Shadowsoul

Re: Shadowsoul's Monster Corner After the ominous silence which followed my foray into the world of childrens' monsters I've decided to do a more serious write-up. Here is my interpretation of an ancient Greek nightmare. Name. Maenad Genre. Fantasy. Ancient Greek. Background/History. Maenads, trans. ‘raving ones’, are characters from Greek mythology, although the myths about them are apparently based on real acts of worship by the ancient Hellenes. Maenads were female followers of Dionysus who would fall into a shouting, orgiastic frenzy and commit ritual acts of ecstasy and sometimes murder. They were said to have hunted down wild beasts and perhaps even men or children and torn them apart in order to feast on their raw flesh. Most Maenads were normal women who had been temporarily transformed by wine-soaked festival rites or by the will of Dionysus. Enemies of Dionysus often perished at the hands of their own female relatives who had been possessed by his power. But some travelled with the god himself and seemed to be permanently ‘blessed’ by his gifts. Personality/Motivation. A Maenad’s normal personality is completely subsumed to her frenzy, she is a berserker of sorts. Maenads tend to dance and frolic madly, drink, shout wildly, possibly engage in acts of sexual excess and pursue beasts which they can ritually devour. They have no other motivations apart from the desire to please their god and to channel his essence. When released from the their frenzy Maenads become normal women and regain normal humanoid motivations, though they may still serve Dionysus. I have written Maenads up as being enraged by the presence of normal men and so attacking them. It may be more true to the original source material to say that in their frenzy they do not or can not make a distinction between men and the beasts they hunt for ritual sacrifice. The end result is the same. I have found no mention of women being killed by Maenads although that does not mean it did not happen. While I have found no explicit mention of this I would assume that Satyrs, being servants of Dionysus, would be safe from the assaults of the Maenads and might even join them in their frolics. This may be considered to be true of any other members of Dionysus’ retinue, the Thiasus. Powers/Tactics. While their ability to bring down strong men and even bulls in their prime barehanded can be attributed to the sheer numbers and insane bravery of the Maenads I have given them a Killing Attack and increased Strength to translate this power into game terms. I have also given them the ability to shrug off attacks that would knock normal people unconscious to simulate their implacable frenzy. As divinely inspired beings Maenads are said to have possessed immunity to fire and steel, to have been able to conjure nourishment from the earth itself and to have handled snakes without taking harm. Despite these powers a Maenad’s principle strength lies in numbers and fury. They display no tactics aside from a mad charge towards the unlucky victim who attracts their attention. They use no weapons or equipment aside from the ritual thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy leaves with a cluster of leaves at its tip. Campaign Use. Classic Maenads are most likely a random or one off encounter. A party of adventurers could stumble across the rites of the Maenads and have to fight their way out. Or they could be investigating the cult of Dionysus or a member of it. Alternatively anyone who incurs the wrath of Dionysus or his servants could be due a visit from the raving ones, in which case they could serve as more long term antagonists. If Dionysus or an obvious equivalent does not appear in your setting then Maenads would still make good servants for any god of chaos, madness or nature unbound. It is not unusual for modern depictions of the Dionysus cult in fantasy series e.g. Xena, True Blood to link this relatively neutral god with the Christian Devil, most probably because of his association with another horned god, Pan. Certainly the Maenads could be considered an evil cult in any setting where Good and Evil are actual forces. It should be noted that true Maenads cannot be killed with impunity. Like the classic werewolf they have no control over their own frenzy, they may not even have chosen to become Maenads. Therefore a hero must think carefully before defending himself against them, assuming that he survives long enough to do so. Quote. Dance for Dionysus! Appearance. Human female wearing fawn skins and an ivy wreath. Val Char Base Cost 15 STR 10 5 14 DEX 10 12 10 CON 10 0 10 BODY 10 0 10 INT 10 0 13 EGO 10 6 15 PRE 10 5 10 COM 10 0 3/13 PD 3 0 2/12 ED 2 0 3 SPD 2.4 6 5 REC 5 0 20 END 20 0 23 STUN 23 0 6" RUN 6 0 2" SWIM 2 0 3" LEAP 3 0 Pts. Power END 20 Beyond Pain 1: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) 0 20 Beyond Pain 2: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (30 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) 0 40 Fire Does Not Burn Them 1: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Set Effect (Fire Only; -1/2) 0 10 Fire Does Not Burn Them 2: Armor (0 PD/10 ED) (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Fire Only (-1/2) 0 40 Iron Cannot Wound Them 1: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Set Effect (Iron Weapons Only; -1/2) 0 10 Iron Cannot Wound Them 2: Armor (10 PD/0 ED) (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Iron Only (-1/2) 0 10 Snakes Lick Harmlessly At Their Cheeks: Animal Friendship (20 Active Points); Limited Power Only Certain Animals (-1) 12 Tearing Strength: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); STR Minimum 15 (-3/4) 0 10 Just Won't Give Up: +10 CON (20 Active Points); Limited Power Only to protect against being Stunned (-1) 14 Insane: Fearless Power Cost: 186 Pts. Skill Roll 6 +2 Unarmed 4 KS: The Worship of Dionysus 13- 8 Survival (Mountain) 14- [Notes: Mystical powers to draw food from the earth.] Skill Cost: 18 Disadvantages Pts Psychological Limitation: Cannot Resist Orders By Priesthood Of Dionysus (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Caught In An Orgiastic Frenzy (Very Common, Total) 25 Reputation: Murderous And Insane, 11- (Extreme) 15 Enraged: Presence Of A Man (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 8- 25 204 Abilities Cost + 34 Characteristics Cost Base Points: 153 + 85 Disadvantages Total Cost = 238 Design Notes. I have posted the HDC file of a stripped down or 'mundane' Maenad without most of her supernatural abilities below. This is for those who prefer more realistic enemies or simply want an easier opponent for their players to face. I have written up the very specific powers a Maenad was supposed to have over the earth e.g. summoning water by striking a rock with a thyrsus, as Survival. This is purely to save me some work.

