Sketch + Paint.net

Sketch I did today of the Crystal Orb of the Suffering Thoog. Modified with Paint.net for color and various effects. I rarely do much art anymore but once in a while I will put something up to mix things up. I find sketching to be much more draining than writing for some reason.

Just to show the massive amount of cleaning that Paint.net can do, this is the original scan (sketch on top of a photocopied crystal ball). The entire process (blank sheet to finished pic) probably took 1 hour. Not bad for a free program.

The Other Races

The non-PC races will likely be an eclectic mix of traditional B/X critters along with a smattering of Finnic lore and my own home brew stuff. I can not resist inserting Shrub Gnomes and Giant Fleas after all. I have decided that the races of Finnic lore will probably be the supernatural world races, that is races that been unchanged for many eons and are practically one with the world. These races will largely be spirits, and be the primary cause of supernatural events. Some examples:

Hiisi - Tutelary spirits that are goblin-esk, usually watching over sacred groves and woods.
Anteo - When Giants die they roam the earth as rotting corpses, very malign spirits.
Iku - Your standard river monster that will snatch you when your not looking.
Immatar - Daughters of air and creativity. Benign spirits, usually.
Kalevope - Giants who cut down trees and meadows endlessly. Why they have forest issues? Who knows.
Lemepo - Fertility spirits that are commonly sacrificed too by the peasantry.
Menninkaine - Gnomish tricker spirits, one of the few that can not be bribed.
Nakki - Spirits of stagnant water, and incredibly vile and vicious. For this reason stagnate water is almost always avoided.
Pekklo - Spirits of brewing, clearly sacrificed to by the peasantry.
Piru - Creepy spirits that love nothing more than to jump on someones back and scare the crap out of them. Oddly enough they are good luck if they do so in a sauna.
Tuoni - Messenger of death, usually the last thing one sees while alive.
Vainomoin - Spirit of the voice; singing, chanting an so forth. Often beckoned by magical incantations, be careful Mages.

So that is a few to get going. Now the B/X races such as Kobolds, Goblins, Bugbears and what have you will not be supernatural at all. I am inclined to make these races wrought during one of the many endless seasons. I eluded to this in the Elf section "It is rumored that in a 32 year long winter that a coven of sullen elves never recovered, and stayed the deepest of purples with coal eyes and stark hair" - and there you go, Dark Elves. I also eluded that humans were infact wrought into the world the same way. Perhaps humans were simply divergent Elves from a eon ago, I find this perfectly acceptable lore, though I will naturally leave it a mystery instead of fact.

The same can easily be done with Kobold and the like. Estaoculus, the Summer of Eyes, will already play a core role in the development of Bloodlines. I see no reason why previous endless-seasons would likewise have a dramatic effect. In time I suspect some bits of this lore will leak out in various adventures, game play and whatever else I end up writing. Still, in the Valley of Blue Snails setting this sort of thing should at least be lore to the demi-humans. None of this should really effect Kobolds or Goblins much, but I may insert my own twist here and there. Myconids would be a great inclusion from last great season, the 4 year Autumn, The Great Rot. That and I just like Myconids.

How will the seasons effect things? A general guideline:

Autumn - Decay, rotting, harvest, and a bit of darkness. Not quite as dreary as winter however.
Winter - Sullen, lifeless, ice/cold, loss of color. Clearly a lot of bad things can come from a years long winter.
Spring - Life, growth, abundance, variety. A good area to include any 'giant' creature.
Summer - Growth, light, sun, and heat. Perhaps the most difficult to derive something from, I shall dwell upon it.

A third class of races will be available, and that is simply your natural ones that do not need a particular rhyme or reason to hang out. These will be your carnivorous apes, dragons, gorgons, dinos, and so forth. There will also be your one of a kind monsters, but these could be from any of the above channels.

I am leaning to do away with Demons, Devils and Angels. There will be servants of gods, but these will mostly be out of the realm of PCs. I will probably use various entities that are pre-deity, but these are so alien in intellect it would really be impossible to do much useful with them. Occasionally one could get loose or some crazy wizard would contact one. On that note I am still up in the air about top of the food chain type of critters.

