Scarred Lands: Ask the Sage [This keeps up, I'm gonna need a bigger notebook!]

[Nightfall]

Figured that you would have some of these.

Personally I'm fine with Psionics. It works in this setting because it's beyond magic. That's why I like it. The rest I can give or take. (Though I will say keeping Jandevos dead is kind of non-issue for me. He's either ALWAYS dead or he's always alive after being dead.)

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

Nightfall, I am not a real stickler for details -- except when it comes to geography, ocean currents, winds, etc. I like to have these make sense. Why? I am not fully sure! But I think when these are in sinc it makes for greater believability. Anyway, as I study Termana I notice the Gamulganjus Jungle in the Southeast. It is hot and humid. Makes sense. After all the ocean current must run from the southwest to the northeast (like the Gulf Stream) to keep pumping humidity as well as keeping Ethiovael untainted from the Blood Sea (if the current went the other way then the blood sea would reach past this Island).

But then I read that Padrinola is hot and humid in its nothern reaches. I'm trying to figure this out because this seems to be at odds with the other countries, except Blood Bayou. Could the humidity be due to the Blood Sea? But in this case it would say that the northern part of the continent is close to the equater which makes the jungle I just mentioned unlikely. How do you read this/deal with this seeming discrepencie? Since you seem to be running out of questions lately I decided to throw this at ya.

 

[Nightfall]

Well normally I don't ask questions. I answer em.

My reasoning is that because of Kadum's Bight mixing with the Blood Sea, along with the prevailing winds and the incroachment of the Blood Bayou, make for the humidity mixture to be just right to be humid and hot. While Kadum's Bight is relatively clean in parts, it still has the lingering effects of most Blood Sea. (Notice that while Mithril is in the northern part, it rarely snow. Kadum's Blood is pretty darn warm then even after this disperal)

That's my reading of it. Kadum's warm blood and life giving/altering/changing nature causes climatic shifts where it is present.

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

Okay, that makes sense concerning Kadum's blood and its effects. I was thinking along those lines. And I should have worded my last post as "since no one is asking you questions at the moment..."

Oh, I do have another question or two. I was looking through the CC- Revised and I did notice some entries in it that was specifically for Termana. Are there any other Creature/Monster manuals you would recommend that help in running a campaign in Termana? What have you found to be the best for your needs?

 

[Nightfall]

Rl,

Thanks man.

Okay to answer your next question, I'd certainly say CC 3 has a lot of Termana based creatures. No so sure about CC2 but most definately CC3. As for other sources, ToH, ToH2 and probably if you want a lot of unique undead, wait for Liber Mortis. Those are just a few suggestions I have at the moment. (Though Legacy of the Dragons isn't a bad option either.)

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

You're welcome! And is it just me, Nightfall, or have you been noticing what I have been noticing: A lot of emphasis on Undead as well as demons, daemons, and devils in more recent print? Don't get me wrong, people can use whatever they want. I truly like the tremendous variety that affords a DM flexibility. It just seems these creatures have been getting center stage recently, anyway as I see it. And I can certainly see where new and twisted undead can certainly populate The Scarred Lands. On the other hand I don't see the Infernal Regions inhabitants as making up that much of the cosmology of Scarn. What is your take?

 

[Nightfall]

I think part of the reason is that much like 3.0 and 3.5 many people are now getting into higher levels. So naturally that requires some high level monsters. Thus since dragons are prefered to be used in extreme situations, undead and evil outsiders are more common place. That said, there's no reason you couldn't have more various tribal armies being built. Just that people prefer to keep combats simple and centered towards not too many monsters.

(That's just my opinion and I have nothing to back this up with beyond that.)

 

[Scarab]

I don't have Divine & Defeated yet, where this is probably answered: where do devils and demons fit in in Scarred Lands? For me, it feels like they really don't have a place in the cosmology. If the gods went to war against the Titans for threatening their "soul cache", shouldn't they be ready to open a can of whoop-ass on Hell and the Abyss if they try to snatch some souls?

 

[Nightfall]

Not sure I understand the question...

(and realistically Edge of Infinity covers your Outer Planer needs)

Most demons and devils however are servants to the gods. Sure they enjoy eating/collecting souls, but the gods prefer to let them keep a few around for fun. Souls often come back after they get used or get turned into low level demons. If you're talking about the Archfiends, unlike the Great Wheel, the vast majority of the fighting for demons and devils takes place in the Material world, and generally not between the three types of fiends. So there's not much of a Blood War, but Chardun has collected some souls and more than a few unfaithful end up in Vangal's realm.

Does that help or do you require clarification?

 

[Scarab]

I get the general idea, at least. Edge of Infinity gets bumped up a few steps on my shopping list.