Not It

Looks like I did not make it into the Paizo Villains round. A welcome relief actually since I'd rather devote my time elsewhere rather then write up things for many hours and then be bumped out like last year. Anyhow, posting should return to regular abundance as you can see by today's allotment.

The Oculus

I've thought about the name and abilities of the blood-line powers occuring during the 9 year Summer, The Estaoculus - the summer of eyes. I think I will simply call it The Oculus. Simple name and pretty much straight to the point.

I am taking it as that some families of all races who lived around 180 years ago during this 9 year summer are the origin of this ability. For whatever reason they were effected while others were not. Stayed in the perpetual light too long, ate the wrong things, whatever. Some of these families have since died out, some have proliferated. I would say the ability is probably about as rare as an albino is today, ~0.3% or a couple for every thousand people. Just because a family is known for the trait it does not mean they have it. It only develop for those with the trait and have activated it through some sort of trail by fire. IE - I am saying when they first gain XP, so really any adventurous means would activate it, even in a child.

The actual powers I am still mulling over and it will be somewhat hard to balance correctly. Also the reaction to the general populace will probably vary wildly, from respected and feared to hunted down like a dog. Note however that The Oculus is only obvious when it is used and the eyes change in appearance while doing so. It otherwise is not apparent and easy to hide. I figure I will dot down 20 or so lines and give them a short write up. I can make up others as we go, in particular for npcs, villains and the like. In general I picture them as a cross between vampire clans and bloodlines in birthright. These families will clearly be tight knit because of their differences with the other population, and because of rival Oculus families. A full gambit of politics will be involved since many such Oculus folks are kings, judges, warlords and so forth.

In particular it should be used with noteworthy NPCs. A legendary thief, a white-beard Dwarf, a zealous Halfling Sheriff, a well loved king, and so forth. I am thinking it will also be a big factor in what delineates the PC from the rest of the crowd and also an ace in the pocket should they need it. Perhaps then a villain may think twice about meeting this person again or have some sort of unholy agenda for them. When two of these individual clash, it should likewise be a very memorable event, and expect as I do some of the recent history it will be some of the crux events that have shaped the world.

- OF HALFLINGS

Journal of Khazrel Nakhu “Journey to the Cities Afar” 32’s93

- OF HALFLINGS

”Of all the races I have encountered, and I have encountered many, none are so much of a conundrum as the Halflings. In a broad view they appear to be stoic beings; humorless, pragmatic, thieves, and ruthless traders. Their Sheriffs run amuck going where they please and seemingly set them selves upon random tasks with a zealous agenda. Most non-Halflings find them to be self-righteous, bitter, and undoubtedly troublemakers. “

“After spending much time with them I find this assessment to simply not be true. They are in fact quite fill of mirth when in their own domain and enjoy life as much as any Dwarf with two maids in his bed and mead in his belly. However this is rarely seen outside their hilly forts, and only their mongering traders and fervent Sheriffs are viewed by the outside world.”

“Be patient with my analysis on how this seems to be so. First let me speak of their appearance. All Halflings are at least a head or two shorter than a Dwarf. They are often gangly with dexterous limbs and a mop of long weedy hair upon their head that range from blonds to browns but most dominantly, red. Freckles are common and the skin runs the full gambit of fleshy tones. Halflings have large wide eyes that are shifty compared the stony gaze of Dwarves – and their eyes are usually blues and greens.”

“When in the presence of danger or high stress, all but the best trained Halfling Sheriffs naturally freeze like a statue. This can be a bit unnerving when a horse kicks a barn wall and 30 Halflings around the stables all but go dead still. However in the wilds, his response makes them very difficult to spot, particularly in high grasses.”

“Halfling villages are never so large as to hold more than a few thousand individuals. They are well kept, using a myriad of building materials from loose hides to the finest marbles. Halfings are fond of multi-tiered structures and most of their dwellings hold 6 or more rooms. Contrary to belief, Halfing dwellings are large enough for a Human to stand straight in.”

“Halflings are prolific traders and hard bargainers. Be warned that any trade done with a Halflings will require haggling, and in fact most Halfling are insulted if good are not haggled for as it brings the notion that they are not worth bargaining for. Halflings are one of the few races that deals with the unseemly types of Warggots, Goblins, Snowbolds, Redcaps and their ilk. I do not know why this is, but it appears the Halflings have a reputation as worldly traders that are pragmatic enough to offer a fair deal to any. Thus many goods that are unseen by the eyes of Dwarves can be seen at Halfling markets. Likewise should a Warggot get his hands on Dwarven goods, there is a fair chance a Halfling is involved. Halflings also barter more than use coins in their trade and I recommend any visitor to bring a wide array of goods as you never know what will be high valued and what will not. While I could not buy a good crossbow for 30 gold coins, I could buy it with a simple block of salt.”

