Archive _14

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Epic campaign

I want to expand the Immersive Game World idea a bit. I am calling on all willing GM's to participate in a massive story arc. The idea is for each of us to coordinate our efforts for a time, and have the total affect the parts. I know, this is already the idea, but I want to get with other GM's ahead of time, and keep in contact with them while we pull this off. We keep each other advised of what goes on, and have this affect our individual games. This will be a limited time project, so it won't completely take over your games, and if you get sick of it, you can drop it afterward.

I've already talked to Kinslayer about this, and he suggests the Peasant Uprising in Formour/Postwar Troubles in Osterre & the North. This will be a big enough story so that our groups won't be stepping all over each other. Contact me via email, this thread, or PM. I am willing to be the coordinator, and have already gotten official support of Lost Souls Publishing for this project.

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I don't know what saddens me more. I know that the forums have been kind of dead lately, but that just happens with any good board. I also didn't expect a huge response to my post; there just aren't many people willing to play, much less participate. However, when I logged back in to the forums--4 days later--I saw that there was only 1 viewing... the automatic one whenever the screen refreshes after posting...

That's bad.

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38b26e5237 ¶ I have been out of commision a bit. Went to New Orleans for a bit and Charley took us out as well. Sorry for not repsonding sooner. But yeah it sounds awesome man keep me updated.
<

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2cf42d69ad *Kinslayer's buddy, Chris Magoun (of Runebearer fame) is also trying something along these lines. He's also incorporating a game-in-a-game-in-a-game-in-a-game, and so could use all of the help and support he can get.

Check it out on their forums at: [url]www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope/bostonia/[/url]

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We're back, bitchesz At long last, the forums are restored.

It's been a great deal of frustration for nameless & myself, but they're back...

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610a159eb0 à It seems that it marks topics you just wrote as new, and doesn't mark topics as read unless you logout & log back in. I don't know what it's fucking problem is now, but I'm just content to be able to read & post here again.

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Additionally, the ability to e-mail from these boards was removed. Since they're on our server now, and we don't have mail set up (no need, we use remote hosting for mail, why have that security hole), the boards cannot mail out.

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Terror joke
011001000110100101100101001000000110010001101001011001010010000001100101011101100110010101110010011110010110001001101111011001000111100100100000011001000110100101100101

Terror on Church Street reference... in binary.
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e43538998f d Yes, yes, yes!

I knew it would be worth it if I checked back every few days...

Good to be back.
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39e5d2734f > Wait a tic

...

I just noticed my title "moron"

what gives? U

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0dcca66645 C waitaminute

I can get called a m o r o n, but I can't type it???>?
_

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292fa2a451 M Translation: successful

Understanding the humor: failed

Retry? / Abort?

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16a24d396c Š Don't sweat it, it's done by number of posts. Nameless had that title briefly, before the death of the forums... so are they now [b:16a24d396c]undead?[/b:16a24d396c]

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Hopefully, now things will pick up. They can't possibly get any worse than NOTHING for the forums. It has to be all uphill from here.

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Past tense. The Undead are done... finally...

Actually, it's good work on D:TPH. I liked it enough to start playing Midian. %

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Yeah, it's awesome. ¥

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If I have a non-human character with a human background (Bizzannite, Efreet Blood, Wolf Blood), and grew up in a Gothic area, could I be a Phantom?
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c203195561 4 Death is done, where's the Firps update?!?!?!?!?!?!?
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0fe1d7b756 " Some example fights would be nice.

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Correcto. The big gap in titles is for a [i:43bbe4d1c4]Pleeb[/i:43bbe4d1c4] becoming a [i:43bbe4d1c4]Miscreant[/i:43bbe4d1c4]. Titles actually come faster after that point.

"The Lost Souls & Midian Undead Forums" I like the sound of that...

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1a2ca84e9c ,
(Unofficially, whatever you & your gaming group do is up to you. As long as you are enjoying it, then it's fine by us.)

Officially, the Phantom classes are Human-only. While the Goths may claim publicly that they are an open & inclusive culture, the reality is that they can be at least as clicquish as anyone else. The restrictions for Phantoms is certainly evidence of this. You will note that one of the requirements for the class is [i:1a2ca84e9c]Gothic Ancestry[/i:1a2ca84e9c]. This is not something that can be randomly rolled for a non-Human, nor selected from the Player's Choice list. Even with other Human ancestries, you still wouldn't qualify if non-Human. Yes, this is racism, and unapologetically so. Despite all of the cool & scary things about the Darklings, they do have their negative points. It is possible for anyone--Goth or otherwise--to work for the Darklings, even to gain a great deal of authority & power, but never as a Phantom. That is reserved for ethnic Goths born during a storm, who are well coordinated and not ungraceful.

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It is admittedly an inside joke. Even when translated, it only makes sense to those who worked there. I was just playing around with binary & thought I'd post this, since I know at least one former cast-member reads these boards. E

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892737365c 3 I'm looking forward to seeing the finished results.

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d73294411c Dungeons? Monsters? Where? What?F
There is a decided lack of "dungeon adventures" in Midian. There is also a corresponding lack of a diverse bestiary of things to slay. These are intentional design decisions. The reason is three fold: [list=1:d73294411c][*:d73294411c]There are already plenty of other games that are designed around the idea of going into ruins, slaying hundreds of people (from nearly as many different & unrelated species), and taking everything that they owned. In these games, you are a "hero;" in Midian you are a "murderer" and "thief."

[*:d73294411c]The game is instead designed to revolve around factors such as: a working ecology & economy, player input into world development, long-term character growth (not defined as "more powers"), social interaction, and other factors--completely separate from murdering & stealing.

[*:d73294411c]As a Dark Fantasy game, Midian features thematic elements that are closer to Horror than Heroic Fantasy (also called High Fantasy). One of the design principles is Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori's "Uncanny Valley" theory. Stated briefly, the more something artificial resembles a real person, the greater the acceptance level. For example, a photo-realistic drawing is viewed more favourably than a crude cartoonish sketch, or a computer interface with natural language is seen as better than something that only spouts machine code. However, something happens at the point just before it becomes indistinguishable from humanity, acceptance level drops to revulsion. Instead of "that android almost looks human," it is instead "that bloke looks like a walking corpse." It's being confronted with that feeling of [i:d73294411c]not quite right[/i:d73294411c] that is much more horrifying (especially as a player) than facing a purplish blob with flailing tentacles. By keeping foes in the game closer to home: fellow sentient (if nonhuman) species, humans acting monstrously (e.g. serial killers), normal beasts (which idea gets your heart pumping more, being attacked by angrily barking dogs, or sending a fireball against a 2124 foot beast that breathes a cone of lightening 3 times per day?), and the not-quite-normal (e.g. Undead), the game has the potential to be much more terrifying. Instead of a catalog of beasts comprised of kill targets, with accompanying treasure & experience for slaying, we decided to go for foes that you, the player, could wrap your brain around easier, and thus play out the horror angle, rather than wipe-out-the-level. [/list:o:d73294411c]

Besides, far too many of the "monsters" in these other games are either nearly identical (orcs, hobgoblins, orogs, uruk hai, great goblins, etc. they're the same beasts really), or it is obvious that the game designers were reaching for something 1)"new & creative" failing miserably, 2), looking to fill up page count regardless of the crap result, 3) going for a really lame joke... or taking a typo & running with it (thoul, anyone?), 3) or were desperately looking for something else to stick in their bestiary... and such desperation is obvious to all, or 4) completely high when they wrote that section...

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ad7c3c9d46!Extrinsics--extraplanar creatures

Just to head off the questions, "Extrinsics" are those otherworldly creatures, such as Demons, that originate outside of Midian. In other games, these would be referred to as "extraplanar," "outsiders," or "plane walkers."

"Extrinsics" is the proper term, and will be used as the metagame term, as well as by scholars, loremasters, and mages. Colloquial terms are in use by the common folk. Inhabitants of Norditerre (Kingdom of Formour, Heldannic Confederation, Elven Homeland) use "Outlanders," and the inhabitants of Suditerre (Byzant & the Elder Kingdoms) use "Fantasts."

Note that there is a subtle (yet mystically binding) distinction for the term. While it is generally safe to assume that any given Demon is an Extrinsic, and any given Elf is not, there are exceptions. For example, a Half-Demon that strongly resembles his Demonic parent could have been born on Midian--and thus immune to magics that banish Extrinsics. Likewise, a Human may be a traveller from another plane of existance, and would be affected by such magics.

Many Elementals, but not all, are Extrinsics.

MoonHunter is the originator of the term "Fantasts."

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adab1a3bee1Guidelines for magical assistance--need your help

Once upon a time, we had guidelines for using assistants for spellcasting. These rules could, by extention, be used for other types of qualified help. We [i:adab1a3bee]were[/i:adab1a3bee] going to include these with the "Undead familiar" section of [i:adab1a3bee]Death: The Pale Horse[/i:adab1a3bee], but can't seem to find them. They aren't included on Kinslayer's "scratch sheet" master text file of ideas, nor are they anywhere on these boards. (Of course, there may be some corrupt database entries from the change of servers that may be causing some posts to be lost--there seems to be some gaps in certain threads, but by now we can't remember if they were there originally or not.)

If anyone remembers these guidelines, or has ideas to replace them, please let us know.

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Should we just use the "flanking" guidelines from the combat engine for this? That is, a competent assistant (i.e. one that has the skill being used, mystic or otherwise) would add a +2 bonus to the total roll, or effectively raise an apprentice-type skill one level. This works because[list=a:84c087cd3a][*:84c087cd3a]it doesn't add a new rule, really;

[*:84c087cd3a]it's independent upon the assistant's skill level, much like the flanking bonus isn't based on the other combatant's skill level--it would always apply equally;

[*:84c087cd3a]it's easy to remember;

[*:84c087cd3a]it's not easily corruptible, that is, you can't cheat the system by having 600 people assist you with whatever skill to get a monstrously huge bonus (the "too many cooks" theory);

[*:84c087cd3a]it gives more options, in that you have to choose between having someone assist you & them working independently;

[*:84c087cd3a]it would apply to a large range of situations, from combat to smithing, to negotiations, to ritual spellcasting. [/list:o:84c087cd3a]

Assistants that lack the skill can still be used as gophers, holding books open, etc. but wouldn't actually affect the outcome--thus no bonus. They may still be quite useful, but wouldn't actually increase the effective caster/other skill level.

For familiars, it would be as if the familiar knew all mystic spells that its master did for purposes of being a competent assistant. The familiar can't actually cast spells (unless it knows mystic skills on its own, such as a demonic familiar), but can help out the mage. This is more in line with the traditional view of familiars from history, rather than as a spy/combat modifier that a first-level sorcerer gets, but loses permanent hit points if slain...

Any ideas, suggestions, critiques? Should this be the new guideline? Do you remember the original? Do you have other ideas?

~
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Midian's countries

The following is a list of the current countries/nations of Midian:

Kingdom of Formour

Byzant Empire

Heldannic Confederation

Elven Homeland

Killian Empire

Firps' city-state (Ceekay, this needs a name; don't make me call it "Firptopolis")

Northern Protectorate (new, created following the Scourge War)

Orckish Highlands (new, created following the Scourge War)

~~~

The following is a list of areas that aren't properly countries:

Elder Kingdoms (collective term for all of the nations in Suditerre other than Byzant)

Farreaches

Gothic tribal lands in Osterre

Ogre lands in Osterre

~~~

Any additional ideas for countries are of course always welcome. There may be other "official" nations developed by LSP in Norditerre & on islands of the Greatsea. The Elder Kingdoms & most of Byzant are going to be left for development by GM's & fans. If you use other countries in your games, or just have an idea for one (or a state in Byzant), then include them below.

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Midian World Map

The world map is finally done. The page [url=http://lost-souls.servebeer.com/WorldMap.htm](here)[/url] seems to be having some problems, though. We always test out new pages with multiple browsers, operating systems, & connection speeds, but this is a first. It works sometimes, but not for everyone... Some times it demands a username & password, sometimes it doesn't load the images, sometimes it pretends like it's loading the images, but hangs forever without timing out.

