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[note]While it might prove beneficial to read through the discussions in this thread, you'll find that the overwhelming majority of information on Xiluh is in this post. Don't let yourself feel that it's necessary to read every last word of the thread to review. For that matter, don't feel it necessary to read this entire post to review. Find something you like, and give as much or as little comment on it as you like.[/note]
Only 150 years after The Seven Invasions, the world of Xiluh begins to change- some say as if preparing itself for a catastrophic event. The wise eagles, which once proudly shared their wisdom of the land now take a reclusive nature, Meanwhile, many of the jaguars, once peaceful protectors and companions of powerful shamans now abandon such posts.
Travelers from lands even more exotic then the fabled Valley of Thenta lend to rumors of when and what could such an event be. Many claim that the couatl and sun worshiping guilds may be the only ones safe. Only time, and possibly a few strokes of luck, may tell.
Most weaponry is made out of obsidian ( -1ATK/+1DMG for piercing and slashing, non-ranged weapons require a shatter roll on natural ones, and allow shatter rolls for an extra x2 DMG on criticals). However, the rare metal and stone weapons, introduced by one of the seven invasions can be found, at a price.
Quote from: important note on culturesave for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way habatei are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.
simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldn't they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races. [/ic]
Quote from: ElvesElves have a militant attitude, in response to the attack on them during The Seven Invasions. This is something that turned out to be well-suited by their already lean builds. Elves have orange hued bones, suggesting a connection to Sun. This caused a religious significance about the bones, and the bones of ritually sacrificed elves are used as currency.
Elven males typically resent open displays of emotion, unless said displays are provoked by sport or war. While there are a few emotions that are somewhat accepted in small doses, this is the overwhelming norm for male elves. Such stoicism is pushed for even at young ages, as elven children are given small cuts on their cheeks, to deter stinging tears.
Elven females generally strive for the betterment of both inward and outward beauty. This has lead to the use of crude cosmetics, such as the crushing of purple berries so the juice can accent their lips.
Humans adapt easily to various environments. With short lives compared to the other races, humans tend to focus more on pleasurable activities.
The role of the paladin has been incorporated into the monk; the "fighting for good because good is good and thats good" class otherwise has no place within Xiluh.
Clerics (which may or may not be replaced at a later date) work as Shamans, and are very highly revered. Clerics gain their powers through long, hard apprenticeships, and their Master trains them in the proper knowledge of the world. They're often found at odds with sorcerors and wizards, as the cleric views them as trying to shortcut their way to magic power, which the clerics see as purely divine. Clerics see druids, however, as being very close to themselves, and following similar ideals.
Sorcerors are defined in Xiluh as aberrant spell casters. Unlike Clerics, they did not gain their magical ability through proper apprenticeship, although some have been chosen for such an undertaking due to their inherent power.
Sorcerors and Wizards are viewed sorts of 'unofficial' shamans. This leads to mixed views, as their power is undeniable, but by some it is also unacceptable. Generally, sorcerors are tried to be turned into clerics, whereas wizards are strongly discouraged in all regions but the towns too small to warrant a cleric.
The line between clerics and druids, flavor-wise, is very fine. while druids look at the nature that happens to be divine, clerics look at the divine that happens to be nature. Ultimately, they are for the same cause, but they see it from different angles. Despite these different perspective, they're both very aware of how close they are, and this has helped develop a kindredship between the two classes.
[/quote](//../../e107_files/public/1155134704_93_FT6413_xiluh_.jpg)
[/quote]
Quote from: Undeadthe people of Xiluh are well convinced in reincarnation; simply put, if you die honorably, you become a star, to light the paths of others. if you don't, you continue your existence as one of those "others". this happens because there is no "spirit world" afterlife; even those who transcend reincarnation do not transcend the material world.
imagine then, the surprise they experienced upon finding creatures with neither the spirit of the stars nor the spirit of the living! these creatures seemed to appear after the Kunahans attacked the elves of Salanta Woods, and bore a resemblance to nothing previously known to Xiluh.
the only possible explanation, of course, was that these... "undead" were somehow connected to Kunahans. after only a few battles, the connection was discovered: Kunahans are somehow exempt from the normal path of reincarnation, and become these wretched creatures upon death. their spirit seems to transcend the material world, but their bodies don't. instead, the bodies rapidly degenerate into other forms.[/spoiler]
Quote from: YirgamilYirgamil is a hive of a certain type of beetle. This beetle relies heavily on communication with others of its kind, and thus cannot survive without contact with the rest of the hive. Because of the structure of this hive, Yirgamil is considered to be a creature unto itself. As such, there is no name for the beetles that form Yirgamil.
As Yirgamil is not merely a single entity, it is almost incapable of death. This has allowed time enough for it to develop the ability to speak. Although it is capable of profound revelations, it seems fond of incoherent strings of words.
Quote from: creation myth[note]
There are many stories on the rivalry between Sun and Moon, but the story of their final battle is easily the most well known amongst Xiluhans. Since the question has been asked a few times, it should be pointed out that eclipses do not happen. However, if one were to happen, yes, it would indeed be terrible and frightful.[/note]
Moon was reclusive by nature, and attempted to hide everything he did. However, his brother, Sun was clever, and always prided himself in discovering whatever Moon tried to hide. In his excitement, Sun would always reveal his discoveries. For each discovery Sun made, Moon would try even harder to hide whatever his next efforts went to, while becoming increasingly more frustrated.
As the brothers grew older, the great Eagle decided to tell them the secret of flight, feeling no need to inform them that the other brother knew this secret, as well. Moon was determined to hide this secret from his brother, and put so much effort into keeping this to himself, that if Sun hadnt already known the secret of flight, he never would have had any suspicions of Moon knowing the secret. However, Sun did already know the secret of flight, and because of this, he easily found out what Moon was trying to do. Moon, insistent on keeping Sun from flying, grew into an uncontrollable anger, and plotted to kill Sun by removing his heart.
The great Jaguar, knowing each brother had his purpose, and not wanting either to die, told Sun of Moon's plans. Sun then used magic to protect his chest, and waited for Moon. Once Moon was ready, he went after his brother, unaware of the magic protection. In the struggle, before Moon had the chance to kill Sun, Sun plunged his hand deep into Moons chest, and removed Moons heart, killing him. However, Moon had managed to light Sun on fire before dying, therefore killing Sun as well.
Three days later, Jaguar came upon the two bodies. He spent one day mourning over each of the brothers, and that is why each week is five days. Once Jaguar was done mourning, he put the skin back on Sun, and the blood back in Moon. But the skin was tanned, and the blood dried. That is why he could resurrect both of the brothers, but was not able to heal the damage they received. Wisely, Eagle decided to put them both in the sky, but never at the same time. To this day, Sun and Moon chase each other across the sky, Sun still burning, and Moon still unwhole.
[/spoiler]
creation of the world, end of first age.
second age (base calender)
creation of First-Ones (1)
creation of humans (14)
creation of elves (33)
Thark, a First-One, creates the Empire; reign of First-Ones begins (45)
First-Ones create habatei for slavery (62)
Creation of dwarves (91)
The Gods become angered with the First-Ones' sense of cultural superiority, leading Snake to start the perversion of First-Ones into yuma (145)
Humans attempt the first rebellion against the Empire, but quickly fail; Inspired by this, the elves begin secret plans of their own. (147)
Thark is assassinated, allowing Marg to become the second emperor of the First-One Empire (172)
Dwarves split into clans Saan and Saag (200)
Small elven groups initiate their first attacks on the Empire (211)
Humans attempt to ally with elves (213)
Elves make their second wave of attacks on the Empire; Saan clan escapes the rule of the Empire (215)
Saag clan attacks the Empire (217)
Marg captures a small group of Saag clan dwarves, and orders them executed publicly; Rebellions cease temporarily (220)
Public execution of the last of the Saag clan; Dwarves believed to be finally extinct (651)
destruction of remaining First-Ones, ending the empire (684)
release of habatei (695)
enslavement of yuma, end of second age (697)
third age (ta)
Thask becomes first High Shaman (565ta -1262)
A crippled human woman gives birth to a boy, naming him Yaxhuakun. Nothing is known of the father. A month later, the mother dies, and Yaxhuakun is adopted by the village (582ta -1279)
Yaxhuakun starts to show an unusual aptitude for shamanism (592ta -1289)
Thask apprentices Yaxhuakun (598ta -1295)
Thask dies unexpectedly, abruptly ending Yaxhuakun's apprenticeship four years early. Thask is buried (614ta -1311)
Yaxhuakun succeeds Thask (615ta -1312)
Yaxhuakun apprentices Tlutli (654ta - 1351)
Tlutli gains the title of Second Shaman at the end of his apprenticeship (674ta - 1371)
High shaman Tlutli divines great turmoil (695ta- 1392)
Seven Invasions begin. (1695ta -2392)
assessment of dwarven fortification. Earth Crusher scouting party captured by dwarves (1699ta -2396)
Scouting party executed (1700ta - 2397
encampment of habatei (1716ta -2413)
attack on elves in Salanta woods, shortly followed by the first appearance of zombies (1724ta -2421)
human-elf alliance (1725ta -2421)
Seven Invasions end (1747ta -2444)
[spoiler=the Seven Invasions]The Seven Invasions were seven separate, but simultaneous invasions, ending about 150 years ago. While it is known that at least one of these invading armies came from a mysterious land known as Kunah, it is unknown where Kunah is.
The languages the armies used quickly proved to be extremely difficult to those native to Xiluh, and so the armies developed names based on their actions: the Hammer Shakers, the Axe Workers, the Rock Binders, the Earth Crushers, the Oath Makers, the shield Snappers, and the Tunnel Cutters.
rumors say that it only took 29 days for each of the armies to arrive, first to last, from their various routes. there were many accounts over the next four years of various raging creatures, previously unknown to Xiluh; throughout these four years, the natives learned about the seven armies, and patiently watched as best they could. Because of the chaotic behaviors of a few of the armies, it has been suspected that they fought amongst themselves for awhile, seemingly forming an alliance of sorts, sometime within the first of the four years.
The following war had started when a small scouting party of Earth Crushers were found by dwarves, within the Mount of the Fist. Three months later, the scouting party was executed under dwarven law.
[/spoiler]
Habatei begin to migrate south to their homelands. Migration proves difficult, and many die. (1803ta -2500)
Surviving habate migrators retreat back to the Hills of the Northern Crescent, where they were encamped during the Seven Invasions. (1806ta -2503)
official mark of recovery (1847ta -2544)
present (1897ta -2594)
Quote from: NationsXiluh has a very loose confederation of tribal city-states, with poorly defined physical borders, but very clear-cut cultural borders.
Quote from: Hills of the Northern CrescentDespite the name, the Hills of the Northern Crescent isn't a collection of hills. Instead, it is a cirque of land created by a small, crescent-shaped range of foothills near the northern coast of Xiluh. Since the habatei of Xiluh were imprisoned here over 140 years ago, this has been their home.
Currency is extremely limited, as most of Xiluh is run on the barter system. While adventurers and other nomadic peoples have more of a dependency on hard currency, they will still occasionally run into the need to barter. Hard currency comes in the form of flat, pendant-like trinkets with intricate, complex designs carved into them, to prevent forgeries.
The denominations (and relative values) are:
Wood: 1
Obsidian: 20
Stone: 400
Bone: 8000 (the orange-hued bones of elves)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=linguistics]
There are a couple points in Xiluhan linguistics that should be noted. Firstly, all words are considered masculine or feminine, although the exact distinction is unclear as of yet. Another is that, males generally have two surnames- one formal, which is passed on through clans, and the other is informal. The informal surname is created by prefixing the name of the father with "chahi-", or "son of-". In other words, Balhundra, son of thaph, would be informally introduced as Balhundra Chahithaph. The majority of Xiluhan societies are small enough, as well as tight-knit enough, that formal surnames are very rarely used, and even the informal "chahi-" surnames aren't needed too often.
The issue with the word "Xiluh" itself is an interesting one. The most direct meaning, which is also the simplest, is "world". However, it represents a concept that could better be understood as "known world". The subtle distinction between "world" and "known world" is something that Xiluhans seem to bullheadedly dismiss, as it is believed that all that is absolutely vital is already known.
[note]More linguistics later.[/note]
[spoiler=syllabary][table=Syllables][tr][th][/th][td]A[/td][td]E[/td][td]I[/td][td]U[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]B[/th][td]ba[/td][td]be[/td][td]bi[/td][td]bu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]CH[/th][td]cha[/td][td]che[/td][td]chi[/td][td]chu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]DR[/th][td]dra[/td][td]dre[/td][td]dri[/td][td]dru[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]H[/th][td]ha[/td][td]he[/td][td]hi[/td][td]hu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]K[/th][td]ka[/td][td]ke[/td][td]ki[/td][td]ku[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]L[/th][td]la[/td][td]le[/td][td]li[/td][td]lu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]M[/th][td]ma[/td][td]me[/td][td]mi[/td][td]mu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]N[/th][td]na[/td][td]ne[/td][td]ni[/td][td]nu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]P[/th][td]pa[/td][td]pe[/td][td]pi[/td][td]pu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]XHU[/th][td]xhua[/td][td]xhue[/td][td]xhui[/td][td]~[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]R[/th][td]ra[/td][td]re[/td][td]ri[/td][td]ru[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]S[/th][td]sa[/td][td]se[/td][td]si[/td][td]su[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]T[/th][td]ta[/td][td]te[/td][td]ti[/td][td]tu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]TH[/th][td]tha[/td][td]the[/td][td]thi[/td][td]thu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]TL[/th][td]tla[/td][td]tle[/td][td]tli[/td][td]tlu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]V[/th][td]va[/td][td]ve[/td][td]vi[/td][td]vu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Y[/th][td]ya[/td][td]ye[/td][td]yi[/td][td]yu[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]X[/th][td]xa[/td][td]xe[/td][td]xi[/td][td]xu[/td][/tr][/table]
[table=Codas]
[tr][td]n[/td][td]rk[/td][td]rg[/td][td]sk[/td][td]k[/td][td]l[/td][td]ph[/td][/tr][/table][/spoiler]
[spoiler=pronunciations]
Xiluh- ZEE-loo
Kunah- koo-NAH
valley of Thenta- VAL-lee of THEN-ta
Tixivan- TEE-zee-'vahn
yuma- YOO-mah
Kunahan- KOO-nah-'han
[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Adventure Hooks]
*Jaguars leave their honored post of guarding a tribe. What could cause such a change in behavior?
