[note=Note 1, Why New Setting]So, due to a lack of interest in my other setting and some writer's block, I've decided to get back to my roots, which means having multiple settings all manners of wierdness with a heavy use of spoilers, note block, IC blocks, and all the other unique CBG code I've missed so badly. Enjoy '" and don't worry, more settings by me will be coming along in the near future, because everyone knows that the idea of me sticking to a single project is laughable at best. I'll be getting back to my classic settings at some point, I'm sure.[/note][note=Note 2, On reviews]Since this seems to be the best way to get responses, I'm reinstating my old policy '" review something of mine, and I'll review something of yours, tit for tat and all that. You have to let me know what you want me to look at, and I'll try to make my review at least match the level of detail you've given me.[/note][note=Note 3 (Revenge of the Note)]While all reviews are appreciated, the ones I find most helpful are questions or telling me what you'd like to see more of and why '" I feed off of feedback so badly it's not even funny.[/note]Vernith is my attempt to turn standard fantasy on it's head. This setting has been brewing in the back of my mind for awhile, and I figured I'd post the basics and see if there was any response. This will be the discussion thread '" if the setting grows the way I hope it will, I'll post a Non Discussion thread but keep this for discussions.
Oh, and I've recently decided that system is a limiter when creating a setting. Make the setting, then find or make a system that fits it, not the other way around.
Points of Interest:
There Is No Magic At least, not the way we think of it in classic fantasy. There are people with extraordinary powers, but they are new '" all emerging post Apocalypse '" and fall into one of three catagories: Psions, Necrots, and Mutants. [note=Mutants]Don't think X-Men when it comes to mutants. Think people twisted with biological abilities that are immediately obvious and many times have severe - sometimes fatal - drawbacks[/note]
Humans are Dominant Which is, of course, a complete fabrication. Humanity is merely the most numerous race and best weathered the apocalypse, mainly because they were the quickest to spread across the new landmasses. No unified human power exists, however, and most other races could crush individual human powers easily. Humanity has survived because they breed like rodents, are quick and brutal in their warfare, and have a high percentage of Psions and Mutants (though the latter are mostly shunned by their original race)
Don't Expect The Classics Elves, for example, are not what you'd think. Sure, they are graceful, prefer to live in forests, love nature and have pointed ears, but they also have razor teeth they inherited from their ancestors, tails as longer than their bodies, and a culture that sees cannibalism as the greatest honor to gift to the deceased. Dwarves live underground and a shorter and stockier than humans, but are completely hairless and can climb like geckos. Halflings can pass as human children but have chameleon-like tongues and a flexible skeleton that allows them to slip through spaces 6 inches wide. Goblins are a medium sexually dimorphic species, with the males possessing wings (Hobgoblins) and the females an extra set of arms that end in wicked talons. Dark Elves are a mutation of Elves that look more like Driders than 'elves with dark skin.' Dragons are apex predators with the intelligence you'd expect from a giant reptile.
Technology is advanced Thanks to an energetic, psychoactive crystal called Gethren (which is actually a silicone based life-form), you get floating cities, force fields, and other magic-looking effects '" all of which is actually techno-magic if you want to be technical about it. However, gethren is required to tap into any kind of magic other than the psionic abilities some posses.
The World Nearly Ended It's post apocalyptic. Though that was over 300 years ago, the ramifications of this apocalypse are felt both culturally and physically '" something, and none yet know what, unleashed the energy that caused both mutants and psions, and caused the dead to rise forming the Necrots (Essentially, the only classic magic is a form of necromancy, and very rarely something controlled).
The Gods (Or God) is/are Inscrutable Beings (or at least a being) of divine power exists...maybe, though it's hard to prove with any kind of certainty. If they/he/it does, however, then they/he/it play(s) games with evolution, physics, and reality that mortals would find utterly baffling and likely is/are directly responsible for the Apocalypse, intentional or not. However, They are worshipped in many forms and while it's impossible to say which faith is true, the existence of Oracles with accurate precognition prior to psions at least gives credence to the claim that Something Divine exists.
There Are Things Beyond When I said there was no magic? That was only partially true. No mortal race can use magic, and what Gods do is less magic and more just warping reality to suit their whims. However, there are creatures that defy all laws of God, Reality, and Man, twisted Others that make the Gods seem sane. These are creatures out of the nightmares of Lovecraft, and their brief touch is another possible cause for the Apocalypse.
So, that's the basics I have for now. I look forward to seeing what you want me to elaborate on and will happily answer any questions!
Wow, this looks like it's gonna be cool. It's good to see someone approaching fantasy settings in a more straightforward way again - even with your twists and turns the very fact that you have elves and dwarves and dragons puts this, in my mind, in more of the dialogue-with-traditional-fantasy realm than that of complete weirdness, which I think is great! I've even been considering making a "normal" fantasy setting for a while myself.
As for what I'd like to see more of, I'd love to see you expand on cultures. Your hint at the elven reverence for cannibalism seems to say that the real divergence from standard fantasy (stantasy?) is less to do with "our elves have tails, our hobgoblins have wings" etc, and more in terms of the actual cultures of the peoples in the setting, so that's what I'd like to see more details on.
EDIT: The term Necrot seems familiar from somewhere - have you borrowed/appropriated it, or is it just a coincidence?
I would like to learn more about Psions, Necrots and Mutants.
I approve of super-flexible halflings with crazy long tongues (how is their speech like?) Will all the races be reimagined fantasy staples, or do you have plans to include some completetely original creations? Is 'Necrot' a blanket term covering many types of living dead, or are they all of one kind?
You state that the gethrens are psychoactive life-forms. Are they intelligent?
