The Create-a-Setting Thread: Dinopirates of Ninja Island!

[thullgrim]

well we need to hammer down some firearms rules as well. I personally like the rules that Privateer Press uses and they are open content as I remember. We just need to add to the number of firearms as well. I like the idea of hand bombs (2d6 acid 1d6 splash only an explosion not actually acid), dwarven firetosser (shoots a cone or line shaped area effect of fire).

Thullgrim

 

[thullgrim]

I agree there needs to be a baseline of seriousness in the setting. I think spel points are the way to fo, maybe along with class defense bonus and if you want a mortality to be a factor a vp/wp should be considered.

Some thought should be given to raise dead type magics-we want things the ninjas kill to stay dead. Whether this should be addressed by limiting access to these spells (leave them in raise their levels, restrict them to the priests of one god etc...) or by giving the ninja a death strike ability (call it soul strike for now) that negates the possibility of the victim being raised.

If travel is going to major component of the campaign then the travel spells should also be addressed. IN this case I am in favor of resricting them to one organization the Navigator's Guild. A five level prestige class would go with this providing the travel oriented spells and a small spell list of related (survival and travel spells I think)

I think sea-gypsy halflings would also be cool in addition to the cannibalistic voodo doing halflings. The gypsy halflings would be traders and fortune tellers and general roguish types maybe they are searching for their home land or are looking for the gypsy king.

just tossing idead out there.

Thullgrim

 

[kenjib]

Finally, of COURSE you need to add some sort of "advanced human" race, from a technologically advanced future, marooned in a primitive era and trying to find a way home. That's why I suggested Astronaut as a class. Whether it's the result of a Planet of the Apes or Cadillacs & Dinosaurs style of post-apocalyptic setting, Indiana Jones-style scientists/archaeologists, simple time travel, or alien explorers who just happen to look just like humans, it's a standard part of the genre.

The Valley of the Lost Brotherhood of Mu

Hidden in a secret, mist shrouded, vale, the Brotherhood of Mu lives a life of isolation that is only hinted at in the most obscure tales of wayward travellers. Said to be survivors of a great cataclysm in the past, the Brothers and Sisters of Mu are the last remnants of a great age of men, of which the men of today are a mere shadow. The Brotherhood of Mu seeks now only to live a utopian life of enlightened tranquility. In order to preserve this state, they must keep their vale hidden from the outside world. It is said that once you find the secret Valley of the Lost Brotherhood of Mu, you will never leave.

From what fragmentary records exist scattered as vague references throughout the libraries of Ninja Island, the Brothers and Sisters of Mu look similar to humans but for a slightly elongated forehead, 7' average height, vertical black irises in yellow eyes, thin build, and unblinking stare. They typically wear headbands and long flowing togas and robes of bold colors and move slowly and deliberately. Brothers and Sisters of Mu are said to have powerful psychic abilities as well, and among other abilities can communicate with others without speaking.

Brothers and Sisters of Mu typically try to appear as ordinary humans to outsiders who find the vale, encouraging them to stay of their own accord, but once they try to leave the Brothers and Sisters of Mu take on their true visage and implant a repetative sound in their target's mind which will likely drive him insane:

"ch-ch-ch-ch-cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Chan-CHAN-CHAN-CHAN..."
"ch-ch-ch-ch-cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Chan-CHAN-CHAN-CHAN..."
"ch-ch-ch-ch-cha-Cha-Cha-Cha-Chan-CHAN-CHAN-CHAN..."

"AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!" Yell the captives, faces twisted as they grasp at their ears in agony. It is a desperate but futile attempt to stop the sound that, once planted, will not cease until they accept their fate and vow never to leave the Valley of the Lost Brotherhood of Mu.

Welcome to paradise.

 

[kenjib]

As far as making changes to the rules go, I say the fewer the better. First of all, the more ambitious you get, the less likely anything will ever materialize. Second, the more you change the rules, the more reasons you give people to find something they don't like. So, I say just use normal magic, hit points, armor, and other rules as much as possible and focus on the setting. This isn't really about crunchy rules stuff anyway, right? It's just about ninjas and dinopirates.

As regards how silly it should be, I think the setting needs to be really stupid to work well. If you get too much into the politics between factions, and justification for trade routes for pirates to plunder, and such you lose focus and the joke gets watered down. You don't need reasons for ninjas and dinopirates to fight. It's just what they do. You don't need reasons for ninjas and dinopirates to exist. They just do. You don't need a reason for there to be a giant flying stone head that shouts "ZARDOZ!" It's just there. For me, it's much funnier that way.

I think any attempt to move this beyond a beer and pretzels kind of thing probably won't work.

 

[dreaded_beast]

I agree... however, I don't think that orcs are fitting for the DPoNI setting, because they don't go far enough.

Wow, you really put a lot of thought and work in creating those races. I'm impressed.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say that orcs "don't go far enough." Can you be more specific? I really like Orcs (at least as a PC race).

 

[talinthas]

you can't have a setting of ninjas and pirates and not include monks =)
the holy triumvirate must stand complete, else the dreaded ninja pirate shall dominate all!

seriously, the ninja monk, ninja pirate, and pirate monk are like mainstays of uber camp settings like this. gotta have em =)

 

[JPL]

Sorry...been busy for a day or two.

I would absolutely love to see some of this put together in a coherent fashion, and anyone who would like to explore the idea more thoroughly can drop me a line at jplee at egix dot net.

Whether this ends up being for publication or just as a world-building exercise...suits me fine. Just for the record, I am an attorney and a former textbook editor, so I might be able to help with any legal issues that come up and with editing the project. I think a website with a small core of creators would be a good starting place.

I'm almost thirty. When I game these days [not often enough], I want to be fifteen again. So I say, take these cliches of young nerd fascination --- dinosaurs, ninjas, pirates, monkeys, robots --- and make them the core of a setting.

Just for the record...any work for publication or profit done on this world will not use any of the material posted on this thread, unless expressly authorized by the original author of said material.

 

[kenjib]

Just for the record...any work for publication or profit done on this world will not use any of the material posted on this thread, unless expressly authorized by the original author of said material.

Anything I've posted is authorized

 

[thullgrim]

mine as well, and as stated earlier as soon as something more formal is set up I would love to help work on this project.

Thullgrim

 

[Nifft]

Wow, you really put a lot of thought and work in creating those races. I'm impressed.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say that orcs "don't go far enough." Can you be more specific? I really like Orcs (at least as a PC race).

Thanks! I tried to fit in all the necessary arctypes: l'il sneaky guy (kobolds & gnomes), tiny flying guy (gnome + aeolian), big smashy guy (ogres), magic-hating techie guy (dwarves), an d normal-average guy (humans).

What I mean is: if you want hulking barbaric Northmen, use Ogres. Skip the middle-man -- er, middle-humanoid.

Finally, I like the races I picked because there's built-in conflict: gnomes vs. kobolds and dwarves vs. ogres, so any PC race makes a good antagonist NPC race, too.

Limited palettes require powerful, deep color.

-- N