* A dwarf claims to be a descendant of the Saag clan. Could he be telling the truth?
* The corpse of an eagle brings signs of bad omens.
* An as-of-yet unknown creature attacks a settlement of hunters. Have more Kanuhites come to Xiluh?
* One of the PCs is called to help defend his tribe in a food battle against another PCs tribe. Will the party ignore these conflicting interests, or will they take sides against each other?
* Nechui hunt!
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=bibliography]
WotC Xiluh thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=8242417#post8242417&origin=)
original discussion (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=562450)
joining the CBG (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8157662&postcount=110l)
mythos 1.0 (dead) (http://www.shadowfell.org/CBG/viewtopic.php?t=51)
talk about races and their cultures (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6218)
thoughts on discrimination against yuma (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?9234.0)
Classes of Xiluh (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?35618.postl)
Index to the Xiluh wiki articles (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Xiluh)
Discussion on language (http://thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?79242)
Records of Tlutli's visions (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?74297)
Most of this will eventually migrate to this thread, but feel free to check them out in the meantime. Also, some may be marked as official discussion threads.
[/spoiler]
If anybody has any comments or critiques, ideas or suggestions, please, feel free to share them. A bibliography of the posts and threads has been added. sometime soon I hope to add more information on what is here (and some on what isn't), but I wont be able to do that yet.
"... How can it be that the gods are wise enough to shape the universe and the world and the life of the world but lack the wisdom to give humans what they need to be human?"
-Daniel Quinn
You might consider for the simplest denomination something like a cacao bean, from which chocolate comes from, which is still used as currency in the parts of the world similar to your CS. In a world where little currency exists, the simplest currency would be something Joe Peasant can see a tangible value in, whereas the highest would have great cultural significance (you have that well covered).
What/who are the seven invasions?
I sense a good amount of New World influence; I'm under the assumption you will be using much Mayan and Aztec symbolism?
I like what I've read so far. I do have one recomendation: replace the paladin with something. I have a templar class that might suit your world.
I would like to know what the difference between clerics and druids are. To me, druids seem more like shamans (in tune with the spirit world), while clerics seem more likely to be devoted to a single divine entity.
Also, if you're seeking to emulate a more primitive world where metal is rare, you are going to need to create some new medium and heavy armors. If there are dragons, I'd say you could make scale and plate armor out of dragons.
QuoteAlso, if you're seeking to emulate a more primitive world where metal is rare, you are going to need to create some new medium and heavy armors. If there are dragons, I'd say you could make scale and plate armor out of dragons.
AEG has some great wood armors. Shell armor might be pretty cool, too.
Ummm... How do you pronounce "Xiluh"? Zilla? Zeela?
the dragonmail is an interesting touch, however, here it would be cuatl-mail. dont know how id work that out, so as for right now, any armor made of metal is currently made of couatl feathers.... just a flavor change, until im comfortable dipping my hands in mechanics.
edit: the rest of this post has been added to the original post.
Edit- Moved to first post.
updated the original post. map to come soon.
QuoteCurrency is extremely limited, as most of Xiluh is run on the barter system. While adventurers and other nomadic peoples have more of a dependancy on hard currency, they will still occassionally run into the need to barter. Hard currency comes in the form of flat, pendant-like trinkets with intricate, complex designs carved into them, to prevent forgeries.
The denominations (and relative values) are:
Wood: 1
Obsidian: 20
Stone: 400
Bone: 8000 (the orange-hued bones of elves)
Yay for barter systems! I'll make sure to link to mine when I write it... wait. You use a currency system after all! Lies!!!11!!one!!
But why would someone take the time to actually carve boatloads of wooden medals? Wood is a very bad form of currency to use because the concept behind currency is that you trade things of equal value. Do you know how much wood a goat is worth? A hell of a lot more than you can cary. I'd personally rather bring my goat to market than a wagon of wood medals.
That is why I suggested cacao beans in place of wood.
Quote from: RaelifinBut why would someone take the time to actually carve boatloads of wooden medals? Wood is a very bad form of currency to use because the concept behind currency is that you trade things of equal value. Do you know how much wood a goat is worth? A hell of a lot more than you can cary. I'd personally rather bring my goat to market than a wagon of wood medals.
I'm led to infer that it's a representative currency; the value of wood coins isn't due to the inherent value of the wood itself, but because the coins represent wealth that resides in some national treasury to back up the currency.
That being said, it could be some kind of rare wood. Mahogany's worth a heck of a lot more than oak. Or since we've got DnD at our disposal already and have established a pattern of coins made out of unusual materials (elfbone), why not use Darkwood? Most expensive wood I can think of, and when you have to carry a whole wheelbarrow of darkwood coins to the market to buy a goat, at least it won't be very heavy. :)
thank you, LC. yes, its a representative currency. the only problem is that i havent developed any governments yet, so while there is a government putting these out and backing them up, that government doesnt exist yet.
edit- moved to original post
Ok, I have other things to say, but before I do...
THAT MAP IS FREAKING AWESOME. Seriously, how did you make that? It is amazing.
I'm not 100% positive, but I think it's one of the old maps WotC used to offer for free on their site; nonetheless, I always loved that map, and used to use it for part of my campaign.
Do they no longer have those maps on site?
Quote from: IshmaylI'm not 100% positive, but I think it's one of the old maps WotC used to offer for free on their site; nonetheless, I always loved that map, and used to use it for part of my campaign.
it is, but i didnt want to keep it as presented, so i made a couple minor alterations (quarter turn clockwise, and i added a small lake near the mountain range... while i try to figure out how to make a larger version of the map you see, i can provide a non-scale closeup of that area).
yes, they do still have the map up, in the 2003 map-a-week archives.
So, I'm loving it. The flavor is great, and the idea of elf-bones as currancy is awesome. (My players if they were in this game would so be evil and hunt elves to make money) One question: when you speak of Cuatl, do you mean the Couatl from the monster manual, or are you going to create a new creature?
More in depth review later on, just my inital thoughts. :)
Quote from: High Seraph Xathan, The Risenand the idea of elf-bones as currancy is awesome. (My players if they were in this game would so be evil and hunt elves to make money)
Again, it's not that the bone is intrinsically valuable, it's that it's a representative currency that some government mints; to make money off it, you'd have to harvest elfbone and then counterfeit coins as well.
Otherwise, it's like saying "I hear that in the USA they use green paper currency. I'm going to buy a lot of green construction paper, and I'll be rich!" Just doesn't work. :)
I'll put in some more constructive comments soon; here's hoping for more Xiluh updates during this auspicious week.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonQuote from: High Seraph Xathan, The Risenand the idea of elf-bones as currancy is awesome. (My players if they were in this game would so be evil and hunt elves to make money)
Again, it's not that the bone is intrinsically valuable, it's that it's a representative currency that some government mints; to make money off it, you'd have to harvest elfbone and then counterfeit coins as well.
Otherwise, it's like saying "I hear that in the USA they use green paper currency. I'm going to buy a lot of green construction paper, and I'll be rich!" Just doesn't work. :)
I'll put in some more constructive comments soon; here's hoping for more Xiluh updates during this auspicious week.
Oh, I know. But still, my players would do that, learn to forge the coins, since the material for it is just walking around.
LC, im convinced you have the strongest grasp on this setting- me aside, of course.
Xathan, on the forgeries: while it is theoretically possible to do it, the time and effort it would take for that wouldnt be worth the payoff. if you think american forgery sentences would be harsh, imagine if it automatically meant a murder charge, too....
on the couatl: first off, thank you for pointing out my typo. i edited it, so that should be fixed. while i dont like how the MM handles the species (it feels like it would be much too commonplace, for me), being as poor with crunch as i am, im keeping the species as its offered. flavor-wise, theyll take the place dragons have in many settings.
Quote from: sdragon1984, newly found godon the couatl: first off, thank you for pointing out my typo. i edited it, so that should be fixed. while i dont like how the MM handles the species (it feels like it would be much too commonplace, for me), being as poor with crunch as i am, im keeping the species as its offered. flavor-wise, theyll take the place dragons have in many settings.
If you want help with the mechanics, I'm pretty good at monster building, so I'd be happy to help. :)
i think i might take up that offer; discuss it in PMs?
updated the bibliography.
also, i only plan to keep this thread going while two current elements get worked on (couatl stats, curtesy of xathan, and a more solid explaination of bias against yuma). once these two elements are more complete, i plan on starting a new thread, with more information up front.
until then, however, feel free to voice any thoughts or questions here.
I like this. I'm not partial to the few 'South American' settings I've seen - Maztica got exactly what it deserved, in my opinion - but this is interesting to me, for what it's worth. A lot of the good I'm seeing comes from the presentation - when it comes to revealing enough to tantalize, sdragon1984, you have a very deft touch. I'm really looking forward to more on the seven invasions.
I propose a central place in this campaign for alchemy, though not necessarily under that name. This will permit various kinds of wood, stone, leaf and bone to stand in for various kinds of metal item by the simple conceit of saying that an item with the mechanical function of, for example, studded leather is filled in this setting by bone and feather armor having been alchemically treated. This would permit you to add all the background color descriptions you wanted while simply c&ping the stats.
What books are you using to reference Xiluh? Just the Core, or are there any splatbooks involved? At first blush, this setting looks like it would be a perfect place for Incarnum...
And now my own personal vexation, the sky. I gather that there is one sun and one moon. Is the rest of the observable sky similar to that of Earth? Have new omens appeared presaging the rumored holocaust? Stars? Comets? Nebulae? Unexplained eclipses? Does the year/month calendar default to Earths as well, or is there something different? What about hours, and the daily telling of time? Is there any day-to-day need for seconds or minutes, or are such things strictly the purview of specialists and sages?
Quote from: DeeLI like this. I'm not partial to the few 'South American' settings I've seen - Maztica got exactly what it deserved, in my opinion - but this is interesting to me, for what it's worth. A lot of the good I'm seeing comes from the presentation - when it comes to revealing enough to tantalize, sdragon1984, you have a very deft touch. I'm really looking forward to more on the seven invasions.
thank you very much. my initial idea was to work a very definate fantasy setting with a very definate 'south american' tone. although i think maztica was an otherwise wonderful micro-setting, but it stuck too close to real-world mesoamerica; for the sake of flavor, i am more then willing to stray away from south- and central-american cultures when i need to.
as for revealing just enough to tantalize.... at the moment, most of what i have worked out that isnt shown here, isnt quite ready for a presentable format. hopefully i continue to tantalize as i go along :)
QuoteI propose a central place in this campaign for alchemy, though not necessarily under that name. This will permit various kinds of wood, stone, leaf and bone to stand in for various kinds of metal item by the simple conceit of saying that an item with the mechanical function of, for example, studded leather is filled in this setting by bone and feather armor having been alchemically treated. This would permit you to add all the background color descriptions you wanted while simply c&ping the stats.
What books are you using to reference Xiluh? Just the Core, or are there any splatbooks involved? At first blush, this setting looks like it would be a perfect place for Incarnum...[/quote]
And now my own personal vexation, the sky. I gather that there is one sun and one moon. Is the rest of the observable sky similar to that of Earth? Have new omens appeared presaging the rumored holocaust? Stars? Comets? Nebulae? Unexplained eclipses? Does the year/month calendar default to Earths as well, or is there something different? What about hours, and the daily telling of time? Is there any day-to-day need for seconds or minutes, or are such things strictly the purview of specialists and sages?
[/quote]
at its current point in development, the rest of the observable sky is similar to ours (in the sense that theres stars and constellations, but not our stars and constellations), but havent developed any signifigance. time is calculated just as ours is, but signifigantly less attention is paid to it; in fact, the only major attention paid to the passing of time, on a day-to-day basis, is the durations of spells. the calander, however, is something im having a lot of trouble with. i do think i have an idea i may want to work with, though...
as a side-note, ive changed my mind about starting a replacement thread. if this one starts to pick up, i may eventually post a new "basics" thread, but im going to stick to this as the official "the setting" thread.
Quote from: sdragon1984, ona'envalya[spoiler=map]<img src=http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/sdragon1984/xiluh2-1.jpg>[/spoiler]
edit- i apologize for the size, ill try to see if i can make a larger version
Photobucket buggered yer map!
Quote from: Cuirassier CYMROQuote from: sdragon1984, ona'envalya[spoiler=map]<img src=http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a99/sdragon1984/xiluh2-1.jpg>[/spoiler]
edit- i apologize for the size, ill try to see if i can make a larger version
Photobucket buggered yer map!
[spoiler=fixed]
(//../../e107_files/public/1155134704_93_FT6413_xiluh_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1155134704_93_FT6413_xiluh.jpg)
[/spoiler]
Nice and distinctive setting, though I haven't gotten through the entire thread, yet. I love your creation myth, concise but very flavorful.
The mountains on your map look quite good, too.