I just don't get it. Yes, the images are big (a bit under 200kb), but not so much that it would cause these problems, and certainly it wouldn't cause a logon prompt. The html code for the page is tiny (only 1 1/2 kb)--the page is pretty much just pictures--so it's easy to check. There isn't any open brackets, quotes, tags, etc. and there isn't any javascript or other complications.

I guess this is how Kinslayer felt getting these forums back up & running... 1

0184f76ece
Ah, the irony of this thread...

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3|, you're a Confessor... if you ever turn

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s though it's going to shit, but congrats

up again. I'm going to try and integrate your ideas into the game. Hell, it's better than the silence we've been getting lately.

e244e211d6 îThat's a really great way to put it. Still, it might be nice to have [i:e244e211d6]something[/i:e244e211d6] for the players to fight occassionally, other than:

a person, that would get the pc's thrown in jail for murder

sending waves of zombies, that would involve depleting entire cemetaries

going with the racist approach, such as always making Trolls, Hobgoblins, or Orcks the bad guys.

Some stats on the aforementioned angry dogs, Demons, Elementals, etc. would be appreciated.

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New term

Old concept (for Midian, and before Midian)

I like the common terminology. That adds a nice bit of local flavor & personality. What about the Killians & the people of Osterre?

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Amen to that, EL. You guys did really good work on this. I mean, I really liked Famine--Wild Wastes, but Death is [b:1cde287f83]really good[/b:1cde287f83]. Well worth the wait... and bear in mind that I've been waiting for it since before Famine.
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Ceekay, are you just going for a pseudo-historic port, replicating literature/myth, or are you going with a whole new spin?

I'd like to see the "new spin" option myself. I've seen samurai abused in other games (with the exception of Rifts Japan), and ninja ruined [i:5ad9645f48]everywhere[/i:5ad9645f48]. I hope that this will be pleasantly different. I think that Midian's magic system would work really well for ninja-magic; the two just seem to be made for each other.
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Re: Dark horse book.<[quote:152dbc6b5d="ceekay"]Kinslayer had an idea for the dark horse book. Chapter 1 should be:

[b:152dbc6b5d][i:152dbc6b5d][size=18:152dbc6b5d]Correct use of Shovel[/size:152dbc6b5d][/i:152dbc6b5d][/b:152dbc6b5d][/quote:152dbc6b5d]Unfortunately, that joke couldn't be used, as D:TPH doesn't exactly have chapters. Q

f9f114b787 ? This makes sense, and keeps the ruleset from becoming unwieldy.

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Historically speaking, in any given area & time, there have usually only been one main power, and a handful of subordinate areas, with "barbaric" wilderness around them. Even when you look at the entire world, there were still only a small handful of great empires in existance at any one point, and these were geographically disparate. Given this, Midian's number of countries & peoples makes a lot more sense. However, I would also like to see more smaller nations & cultures, just to round things out. It also makes for a more interesting world if the great nations have smaller nations to deal with, rather than building up armies that are never used.
Þ

78511b2162 Ì Nameless just made "Vandal," so that should give you some idea of how much more you have to deal with your current title.

Just please don't spam for titles again (you and nameless both).

It's tacky.

341be02c60

Here's a simple one:

Two Humans, 10's in all attributes, each with shortswords & melee short III & no other applicable traits or skills--this is all PM'ed to me by each party. We'll call them Wayne & Garth.

Wayne challenges, Garth accepts, & chooses shortswords (he could have chosen "melee" or "any weapons," but he wanted shortswords in particular. Wayne selects "first blood" as the condition, and Garth finishes the selection by choosing the Citadel Arena at noon. Unless either wants me to hold off on some of their bonuses or traits, I use the max for each for the initiative roll. Wayne wins initiative with an 8, to Garth's 6. Wayne strikes with a 14, but Garth parries with a 16. It's Garth's turn, and he rolls a natural 19--automatic hit, no defense, fight over, winner Garth.

It would look something like this: (This is all going to be via different posts on the same thread, by the way, in case you didn't get that.)

Wayne: I challenge.

Garth: I accept, with shortswords.

Wayne: Very well, to first blood, then.

Garth: I shall meet you at the Arena in Citadel at high noon.

(Both of them need to PM me with the important character sheet info by now.)

ME: Wayne gets 8 for initiative, Garth gets 6. Wayne, you're up first.

Wayne: Since I can't circle around him to get the sun in his eyes (Wayne's usual tactic), I'm going to immediately pounce upon him, thrusting the point of my blade at his eyes.

ME: Wayne gets a 14. Garth, any defense?

Garth: I slam the hilt of my sword agains his, and stepping inside to use the force of my body's motion against his.

ME: 16, successful parry. Garth, it's your go.

Garth: Since we're locked up tight & close, I'm going to thrust my sword down suddenly, into his gut.

ME: Natural 19, critical hit, Garth wins.

Note that I (or whomever else moderates a battle), can determine the Descriptive Bonus for a post. If the combatant's have something that they want to use, then they can pipe-up with it, just like in a table-top game. For example, if Garth's parry had failed, and he had the [i:341be02c60]lucky[/i:341be02c60] trait, then he could have stated that he was retesting with that.

Does that help?

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Chicken?...

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Brains?...
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Boots, mine
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05eb677dfc > Ass

You can say "ass" here.

You don't need to say "@ss."

Eat bird...
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I8

e044243ba6 & Dear fucking god!!!

Finally my home!!

6551ff5819 m Its going for a new spin and now that I am settled in at my new home, I am going to start work again on them.
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13e3d39080 b I did put the Pratchett quote in Death, by popular demand, just before the descriptions of spells.
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And "welcome back" to you too.

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[quote:200d3582d0="Liam"][b:200d3582d0][i:200d3582d0]36[/i:200d3582d0][/b:200d3582d0][/quote:200d3582d0]

In a row?

Actually, the total is 66, syndic doubles [i:200d3582d0]all[/i:200d3582d0] starting contacts.
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5be9511281 < I think that you know the stock answer to that by now, Liam.

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Though an island nation, the Killian Empire sits on Norditerre's continental shelf. Exactly which islands are part of the Heldannic Confederation, and which are part of the Killian Empire, are hotly debated by those two nations. As such, the Killian would pick up on the habit of using "outlanders" from their neighbours. They would also use a native Killian word for all non-citizens (as yet undecided) as something of a mild insult; this would also be applied to Extrinsics.

As for Osterre, that's up to Ceekay. I'm not really sure that they would have a common term for Extrinsics. Given that there are far more rare & strange beasts on that continent than elsewhere, the natives aren't as likely to need a word to separate local from non-local creatures. I

a41ea7a873 7 And Volgor jumps right back in, with blasphemy first...

42a34af150 |That's one vote in favour of.

We're going to be conscious of any future guidelines that would just add unneeded bulk to the game engine. Additional options are cool, but adding a rule just to be having a new rule for something isn't. This will hopefully keep Midian from being a bloated beast of a game over time (look at how awful AD&D got with the Skills & Powers stuff). =

892c72fe7d + And here I thought it was from Beetlejuice.

da7a7a5d58 o Kinslayer didn't mention it, but this game is drawing to a close. Someone can win it in just a few more posts.
:

599706ff01 ( "Party on, Wayne."

"Party on, Garth."

cb58bc681f
Kagan's Ale Stained Journalþ
Bastards. What kind of head wound does a fellow need to get some free drinks. Need I be cleaved flat from the ears up? Bastards, all of them.

Ive been holed up in this Shadowed Skulls guild for a few weeks on and off, and I might have a little advice for them; open a fucking window. Cobwebs and bones lying around isnt decorating, its being lazy. My head is killing me. Oh sure, they pamper the dead like little crusty ichor oozing newborns, but when it comes the living, thats right, wrap a bandage around that skull-chasm with a fucking flower in it or something.

My asshole cultist brother showed up and wants to be all brotherly and shit. Pasty-white freak. My new pal Nevyn (spelling? Ah, fuck him), is up to something, my asshole detector warns me, but thats ok Id do the same. Gwinni (? Spelling, ow, thinking hurts more than usual) and Sir Magnus have been out training to do whatever gets them off.

And in closing dear journal, Im going to take some time off to let this cranium gorge scab over.

¡
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Kagan/Hadrian Downtimeg
Kinslayer, heres my downtime objectives for your review. Let me know if any items need clarification.

Kagan Lovegrave

I would like Kagan to relax in the Shadowed Skulls guild and practice card throwing, swordplay and archery. Also, I would like to have him get info (maps, guard routes, amount of booty) on some rich estates and businesses in and around Gnolopis. He hasnt stolen anything in a decent while. Ill also want to see if Nevyn would like to help with that.

Hadrian Burnport

Id like Hadrian to summon all the Atrum Ortus members in Gnopolis and surrounding towns for a meeting. Id need to get volunteers among them to serve the church by performing few tasks. If there are not enough followers in the area to meet these needs (and I doubt that there are), I would like to send a messenger to my master requesting a transfer of personnel to Gnopolis.

People needed:

I have already dispatched someone to keep an eye on the general activities of the Shadowed Skulls Guild. (Lets call him Demian Ral)

A Syndic for their many abilities. The first order of business being finding a new locale for a base of operations. I mean church. Something by the docks would be nice.

A messenger to get to my HQ.

A scout or tracker to tail Hadrian wherever he goes. The purpose of this to make sure no one else is tailing him, and to come to aid only if absolutely necessary.

A few archers to be on call when summoned.

Four guards at the temporary home of Atrum Ortus, hired on only none are available.

A few ruffians to covertly guard the temporary temple.

Eventually Id like to get some of the specialized priests of Atrum Ortus to assist in the Gnolopis operation as needed. If there are any of these in the area, that would be really nice. (in order of importance)

Nychta Anichetis
Spy

Nychta Ektos
Protector (protection magic)

Nychta Prelator
Warrior Priest

Nychta Bothenia
Healer

Nychta Katara
Curse remover

Nychta Aetus- Seer

Nychta Terus
Land Healer

Even further down the road, Id like to draw up plans to build a large chapel/fort in the countryside near Gnopolis.

¢
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[b:11c0b0afb0]Kagan: [/b:11c0b0afb0] The guild can provide help with all of this. You have free access to practice weapons & advice for the sword & bow. You can get help with throwing cards if you make it into a drinking game. As the guild also provides guard services, you have easy access to guard routes/times & can overhear talk of certain loot. Maps will be harder to come by for interiors.

[b:11c0b0afb0]Hadrian: [/b:11c0b0afb0] Rather than transfer, you are told to try and recruit good people for your needs. Once you get a sizable congregation, then priests will be sent, in the order you requested.

There are currently 14 followers in Gnopolis, and another 6 in Scientius. Counting yourself, that 21 is the total for the Darkmouth Emirate. Three of them (two in Gnopolis, one in Scientius) are syndics, and will gladly offer their services to the church. One of the Gnopolis members is a skilled manhunter; his youthful features and small stature will serve to hide him well in a crowd. There aren't any skilled archers among the followers, but two have prior military experience with crossbows, and are willing to train others if provided with the necessary equipment.

One of the Gnopolis syndics among the flock can assist in a good deal for a dockside warehouse. There's some signs of minor fire damage, and a lingering odour of both rat & mouldy flour, but that can be easily cleaned. The property was claimed by the city after the previous owner died, leaving no heirs. Two largish members have volunteered to take shifts watching the warehouse/church until proper security precautions can be made. As far as ruffians, the docks already have people working that angle: a gang of Goths seems to be running a protection racket.

£
5fb270bdc19"Stackable" mini-classes & "kits"

An [i:5fb270bdc1]old[/i:5fb270bdc1] idea for the Midian DFRPG, one of the original, we-need-a-new-system-for-this ideas, is that of stacking small classess on top of one another. Once again, We have been slack in this. Currently the only uses of this idea are with branch skills for soldiers & magical traditions for apprentice wizards, and even then there is only 1 published, and two others available (for now, wait until Conquest). We're planning on expounding upon this idea, especially for things that need more than a skill suite (necropolitan is as bloated as they come), but don't really merit a class. For example, a [i:5fb270bdc1]Manhunter[/i:5fb270bdc1] can be a special attachement to the hunter class (from Famine). It can either be nearly a skill suite, with a few additional bonuses/features, or a tradition-type add-on, with a few select level bonuses. Like almost everything else in Midian, it will be fully stackable, so that a manhunter-slaver-chainmaster-hunter is possible.