Damage

I expect there to be three main types of damage which can be inflicted upon a PC, NPC or critter. One for Hit Points, one for Save Throws, and one for Wounds. Hit Points will essentially be a measure of skill, attrition, energy and so forth. Save Throws will be for most specifically effects, as in a Basilisk gazes upon you, Save or Turn to Stone. Wounds will be descriptive effects that will actually injure and kill your PC.

Save Throws will be the same as in B/X rules. Hit Points will be identical as well with two large exceptions; Hit Points will replenish if the PC can rest (essentially the same as spells). Hit Point do not denote death when a PC reaches zero (zero hp does kill npcs and monsters however). The reason for this is that I want to keep the flow of adventure without needing a pocket healer at all times. This is particularly an issue with solo play where a PC would practically need a weeks rest after every fight.

So with those Hit Point changes, we still need to make combat deadly and have some attrition as well. With that in mind the table above is intended to do this. This table assumes takes into account four things; worse armor means lower rolls will hit, high damage rolls will incur greater wounds, high die rolls are not heavily weighted but still a factor, and finally you won't even need this table if you miss so I see no need to use hit die/level or actual AC in the table.

For the wounds table, each letter will be a random chart for incurred effects.

• Green - Light blows. Minor imparing effects, smashed noses, dazed, stunned, bruising.
  
• Yellow - Telling blows. Limbs wounded, serious bleeding, serious imparing effects.
• Orange - Mortal Blows. Death unless magically treated, missing limbs and so forth.
• Red - Instant Death.
• Purple - Attrition blows. Bleeding, flesh wounds, accumulated injuries.

The lower the letter the more serious it will be in the tree. I will probably do a basic table for the wounded effects but it is not necessary to use. It would more be of a lazy-mans guide, but that would be useful in repetitious combat (which I hope to avoid anyhow).

As you can see, getting hit for a large amount of damage with a low roll is very bad. This should only happen to unarmored characters against very powerful critters. Or perhaps armored PCs against extremely powerful critters. In that sense things that do 15+ damage (Dragons..) will be a serious threat to even powerful PCs. Note that 'roll' applies to Save Throws that incur damage as well as to-hit rolls.

Lastly, should the PC be hit into negative Hit Points it will apply onto table above. Example: Vesper is at 5 Hit Points and is struck for 12 points of Damage. Since it knocks him into -7, 7 is added to the 12 for a total of a 19 on the 'Wound' table. The table will extend down, I cut it off at 15 for now since I did not want to post a big ass chart here. Anyhow, it would be very clear Vesper is certainly dead after such a blow, even with a high roll.

It may seem a little odd that high rolls are actually worse for striking Wounds, but I am taking into account that high rolls hit armored players much more easily and I want armor to play a factor. It is unlikely a Kobold will one-shot a dude in plate, however if several bring him down to zero hit point is certainly is not looking good for our armored friend. Likewise, those with no armor are open to serious wounds much more easily, which is what I intended.

Also note that this table will likely only be used against PCs, not monsters. If it is used against monster it would mainly be for flavor effects. Otherwise it would likely drag combat on too long for my liking.

So, I will play-test this and see how it does. I could naturally be making some bad assumption but its a start. I don't have a huge grudge against standard B/X combat, so I am keeping that in the back of my head. My main issue with it is that it is not particularly solo-friendly so I would need to stack up NPCs in this case to some extent. I suppose that is not a horrible thing, but it does feel like a crutch.

What I think will happen is that I will indeed use something like this, but leave it as 'advanced rules', and even then only as a general guide. It almost certainly would be a bad idea for large groups, especially in live session play. However for my uses during the Valley of the Blue Snails campaign I think it would fill a niche.

- OF DWARVES

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

“To maintain an unbiased account of the great Dwarven society, I have requisitioned Scoki Daeremel, my Human apprentice to note his accounts of our glorious race. Please note that the paragraphs after this will lack my usual charms and technical writing aptitude. Forgive the intrusion by less skilled hands.”