Quote from: Phoenix KnightNice and distinctive setting, though I haven't gotten through the entire thread, yet. I love your creation myth, concise but very flavorful.
The mountains on your map look quite good, too.
thanks :) i like to think Xiluh isnt the type of world where a DM will be asked why elminster hasnt popped up yet.
the mountains, i cant really take credit for, though. aside from the lake, and a few minor attempts to make the mount of the fist look like one large mountain, WotC map-a-week gets all the credit.
edit- and ive updated the first post with slightly more information on the seven invasions, and included the map in "lands"....
timeline added.
keep in mind, it isnt entirely... uhh.... finished.
Having a timeline is always great. I might recommend putting it all together, though, when finished, rather than in seperate spoiler tags.
i actually did that for a reason.... since ultimately, the history is going to be VERY complete, i decided it would be better to seperate the three ages, so the reader wouldnt be confornted with a million events in time at once.
after that, in the two instance where theres a story beind the events in the timeline, i seperated the story-section from the timeline section.
all that said, i probably can cut down a bit on the spoilers....
I am still petitioning for the cacao bean to be the base(replacing wood) currency.
Come on, give the chocolate a little love. ;)
Quote from: CYMRO, Brassica BrigadierI am still petitioning for the cacao bean to be the base(replacing wood) currency.
Come on, give the chocolate a little love. ;)
actually, i have two reasons for not making the cocoa bean a part of the currency;
1.) its too close to real-world. sure, the base inspiration of this is mesoamerica, and sure, real-world mesoamerica used the cocoa bean as currency- but thats just the point. i dont want the base, mesoamerican tone to get in the way of an exotic feel.
writing that, however, i realized how plain it is to have wood as currency, so i may work on that a bit....
edit- oh, i totally forgot about the second reason; actually, it was the light-hearted, borderline absurd approach of using chocolate as money. im just not sure im comfortable putting something so light-heartedly humorous in....
I think it would only be absurd if it was actual chocolate, not the raw bean.
Of course, you could go with those chocolate doubloons...An entire ancient civilization's trove of gold unwraps to reveal chocolate coins!
Of course, one does have to ask why bartering for wood in a continent where rainforest is plentiful is not a little silly.
May I ask what the rationale behind the exlusions for discluding core material? If it works for your setting, great, but simply saying "There aren't any paladins" isn't very flavorful or descriptive.
Nice map. How'd you make it?
How is the world mostly tropical? Is it a planet, or is it flat? Are there only two continents?
Where do all the creatures of Xiluh live?
Do the Sun and Moon have other names, associated with the legend, or are they called 'sun and moon'?
Your timeline is fairly loose, and I don't see any details of the events.
I don't see any details on nations, or any major events in history. I don't see any deities.
In short, there's not much I can review, really-- so I say, "I'll be back when there's more for me to say." :)
Quote from: Elven DoritosMay I ask what the rationale behind the exlusions for discluding core material? If it works for your setting, great, but simply saying "There aren't any paladins" isn't very flavorful or descriptive.
Nice map. How'd you make it?[/quote]How is the world mostly tropical? Is it a planet, or is it flat? Are there only two continents?[/quote]Where do all the creatures of Xiluh live?[/quote]Do the Sun and Moon have other names, associated with the legend, or are they called 'sun and moon'?[/quote]Your timeline is fairly loose, and I don't see any details of the events.
I don't see any details on nations, or any major events in history.[/quote]I don't see any deities.[/quote]
Snake
Jaguar
Eagle
Sun
Moon
(more to come, later)
[/spoiler]
QuoteIn short, there's not much I can review, really-- so I say, "I'll be back when there's more for me to say." :)
hope to see you soon :) thanks for the questions.
Quotei plan on creating a legendary swarm-based creature, working name of Ygrammil the many.
How's that swarm coming?
And just because I am not one to let loose of an idea, ;),
(http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:jGRxHwSf7GAWhM:http://www.toildepices.com/fr/plantes/angio_dic/sterculiacee/theobroma/cac09.jpg)
:-p
Quote from: CYMROQuotei plan on creating a legendary swarm-based creature, working name of Ygrammil the many.
How's that swarm coming?
And just because I am not one to let loose of an idea, ;),
(http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:jGRxHwSf7GAWhM:http://www.toildepices.com/fr/plantes/angio_dic/sterculiacee/theobroma/cac09.jpg)
:-p
its coming along good. at this point, i can think of multiple aproaches to various aspects, and im just deciding which aproach would fit best. the name, by the way, will be changed due to product identity.
as for your "idea".... not happening :p sorry
This is great! Hmm... I thought I posted the other day. Ah well.
Anyway, I love the elfbone currency thing, and what you've got so far is excellent.
Also, any mechanical things I can help with, I will ;)
timeline updated. mostly new things in the Second Age.
edit- and golem, thanks for the offer and the compliment :)
It all looks pretty cool. Especially that legendary swarm monster you mentioned.
Also can't wait to read more about the Seven Invasions. That's one of the more intriguing parts. Do the people of Xiluh have any written or verbal tales about the invaders?
Quote from: Realm WeaverAlso can't wait to read more about the Seven Invasions. That's one of the more intriguing parts. Do the people of Xiluh have any written or verbal tales about the invaders?
Aboot the Seven invasions, is this merely legend/history, or are these othre lands to be detailed out?
Quote from: CYMROQuote from: Realm WeaverAlso can't wait to read more about the Seven Invasions. That's one of the more intriguing parts. Do the people of Xiluh have any written or verbal tales about the invaders?
Aboot the Seven invasions, is this merely legend/history, or are these othre lands to be detailed out?
the Seven Invasions are believed to have come from a mysterious land known as Kunah. very little is known about Kunah, save that it only seems to be accessible through some unknown means. a good comparison, now that i think of it, would be the Indrist Road in the Jade Stage.
more will be worked on, and more will be revealed.
Quote from: Realm WeaverIt all looks pretty cool. Especially that legendary swarm monster you mentioned.
Also can't wait to read more about the Seven Invasions. That's one of the more intriguing parts. Do the people of Xiluh have any written or verbal tales about the invaders?
the Seven Invasions were recent history, but as time goes on, more details become revealed; the first couple of decades after the four year Raging were very secretive.
I orginally had this as a nitpick, but after going through everything again, it is much more than just that. All the information in your setting is scattered around. I would suggest that you try to gather it all together into one place which is convienient for you. I found that I had to have everything open in tabs in Firefox, and I had to go back and forth a couple of times to find information. You have some good stuff, its just too scattered around to make heads or tails of it without some serious digging.
My initial comments on this are going to be really nitpicky, but that's just how I am. Apologies in advance, I'm not trying to be mean, just hiting some points that are not really related to the setting itself.
I wish I could put this in nicer terms, but I can't. All the nested spoilers really just get on my nerves. I feel that it makes the thread seem empty. My opinion on spoilers are for information that one can skip over without much consequence. These, however, contian your whole setting. You probably like doing things like that, so do what you feel like, but it would look a lot more polished (to me, of course) if spoilers were used sparingly. Just me being me I guess.
Lastly (for the knitpicks), and this is probably the most kintpicky, it would look a little more polished if you added a whole line in between paragraphs and used capitalization. You have good stuff here, it just doesn't look that well done (no offense meant). Again, this is just me being me.
On to an actual review of the setting...
You have Clerics functioning as Shamans, and you seemed to have started the mythos for the setting, but you haven't really developed it much. Are you going with a strictly animistic or strictly polytheistic system for your divinities, or some combination of both?
Why, specifically did you drop some of the things that you did? Especially the paladin. I could see a paladin working in a pseudo-Meso-American setting, especially the alignment-variant paladins.
I'm confused about the dates on the timeline, especially when you get to the Third Age, which lists two dates in this format: xta - y; where x and y are dates. What is "ta"? Does the second date represent another calender system? This just plain confused me.
Overall, what you have is good, but its really too spread out to easily get through all of it, and could be just a little more polished. Again, I wasn't trying to be an ass with all the knitpicks, its just that they would, in my opinion, make it seem done a lot better.
Speaking of mythos, have you read the Popol Vuh? I've started (my boys are native Central Americans so it is more than casual interest), but haven't got too far. It might be a help to inspire some of the flavor of Central American mythos. Of course, Quiche isn't exactly Mayan, but it is the same neck of the woods.
Okay, I'm going to be putting Xiluh under the microscope this week. What things do you want me to focus on? What sorts of things are new since my last big review, and what sorts of things do you really want commented on the most?
Quote from: snakefingSpeaking of mythos, have you read the Popol Vuh? I've started (my boys are native Central Americans so it is more than casual interest), but haven't got too far. It might be a help to inspire some of the flavor of Central American mythos. Of course, Quiche isn't exactly Mayan, but it is the same neck of the woods.
ive taken looks here and there, but never any major front-to-back type reading. actually, the myth i have up is a blend of the story of the hero twins descent to, and ascent from xibulba, and the egyptian story of the contestings of Horus and Set. i do intend to read it further for more inspiration, but im trying to stay away from keeping it
too based on real world mesomaerica.
Quote from: limetomI orginally had this as a nitpick, but after going through everything again, it is much more than just that. All the information in your setting is scattered around. I would suggest that you try to gather it all together into one place which is convienient for you. I found that I had to have everything open in tabs in Firefox, and I had to go back and forth a couple of times to find information. You have some good stuff, its just too scattered around to make heads or tails of it without some serious digging.
ill keep that in mind. thanks for the advice :)
Quote from: rant on paladinsone thing ive never understood is, why would (relatively speaking) highly divine beings ask mere mortals to toil and labor, doing hard work that would come easily to the gods? you dont need dieties and demigods to know that Pelor is more then powerful enough to kill off the level 7 evil rogue that the pally is being asked to take care of.[/spoiler]
QuoteI'm confused about the dates on the timeline, especially when you get to the Third Age, which lists two dates in this format: xta - y; where x and y are dates. What is "ta"? Does the second date represent another calender system? This just plain confused me.
Overall, what you have is good, but its really too spread out to easily get through all of it, and could be just a little more polished. Again, I wasn't trying to be an ass with all the knitpicks, its just that they would, in my opinion, make it seem done a lot better.
again, no problems. as i said, having weak points shown is a good way to improve. since most of the comments were about my formatting, you can see thats a weak point of mine.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonOkay, I'm going to be putting Xiluh under the microscope this week. What things do you want me to focus on? What sorts of things are new since my last big review, and what sorts of things do you really want commented on the most?
focus on anything you wish; as the timeline is the newest addition, that might be a good place to start. the timeline doesnt contain this yet, but im about to add the beginnings of a government.
said beginnings of said government are in place.
when mages are the religious leaders, what, exactly, is the difference between a theocracy and a magocracy?
sdragon, I want to tell you again that I really enjoy this setting. I do think a martial priest would be nice; considering how warlike and devout the aztecs were, such an archetype seems fitting. Look at the Sohei from OA, as it might suit your needs without having to use something homebrewed.
Since the coatls are sacred, they could even be seen as coatle warriors. They'd favor feathered armor, use feather plumed spears ...
Quote from: lemonjoe, FKA sdragonsaid beginnings of said government are in place.
when mages are the religious leaders, what, exactly, is the difference between a theocracy and a magocracy?
A theocracy will have rules handed down from the divine through their agents; a magocracy will have rules handed down from the magi (and if they are religious leaders, it will be said to come from the gods). To the ley folk, there's no difference, but for you, a magocracy seems more corruptable in a fantastic world where the gods actually communicate.
Now, if dictates are determined through divination and not true communication with the gods, then the magi could actually be right.
Quote from: Xeviatsdragon, I want to tell you again that I really enjoy this setting. I do think a martial priest would be nice; considering how warlike and devout the aztecs were, such an archetype seems fitting. Look at the Sohei from OA, as it might suit your needs without having to use something homebrewed.
Since the coatls are sacred, they could even be seen as coatle warriors. They'd favor feathered armor, use feather plumed spears ...
i actually considered using the sohei, but in the slim chance that i decide i might possibly want this published someday, i would much rather have OGL material then having to refer to a ton of product identity books. the shaman class from OA would be a nice replacement for core cleric, too.
(note: if anybody knows an OGL source for either of these archtypes, please feel free to PM me)
as for the couatl, theyre legendary then sacred; while they are powerful ancient figures, it is accepted that there is little, if any, religious connections to them.
that said, expanding the exotic weapons and special materials lists is something i plan on having plenty of fun with, so dont rule out your plumed spear quite yet :)
Interesting new developments. This setting has fleshed out considerably since the last time I looked it over.
About the creation myth: I'm a little confused about the nature of the sun/moon relationship. Did the moon get upset about the sun's knowledge of flight because he was tired of having all his secrets discovered, and wanted to finally have something all his own? The story is intriguing, but I think it could be inproved by a little clarification of motives.
About the "fallout" from your creation myth: the current place and condition of the sun and moon. Does it take into account things that we earthlings can actually observe about the sun and the moon (specifically, the moon's changing phases, and its changing daily schedule through the sky?) You say that the moon is unwhole because its heart was removed, and that Jaguar placed them in the sky so they would not be together. Does this mean that Xiluh's moon does not change phases like our own moon does (because a full moon wouldn't be unwhole), and that Xiluh's moon doesn't rise and set at different times through the month (because our own moon is frequently in the sky at the same time as the sun.)
Does Xiluh have solar eclipses? If so, what religious significance do they have?
Also, about the Jaguar and Eagle. If the sun and moon are the "deities" of Xiluh, what are these animal spirits? From your story, they seem to be clearly wiser and more powerful than the sun and moon. Do they have any direct effect on Xiluh's people or religion, or are they treated more along the lines of impartial or unfeeling cosmic forces?