Would that her website were still around, I would suggest this as a good option for Mandy's new classes--they would be perfect for this idea.

Any ideas for this?

13da756404 *
In honour of Kinslayer Jr, how about a Master Chef kit? [i:13da756404](We need a new name for this instead of "kit" maybe?)[/i:13da756404]

It would require master-level Cooking skill, have knives as a class skill, and grant a heat/fire resistance every few levels. It would be small, perhaps only about 5-9 levels or so.

We can also make advanced classes, like the Phantom classes, that require higher degrees of skill & wouldn't be available for starting characters. Ceekay was working on something along these lines for his elite Elven rangers.

¥
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Midian world maps for sale"
In the spirit of non-profit RPGing, I'm offering full color Midian map prints for player and GM use for sale at my cost.

The maps are sized from about 58" wide by 41" tall, down to about 20" wide by 14" tall.

Maps are printed on a non-weather proof matte canvas material that can be rolled or stretched into a frame.

Also, any color or texture background desired can be added, but the standard background is white.

Here are the prices, sizes are approximate:

58" x 41"

$165

40
x 28

$80

30
x 21

$45

20" x14"

$20 I

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4eb2ee7160 7 The big map's wider than I am tall... that's a big map.
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030d5bcfb0 - How do you want buyers to contact you, Kagan?

š
9805e6fcc5
forum problems
Has anyone else noticed that some of the posts aren't marked? Like, a thread can have 3 different replies, but it still shows "0" & it isn't bumped??

WTF?

If Humans originated in what is now the Oldland Gothic tribal lands, why doesn't the map orient to the south?

Humans weren't the first mapmakers, and weren't the first to use magnetic compasses for navigation. Elves, Dwarves, and Humans all developed magnetic compasses independent of each other.

Humans instinctively orient things, and the trend after the development of navigation (especially after the compass was invented by them) was to orient the map to the north [there is a notable exception in ancient China, however].

Dwarves considered the compass to point north, and began orienting maps accordingly. Previous maps were centered around a Mountain Kingdom, and oriented randomly.

Elven maps have always considered a compass needle to point both north and south. Many Elven maps have text on the "bottom" half that is upside down from a north-oriented perspective.

Elves considered magnetism a type of magic, useful for navigation, something neat to play with, and for the occasional decoration.

Dwarves took a more pragmatic view of magnets: for navigation, holding metal tools, etc. and saw natural magnets (lodestone) as something of a naturally occurring form of alchemy, when they thought of the operating properties at all. This was early in Dwarven history, and they had little mysticism in their society. Long ago, a Dwarf was attempting to make "interactive jewelry," and accidentally discovered the electro-motive force [by reproducing something akin to Faraday's experiments]. However, this discovery was only something of a minor curiosity, and this scant knowledge was lost during their subjugation by the Olde Empire.
X

86dfaec063

maps for sale9 Mail me at negative001@yahoo.com if anyone is interested.a

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7182e3562d OI don't know what the Hell is going on with it. Honestly, I'm still rather content that the forums are even [b:7182e3562d]readable[/b:7182e3562d], and function on some level. As neither nameless nor myself is exactly expert in PBP or the database we use for the forums, it may be sometime before we can figure out what's going wrong.

¬
dd1dd9da89 I've seen Kagan's map. It's great. He took what we had posted, and made it look [i:dd1dd9da89]so[/i:dd1dd9da89] much better. It's really worth it.

dee54a1579
Yea! Go me!
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c05cde1f51
Random NPC Generator System

-I'm working on this for a few reasons; 1) Fast way to roll up contacts, buddies, and hirelings. 2) I wanted a chart to help me make new PCs. 3) Random skills could help out when the GM throws somehting unexpected your way.

Does this system make a realistic character? Sometimes. I rolled up a few and most of the time all you need is a little adjusting and your NPC may turn out OK. There is a high chance that most characters will be average humans with one or two oddities.

The parts I'm not sure about are the attributes cheater and the skill section. It's easy to get a really low or really high attribute, but this may help make the NPC more three dimensional. The skills roll is clunky and will require remodelling.

Enjoy!

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Random NPC Generator System

Race

1-6 Ghoul

7-13 mixed

14-17 Troll

18-30 Dwarf

31-75 Human

76-81 Elf

82-90 Hobgoblin

91-100 Gaijin

Human Modifiers

Height (roll D100 then add 1D12 -1)

1-6 3

7-16 4

17-45 5

46-88 6

89-96 7

97-99 8

100 9

Weight

3D100

Eyes

1-30 Brown

31-45 Blue

46-55 Green

56-65 Gray

66-75 Mix (ie blue-green)

78-80 Orange

81-83 Black

84-86 White

87-89 Red

90-92 Silver

93-95 Gold

96-97 Two colors (both eyes different)

98-100 Glowing color (reroll)

Skin

1-4 White as Snow

5-15 Pale White

16-25 Eggshell White

26-36 Light Tan

37-48 Tanned

49-60 Dark Tan

61-70 Light Earth Brown

71-80 Dark Earth Brown

81-90 Earth Brown

91-94 Night Black

95-100 mix shade with other color

1-25 Yellow

26-50 Blue

51-75 Green

76-100 Red

Features (D4?)

1-15 Tattoo

16-29 Scar

30-34 Birthmark

35-39 Freckled

40-42 Walks with Limp

43-45 Oily Skin

46-47 Baby-soft skin

48-51 Leathery skin

51-52 Animal-like feature

53-54 Unibrow

55-56 No Neck

57-59 Bald

60-62 Long Hair

63-65 Hairy

66-68 Steel Jaw

69-70 Bulging Eyes

71-73 Nice teeth

74-76 Fang-like teeth

77-78 Dick Cheney teeth

79-83 Unkempt

84-89 Well Groomed

90-92 Missing finger or toe

93-94 Extra finger or toe

95-96 Webbed fingers and toes

97 Forked tongue

98 Remnants of twin sibling

99 Vestigial tail or wings

100 Sometimes Visible Aura

Status

1-2 Acknowledged

3-4 Artful Dodger

5-6 Avaricious

7-8 Blessed

9-10 Cherished

11-12 Clean

13-14 Courtly

15-16 Disciplined

17-18Dishonest

19 Divine

20-21Dominant

22-23 Earthly

24-25 Elite

26-27 Enraged

28-29 Esteemed

30-31 Eternal

32 Famous

33 Feared

34-35 Genuine

36 Greater Nobility

37-38 Grounded

39 Holy

40-41 Honest

42-43 Imperial

44-45 Influential

46-47 Insightful

48-49 Judicial

50 Knighted

51-52 Knowledgeable

53-54 Known

55 Landed

56-57 Leader

58-59 Masterful

60-61 Named

62-63 Neat

64 Noble

65-66 Polite

67-68 Regal

69 Renowned

70-71 Respected

72-73 Sly

74-75 Take-charge

76-77 Tenacious

78-79 Titled

80-81 Triumphant

82-83 Trouble-magnet

84-85 Trustworthy

86-87 Trusty

88 Unholy

89-90 Unique

91-92 Untouchable

93-94 Unstrustable

95-96 Vengeful

97 Warror

98 Wealthy

99 Well-known

100 Wise

Disposition

1-4 Bitter

5-9 Fiery Temper

10-14 Friendly & Polite

15-19 Gregarious & Joking

20-24 Jaded-Downcasting

25-39 Jaded-Upbeat

40-44 Judgmental-makes snap decisions

45-49 Mean & Cruel

50-54 Monotonous

55-59 Morbid-Depressing

60-64 Morbid-Odd Humor

65-69 Motormouth

70-74 Pompous & Overbearing

75-79 Sour-Frowns a lot

80-84 Stuck Up

85-89 Sunny-Always Smiling

90-94 Total Bastard

95-99 Indiscernable-Neutral Expressions

100 Roll for another

Ethics and Morals

1-5 Aberrant

6-10 Amoral

11-15 Anarchist

16-20 Anti-moral

21-25 Authoritarian

26-30 Chivalrous

31-35 Honorable

36-40 Individualistic

41-45 Justice

46-50 Legal

51-55 Machiavellian

56-60 Materialistic

61-65 Might Makes Right

66-70 Moral Conformist

71-75 No Set Code

76-80 Principled

81-85 Religious

86-90 Self-focused

91-95 Sociopath

96-100 Roll for another

Classes

1-10 Apprentice Wizard

11-21 Martial Artist

22-26 Phantom

27-39 Rogue

40-49 Scout

50-61 Soldier

62-67 Syndic

68-71 Dread Warrior

72-79 Hunter

80-84 Necromancer

85-88 Shadow Lord

89-97 Dual

98-100 Other**

Attributes cheater

1-3 5

4-8 6

9-12 7

13-17 8

18-22 9

23-31 10

32-44 11

45-56 12

57-62 13

63-70 14

71-77 15

78-82 16

83-85 17

86-88 18

89-90 19

91-92 20

93-94 21

95-100 reroll

1-40 22

41-60 23

61-74 24

75-00 25

Skills

4D100 for each skill slot. Choices 1-3 will be impossible to get, I know, so if you roll a four, roll a D4 if you need a random choice.

