Damn I Am Pretty Art Laboratories

Ok, moving on to the Tengu.  The most Chinese/Japanese/Tibetan culture in Crux, the Tengu also have a series of important taboos, including keeping secret their racial capacity for reincarnation.  Statistically Tengu have had very little altered about them; I still want to create some feats for them, but otherwise I feel satisfied with this attempt. Them Birds got style too.   Prolly shouldn't call 'em Birds.  Might be unsafe. Tengu Immigrants from the other side of Orphos, Tengu keep secret their racial reincarnation.  They keep closed border, protecting their culture from outsider corruption.  Quiet and reserved, the Tengu often look for work in nations like Ith or Ainesia, despite negative stereotypes about them being thieves and villains. Same stats as Tengu except below: Shards of the Past: A tengu's past lives grant her bonuses on two particular skills.  A tengu chooses two skills- she gains a +2 racial bonus on both of these skill...

Continuing the plan to do stats for all the races in Crux, here are stat changes for humans, upping them to around the 16 RP mark as well.  Instead of messing with humans' favored class bonuses, I've instead included traits for each of the human tribes I expect to show up in Crux. Humanity Known for their current dominance over Orphos , Humanity defines itself by its sheer diversity.  Humans vary.  That is their one constant as a species. Same Stats as Humans except for below: Adaptable: Humans get a +2 bonus on the Physical Ability Score of their choice, then gain a +2 bonus on the Mental Ability Score of their choice.  This replaces the normal ability score choice for humans. Heart: A Human selects one of the following abilities, to reflect their origins and nationality.  These are inherited traits.  This reflects a core diversity in Humans, as each of their tribes differ and are unique in their own way. Heart of the Fields: Humans born in...

Here are the stats for Ursyklons , version 1.o.  Its still in the "see if this works" stage.  Races in Crux are 16 RP minimum, so I tried to upgrade Halflings in Ursyklons.  Opinions are welcome! 9/4/2014 Update: I realized that Halflings were a Dex race, and I don't think Ursyklons quite represent that.  I'm altering their stats to be a Con race, partly because Crux doesn't have a Con race, and because I think having a race that is both a plus in Con and Cha sounds interesting to me.  Constitution makes more sense because Ursyklons were once a prominent warrior race.  Theirs is a fierce feral kind of warfare, and part of it survives in them to this day.  So, they get a Con bump and lose their Dex bump in the process.  What do you think?  Do the Ursyklon as a race seem more Constitution or Dexterity to you? The Ursyklon: Statistics (RP 16 I think) The Ursyklons are a variant version of the Halfling race.  Note that the word Halfl...

The world Crux sits upon is named Orphos.  That name is taken after a ancient Salish word, based on the classical goddess the Salish called Orphasa the Flame.  The Ancient Salish believed her to be the mother of the world, her flames melting the frozen heart of the primordial Giant Skagnir. Orphos has eight continents: Ainesia, Borealia, Necruxa, Shan, Rani, Antarolia, North Ocrid and South Ocrid.  Crux sits at the connecting straits between Ith and Ainesia, called the Sleeping Straits by some. Orphos is, according to ancient Ursyklon lore, not a remarkable specimen of a world.  Although much of their technical specifics are now lost to us, the space-faring ancient Ursyklon viewed Orphos as an average world, comparing it to dozens of others that they and the aboleth fought over.  Orphos is the third planet to orbit the sun, it's own moon large enough to garner some folklore, albeit never enough to compare to the Blacksun.  The Blacksun Blacksu...

Previous Part (2) 8511 slowly explained to Lahm and I why she had been wandering the sewers.  She kept the details the Cuz I can't afford to commission pics of Maralda and Lahm yet. vague.  She clearly was nervous, the result of spending all her time around people like Professor Maxmidan.  She'd been treated like a tool and nothing more. She flinched every once and awhile too.  Each time she did, I could a little bit more smoulder in Lahm's devil-eyes.  The Tiefling boy I knew didn't like women of any kind- his boyfriends he kept away from me, something he didn't want to share.  He wasn't interested in 8511, although some get attracted to Androids that way, no, my friend's empathic streak made him sympathize so much he wanted to kill off all her enemies.  But when anyone wasn't treated right, Lahm's eyes would do that flicker.  It meant it pissed him off. Lahm's a great guy, really he is.  Its great in a fight.  But when he g...