- OF DWARVES, by Scoki Daeremel, apprentice to Cog-lord Khazrel

“As a child growing up in the hinterlands of Plebes, it was a long dream of mine to see the citadels of the great Dwarves. This eventually came to fruitition after two decades of tutelage within the clergy of Vipunen, the Knowing. It was soon after I was invited to make the year-long pilgrimage to the Citadel of Ebbing Waves, or as the Dwarves call it Koti-Kyyneltyä. Therein I discovered the way of the Dwarves and the alchemical-wizardry which they employ.”

“First, let me speak of the Dwarves nature and demeanor. All Dwarves are shorter than men by a several heads at least. They are stout and all have thick and oily manes of hair. Males have oily beards which often drape to their belly. Women’s long hair often drapes down over their face and many leave only one half of their face to show, hiding the rest beneath a black curtain of hair. Older Dwarves usually do not grey as men do, but they appear more grizzled and their hair and bears grow wiry. Extremely old dwarves have hair which turns stark white, in a matter of months. This is usually a sign of extreme knowledge and somewhat of a transcendence among Dwarves. In the entire Citadel of Ebbing Waves only 18 such Dwarves out of thousands have this pure white hair. All Dwarves have black or brown eyes and their skin is dark compared to most men. They have flat faces with ovaloid skulls, protuberant eyes that are faint slits compared to the likes and of men, and flat noses. Their stout build is usually heavily set and most are as least as strong as a man despite their height.”

“Most men, even learned ones as myself know very little about the inner workings of the Dwarven society. It is a complex thing, far more so than the ways of men, so I surmise I will not do it justice. First off, let me start with their homelands. Most Dwarves live in Citadels which operate as hearth and workshop. These Citadels are almost always named after what gives them ‘flow’. In the case of the Citadel of Ebbing Waves, obviously water is the main device to make movement. Mills and vortex lay along a large waterfall in the heights of the Jaunermyst hills which provide the necessarily flow for the Dwarven alchemical-wizardry. Other Citadels are likewise named, here are a few: the Citadel of Circling Leaves, Citadel of Rising Flame, Citadel of Endless Sun, Citadel of Falling Ice – and so forth. In total I know of 21 grand citadels, and many lesser ones. I am told there were once as many as 3000 in the days of yor but this is no longer true. Indeed many ruined Citadel dot the landscape in nearly any climate.”

“The Citadels themselves vary in size, layout, architecture and population as much as Human cities. The Citadel of Ebbing Waves has roughly 6,000 inhabitants, and double that many animals which aid in the toil. The primary terrain is the 250 foot waterfall and the redwood trees that surround cover the hills. Three gates lay along the outer edges of the Citadels which are walled with un-melting glacial ice and one section is backed by granite cliffs. Internally, most buildings are wrought from a mesh of bronze, granite, and a filament material that is akin to very hard sap. No wood is uses and I am told fire in general has very little effect inside of a Citadel. Perhaps this is practical application due to the various mishaps that seem common place.”

“Dwarven Citadels have three primary wings; one for social, one for the workshops and one for the clergy. These are usually harmonious but I am told this is not true in all Citadels. Most Dwarves of working age stay within the Workshops for weeks at a time. A smaller group works in the clergy, which usually includes the Thane, his Daamis and the Dwarven court. The social wing is usually tailored to the upbringing of children, those too old to work, and any ‘broken’ (Dwarves unable to work for whatever reason).”

“Of obvious scrutiny are the mechanical workings of the Dwarven Citadels. They have devices that are well beyond the ways of men, which unfortunately cause envy and strife among the other races. I will cite examples from the Citadel of Ebbing Waves since it is what I am familiar with them most intimately. The three wings of the Citadel are placed upon large cog-plates which shift throughout the day ever so slightly. This can be particularly disorienting to travelers since going from one point to another usually changes depending on the time of day. Water flows through canals and pipes providing most dwelling with heated water and carrying devices for internal commutations. Even food is sealed in bronze jars and sent to and fro through the water ways. Clockwork machines are operated by Dwarves for a variety of tasks; milling grain, creating cloth, smithing metals, even cleaning the street ways. It is no odd occurrence to flee for ones life when a Dwarf is pushing a geared wire-brush sweeping cart and he can not see what is in front of him.”