What I really want to hear the most about right now is the first ones/yuma. I take it the angle you are going for with this race is downfall, right? They ruled the world before anyone else, then they were cast down and became a slave race. My, how the mighty have fallen.
But that's really not enough to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me more about them! Is there a physiological difference between the first ones and the yuma, or did the name change just signify their fall from power? What does the word "yuma" mean? I assume the timeline entry "perversion of First Ones into yuma / Destruction of remaining First Ones" is highly significant, but there's not enough detail there for me to really see what it means.
What do modern yuma think of their situation? Do they lament the loss of their old empire? Do they even know about their glorious history as rulers of the world?
What was the empire of the first ones like? Were they wise? Selfish? Cunning? Benevolent? Destructive? Insane? Why and how did their empire fall apart? Was their own corruption and decadence their downfall? Did enemies band together and cast them down from the seat of power (and if so, what inspired this rebellion or invasion?) Did the gods themselves find disfavor with the first ones and smite them?
I feel like the yuma have an incredible amount of potential; their story really appeals to me. I would be interested to hear more about them.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonInteresting new developments. This setting has fleshed out considerably since the last time I looked it over.
About the creation myth: I'm a little confused about the nature of the sun/moon relationship. Did the moon get upset about the sun's knowledge of flight because he was tired of having all his secrets discovered, and wanted to finally have something all his own? The story is intriguing, but I think it could be inproved by a little clarification of motives.[/quote]About the "fallout" from your creation myth: the current place and condition of the sun and moon. Does it take into account things that we earthlings can actually observe about the sun and the moon (specifically, the moon's changing phases, and its changing daily schedule through the sky?) You say that the moon is unwhole because its heart was removed, and that Jaguar placed them in the sky so they would not be together. Does this mean that Xiluh's moon does not change phases like our own moon does (because a full moon wouldn't be unwhole), and that Xiluh's moon doesn't rise and set at different times through the month (because our own moon is frequently in the sky at the same time as the sun.)
Does Xiluh have solar eclipses? If so, what religious significance do they have?[/quote]Also, about the Jaguar and Eagle. If the sun and moon are the "deities" of Xiluh, what are these animal spirits? From your story, they seem to be clearly wiser and more powerful than the sun and moon. Do they have any direct effect on Xiluh's people or religion, or are they treated more along the lines of impartial or unfeeling cosmic forces?[/quote]What I really want to hear the most about right now is the first ones/yuma. I take it the angle you are going for with this race is downfall, right? They ruled the world before anyone else, then they were cast down and became a slave race. My, how the mighty have fallen.[/quote]But that's really not enough to satisfy my curiosity. Tell me more about them! Is there a physiological difference between the first ones and the yuma, or did the name change just signify their fall from power? What does the word "yuma" mean? I assume the timeline entry "perversion of First Ones into yuma / Destruction of remaining First Ones" is highly significant, but there's not enough detail there for me to really see what it means.[/quote]What do modern yuma think of their situation? Do they lament the loss of their old empire? Do they even know about their glorious history as rulers of the world?[/quote]What was the empire of the first ones like? Were they wise? Selfish? Cunning? Benevolent? Destructive? Insane? Why and how did their empire fall apart? Was their own corruption and decadence their downfall? Did enemies band together and cast them down from the seat of power (and if so, what inspired this rebellion or invasion?) Did the gods themselves find disfavor with the first ones and
smite them?[/quote]I feel like the yuma have an incredible amount of potential; their story really appeals to me. I would be interested to hear more about them.
[/quote]
again, thank you. hopefully this did a decent job of answering your questions. however, you can always feel free to come up with more.
A few responses to your responses:
Quoteon moon phases- actually, Moon's "unwholeness" is precisely why moon phases exist in the first place. keep in mind, a "whole", or full moon only happens once every twenty-eight days, even in our world. assuming night and day were consistantly divided equally, that would mean the moon is only whole 1/56 of the time, 29/56 of the time the moon is not visible, and 26/56 of the time, the moon is unwhole. thats just based on a crude approximation of our lunar calander.
as i have it now, the three animal spirits are on equal footing as far as power goes; everything is the sum of their creations, no matter how many times removed. they are treated in two opposing manners, almost simultaneously: one the one hand, they are very abstract forces and elements of nature and existance, and on the other hand, they are also very concrete, permeating beings. Eagle, for example, is the abstract force that makes up the sky, but at the same time, Eagle is every eagle ever to exist, simply because eagles are Eagle.[/quote]this is something i am having a hard time with, however, because that question almost seems to warrant the same type of answer as "what does turtle mean?" would; you can describe, and even define what a Yuma is, but you cant neccessarily give meaning to the word "Yuma", itself.[/quote]Yuma are, essentially, a devolved version of the First-ones. with heavy divine influence, First-ones were out of the picture very fast.... the empire of the First-ones was incredibly totalitarian. political efforts were split almost entirely amongst expanding and sustaining. the gods eventually decided enough was enough, and toppled the empire and the race far enough to allow the rest of Xiluh to do what they could.[/quote]truly[/i] sold me on the setting. They're high quality.
Quote from: shamanism 101(please note that this fits in with a poetential future model of the pantheon, and not the current model)
Sun is that which is fire; that which can be felt, but not touched.
Moon is that which is water; that which can be pierced, but not harmed.
Eagle is that which is air; that which can move you, but cannot be moved.
Snake is that which is ground; that which can can support, but cannot be supported.
Jaguar is that which is center; that which surrounds, but is surrounded.
[/spoiler]
QuoteQuotethis is something i am having a hard time with, however, because that question almost seems to warrant the same type of answer as "what does turtle mean?" would; you can describe, and even define what a Yuma is, but you cant neccessarily give meaning to the word "Yuma", itself.
i will add, however, that some words can have a meaning, along with a definition, and descriptions of individual examples. automobile, for example, means a vehicle that is mobile, automatically. a small spattering of words with linguistic meanings may show up in time, but unless otherwisee stated, words wont have a specific meaning.
QuoteQuoteYuma are, essentially, a devolved version of the First-ones. with heavy divine influence, First-ones were out of the picture very fast.... the empire of the First-ones was incredibly totalitarian. political efforts were split almost entirely amongst expanding and sustaining. the gods eventually decided enough was enough, and toppled the empire and the race far enough to allow the rest of Xiluh to do what they could.
in a nutshell, yes.
QuoteSuch a tragic story!
You know I've been reading Xiluh for quite a while now, and I've appreciated the unique flavor it has. But the Yuma have truly sold me on the setting. They're high quality.
thank you. i have had great fun weaving what would have otherwise been an ugly lump into the setting. :)
Alright, a Xiluh review:
Well, I know I missed it being the Setting of the Week due to time issues, but better late than never, right?
I did a look-over of this some time ago, but it's been a while.
Races
Points for being willing to stir up the norm, ditch races, and replace others. Does the name yuma come from mesoamerican folklore, or did you just make it up? I also like the backstory of the yuma being descended from the first-ones.
My recomendation is to due something similar with elves. The term elves instantly brings up European imagery (mainly Celtic/Norse). I think you could have a fey/sylvan race that doesn't feel so out of place. If you don't mind using PI material from D&D, you could use the Killoren from Races of the Wild. Even just re-naming the race with all the same flavor could work well.
I fear the same is true for dwarves, which also tend to inspire Norse imagery.
Classes
Good choices on monk/paladin and blurring the distinction a little between arcane/divine. I don't really have any suggestions, other than maybe allowing Spirit Shaman (CD).
Lands
Beautiful map.
Creatures
Were-jaguars! :demon:
Fire-giants? Kobolds?
Nice choice in couatl, of course.
History
Always a personal favorite, but I think I already reviewed your creation myth. Very flavorful.
It sounds like the second age has a very interesting story to tell, so fleshing it out like you do the creation myth would be my recommendation. I hesitate to offer details, because it's written like you already know how these events came about, but just haven't gotten to explaining it.
The third age is a little more developed, but we're left with questions about who (or what) Thask is, how the invasions ended, and so on. A summary might be more helpful than a timeline (though both are even better).
Also, halflings? Since when? They're not in the races section.
Money
There's already been a long debate on this. ;)
Pronunciations
Nice touch. More authors should do this. My website actually features a glossary, and I try to include pronunciations in it.
Overall
This is a very distinctive setting, and I encourage you to keep up the good work. I did not read every comment people made after the main thread, so forgive any repeats.
Quote from: Phoenix KnightAlright, a Xiluh review:
Well, I know I missed it being the Setting of the Week due to time issues, but better late than never, right?
I did a look-over of this some time ago, but it's been a while.
is[/i] never, as far as i'm concerned. feel free to comment and review whenever you like.
QuoteRaces
Points for being willing to stir up the norm, ditch races, and replace others. Does the name yuma come from mesoamerican folklore, or did you just make it up? I also like the backstory of the yuma being descended from the first-ones.
My recomendation is to due something similar with elves. The term elves instantly brings up European imagery (mainly Celtic/Norse). I think you could have a fey/sylvan race that doesn't feel so out of place. If you don't mind using PI material from D&D, you could use the Killoren from Races of the Wild. Even just re-naming the race with all the same flavor could work well.
I fear the same is true for dwarves, which also tend to inspire Norse imagery.
ClassesGood choices on monk/paladin and blurring the distinction a little between arcane/divine. I don't really have any suggestions, other than maybe allowing Spirit Shaman (CD).
[/quote]
LandsBeautiful map.
[/quote]
CreaturesWere-jaguars! :demon:
Fire-giants? Kobolds?
Nice choice in couatl, of course.[/quote]
HistoryAlways a personal favorite, but I think I already reviewed your creation myth. Very flavorful.
It sounds like the second age has a very interesting story to tell, so fleshing it out like you do the creation myth would be my recommendation. I hesitate to offer details, because it's written like you already know how these events came about, but just haven't gotten to explaining it.[/quote]The third age is a little more developed, but we're left with questions about who (or what) Thask is, how the invasions ended, and so on. A summary might be more helpful than a timeline (though both are even better).[/quote]Also, halflings? Since when? They're not in the races section.[/quote]
MoneyThere's already been a long debate on this. ;)[/quote]
PronunciationsNice touch. More authors should do this. My website actually features a glossary, and I try to include pronunciations in it.[/quote]
OverallThis is a very distinctive setting, and I encourage you to keep up the good work. I did not read every comment people made after the main thread, so forgive any repeats.
[/quote]
thanks, again. there werent any repeats questions, other then what youve already pointed out, so feel free to take your time if you decide to look over the comments and reviews :)
Edit- Moved to first post.
formt under construction, and cultural note added in races.
gratuitous bumpage.
Quote from: sdragon1984zombies:
the people of Xiluh are well convinced in reincarnation; simply put, if you die honorably, you become a star, to light the paths of others. if you dont, you continue your existance as one of those "others". this happens because there is no "spirit world" afterlife; even those who transcend reincarnation do not transcend the material world.
imagine then, the suprise they experienced upon finding creatures with neither the spirit of the stars nor the spirit of the living! these creatures seemed to appear after the Kunahites attacked the elves of Salanta Woods, and bore a resemblance to nothing previously known to Xiluh.
the only possible explaination, of course, was that zombies were somehow connected to kunahites. after only a few battles, the connection was discovered: Kunahites are somehow exempt from the normal path of reincarnation, and become these wretched creatures upon death. their spirit seems to transcend the material world, but their bodies dont. instead, the bodies rapidly degenerate into other forms.
Since everything else was covered in my last review, I'll look at this for this setting of the week review.
Reincarnation is an under-used theme in many settings, despite its importance in many religions. I salute you for being willing to join me in diverging from the classic D&D afterlife picture. Go circle of existence, go!
Anyway, it seems odd that your world would have different laws for different cultures. Do the Xiluhans just think they are reincarnated? Or do they simply not realize that the Kunahites are reincarnated, while their bodies become zombies. Or perhaps (maybe best yet), the Kunahites are victimized by some terrible curse (ala Pirates of the Carribean) by some prior people they conquered. After all, how do the Xiluhans know these people's spirits transcend the mortal world? Is their divination magic
that good?
Overall, nice idea and good for flavor. It really makes an enemy more horrible if they are not killable. Now if zombies in D&D weren't so laughably underpowered, they would be a little scarrier. Check out
Libris Mortis for some variants that don't suck completely.
As for your idea that there is no racial prejudice, it seems unrealistic, personally, but if you feel it is important to the flavor of the setting, go for it.
As I said before, you've got great stuff so far.
Quote from: Phoenix KnightQuote from: sdragon1984zombies:
the people of Xiluh are well convinced in reincarnation; simply put, if you die honorably, you become a star, to light the paths of others. if you dont, you continue your existance as one of those "others". this happens because there is no "spirit world" afterlife; even those who transcend reincarnation do not transcend the material world.
imagine then, the suprise they experienced upon finding creatures with neither the spirit of the stars nor the spirit of the living! these creatures seemed to appear after the Kunahites attacked the elves of Salanta Woods, and bore a resemblance to nothing previously known to Xiluh.
the only possible explaination, of course, was that zombies were somehow connected to kunahites. after only a few battles, the connection was discovered: Kunahites are somehow exempt from the normal path of reincarnation, and become these wretched creatures upon death. their spirit seems to transcend the material world, but their bodies dont. instead, the bodies rapidly degenerate into other forms.
Since everything else was covered in my last review, I'll look at this for this setting of the week review.
Reincarnation is an under-used theme in many settings, despite its importance in many religions. I salute you for being willing to join me in diverging from the classic D&D afterlife picture. Go circle of existence, go!
*thrusts power ring into the air as my circle mecha transforms* go!
QuoteAnyway, it seems odd that your world would have different laws for different cultures.