Armor, and Guns Another set of design notes.  I know, I know.  More fiction is in the pipe too.  The last one seemed to garner some positive interest as well; I find myself liking Maralda, Lahm and 8511's little adventure.  Its nice to have some sort of fiction going on as I rant all over about Crux. A friend wrote me about the choice of armor in Crux, which brings up an interesting point.  As a Napoleonic/Baroque/Jacksonian setting, plate mail and similar armor is going out in favor of less bulky, more efficient choices.   People should be stalking around in leather coats with holsters.  I want to encourage a more light armor setting and need to contend with firearms.  Since I'm going to go with Guns Everywhere rules, I need to write up some rules on it. As a quick aside, I know that the Guns Everywhere rules includes Advanced Firearms, most of which are no where near the same tech level as Napoleon and all that.  I'm choosing to pres...

Crux and the Volcanic North Settlements: Crux, Runeheart, Boilport Crux is the largest city in the world, its metropolis large enough that it deserves its own region of its own.  It predates Ith itself, both the nation and the ancient archmage.  It has been the capital of ancient empires.  It was built atop an ancient skull, of some long forgotten god.  Crux also sits atop the narrow sleeping straits, the entrance into the Maru sea.  It sits at the midpoint between all northern and southern trade.  It's banks serve all of the Four Powers.  North of Crux, on the sliver of the Ainesian continent Ith controls, is violent volcanoes, hot springs and pools.  Boilport sits near active geysers, some of the most active on all of Orphos. Crux is also part of the new industrial heart of Ith.  It where Androids were first created and used en masse.  Its factories are still new, somewhat experimental, but have started to created dividends that ...

The Oceans "It is a Blasphemy against Reality.  The Urskylons stain reality with the foulness of feat and class, spell and concept.  We await our rise, our revenge against the Halfling wolfspawn.  They will pay for the crimes they've committed against the Truth of Reality.  We will unmake them.   "The plague of classes and each little stain against the truth will be undone. "The Void awaits us all.  Blessed are we, its true Heralds.  All prisons fail.  All walls fall.  All will be made true again.  We are the Aboleths.  We will Escape." -Telepathic sent by anyone crossing into the Deep Sea. The undersea nations have all become allies or fallen under the control of the four Great Powers, although they still remain most foreign frontier.  The nations listed here are all coastal and somewhat adapted to dealing with surface dwellers.  There are other nations, but their interactions with surface dwellers aren't as common...

Previous Part (1) Lahm helped me to cross one of wider gap's in Bellamy's Stair.  The long narrow stair was the fastest back entrance onto the Skullmount.  It winded itself around the southernmost part of the Skull.  I knew the story about why it was called Bellamy's Stair, but neither Lahm nor 8511 wanted to hear it. "What's the point if you already know it then?"  I pouted.  "Ruins the point of a story if you know the ending." "Really?"  Lahm countered.  "How many times have you reread The Journey of the Roses then?" "That's... That's not the same thing."  I stuck my tongue out at him.  I glanced back at 8511.  She kept her head down, trying not to meet my gaze.  She still clung tight to the mirror she'd come out of the sewers with. "Hey, everything okay, Robot?"  I asked, giving her my best smirk.  No response- some Bard I am, I thought. "It's alright to talk to us, ...

Ok, after a bit of delay, here are the clans of Maliph and their leaders and all that jazz.  Here's a bit on their interaction with Crux: most in Crux can't tell the difference.  Each clan is more like its own independent power, but Maliphi in Crux will feud and fight one another if they come from different enough clans.  Some clans are actively seeking out war; others are eager to keep trade strong.  Most outsiders can't easily tell them apart and often insult someone out of mistake.  There are also many other Clans in Maliph, these are just the most powerful five, and most easily known. Maliphi Clans Clan Dying Tree Leader: Shah Karim Venomfire Headquarters: Venomfire Mountains Languages: Malic, Draconic, Tomish Shah Karim Venomfire has made his fellow Khans very happy with his management, enough so to have held his position for the last three decades.  He is the current head of Clan Dying Tree, whose interests have always been of a mystical bent....

The United Sorcerous Republic of Ith "United In Sorcery." Alignment N Capital Athrid Ruler President Adais Silverune Government Confederated Magocracy Demonym Ithan Adjective Ithic Languages Tomish, Salish, Malic, Othish, Borish Religions The University, The Twins, The Machine, Shraxes, Singer of the Song, Lupa Ith sits at the center of the world, considered one of the four great powers through its arcane and technological innovations.  It is a homeland for anyone who practices sorcery, where the prerequisite for citizenship is magical ability, not appearance or class.  Ith controls the Sleeping Straits, one of the most important trade routes on world of Orphos. History The name of Ith predates the Tomasi Empire, back to the earliest known history of the cities of Crux, Ithspan and Athrid.  The Archmage Ith protected these three cities, carving out a enlightened kingdom and taking it away from Ursyklon control.  Ith's enlightened kingdom last...