Quote from: Pet PeeveIt's always bugged me in fantasy settings when there are 2 dozen different varieties of humans, but only one culture for ALL non-human races. I totally get that some races might only have a single culture, but most seem to assume all non-humans should only get one culture. That's not something I'm going to do here - though humanity is more diverse, every race has it's own culture. That said, there will be common trends - Elvish cannibalism, for example. Where you see a common trend, however, that's usually because of a biological drive - at their core, Elves eat their dead because it's a survival strategy the carnivorous ape-like creatures they evolved from developed during the last Ice Age, long before Elves had figured out tricks like "fire" and such. [/note] Yeah, the physical abnormalities from Stantasy (totally stole your word) are for two reasons. First, from a narrative standpoint, they're there just to remind people that they're different in a visually striking way (Even if I don't use a setting for a comic, both of my groups have very good artists in them, so stuff ends up getting drawn eventually regardless.) The second reason is I have to explain many different races on a world without gods directly popping sentient life into existence or mad wizards making them, so the answer is Evolution, which might reproduce humanoids but likely would make them look significantly different, not just "us with pointy ears, or us but squat with beards." Each culture is going to be like each creatures physical form - just enough elements of the original to be recognizable, but in so many ways fundamentally different. Since you requested it, my next post will take a look at culture - specifically, I'll do elves, then an overall turn into EE's request into psions-mutants-necrots, then back to individual cultures. I'll have to go into tech diversions while writing cultures because the two always influence each other. (Also, I'll google Necrot, but didn't intentionally borrow it - then again, the fact that it deals with the undead, has Necro, and is pronounced Neck-Rot means that someone probably already thought of it. :P)
Quote from: GhostmanI approve of super-flexible halflings with crazy long tongues (how is their speech like?) Will all the races be reimagined fantasy staples, or do you have plans to include some completetely original creations? Is 'Necrot' a blanket term covering many types of living dead, or are they all of one kind?
You state that the gethrens are psychoactive life-forms. Are they intelligent?
Halfling speech comes across as slurred and mushy to most ears because they have to work around their tongue, folding it up to mimic the tongue of a normal humanoid to get the right sounds across. Their own language involves a lot of throat noises and klicking sounds.
I don't plan on putting any completely original creatures in this setting right now - my own ability to suspend my disbelief is inversely proportional to the number of sentient races divided by the space they have to live on. On a one world setting, too many just destroys it. That being said, I'll have a number of completely original creatures - just not races. Necrot can be used to describe a variety of living dead - the reason they're not called undead is because undead covers any animate corpse (some Psions can telekinetically control corpses or telepathically reawaken thoughts in a brain that hasn't rotted too far (both of which are a form of undead) and some mutants can either "ride" a corpse OR have a mutation that keeps the body functional after death (a thanocyst). Necrot (both the singular and the plural) are those that are animated by a particular and poorly understood energy source. Unlike the other two they are capable of free will and independent thought - they're a new form of life.
Gethren intelligence is something I go back and forth on, so I honestly can't give a definitive answer yet - if yes, then the technology of my entire setting is built upon slavery, if no, then I close off any plotlines involving the technology of my entire setting being built upon slavery. So I'm going to be pondering them as I go on until I figure out the true nature of their intelligence.
BTW, if anyone who has posted here wants me to review something of theirs, let me know what - I'll be happy to do so.
I'm going to echo EE in that I'd like to hear more about the "magic" users.
This looks really awesome. Sort of a psychotic, warped version of standard fantasy, mutilated almost beyond the point of recognition but with enough resemblance to the Tolkienian norm that you can just glimpse the familiar tropes beneath the scar tissue. Lovely.
EDIT: I want to play a Necrot and I don't even know what they are yet.
Many things to like here: inscrutable gods, creepy halflings, things from beyond the realms of sanity, cannibalism, and primal dragons (finally those lizards get what they deserve; also, it makes them far more terrifying in my opinion.)
Some of the names carry a few too many associations in my mind for me to accept them just yet, but there is time to turn that around! In fact, I think the only thing that really bothers me is that elves have tails. Not that I am an advocate of elven eugenics and racial purity. I just don't like tails. Are we talking prehensile monkey tails or small stubby tails or...?
I have tried twist-the-trope before (still do it, sort of) and just a small warning: be careful with your changes. Speaking from what little experience I have in the matter a small change to a trope, or a handful of them, can work wonders, but if you go too far people will have difficulty reconciling the old and the new. There has to be some resemblance between the trope and the new thing for it to warrant keeping the name.
EDIT: Gethren, how "alive" is it? Are we talking about sentient magic items, whispering voices in the back of your mind, primitive intellect a la the psicrystal, the captured voices of angels or something completely different? Should I be thinking in the veins of psionic crystaltech or is its implementation more subtle?
I'm not sure I like elves having tails either, but I for some reason envision their tails being lizardlike, and their bodies rather animalistic. Maybe it's because the other non-human races seem to have vaguely reptilian features, but I imagine these elves crawling on all fours a lot. Not that they'd necessarily HAVE TO, but that they would CHOOSE TO.
Quote from: NomadicI'm going to echo EE in that I'd like to hear more about the "magic" users.
Your wish is my command, lest the turtles are sent upon me. I do fear the turtles.
Quote from: SteerpikeThis looks really awesome. Sort of a psychotic, warped version of standard fantasy, mutilated almost beyond the point of recognition but with enough resemblance to the Tolkienian norm that you can just glimpse the familiar tropes beneath the scar tissue. Lovely.
EDIT: I want to play a Necrot and I don't even know what they are yet.
Thanks! That's pretty much exactly what I was going for '" just recognizable enough to make it more alien.