Do the Xiluhans just think they are reincarnated? Or do they simply not realize that the Kunahites are reincarnated, while their bodies become zombies. Or perhaps (maybe best yet), the Kunahites are victimized by some terrible curse (ala Pirates of the Carribean) by some prior people they conquered. After all, how do the Xiluhans know these people's spirits transcend the mortal world? Is their divination magic
that good?[/quote]needs[/i] to know.
QuoteOverall, nice idea and good for flavor. It really makes an enemy more horrible if they are not killable. Now if zombies in D&D weren't so laughably underpowered, they would be a little scarrier. Check out Libris Mortis for some variants that don't suck completely.
As for your idea that there is no racial prejudice, it seems unrealistic, personally, but if you feel it is important to the flavor of the setting, go for it.[/quote]As I said before, you've got great stuff so far.[/quote]
thanks :) hopefully i'll hear more from you.
Quote from: sdragon1984i would just like to point out that kunahites are more then just from a different culture; they're from a different land that, as far as anybody knows, could very well be from a different plane of existance. what works on Xiluh will work for Xiluhans, but that doesnt neccessarily mean it will work for Kunahites.
put another way: why do you think evolution didnt put Komodo dragons in antarctica? do you think Komodo dragons would react to the antarctic envirnment the same way, say, Polar bears do?
Bad analogy, since we're talking about the fundamental laws of reality, not the ability to adapt to temperatures. And polar bears live at the north pole.
Hoever, your point seems to be that there really are different laws of reality for different races of man. Interesting. In terms of D&D rules, if the guys are extraplanar, you need to know that since it has mechanical effects.
Also, can they be certain they kunahites don't become stars? One only becomes a star if one dies honorably. Maybe that doesn't happen for them very often, nor could the Xiluhs reasonably be able to simply look at the night sky and say, oh, that one's new.
As for elaborating on the prejudice thing, whenever two peoples are in conflict (much less actual combat) they tend to think less of those that are different. The line between racial/ national/regional pride and feelings of superiority is thiner than we like to think. The statement "I'm proud to be 'X'" implies that being 'X' is preferable to being 'Y,' otherwise there would be no reason to be proud of it. A lack of racial prejudice makes the society sound utopian and would be likely only if the different races are closely allied. Which is okay if that's what you are going for, but it does set a definite tone for your setting.
Anyway, I hope none of that sounded too negative, I was merely trying to clarify since you asked. Good luck.
Quote from: Phoenix KnightBad analogy, since we're talking about the fundamental laws of reality, not the ability to adapt to temperatures. And polar bears live at the north pole.
the analogy still stands. regardless of whether or not kunahites are
truely extraplanar, the fact is, they come from a completely different environment. they've evolved to exist properly in that envirnment.
like komodo fragons in a polar environment (or more appropriately, like H.G. Wells' martians on earth), they don't react to the new environment the same way native creatures do.
Quote from: related sidenoted rantwhy do people seem to think extraplanar creatures can smoothly adapt the the physics of the material plane, even when the native plane has radically different physics? realistically, a native of earth wouldn't even be able to adapt to another planet on the material plane. other planes have completely different laws of physics (subjective directional gravity, anybody? try telling me that wouldn't cause nausea...). how are beings that adapt to the "reality" of one plane expected to smoothly adapt to the completely different "reality" of another plane?[/spoiler]
Quote from: related note on yumathe reason yuma are the only race viewed as being inferior, ironically, is because historically, they believe themselves to be superior. the First-ones may have had a great and powerful empire, but they held beliefs of superiority, and determined the inferiority of others by superficial (and seemingly arbitrary) details. these beliefs never fully left, even when the First-ones became yuma, but with the fall of the First-ones, the beliefs became to be seen as dispicable, and dirty. since yuma were the only creatures to hold such awful beliefs of superiority, they eventually became fit only to be slaves.[/spoiler]
QuoteAnyway, I hope none of that sounded too negative, I was merely trying to clarify since you asked. Good luck.
it didn't sound negative, so no worries :)
note added on linguistics, in pronunciation section. also, timeline has been ever-so-slightly updated.
i now offer badges for quality reviews on Xiluh. retroactive badges will be awarded, and all badges will be sent via PM.
after receiving MM2 and dungeon master for dummies for christmas, i have more work i'd like to put towards here.
so, coming soon:
Xiluh calender (hopefully even complete with a holiday or two!)
Zombie stats, for at least one of the seven invading armies.
i know i said a calender and zombie stats, but first, some cultural notes that i hope to build upon. elves will be a big focus, but there will also be a few notes for general human culture, and hopefully eventually, dwarven culture.
Edit- Moved to first post.
the calender and zombie stats will come eventually, honest!
[spoiler= GURPS 3e ruling on magic]
Xiluh is considered a high-mana world, with some minor alterations:
when a character without clerical vestment knows any spells, they automatically get a -1 reputation penalty, at a cost of -5 points. this does not count towards the maximum reputation penalty of -4, and does not count as a disadvantage (as such, the -5 point cost does not count towards the point cost limit on disadvantages).
character with clerical vestment are considered proper shamans, regardless of whether or not they have magical aptitude.
characters without clerical vestment, but with magical apititude are considered sorcerors.
characters with neither clerical vestment, nor magical apititude, but that know spells are considered wizards.[/spoiler]
So you're making Xiluh a GURPS world? Or is that just a suggestion for people that want to use it?
That's just a suggestion for those who want to use GURPS. The idea was originally to have it as a d&d world, but between the openness of GURPS and the high fluff:crunch ratio for Xiluh, i might as well have it open to as many systems as possible.
that and, new systems are helping to provide inspiration, and new ways to to explain things that are hard to put in d20 terms.
This is going to be moved to the first post eventually, but it's going here for now:
edit- This has been moved to the first post.
The proper names of the days, weeks, months, years and festivals may or may not be posted; That's something I probably will work on eventually, but I wouldn't expect it soon.
Interesting stuff, especially the renewing cycles.
So the celebration week is not part of the normal calendar, meaning the total days is brought back up to 365, thus keeping reference with your audience? A good way to handle the issue.
Quote from: Phoenix KnightInteresting stuff, especially the renewing cycles.
So the celebration week is not part of the normal calendar, meaning the total days is brought back up to 365, thus keeping reference with your audience? A good way to handle the issue.
Not only that, but the 13-day renewal festival makes up for the lack of leap-year days. the first, second, and third years of their cycle is more-or-less the same as our years; Everything after that gets a little "wonky" (to use a technical term :p) because we have leap year, and they don't.
More on the week-long annual festival:
edit- Has been moved to the first post. :p
I see now... the calendar still has 365 days, yes? I see it's divided up a lot more logically and evenly than our calendar, which gives a sense of a differing culture, but doesn't deviate from the number of days or the concepts of weeks or months.
The zombies are also an interesting addition. The fact that other Xiluhs become stars and/or are reincarnated, but the Kunahites don't... and the fact that not every tom, dick or harry necromancer can just waltz down to the graveyard and build an undead army out of the ol' family, makes them different whilst holding to the concept of zombies as... well, rotting dead people.
Quote from: GolemI see now... the calendar still has 365 days, yes? I see it's divided up a lot more logically and evenly than our calendar, which gives a sense of a differing culture, but doesn't deviate from the number of days or the concepts of weeks or months.
It does have a slight deviation, as
all Xiluh years are 365 days, whereas every fourth Earth year (God, does that sound so sci-fi...) is actually 36
6 days. Though, again, that does balance out every 52 years.
Oh, and from a Xiluhan perspective, the year is only 360 days; The extra week of celebration is considered "outside" of the year.
QuoteThe zombies are also an interesting addition. The fact that other Xiluhs become stars and/or are reincarnated, but the Kunahites don't... and the fact that not every tom, dick or harry necromancer can just waltz down to the graveyard and build an undead army out of the ol' family, makes them different whilst holding to the concept of zombies as... well, rotting dead people.
special[/i], and not just generic undead people. Ontop of that, Kunahite zombies have even less moral ambiguity attached to them then bringing back the family. We
know the Kunahites were bad. There's no worry about whether or not the zombies lead good lives before becoming abominations of nature.
By the way, it turns out the zombie stats
aren't coming soon. This is mostly based on my discovery that I suck at mechanics :p
Any help you need with that I may be able to give. :P
Well I do have basic ideas (flavor-wise) for a couple of the Kunahites... I suppose there might be something you could do :p
Quote from: sdragon1984- the S is for penguin"... How can it be that the gods are wise enough to shape the universe and the world but lack the wisdom to give humans what they need to be human?"
-Daniel Quinn
Anybody who reads and quotes Quinn will get my attention.
My main question is: when you say the Seven Invasions ended, does that mean all the foreign cultures just up and left? Or do some remain -- either intentionally or they got left behind? You mentioned zombies have a connection to the invaders, but is that their lasting legacy?
They had to have left relics behind that have become items of interest among the Xiluhans.
Also you never really specify whether they came to invade an impacted the Xiluhans directly. Or they came to interact amongst themselves and impacted the Xiluhans indirectly. Sort of like if the Blood War suddenly came to a prime material world (ahh so many campaigns to run, so little time...).
Quote from: KeshFerrarQuote from: sdragon1984- the S is for penguin"... How can it be that the gods are wise enough to shape the universe and the world but lack the wisdom to give humans what they need to be human?"
-Daniel Quinn
Anybody who reads and quotes Quinn will get my attention.
Thank you. The role of the yuma was largely inspired by his work, as I'm sure you'll see.
QuoteMy main question is: when you say the Seven Invasions ended, does that mean all the foreign cultures just up and left? Or do some remain -- either intentionally or they got left behind? You mentioned zombies have a connection to the invaders, but is that their lasting legacy?
are[/i] the invaders, that's still a huge legacy.
QuoteThey had to have left relics behind that have become items of interest among the Xiluhans.
Also you never really specify whether they came to invade an impacted the Xiluhans directly. Or they came to interact amongst themselves and impacted the Xiluhans indirectly. Sort of like if the Blood War suddenly came to a prime material world (ahh so many campaigns to run, so little time...).[/quote]
The original intent for coming to Xiluh (if there ever was one) was quickly lost. The Kunahites attracted little attention, other then curiousity, until they made attacks. It is generally accepted that, at this point, the intent was almost purely for conquest.
Edit- What the....? I must've hit the quote button instead of the edit button....
Anyways, the calendar is moved to the first post.
Kunahite Hammer[/u]
This weapon was introduced to the lands of Xiluh during the Seven Invasions, where it was used as the signature weapon of the Hammer-Shakers. Since the end of the invasions, the vast majority of these weapons were collected for study, but it is speculated hat some still remain to be found.
These oddly designed hammers seem to be made of an extremely resilient material otherwise absent from all of Xiluh. These are to be treated as +1 adamantine gnomish hooked hammers, with the hammer end having an additional +2 against Hammer-Shaker zombies, and the hooked end having the keen ability against Hammer-Shaker zombies.
[spoiler=DM Options]
These are some ideas that, for now, are being left to DM discretion:
* While these weapons are the only source of adamantine, since most of them have been collected by governing authorities, it is possible to allow the rare pieces of adamantine equipment of other designs (armor, other weapons, etc.) to a party who has somehow developed conctacts with these figures.
* As these weapons were used by Kunahites, it would be justifiable to say that weapons "of such a design" (read: gnomish hooked hammers) are forbidden from being produced. However, it is also possible to say the design was assimilated into Xiluh culture, and that obsidian versions are available. Obisidan versions, however, should not be treated with the enhancments of the adamantine versions.[/spoiler]
A few events have been added to the timeline, both in the Second Age and the Third Age.
Does the fact that the hooked end of the hammer has keen against zombies imply that zombies are not immune to crits in your setting?
Quote from: Phoenix KnightDoes the fact that the hooked end of the hammer has keen against zombies imply that zombies are not immune to crits in your setting?
To be honest, I didn't even think of that. I'll have to change that to something else, instead...
Perhaps just bonus damage? If it were the bludgeoning end, I'd say disruption vs. the zombies only.
That's do-able... I'll have to change that later. Thanks :)
*bump*
This is partly to bring Xiluh to the attention of those who never saw it before, and partly for an announcment:
The CBG Wiki now has a (currently incomplete) article on the Xiluh timeline (http://www.thecbg.org/wiki/index.php?title=Xiluh:Timeline#Xiluh_Timeline).
Update to the Classes section, which will soon get it's own special treat.
There is one thing which I see as being missing from this otherwise great-looking world-in-progress: nations. You have races, and classes, and history, but there's not much about the different nations, the people who live in those nations, how their governments work, their ways of life, et cetera.
I, for one, would like to see some more of this, even if it's only as much as "[insert name here] is a mid-sized nation in the south-west of Xiluh, the predominant race is human. They are ruled by a fairly conservative theocracy, the majority of their foods are rice-based, and both the cultivation and export of rice is big business."
Just my opinion, leave it for a while if you have something else you'd rather be working on.
You're right, that is a very big portion missing from the world. I have a vague idea of what I want in that department, but I'm not really sure how to handle it.
As of right now, all I can say has been placed in the first post. I hope to get more on this, but in the meantime, I hope this is satisfactory.
Time for another review! I sincerely hope everything I need to read is in the first post...
Eagles and Panthers (creatures in general perhaps?) are intelligent, ala Tolkein? Very nice. I like your opening, really sucks me in.
Obsidian? So is it that metal isn't as prevalent in your setting, or that they simply haven't progressed far enough?
I don't like how you axed the gnomes, but I understand how someone might not like them. I'm curious as to why people would use the bones of other people as currency... Or are the Elves considered enemies, and that's where the bone-currency is used?