Re: Kulthea - the Shadow World I have visited this world you speak of. It was in a campaign run by none other than Bismark of these very boards. If he doesn't spot this thread himself give him a poke.

Re: World Of Darkness Kindred Template Pretty cool overall. The defences seem high enough but I'm not sure if they break down the way damage worked against Vampires correctly. As I recall, Vampires laughed at blunt instruments, were more wary of blades and ran screaming from fire, sunlight and supernatural attacks, (which you've covered). What is missing, (if my memory serves), is the fact that Vampires treated bullets as blunt trauma and could shrug gunfire off with relative ease. A shotgun was considered a reasonable device for non-fatal Kindred crowd control, at least by the Vampire who held it.

Re: Cloak of Belief (Faith) Something like. Detect Moral State, (Always On, Self Only, OAF, Side Effects - Others can also work out this information)?

Re: Lovecraftian-style Magic Not to be too crude but it looks as though she's scratching herself. And those nails look like they could slice straight through her costume if she's not careful. (Which raises the question of how she managed to dress herself with those things getting in the way). All in all I think she needs to expand her wardrobe, literally.

Re: Humans Need Not Apply: Campaigns Without Humans In the days before I adopted the Hero system I threw together a homebrew setting with no humans. There were Dryads however, because I liked them. And the four armed, blue skinned wanderers with a penchant for living in trees were basically the result of humans in rubber suits syndrome. It was quite a fun setting despite all that.

Re: Only Humans Need Apply: Campaigns with Just Humans One could argue the case for mages as a subrace of humanity if their power had a genetic origin i.e. it was an inherited trait. This was actually done in the Artefacts of Power series by Maggie Furey. Magefolk are distinct from mortal humans. They are also so powerful in certain areas that one of them was able to affect the weather patterns of an entire continent.