“I am told that other Citadels are even more fantastic but I find this hard to imagine, even as acquainted with the Dwarves as I am. Many of the older and elaborate machines fall into disrepair and are beyond the knowledge of any living Dwarf. This is unfortunate since I only guess at the great knowledge lost. Still, I have seen such great works as a flying machines, self-powered rail cars, light refectories that can melt steel, and even clockwork golems which walk on their own merit. These are rare, even among the Dwarves and such things are maintained with a near religious doctrine. I deduce that should one break in a major fashion, it would be beyond the knowledge of living Dwarves to repair them.”

“Dwarves are highly spiritual, although there appears to be several deities which vie for their worship. This is oddly diametric to their lawful nature, and I am surprised to find that most wars fought internally among Dwarves are in the name of one deity or another. Most Dwarves serve a deity that has served their family for generations, mostly out of habit. Few Dwarves are overly zealous, but those who are, are often outspoken in many ways. These individuals often climb into power among the clergy and often this is when the seeds of trouble begin. Bitter feuds among rival clergies never appear to be forgotten and they are amicable at best in peaceful times.”

“I suppose this has something to do with the concept of equivalent exchange among the Dwarves. If something is gained, something must be lost of equal value. Likewise if something is lost, something of equal value must be gained. Most of their laws operate under such mandate, and so areas of spirituality are ill-defined therein. It is no wonder such things would eventually cause problems.”

“From what I have read, many citadels have fallen to such spiritual infighting which spread to other Citadels like a plague. Doom eventually follows after many years of internal strife. I can only guess that this is the ultimate cause of the disappearance of so many Dwarven Citadels over the last eon. Today, most Dwarves are very cautious about their spiritual nature and do not speak of it openly. They go about their daily prayers among their family and leave their spirituality behind closed doors. Those zealous few who preach openly are distained by most as a trouble maker, but rarely stopped in fear of inciting their powerful clergy. Luckily the practical minded of their own clergy usually curtails their preaching to a modest degree. Still, I have seen fist fights and even one murder occurred because of such spiritual outrages among rival worshipers.”

“That said, the nature of most Dwarves is that of fantastic hosts to their guests and humble in light of their accomplishments. They are slow to anger in most situations, but are as tenacious as a rabid dog when brought into conflict. Woe to their enemies indeed. I have read ancient books with Dwarven foes which are simply no more.”

Race Detail

As below, I will be detailing some of the races through narration. I will later put forth a guide on the race, the problems they face, and the politics involved with them. I will do something similar to the below for Dwarves, Halflings and Humans as well.

The Rules are getting more solidified which will allow me to write up the setting more. The setting will undoubtedly take much longer and be more intensive as far as a writing excersise. As for the rules, I have a pretty clear idea of what needs to be done; combat wounds, redo spells, bloodlines and powers, and the spell fuck-up table. I have a pretty clear skeleton to go on so the rest should be easy. It will really just be a matter of testing it after that and adpating it towards the setting.

The setting will be more of work under construction, and prototypes may be a bad idea for it. I'll give it a go at least once though, maybe next week or the week after assuming I have some decent content to put down. That said things are progressing about at the pace I intended so I am fairly pleased with that.

The narration below is described as "Journey to the Cities Afar" which will be a location in the setting. A fabled location which will be the human nirvana, far to the South East. The name was originally from B3 (I think) and Otter used it a bit so I am leaning to use it myself. Anyhow, it will be well outside the domain of the three kingdoms, perhaps just as a perpetually mystical place that no one actually sees.

