to your world (where did they come from? why? those could be good mysteries for the PC's). They should act in odd ways and should be totally alien to the PC's (that's what I get for reading the Hastur post, I'm all Cthulhued out). If there are no records of them ever, then finding old drawings of them and discriptions should be creepy, I would try hard to not let PC's on to what they are. The first encounter with one should be a doozy. It might also work in that some of them sacrificed themselves and became undead to try to control and protect the rest of the hidden race (the Illithidlich would be a good idea for that.). Perhaps they never intended the undead problems and have to hide or protect themselves too.

I'd set up a percent possibility per round of the dead rising as undead, the stronger the character the stronger undead it would be. I'd also adapt or create spells to protect the dead from turning, eventually all dead would be burned or sealed in crypts that protected them from negative energy. Characters would have to be shielded or raised quickly, once undead they could never turn back.
 

One thing to consider is mindflayers can planeshift at will. If they have an artifact that can convert negative energy to psionic energy, why not just take the proper precautions and travel to the Negative Energy Plane? Or some barren world where no one would bother them? I am not sure why they would go to such lengths as to convert the sun.
 

You really oughtta take a look at the Monsternomicon by Privateer Press. Not only is it the best monster book in print :) but it's swarming with new undead types. It also has a brand new dragon concept that sounds like it would work quite well with your Old Black concept.
 

Had a thought. You may wish to check out the Avolakia, a new monster in the Monster Manual II. There is a picture of one here:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mm2_gallery/88268_620_145.jpg

These strange creatures are intelligent, suitably alien, raise and eat the undead, and serve an obscure quasidiety, Kyuss. They also work with mindflayers, as the mindflayers have little use for the bodies of their victims once the brains are extracted. I could definitely see these guys being behind the darkening of the sun. Also, because of certain powers (such as being able to disguise themselves as humans), no one may even realize that they are present.
 

Ghostmoon said:
One thing to consider is mindflayers can planeshift at will. If they have an artifact that can convert negative energy to psionic energy, why not just take the proper precautions and travel to the Negative Energy Plane? Or some barren world where no one would bother them? I am not sure why they would go to such lengths as to convert the sun.

Well, if I follow what's in the Manual of the Planes, there is no air there for one thing. Also, I have decided that their goal is world domination. Once their psionic powers are vastly boosted, they intend to take over this world. Stay here a while and enslave everyone.

Oh, and I checked out my MMII and the picture. That would be a great addition. Thanks for pointing it out
 
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