[Points of Light Setting] The Residuum Must Flow (updated 6/24)

[doseyclwn]

Reading through your original post again, I had a few more ideas I'd like to run by you.

Residuum - I am not keen on adventurers being able to create vast wealth out of magical armor and items. What I would propose is that you have a chance to create residuum out of disenchanted magical items, but it's value would be worth no more than the price of the residuum, and it would have to be processed (maybe create a "craft residuum" skill or something along those lines. There would be a chance they would get no residuum, or they may get very little, or they may mess up when it's processed (like if the person doing the processing is corrupt or something). This way, you can keep the PC's from going around disenchanting magic items all over the place.

Warforged - I'm still not sure I like the idea of them in this setting. Maybe they're just about to be discovered or something, possibly remnants of an ancient empire until "reawakened" by residuum or something.

The Worm - I want to have something like the worm from dune, something that makes residuum mining dangerous as hell, something that low level pc's would NOT be able to defeat.

Non-human races - I'm thinking noble houses here: each race could have their own noble house, humans may have several. Have you decided on a number of noble houses?

Start of the campaign - How to get them involved? I'm thinking something along the lines of the treachery that took place in the first DUNE book, maybe the PC's have ties to that house, either by blood or otherwise, but have that house get basically screwed over by another house during one of the early levels and have the restoration or vindication of that house be the initial object of the campaign.

Any thoughts?

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Something I think would be very neat is a sort of corruption, or at least alteration, resulting from residuum exposure (a la the Mentat in Dune), in the long run. This would be interesting as it could have it that very high-level wizards are somehow not right. Even mundane members of the guilds/families could develop minor magical abilities.

Perhaps Sandworms could be some sort of magivore similar to an uber-Nishruu or Hakeashar. Absorbing spells and maybe healing from them, that kind of thing. Most mining crews don't have a mage escort, as it just wouldn't do them much good should a "Worm" show up. I could see use in high-risk area mining crews of golem workers, as they're seen as more "expendable" than mortal miners.

I may use this idea in my games. It would fit well with my world.

I'm with Terwox; I never much cared for Dune, but this idea makes it seem OK to me.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Very cool idea.

They are political and cultural juggernauts, but they have their chain: residuum. Although divine rituals can be performed using Sanctified Incense, few temples within civilized areas do, accepting gifts of residuum from the Noble Houses and any others who wish to donate the precious dust. In exchange for donations, the Church provides services for the Noble Houses, Barony, and the Imperial Throne, and promotes sermons that maintain order within both the community and between these groups.

If you want the Church to have a real stake in the flow of residuum you only need it to be required for one ritual, Ordination. Like the connection between the Reverend Mothers and the Water of Life, no residuum, no new clerics.

 

[FabioMilitoPagliara]

very nice

thank you!

 

[Kaodi]

Why not just substitute " Dragon " for " Worm " ? Maybe Residuum is a residue that is left over on things that have been touched by their breath weapons...

While this is obviously meant to be a tribute to Dune, I would like to suggest that it not be entirely parallel. Yes, there are Houses, but the political situation should not mirror Atreides and Haarkonen I think. And no singular Paul type character. Every one of the PCs should be able to be equally central to the story.

 

[doseyclwn]

Looking through the MM, I was thinking that I could use a (slightly) modified purple worm.

 

[clark411]

Lots of points to cover!

1. My first post was simply a framework for applying a concept to the preexisting parts of DnD (portals, rituals, points of light, residuum). The work that I've done since then has been history work, and a little information on the non-human races that aren't integrated into the Empire. I'll share it- but it's less of a framework and will probably be of less value.

2. Glad to see that there's lots of "We need to add.." posts! I'll be leaving the origins of the leylines, the lodestones, and the consequences of residuum use to the imaginations of others- I'll have my own too.

3. The automatons, which the Warforged are only a part, are there primarily to help with the balance of power and explain where a lot of the residuum is going (Meridia). Most Houses have somewhat limited resources to run their militaries... even if they're spending considerable sums to establish new farmlands, carving them out of the wilderness, the holdings are bubbles of civilization that impose considerable limitations on each one. Even feeding a small army is a dubious proposal, so Houses may have dozens of Warforged soldiers in torpor, ready to sprinkle residuum on them to wake them up in an emergency. The framework is certainly modular enough to allow for the complete removal of any individual component, I think- so do away with them as needed.

4. I left Shai'Hulud out of the equation because... well it's clear- Some people think magic = dragons, while others say worms fit the vibe of Dune. You could argue that the Underdark itself is the Worm... that Torog, the Beast that Burrows, is very jealous of his domain, or that Tiamat- whose portfolio covers the hording of wealth, requires covenants with each Holding. It's ultimately up to the scale and direction of your campaign and your personal interests... if we put in Level 28 Worms or Dragons, there's two issues that sprout up: 1) we clearly define residuum mining as the stuff of epic legend (and imply to the players that they should find other things to do for 25ish levels) and 2) we make it very hard to believe that Solanthis could have established control of even a single Lodestone, per the default. In Dune, the nations use Ornithopters to scout for big bads and clear out their harvesters with time to spare... in this feudal setting, the Houses build giant fortresses atop their Lodestones and establish permanent tunnels that no other can access directly. A 30 year construction of a castle atop a purple worm may cause issues.

5. I hadn't even thought of requiring residuum for ordination! Given that Solanthis was a Theocratic nation prior to discovering residuum, It might cause a little logical disconnect... Religion and ritual existed long before residuum was found through means other than the Disenchant Magic Item ritual. Additionally, there are nations beyond the Empire that also have divine ritual use but no residuum. I had hoped to leave residuum as the overused, dominant "alternative" option to give PCs a chance to play different, but your tastes may vary.

 

[doseyclwn]

First off, thanks for the inspiration, Clark411. I'm definitely using this as inspiration for my first 4e campaign. A lot to think about. Let's see...

1) I don't think it would be of less value. I'm not going to use your ideas verbatim, but I like the way you think so far, and it's definitely sparking my own creativity. I'd be interested to see what you have done on the non-humans.

2)Good. I have a bunch of ideas already for those.

3)I dunno. Maybe I'll have non-warforged automatons and warforged will come later or something. Haven't quite figured that out. One idea I had was to use some sort of automated Guild Navigator (a machine instead of a human) to pilot the airships. Though airships having to use residuum-mutated navigators is an interesting thought...

4) I see what you mean. I'll have to give that some thought. I'd like to have some reason to send folks into the wilderness, but we'll see.

5) I think residuum as required for ordination is a bit much, but maybe some ritual like the Spice Agony ritual to attain higher levels or become an exarch or something like that.

Again, thanks for all the great ideas. I'd love to hear more about what you're doing with it.

 

[doseyclwn]

Sorry. Accidental double post

 

[mrrodgers]

Who is the cheif patron of the Empire? My thoughts are below.

While the capital of the empire is built around a temple of Pelor, it makes sense in my mind that they would revere Corellon and Ioun more, due to their strong connection to arcane magic and thus residuum.