I'm on the fence about how close you brought the cleric and the druid. As it stands right now, I see no reason to have both classes. Perhaps one as a prestige class, but that's really it. I'm curious as to how you're planning on changing the flavor of wizards, who seem to need an apprentice-master style of training, to something that can be taught underground.
The map seems odd when it's turned at an angle, as the mountains are now pointing to the east... You might be better off making a new map. Other than that, there really isn't a lot here, except now I'm really impatient to read about the seven invasions.
Under creatures, are you planning on making all of those playable? If so, hats off and kudos to you. It sounds like lots of fun.
I like your sun and moon creation myth. Very cool. I'm curious as to why you refer to the moon as unwhole. Is there a piece of it actually missing or what? Or does that simply refer to the wax and wane, and they ignore the full moon?
Your timeline is a little hard to follow, I suggest seeing what a visual one would look like, it isn't terribly difficult. The Seven invasions seems like an interesting event. Were the armies working in collusion, or would they fight each other when they met?
I like your calendar section, it's as complex as most ancient calendars actually were. Is it actually accurate (one year equals one rotation around the sun)?
I'm curious to see whether your barter system actually works in a real game, but I like that it is period-correct (assuming you're going for early development). Will you be expanding the table with the approximate value of other types of trade goods (livestock, land, etc.)?
Quote from: Stargate525Time for another review! I sincerely hope everything I need to read is in the first post...
Just about everything you'll need to know is in the first post, but there are a few points of interest scattered throughout the thread.
QuoteEagles and Panthers (creatures in general perhaps?) are intelligent, ala Tolkein? Very nice. I like your opening, really sucks me in.
Obsidian? So is it that metal isn't as prevalent in your setting, or that they simply haven't progressed far enough?[/quote]I don't like how you axed the gnomes, but I understand how someone might not like them. I'm curious as to why people would use the bones of other people as currency... Or are the Elves considered enemies, and that's where the bone-currency is used?[/quote]I'm on the fence about how close you brought the cleric and the druid. As it stands right now, I see no reason to have both classes. Perhaps one as a prestige class, but that's really it. I'm curious as to how you're planning on changing the flavor of wizards, who seem to need an apprentice-master style of training, to something that can be taught underground. [/quote]The map seems odd when it's turned at an angle, as the mountains are now pointing to the east... You might be better off making a new map. Other than that, there really isn't a lot here, except now I'm really impatient to read about the seven invasions.[/quote]Under creatures, are you planning on making all of those playable? If so, hats off and kudos to you. It sounds like lots of fun.[/quote]I like your sun and moon creation myth. Very cool. I'm curious as to why you refer to the moon as unwhole. Is there a piece of it actually missing or what? Or does that simply refer to the wax and wane, and they ignore the full moon?[/quote] the full moon", it isn't quite like that. They acknowledge the existance of the full moon, but it isn't considered enough to qualify the moon as "whole". It would kind of be like saying "I may be just a head and torso right now, but last week I had arms and legs for a day, and in three weeks, I'll have arms and legs for about another day, so my body still counts as an entire body."
QuoteYour timeline is a little hard to follow, I suggest seeing what a visual one would look like, it isn't terribly difficult.
The Seven invasions seems like an interesting event. Were the armies working in collusion, or would they fight each other when they met?[/quote]I like your calendar section, it's as complex as most ancient calendars actually were. Is it actually accurate (one year equals one rotation around the sun)?[/quote]I'm curious to see whether your barter system actually works in a real game, but I like that it is period-correct (assuming you're going for early development). Will you be expanding the table with the approximate value of other types of trade goods (livestock, land, etc.)?[/quote]
The beauty of the barter system is that all items are of value, and all value is personal. Aside from the flavor that you mentioned, one benefit of this is that it better allows the classic sidequest of trading for wanted goods. Remember the old games where you had to buy two dozen chickens, and had to trade them for a cow ("I need something to eat, don't I?"), so that you could get a goat ("How will I have my milk in the morning without my goat?") to trade for a horse ("something has to pull my plows, y'know!")?
GM's may feel free to have tables of approximate values for goods, but I'm not going to include any myself, as that would just run too much closer to using just a currency system.
Hopefully this response satisfies you, thanks for the review :)
You know, I'm glad you started right in with the obsidian...might as well just scream, "Hi, we're a little low-tech here!", but in a subtle way. Nice.
Culturally, what does an average person live like? How about a wealthy person?
You have racial aclimation, dou you have racial integration? I know you are working on the political side, but it would help me understand the setting, the races, and give me an idea of the politcal landscape if i knew that our non-arrogant folk dwell apart, together, or in each others in-law apartments.
[blockquote=SDmyfirstyearincollege]Not being any real good at crunch, I worry that if I turn Cleric into a PrC, I'll be cutting out a large portion of healing, and if I turn Druid into a PrC, I'll sacrifice flavor. I'm still not really sure how to justify the differences between the two.[/blockquote]
MM. This comment says and reveals a lot. yes, clercis are there as kind of healer/fighter/priests, and druids exist normally as naturewardens/priests. Based on what i am reading here, I would recomend keeping both as base classes, but emphasize the healer/priest side of the cleric and add more fighter to the druid (and decrease some of the casting ability). You have a near-totemic animist nature setting here, so I can see jaguar-druid-warriors as druids, while clerics would become more pure prist/healers, with slightly increased healing (maybe lay on hands) abilities to make up for a little lost fighting skill. Just a suggestion, but it will help individualize the setting more as well as accentuate and take advantage of those differences.
Peaceful, zen-like dwarves. and the Yuma are not just the remnants of the first ones, they are the perverted remains. Ok. Are the Yuma like humans?
And you can have the non-divines learn their powers from any source you want, but it needs some source. Perhaps the books and teachings could be debased, partially misunderstood, and fragmented knowledge of the strange, metal-sheet books of the First Ones? Again, justan idea...but I can see it in this setting.
:ninja: Like stealthy ninja, Epic Meepo sneaks into your setting and takes a quick peek around.
I have a few quick comments and questions based on the information in the first post of this thread. First, I like the Central American theme. You don't see too many settings inspired by that region here at the CBG.
Regarding the Seven Invasions, what is the reason that the invasions occurred simultaneously? Was it purely coincidence? Or did the seven armies know of one another's existence and plans prior to their invasion?
Also, given the creation myth based on the Sun and the Moon, what do the people of Xiluh say about solar eclipses?
This has been an Epic Meepo stealthy ninja review. :ninja:
Vreeg, your post brought up some very good questions, but I don't quite have the time to answer all of them right now. So, in the meantime....
Quote from: Epic Meepo:ninja: Like stealthy ninja, Epic Meepo sneaks into your setting and takes a quick peek around.
Well, I guess nobody else is around to give any quick comments or questions based on the information in the first post of this thread....
QuoteI have a few quick comments and questions based on the information in the first post of this thread.
he[/i] come from?!
QuoteFirst, I like the Central American theme. You don't see too many settings inspired by that region here at the CBG.
Regarding the Seven Invasions, what is the reason that the invasions occurred simultaneously? Was it purely coincidence? Or did the seven armies know of one another's existence and plans prior to their invasion?[/quote]your[/i] doorstep, would you think it was purely coincidental?
In short, this issue was never satisfactorally resolved, but has since become a moot point; coincidence or not, all seven nations
did come at once, and they
did start a major war.
QuoteAlso, given the creation myth based on the Sun and the Moon, what do the people of Xiluh say about solar eclipses?
This has been an Epic Meepo stealthy ninja review. :ninja:[/quote]was[/i] that masked man?!
Warning: I'm not reading discussion threads, just the main post, so if you have sub posts you want me to read, direct me towards them please. :)
Quotesave for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.
simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races.
I'm going to look at this first. How did this come to be? Are the races just inherently not racist? Was there a period of time where their was racism, but they worked it out?
The creation myth is very fun. I might have missed additional religious notes, but what gods are there besides Eagle and Jaguar? Who worships each God?
When it comes to races, the Yuma are the coolest thing here. :D I really love the idea of the slave race being the former rulers of the world. How did the Yuma become perverted? What led to their fall? How did they create halflings and dwarves? Who created the First Ones, Humans, and Elves? What were the First Ones like before becoming Yuma?
A general design question: Why did you decide to put Dwarves, halflings, elves, etc into your setting? Do they add to it, in your opinion? Why not gnomes? (BTW, I see how halflings and elves work here - but dwarves seem misplaced, IMO.)
Finally, can we find out more about Kunah? It sounds like it's to Xiluh what Europe is to South America - is that analogy accurate, or did I miss the point? Why did they invade? What kind of culture do they have? Are they coming back?
Quote from: EclipseWarning: I'm not reading discussion threads, just the main post, so if you have sub posts you want me to read, direct me towards them please. :)
the vast majority of information on the setting is in the first post, with more information from later posts slowly being moved there. A good portion of the thread itself has some clarifications of issues, and there may be a few points of interest, if you so wish-- one of which will be mentioned later.
QuoteQuotesave for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.
simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races.
The races-- with the exception of yuma-- are inherently non-racist, to the point of lacking any sense of superiority. Until the empire of the First-Ones, none of the races could have even possibly imagined the very concept of superiority. That last sentence, by the way, should have an appropriate hint at the answer to whether or not there was a period of racism that got "worked out".
Hope this answers your questions satisfactorily :)
QuoteThe creation myth is very fun. I might have missed additional religious notes, but what gods are there besides Eagle and Jaguar? Who worships each God?
When it comes to races, the Yuma are the coolest thing here. :D I really love the idea of the slave race being the former rulers of the world. How did the Yuma become perverted? What led to their fall? How did they create halflings and dwarves? Who created the First Ones, Humans, and Elves? What were the First Ones like before becoming Yuma?
A general design question: Why did you decide to put Dwarves, halflings, elves, etc into your setting? Do they add to it, in your opinion? Why not gnomes? (BTW, I see how halflings and elves work here - but dwarves seem misplaced, IMO.)[/quote]Finally, can we find out more about Kunah? It sounds like it's to Xiluh what Europe is to South America - is that analogy accurate, or did I miss the point? Why did they invade? What kind of culture do they have? Are they coming back?[/quote]
The analogy is, indeed, accurate, and something I had expected to crop up sooner or later. That said, just because the analogy is accurate, don't assume that Kunah was intended as an allegory.
The main problem with the "how"s and "why"s of the invasions is, the only time they were really considered important knowledge was actually during the invasions. Unfortunately, the fighting prevented anybody from being able to figure out the answers to those questions. That's not to say that Xiluhans would dismiss any new information that just happened to pop up (read: adventure hook?), but there's not much reason to actually hunt out the information.
*bump* for new members, and others who haven't seen this yet. Also, a few minor additions to the timeline (try to figure out what they are!)
'Nother bump, with a new section, and even more added to the timeline. That's right, dwarves are starting to get some special attention!
Still no new reviews?
Well, there's more in the second age, now. Feel free to comment :)
Sdragon, I said I'd come and review, but I'm not sure what is new since the last time I read. What in specific would you like assistance or opinions on?
Quote from: Kap'n XeviatSdragon, I said I'd come and review, but I'm not sure what is new since the last time I read. What in specific would you like assistance or opinions on?
There's quite a bit that's new since your last review. Most recently, I've added a lot to the time line, specifically in the Second Age, and the addition of a calender. Also, there's a small section on Xiluh linguistics, which includes the pronunciations of various words (new words to be added to pronunciation guide soon).
Lastly, Ive started a section for adventure hooks, so any ideas are very welcome.
[blockquote=SD1984]Originally, this was intended as a D20-specific world, as the only other system I knew had a built-in setting. Since learning new systems, I've wanted to adapt it to more of a system-neutral setting, but not with much luck.[/blockquote]
I don't know, I think you are taking this somewhere. I think it has started to take on it;s own, 'non-d20' flavor.
you have learned how to spell calendar! (you gain a level in the language skill of your choice!)
x.
Your first and last adventure hooks look good.
[blockquote=righteous SD1984]Sorcerors and Wizards are viewed sorts of 'unofficial' shamans. This leads to mixed views, as their power is undeniable, but by some it is also unacceptable. Generally, sorcerors are tried to be turned into clerics, whereas wizards are strongly discouraged in all regions but the towns too small to warrant a cleric.[/blockquote] ok, i am having trouble seeing how these folks learn their trade. PLease help me.
dwarfs in timelines are not making sense. we grow, we split, we rebel, people execute us, believe us gone, oops, later in the third age we're back!
Calaneder rings very, very true. Any racial differences?
and did you ever answer my other pack of queries?
Quote from: LordVreeg[blockquote=SD1984]Originally, this was intended as a D20-specific world, as the only other system I knew had a built-in setting. Since learning new systems, I've wanted to adapt it to more of a system-neutral setting, but not with much luck.[/blockquote]
I don't know, I think you are taking this somewhere. I think it has started to take on it;s own, 'non-d20' flavor.
you have learned how to spell calendar! (you gain a level in the language skill of your choice!)
kongrajulashuns tu mi! Ei gt moor skil raynks!
QuoteYour first and last adventure hooks look good.
Thank you. I'm open for any suggestions for more adventure hooks.
Quote[blockquote=righteous SD1984]Sorcerors and Wizards are viewed sorts of 'unofficial' shamans. This leads to mixed views, as their power is undeniable, but by some it is also unacceptable. Generally, sorcerors are tried to be turned into clerics, whereas wizards are strongly discouraged in all regions but the towns too small to warrant a cleric.
ok, i am having trouble seeing how these folks learn their trade. PLease help me.[/blockquote]
Wizards tend to learn more through underground studying, trying to force a semi-logical view of magic, while sorcerors just seem to have an inexplicable, natural knowledge, akin to a prodigy.