“Halflings are highly social and gatherings are common every evening among ten or hundreds of folk. Many dwellings have open door welcomes and those who come are welcome to walk in, join in the fellowship, have a snack, and leave – all several abodes in one evening. Halflings likewise have a great deal of festivals, at least one per month, and other events such as weddings, funerals, births usually offer another chance to feast just as often.”

“Halflings are very political amongst each other and families fie for political clout and land control. They rarely have open hostility and in general crime is rare. Those who do break their few laws are usually put to death quite quickly however, and I am somewhat surprised to learn that Halflings know little in the ways of mercy. In particular to those who break a Halflings sense of fairness - they are often hunted down and have removed their feet for petty infractions. I bid any traders to fulfill any deals he has committed to for such reason.”

“Vagrant Halflings often turn to thievery, which is the penultimate crime among Halflings – taking things which are not yours. It seems that those Halfings who have nothing to loose find a certain amount of pride in such work. Death is certain should they be caught but a fair amount of respect is given by a populace should crimes of theft be committed by clever means. Indeed many Halfling folk heroes are ingenious thieves who have been redeemed in some fashion. A romantic view but I have yet to know such a person personally. Many of these thieves are prodded to flee their home villages and traverse to the cities of other races where they can better hone their trade.”

“It is well known that Halflings have a presentience to see the future. I have learned that this trait is in every Halfling to some degree but few have the sense powerful enough to predict the future with accuracy. I am told that presentience is a waking dream rather than a constant sense. It simply occurs at seemly random intervals and can not be forced. Regardless it is true that presentience is very real, and many races come to the Halfings for services in regard to weather prediction to the sex of an unborn child. By dictate, only the Halfling Sherrifs are allowed to speak on behalf of presentience, so services in that regard are limited but not unheard of. Oddly enough this service is always free and never bartered for.”

“Naturally those with excellent presentience are put into leadership positions and I am told this ability runs strong among particular families. It is no wonder that these families are the natural leaders of their kind. Particularly strong presentience in a Halfling who is also adventurous can pursue a career as a Sheriff. A Sheriff, for those that do not know, roam the world setting events into a certain motion – towards a persistent future that they can see and must strive to attain. I find this troublesome since the Sheriffs will not share what exactly this future is, only that it is for the betterment of prosperity.”

“Sheriffs therefore are their own law and often do many bewildering things in the service of this predefined future. I’ve seen them lay a bottle of milk at a Warggot den, I’ve seen them save the life of drowning children, I’ve seen them slay a walking messenger for no obvious reason. It is no wonder that Sheriff are ill-trusted but given a certain respect among those they come across. A likewise most Sheriffs feel the burden of their duty and are stoic folks with sullen gazes. Authorities are very weary of them but most give them enough berth to allow them to do what they need too, then quickly send them off.”

“Rarely some Halflings have a waking nightmare and go quite mad. These individuals see a particular future and are never the same again. A cog is switched, they snap, and they are a completely different person, and usually quite motivated by what they have seen. These are among the most dangerous folk I have ever encountered in my journey as they seemly follow their own hidden agenda and appear to be free of any sort of compassion or morality. When this happens it is not uncommon for an entire group of Sheriffs to hunt this individual down - often for years until they are caught and slain. I am troubled that the Sheriffs go through such lengths and even more troubles when they fail.”

“I suppose that tales of murdering Sheriffs, rude merchants who deal with Warggots, and strange thieves that lurk in the night all give the Halfings an undeserved reputation. By in large they are a pleasant race and it is pity that most other folk do not see this side of them. Such is the way of things however.”

Landmarks

Dotting down some landmarks as I think of them. I will be editing this thread for a few days.