Apprentice

Social

1 Acting

2 Bartending

3 Battle Cry

4 Dancing

5 Dead Language

6 Eavesdropping

7 Poetry

8 Public Speaking

9 Singing

10 Speak Language

11 Temptation

Technical

12 Accounting

13 Agriculture

14 Anatomy

15 Animal Husbandry

16 Animal Training

17 Appraisal

18 Architecture

19 Armorer

20 Basket Weaving

21 Blacksmith

22 Bookbinding

23 Botany

24 Bowyer

25 Breakfall

26 Byzant History

27 Calligraphy

28 Carpentry

29 Cartography

30 Cooking

31 Craft Musical Instrument

32 Diagnosis

33 Drawing

34 Dwarven History

35 Dwarven Legends

36 Elven History

37 Engraving

38 Epics

39 Fishing

40 Fletcher

41 Formourian History

42 Gem Appraisal

43 Goldsmith

44 Heraldry

45 Horsemanship Calvary

46 Horsemanship Expert

47 Horsemanship Knight

48 Jeweller

49 Juggling

50 Law

51 Leather Working

52 Locksmith

53 Mathematics

54 Meteorology

55 Military History

56 Operations

57 Painting

58 Physics

59 Play Brass Instruments

60 Play Percussion Instruments

61 Play Stringed Instruments

62 Play Woodwind Instruments

63 Sewing

64 Shoemaking

65 Songs

66 Small Item Crafting

67 Stone Masonry

68 Swimming

69 Sword Polishing

70 Weaponsmith

71 Weaving

72 Zoology

Martial

73 Blade Etiquette

74 Blindfighting

75 Body Check

76 Disarm

77 Dragon Punch

78 Lightning Strike

79 Pin

80 Sure Grip

81 Timing

Mystic

82 Alchemy

83 Arcane Symbols

84 Aura Perception

85 Blood Blessing

86 Great Leap

87 Lunaruen

88 Magic Lore

89 Metaphysics

90 Runes

91 Wayfarer

Basic

Social

92 Boasting

93 Culture

94 Dialects

95 Etiquette

96 Grooming

97 Lip Reading

98 Story Telling

Technical

99 Disappear

100 First-Aid

101 Horse Grooming

102 Horsemanship Basic

103 Horsemanship Exotic

104 Instant Stand

105 Knot-Tying

106 Literacy

107 Military Procedures

108 Packing

109 Running

110 Set Bones

111 Spring Mounting

112 Speed Reading

Martial

113 Ambidexterity

114 Ankle Lock

115 Arm Hold

116 Armour Maintenance-Chain

117 Armour Maintenance-Light

118 Armour Maintenance-Plate

119 Body Hold

120 Bow Maintenance

121 Choke Hold

122 Circular Parry

123 Closed Fist Style

124 Defensive Stance

125 Drill & Ceremony

126 Elbow Lock

127 Finger Lock

128 Flank Riding

129 Florentine Style

130 Graceful Avoidance

131 Ground Fighting

132 Hand Parry

133 Hasty Fighting Position

134 Heavy Armour Use

135 Knee Lock

136 Launch

137 Leg Hold

138 Light Armour Use

139 Medium Armor Use

140 Mounted Leap

141 Neck Hold

142 Power Block

143 Quickblade

144 Rear Defence

145 Run-Through

146 Sentinel Removal

147 Shoulder Flip

148 Signature Combat Move

149 Tactics

150 Weapon Maintenance

Mystic

151 Ambrosia

152 Blood-bonding Ritual

153 Chemical Distraction

154 Detect Gates

155 Disappear Advanced

156 Flying Powder

157 Glyph Writing

158 Gunpowder Formulae

159 Intuitive Reflexes

160 Meditation

161 Necromancy of Intelligence

162 Non-Detection

163 Rice-Paper Walking

164 Spear Balancing

165 Summon Gneeches

166 Summoning Circle

167 Superstitions

168 The Art of the Deal

Proficiencies

Social

169 Administration

170 Bartering

171 Bullshit

172 Conversational Dominance

173 Detect Lies

174 Diplomacy

175 Distinguished Expertise

176 Glare

177 Insults

178 Intimidation

179 Make-Up

180 Seduction

181 Streetwise

182 Teaching

183 Vocal Impressions

Technical

184 Alertness

185 Animal Lore

186 Balance

187 Catch

188 Chemistry

189 Climbing

190 Electrical Engineering

191 Escape

192 Field Improvisation

193 Forensics

194 Forgery

195 Herbalism

196 Hiding

197 Holistic Healing

198 Hunting

199 Jumping

200 Land Navigation

201 Lock-Picking

202 Mechanical Engineering

203 Nautical Navigation

204 Pickpocket

205 Polevaulting

206 Recognize Tracks

207 Scrounging

208 Sleight of Hand

209 Sneaking

210 Survival

211 Tailing

212 Tracking

213 Trapping

214 Travel Sense

215 Tumbling

216 Walking

Martial

217 Akijutsu

218 Artillery

219 Atemi: Pain Touch

220 Bear Hug

221 Brawling

222 Dodge

223 Fencing

224 Grab Attack

225 Hand to hand Street

226 Melee Weapon

227 Ranged Weapon

228 Shield

229 Shoot from the Hip

230 Sword Catch

231 Take It Like a Man

232 Wrestling

Mystic

233 Analysis

234 Divination-Cards

235 Divination-Pendulum

236 Hypnosis

237 Lesser Protection Circle

238 Psychometry

239 Scrying

240 Telekinesis

Wild Wastes skills

241 Calling

242 Inner Fury

243 Personal Totem

244 Predation

245 Sense Weakness

246 Spirit Charm

247 Tribal Totem

248 War Song

249 Whispers of the Spirit

Book of Death Skills

Social

250 Cries in the Night

251 Funerary Rites

252 Hollow Voice

Technical

253 Bonecraft

254 Digging

255 Emblam

256 Fungal Lore

257 Shrink Heads

Mystic

258 Anchor

259 Angkou

260 Apparition Flame

261 Atemi: Dim Mak

262 Augury

263 Black Thumb

264 Blade Spirit

265 Bloated Corpse

266 Blood Mark Curse

267 Bloodsoak

268 Blood Spike

269 Bloodstained Hands

270 Blunted Fang

271 Bone Bond

272 Bone Danse

273 Bone Fragments

274 Bone Thorns

275 Bringing Out the Dead

276 Circle of Fear

277 Circle of Protection: Spectres

278 Circle of Protection: Undead

279 Cleanse Scabrous Wound

280 Consecrate Cemetery

281 Consume the Dead

282 Cry of the Blood

283 Deadmans Tale

284 Degenerative Spiral

285 Dispel Magic

286 Displace the Restless Spirit

287 Divination-Aruspicy

288 Divination-Rolling Bones

289 Ectoplasmic Raiment

290 Effigy

291 Envision Spirits

292 Essence of Purity

293 Expurge the Blood

294 Extermination

295 Eyes if the Corinthian

296 Familiar Combat Enhancement

297 Familiar Face

298 Fastburn Corpse

299 Find Remains

300 Formication

301 Gangrene

302 Geas

303 Georges Tongue

304 Grasping Hands

305 Grave Sense

306 Grim Visage

307 Hands of Death

308 Hands of the Sith

309 Helping Hands

310 Identify Blood

311 Ineffectualize

312 Insubstance

313 Last Rites

314 Life Drain

315 Little Death

316 Manifestation of Thin Flesh

317 Mimir Skull

318 Mockery of Life

319 Mourning Bell

320 Necropsy

321 Never the Strong

322 Odor of the Grave

323 Only Mostly Dead

324 Pariah Curse

325 Petrify Bones

326 Pierce the Masque

327 Poisonous Presence

328 Preservation

329 Pulling for Deaths Embrace

330 Rattlin Bones

331 Reassembly

332 Reinforce Skeletal Construct

333 Repel Spirit

334 Restful Draught

335 Restore Bone

336 Semetary

337 Silence of the Grave

338 Skull Spy

339 Slaying Skull

340 Spectral Movement

341 Spirit Beacon

342 Spiritual Review

343 Steal the Lifes Warmth

344 Strength of the Stolen Soul

345 Strike Barren

346 Suspend Decay

347 Sympathy for the Enemy

348 Talisman Memory Mark

349 Temporis Augmentum

350 Thanatoptics

351 Thinner than Water

352 Todesracher

353 Transfusion of Life

354 Transparency

355 Treasure Guardian

356 Undead Seeker

357 Unique Curse

358 Use Circles

359 Weaken Bone

360 Whisper from Beyond the Grave

361 Zombie
³

654806dcb8 ¡ That's really neat. Do you want Liam to include this in the Netbook?

My only suggestion would be to customise the colourisation of Humans to their ethnicity.
³

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1a30e4cffc ¡ That's really neat. Do you want Liam to include this in the Netbook?

My only suggestion would be to customise the colourisation of Humans to their ethnicity.
b

²
d2fcbd03bb P It just did it to me, and will probably do it with this post... piece of shit...

³
64b6fce686
bump?

69be2cf9a9

There are a number of important, influential, or interesting books of Midian, compiled here together for the first time.

By far the most widely read is The Book of the Cannon. This is the holy text of the Temple of Light, the official state religion of the Kingdom of Formour.

An Illustrated Gallery is a recent book by an unknown author &/or artist. It focuses on the art scene in and around the city of Citadel, both before and after its status as a necropolis. There are numerous full-colour plates depicting dozens of pieces, in remarkably exacting detail. In addition to its uses as a cultural or scholarly work--or the incredibly precise replications of paintings--the book is useful in that it is the most complete collection of Volgor's paintings ever in one place. As the paintings themselves were scattered across three continents shortly after each was painted, they have never before been gathered together like this, even if only in book form. Volgor's paintings are notable for his tendency to incorporate mystical symbols within, especially those related to summoning. The replicates in the book are fully safe to peruse, unlike the genuine articles. Several have come forward claiming to be either the author or illustrator, but no one can yet match the artistry of the reprints, especially as each copy must be repainted by hand...

Told as a first-person perspective, My Journey Through the Night chronicles its main character through various minor adventures. The book reads like a section of an autobiography. The setting is sometime centuries past in what is now the Byzant Empire. Those who do more than scan through the book quickly hope that this is not autobiographical, or non-fiction of any sort, as there are small suggestions throughout the narrative that hint darkly about the main character (known only as 'John'--a name which is common among Ghouls and Formourians). The book hints that 'John' is a Vampire, and other-than-Human besides, despite that the book describes several scenes that take place in the sun.

An untitled series of books, primarily by the Dwarven pilot of the Boat of the Undead (no one calls the boat by its proper name) contains various drawings suited for a lonely Dwarf on a long voyage--a Dwarf that is crippled & does not enjoy shore leave. These started as a collection of loose-leaf pencil & charcoal sketches by various artists, and have been compiled and ammended by Ahn (the aforementioned Dwarf), who has become something of an accomplished artist himself for anatomical accuracy... and tentacles.

A book that was commisioned, but never completed as the purchaser died prior to its mass publication, My First Wittle Spellbook was to cover the basics of summoning (notably protection circles), and to act as a primer on psionics. The books were designed with blank space & blank pages, for discussion & essay questions, and as space for notes & to work out problems.

Written in many languages, and several varieties of codes, Agon's Journals covered such diverse topics as: the history of the western edge of the Heldannic Confederations (with useful insights to the Hobgoblins & Changing Folk), nethermancy, demonology, architecture, technomancy, and military strategy. They also contained the most complete and accurate description of the Hephaestus Device, and all of its various pieces & components.

The Mnima was believed by loremasters to have been a fictional story, handed down orally, until first written much later in the now-dead language Nocturne. However, this book has become the holy tome of the secret-society-come-cult the Church if the Rising Night, Atrum Ortus. The player that created the Autrum Ortus also wrote quite a few stanzas of The Mnima. It';s good stuff.

Another popular journal, now recopied and mass-published, Last Journey was the surviving parts of the diary of an Elven sailor, and the few remaining scraps of the logbook. The surviving text was recovered from the final resting place on a coral island of those lost sailors during a global mapping expedition. Any reference that might tie the book into an historic perspective was lost. As these voyages took place over several millenia, and several ships did not return from each, there is no way to know the true identity of the author--positions on the crew rather than names are used in the journal. The last of these trips took place nearly 3000 years prior, so it is remarkable that anything survived in the salty air.

Enlightenment was a book used as both the final prize in an international tournament held by a monestary in the Killian Empire, and the symbol of that monestary's master. Beyond the title, there are no written words, and no illustrations; all pages are blank, save for the next-to-last page, which is a mirror. The book was lost during the escape of the current master from the monestary, and its (and her) current whereabouts are unknown.

What looks very much like an illustrated childrens' book, Happy Bunny & Friends is actually a rather chilling read. The book was designed as both entertainment and education in the harsh ways of the world. For example, during the section that teaches wilderness survival to young unwitting minds: "Oh look," said Sunny Puppy, "these berries look red and tasty." "Oh no," said Happy Bunny, "Sunny Puppy is gone," as the illustration shows Sunny Puppy lying comatose under the bush with a foam-flecked and berry-smeared snout, feet straight up in the air. The next illustration shows the surviving '& Friends' walking away, with Sunny Puppy's corpse in the background--Sunny Puppy is never mentioned in the story again.

Court of the Wise seems to be a dramatic thriller with subtle political overtones. However, it is believed by some loremasters, nethermancers, and conspiracy buffs, that the book's true author was a Demon, and that the book is acutally a political satire of Hell.

Going quickly from dry autobiography, to pedantic description of building a house, to horror/sci-fi, House is the story of the author's descent into madness. As the titular house continues to expand beyond the original architectural designs, it seems (at least to the author) to expand into other realities as well. That the author's mind became unhinged during the building process is evidenced by personal daily details becoming fewer (wife, mother, and children aren't mentioned past page 405), with more minute details of the construction process taking the fore. By the end of the book the author has lost all sense of time and reality, and is fully convinced that the house has become a living evil thing.
W

feb60cd523 E I got some silence for ya Kinslayer. Eat my random goat cheesed ass. %

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1f5ab8b58a
I'm researching it.

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bbd6e3e308

badum-bump

3ca530292e
For Dec 18th Game²
Kagans Plan

Kagan is going to continue to eavesdrop on the guards and assemble info on good places to burglarize.

Hadrians Plan

Hadrian would like to send a letter to his Master detailing the meeting with Bishop Dane of the Church of Stryfe and the holy water incident.

Hadrian would like to call a meeting of the faithful, all church members are to meet as soon as the place is in proper condition. Contributions would be appreciated.

Heres a list of some the twenty Atrum Ortus followers in the area.

Hemen and Javi
Syndics

Remy Laren
Manhunter tailing Hadrian

Mayia Nal and Michael Handred
Crossbomen

Gregor
Apprentice Wizard

Vergil
Sparky
Hellnok (dwarf) and Sal Olgen
ruffians

I will flush the rest out later. They will mostly be zero-level non-adventuring types with one or two useful skills. Can I give some of them a couple from the proposed new skills Ive posted in the Midian Ideas section? 4

b429d84c68
Atrum Ortus skills vs1
4Here is a set of skills specific to my Atrum Ortus church.