Re: Lovecraftian-style Magic Actually these creatures only come from another reality because the reality we know and love is an illusion. As Lovecraft conceived it the horrible monsters and alien beings were the truth of reality, (he was a nihilist after all). Basically the Lovecraftian universe is an extremely dark, random and horrific place and we have no place in it. Don't forget that all native terrestrial live is supposedly the spawn of a single captive god of unimaginable foulness and that the Elder Things, who were made from terrestrial matter, inhabited Earth long before humans did. It is only through sheer luck and the indifference of greater powers that the fragile delusions of human sanity, morality and benevolent religion have been allowed to survive. The insanity comes when humans begin to peel back the veil which shields them from the 'real' reality and so learn that everything they love and believe in is as nothing amongst the mad screaming void of existence. This only emphasises the fact that you don't want to go too far down the Lovecraftian route, of course. And I would agree that if characters live in a world filled with monsters of every kind and ruled over by beings of unimaginable, yet visible, power then they would be far less likely to worry over meeting an inhuman race of fish creatures. Beholders, Abholeths and other nasties are supposed to be from alien planes anyway, aren't they? Another day another abomination. So the Deep Folk are just survivors from an ancient and evil age. Their magic would be primitive, brutal but powerful. Anyway, to the point. The Turakian age has a few spells for the Thun, a race of humans who worship Lovecraftian gods. They are, a spell which can cause the target to die of fright (NND RKA), a continuous attack that burns the target with invisible flames, a magical golden ball that need only be brushed over the target's body to inflict dagger like wounds, (armour piercing HKA) and a chain which can hold just about anything, (Entangle which Affects Desolidified). Standard Witchcraft and Black Magic powers would be appropriate as well I think. As would a curse which slowly transforms the target into a Deep-Folk, (now how's that for a way to inject a sense of urgency into a gaming session, find a cure before you turn). Powers to transform the Deep-Folk themselves would also be flavourful e.g. increase size, add limbs or claws. You mentioned Summonings and that sounds good, would you have creatures actually appear when summoned or would they rise from the fetid depths in all their horrible glory? Ways to make their magic more distinctive and scary. Their magic could come directly from their masters and so normal counterspells do not affect them, (they can't dispel normal magic either). Give their magic consequences, drawing on the power of the Titans means drawing their attention and that can have catastrophic results to the summoner and/or the surrounding environment. Give them powers that others don't have e.g. the ability to twist time and space, (which is how they gain their power, they reach back to a time when the Titans were free). Let them perform mass rituals with incredible results.

Re: Dwarves, Elves and Hobbits Need Not Apply! So, if the claims that there was interbreeding between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals are true then we are all half elves? My (very brief) scan of some of the facts about Gigantopithecus suggests that it wouldn't make for a traditional orc without some radical changes in its behaviour. It is apparently a herbivore and while those can be extremely nasty e.g. hippos, gorillas I'm not sure that they would waste so much valuable grazing time on forming marauding hordes. It might make for a better ogre, a relatively gentle creature if left alone but a terrifying monster if it feels that its safety or dominance is threatened and therefore the subject of much folklore about its supposedly evil tendencies.

Re: Only Humans Need Apply: Campaigns with Just Humans I must say that I am a fan of non-human races. Though I've long since become bored with the Tolkienesque standard races. Here is my rather rambling opinion of this debate. I'd agree that any standard fantasy race can be turned into or replaced by a human culture. That is because they are reflections of humanity and are often based on real cultures to begin with. Tolkienesque elves are humans writ large. Tolkien's original conception of dwarves was a cross between Nordic legend and Medieval European conceptions of Jewish populations as outsiders to 'normal' society. Sometimes human cultures can be more exotic to each other than the local non-humans. The Tsurani, an East-Asian/Chinese style empire, who invade the standard fantasy realm of Midkemia through a world gate are far more baffling and horrifying to the native humans than the elves and dwarves that also live in this setting. Mental landscapes are more interesting and fulfilling to play with than physical ones. Who cares about pointy ears anyway? Non-humans are most interesting when you approach their creation with this argument in mind. When you consciously try to create something alien to all human societies e.g. Lovecraft's Elder Things. Of course the end result can be unplayable. Furries and shifters are actually a half decent solution to this problem. They are clearly part human but can also be assigned characteristics distinct from those of any historical human culture, (though they often end up as equivalents of one culture or another). You can take a race of cat people or fish people and assign them characteristics based on your belief about that animal, then you can build their society from there. But the result may feel flat and unsatisfying to some. Incidentally my only 'humans only', (for the PCs), campaign was based on Early Modern Europe and the PCs were as diverse a group as you could hope to meet. The different nationalities of Eurasia were and are so foreign to each other that it was easy to create interesting and distinctive characters. So no, you don't need anything other than humans in your campaign. But on the other hand non-human races are fun and RPing should be fun. I think they function best if you create your own so that you can give players a new roleplaying challenge. You can't fall back on stereotypes that aren't there. But if you are happy with just humans then more power to you. I'd say that the question then becomes, will you simply recreate historical civilisations or will you create marvelous new tribes and nations the like of which the world has never seen? Most sensible fantasy settings use the first approach with some tweaks and additions along the way. But the second method has its potential. This is fantasy after all. Where are the Vikings who conquered the Han empire or the pygmies whose religion conquered the world or the punk rock tribalists that lurk in a seething subterranean jungle?