And I'll get into Necrot's on my post on magic users, which will come after I do one of the elven cultures, which will hopefully happen soon '" I've got a ton of hours at my normal job the next couple of days, then mothers day, so no promises as to when. Do want to ask, what exactly appeals to you in them?
Quote from: Superfluous CrowMany things to like here: inscrutable gods, creepy halflings, things from beyond the realms of sanity, cannibalism, and primal dragons (finally those lizards get what they deserve; also, it makes them far more terrifying in my opinion.)
Glad you like! :) Yeah, non-primal dragons is something I've gotten kind of sick of in fantasy '" I like them to be more feral, bestial, and overall dinosaur-esque than intelligent in really any fashion. Plus, this opens the door for domestication of a small, weak breed!
Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumI'm not sure I like elves having tails either, but I for some reason envision their tails being lizardlike, and their bodies rather animalistic. Maybe it's because the other non-human races seem to have vaguely reptilian features, but I imagine these elves crawling on all fours a lot. Not that they'd necessarily HAVE TO, but that they would CHOOSE TO.
Oh, that mental image is too cool to pass up '" except that I'm saving that for my actual lizardmen. However, elves can move on all fours, but it's more of an ape-like movement than a reptilian crawling '" the closest they get to crawling is when hunting, dropping to all fours and slinking along in a more catlike motion.
[blockquote=Xathan Worldsmith]Do want to ask, what exactly appeals to you in them?[/blockquote]Given that everything else is fairly warped, I'm just looking forward to hearing more about necromancy...
Just want to say, Necrots makes me think of Warhammer 40k Necrons. So basically, Skeletons with guns, scarabs, and floating pyramids
Quote from: Xathan Worldsmith...the Sha'kyn Elves of the southern isles, for example, take that carnivorous diet to it's logical predatory mindset and wage war with each other on a nigh-perpetual basis, while the Lar'kyn live in a forest they saved from the Apocalypse with heavy usage of gethren to shield it...
Must you use apostrophes in your names? This may just be my personal preference, but just... Why? What would be so wrong about Shakyn and Larkyn as names? If you want to make a clear gap between the syllables why not just make them separate words, as Sha Kyn and Lar Kyn? Or hyphenate them, if the spaces really bother you that much, to get Sha-Kyn and Lar-Kyn. Sorry, I know they're your names... you're free to put apostrophes in them whenever and wherever you like.. I will take my apostrophe intolerance away now.
Quote from: Steerpike[blockquote=Xathan Worldsmith]Do want to ask, what exactly appeals to you in them?[/blockquote]Given that everything else is fairly warped, I'm just looking forward to hearing more about necromancy...
Heh, the necromancy is as warped from the norm as everything else '" still recognizable, but I'm hoping you like the way I spin it.
Also, brief aside '" since there seems to be much more interest in the 'magic' users of the setting, I'm going to be doing them next instead of the Lor'kyn '" will save them for the post following magic.
Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumJust want to say, Necrots makes me think of Warhammer 40k Necrons. So basically, Skeletons with guns, scarabs, and floating pyramids
The Necrons were an inspiration for the Necrots among another things, though I'm going for more of a hybrid of the Gothic and Egyptian for the aesthetic of their architecture/devices and very different culturally/psychologically than the Necrons.
Quote from: KindlingQuote from: Xathan Worldsmith...the Sha'kyn Elves of the southern isles, for example, take that carnivorous diet to it's logical predatory mindset and wage war with each other on a nigh-perpetual basis, while the Lar'kyn live in a forest they saved from the Apocalypse with heavy usage of gethren to shield it...
Must you use apostrophes in your names? This may just be my personal preference, but just... Why? What would be so wrong about Shakyn and Larkyn as names? If you want to make a clear gap between the syllables why not just make them separate words, as Sha Kyn and Lar Kyn? Or hyphenate them, if the spaces really bother you that much, to get Sha-Kyn and Lar-Kyn. Sorry, I know they're your names... you're free to put apostrophes in them whenever and wherever you like.. I will take my apostrophe intolerance away now.
Typically I agree with you on apostrophes in fantasy names, but in this case It's for what I feel is a valid linguistic reason '" Sha'kyn and Lor'kyn are both contractions for Shalicoris Cusikyn and Lorsaethiv Cursikyn respectively (Kyn is a single letter/sound in the elvish language). In this case, the apostrophe is there to represent a lack of a pause, much like the apostrophe in 'don't' or 'can't' or 'we'll'. They contract their names for ease of speech but use the full name for the region their from '" a Sha'kyn would say 'I am a Sha'kyn from Shalicoris Cusikyn', but most other races use the contraction to refer to both culture and region.
You'll see a decent number of contractions in the elvish language because it's long and complex, and they've adapted their language to fit interactions with other races '" most humans grow impatient when conversing with elves that do not use the contractions because it makes saying even simple statements take significantly longer. This carried over into the elvish language they speak amongst themselves now, though the nobility and social elite use the full language. Lor'kyn use the most contractions in their dialect because they interact with non-elvish cultures the most while Sha'kyn interact the least and therefore their dialect has the least contractions. The third elvish culture (which I haven't named yet) interacts with other cultures on a regular basis but tends to do so on their own terms, so their dialect's use of contractions falls between the Lor'kyn and Sha'kyn.
Mutants
[ooc]While I'm keeping some of this, disregard this section as outdated for now - discussion has helped me get un-stuck and get a better idea of what mutants are.[/ooc]
The phenomena that causes mutation is even less understood than that which causes the rising of Necrots or the advent of psionic powers. One is simply energy reanimating the recently dead, while the other are simply beings who have adapted the ability to shape existing energy with mental ability.