Divination - Phyllorhodomancy

Mystic

Awareness based

100 hours

Atrum Ortus elders teach of a quick way to read the future, and also discover some information about whats happening in the present. By slapping a bunch of roses into an open palm, seers may see images and clues about specific questions. Apprentice users may only get a flash of color or taste to assist the querying disciple, while a master should see picture perfect incidents. This method is not used for long-term reliable fortune telling, but as guides at forks in the road.

Divination
Argilomancy

Mystic

Awareness based

400 hours

Clay Spheres are used by seers to look into the past and future of objects. A teller will roll an item roughly into a ball of clay then fire it in a kiln. By viewing the striations, the future may be discovered, by feeling them, the past may come into focus. This is most often done with baby teeth in order to read into a childs forthcoming years. The life of a dead man may also be revealed by building a clay sphere around his skull. A talented seer with this ability will get vivid images in their mind about the object, while an apprentice may only see fleeting scenes.

Once a sphere is fired and read, and the outcome was favorable, the item may be considered lucky or even necessary for any events witnessed to come true. If a seer witnessed only dire happenings, then the sphere may be discarded as soon as possible.

Also feasible, is using an old clay sphere as an object to re-fire into the center of a new clay sphere. Doing so will greatly amplify the reading, but may only be done effectively with a decades old sphere.

Divination
Neromancy

Mystic

Awareness based

1200 hours

This powerful and dangerous fortune telling method has been passed down from much greater religions. By taking the holy water of ones faith, tilting ones head back and pouring the water into the eye sockets, a seer may open his eyes and see the rise and fall of entire kingdoms. This technique may only be done once a year on the holiest of day within a certain religion, in Atrum Ortus case, Midwinter. Each year it is done, a different vision will arise, each more epic and detailed than the last.

Many seers have gone mad trying to decipher what they see through watery eyes. What will become of their home, is war eminent? Neromancy is a window into a plane of existence where every possible scenario happens. Regardless of its flaws, people in power have demanded Neromancers be in their arsenal of fortune tellers, and more often than not, the visions produced have been useful.

In supplement to possibly causing one to go crazy, the process may kill or harm a seer. There is an 8% chance of going blind, and this is compounded by each attempt. There is also a cumulative 2% chance one will die outright. If one of these rolls is aced in the 90% to 100% range, there is a 30% percent chance that a seer will be able to accurately foretell an event, and a 10% chance that they will be able do this ability as much as they choose, but will still risk harm to themselves. Having this skill also gives the knowledge of how to produce a Collyrium, an eye salve that lessens the effects of neromantic mixtures. Using a collyrium will reduce damage and chances of ill effects by half.

To further complicate this process, if the blessed water is from a sacred river or nearby sea, or is mixed with wine or blood, the fluid will show different futures. Here are the effects of different liquids. Other mixes are possible, though subtleties in the liquid may confuse the seer.

Seawater, river water, lake water
Kingdoms and cities by the bodies of water may be seen rising from riverbanks and burning into war-ravaged seas. If looking through holy seawater, a seer may witness the development and collapse of great navies. If by lake or river water, possible futures of the commerce of a land may be observed.

Water and poison
Trying this will result in suffering from the effects of whatever poison is used, and the more deadly the poison, the better the vision. The most fatal toxins will insert the seer into a possible future so that he might experience it firsthand. This will last as long as he survives. The focus of these visions are of assassinations and crimes of passion that change world events. A seer may witness a jealous lover kill a king, and send the kingdom into turmoil, or even see himself, perhaps fatally wounding the ruler who made him go through such a dangerous fortune telling ritual. If he survives.

Water and wine
Seers squinting through holy water mixed with fine wine will see only prosperity in the future. And they may get a little drunk. Putting alcohol in direct contact with a mucus membrane will dry it out, so add 4% to the chance of going blind for every hour of exposure.

Water and blood
The horrors of war will ripple in the reddish holy water above the eyes of a seer who wishes to foretell the coming of bloody conflicts. The teller will get clear visions of the largest possible campaigns for and against his homeland, and be able to assist war leaders greatly.

Tears
If enough tears are gathered from a lady or duchess or princess, they may be blessed and poured into the eyes of a seer in order to see whom she may marry. The results of this method are used to ensure lineage and the wishes of the girls father. This will always, without fail, backfire. Such is the nature of love when fused with fortune telling. For example, if a Neromancer sees a young duchess eloping with a merchant, the father may act quickly avoid the scenario, only to lose her to a pauper.

Divination - Catoptromancy

Mystic

Awareness based

Requires scrying

200 hours

Catoptromancy is fortune telling with mirrors and reflective surfaces. For a thorough and more accurate telling, a seer with this skill will coat a mirror or polished silver with a special oil and study what he sees. A catoptromancer may also view any unprepared reflective surface, including water, and get visions.

The images revealed to a catoptromancer are always things that are happening in the present. Skill includes knowledge of how to make the oil coating for reflective surfaces.

Evangelist

Social

Personality based

Requires public speaking

300 hours

With this skill a character can attempt to convince a crowd of people to join his church. At apprentice level, an evangelist may preach to a crowd effectively, but with no modifiers to convince anyone of joining.

At journeyman, if a crowd is gathered and personality check is successful, those in the crowd actively listening will require a willpower check to prevent them from seriously considering joining the flock.

At master, no personality check is required by the evangelist, and a negative equal to his skill level will be applied to others willpower checks. The master evangelist may also make a personality check to convince people to give him money. He may also make people faint on stage, make paraplegics rise from their wheelchairs, and cure someone of their palmoplantar hyperhidrosis three states away.

Reciprocity

Mystical

Willpower based

400 hours

Reciprocity is the ability to turn fear into power. If someone tries to intimidate or attempts to cause fear in a character with reciprocity, that fear may turn into attack bonuses and bonuses to awareness.

Gnosticism

Technical (lore)

Knowledge based

200 hours

This is the study of spirits and how they react with the world. A Gnostic will have basic knowledge of the workings of ghosts and other incorporeal undead. One with this skill will know how to protect themselves from lesser spirits by producing talismans and performing simple rituals.

Astral Travel

Mystical

Willpower based

Requires meditation

800 hours

Also known as astral projection, astral travel is similar to the spell Ghost Form, except that the traveler is invisible to others and cannot interact with their environment. An astral traveler may only watch and listen. The main purpose of astral travel is not to spy, but to attain an ultimate state of meditation. Astral travelers enter a celestial landscape where the mind may refocus and recuperate. Upon awaking, a traveler will feel refreshed high-spirited. If the trip was exceptional, the game master may award saving throw bonuses or positive modifiers to awareness.

Successful astral traveling requires 6 hours of uninterrupted meditation. In order to use astral travel like ghost form, a willpower check will be required for every hour spent floating around. Unfortunately, since an astral traveler is half-asleep and way from their body, they cannot snap out of it if in danger like during normal meditation.

Astrology

Apprentice

Technical (lore)

Knowledge based

400 hours

The stars above Midian are the subject of an astrologers study. An apprentice of this school of research will have a basic knowledge of what star is where and how they affect peoples emotions and actions. A journeyman will be able to make guess a persons sign. A master in astrology will be adept at charting out star charts. They may also get a syndicated column deal.

Faith Healing

Mystical

Requires Meditation III

1200 hours

Willpower based

A faith healer has the power to meditate over an injured person and heal their wounds. One hit point per hour may be recovered after an initial two hour meditation. A faith healer may not heal themselves.

Nostrum

Mystical

Requires diagnosis

200 hours

Knowledge based

A nostrum is a placebo medicine that can trick someone into curing their own ailments. With the proper ingredients, a knowledge check and after successfully diagnosing the patients problem, a nostrum may be produced in about three hours. For it to work, the patient is required to fail a wits check. If failed, depending on the potency of the ailment, the disease or sickness may show signs of lessening or be cured altogether, all through unconscious power of the mind. A nostrum would never work on someone who knows what they are, of course.

Candle for the Dead

Mystical

Requires lesser protection circle, herbalism

400 hours

Knowledge based

The dead appreciate simple gestures of respect, like lighting a candle in their memory. A restless spirit or the walking dead, however, may be vexed by the same deed. To amplify this effect, a Candle of the Dead may be made from a mixture of weeds found in holy graveyards and other herbs and spices.

When lit, a Candle of the Dead should keep lesser undead and malevolent spirits about fifteen feet away. The candles odor and light is merely annoying to sentient undead, like vampires.

Holy Ground

Mystical

600 hours

Knowledge based

A priest or monk with this skill may spend a few days consecrating church land in the name of their faith. Consecrating land only works if the land is owned by the church.

Holy Water

Mystical

400 hours

Knowledge based

Depending on the requirements for each faith, this skill allows a priest to prepare and bless water for use in ceremonies and undead hunting. The process may be a simple as saying a few words over a bowl of spring water, to a month-long ritual.

Rebuke

Mystical

Requires meditation

1200 hours

Willpower based

Similar to the necromancer ability, rebuke allows a priest to damage undead with their voice. By firmly declaring the name of their faith or worshipped deity, a priest with rebuke may do 1D4 points of damage to undead per level of this skill. For the first round undead get no saving throw, but for each attempt after, the undead being attacked get used to the holy command of the priest, and get a plus two to save each round.

Silence Dead

Mystical

Requires meditation

600 hours

Knowledge based

This spell is used to keep dead men from telling tales. One with this skill perform this skill on a corpse, making it difficult or impossible for spells like necromancy of intelligence to work.

Halt Slow Death

Mystical

Requires meditation

600 hours

Willpower based

This skill allows one to stop the necromantic ability Slow Death. Upon a successful willpower check, a caster with an equal or greater level than the necromancer may stop the effects of slow death on an individual. Those below the necromancers level, may attempt to reduce the effects of slow death by half, at a minus two per level beneath. This spell will not heal anyone dying slowly any other way, but it may be performed on a dying person just if the cause of their imminent demise is unknown.

See Strings

Mystical

1200 hours

Requires meditation

Wits based

This spell allows the user to see the invisible puppet strings leading from a controlled undead to the necromancer. The dark red ethereal umbilical cords may come into focus by performing a three round ritual. This nether-link may stretch for miles, and if the necromancer is far away, this spell will show the general direction of the strings origins. If a necromancer controlling undead is close by the See Strings caster, the caster may follow the strings for the duration of the spell, which is about half an hour, and may recast after another half an hour. This spell also works in reverse, to trace from a necromancer to their undead minions.[b:b429d84c68][/b:b429d84c68]

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Done.

Thanks, Zoilus.
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a19f2da017 IThis'll work. The demographics are a bit off, but I'm not planning on making them "official" until Conquest--TWH.

This thread is unbumpable. It cannot be reasoned with. It doesn't feel post counts, views, or time/date stamps, and it won't ever stop... ever... until you are dead. Do you understand? Do you understand?
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Groovy. This is good work, Kagan. I'm assuming that these are all proficiencies? Some of these would work well as basic skils.

The divinations would be subject to the same limitations as other divinitory magic. That is, Catroptromancy, for example, would not be a guaranteed Star Trek viewscreen, but rather an indistinct & uncertain view of an event.

Reciprocity could use more fleshing-out. It's a good idea, but needs more mechanical resolution.

Gnosticism would need additional requirements--such as Lesser Protection Circle--before it would grant a protective bonus, and could need additional requirements for creating protective talismans.

Astral Travel is already planned for Conquest--TWH. This write-up is quite powerful. The planned version would be much more limited.

Astrology is an Orck skill, and would have no mystic effect. Even Orcks know it's crap. The astrology fad in the Orckish Highlands has been over for some time, and was never really taken seriously. There would be no game mechanics involved.

Faith Healing needs additional notes that the healer must remain with the injured person, and I suggest that life points not be healed with this ability. Meditation is a basic skill, and as such has no levels. You can also add that it applies only to those who share the same faith for full effect.

I would have the effects of Nostrum be a retest on a saving throw against an illness, with the proviso that the GM may decide that a given ailment is too powerful for this spell--it would only be effective against diseases with which the person could conceivably heal themselves.