Races and Traits in Crux Time for a bit of a design diary rather than just more ranting and rambling about Crux.  I don't do this often enough, but hell, it feels like maybe I should explain a few future plans before I get to them.  I want to include Tieflings, Dhampr and Skinwalkers in Crux, alongside Halflings and Humans.  And I want all of them to be appealing racial choices.  Androids are also in there.  Of these races, so far Humans and Halflings are on the low end of the race point scale. So I'm going to start modding races.  I'm not going to go wholesale and redesign them.  I'm going to set a nice number as a goal for races.  So far, it seems like 17 to 18 might be the right amount of wiggle room for the various kinds of folk I'll have run around in Crux. I'm going to use the race builder to alter each race to match the flavor of Crux closer.  This is perhaps the biggest mechanical crunch thing I have to do for Crux.  The set...

The Immortal Khanates of Maliph Alignment LN Capital Blacksakhr Ruler Shah Karim Venomfire of the Dying Tree Government Plutocratic Military Oligarchy Demonym Maliphate, Maliphi Adjective Maliphi Languages Malic, Tomish, Auran, Ignan, Terran, Aquan Religions The Twins, Shraxes, The Machine South of Ith lie mountains, hot deserts and cold steppes.  The Khans and Sultans of Maliph control the spice and sugar trade, which has established plutocracies that rule.   It is a harsh land, whose people rely on faith, reason and cunning to survive. History In an age prior to the Tomasi empire's rise, most of Maliph was covered in thick jungle.  Only a set of mountains broke the jungles and forests.  The city of Rruk could be found deep in these jungles, a set of massive ziggurats used as a site for dark bloody rituals by an Aether-blooded and his cult.  Called Uron the Blooddrinker, he and the archmage Ith fought in a terrible duel, turning the jungl...

Aether-Blooded (Original Concept by +Aaron Thomas) Wizards are arrogant, and all of them will gladly explain how their class was the First class.  The first Chosen was a Wizard, who unlocked magic and power when they learned the first spell.  Wizards forget, often, however, that the very first wizards also became something else.  Unable to control the flow of primal energies, they committed a grievous error, and took power from the Aether they couldn't handle.  It tainted their bodies, cursing them with a tainted form of immortality.  Today, they are called the Aether-Blooded. As civilization has grown through the countless years, the concentration of magic in most parts of the land has diminished greatly.  As a result, the well-being of the Aether-blooded has diminished as well.  Where once they were powerful and prosperous, most now live very short lives outcast from the rest of society by way of their condition. Tied to the ebb and flow of the...

Ainesian Cuisine & Trade There are two common thoughts to Ainesian cuisine, the Northern versus the Southern.  In the north, stews and meatpies are favored, especially in hearty amounts with savory flavors.  Most folk favor a variety of slices of meat, using all parts of the animal.  Blood sausages and potatoes are common winter staples in the North as well.  Mead remains a favorite in the north, although new distilled drinks like Brandy have started to grow in popularity. In Southern Ainesia, salt marshes and the bounty of the sea dominate meals.  Crustaceans of all kinds are used for meals, mixed with wildflower salads and much spices.  Salted fish soups are a staple of the summer for the south, whose fishermen sell their wares throughout the rest of Ainesia.  Some south Ainesia dishes use fish, long noodles and spicy flavors.  Coffee from Maliph has supplanted most alcoholic beverages in Southern Ainesia, often mixed with chocolate and c...

The People's Republics of Greater Ainesia "Liberty, Equality, Solidarity." Alignment CN Capital Lutetia Ruler Empress Elect Hana Krasnysang Government Representative Totalitarian Socialist Republic Demonym Ainesian Adjective Ainesian Languages Borish, Jarnish, Ferrit, Salish, Rosic, Tomish Religions Revolution, The Machine, The Singer of the Song, The Wolf-Mother, The Twins Ainesia is a new empire, molten hot from the fresh forges of revolution: many different feudal states welded together through revolution.  A new experiment, its neighboring powers look at it with trepidation- the Revolution assassinated countless leaders in its conquest of Ainesia, its reforms never favoring nobility, priests or the wealthy.  Ainesia looks at its borders and often others wonder if it plans to spread further or if it'll be content with what it has 'liberated' so far. History When Ith and Othebea's part of the Revolution Wars ended, the skirmishes in Aines...