Quotedwarfs in timelines are not making sense. we grow, we split, we rebel, people execute us, believe us gone, oops, later in the third age we're back!
Notice only one dwarf clan rebelled after the split, while the other escaped. The Saag clan is intended to be much more militant in their ideals, whereas the Saan clan is much more pacifistic. Also, it's the more aggressive Saag clan that gets executed, while the Saan clan lives out beyond the reach of the Empire (and was later discovered). I hope to be able to reinforce this a bit more with further developments.
QuoteCalaneder rings very, very true. Any racial differences?
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, here...
Quoteand did you ever answer my other pack of queries?
I could have sworn I did, but it seems that I haven't. Hopefully this will do for now, but I'll try my best to get to the rest when I can.
Yeah... I'm just gonna go ahead and skip the whole thread and review the information in the first post.
Racial Arrogance: Technically (I believe) that Arrogance is Pride without respect for others, but semantics aside, I don't think this affects anything at all. You can still have racist diplomancers convince people to kill all non-elves they come across. That's usualy the story anyway.
Traditionally, immortals like dwarves and elves don't like each other for stupid reasons.
Birds will poop on dwarves, birds live in trees, elves live in trees.
Worms are gross, worms live under rocks, dwarves live under bigger rocks.
Or a more sensible explanation, dwarves and elves live in very different areas from each other and seldom interact. When they do, it's awkward and unfamiliar 'cause they don't immediately notice common interests (one likes rocks and metal, the other music and wood) so they part with bad feelings and share them with the people back home. (WTF's wrong with that hippie?)
-------
Replacing orcs with a slave race of strong but stupid people is weird, but not particularly bad. The problem with orcs is that they're arrogant, so they'd never submit to being the muscle bound house builder for the crafty merchant, and will instead try to use they're best trait to gain advantages (muscles and fighting). This unfortunately leads to a spiraling decline in Orkdom as the orcs loose wars, being not smart enough to win, and then get marginalized to wastelands, leading to population issues, famine, disease and boredom unless they WAAAGH! on a regular basis.
You've taken the muscle bound retards, took them out of the bad spot, and put them into civilization doing some good. Neat idea, and is actualy a solution I wanted a PC I was going to play try to implement in some game next time I'm a player.
-------
Quote from: Sdragon1984Gnomes have no place within Xiluh.
So who's going to make my cookies? Or fix my shoes? Or make POTS?
The gardens! Think of the gardens![/joking]
Did you remove kobolds too? Cause those two races are intertwined in a racial feud.
If you removed gnomes, why did you keep hobbits?
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EconomicsAssuming that regular D&D has the same money system that we have, or even a similar one that the profession and crafting rules try to tell you exist is complete bullshit.
The people at the bottom of the social ladder are on a system of pure barter for stuff that they need. They'll never ever trade with stuff they can't use, like gold or gems or magic items, and they'll actually refuse to accept money under any condition.
The second level of the world is a more complicated barter system, where gems and precious metals and other valuables are bartered for something that can't be used simply because the population density and the market system is in place so that you will eventually find somebody that wants GP for his turnips and you won't stave to death with a pocket full of money. It's closer to our economic system, except nobody is telling how much a bar of silver is actually worth, and spices are not just used for cooking.
The third level of the economic system is the most ignored system because it creates a whole level of weird and evil that most DMs and campaign setting writers think is stupid and actively say doesn't work. This level is called the Wish Economy, where gems can be created in piles on a whim, souls are traded back and forth to power rituals or be released into their respective afterlife, and kings carry favor with celestials by getting sexed up by them. Essentially, everyone operating at this level is trading power and promises (which is a form of power you might not actually have). PCs enter the wish economy when they acquire planar travel and figure out economy destroying magic like
Fabricate.
Having a detailing description of worth of precious items is silly. It may be interesting, even creative and/or logical, but still silly.
-------
Linguistics may be fun to you, but I barely find it interesting. If I wanted to have fun with languages, I'd take some language courses.
I play D&D to pretend to perform heroic actions, make the laws of physics lick my boots, and create social interactions that simply don't exist for me in real life. I DM to give other people those experiences.
-----
Although the time line doesn't catch my interest any particular, I found the story of the Sun and Moon adorable.
---------
As long as we can play games within the setting, performing heroic acts of staking vampire queens or dragon slaying, then the purpose of a campaign setting has been fulfilled.
You're on your way. Keep at it.
The_Taken, I would comment on your review, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're trying to say in it. If I do understand parts of it correctly, I'm not even entirely sure how it's relevant to Xiluh... for example, where does it say kobolds and gnomes are "intertwined in a racial feud"?
Anyways, Xiluh has received a much needed spell check. It's still not perfect, but it should be much more readable now.
[blockquote=SD1984][blockquote=LV]'¦Calendar rings very, very true. Any racial differences?[/blockquote]
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, here...[/blockquote]
Well, we did well on the other questions.
I was commenting on the fact that I liked the Calendar system, in that is seemed very solid and real. I was also asking if there racial differences in how the calendar has used or percieved.
I'm liking this setting quite a bit, especially the timeline and the creation tale.
However, I have a few questions, stemming from the content provided in the original post:
What is the general size of each race? I'd be guessing not very big, given the level of technology and the fact that they all live on one continent, but it sounds like there are a lot less of the Dwarves than any other race. It sounds like all the Dwarves (at least, all of them on this continent) live in a single mountain.
I'd also want to find out more about how the different races interact with each other. You said that there is little racial arrogance; but how much does it swing the other way? Are there any Human-Elven, Human-Halfling, or Halfling-Dwarf villages, or do the races keep to themselves in their own homelands?
To add to the usefulness of this post, there are a few things I can suggest to add to your setting:
-the placement of a few volcanoes, at least extinct or dormant ones, on your map. That obsidian needs to come from somewhere. Active volcanoes could make fitting sacrificial grounds to the god Sun.
-If you ever go into detail about the weaponry, you could make something similar to the macahuitl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl), if you haven't already, or if it isn't already covered in a book I haven't read (i haven't really read any RPGs based on mesoamerican culture).
Keep up the good work!
Quote from: LordVreeg[blockquote=SD1984][blockquote=LV]'¦Calendar rings very, very true. Any racial differences?[/blockquote]
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, here...[/blockquote]
Well, we did well on the other questions.
I was commenting on the fact that I liked the Calendar system, in that is seemed very solid and real. I was also asking if there racial differences in how the calendar has used or percieved.
still waiting on the racial question about calendars...
also, in case you though I was answering your thread about introdicing an item into a barter economy without perspective...
[blockquote=SD1984]The people at the bottom of the social ladder are on a system of pure barter for stuff that they need. They'll never ever trade with stuff they can't use, like gold or gems or magic items, and they'll actually refuse to accept money under any condition.
The second level of the world is a more complicated barter system, where gems and precious metals and other valuables are bartered for something that can't be used simply because the population density and the market system is in place so that you will eventually find somebody that wants GP for his turnips and you won't stave to death with a pocket full of money. It's closer to our economic system, except nobody is telling how much a bar of silver is actually worth, and spices are not just used for cooking.[/blockquote]
SO as I sted earlier, the inclusion of a single valuable item will do nothing unless it's inclsion creates more transactions, whether by people moving dozens of items to buy it or by bringing more people into the market, or a combination.
But it sounds like this second level is at a place where precious metal coinds are worth their metal worth (which was the truth for hundreds of years in our world) . Is this correct?
Quote from: LordVreegQuote from: LordVreeg[blockquote=SD1984][blockquote=LV]'¦Calendar rings very, very true. Any racial differences?[/blockquote]
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking, here...[/blockquote]
Well, we did well on the other questions.
I was commenting on the fact that I liked the Calendar system, in that is seemed very solid and real. I was also asking if there racial differences in how the calendar has used or percieved.
still waiting on the racial question about calendars...
Actually, I'm still trying to think on how to properly answer that. Every time I think on it and come close to a somewhat decent answer, I get distracted by something, and usually have a hard time returning to that question until quite a bit of my thought process was lost :(
Quotealso, in case you though I was answering your thread about introdicing an item into a barter economy without perspective...
[blockquote=SD1984]The people at the bottom of the social ladder are on a system of pure barter for stuff that they need. They'll never ever trade with stuff they can't use, like gold or gems or magic items, and they'll actually refuse to accept money under any condition.
The second level of the world is a more complicated barter system, where gems and precious metals and other valuables are bartered for something that can't be used simply because the population density and the market system is in place so that you will eventually find somebody that wants GP for his turnips and you won't stave to death with a pocket full of money. It's closer to our economic system, except nobody is telling how much a bar of silver is actually worth, and spices are not just used for cooking.
SO as I sted earlier, the inclusion of a single valuable item will do nothing unless it's inclsion creates more transactions, whether by people moving dozens of items to buy it or by bringing more people into the market, or a combination.
But it sounds like this second level is at a place where precious metal coinds are worth their metal worth (which was the truth for hundreds of years in our world) . Is this correct?[/blockquote]
Uh, that isn't technically Xiluh material, as it wasn't me that said that ;)
But I can post the relevant information in the thread you mentioned, if you'd like. I still have time to work on that campaign, as one of my players is (unfortunately) moving at the end of the month, and that changes more then just a few things in the game for everybody.
First off, I love the fact that Xiluh is set in a Central America kind of setting. I've always been interested in the cultures in that area and love seeing them taking an morphed into a game play setting.
Sacrifice:I noticed that sacrifice was an aspect of at least one of the society's in the campaign setting. In Central American cultures sacrifice was used as a way to appease the gods, whether it be to bring good weather, have a good harvest, or just bless the ruler of the city/land.
QuoteElves have orange hued bones, suggesting a connection to Sun. This caused a religious significance about the bones, and the bones of ritually sacrificed elves are used as currency.
So my question is, how often do these sacrifices occur? The Mayans generally only sacrificed for Special events, or in dire times (The number sacrifices picked up as their society began to fall apart), however the Aztecs under certain rulers seemed to have sacrifices for just about everything, at times sacrificing people just to appease a crowd of onlookers.
Depending on the amount of sacrifice present in your culture, this could have a major effect on the daily life of people as well as you adventurers. Are Sacrifices chosen by a lottery for all people above a certain age are suppose to be entered into? Are only certain respected people sacrificed? What about criminals, is sacrifice a holy thing in which only worthy people may die by it?
Another thing to think about is how the other cultures (dwarves, jaguar people, etc) perceive this sacrifice. Is it despicable in their eyes? do they hold sacrifices as well? Do they accept it as a norm of life?
Civilization:Seeing this is a Central Americanesque based setting, I am gonna go out on a limb and assume that the buildings and progress level (not taking magic into account) is about the same? If so, do all the races have large cities, with massive stone structures and temples? or are some of the races less advanced/prefer another way to live other than cities?
Well thats just a few things I saw/had ideas on ^_^ Hopefully they help give you some ideas, let me know what you think!
The South America thing is great - you're one of, if not the, flagship setting for the CBG with that kind of backdrop. The feel is very much what I expect for a setting of this type considering my limited knowledge of the cultures.
The only thing I can really bring up that bothers me right now is the lack of things that players seem to be able to do and get involved in. I'd like to see more extensive adventure hooks, monsters, organizations (if any), important locales, etc.
Quote from: JokerThe South America thing is great - you're one of, if not the, flagship setting for the CBG with that kind of backdrop. The feel is very much what I expect for a setting of this type considering my limited knowledge of the cultures.
Wow! That's a huge compliment, no matter who it comes from! Thanks!
QuoteThe only thing I can really bring up that bothers me right now is the lack of things that players seem to be able to do and get involved in. I'd like to see more extensive adventure hooks, monsters, organizations (if any), important locales, etc.
I'll try to work on these as soon as I can. At least I know what to do next.
By the way, what about the
colors, man? :p
Quote from: Sdragon1984Quote from: JokerThe South America thing is great - you're one of, if not the, flagship setting for the CBG with that kind of backdrop. The feel is very much what I expect for a setting of this type considering my limited knowledge of the cultures.
Wow! That's a huge compliment, no matter who it comes from! Thanks!
QuoteThe only thing I can really bring up that bothers me right now is the lack of things that players seem to be able to do and get involved in. I'd like to see more extensive adventure hooks, monsters, organizations (if any), important locales, etc.
I'll try to work on these as soon as I can. At least I know what to do next.
By the way, what about the colors, man? :p
Orange overtone. Grey, green, and red are the predominant colors. The kind of grey we're seeing here is a sort of mystery-unknown type. Green is the color of the backdrop, which seems to be a fair amount of jungle (the most obvious one, maybe). Red is for the war, sacrifices, and similar traits you'd expect to see in a South America-themed setting.
Thank you very much!
A small update to the story of Sun and Moon (see if you can catch it!), an entry about the Mount of the Fist, and another plothook have all been added.
As promised, a quick look at some Xiluh-scious work.
I just wanted to give you some kudos for the Undead bit. Many of us (myself included) have universities and schools, and research, so magic and myth is a little less wondrous, but this little tidbit, where the folk find their expectations of the afterlife are at odds with their finding of undead evokes feelings that one rarely finds in a setting. A good bit, and a feature to push for often.
I like the Sun and Moon myth, and your tying it to the five day week. I was thinking after reading it that eclipses must be feasome events in Xiluh, as it must look like Moon is attacking Sun again...
I also wanted to point out the adventure hook with the competition for food. Without screaming it out, this makes clear the fragility of existence in Xiluh. My online PC's just finished a fight with some huge birds, way out from civilization, and one character (Dogife Snowson) took the time to dress the meat, since he is worried about the food levels. I can only imagine the importance of food in Xiluh, and that possibly, like many rain forest areas, that meat is a luxury item.