I would suggest that Candle for the Dead only be effective against minor & lesser entities, and that zombies would only be effected if they were not specifically ordered to advance or attack, which would override their reluctance to enter the radius of the candlelight. Alternately, all such entities & Undead (without restrictions) would be granted a saving throw equal to the skill check to enter--this would still keep out the weaker creatures, but not even slow the more powerful. Another option is to have a candle specifically made against a single entity or Undead (perhaps made with something either inimical or connected, such as dirt from their grave, that would prevent entry even with a saving throw, but would not affect other Undead or entities (or at least reduce the save by half). This could either be a variant of this spell, or a new one: CftD--Advanced. Currently, this is a much more useful & powerful version of CoP: Undead, with a wider range of affected, with the additional CoP: Spectres entities effected, and the bonus that it's portable, mobile, and easier to light a candle than draw a circle. I would also add that this spell would cease to be effective against any entity or Undead if the caster advances towards it.

You can pare Holy Ground & Holy Water's hours-to-learn back & make them social skills. They wouldn't have any game effects other than the consecration, and that is only of importance to the practitioners of the given faith. I would add a note that there are different rituals specific to each religion (not all religions would have a version, however), and that belonging to a faith is a prerequisite for each.

My first impression of Rebuke is, "no." While it's more reasonable for a 10th level necromancer to be that nastily powerful, it's quite different for a first level rogue who happens to have spent two points to learn this skill. I would make this spell both double difficulty & count as two skills at generation. The needed skill check should be increased to 15. I would also increase the casting time to several minutes, rather than a few seconds, perhaps 5 or 10 minutes. You can include a method to reduce this, similar to the Common Sense check for learning skills. For example, a base casting time of 12 minutes can be tested down by a successful skill check to 6 minutes, and acts as the base saving throw. Each additional success divides the casting time in half. Once the casting time is determined for that encounter, the spell continues to do damage on that cycle as long as it is continually cast. For example, the sorcerer makes the skill check 3 times, reducing the casting time to 1 1/2 minutes. As long as she keeps continually casting, the Undead suffer 1D4 points every minute-and-a-half. Would this spell be specific to followers of a religion?

I would possibly add a few additional requirements ot Silence Dead, such as Consecrate Cemetary, Necromancy of Intelligence, or especially Crossroads. Using divinatory magic on a corpse would be a challenge of the skill check with SD vs. the skill or Willpower check of the opposing mage.

The Slow Death necromantic ability wasn't clear enough. That's my fault, & has been hopefully corrected. I'm not sure if you mean caster level or skill level, and who is supposed to make the Willpower check.

I would note for See Strings that the spell is only effective if there is an active connection from the necromancer to the Undead, such as if they are currently viewing through their familiar's eyes via Sensory Link. It would not be effective against zombies created & commanded by the usual means.

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I've added my thoughts to the skills thread (it's there, big posts seem to make the thread unbumpable). For most of the proposed skills, I wouldn't have a problem with some of the higher-ranking followers knowing.

As an aside, names for non-Bizzannites are found on the Ask the Loremasters board; this will make it easier for you to flesh out foreign members. Also, everyone in Midian is at least first level, even a newborn. -

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d553063f3a ! Fuck you, right in your goat-ass.

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From Strolen.comq
One of the things I do as a multi-classed game designer/Game Master/PbP moderator is to incorporate the theme of the upcoming supplement to Midian into big story arcs. This not only aids in the [b:933b6d3324]Immersive Game World[/b:933b6d3324] idea, but helps prepare the players/fans for the upcoming book.

Thus, with [i:933b6d3324]Famine--Wild Wastes--The Dark Horse[/i:933b6d3324], there was a reduction in the global food supply caused by a change in the weather. It is believed that warring elementalists of great power may have disrupted the natural order. Excessive rains in northwestern Formour & the western half of the Heldannic Confederation caused localised flooding, washing away of topsoil, and a corruption of the water supply. These areas were sparsely inhabited, but the effects of the climate change were far more widespread than were those changes themselves.

In addition to crops being destroyed by floods, many fields were damaged by soil erosion, limiting or even preventing replacement crops being grown after the floodwaters subsided. The groundwater was affected by bacterial infection, which spread rapidly as the diseased population (and animals both domestic and wild) had no option but to evacuate into the waters. The floods also greatly hindered movement, both away from the aflicted area and bringing in emergency supplies. With the area being on the outskirts of civilization, local resources taxed beyond their limits, and the national government not being able to effectively send relief, many turned to banditry when their farms were lost... either to the floods or to other bandits. Of course, not a few of these bandits were not local, but rather opportunists who came there to make a bad situation worse. Further complications arose when the excessive rainfall of one season meant a drought followed, as the normal patterns were disrupted.

With the wild animals being driven out of their homes, and the sudden reduction in food, the animals fled the area. This not only made it more difficult for the surviving sentients, but caused wolves, Hobgoblins, and Changing Folk (Lycanthropes) to come down from the nearby Farreaches in search of prey. This even further caused animals to flee and sentients to die.

The population fled in droves: homes were flooded, food gone, bandits & predators increasing, and the growing sickness, brought the infant mortality rate close to 100%. This sudden influx of people into new areas strained the resources there, which had a shuffling effect of migrating & starving people, and further escalated the problem. As the Kingdom of Formour is very much an agricultural nation, it relies upon a dense network of small villages, roadways, and farms, for its very life. Formour exports grain, grain products, and other foods to most of the rest of Midian. This drove food prices up worldwide--as much as doubled in some areas--and similarly caused inflation in businesses peripherally related to food crops. That is, horses & cattle became more expensive outside of Formour (where prices dropped as they were slaughtered en masse to prevent the poor animals from starvation). Caravans became more expensive as both grains & horses increased in cost, and all major military expeditions worldwide temporarily stopped due to the expense.

The plains & forrests of Formour were the worst for flooding and the loss of grains & other food, but travel in or out was slightly easier than in their northern neighbours in the Heldannic Confederation. There the rougher terrain forced the water to runoff into streams becoming raging torrents, blocking all movement of Human, Dwarf, Troll, or animal. This water had to go somewhere... so it added to the flooding problems further south. The relative isolation and difficulty of travel caused the death rate amongst the Heldanns to be even greater than the Formourians. Only a few communities in the western half of the Heldannic Confederation survived.

To make the inhabitants of Midian suffer even more, I had another far reaching problem for them to face. While everyone was dying in northwestern Norditerre (the northern continent & home of Formour & the Confederation), a large volcano erupted in the Greatsea. This blanketed the upper atmosphere, and caused an unseasonable drop in temperatures worldwide. Couple this with the altered weather patterns (and the precipitating effects of high-atmoshperic ash), and deep snow fell over much of the globe. Some areas do not see snow at all save for a few times a century at best. These were the hardest hit, as they were the least equipped. This only further escalated the problems with a lack of food, an increase in cost, and mass death. (Note: this is player-info, none of the inhabitants of Midian know that the volcano caused the unseasonable and thick snowfall.)

This set the stage for the rest of the Books of the Apocalypse series. Mass graves & entire towns were animated into zombies. Bandits & now-homeless warrior/farmers were banded together into mercenary companies, and these were sent on campaigns resulting in more slaughter, and more corpses. Eventually, many of these were incorporated into a massive zombie army, which ruined cities on two continents. The zombies, increase in necromantic activity (and the interest therein assisting a school for necropolitans & mages), and the increase in numbers & influence of the Shadow Knights, set the stage for [i:933b6d3324]Death: The Pale Horse[/i:933b6d3324].

The climate changes in Osterre caused the Orckish tribes to be banded together under a single despot, whose pirating efforts further hampered travel. The wandering mercenary & national armies that moved into Osterre to stop him, the military efforts to regain the necropolises from the Undead, and new knightly organisations set the stage for the upcomming [i:933b6d3324]War--The Red Horse[/i:933b6d3324] book.

The new civil changes, including the advent of two new nations, openning of the eastern continent (Osterre) to trade, increase in cetain magics, and sweeping economic changes, will set the stage for the final Book of the Apocalypse, [i:933b6d3324]Conquest--The White Horse[/i:933b6d3324]. 5#d. Now, it just needs a cool name.

Ideas, anyone?

-Ômechanically soun

6ede09dad5

I've found what the problem is at least, but I'm not sure just yet how to fix it.

As a security precaution, our server has no email functions (not even virus... I mean... outlook express). We've also blocked these ports; it doesn't even listen there. However, when someone checks "Always notify me of replies" on their Profile, if fucks things up since the board is trying to find an email client & eventually times out, without incrementing the post count, bumping the topic's position, etc. as these are done after the email is supposed to be sent.

As long as we (meaning me, Kinslayer, & Ceekay when he's around) catch & fix people's profiles when there's an unbumpable post, it should be okay for a while.

[size=24:6ede09dad5][b:6ede09dad5][i:6ede09dad5]To check for replies, login to the boards periodically. Don't wait for an email to tell you there is a reply.[/i:6ede09dad5][/b:6ede09dad5][/size:6ede09dad5]

90c5c58857 UPDATE

I've told PHPBB to mail from an external host, rather than the non-existant default. Of course, since our external mail host isn't set up for this (nor would it be possible, I suspect), you will get an error message that the mail couldn't be sent, instead of the other strange crap error messages from replying to these unbumpable posts. This will allow the post count to increment, bump, etc.

eb3a12eb0b T

I find that the game is scarier without monsters. Which do you find more viscerally frightening: your friend sitting across the table calmly describing a monster as being 200 meters high, or being reminded of the last time you were nearly bitten by an angry barking dog? By keeping encounters restricted to four primary areas, I avoid much of the "typical dungeon crawl" effect that would serve only to reduce the fear factor. These four types of encounters are: normal beasts (as in the above example), sentients (the crazy guy in the dark alley--cross the Troll with your worst neighbour, and make him your new boss... I should note that Trolls are a normal pc race in Midian), things-that-go-bump (pure description--the players are never sure what's going on), and non-encounters (such as a scene consisting entirely of the description of an abandoned church silhouetting a stormy sky).

An important aspect of running a successful dark fantasy campaign is to set your players' standards low. Focus on the small details, even things that might be considered trivial & time-wasting in other genres. If they never have money--or never have it for long, never encounter an altruistic noble (or at least one who isn't an otherwise reprehensible jerk), never seem to fully achieve anything lasting or worthwhile--but never really fall so far into darkness & dispair that they completely lose hope, and never ever find true happiness, then you can string the players' along on an emotional coaster ride, where nothing is as it seems, and morality comes not in black-&-white, but rather in a dozen dull hues. This is why I recommend a low-fantasy setting/ruleset for a dark fantasy campaign. If the players cannot resort to powerful magic spells or items, and the GM cannot resort to simply throwing a bigger & nastier monster at them, then all are forced to find new methods in their shared storytelling.

The player-characters should never encounter a real hero. The bickering, ill-conceived, motley, violent, misanthropic lot known as the players' troupe, is the closest thing to heroes that a dark fantasy world should have. Sad, isn't it? It is permissible to have other "heroes" as competators, and for every vainglorious success they enjoy, the pc's (or at least the players--cut scenes work well here) should learn one dark secret or atrocity of the supposed "hero." The corrolary to this is that few villains will be completely evil, either. Finding out that the vile warlord that slew the entire town loves little kittens--and they love him, too--makes it much harder for the pc's to shove their jagged-edged blades through his black heart... as his eyes look up in shock & terror, baby kitten still mewling in his hands... You can, of course, have truly unrepentant and awful evil beings--demons or guys named Scott who enjoy pouring piping hot coffee on flowers, but these should be used sparingly, to further emphasize the grey-area ethics of murdering a "bad guy" while he's petting a lil' kitty.

Don't forget the graphic descriptions. Dark fantasy comes from a litterary tradition that made trite, flowery, overwrought descriptions into a twisted artform. Include every possible sense as well: not just the flash of lightning, but the low rumble of distant thunder, the scent of rain blowing on the cold breeze, the coppery taste of the victim's blood, and the uncomfortable stone in your shoe.

74565fa6a7"Reply to a reply of the above post7
You're disagreeing by arguing my point? There should exist some fatal flaws in every would-be hero. The guilt-ridden henchman is already obviously flawed, by virtue of his past associations, as is the cowardly jerk against the zombies. Even someone who has no obvious deficiencies and sacrifices themselves heroically has a fatal flaw in a very litteral sense: their selfless heroism got them killed. When this occurs in a movie, it's someone who did not previously have many lines, was neither hero nor foil, has no further use in the story, and--most importantly--is never mentioned again by the surviving characters.