Re: Secret of Kells and Monks in Campaigns I'd agree with Curufea on that one. Templars and Hospitallers etc were knights who chose to live like monks, (in theory), accepting strict discipline and the command of their grandmaster as well as a monastic lifestyle. In their pure form Templars were a real world equivalent of Paladins, though the reality did no always match their ideals. I have thought about European/Christian style clergymen as characters. Their abilities would depend on their role but they would work best in a social campaign or as Demon hunters. Monks were the guardians of literacy and would have all manner of strange and ancient knowledge as you've already noted. If anyone would have power over religious or any other kind of magic it would be them. Those of them drawn from a peasant background would likely be fairly fit, particularly if they became a lay brother, (certain orders such as the Cistercians allowed members to take partial vows and spend their days in labour rather than in prayer). Noble monks would have the abilities of a ruler. Any monk might have picked up some useful banking skills which could make them a party's treasurer or bargainer. Note that a wandering Friar would have all sorts of skills that a classic cloistered monk might lack e.g. Survival, Navigation, Oratory, Persuasion. They could also have a Preaching Multipower which would allow them to terrorise their enemies and give bonuses to their allies. The threat of damnation carried a lot of weight in Medieval times. Some monks might also have preached to the local population and developed similar abilities. The Cleric's classic ability to terrify or destroy unholy creatures would of course be highly appropriate. In addition to this a Monk would have a good chance of identifying any evil spirit that they encountered. This one is a bit sneaky but historically certain members of the clergy have interpreted the rule against violence to mean that they should shed no blood. Maces and quarterstaffs were, by extension, ok. Also, every Monk is in theory trying to become a Saint. Now Saints have all kinds of weird powers. Animal Friendship, Presence boosts, Transform, Dispel, (the heretical preacher Simon Magus was reputed to have been killed by two of the Disciples praying to God to turn his levitation power off). And that power can be used secondhand, (no pun intended). Monks might possess powerful Relics which have the power to heal all manner of diseases, afflictions and injuries. And any opponent who subscribes to the same faith as the Monk should be very reluctant to injure him as the consequences both temporal and spiritual would be extremely dire. Of course enemies from opposing faiths would cheerfully build bonfires out of 'heretical' Monks. I was working on a Preaching Multipower a while back. It's not necessarily very practical for Player Characters but I'll have a look at it and see if I can polish it up.