Banshar Krush - Broken Mountains intersected with a few large rivers. Rife with inhuman inhabitants.
Hours of Glassnettle - Small area, only 5 or so square miles but full of glass tangles that seem to grow like weeds. Very difficult to cross.
Gura, the Stained Peaks - Isolated mountains from raw ores, creating a poisonous habitat. Strange plants and animals make a home here.
Autumn Rowe - Orange-leaf trees and yellow grass makes this light forest appear in perpetual Autumn.
Bitter Vice - Bottle neck canyon and pass through the Banshar Krush.
Goupien Gulf - Poisoned sea bordering the stained peaks.
Tidiel - Great alpine valley among the Banshar Krush.
Vamarine Reaches- Emerald deciduous forests and meadows making up the Kamarine kingdom and the southern wilderlands.
Dome of the Thundergod - Cresting peak that is perpetually stormy.
Cyrellia - Large island with tall peaks, dotted with glaciers.
Golla Geyser beds - Hot springs and boiling pots periodically shift in these prairies.
Beria - Plains, home to roaming were-mammoths. Usually avoided as such.
Icanulian - Great peaks surrounding a dead lake. Said to be the resting place of a pre-deity being.
Jungles of Thoog - Flabby jungles with terrible malformed things.
Anvil of the Makers - A lone peak of sullen gray stone that gives a headache when viewed, causes vomiting when traveled towards and death should one reach the base.
Eluraelon - Taiga forests deep with many hidden glades and valleys.
Forlorn Clutch- Deep and dark woods with a perpetual curtin of miasma, home to many unkind spirits.
Ice Thistle Gorge - Large glacier-cut gorge, and very deep, up to a mile. Large hatched and hatched eggs lay within.
Bulbbog - Iridecent bulbs light this light marsh.
Slobermuck - Mulchy swamps, home to several smaller humanoids.
Tearsands - Desloate stretch of dunes.
Twilight Boughs - Dark woods, home to many elves who prefer isolation.
Silverpine Gnash - Great light forest which many races claim.
Mist Mounds - Hill and perches with a perpetual sheet of mist among the peaks.
Lushwater Ravines - Cliffs of a 1000 waterfalls. The many nooks and broken terrain make it a beautiful but nigh inexplorable place.
Starlight Folly - Crater, quite large. Mostly dead, mostly.
Mornshade - Great desert will a wide variety of terrain.
Nublet Cove - Sweet water cove, but strange nodes appear on anyone entering the water.
Northfury Canyons - Dry storms make these canyons dangerous and noisy.
Tarpsrings - Tarpits and tar-geysers make up this wide lagoon of muck.
Valley of Blue Snail - Vale of light forest and mild lakes. Not close to any large cities so relatively untouched. All PC races have some representation in these peaceful lands. (proving grounds)

Voke of Navia - Liniar valley of five small Elf states
Iskantria - Smaller Halfling realm in the subtropics. Surrounded with lush forests.
Vamarine - One of the big 3 kingdoms
Orobia - One of the big 3 kingdoms, former seat of Seleucid
Kabdoria - One of the big 3 kingdoms.
Kepiquan - Archipelago islets, halfling and elves mostly who keep a distant but copperative arragment.
Yithnia - Torn forbidding realm, variety of racing including human.
Karinstia- Former agricultural holdings, now quite wealthy human realm since the breaking of the three kingdoms.
Phorumn - A vagrant council manages this realm which is mostly a Halfling nomadic land.

And away we go again

A new server opened up in WoW so I rerolled once again. The last server to open was about 3 months ago and before that about a year. I generally like the rerolling process since its more of the journey than the destination for me, at least when it comes to WoW toons and the WoW endgame (which gets old pretty quick). I sold my last account on playerauctions.com for 240$ for one PC and $330 for another. In the hayday of UO I made well over $10k a year just from selling incidental crap and while this is no means nearly as lucrative, it is still nice to have a hobby that pays for itself, not mention groceries for a few months.

Anyhow, posting will be light while I level up once again. And if I have to write up a villain for that contest that will likely consume quite a bit more time until the 23rd. Anyhow, I have a mental image of the material I want at this point. I expect to start putting some form to it the following weekend. Until then, probably sporadic posting. I may do a map or perhaps some more artwork while I am in the mood.

Gear and Quality

I've been glossing over a bit of the starting equipment and I think I will expand the lists by race so that they are separate things. Steel will be fairly new to Human and plate will be fairly rare. Iron will be much more common and more in line with common use. In most cities and towns, mostly nobles and professional mercs would have access to steel to some extent. The vast majority of standing armies would be mishmash of hide wielding barbarians to more professional skirmishers, spearmen and so forth.

Dwarven gear is more exotic and thus, highly sought after. I going to take the slant that their 'steel' is very much like bronze but much stronger. This will be the most advanced metal to be mass produced. It will also be difficult for non-Dwarves to acquire it since they are a possessive race. However a giant bag of gems can go a long way with Dwarves. Dwarven alchemical-sorcery will less useful to PCs since it will require constant repair. I suspect only the Dwarf title class to be able to use it effectively.

Elven goods are nearly all antique and simply not for sale to non-Elves. In I suspect Elves really have no 'markets' and mostly have prearranged deals spanning decades. They have little need for trade, and when they do they often do so with raw materials rather than finished works. Most Elven military equipment is likewise very old and most Elves are weary of non-Elves carrying their ancient swords and bows.

Halflings are prolific traders and often carry goods of other races, fair and foul. Halfings are not particularly moral when it comes to trade and take a pragmatic position towards what they need. It is not uncommonfor a village of halflings to be trading with a race they were at once in mortal combat with a year ago. Halflings are also have notoriously long memories when towards those who cheat them, often waiting for years before murdering a cheats children.

Other races vary widely with goods, availability and general likelyhood of devouring thier trade partners. So it is no surprise that other inter-race trading is minimal.

