Thulkos as a campaign setting.

[denizen]

I just love Tyrannon's home dimension of Thulkos and I think it has potential as something more than just the Thousand-Headed God's home dimension from which he can launch attacks on Earth.

 

I'm frustrated with a lack of more detail about it though, so I was thinking of putting together a sort of fan work mapping out the dimension and coming up with ideas of fleshing out the campaign potential.

 

The PCs could play worshippers of Tyrannon, riding magical vessels through space,rooting out rebellion and corruption on distant colonial world strips. They could gather sacrificial victims to feed to Tyrannon and battle the followers to the rogue gods in the distant sections of Thulkos. They could call upon and channel the elemental powers of Tyrannon's Thrones as well as summon Emissaries to fight on their behalf against their foes.

 

Eventually they could be called upon by their god to conquer other dimensions or police those already conquered. In those other dimensions they could encounter the followers of Istvatha V'han and Skarn the Shaper.

 

The possibilities are as limitless as Warhammer 40k.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

Interesting notion. Tyrannon and Thulkos having been created for Champions, the "traditional" approach would be for PCs to be leaders of a rebellion against the Conqueror's oppressive rule, or perhaps spearheading an attack against him by a more sympathetic rival such as Istvatha V'han. However, I can see the appeal of a more "amoral" WH40K-inspired campaign. OTOH one could change Tyrannon's motivation for conquest to be more like V'han's, making playing his troopers more palatable for ethically-minded players.

 

I would strongly advise against involving any of Tyrannon's forms in direct conflicts the PCs engage in, even the Emissaries, except in extraordinary circumstances. Few players like to be rescued by a NPC, and Tyrannon is the ultimate "deus ex machina." On the flipside, the Conqueror would probably take a dim view of being called upon unless the consequences to himself are dire. After all, he would likely only "hire" the PCs to handle circumstances he doesn't have time or interest to deal with personally.

 

Another potential threat to Thulkos might be the Kings of Edom. There's no reason the Kings wouldn't escape their prisons to Thulkos before devouring the rest of the Multiverse if given the chance; and if the Conqueror is the "lesser evil" to anything, it's these Lovecraftian nightmares.

 

Fleshing out Thulkos for your own personal use, you might consider adapting the various races and worlds from Hero Games's sci-fi line, including Terran Empire and Alien Wars. For example, the Ackalians or even Xenovores would make terrifying troops for Tyrannon or his rivals. The Velarians, most of them followers of the religion called Scomaru Shaan and the "avatars" of its gods, could be recast as devout worshippers of the Conqueror in his many forms. You'd want recast the technology that some of them use as magic, and eliminate the most powerful weapons, particularly armed starships -- Tyrannon won't give his followers weaponry that approaches his own power.

 

Further to that notion, the Star HERO sourcebook Worlds Of Empire would provide you with many interesting locations to visit, and ancient (pre-Tyrannon) mysteries to solve. And if you were interested in adding the menace of the Kings of Edom, Scourges Of The Galaxy describes the "Church of the Infinite Dark," a potent and horrific galaxy-spanning organization of worshippers of the Kings.

[Haerandir]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

The Kings of Edom definitely lend themselves to a 40K atmosphere, as well, as they'd do a good job of filling the Chaos gods' niche. Which would make Tyrannon equivalent to the Emperor, which isn't that much of a stretch, either. It lines surprisingly well.

[denizen]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

The Kings of Edom definitely lend themselves to a 40K atmosphere, as well, as they'd do a good job of filling the Chaos gods' niche. Which would make Tyrannon equivalent to the Emperor, which isn't that much of a stretch, either. It lines surprisingly well.

Exactly what I was thinking, though I admit I never thought of the Kings of Edom. Tyrannon's followers probably revere the Thousand-Headed God in a similar manner, and both require enormous sacrifices to retain their power. They might even say "By the Great Tree." Tyrannon's main form, the Tree, is pretty stationary as well, just like the God-Emperor.

 

Also the quote in the book about the followers of Tyrannon using magical sailing vessels to travel after receiving the grace of Tyrannon's Avian Throne does sound like another form of navigation in WH40k.

 

I would strongly advise against involving any of Tyrannon's forms in direct conflicts the PCs engage in, even the Emissaries, except in extraordinary circumstances.

Well Emissaries are pretty dumb, so I'm sure those things could be summoned after some great effort by the priests of Tyrannon, especially during a climactic battle against his foe, and being his weakest forms they wouldn't be too much of an imbalance.

 

Fleshing out Thulkos for your own personal use, you might consider adapting the various races and worlds from Hero Games's sci-fi line, including Terran Empire and Alien Wars. For example, the Ackalians or even Xenovores would make terrifying troops for Tyrannon or his rivals. The Velarians, most of them followers of the religion called Scomaru Shaan and the "avatars" of its gods, could be recast as devout worshippers of the Conqueror in his many forms. You'd want recast the technology that some of them use as magic, and eliminate the most powerful weapons, particularly armed starships -- Tyrannon won't give his followers weaponry that approaches his own power.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into it, starting with coming up with designs for the revamped technology. You've both been very helpful, and if any more ideas come along let me know.

 

Thanks.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

Well Emissaries are pretty dumb' date=' so I'm sure those things could be summoned after some great effort by the priests of Tyrannon, especially during a climactic battle against his foe, and being his weakest forms they wouldn't be too much of an imbalance. [/quote']

 

Just keep in mind that the Emissaries aren't just servants of Tyrannon, they're extensions of his consciousness. Bringing one in amounts to having the boss checking up on you personally.

[Nuclear Fridge]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

Just keep in mind that the Emissaries aren't just servants of Tyrannon' date=' they're extensions of his consciousness. Bringing one in amounts to having the boss checking up on you personally.[/quote']

This would be infinitely worse than having an annual audit from head office.

Never mind a reprimand or a written warning - this could result in your soul being flayed to shreds!

[denizen]

Re: Thulkos as a campaign setting.

 

I think I'll begin with detailing the seven Thrones of Tyrannon, what forms they take, which types of worlds they typically manifest on, and how they are worshipped.

 

Maybe the octopod one resides on ocean worlds? The fire one in deserts or in suns? The reptile one in jungle worlds?

 

From there I can work on how each is worshiped and work on the general culture of Thulkos worlds.

 

Back to the topic of Thulkos being sort of grimdark, I'm thinking that many of the aspects of Warhammer 40k could be directly transported to Thulkos, only instead of bolters, his minions probably use magical blunderbusses or crossbows. Instead of starships they use magical sailing vessels. They would still round up people for sacrifice to the Emper...I mean the Tree Throne, maybe using Black Ships?

 

Also I would like to get around to writing out how an actual invasion of a new world or dimension occurs.

 

All these ideas will be collected into a Google Doc which is publicly available here:

 

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfq4bx7q_3508frzh2cc9