The seemingly selfless hero who sacrifices him or herself, in addition to the obvious fatality of their heroic flaw, can be later revealed to have a few "skeletons in the closet" type hidden flaws. This will serve to humanise someone who is elevated post mortem to near worship, especially to nauseating levels. Let the player-characters get sick of hearing about the wonderful Sir Neverwrong the Pure, and then drop hints about his "heroic" bravery in battle stemming from his overwrought aggression & hatred of all other ethnicities.

Even without these humanising flaws, heroes in dark fantasy, if even used at all, should share the common flaw of their mortality: they are all dead, or are emplaced into the story only for the express purpose of dying. The sacrifice of such a noble & caring person will seem quite pointless (and thus appropriate to genre) when compared to the misfits & malcontents who survived only due to the forfeiture of life of the "hero."

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There are several different species of Black Leaf Bugs, each resembling the shed leaves of various deciduous trees. They all share a few traits in common: swarm behaviour, poor flight, behavioural mimicry of leaves blown by the wind, defenses, feeding modes, and means of reproduction.

In appearance, Black Leaf Bugs resemble a cluster of fallen leaves, blown about by the breeze. It is not uncommon to see more than one species represented within a swarm. When they encounter a large animal however, they quickly swarm and paralyze it. Individually, their bites are small, and their paralytic venom weak. However, in a swarm, the collective toxin can quickly subdue even a cow, and keep it paralyzed until the larvae have devoured it. The adult females feed on animal blood, leaving pinprick sized holes on the paralyzed victim, barely noticable even under scruitiny. Adult males, ironically, feed on dead vegetable matter. All however, swarm and inject their paralyzing toxin.

The eggs hatch within a few hours, and the tiny larvae burrow their way deep inside the victim's flesh. The paralyzed victim is eaten from the inside-out, while it is still alive and conscious for the early stages. The skin & bones are not consumed by the developing larvae, but muscle & soft tissues are. This leaves (pun unintended) the victim in the latter stages resembling a horrific type of scarecrow--the frame & skin are stuffed with wriggling vile leaves. These burst out from the victim, and become a new swarm.

It is whispered at harvest bonfires that sometimes these smaller swarms will combine (which is something that has been observed several times before), but into a monstrously huge pile of Black Leaf Bugs, able to instantly devour and destroy anything it comes across.

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This board#While the General BS board is under the Lost Souls Pack section, anyone can post here. This is pretty much unmoderated, and you can speak your mind freely.

Go on, post something.

All the cool kids are posting.

Come on.

You [i:98b85ff16b]know[/i:98b85ff16b] you want too...

d5c2d48cc1 C
The best coffee in Midian is grown in the Heldannic Confederation, with Formourian coffee being the most commonly brewed, as much for its greatly reduced cost as for its ready availability. Due to the cold climate, there are few places in the Confederation where coffee can be grown in sufficient quantities. Mostly this is around active volcanoes, which only serves to increase its cost.

Dwarven brandy is quickly gaining in popularity throughout the world, also from the Heldannic Confederation. The Dwarves also consider their beer to be the absolute greatest, but they usually think this about all things Dwarven.

Tea is the drink of choice in the Killian Empire. Unlike the proper tea common to Formour & Byzant, Killian tea is brewed from a small range of varieties. It is uniformly clear, bitter, potently caffinated, and served at only a scant few degrees below boiling. It's enough to get a cold-blooded Killian (they are a reptilian people) out of a frosty morning daze & on her way to work with a toothy grin & a pulse of 190+. In other words, they could sell "nickel bags" of the stuff on the streets...

Elven wine is an export of three different Great Houses. It is typically a red blend (only one House makes a white, and even it does not sell as much), with floral, herbal, and fruity overtures & bouquet. It is light and sweet tasting, with very little tannins for a red blend. It is rumoured that the wines are in fact flavoured with various fruits & flowers, but the Elves aren't revealing any secrets to outsiders. It is a common enough drink for Elves outside of their Homeland, but gained greatly in popularity after the Elves reopened their borders. Prior to that event, the already limited quantities of the stuff dwindled dramatically, and prices increased accordingly. With the reopening of the Elven Homeland's borders, sales increased sharply, but at still somewhat inflated prices. It is favoured by some Humans under the rather faulty premise of "everything Elven is better." It is often given to Elven visitors by foreign hosts, not realising that this is the same wine that is commonplace back home to them, and that the most common reason for Elves to travel is to seek new experiences.

It can be said of the "capriola" of the Hobgoblins is an acquired taste. It can also be accurately said that one who enjoys capriola has no taste. This thick--sometimes clumpy--alcoholic drink is brewed from fermented goats' milk. There is a variety of ways to brew it, each resulting in different textures, level of alcohol, and taste (all of them bad). These range from lazy-lambic styles--let it sit out & hope for the best, to multiple distillation similar to creating vodka. It is as foul tasting as one would imagine alcoholic & soured goats' milk to be, but is enjoyed by Goblin & Hobgoblin alike, especially the latter. It has often been wondered if Hobgoblins really enjoy the stuff, or if they simply drink it to proove their courage. Then again, perhaps the strategy is to stay intoxicated--after enough drinks, you no longer care that you are drinking fermented goats' milk.
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2e41e24fa5 7 This cannot be from a real Elf. She used paragraphs...

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We've arrivedœ
Sweet Melchom, has it been a month? We traveled by road for a month, and I have some serious carriage-ass. After making quick work of a handful of bandits, the four of us adventurer types, two faithful servants of our mysterious host, and a regiment of rough dwarves from the Rolling Iron guild, minus one, finally made it to our destination. Oh, and a driver. And my trusty lizard, Zeech. And we picked up one of Nevyns old pals on the way. He caused the minus one. Anyway, I spent a lovely evening with the lot of them plus many of the locals. Its a nice country. Rolling green hills. White fluffy clouds laden with light summer rain. Endless fields of whatever. And the people couldnt be happier.

Too good to be true.

There is something about this Lord that gives me the fucking shivers. I have a funny feeling that he invited us out here to do more than talk art. Anyone with a hedge maze AND torture museum in their castle must be up to no good. Be best to lie low until we head home. Then again, maybe I should be so obnoxious that hell beg for us to leave. The latter will probably happen, but with the help of my constantly squabbling companions. Im going to need a vacation from this vacation.

41fb8b8087 p That's beautiful, man. Please tell me that this was from actual game play, & not just your fertile imagination.

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Deleted login/usernames
You might have noticed a slight change in the boards' formats. Along with this change, we pruned the old names that fit the following criteria: 1) had not posted, 2) had been sitting dormant for quite some time, and 3) had a website link that looked like an ad --usually variants on the same 3 sites. We suspected that these were automated entries created from a spider-type program, rather than real people. If you are reading this, and were one of the deleted names, let us know, and we will restore you.

a877df91ce
Thanks, and yes. This journal should be fairly accurate in channeling a Kinslayer-run campaign, through character hangover-P.O.V.

b298abb424
I have risen from slumber^ Just letting those who know me know that I am back and should be around here more often. later
¥

Ô
df2cbb6f7e
Update
Hello all,

Just wanted to stop in and say that i'm here and plan to work more on the supplement, with any luck this semester will not be as chaotic as the last. I recently got married so that threw everything for a loop as well but thing seem to have calmed down for the time being. Classes started today so we will see what happens.

Elessar Oneyus - My new fighting technique is unstoppable!

6c1941a7b8 u Yeah, Oneyus is back. That's a sure sign that things are picking back up... or is that a sure sign of the apocalypse?
K

eae2b53d28 9 Stupid 'Life' always getting in the way of good gaming...
_

×
12c8f8bee2
Things you never hear8 "Please stop sucking my D!ck or I will call the Police!"

93a49b9a50

Backgrounds Someone needs to check the numbering on the Background roll list.

2223 Bizzannite

23 Feral Upbringing I think FB is supposed to be 43
g W

90b1491c01
Front StanceI This is an offensive stance. +1 to attack, +1 to damage a

4bb80b0411
almost a review?
It's always nice to read about someone saying nice things about your game. When that someone is another game designer, one whose ideas you respect, it's even nicer.

http://www.ishpeck.net/?P=p1104358923ishpeck has Ishpeck's brief take on Midian.

9c53e2c233!Oh how the years have waned . . .{Quite some time has elapsed since I wrote in my journal. A great deal of my writing was burned in an attack on the guild. I am trying to recollect past events based on what i have that remains. I hope that I can tell this tale to its finish and its one worth noting for the history of Formour, Byzant and all of Midian. . . The Story of the Hephaestus Devices. Let me see . . . .

Þ
8ad4e19b4a
Lucien: A long road.ô The search for a Young Heldannic Girl in the Elder Kingdom has come to an end. I have found her and my "job" is done. Yet I am compelled to remain in her company to some greater end. That end will come but for now a short account of my travels.

ß
9f66ec2235 Heldannic²
Word from a Great Family of the Heldannic came to me through my Master. It seems that this Family has earned their place in among the greats of the Heldannic Confederation. With this they would choose to send word to their wayward daughter. My master feeling I am in need of travel, replyed "I have a pupil who is strong, fast and ready to travel"....

Considering the distance I must travel and my means of travel I have packed very little. NO armor or weapons merely the clothes on my back and a small traveling kit...

In this shape running miles upon miles comes naturally and pains me very little. However to stay safe I must stay to the woods and avoid the roads and walking paths
[

à
4c02804788 I This is such an inspired post. And look, it's even dated from Halloween.

9c193cf156 ¶ The book's out, & it's 100% in favor of the wait. I'll admit, I was worried that Vampires would a) suck (and not in the good ways) or b) be a total WW ripoff. Good job guys & gals!
š

630b4d9991
HAHAHAHA! You said "Kinslayer" and "help" in the same sentence, like the two concepts weren't mutually exclusive.

(Just kidding, Cardinal.)

c8563966fe y [quote:c8563966fe="ceekay"]

3) Cause Kinslayer is a beerguzzling fat slob. Heh.[/quote:c8563966fe]

Kinslayer's not fat!
J

aca1e94b64 8 Yes, they could. The forums could just "go away" again.
Þ

675024280f
Running
At the start the traveling came very easy. Little to slow my progress and no one to hinder me. This trip is further then most men are able to go and more dangerous then most men's courage can take.

a54360176f
Lay and Wait<
In the south Heldannic lands, I hear the mournful cries of my cousins "the wolves". I slow my pace to find the reason for this great sorrow. To my dismay a Fur traders trap has claimed the life of a young Timber Wolf. This sight pains me deeply. Such a dishonor to fall upon such a noble being disturbs me greatly. I lay and wait for the
traders
return. As I wait the ambush and the aftermath plays feverishly thru my mind. I can see it all so clear, for these murderous fools shall meet their fate as they have dealt it to so many others. So here I lay and here I WAIT

5877f91f67
Character generation¬
I've been tweaking the [url=lost-souls.servebeer.com/Generation.htm]Character Generation[/url] page a bit. I've rearanged things somewhat and added some to hopefully clarify things better.

Midian's character creation is admittedly a bit back-and-forth. That is, there can be extra attribute points from classes, parry bonuses can come from all over the place, etc. I'm trying to make it more clear, faster, and easier, but I'm not yet ready to just re-write the whole chapter.

Does anyone use an alternate method of character creation, other than the steps in Character Generation? If so, what do you do differently, and why?

Your help with this is greatly appreciated.
g

92daf8638d U Wemdingo? You have got to be kidding with this one. The Ardiana one is cool though.

4e754954f6
Ceekay, your site is down. You need to log back in to the Diaryland page & "regenerate" your site, since Andrew moved the server.

7f016fed5f

Your ideas\
For those of you who have e-mailed me your ideas, they are [i:7f016fed5f]very much[/i:7f016fed5f] appreciated. However, I would like the ideas to be made public, so that we can all share them. Don't worry if you are still working things out, having other Midianites help you out can only be a good thing. Even a half-formed idea is better than none. I would love to continue to help eveyone flesh out their ideas, but would like for this to be a community task. Don't worry, without your permission, I won't publicly post our email conversations.