Re: Shadowsoul's Monster Corner With a couple of projects finished I have a little time to devote to the monsters in my head. So here is a very silly write-up. Still using the 5er as will be clear from the character sheet below. Vermicious Knid Knids are monsters from a children’s story. But the author, Roald Dahl, is well known for having fairly unsettling and violent monsters in his books and it would only take a change in writing style to make them into horror stories. Knids in particular are rapacious, galaxy spanning predators responsible for the mass extermination of countless alien species. I have written them up as they appeared in Dahl’s tales but have included notes on how to make them into serious monsters below. Genre Champions, Sci-Fi, Horror, Dark Fantasy. Background (Largely taken from Wikipedia). Knids are shapeshifting aliens capable of travelling between solar systems under their own power. When they reach a new world they devour all life upon it. Their homeworld is the planet Vermes, a fictional planet located (as stated in dialogue) 184,270,000,000 miles away from Earth (this would place it at 52 times Pluto's distance). Their one weak point is that they are show-offs; they cannot resist shaping themselves to spell the word "SCRAM" - the only word they know - before they attack. Willy Wonka knows that this interval is ideal for escaping an encounter with the Knids. According to Willy Wonka, numerous sentient alien species that formerly existed have been wiped out by the Knids' predations. Wonka claims that the only reason humans have escaped this fate is because the Knids - not being heatproof and not possessing retro-rockets - cannot enter Earth's atmosphere without being burned up by friction. What are supposed to be shooting stars are in fact shooting Knids burning up in the atmosphere. In Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator Wonka destroys the swarm of Knids by burning them in Earth's atmosphere. Personality/Motivation How Knids interact with each other is unknown and largely irrelevant. They see all other forms of life as food and they are relentless in their search for prey. Aside from this basic hunger Knids have demonstrated vengefulness; they will remember anything that has injured them and will pursue it with single minded intensity. Otherwise they are motivated by an excessive pride in their own abilities. Powers/Tactics Knids can survive the vacuum of space and are preternaturally resistant to physical damage. They can fly through space at great speed and survive landing on a planet without the benefit of retro-boosters. Knids attack space vessels and other hard targets by ramming them, (performing a Move Through with their Flight). When encountering unprotected humans they will simply eat them, though not before performing their party trick. They are capable of working together in order to preserve themselves, catch slippery prey or show off. Knids are vulnerable to energy damage, particularly heat, but they rarely let this stop them from attacking. Campaign Use As written Knids would serve best as humorous antagonists in a lighthearted Champions game or twisted Horror Campaign. With the adaptations written below they become a more serious threat and can serve as alien invaders or horrors summoned by an evil sorcerer or mad scientist. Since they appear to lack technology or anything like a long term strategy they are unlikely to serve as the focus of a campaign unless it is as a massive, all-singing, all-dancing threat hanging over the entire world. In a comparatively low tech/hard interstellar Sci-Fi Campaign Knids could pose a serious threat to spaceships. In a Space Opera or Galactic Champions Campaign they may be little more than galactic pests. Quote SCRAM Appearance In their natural form, Vermicious Knids are huge, dark, egg-shaped beings that are quite at home in the vacuum of space. They can lengthen and shift their bodies into various worm-like shapes and can even form their own version of human chains. They have one eye and it can be presumed that they have teeth with which to eat their prey. Name: Vermicious Knid Val Char Base Cost 30 STR 10 20 15 DEX 10 15 23 CON 10 26 14 BODY 10 8 10 INT 10 0 10 EGO 10 0 20 PRE 10 10 4 COM 10 -3 12 PD 6 6 5 ED 5 0 2 SPD 2.5 0 11 REC 11 0 46 END 46 0 41 STUN 41 0 6" RUN 6 0 2" SWIM 2 0 6" LEAP 6 0 Pts. Power 16 Space Creature: Life Support (Eating: Character only has to eat once per year; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) 0 90 Space Flight: Flight 30", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (90 Active Points) 0 3 Tough: Damage Resistance (6 PD) 0 13 Relentless: Physical Damage Reduction, 50% (20 Active Points); STUN Only (-1/2) 30 Devour: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1d6+1 (2 1/2d6 w/STR), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points) 0 20 Change Shape: Shape Shift (Sight Group, Simple Shapes) 2 30 Vermicious: Stretching 6" 3 Power Cost: 202 Disadvantages Pts Psychological Limitation: Show Off (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Only Knows One Word (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Regards Humans As Food (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Vengeful (Common, Strong) 15 Reputation: Terrifying Aliens, 8- (Extreme) 10 Distinctive Features: Flying Egg or Worm Shaped Grey Alien (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 25 202 Abilities Cost 82 + Characteristics Cost 104 Base Points : 75 Disadvantages Total + 105 Experience Spent + 104 Total Cost = 284 Designer’s Notes. I should note that this write-up is based on memory and a little research, I am not working from the original text and so am open to contradictions from anyone who has it to hand. This character sheet represents a standard Vermicious Knid as they appear in “The Great Glass Elevator”. I have left it up to the individual GM to include any skills such as CSLs, Stealth or Teamwork which they think a Knid would possess. Like Dahl I have not explained how Knids can survive space travel without a food supply and how