Fantasy HERO Setting -- World of Generica

[ghost-angel]

Actually - it touches on an idea I had...

Troping.

Each of the Generica Styles will have a slight variation on the "trope" - with the option of "does not exist in this area"

We can create one "Dark Elf" Package, but vary the Trope.

In Celtica they are simply Unseelie. In Gygaxica they are Odraude's Twighlight Elf. In Apocalyptica they are Deep Elves driven underground centuries ago. In Tolkenica they are Not Applicable.

As this is Generica the good/evil aspect of their perceptions can be altered from Game to Game as GMs see fit, and unless you are going out to create a Generically Specific Evil (The Necromatic Death Cult) no race has an inherent bias.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Actually - it touches on an idea I had...

Troping.

Each of the Generica Styles will have a slight variation on the "trope" - with the option of "does not exist in this area"

We can create one "Dark Elf" Package, but vary the Trope.

In Celtica they are simply Unseelie. In Gygaxica they are Odraude's Twighlight Elf. In Apocalyptica they are Deep Elves driven underground centuries ago. In Tolkenica they are Not Applicable.

As this is Generica the good/evil aspect of their perceptions can be altered from Game to Game as GMs see fit, and unless you are going out to create a Generically Specific Evil (The Necromatic Death Cult) no race has an inherent bias.

once again I find myself quoting the Duke from Moulin Rouge...
"Generally, I like it very much"

[Killer Shrike]

Actually - it touches on an idea I had...

Troping.

Each of the Generica Styles will have a slight variation on the "trope" - with the option of "does not exist in this area"

We can create one "Dark Elf" Package, but vary the Trope.

In Celtica they are simply Unseelie. In Gygaxica they are Odraude's Twighlight Elf. In Apocalyptica they are Deep Elves driven underground centuries ago. In Tolkenica they are Not Applicable.

As this is Generica the good/evil aspect of their perceptions can be altered from Game to Game as GMs see fit, and unless you are going out to create a Generically Specific Evil (The Necromatic Death Cult) no race has an inherent bias.

Yes; with the caveat that I would prefer to identify the bits that ALL members off a race have as "core", and then any other specialized groups as Options all in one package vs separate packages for each, following the pattern I have in place already.

[ghost-angel]

That would be the preferred.

In fact - names are almost in the way in all races.

Just as a brain storm, we build 3 Elf Packages. In Gygaxica we call them High Elf, Wood Elf and Moon Elf as descriptors.
High Elf is Elf Package with Variant A. Moon Elf is Elf Package with Variant B. Wood Elf is Elf Package with Variant C.

In Celtica with only have two Elves. Seelie Elf (Elf Package with Variant A) and Unseelie (Elf Package with Variant C).

If you're playing in a Game that crosses boundries from Gygaxica to Celtica, and happen to be playing a Moon Elf (E.P. w/ B) that doesn't exist in Celitca they are likely viewed as either a) belonging to whatever court they currently aren't dealing with; b) not considered a true Elf in Celtica; c) Who cares, we're killing things and taking their stuff.

As I see it, one of the best ways to create a generic overtheme that can be zoomed in on to add details is to create a framework of You Have X Aspects to choose from, use them and name them to fit the area you are creating but realize that you are adding a detail to a skeleton.

You can create a massively wide body of descriptors, histories and let GMs fill in details with a surprisingly little amount of underlying mechanic and frame.

For a Gygaxica feel you can work with three or more Elven types. But a Tolkanica feel really only has one elf. And Celtica has only two.

[Odraude]

So, what do you guys think of the Twilight Elf idea?

[Killer Shrike]

That would be the preferred.

In fact - names are almost in the way in all races.

Just as a brain storm, we build 3 Elf Packages. In Gygaxica we call them High Elf, Wood Elf and Moon Elf as descriptors.
High Elf is Elf Package with Variant A. Moon Elf is Elf Package with Variant B. Wood Elf is Elf Package with Variant C.

In Celtica with only have two Elves. Seelie Elf (Elf Package with Variant A) and Unseelie (Elf Package with Variant C).

If you're playing in a Game that crosses boundries from Gygaxica to Celtica, and happen to be playing a Moon Elf (E.P. w/ B) that doesn't exist in Celitca they are likely viewed as either a) belonging to whatever court they currently aren't dealing with; b) not considered a true Elf in Celtica; c) Who cares, we're killing things and taking their stuff.

As I see it, one of the best ways to create a generic overtheme that can be zoomed in on to add details is to create a framework of You Have X Aspects to choose from, use them and name them to fit the area you are creating but realize that you are adding a detail to a skeleton.

You can create a massively wide body of descriptors, histories and let GMs fill in details with a surprisingly little amount of underlying mechanic and frame.

For a Gygaxica feel you can work with three or more Elven types. But a Tolkanica feel really only has one elf. And Celtica has only two.

Yeah, it will be a little painful to rework some of my extant packages to support this (and work it thru other extant material), but you're right -- this is the most logical and flexible approach.

Luckily, I followed this approach w/ later material, its just the early common races that I'll need to refactor (Elf, Dwarf, Halflings).