[b:7f016fed5f]Post your ideas.[/b:7f016fed5f]

4
£

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2419fb8e15'Here it is . . .sneak peak at new class

Demon Hunter

Skills

Hand to Hand Akijutsu I

Wrestling II

Melee: Short, Medium or

Long I

Armor Use: Light or

Medium

Take it Like a Man I

Rear Defense

Tracking II

Tumbling I

Hiding I

Sneak I

Disappear

Distinguished Expertise I

Bullshit I

Insults I

Wayfarer

Non-Detection

The Art of the Deal

Disappear: Advance

Metaphysics (Demons)

Skill Cost: 15

Requirements:

Minimum 10 Personality

Minimum 11 Grace

Minimum 12 Willpower

Minimum 11 Agility

Minimum 14 Stamina

Minimum 11 Awareness

Demonic Blood Backround

Training Time: 7 years must

have a mentor

Bonus Backround: Mentor

Bonus A Level Contact:

Mentor

Choose One of the following (these bonuses do not count towards min req for the class you MUST meet those requirements to even think about being a demon hunter period!)

+1 to Wits & Awareness

+1 to Personality & Willpower

+1 to Stamina &

+ 1D6 Hit Points

this is only part of the level bonuses

Level Bonuses

2: +2 to strike or +3 to parry/dodge

or +1 to initiative

3: gains one martial skill of choice at

Journeyman or III level proficiency

4: +2 to all class proficiencies

5: Increase Metaphysics to Master

Level Gain the Trait Aura Sight

6: +1D8 Hit Points

7: Gain Skill Aura Perception at

Apprentice Level

8: +1 to all social proficiencies

+3 to sa

ì
fc0a2a7da1
More work . . .

3 specialized paths that demon hunters can take

The Path of the Aspirant

The Path of the Elder

The Path of the ArchElder

Three foci for each path either body, mind, or spirit(blood magic)

Extra skill point cost at character creation is 3, 4, 6 respectively for setting character on a path.

a path is not necessary its kind of like wizard traditions

Aspirant bonus skills, abilities etc . . . start from level 2 and go until 8??

Elder

3 and go until 12??

ArchElder

4 and go until 18??

At said level the character must pass certain tests to attain the status of a path follower, if the test is failed the character must wait another year before he/she can take the tests again. Some characters are exempt from these tests and they are rare. (At character creation or the start of playing the character the player rolls percentile
in front of GM if they roll 91+ they are Marked for the Call and receive this as a Status, this is the only ingame mechanic for exemption, of course the GM can do whatever and allow whatever)
8

1cb7a049ed
Feedback
Any and all "constuctive" feedback is welcomed here. The path names are not set in stone, they are working names for now. If i use an idea that is posted here as feedback i will contact you for info regarding recognition in the supplement. thanks ahead of time for any and all input.

î
5e55e2e7d5
More about demons in Midianº
Midian indeed has a low magic system and as far as monsters and the like they aren't all that common - but demons are there , they do exist. The premise of this supplement involves gates. gates are all over the place, not many can see them. Even less are the number of people that can do anything with gates.

The demon hunter supp. introduces an island that has

approximately 30+(known) gates through which demons of all sorts enter, the inhabitants of the island have developed a means by which to defend against these malicious demons (are all demons malicious? no? maybe? i don't know? the ones that i've ran into are and so are the demons from this island) Demon hunters are bred for the survival of the island city.

Here is an excerpt from the beginning of the supplement . . .

Day 35

I woke this morning, cold and damp and alive. Ive managed to make it to the point I presume is half-way to the mountain. If I push hard I will make it there by the morrow.

Day 36

I cannot believe my own eyes. I reached the mountain today and managed to climb my way to the top. As I neared the lip of a high ridge I peered down into what should have been mountain . . . (to be continued)
ving throws against

Demons/Demonic Powers

9: Title: Master (Name) Demon

Assassin Statuses: Feared X 3

(for demons) Elite & Known

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04377b8a5a y
Oooh, a class with a specialization in a skill. That's groovy stuff, Oneyus.

Since it's not the main class, but rather an add-on, you wouldn't need to include level bonuses for every level with the paths. I'm not sure that the roll to pass the test would work very well, if you are spending skill points to learn the path at character creation. It might work better if a path had a certain minimum level of Demon Hunter before you could learn that path... if you pass the test... and I'd make it something in-game, like a mini-adventure or a solo adventure.

What would some of the tests be? Can you follow more than one path? If you can only follow one path at a time, could you stop advancing in one path and then take up another?

Just to clarify, you only get one mentor bonus contact, right? Was that meant to be an associate level, or were you using the old system?
+

8247405641
Fix it, you Undead bitch.
x

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ab6245197d
Dude, where's my lingoPSomething that came up the other day, was in the use of colloquialisms. Specifically, what would the Midian equivalent of "dude" be?

One suggestion was "spud." I like this one.

Does anyone have any additional ideas for "dude" replacements, or other slang terms for use in Midian? Even racial slurs would be acceptible here.

3b2893552b re: pathsl

the skill point cost definitely needs to be there, it will have to be once you see some of the skills i have in mind, not only that but its kind of like an entry fee.

The percentile roll is just a check to see if the character has an aptitude great enough to not have to take any test(s). If the roll fails then the character has to take the test(s) This roll would be a one time thing.

the level ranges as far as "bonuses" etc . . . means basically what you said . . . in that:

at level 2 Demon Hunter who has spent the points at character creation to follow the path of an Aspirant would make the roll to see if they have the innate aptitude and therefore no need to test. The roll represents an spiritual type of "scan" if you will performed by the hunters superior. If said player fails the role he/she then needs his superior to administer the test.

The "Hunter Superiors" will administer tests to those seeking, and tests will include solo adventures and other difficult tasks assigned by the superior. (more coming on that later, a lot of these ideas are in there infancy at least on paper) The tests are different for each hunter and are given by revelation. Each hunter atunes himself to the path in his own special way.

Once on a path you are stuck on a path. There is good reason for this, each path has a set range of ability and with increased ability comes increased "risk." The test for an Aspirant will be much easier than the test for an Elder. Does that mean increased risk of death, not necessarily. The other part to this is that those following a higher path are becoming perilously atuned to their demonic side, especially at higher levels.

See the demon hunter comes with an innate weakness due to the training they receive and that weakness or risk is this :

Once per game session the GM can call upon the Demon Hunter to make a saving throw against his Demonic Blood, if this save is failed the character has no choice but to do something inherently demonic, for example, kill an old man, rip out some womans tongue, bite someones finger off(it may not always be this extreme but it can be and worse). The power of a hunter comes with a price. these kinds of behavior will undoubtedly get the character in serious trouble, i.e. jailed, being exported, or outright killed along with the rest of the party. Those hunters on paths have increased difficulty with this savings throw (grin)

I'll admit this class will probably be one of the most powerful classes the world of midian has seen, but demon hunters will also be a very difficult class to play depending on how the player makes the character and also how mean/cruel/evil your GM in their game.

The Mentor is just one bonus contact ---- the one that comes with the background. and is an A level, unless of course thats not whats in the book. I may very well be wrong there about it being a companion level contact.

1a83d66b67
re: paths againÏoh and as far as the level bonus range i.e for Aspirant 2-8, means that the character takes the test(roll) at level 2 and continues to gain skills and other abilities from the path of Aspirant until level 8 at which point the character would have followed his path to the end.

It might be a good idea to allow characters to stop on a path and continue on another but i haven't put much thought into that yet . . . but i will do some brainstorming on that idea.

ô
06dd60fb20 ì
"Hunter Superior;" I like that.

This is shaping up to be a very interesting & complex class, even moreso than the shadow lords. Of course, they are meant to be the heart of an entire supplement.

I think I get the skill point thing now: you receive training in preparation to follow that path, but don't get any additional (non-skill) bonuses until you actually pass the test... or get that 9% exemption.

For the saving throw against their demonic nature, may I suggest using the character's class level? This can be modified for those following a path--x2, 3, or 5, respectively, or just a blanket doubling. That is, a 3rd level demon hunter would have to make the save at a 3 or better, but an 8th level Aspirant has to make a saving throw at a 16 or better. Of course, that means that a 10th level ArchElder would have to make a save at a 50+... Also, instead of once per game session, it might work better along an in-game timeline, such as once per month when both Luna & Juno are full (on the 4th) or both new moons (on the 19th). This way, a demon hunter isn't constantly losing it if there are several game sessions that all take place during the same in-game day, then have years without even needing a saving throw between campaign chapters. It also makes demon hunters easier to live with for the other people in their island nation if they can plan ahead for the one or two days out of the month when the demon hunters might go FedEx (just like going postal, but with overnight delivery).
'
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6a11a59b06
Ditto. I like what you have so far, Oneyus, and agree with nameless's suggestions.

To answer a previous question, all Demons are fuckers. They may pretend to be nice & helpful, but that's just to trick you. However, since many of them are clever enough to realise this,
ythey may do something that seems truly altruistic, just to make everyone worry about what the Demon's true motives are...

19691747ce
I've gotten permission via email to compile & post much of the ideas I've been sent. The standing proviso is that nameless or I will edit them, to make them look good, and we'll maintain your anonymity unless you tell us it's ok to mention you as the creator.

615dfe7ded
Extrinsic categories

All Extrinsics (Demons, Elementals, et al.) can be divided into four different categories, based on power level. These are lesser, minor, major, and greater.

Lesser: These are little more than semi-sentient spells. They have one thing that they can do, and that's about it. For example, the lesser elemental summoned for the [i:615dfe7ded]earth spike[/i:615dfe7ded] spell essentially [b:615dfe7ded]is[/b:615dfe7ded] that spell.

Minor: Extrinsics at this level are aware, but not exactly what most people would call "smart." When you need to summon something to fight for you, this is what you are looking for.

Major: Now we're getting into the more powerful stuff. Major Extrinsics are fully aware and intelligent, and can interact with their environment just like a person can. They are all magically adept to some extent. It is safe to assume that a major Extrinsic has access (instinctively) to any applicable spell. For example, a major fire Elemental would know all spells dealing with fire.

Greater: These don't get game statistics. This is the power level of Dragons & the near-divine. They can pretty much do whatever they want. Greater Demons can summon entire hordes of their lower fellows, greater air Elementals can summon storms, etc. At this level of power, there really isn't much that a player-character can do against them--don't even bother with hit points or other mechanics.

a3c3e87b08
Equip-stuff changes£I've changed the "Clothes and Accessories" section of the Equipment chapter to a table format. I've left the others alone for now, so that you can compare.

Which format is easier to read and use? Should I change the others to tables, or should I change the clothing section back to how it was?

(I also added skis to the list, and got rid of any plants that grow on palm trees... Kinslayer hates palm trees.)
;

9b0d90db2a
GREAT$I have Read this whole line and it is shaping up nicely. I like it. I like it alot. Great job Oneyus.

As far as the demonic nature maybe it should be decided at character creation. And insted of just making the saving throw harder what about making it more frequent as the character grows?
T

928090f6bd
haha> necroslut - one who tricks out for necro information/training.
c

91b29cc8a2
imageL trying to work on my posting image. might need some help if it does not work
[

c65074df6b
imageD kinslayer, sending you the image I have in mind would like some help
7

0c998b1a0e % Not a problem. I can host it for you.
B

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41d75543b8 0Part of the demonic nature [b:41d75543b8]is[/b:41d75543b8] determined at character creation, by the Demonic Blooded background. This class, as I understand it, would allow you to focus more on your otherworldly heritage.

The increase in frequency idea is intriguing. How would you propose it work?
¥

fe04fec24e
RE: Demonic urges/saves|
-savings throw would start at a base of 10(working number)
when becoming an aspirant save goes up to an 11 when becoming an Elder the save goes to 12 and archelder 13

If character does not choose a path the save still increases but at a slower rate +1 to save difficulty at level 4 (11), 7 (12), 10 (13), 14 (15), 18 (16), 20 (17), 22 (18), 25 (19)

Same progression for aspirant, elder and archelder so the progression looks like this

Aspirant lvl 1- 10 / lvl 2- 11 / and continue adding one at appropriate levels

Elder lvl 1- 10 / lvl 3- 12 /

Archelder lvl 1- 10 / lvl 4- 13 /

-possibly no restests allowed for this particular save
(this class is supposed to be tough, even if its just a simple game mechanic that makes it that way)

b2068a75e1
letting it all hang outQ

This is most everything else that i have f

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