Mutants represent something entirely different '" a member of another species with physically advantageous abnormalities that arose from some agency. Some ascribe it to the same dark magic as Necrots, other connect it a physical outgrowth of psionics. Still others fear it is the influence of the Others twisting biology to create new creatures as foot soldiers for an impending invasion...while some hold that Mutants, Necrots, and Psions are all an outgrowth of our universes immune system against such threats.
Regardless f how mutants are regarded, they are considered 'magic' users in the losses sense of the world '" beings that have capabilities beyond the normal for their species. What separates Mutants from Necrons is that Necrons died before receiving their power, and the seperation between Mutants and Psionis is simply that a psionis power deals with the influence of energy Mutant powers, on the other hand, are entirely biological in nature.
What They Can Do:
A Mutant is in many ways physically more capable than the initial species, developing additional limbs, tentacles, tails, sensory organs, healing capabilities, and overall physical abilities being the most common traits. Less common are the ability to emit pheromones to manipulate emotion, project caustic liquids from glads stored on the body, and even emit high velocity physical objects through intense muscular pressure, allowing these 'bio darts' to reach ballistic or high speeds.
This is part one to post something because I've been horrifically stuck on my magic. Any thoughts, questions, or comment would be greatly appreciated.
It seems to me that if there were something causing mutations, there would likely be as many negative mutations as positive ones. Some would have a mix of positive and negative mutations, some would be chock full of bonuses, and some would end up the true short end of the stick. The ones with only negative mutations might not live as long as the others though, so there may not be very many adults with solely negative mutations. That would depend on how good medicine is at this time, or relevant healing magic/psychic powers, etc.)
Unless, of course, that mutagen were conscious?
Umm.
Calling you on this.
[blockquote=Xathan]
A Mutant is in many ways physically more capable than the initial species, developing additional limbs, tentacles, tails, sensory organs, healing capabilities, and overall physical abilities being the most common traits. Less common are the ability to emit pheromones to manipulate emotion, project caustic liquids from glads stored on the body, and even emit high velocity physical objects through intense muscular pressure, allowing these 'bio darts' to reach ballistic or high speeds.[/blockquote]
vs.
[blockquote=Xathan]Don't think X-Men when it comes to mutants. Think people twisted with biological abilities that are immediately obvious and many times have severe - sometimes fatal - drawbacks[/blockquote]
Make up your bloody mind.
At the very least, you need be more clear as to the root cause of said deformity, and ther % of occurance, and what races have what % of occurance.
And I am getting the feel that the gods are older civs of great power or from other worlds altogether. In other words, my 'tech' sensors seem to be picking up a groove.
What tone are you aiming for?
Fantastic? Then your mutants should have a whole host of powers and be biological powerhouses.
Creepy/weird? Give them eyes where there shouldn't be eyes, mouths where there shouldn't be mouths. Let them walk the thin line between man and monster with enough of both sides showing that you are never quite sure which they belong to.
Grim? Sad, deformed creatures whose deformities sometimes lend them greater strength and sometimes lend them quicker deaths. Think in matters of disproportionality and contrast where one arm might look like it belongs to a hairless bear while the other one has atrophied into a lame vestigial limb.
In my opinion, you should pick one of these, or at least make a similar category that all your mutants fit into. Trying to mix and match and make your mutants be everything and nothing at the same time will only lessen the impact they have as an element in your setting.
I'm thinking you'd do well to avoid mutant-only communities; don't treat them as a race. Instead, let your poor humans et al be horrified when one of these monsters arrives instead of their beautiful baby son. A little horrific, admittedly, but that's probably how it makes the most sense.
If you want adults to be able to be afflicted by Mutantdom, then treating it as a contagion might work better. Think zombies, only biologically superior and of reasonable intellect and not always raging carnivores. This might lead to some apprehension towards mutants (but so would the other approach).
Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumIt seems to me that if there were something causing mutations, there would likely be as many negative mutations as positive ones. Some would have a mix of positive and negative mutations, some would be chock full of bonuses, and some would end up the true short end of the stick. The ones with only negative mutations might not live as long as the others though, so there may not be very many adults with solely negative mutations. That would depend on how good medicine is at this time, or relevant healing magic/psychic powers, etc.)
I should have mentioned the negative/cosmetic mutations in my initial post. They're very, very common '" most mutants live short, brutal lives simply because their body doesn't work the way it's supposed to anymore. Since this post is about the 'magic users' of mutants, I chose to focus on this aspect at a later date, but you do get a significant number of mutants that die because of their mutation, some shortly after birth, others no long after as their altered physical form makes them incredibly weak/sickly/etc. Some of the powerful mutants have these deadly/malign anomalies too, and sometimes 'good' mutations are just as bad '" if your mutation didn't provide the heart to match it, being a 9 foot tall brute with four extra limbs is going to be just as fatal as if your mutation gave you a weak heart.
Quote from: ConsanguineapidgeonUnless, of course, that mutagen were conscious?
I considered that, but right now have decided that, conscious or not, the mutagen is still often harmful '" if there is a consciousness driving it, it is either a sick, twisted one, or it is incapable of controlling how it mutates people, only whom.
Quote from: LordVreeg of SauroidsUmm.
Calling you on this.
[blockquote=Xathan]
A Mutant is in many ways physically more capable than the initial species, developing additional limbs, tentacles, tails, sensory organs, healing capabilities, and overall physical abilities being the most common traits. Less common are the ability to emit pheromones to manipulate emotion, project caustic liquids from glads stored on the body, and even emit high velocity physical objects through intense muscular pressure, allowing these 'bio darts' to reach ballistic or high speeds.[/blockquote]
vs.