they actually manage to travel between stars at a reasonable speed. For GMs who worry about this I would suggest giving the Knids FTL travel and possibly increased longevity. This Knid write-up is capable of smashing up most human vehicles without suffering any real harm itself. Its Str and defences have been geared around its ability to smash into a satellite head on without doing itself any lasting damage. That ability is approximated as I have never tried headbutting a satellite and don’t know precisely how tough you would have to be to get away with it. Suggested alterations. Knids that are not a joke. Remove the Show Off and Only Knows One Word Disadvantages and replace them with an equivalent amount of XP. Without their SCRAM party trick Knids are actually fairly respectable alien invaders. They are not especially intelligent but can make up for it in numbers and voraciousness. Tougher Knids. As a race which is responsible for mass extinctions across the galaxy Knids should be adjusted to reflect the GM’s idea of a world beater. The Knids in Dahl’s stories are only daunted by a technology superior to anything else on or around planet Earth, (Willy Wonka technically qualifies as a Champions level mad genius or gadgeteer after all). But if you pitted the Knid as written above against e.g. the battle tank in Hero 5er then it would be obliterated. While tanks and other high powered military hardware are a relatively rare resource GMs may not find the character sheet above convincing as something which could wipe out the human race. Therefore you may wish to make Knids virtually immune to physical damage by increasing their Physical Damage Resistance to 12, making their Damage Reduction Resistant and removing the Stun Only Limitation from it. +23 points. Or going one stage further and increasing their Damage Reduction to 75% as well. +53 points. Alternatively you can simply increase PD and make it Resistant until the Knid suits your purposes. Var. Points. If increasing the Knid’s defences then increase the damage it can do with its Move Through accordingly. A Knid should take no Body damage and a tolerable amount of Stun when ramming something and inflicting Knockback, (i.e. when it only takes half the damage it inflicts), but should suffer if it hits an immovable or immensely tough object, (i.e. when it takes the full brunt of the damage). If increasing Str or Movement Speed does not suit you then note that the Knid rams things point first and that that may justify a HA which can only be used with a Move Through. Var points. In a Champions or Sci-Fi campaign Knids would be extremely vulnerable to Energy Projectors and Energy Weapons respectively. It may be worth limiting this vulnerability by giving them defences against any energy other than heat i.e. magical energy or electrical energy. Or simply give them limited defences against all Energy Damage. Atmospheric re-entry is pretty hard core stuff. Var. points. Cthulhu Mythos Knids. Knids are genocidal, shapeshifting, wormlike creatures with no conception of morality and the inexplicable ability to traverse vast regions of space unharmed. They are clearly a part of the Cthulhu Mythos shared universe. Mythos Knids actually originated on Earth. Like all terrestrial life they are the spawn of the vile protoplasmic mass Ubbo-Sathla. Yet unlike the crude organisms which would one day evolve into modern animals and even humans Knids had no need to develop further. They spread from Ubbo-Sathla in an unclean tide and preyed on all other forms of life on Earth until they were finally defeated and driven away by the Elder Things. The Knids fled into outer space in vast swarms. Through the worship of an entity called The Screaming Sign, (believed to be an avatar of Nyarlathotep), they learned how to twist their bodies into blasphemous Non-Euclidean shapes that bent space and time and allowed them to traverse vast distances in an instant. Using this power the Knids roam the galaxy to this day, biding their time until Ubbo-Sathla stirs from its age-old slothfulness and calls them home. When they return the Knids shall devour all terrestrial life before ecstatically surrendering themselves to the lethal embrace of their maker. There are dark hints in certain of the Pnakotic manuscripts that a few Knids escaped the Elder Things’ purge and lurk still in certain forgotten corners of the Earth. Supposedly the Cult of Dread Cthulhu is opposed to these beings which would rob their master of his dominion and actively hunts them. While Mythos Knids are still a species of worm they also retain something of the protoplasmic nature of their parent. Their flesh is plastic and that is the source of their shapeshifting abilities. To turn Vermicious Knids into Mythos Knids add the Knids that are not a joke package and possibly the Tougher Knids package. Then make the following alterations. Add the following Disadvantages. “Hunted: Cult of Cthulhu 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish).” -15 “Psychological Limitation: Bound To The Whims of Nyarlathotep (Uncommon, Strong).” - 10 “Psychological Limitation: Enslaved To Ubbo-Sathla (Uncommon, Total).” -15 Add the following powers. Blasphemous Sign: (Total: 200 Active Cost, 86 Real Cost) Ego Attack 5d6 (Human class of minds), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Area Of Effect Nonselective (6" Radius; +3/4) (100 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), No Range (-1/2), Eye Contact Required (-1/2), Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4) (Real Cost: 36). And. Drain EGO 5d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Area Of Effect Nonselective (6" Radius; +3/4) (100 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2), Requires Eye Contact (-1/2) (Real Cost: 50). +86 Non-Euclidean Sign: Faster-Than-Light Travel (10 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2). +7 Undying Horror: Life Support (Longevity: Immortal). +5 Finally. Add the following skills. KS: Pre-human history of Earth. 11- +2 KS: The Outer Gods. 11- +2 Total cost of Package Deal is 62.