Villains

The next round of the RPGSuperstars contest is going to be a 'create your own villain' sort. While I still have mixed feelings about the contest in general, I am still presumptuous enough to think my entry will be in the top 32 out of the couple thousand who entered. So it is natural for me to think of Villains, since it is the next round and you only get 3 days to write, edit, and submit it (and I hate rushing).

Perhaps I am an exception in DMs, but I rarely use individuals that are intended as reoccurring villains. This does happen on occasion but it is usually the players own doings when they let something get away or just a set of odd circumstances. So, I generally have little experience with villains, at least in the way that Paizo intends.

I have a bit of a road block here, but at least I can kill two birds with one stone and use whatever I make in Valley of the Blue Snails as well as the contest. Some of my initial inclinations:

• A pickled villain in the rum cask (ala Cask of the Suffering Bastard). The reason this poor sap in the rum cask could be pretty broad, but it would be safe to say he is undead now. I think it would be interesting should anyone drink the rum, they would be under his influence. Really it is just a matter of motivation for him and his minions which is a bit ?.
• A Clockwork Raccoon. I've been on a raccoon kick lately and for some reason bad-ass clockwork raccoon that shoots black puddings out of its orifices sounds interesting. Again we need some motivation as why this particular thing is a villain rather than simple monster.
• An Elf Prince. Some fairly powerful mage who sought to keep winter at bay while the Elves could harvest their crops. Instead his spells created an endless Autumn. And so he rules his own little Great Rot. Perhaps he is seeking a way to end it, albeit a bit mad since he doomed his own people. This is usually not typically 'me', but it may be a good villain never the less.
• The Raccoon Lord. Write up below, which I found his motivation to be pretty easy and it should fit into Valley of Blue Snails easily enough. I'm not sure if it is a winner, but I would probably use it in some game I was running.

- - - -

Ahrah-koonem, The Raccoon Lord
‘He who rubs, scratches and despoils with its hands’

History

The embodiment of Raccoon traits, both fair and foul, Ahrah-koonem is a primeval creature simply known as The Raccoon Lord. Once a verdant and benevolent trickster, the Raccoon Lord has fallen from his light-hearted ways. A rotten bough of the world tree known as Boletus fell to the deep wilds of the Raccoon Lords domain. There the gargantuan branch lay to rot, bringing with it the taint that the world tree sought to be rid of. Ever curious the Raccoon Lord investigated the wondrous, albeit forbidding bough. To his delight he found a pair or acorn still attached to Boletus. As a being of perpetual hunger, the Raccoon Lord quickly devoured one to sate his appetite.

The acorn rotted within the Raccoon Lord and he languished for years, tormented by pain, hallucinations and wracking. Over time the Raccoon Lord found that devouring rotting material would ease his suffer; and so he sought rotten leaves, piles of compost and forgotten carcasses of anything he could find. He quickly found the need to traverse great distances to sate his hunger, baying his discomfort the best he could. The Raccoon Lord sought a solution to his woes, beseeching greater powers and urgently searching the civilized races for knowledge.

Eventually the Raccoon Lord found what he desired, a plan to end his suffering. The Raccoon Lord still possessed the other acorn from Boletus and he learned that if he were to plant it in the right location, it would grow a new sapling world tree. It was possible the power of this new world tree would cure him if he were to devour a fresh untainted acorn. Secondly, the rise of the new sapling would pulled the power of the natural world to itself, and halt the rotation of seasons for hundreds of miles around. Thus the Raccoon Lord knew if he was to plant the seed in Autumn, the season would never end and a great rot would ensue, sating his hunger until the sapling could grow.

Still possessing the other acorn of Boletus, the Raccoon Lord seeks to find a suitable place to plant it. Only rumors of such places lay in legend; Nalateem the navel of the world, Gilhegrand the wild growth, Everebb heart of all rivers. Much to his chagrin, the Raccoon Lord and his minions have failed to find these locations and now search methodically while trying to keep his hunger sated. With rotting material in short supply the Raccoon Lord creates his own out of necessity, complicating his search for knowledge while among the civilized races of the world.

Description

The Raccoon Lord appears as a twenty five foot raccoon with an overly large maw, a ringed prehensile tail, and bristly fur that shimmers with supernatural radiance. He can easily stand on its hind legs and manipulate his delicate from paws with meticulous detail. The Raccoon Lords cavernous maw contains a barbed tongue and small swarm of stirges that live within feeding upon the roof of his maw. Should the Raccoon Lord be roused in anger he will often brush his tongue on the stirges and exhale them outward, creating an enraged cloud of stirges in front of him.

The Raccoon Lord can take other forms but prefers his own form greatly. When taking another form they are often imperfect and lack common traits of that race. For example, when taking the form of an Elf, in his haste the Raccoon Lord may apply a light coat of fur and forget the ears. The Raccoon Lord and shift between forms as a full round action as often as he wishes.