[blockquote=Xathan]Don't think X-Men when it comes to mutants. Think people twisted with biological abilities that are immediately obvious and many times have severe - sometimes fatal - drawbacks[/blockquote]
Make up your bloody mind.
At the very least, you need be more clear as to the root cause of said deformity, and ther % of occurance, and what races have what % of occurance.
Consider myself called! However, those two are not mutually exclusive '" the powers that mutants have is one that always carries physical deformities. Regenerating mutants are often pitted with scars or have an extra, external organ that drives the regen and looks like an external tumor. The pheromone emitter would have obviously (and likely grotesquely) swollen glands to store the pheromones, the dart launcher would have huge, muscular tubes emerging from her wrists, the one with infravision would have abnormal eyes '" or even a couple extras for that spectrum. The strong would have grotesquely muscled limbs, the agile appear freakisly emaciated with extra joints, the resistant would have plating or some other abnormality.
Cause is something I'm working on '" many of the 'whys' of the setting are going to remain unanswered until I write the GM's guide, and even that's going to have possible ones the GM can plug in to best fit their campaign.
And I never do X% of humanoids are mutants and Y% of race Z are mutants '" at least, not that precise. Mutants are not common but frequent enough where most people at least knows someone who personally knows a mutant, and they're more common among humans than any other race, and least common among halflings, dark elves, and dwarves '" the former two now believed to be leftover mutants from the last apocalypse and the latter because dwarven mutants are typically given death shortly after birth.
Quote from: Superfluous CrowWhat tone are you aiming for?
Fantastic? Then your mutants should have a whole host of powers and be biological powerhouses.
Creepy/weird? Give them eyes where there shouldn't be eyes, mouths where there shouldn't be mouths. Let them walk the thin line between man and monster with enough of both sides showing that you are never quite sure which they belong to.
I'm going for a mix of fantastic and creepy/weird '" I want them to be biological powerhouses (when it comes to the ones PCs will likely play, at least) but with enough psychical abnormalities they could never pass for their original race and often appear either repugnant or outright terrifying to their former species.
QuoteI'm thinking you'd do well to avoid mutant-only communities; don't treat them as a race. Instead, let your poor humans et al be horrified when one of these monsters arrives instead of their beautiful baby son. A little horrific, admittedly, but that's probably how it makes the most sense.
If you want adults to be able to be afflicted by Mutantdom, then treating it as a contagion might work better. Think zombies, only biologically superior and of reasonable intellect and not always raging carnivores. This might lead to some apprehension towards mutants (but so would the other approach).[/quote]
That idea is too awesome to ignore and will need some serious thought. I might bypass it for this setting, but deliberately inducing mutations is something the Feru (A human culture) has managed for a couple different mutations, used to augment their military '" though they tend to gloss over the thousands that died in these experiments. Still, having mutation work a bit like zombie-ism or vampir-ism (Or lycanthrophy might be a better analogy) is awesome and may need some further investigation.
It will be difficult to maintain a creepy vibe if you want to pack them full of powers. Creepiness is mostly about the subtle but jarring differences. I think the setting as a whole has a more Fantastic tone. It is all about how everything is changed and while it is set in an apocalyptic world, "awesome" seems to be a more fitting keyword than "grim" or "dismal".
If you want to take it down darker paths you should probably try to take that into account when writing the actual fluff. But I think it will do quite well as a Fantastic setting!
Creepy was probably the wrong word for what I was going for. "off-putting" might be a better one - mutants look wrong. And overall I am going for a more Fantastic tone - the Apocalypse was long enough ago where grim and dismal aren't even close to what I was going for. I'm saving my darker stuff for other settings - I do dark fairly often, and while I seem constitutionally incapable of not putting some element of the dark in my settings, I wanted to go for something closer to the fantastic.
At the same time, I'm regretting calling mutants that. What I'm going for here are people with physical, biological abnormalities, so the term seemed to fit, but I still seem to be failing to get across how I intended mutants work...and honestly, if my attempts to describe them as one way keep conveying them another way, then maybe my subconscious is working to get me to put mutants a different way than I was originally intending. As such, I'm going to embrace the more fantastic elements of it - mutants are now powerful individuals if they got a good hand (those that got a bad hand are going to die horribly). I'll do a new writeup for them in a bit to fit this new standpoint.
Quote from: Xathan WorldsmithCreepy was probably the wrong word for what I was going for. "off-putting" might be a better one - mutants look wrong. And overall I am going for a more Fantastic tone - the Apocalypse was long enough ago where grim and dismal aren't even close to what I was going for. I'm saving my darker stuff for other settings - I do dark fairly often, and while I seem constitutionally incapable of not putting some element of the dark in my settings, I wanted to go for something closer to the fantastic.
At the same time, I'm regretting calling mutants that. What I'm going for here are people with physical, biological abnormalities, so the term seemed to fit, but I still seem to be failing to get across how I intended mutants work...and honestly, if my attempts to describe them as one way keep conveying them another way, then maybe my subconscious is working to get me to put mutants a different way than I was originally intending. As such, I'm going to embrace the more fantastic elements of it - mutants are now powerful individuals if they got a good hand (those that got a bad hand are going to die horribly). I'll do a new writeup for them in a bit to fit this new standpoint.
Cool.
I am now getting a 'fantastic stories' vibe. Get your AMAZING FANTASY caps on...we're goin' for a ride.
Thanocyst is a remarkably sexy word.
Oh yeah we're going for a ride - working on the new mutants now as well as the psionics and the gethren crystaltech, and now that I've decided to go full on "Fantastic Stories", as you so aptly put it, I'm having much more fun writing this stuff.