Re: Dreams: I need descriptions of wild Dreamscapes One more. The Fear of Mortality. I stand inside a hollowed out skull, peering out through the left eyesocket at the killing fields where thousands of dessicated corpses lie stiffly upon their spears. Each body has suffered different wounds, some have the sores of disease while others are twisted and discoloured by poison or famine and yet more bear ragged wounds from some forgotten war. Nothing disturbs the dead. Even the maggots here have dried up and blown away in the dusty wind that threads its way through this tortured landscape. I look through the right eyesocket and see older remains. Heaps and heaps of bones in such numbers that they blot out the ash strewn ground. Here the bones have been piled purposefully into great skullcapped altars and there they have been crushed into fodder for the uncaring wind. If I stare at the bones too long I begin to see patterns, glimpses into a dark future that beckons me with fleshless fingers and croons to me in the voice of the grave. Or perhaps it is just the wind scratching at my skeletal refuge, slowly wearing it down into the nothingness that will someday take us all.

Re: Dreams: I need descriptions of wild Dreamscapes Read Sandman. Until then. Remember that dreams do not have to make sense. And that one thing can just as easily be another. Here are are a few dreamers and the worlds they inhabit. The Musician Ecstatic. I walk across quicksilver seas and the sky laughs with me because I am party to its madness. The world moves within me as I move in it. Hills surround me like frozen waves and each current takes a million years to traverse. I pass across all the ages of the ocean. The ebb and flow of it is music beneath my feet, chords rise over me like mountains and the beat shatters the earth at every step. I ride the thunder and feed on the fire which flows like blood through my heart. Nothing is solid. Each riff is a ripple that rebuilds the world even as it fades into the next and I skip from peak to peak without ever coming down. The Paranoid. This world is split into two parts. There are the barren empty plains which stand wherever my gaze falls; bereft of hiding places and filled with nothing but hidden pits and jutting rocks that catch and snatch at my feet. And there is the seething forest where the army of shadows lurks. Scuttling things and feral things. They know my secrets and hate me for it. They reach out to pluck at me with long, spiteful fingers and whisper in voices just beyond hearing. I know they will catch me soon. I cannot escape them. There is nowhere for me to run and a thousand places for them to hide. The Child's Vision. Toys stretch out in front of me in huge long lines. The floor is made of building blocks. Some of the toys are puppets that pull each others strings so they can move. The rivers are all chocolate milk and the houses are all tissue paper. There are trains that run everywhere, they don't need tracks because they have legs. The Clockmaker's Work. Tick, Tock. Tick, Tock. Everything is precise now. The mechanism that winds across the horizon is so vast and so complex that it has finally trapped time inside its gears. Giant hour hands click across the clocks endless face. The unwary and lackadaisical would be crushed beneath their relentless rythm but I stand in the centre, unmoved. Gears the size of cities grind the seconds away, measuring them out, distilling them, then revealing them in slow and stately displays of numerals. All is measured. All is perfect. And when the clock stops time will stop. The Flu Dream. Needles in the air. Stabbing you. Up is down but it doesn't matter because everything is shivering and something is forming in the fog that wants to strangle you. The air is as heavy as lead and stand on sickening yellow clouds that could collapse at every moment Tainted mist conceals everything except the phantoms and the half ghosts of past motions that scream mockingly through the air. You try to speak, to call for help. But the mist splits your voice into a thousand parts and hammers it through your skull until you can see your own pain buried in the back of your head. The mist forms goblins and wraiths and bursts of boiling steam to assail you. You try to fight them but you cannot remember who they are trying to kill.

Re: Fantasy City-Ship? This is what I've turned up. Not much in the way of aerial views and some of them are not floating at all. But most of them can give the illusion of a floating city at least. http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/lilypad_2.jpg http://images2.justlanded.com/housing/Bahrain_Al-Muharraq/For-Rent_Houses/2-BR-Villa-on-Amwaj-floating-city-95327-1.jpg http://www.paquette.com.au/images/work/full/16.jpg http://webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/boat-city-aberdeen-harbour-2.jpg http://designldg.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/o-benaras1.jpg

Re: Dragon-Trainers and Dragon-Riders I must admit that it is true that even medieval bestiaries did not record elephants as European animals. Presumably they also thought that dragons lived in Africa as they would otherwise have had to travel quite far to hunt their natural prey. Although dragon package holidays would certainly have explained some of those deserts they have over there. I would still like an answer to my earlier question. Unless this thread's learned author has abandoned it in disgust after the slight derail which I may be partially responsible for. (Just a bit).

Re: Dragon-Trainers and Dragon-Riders The best tactic to use against a medieval European dragon is to send an elephant after it. Dragons naturally preyed on elephants but they were always crushed to death by the falling elephant after killing it. Which would explain why you don't see many of them around these days. Saints also own European dragons. This is probably due to the dragon's devilish origins.