- OF ELVES

Journal of Khazrel Nakhu “Journey to the Cities Afar” 31’s93

- OF ELVES

“I was not entirely sure of what to expect upon my first meeting with the Elves in their own proper home lands. Surely the ones I have met prior to this encounter have been a strange lot of multi-colored fey that seem perpetually more interested in frolic, fine drink and singing than rightful toil and well-reasoned thought. I had pictured their villages nothing short of an orgy of oiled bodies, fine foods, strange animals, and perhaps some fine entertainment between the orgifiying. Naturally I steadied my hands and made sure my iron-banded belt was on particularly tight as we entered the meadows of the Haedegian, a great primeval forest.”

“What I saw therein was quite different from my initial expectations. Wooded dwellings surround the huge trees and some buildings even climb the tree’s heights to a meager extent. These dwelling surrounded a central hold of marbled buildings with open roofs which were cut down the middle with running streams of water. The landscape was quite well kept and to my surprise no debauchery was openly present.”

“Instead I saw small groups of like-minded individuals doing an assortment of bewildering things. Most seem to be in preparation for some kind of revelry. I surmise it is for the breaking of winter and in preparation for the height of spring. A group of woodcarvers were chastising a bear for wrecking a group of tent poles. Women folk practiced dance routines with a lack of music and decorated gowns. Several gardeners milled about their groves, poking and prodding the fruit for ripeness. A few scholarly sorts read aloud to on another on a grassy patch. A few armed women return from a scouting expedition, each mounted upon a large tapir. All of this very different from the machinery, oil and toil of my homeland.”

“The year was 31’s93, thirty one years after the Great Rot, and it appeared to have little lasting effect here as it had in other locations. A few giant toadstools could be seen to and fro, but none of the compost heaps and spore clouds that linger in other areas. It is now spring and the Elves themselves are particularly multi-colored. Many of my kindred are unsure why the Elves are so seemly chaotic in appearance, so let me give my insights.”

“Most Elves appear as lithe humanoids with delicate features and a natural grace beyond that of other humanoids. Their hair, skin color, and eyes are all effected by two things. First of all the season in which they were born, secondly the current season which they are in. The men stand roughly 5 to 5.5 feet. The women a head or two shorter. Elves have long finger which seem inordinately fidgety, constantly kneading, preening, rolling and moving about – as if looking for something to do. The many colors of the elves hair, skin and eye change as follows – at least as far as I can tell.”

“Summer: Skin and hair is of tans, yellows, light yellows, dark pinks and olive. The eyes have a slight glow and tend to be bright emeralds, scalding yellows, and deep oranges.

Autumn: Skins take on a more sullen quality and turn to shades of deep red, oranges, deep yellows and dark muddled brown-greens. The eyes however contrast this with slightly glowing shades of bright red, bright orange, bright yellow and occasionally purple.

Winter: Skin turns a bit ashen and is usually a shade of pale white, light blues, white with a faint shade of purple, and sometimes a dusty gray. The eyes again are slightly glowing and are of a bright sapphire, a darker topaz, a bright purple or even white like a diamond.

Spring: Skin turns shades of creamy pink, light green, dusty yellow and wide assortments of mid-ranges. The hair often contrasts the skin, making them more colorful than they otherwise are, sometimes retaining the quality of a previous season. The eyes likewise vary widely and usually retain a color of a previous season.”

“An Elf born in the winter would have a subtle hint of a whitish-blue all year around, although it is often overpowered by other colors to the non-elf observer. Likewise with Elves born of other seasons. For all Elves this indicator is obvious and they often talk amongst each other with reference to the Elf’s seasonal heritage; ‘sister of the winter’ or ‘autumn brother’ and so forth.”