And Angel, glad you like it. Figured I'd put 3 years of latin to good use in some manner, and liked it better than Necrocyst.
On an unrelated note to the replies, as of now I'm leaving Necrots out of the setting until I can make them fit the new tone. The original idea was not where the setting is going tone-wise, and unless they do they're getting cut from Vernith and put in a later setting with a different tone.
Mutants (Attempt Deux)
[ic]Geralt clung to the smooth belly of the airskimmer, squinting against the wind. It was going to be a simple job '" the Lady Reinstaldt had made some powerful enemies, most of whom would prefer to see her halfwit brother on the throne, and he was supposed to make sure that was the case. He wasn't stupid '" Lady Reinstaldt had some very...definite views on mutant's place in society, and the fact that she felt they were best kept in cages where they couldn't hurt anyone meant that no one would be surprised if a mutant killed her. Hell, Geralt was looking forward to impaling the bitch, even without the money.
What his employers hadn't told him is that she employed a kinetic, which is why he was now stuck to the bottom of an airskimmer with a few of his own bone-spikes sticking into his chest.
It was a short climb back to the deck, and Geralt was lucky enough where he'd managed to grab on out of sight '" the kinetic likely thought him to be a red stain somewhere below. Luckier still that he had more in his genes than the ability to stick to anything and fire shards of bone out of the tubes in his wrists. Granted, melting a hole in the hull of an airskimmer at 2000 feet when you had to breathe the damn fire wasn't easy, but once he'd melted enough he'd be in and back in buisness. Reinstaldt would be dead before the day was out, and he'd get to talk to his employers about how much extra they were going to pay him for leaving out important details.[/ic]
A mutant is a humanoid gifted or cursed, depending on who you ask, with biological abilties beyond what their species is normally capable of. They can leap dozens of feet, climb smooth surfaces, expel toxic gasses, outrun even the fastest mounts, fly with wings or natural jets, and a hundred other things that make them extraordinary '" and, in some cultures, hated.
Regardless of how they're viewed, mutants are almost always obvious. Their abilities leave a mark '" wings, tentacles, tails, or claws in extreme cases, tubes, distorted musculature, or other hidden changes in others. Hiding you're a mutant ranges from impossible to difficult, and if you're stripped then you're exposed.
As such, even in more tolerant cultures, mutants typical live on the outskirts of society '" even if the town guard is just fine with a guy that has three eyes and a prehensile tail that ends in a stinger walking down the street, the most open minded person is going to at least do a double-take at the sight of one. As such, mutants tend to take jobs that put their powers to use '" physical labor for the more socially minded of them, theft and assassination or mercenary work for the less moral, and adventuring for those that want to use their power to the fullest but don't want to prove that people are right about what they are.
[ooc]I know this leaves a lot of details out, but I figured this would be a good starting point for how mutants now work '" and hopefully gives a bit more feel for the setting. As always, questions, comments, snide remarks are appreciated. Hope you enjoyed.
And yes, I know the writing on that initial thing was awful. I've never been talented at writing little things like that [/ooc]
While I await thoughts on Mutants, I'm currently working on something no-one has asked for but I feel is needed for me to write anything other than Mutants and Psions, because both are recent emergences - hopefully I'll have a somewhat detailed history of the world up in the next couple of days.
While some of the sentences in the vignette were a little bit jarring it was actually a pretty cool story!
I like the new mutants. Very colorful creatures admittedly, but I think they are going to fit right in now. Glad you settled on a concept!
Just noticed this reply - thanks, glad you like it! Yeah, finally decided to ditch my creepy-horror ideas and go all out fantastic. I'm working on a write up of the Gethren Tech right now (which is probably getting a rename, just because Gethtech sounds like something cribbed off of DnD as opposed to an original idea.)
Looking forward to reading that. SHould be good! All about the Fantastic, amazing, aw-inspiring world...
Just to let everyone know what's going on here, Vernith is still very much alive and well. What I'm stuck on right now is how far is too far - do I go all out with the fantastic, the crystaltech, the...fantasyness of it, or do I keep it psuedomedieval with the fantasy? Until I answer this question it's hard to update, but rest assured I am still working on the answer to this question. :P
Vernith Reboot:
[note]Will edit main post with this information later, wanted some thoughts on this before I overhaul. And sorry for double post, just wanted to make sure anyone that already saw last post knows there's new info in this one.[/note]I've decided that some of the things that were originally going to go in Vernith don't fit the setting I have as of now '" specifically, the drastic changes to various races physical appearance and the Necrots. The latter are going to find an easy home in Elwid, so they're not gone, just being relocated, and the former are going to find a home in my upcoming stonepunk setting since they'll fit much better there.
Instead, I'm considering one of two things. Option A is to make non-humans completely unique races as opposed to the fantasy mainstays, keeping the fantastic feel but not just making weird elves. The other to make Vernith a human-only setting when it comes to intelligent races. Either one will get the fantastic feel I'm going for, and they have their own unique advantages '" on the former note, I'm now free to create some truly fantastic races to fit the overall setting better, and on the latter idea that makes the mutants that much more unique. Thoughts on that regard will be greatly appreciated.
Second, as to the crystaltech, while I don't have a complete write-up I'm beginning to get a mental image '" right now what I'm thinking is that the tech level is going to be much more modern in many ways than I had originally thought, just look very crystal-y and give it a more magic feel. You'll have analogies to planes, for example, and armor infused with the crystals to basically create powered armor, permanent gateways between locations, cannons that shoot energy, cities and buildings encased in telekinetic shields, fortresses that fly '" in short, dipping my toes into the science-fantasy pool while keeping it firmly fantasy in nature.
