Level Up (A5E) Sins of the Scorpion Age, Sword and Sorcery Campaign Setting

[GuyBoy]

I always liked the “debased cults who still worshipped Thugra Khotan” concept from REH. Based on that, how about a cult that worship the ancient mummy of a dead wizard, with an ultimate aim of restoring him.

Similarly, in a more northern and damper clime, a tribe that sacrifice to one of the deities by drowning in peat bogs. This also creates bog mummies as monsters.

 

[Steampunkette]

I always liked the “debased cults who still worshipped Thugra Khotan” concept from REH. Based on that, how about a cult that worship the ancient mummy of a dead wizard, with an ultimate aim of restoring him.

Similarly, in a more northern and damper clime, a tribe that sacrifice to one of the deities by drowning in peat bogs. This also creates bog mummies as monsters.

Love the energy. Definitely need cults for the world to deal with. Maybe a bit more "Western Witchery" for Neasc's thick forests, more Doomsday Cult for Ellenici, prophesizing the rise of the Dweller from the Khufu Sea... Plenty of debased cults, too, across the globe.

Bog Mummies is also an amazing idea.

Debating an Atlantis/Lemuria-like legend, as well. Could be neat.

 

[GuyBoy]

Love the energy. Definitely need cults for the world to deal with. Maybe a bit more "Western Witchery" for Neasc's thick forests, more Doomsday Cult for Ellenici, prophesizing the rise of the Dweller from the Khufu Sea... Plenty of debased cults, too, across the globe.

Bog Mummies is also an amazing idea.

Debating an Atlantis/Lemuria-like legend, as well. Could be neat.

For the “Western witchery”, damp, dark, shrouded forests, especially at night are a thing. Britain is replete with legends of witches, ghost dogs and the like.
Stones are a must. And by stones, I mean the Neolithic style monuments that proliferate, and even today seem to carry the memories of people who lived before Khufu raised the Great Pyramid.
I live near a few of these megaliths. They are places to go to feel the power of the old spirits of this land. I’ve attached a photo of Coldrum Long Barrow below (by daylight.....it’s a seriously spooky place at night!)

 

[Faolyn]

Love the energy. Definitely need cults for the world to deal with. Maybe a bit more "Western Witchery" for Neasc's thick forests, more Doomsday Cult for Ellenici, prophesizing the rise of the Dweller from the Khufu Sea... Plenty of debased cults, too, across the globe.

The LU monster playtest had those demigod things, and o5e has Eidolons, both of which be very good for cults. And AD&D had living idols, which are also quite useful.

Debating an Atlantis/Lemuria-like legend, as well. Could be neat.

Totally go for Atlantis. I'm not super-knowledgeable about S&S, but I know that things like The Ancients were used in at least some of the movies I've seen. Which, admittedly, were mostly from MST3k but hey.

 

[Steampunkette]

I had -totally- forgotten about the Forgotten Gods entry, @Faolyn! That's -100%- perfect for this setting!

After all, there was a War of the Gods. So having a bunch of cults with weak as water fallen deities of various concepts and the like could be crazy awesome in a Conan fighting Dagon sort of way.

 

[Steampunkette]

So the Atlantis Concept: Myr.

The Isles of Myr would be the mountaintops of a fallen civilization that sank beneath the waves. The survivors are the Myri peoples, who largely fell back into Barbarism when their amazing civilization was lost to the waves. Their special sciences, their technologies, their everything, gone. Those who were in or near the mountains survived and had to begin a new life of hunting and gathering. So there's a full on underwater nation-state with multiple cities lost to the waves...

Except they're occupied by monstrous things. The population who made some horrible deal with -dark things- beneath the waves to save themselves, becoming fishmen or something similar. Maybe Sahuagin and Kuo-Toa?

 

[GuyBoy]

This also opens the door for a kraken as a fallen god, which would be great. Aboleths?
It would also allow for a different take on an “Underdark” with caves/tunnels beneath the islands of Myr linking to caverns (some water-filled, some not) of the drowned civilisation.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Maybe Sahuagin and Kuo-Toa?

Merrows!

They are already dark servitor of a fiend. So they could have made a pact with the Dweller.
The big shot high priest became a kraken with 20th level cleric spellcasting.

 

[Steampunkette]

Merrows!

They are already dark servitor of a fiend. So they could have made a pact with the Dweller.
The big shot high priest became a kraken with 20th level cleric spellcasting.

Minotaurs - Merrow
Humans - Kuo Toa
Stormborn - Sahuagin

Seem reasonable?

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Minotaurs - Merrow
Humans - Kuo Toa
Stormborn - Sahuagin

Seem reasonable?

Yup, really good.
In terms of fishy-folks, their also the skum, which are the weird results of aboleth corruption, and the Drowned ones (both from Saltmarsh).

They would fit the sunken city theme perfectly.