[Killer Shrike]

shadowcat and ghost-angel -- your wiki accounts are active, and you are admins so be careful what you shmuck up as you have enough permissions to do some actual damage.


If you could give me a hand and approve / activate users as they create accounts it would be "great".

[Killer Shrike]

So, what do you guys think of the Twilight Elf idea?

Hey, I used to live in Melbourne FL (Indiantlantic really, but close enough); small world.

Anyway, dove tailing w/ Ghost-angels post above, a different type of elf as measured mechanically is doable. The current Elf package(s) ref'd earlier have low light vision already; however a subtype of elf with a PhysLim for light sensitivity could be presented. The rest of it is just description, which can vary from Realm to Realm as need be.

[Bismark]

A few suggestions off the top of my head:

A. Dark Elves etc.:

1. Celtica Elves/Dark Elves - one of the 'old granddaddy' RPGs - C&S - has a huge set of Faerie-type entities in its (3rd edition) Bestiary. This could be used to create Elf variants (the Unseelie mob like hanging around with Faerie Goblins, Ogres, Boggarts, Barguests etc. - other than that, and their unfriendly personalities, they are not much different from the 'good' Faeries.);

2. For the more generic end of the market, I notice Midkemia being mentioned earlier: wouldn't Midkemia's Dark Brothers effectively be Dark Elves? They certainly venerate entities of dubious morality...

B. Lizardmen:

1. Swamp Lizardmen could be of distinctly crocodilian aspect - it would fit with their reported habits and make the concept of trained crocodiles a workable one - crocs being more intelligent than many people give them credit for;

2. Desert Lizardmen are usually either lizard-based (as opposed to crocodilian-based) or serpent-based (think CoC-type serpent people here) or even 'upright humanoid dinosaur'-based.

Rolemaster certainly had the two main 'lizard man' archetypes well differentiated somewhere along the above lines.

C. Other semi-aquatic stuff:

For temperate to cold climates, where the existence of lizardmen colonies would be stretching things somewhat even for a fantasy game, we could use an amphibian-based race. I can hear you now - "please, not frogmen! (Ran-tari, Bullywug etc.)". I can sort of agree with you - frogs look a bit comical and are hard to take seriously as dangerous opponents.

My suggestion would be to use bipedal labyrinthodont-type amphibians; a bipedal version of a Cyclotosaur would not look like something to be laughed at (cyclotosaurs looked {they are long extinct} rather like a cross between a newt and an alligator, with the tail of the former and the jaws of the latter).

They could have normal cyclotosaurs as pets, or maybe beasties like Koolasuchus (the last surviving labyrinthodont yet discovered, which lived in the polar forests of early Cretaceous Antarctica) or burrowing sidekicks like a Peltobatrachus (a kind of amphibian armadillo).

I already have a write-up for a Peltobatrachid as I did one as a familiar for the fearsome Ran-tari hero (for which read, 'player-character') Kar-mit (please don't flame me as I was not the originator of that name - the player was)

[gojira]

Just as a brain storm, we build 3 Elf Packages. In Gygaxica we call them High Elf, Wood Elf and Moon Elf as descriptors.
High Elf is Elf Package with Variant A. Moon Elf is Elf Package with Variant B. Wood Elf is Elf Package with Variant C.

Or-

High Elves are from Gygaxica, Wood Elves are from Celtica, and Moon Elves are from Barbarica. If you want to play a Moon Elf in Gygaxica, then your just from the barbarian lands. Or the GM says "no," whichever.

[shadowcat1313]

I like using the swamp and desert varieties of Lizardmen, when I start work on my part of things, I may be borrowing some stuff from the old Arduin Grimoire, mostly backround stuff is all though. I inherited a copy of the World of Khaas sourcebook for Arduin after my old GM passed away, its 875 pages! and no real rules, its all backround material and maps.

[Curufea]

KS: have you checked dokuwiki out? It's pretty dirt simple, text based, wiki that you can drop into a separate directory on your domain space and it'll be completely self contained.

It's what the Hero Wiki uses if that helps.

1. Celtica Elves/Dark Elves - one of the 'old granddaddy' RPGs - C&S - has a huge set of Faerie-type entities in its (3rd edition) Bestiary. This could be used to create Elf variants (the Unseelie mob like hanging around with Faerie Goblins, Ogres, Boggarts, Barguests etc. - other than that, and their unfriendly personalities, they are not much different from the 'good' Faeries.);

I've very keen on the Sidhe of the Unseelie and Seelie court and Dark Elves that aren't Black (tm). I've always preferred the Warhammer Dark Elves to begin with - but the Dark Elves as "full time members of the Unseelie court" works even better. That way they even can have multiple coloured skins and change shape or be invisible.

[Killer Shrike]

Quick note: only ghost-angel and shadowcat have registered on the wiki. If the rest of you that want to participate could pop out to the wiki and register, we can get your accounts turned on and expedite this process.

wiki:
www.killershrike.info

World of Generica
*General Discussion



Thanks!

[Bismark]

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[Killer Shrike]

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