Just thought I'd give this update to let people know what direction the setting is going in, and going to get started on some actual details finally ASAP '" once I get some of these other ideas out of my head and into the settings they belong in.
For a fantastic setting I would go with option A, but both could work.
I like going more moderny, with maybe crystal bridging the gap between sciance and magic...
Alright, so it looks like general preferences seem to be towards non-human races included and crystaltech acting much more modern than the fantasy norm. I'll be going that route then - will update with one or the other by sunday at the latest, which will involve complete rewrite of orignal post. (Original post will be put in a spoiler for reference purposes.) Thanks for the imput!
The Rajol, a Race of Vernith
(Look, a content post!.)
Rajol - The Rajol are not a natural race, though they've gone far beyond their original purpose. Centuries ago humans used a long lost art to - with the aid of gethren crystals - physical manipulate beings on a species of insects. Once twisted to a humanoid size and shape, they were quickly put to their intended purpose - a slave labor force that was completely obedient to a single mind, which was dominated by a gethren matrix - the precursor to the modern Lattice. This arrangement existed for the length of this empire's span until the Apocalypse - which shattered the matrix and killed the High Mind in the process. The result was the intelligence of the High Mind distributed itself among the Rajol, converting them from mindless drones to a fully sentient race with an aptitude for psionics.
Standing on average five feet tall, Rajol are beautiful in their own alien way. A fusion of insect and human in appearance, coated in a flexible exoskeleton that glistens in light, their eight eyes cold and black, and their mouth two mandibles which conceal a shockingly human looking maw. However, they move with a peerless grace and surety, and some adults have large wings akin to that of a dragonfly. They've carved out hives in various places across the globe since their birth, and over time have proven themselves to be more than capable of matching other races for intelligence.
Mutation is rare among the Rajol, but psionic ability is common - including the ability for any Rajol to communicate with any other from their own hive telepathically, so long as the member of their hive is within close proximity. Rajol scholars and those of other races hypothesize that this innate ability is the reason so many Rajol have other psionic powers, though that does not explain rarity of mutations. Their use of gethretch is a fledgeling one, and other races are hesitant to share such knowledge with them. As such, they have the least developed technology, but all of it carries the same alien beauty the race itself does - even a common tool crafted with gethren is a work of art. The one advantage they have in technology is their most closely guarded secret - they hold the creation of gethsteel, and it is a process none have been able to replicate without destroying the gethren's psionic nature. How the Rajol manage it is unknown, but it allows for much finer tools that are highly sought after.
As far as natural abilities, Rajol's hardened carapace is their primary defensive measure - though they lose that advantage for a week every year during the molting season. Their bodies are capable of excreting two chemicals, one a powerful acid and another a sticky goo that will quickly harden into a solid resin - the same substance that is used to make their hives. They have a rigid cast system that is biologically enforced, not a social construct - like many hive insects, Rajol are born into a certain role and follow that role for their entire life. The concept of gender is alien to them - instead, it is your caste that determines roles.
The soldiers are exactly what their name implies, warriors once used in the service of the empire that created them and now to defend the hive. In times of peace, the majority enter a state of torpor to avoid consuming the resources of the hive when they are not needed. When awakened, they fight viciously, dispatching foes as quickly as possible and able to produce far more of the caustic acid than any other cast of Rajol.
Builders have two roles - the first is implied in their name, as they can near constantly secrete the resin that is used in construction of Rajol buildings and have a natural aptitude to shape it. Their second role is the construction of gethsteel tools, and they work at that process deep within their hive. Builders will a most never fight unless someone is close to stealing the secret of gethsteel, and in such cases lob resin to trap the intruder until a soldier can arrive - or encasing the subject so fully it will suffocate to death. Builders never torpor - construction and repairs are always needed.
[note]Breeders, like Soldiers, go into a torpor when their services are not needed - if the hive population is stable, breeders will only be awoken to go form a new hive[/note[Breeders fulfill a single purpose - the birth of more Rajol. Instead of being divided by male and female in traditional sense, they reproduce asexually, giving birth to anywhere from 20-30 larva at a time. When it is time for the larva to develop beyond it's current state, a different breeder will provide the genetic material to cause it to develop into another caste. Until that genetic material is received, larva remain in their infantile state, and a few that manage to wander away from the breeders have remained as such. Interestingly, larva left alone can breed amongst themselves in a form of neoteny, never developing into full Rajol and only quasi-sentient. However, such cases are rare since the apocalypse - a breeder will fight to the death to defend their larva, and have a psychic link to them that makes them easily located. Only the death of a breeder provides a risk of the larva going feral.
Scholars are the physically weakest of the Rajol, never fully forming an exoskeleton and unable to secrete any acid. However, their name is their primary pursuit - they are the thinkers of the Rajol, the dreamers, the innovators. They often command groups of builders and have a very respected place in the Rajol caste, but their physical fraility means they very rarely leave the hive and even then only under heavy guards. A sub-caste of Scholars are called Inquisitives, and unlike the image that conjures among other humanoids of vicious torutures and questioners, Inquisitives are tasked with questioning the decision of the nobles at every turn, providing an alternative viewpoint to any scholastic line of thought - in short, to make sure the entire hive does not march in lock step as they once did. Killing or in any way forcibly silencing an inquisitive due to a disagreement is the ultimate crime among the Rajol, though custom only dictates that their objections are listened to, not followed. Scholars never torpor.Â
The Nobles are the ruling caste of the Rajol. Physically they are about as dangerous as soldiers, and the most powerful Rajol psychics are among the nobility. They are also significantly larger than most Rajol, standing closer to 9 feet tall, and have the most insectile appearance of all Rajol. Nobles only torpor when a new hive is being constructed they are going to be taking command of - it is believed that a new hive needs a long-lived ruler to function.