Re: Dragon-Trainers and Dragon-Riders Bear in mind that modern rebels have access to weapons such as relatively sophisticated and lightweight bombs that their predecessors did not have. Empires such as the Romans and Mongols were succesful because, among other things, their methods and means of war afforded them an advantage over their opponents. It was harder to overcome such advantages with the weaponry of the time. Dragons are definitely a military advantage. One can presume that if wizards and superwizards are common enough that every culture has them then the dragonriders will also have them. Just like in the Dragonlance novels. You are right, however, that logistics are important. As are political loyalty and military discipline. The Mongols controlled a massive empire, partly because no one could match hundreds of thousands of horse archers with recurve bows but also because, (for a while), they followed their Khan devotedly, had harsh yet excellent discipline and obliterated anyone who crossed them. They also had a pretty impressive administration system for the time. This empire broke up due to infighting as much as anything else. Note that if you transplanted the Mongols into a fantasy setting, (which was done most blatantly in the early history of the Forgotten Realms where they appeared in the guise of Yamun Khahan and his Tuigan Horde), they would still have all their advantages as well as possessing wizards and clerics where appropriate. In other words, magic users can reduce the impact of any military advantage but if both sides are equal, (broadly speaking), with regards to magic then that advantage remains. Of course it does mean that you have to be more careful with your dragons if other people can blast them out of the sky. If they are relatively rare then it is possible that the only people allowed to ride them into battle would be those who could protect them with their own magic. And if one side has all the superwizards then dragons just become nice big targets for battle spells. Not to mention other monsters or mighty heroes who can slay the most terrible of dragons if they set their minds to it. Many a dark lord has learnt that a handful of dragons do not a victory make. I think we need more background on these Dragonriders of yours Mr Hopcroft. And on the world which they inhabit. Gryphon Riders, Vampire Lords and Archwizards will do much better against them than spearmen would.

Re: Dragon-Trainers and Dragon-Riders Assuming that the dragons are reasonably powerful it becomes likely that their riders will be able to conquer a decent sized empire if they choose to.

Re: I'm working on Roman Era campaign Fasces? That's a load of crap. Actually it sounds like a good way to demonstrate Roman values to the players and to remind them just how harsh those values could be. A more visceral way would be to have them watch as slaves from a newly conquered tribe are dragged into the city and executed or forced to fight in the imperial games, all for the pleasure of the people of course.

Re: I'm working on Roman Era campaign I can't give you any dates but, supposedly, the word 'decimation' comes from an extreme punishment sometimes inflicted on units of Roman soldiers. One man in ten would be chosen by lots to be executed and the other nine would have to beat him to death with stones or fists. This was a punishment for cowardice or mutiny.

Re: Shackles as weapons Why are chain knuckles more powerful than swinging the shackles? Flails are hard core, they use the power of physics or levers or something. Note that things are more likely to go wrong if you miss with a chain weapon than with a sword or a spear say. They have a habit of spinning round until they hit something and that could very easily be the wielder or the person who is standing next to them. I'd also add a small bonus to grabs, disarms and weapon binds with the shackles. Since they don't have sharp edges as such they are good for wrapping round things.

Re: Restarted up my fantasy campaign and its great Congratulations on keeping the magic going. Care to tell us more about this campaign?

Re: Pseudo-elf race as monsters The Scathe name is pretty cool. It sounds like something that could be used as a swear word or curse. "Scathe take you!" You might want to look up Games Workshop's Dark Elves and Dark Eldar and the Iron Kingdoms' Skorn, Nyss and Satyxis for more inspiration. A further, (humble), suggestion. If they don't already know then don't tell your players that the Scath/Dwemmerkin are Elves. Just let them hear stories about shadow creatures that make whole caravans vanish without a trace, creatures that no living human has ever seen. Let them wonder about what they will encounter out in the wilds.

Re: Building an Urban Fantasy Setting With a tip of the hat to those who restarted this thread I think I'll jump back into it. It is possible to travel through the dream state and encounter these changed beings or manifestations of the unconscious in their home territory. Although they all arise from the dream state each dream-world is a distinct, if small, reality. The societies call these places The Thousand Kingdoms and use the powers of dreamwalking to plunder their powers and secrets. But this is a chancy business because the dreamworlds reflect the ever shifting group consciousness of humanity and no two visits will be quite the same. In more extreme cases entire realms have been known to die as the beliefs that animate them fade from living memory. But other realms take their place and these days you are as likely to encounter Sith as you are Unseelie Fey if you go walking in dreams.