“Most of my Dwarven kin know that Elves live very long and so I asked many Elves bluntly how long they live. It was most unsettling that almost all Elves do not know when they were born, simply a long-long time ago. Memory seems to be a transitory thing for many Elves, as it appear that their long term memory last no more than 400-700 years. Most Elves are older than this, so it appears, thus we have a conundrum of what has occurred before this time. Few Elves authored books on history, and they are usually heavily slanted towards legends and particularly sever seasons and not much use to me. I have some sinking doubt that some of the great Elves hold libraries of old told knowledge. I am sure some detailed history would lay within but these are unfortunately beyond my reach”

“It is possible the Elves are indeed quite old, spanning to who knows how long in terms of age. If this is true then how come the world is not over run with porridge munching, frolicking Elves? The answer is quite the reverse of their appearance of endless revelry; they simply do not mate often and occasionally Elves do die due to accident, times of war and so forth. In terms of mating it appears the males of the species is genuinely not very interested, much to the irritation of the females which appear to be forever in the throws of lusty passion. Evidentially the males are far more concerned with peace of mind, brotherhood among their kind, the various stages of revelry which their lives seem to be dictated around. The females on the other hand are obsessive about their counter-gender and plot endlessly to seduce one, most often to no avail by the dismissive males. I have learned first hand that one should be very careful when paying attention to a female Elf, as they have the tendency to think things are far more than what they are. I dare say they are all inflicted with some sort of mild insanity driven by passion.”

“With this in mind, it vaguely reminds me of my youth, when my beard was first reaching length. Oh the games the women-kin would play to gain the attentions of a strong-bearded Dwarf such as myself! Naturally such games eventually end when we become more serious of mind, but this does not seem to be the case with Elves. Few Elves are of serious mind to commit to a serious cause. Those few who do often create a large impact upon their kind and the world in general. Those few who take to magic use, the arts of learned reason, and other great crafts are among the best in the world. It is of no surprise that these Elves take the reins of leadership and usually direct the passions of their kind to the greater good. Oddly enough this is diametric to the nature of the rest of their people, so such great Elves are often uncomfortable in their own homelands. Perhaps this is why so many of the great Elves travel endlessly or seek hermitage.”

“Elves do not have standing armies and often avoid conflict when possible. The males are far too self-interested for such things, and far too intent of saving their own skin to start swinging a sword at the local evil spirits. The females are more inclined to be martial and often make up the ranks of rangers and scouts which patrol their lands. I suspect the males arrange this to some extent get the females out of their daily business. Only in times of great peril will the Elves truly stand together”

“I have ask many Elves of their opinions on other races. Oddly enough they seem to think the Humans are actually divergent Elves from a 20-year summer many millennia ago. I find this hard to believe but I have heard this from more than one respected Elf, which gives me pause. Most Elves prefer to stay out of the affairs of men but do enjoy their company, their games, and their oddly primitive trade goods. Elves however dislike their violence, their propensity towards crime and politics.”

“Elves and Dwarfs have always been amicable but distant. I will tell you first hand that very few Elves travel to Dwarven citadels and the reverse is true as well. The Elves seem to think Dwarfs are the kin of stars, and gained their great knowledge from the celestial bodies. I find this hard to be true but I humor the ideas regardless.”

“The Elves seem most unsure about Halflings and seem a bit unsettled about their ability to see the future. I can relate to this, as it is difficult to not think every action a Halfling takes is towards some other unseen motive. Still, most Halflings are content to live their lives in peace and seem to prosper best when left alone in some prairie. The Elves appear to think the presentience is unnatural, and it is not how the Halflings should be. Unfortunately they did not elaborate beyond this.”

“Other races were eluded to as being important to the Elves. Most notably the divergent races which occur when a great season is particularly severe. It is rumored that in a 32 year long winter that a coven of sullen elves never recovered, and stayed the deepest of purples with coal eyes and stark hair. Other rumors elude to winged fey being the origin of long stints of Spring time and the Elves of that age. It is difficult to tell what may indeed be fact and what is simply legend or some odd-ball deduction by the self-important Elves. I will not outright dismiss these tales, but all can not possibly be true. Especially since it is common knowledge that the Dwarven ingenuity created most of the natural world.”

Rules Draft 1 up

Between the CEO at my work leaving today, meetings and putting some meat on the Rules I have not had as much time as I would like to hash out the rule details or post here. But here is what I have. The highlighted areas are completing missing. Other stuff like spell, combat and gear is simply filler for now. All at under .25 meg.

An updated version will be posted on the right column as I go. The iterations of released drafts I expect in the area of once a month. Same with the setting book as well.