The final caste of the Rajol are the wanderers. Not much more threatening than any other race, their imperative is simple - they are driven to leave the hive and merge among the other races, explore new territory, visit other hives, and gain information to send back to the hive that spawned them. Wanderers are the most likely to join other races in various tasks and even form bonds among them - which is why no Wanderer is ever allowed the secret of gethsteel.Â
More to come on the exact natures of these hives, but figured I'd at least give insight into one of the nonhuman races of Vernith. It's important to note that, while Rajol caste system is universal, how nobles run individual hives is as varied as how other humanoid races - I've never believe in "all members of this race are part of this one culture."
Very interesting - I'd had an idea similar to this myself once, for a crustacean race whose various metamorphic stages went from lover-->warrior-->scholar. One very minor thing - I notice some of your "note" markup is incorrect, as I can see a fragment of forum code.
So I'm wondering about the rigidity of the caste system. These creatures are fully sentient, yet biologically engineered for certain tasks; are there ever any rogue/"deviant" Rajol who reject their caste role? Perhaps some that attempt to modify their bodies for new tasks? What generally happens to Builders or Soldiers who become crippled and thus incapable of their physical function?
Does telepathy include mind-reading, or only the sending of mental messages?
What about Rajol in more cosmopolitan places - do they only exist in hives, or could communities thrive within the cities of other races? If so, how would their social structure change?
Do Nobles war with one another?
Overall, very cool!
I'm back! And responding to a post!
Fixed note fragment, sorry about that. And yeah, the mutiformed Arthropod is not a new idea, I just hope the Rajol present a unique twist on it.
As far as how rigid the caste system is, that depends on cultural factors - Rajol from some hives may have no choice but to follow their biological role, while in other hives it's merely encouraged but Rajol that choose otherwise are viewed no more oddly than we view vegetarians among humans (Humans being biologically designed as omnivores with strong carnivorous tendencies.) Body modification is big in these more open societies, as they try to suit their form to the role the want...but it's painful, long, and occasionally fatal. Again, what happens depends on the culture. Some are kept to provide their knowledge and expertise (since neither of those are genetic) in more benevolent cultures, some are put into Torpor until a way to heal them is found, and some are killed and replacement's bread - that depends on the culture of the hive more than anything else, and I'll try and outline a couple to get you some answers.
Their telepathy does not include mind reading in the classic sense, but if they send a telepathic message to a non Rajol, the Rajol can sense that person's response...but rarely anything more detailed than an affirmative, negative, or interrogative. (More detailed communication is possible with people who have had long term exposure to Rajol telepathy)
Rajol is cosmopolitan places take one of two forms as a general rule. One takes a district of the city and using their resin to repair it, gradually turns it into a hive that still matches the aesthetic of the city. However, a Rajol (who is not a Wanderer) away from the mental "buzz" of the hive for too long becomes uncomfortable with the "silence," so even if a true hive isn't formed, they tend to gather in districts.
As for their social structure changing, it's really more than anything else adapting to the existing culture...so to answer that, I'll have to do some regions that have Rajol living in cosmopolitan areas to illustrate my point.
All the time for the wars. They're as bad as any other intelligent race, and worse in one way - it's a near universal custom among Rajol that any Rajol taken in battle are to be used in their biological function until their death - essentially slavery. Raids for desirable breeders is a common occurrence.
Glad you liked!
Vayeed
[note]The race postings, for now, are going to merely be physical overviews and some common psychological traits - I'm saving individual cultures within each race for later, just because I hate monoculturalism[/note]The Vayeed may be the oldest race on Vernith, though such a claim is difficult to prove. However, their own records go back far beyond the Apocalypse, and while the accuracy of the writings can be questioned, the fact that they predate the apocalypse is telling.Â
However, the Apocalypse hit them harder than most races. None can truly say what the Vayeed looked like prior, but their current form is distinctive, to say the least. Their torso, from the waist up, is humanoid though greatly elongated. Their heads share a similar elongation, the skull reaching back into a large structure that houses their vocal apparatus. They have six eyes, two located on the front of the head and the remaining two wrapping around the sides of the face, giving them a far wider range of vision than most creatures - though the race is colorblind, seeing the world in scales of grey. Their arms are longer and thinner than most races, ending in a thumb and two fingers. Their skin's coloration ranged from dark to light grey, with a few rare Vayeed having skin that goes all the way intro true black or white.
From the waist down, there is no physical body. The Vayeed rests on a cloud of shimmering energy, hovering  a few feet above the ground. With significant concentration this energy can be used to propel the Vayeed to great heights, but typically their movement is similar to walking in that it keeps the Vayeed a fixed distance above the surface it is traversing. However, this has given them the advantage of being able to cross terrain other races need assistance to travel and to "walk" over liquids or hazardous materials that legged creatures would never be able to do (without the aid of psionics or mutations).
Culturally the Vayeed vary greatly from region to region, but there are a few unifying elements. Vayeed tend to prefer solitary dwellings to retreat to even amongst their own communities. They often have a fondness for history, especially relating to the time pre-Apocalypse. And, as a race, they believe that their prior forms were things of beauty and their new ones twisted abominations - a trait that is so common it may be part of their psychological makeup - and go through great lengths to cover their energy cushion (often draping robes or dresses over it) and are heavily into either physical modification of their forms to make them less appalling and more attractive, or into elaborate fashions designed to try and fix the impurity of their forms.
More information on individual Vayeed cultures will come after I've outlined the major races of Vernith.