Quote from: LordVreegAs promised, a quick look at some Xiluh-scious work.
Thank you :)
QuoteI like the Sun and Moon myth, and your tying it to the five day week. I was thinking after reading it that eclipses must be feasome events in Xiluh, as it must look like Moon is attacking Sun again...
I want everything to eventually have an explanation. Everything should be tied to something else, and in many cases, things will tied to a few other things. This story is an example of that.
Since this isn't the first time eclipses have been brought up, I put an official note. In short, you'd be right, if such a thing were to happen, but fortunately for the people, these things don't happen. Your gaming storylines, however, may vary.
QuoteI just wanted to give you some kudos for the Undead bit. Many of us (myself included) have universities and schools, and research, so magic and myth is a little less wondrous, but this little tidbit, where the folk find their expectations of the afterlife are at odds with their finding of undead evokes feelings that one rarely finds in a setting. A good bit, and a feature to push for often.
I'm a little flattered that you think Xiluh exceeds in this area, but also quite a bit confused. I've always thought that the whole point behind undead is that the very idea is at conflict with what we know. We know for a
fact that everybody eventually dies, and that death is the final note. Once dead, always dead, and ohmygod is that a
corpse trying to chew the back of Jim's
head?! What in unholy Hell is
going on?!
And to me, that's what makes them scary. All I really did was point out that the obviously existent undead don't compute.
QuoteI also wanted to point out the adventure hook with the competition for food. Without screaming it out, this makes clear the fragility of existence in Xiluh. My online PC's just finished a fight with some huge birds, way out from civilization, and one character (Dogife Snowson) took the time to dress the meat, since he is worried about the food levels. I can only imagine the importance of food in Xiluh, and that possibly, like many rain forest areas, that meat is a luxury item.
Hrm. Interesting interpertation, and I guess it's just as valid as any other. I've always figured food was fairly abundant in Xiluh, since it's literally walking all over the place. The problem is that it's just as likely for the food to come to you as it is for the food to leave you. I think the issue here is not that life in Xiluh
is fragile, but that it
could be fragile.
[blockquote=SD][blockquote=lv]'¦I also wanted to point out the adventure hook with the competition for food. Without screaming it out, this makes clear the fragility of existence in Xiluh. My online PC's just finished a fight with some huge birds, way out from civilization, and one character (Dogife Snowson) took the time to dress the meat, since he is worried about the food levels. I can only imagine the importance of food in Xiluh, and that possibly, like many rain forest areas, that meat is a luxury item.[/blockquote]
Hrm. Interesting interpertation, and I guess it's just as valid as any other. I've always figured food was fairly abundant in Xiluh, since it's literally walking all over the place. The problem is that it's just as likely for the food to come to you as it is for the food to leave you. I think the issue here is not that life in Xiluh is fragile, but that it could be fragile.[/blockquote]
DOn't sell yourself short. There are things that are very interesting and magnified in a culture closer to sustenance level. And having to worry about your place on the food chain places Xiluh a little closer to that. I wonder what that would do to casting?
Just as a reminder, the wiki has a page for the Xiluh timeline. Since I doubt I'll be able to post all Xiluh material up by myself, other members are welcome to Wiki-ize more of Xiluh. If you don't feel like starting a new page, you can add some of the events missing from the timeline.
Quote from: LordVreegThere are things that are very interesting and magnified in a culture closer to sustenance level. And having to worry about your place on the food chain places Xiluh a little closer to that. I wonder what that would do to casting?
Sustenance level? I like the pun ;0
If SD is still using D&D rules, unfortunate spells like create food hamper a lot of potential economic plots for the PCs. On the other hand, if food is scarce but magic can be invented, then inventing a spell to create food becomes a higher priority. And there is president for divine manna.
Some minor updates:
the Races section has been reorganized, and there's a little extra on the timeline. There's certainly more brewing, though!
I really like your concept. It seems like you are tracking a calendar like the tzolk'in so you mght consider how the 5 days extra of the mayan calendar are dreadful days and how they affect the populace... 5 days of trying to avoind the consequences of the moon swallowing the sun. I like that there is an explanation of the extra five days, but that 3 of them are because that's how long jaguar waited doesn't seem to have a lot of umph... just my opinion of course.
I love the level of technology and that it is consistent. Also, the insertion of the undead in a world that has no afterlife... that creates a mystery as to why some people disappear and some stay... very intriguing. I'd like to get more story though... your descriptions of the world that portray your vision.
That their bodies had been rotting for three days before they were found doesn't have "umph"? I guess I can see what you mean, though. Those three days are kind of tacked on.
Thanks for the compliments on the rest, though!
By the way, there's a new region up, Xiluh fans! Take a wild guess what race I hope to work on next :p
This setting looks great. I have my own jungle setting, Tersnia, if you ever want to check it out. But it is radically different from this, as all the races are homebrewed other then humans, and it has more of a Indonesian/African jungle theme. Great job on the setting! I'm thinking that you really should consider what people are saying about chocalate beans as currancy. I love how animals have a certain intelligent aspect, and of course the great eagles and myths of the sun and the moon. It is very original, and this is one of the best homebrewed settings i've ever seen. Of course, i'm just a noob on this site, and to making settings.
"Noob" or not, that's still a big compliment.
The cocoa bean issue has long since been resolved. It just seems too weird for me, and I'm not going to include it. I do congratulate you for taking the time to read the entire thread, though. Pretty much everything that's needed to be known is in that first post, but I'm sure you saw that there's a few points of clarification.
Animals don't exactly have much more of an "intelligent aspect" then they do here in the real world, but they are aspects of the gods (as is everything in Xiluh), and the gods are, indeed, very intelligent. In this way, everything in Xiluh is "intelligent", in a way.
Anyway, thanks for the compliment. I hope you enjoy it as it continues to grow and develop.
The concept of racial pride and no racism is nice, something fresh if it's somewhat unrealistic, but still no lesser for that.
The yuma seem like a orc analogue, brutish but strong race. Nothing really wrong with that, though aside from the hairlessness I wonder what they look like? I'm picturing them like hairless Great Apes.
The elves have a nice twist, with their bones being orange-ish, I also like how you made some quick cultural notes, the note about the crushed berries used as a sort of make up is something that's normally ignored :D You also mention that Elves get sacrificed, who exactly do they sacrifice to? What for? How?
Now the Dwarves, the development of a zen like attitude due to their fortified home I think is excellent. It makes such good sense I don't understand how all dwarves with similar back stories have turned into this.
From the class descriptions it seems that there are no true Gods in Xiluh, just the totemic animals? Are Sun and Moon actual divine beigns? From reading the thread I seen that all snakes are Snake etc.., so if there were lycanthropes, would a were-eagle be a demi-god kinda thing? You mention Yuan-ti several times, are they seen as a divine race due to their Snake-like attributes?
You mention Moon is that which is water; that which can be pierced, but not harmed. Seems kinda ironic since he had his heart ripped from his chest :p
Now I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
The Undead are really neat in that their the bodies of people who aren't affected by the normal afterlife. Now I would imagine that there are only a finite amount of undead since once all the Kunahites have been killed, whats left to become undead? Also what about a half-Kunahite, would it become undead? or reincarnate? or something inbetween? Finally where do the spirits of the Kunahites?
From reading the thread it looks like a large amount of the metal comes from the Seven Invasions, would these weapons be considered unlucky or cursed? Or perhaps metal in general is seen as unlucky or cursed due to its association with the Seven Invasions.
About the seven invasions, each of the invading forces are completely separate entities with no prior knowledge of each other? Also, I gather that they are from the same planet? Finally, which group are Kunahites, or are they all/multiple groups Kunahites?
I like the currency system, however who is in charge of minting coins? Also while the elaborate patterns would make forgeries more difficult and time consuming, I don't see how this would deter people, especially those with access to materials for higher denominations.
For Coualts, I gather they're still the same giant flying winged snake monster. The real question is, the feathers, if they're a dragon replacement I imagine they would be hard to kill. How hard are the feathers to get? Is it possible to kill a Coualt without coualt feather armor and other extremely strong items? Do they shed feathers? Making a suit of armor from shed feathers would be pretty hard if they rarely shed feathers, so would some people be Coualt trackers shadowing Coualts hoping to get some shed feathers. Maybe even finding the motherload, a dead Coualt corpse?
Alright, I read the discussion thread and the main post, I did not however take a look at every link in the bibliography, so if I asked something that's already been answered, sorry my bad.
Okay, since my Firefox crashed last time I wrote a response, I'm going to quote your review, and then add in my response piece by piece in edits. I hope you don't mind?
Anyway, lots of new thoughts here. That's good, because most of the older member have already posted their thoughts, so they have little in the way of new thoughts, and a lot of the newer members seem to be a bit shy with mentioning their thoughts. Let me put it plainly: new thoughts increase my interest in the setting, and get me thinking about it. These factors help me stay in the mindset to continue developing. In short, new thoughts mean new material.
Anyway, on to those new thoughts:
Quote from: LlumThe concept of racial pride and no racism is nice, something fresh if it's somewhat unrealistic, but still no lesser for that.
Thank you, but I don't see it as unrealistic as everybody seems to. Personally, I think it's more of a different aspect of culture.
Quote from: http://www.wrestlingclassics.com/wrestlingppv/images/0904tt/bigelow-side.jpgBam Bam Bigelow[/url], you might know something is off, but if your first glance is quick enough, you might not notice that he's bald. You might not notice his flame tattoo, either. Since his flame tattoo covers his scalp, you may mistake it for very short hair, with only his "widows peak" as a tipoff that something isn't quite right. That's how I picture the yuma's hairlessness.
QuoteThe elves have a nice twist, with their bones being orange-ish, I also like how you made some quick cultural notes, the note about the crushed berries used as a sort of make up is something that's normally ignored :D
exactly[/i] why I decided to add it. There's more details to a world then those that directly impact potential adventures. To me, this adds a degree of mundane realism.
QuoteYou also mention that Elves get sacrificed, who exactly do they sacrifice to? What for? How?
Now the Dwarves, the development of a zen like attitude due to their fortified home I think is excellent. It makes such good sense I don't understand how all dwarves with similar back stories have turned into this.
after[/i] the idea of zen-like dwarves, I'm incredibly flattered to hear this. Honestly, I decided on this sort of calm, serene sort of dwarf simply because it
isn't the typical dwarf. The rest is the result of worldbuilding philosophy based off something Luminous Crayon said years ago. The main idea behind this philosophy is that the most important questions aren't who what when or where, but instead, why and how. Your response tells me that I've taken a radical view, and answered 'why' well enough to be convincing. Goal Achieved, apparently.
QuoteFrom the class descriptions it seems that there are no true Gods in Xiluh, just the totemic animals?
Are Sun and Moon actual divine beigns?[/quote] From reading the thread I seen that all snakes are Snake etc.., so if there were lycanthropes, would a were-eagle be a demi-god kinda thing? You mention Yuan-ti several times, are they seen as a divine race due to their Snake-like attributes?[/quote]You mention Moon is that which is water; that which can be pierced, but not harmed. Seems kinda ironic since he had his heart ripped from his chest :p[/quote]Now I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?[/quote]The Undead are really neat in that their the bodies of people who aren't affected by the normal afterlife. Now I would imagine that there are only a finite amount of undead since once all the Kunahites have been killed, whats left to become undead?[/quote]Also what about a half-Kunahite, would it become undead? or reincarnate? or something inbetween? Finally where do the spirits of the Kunahites? [/quote]From reading the thread it looks like a large amount of the metal comes from the Seven Invasions, would these weapons be considered unlucky or cursed? Or perhaps metal in general is seen as unlucky or cursed due to its association with the Seven Invasions. [/quote]About the seven invasions, each of the invading forces are completely separate entities with no prior knowledge of each other?[/quote] Also, I gather that they are from the same planet? Finally, which group are Kunahites, or are they all/multiple groups Kunahites?[/quote]I like the currency system, however who is in charge of minting coins?[/quote] Also while the elaborate patterns would make forgeries more difficult and time consuming, I don't see how this would deter people, especially those with access to materials for higher denominations.[/quote]For Coualts, I gather they're still the same giant flying winged snake monster. The real question is, the feathers, if they're a dragon replacement I imagine they would be hard to kill. How hard are the feathers to get? Is it possible to kill a Coualt without coualt feather armor and other extremely strong items? Do they shed feathers? Making a suit of armor from shed feathers would be pretty hard if they rarely shed feathers, so would some people be Coualt trackers shadowing Coualts hoping to get some shed feathers. Maybe even finding the motherload, a dead Coualt corpse?[/quote]Alright, I read the discussion thread and the main post, I did not however take a look at every link in the bibliography, so if I asked something that's already been answered, sorry my bad.[/quote]
That's alright. That's more for completeness then anything else, and there really isn't much in the way of practical value in the bibliography. In fact, some of the links are dead *coughShadowfellBoardscough*. If you're interested in seeing various stages of development of Xiluh, then by all means, check out the bibliography. Otherwise, it might not be worth your time.
Quote from: SDragonThe hairlessness is a new thing, though. Older fans aren't familiar with it. If you've ever seen a picture of (former?) professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow, you might know something is off, but if your first glance is quick enough, you might not notice that he's bald. You might not notice his flame tattoo, either. Since his flame tattoo covers his scalp, you may mistake it for very short hair, with only his "widows peak" as a tipoff that something isn't quite right. That's how I picture the yuma's hairlessness.
He still can continue to fly around chasing Sun, can't he? Seems relatively unharmed for a guy who literally had a vital organ torn straight out of his body, to me [/quote]
Touché
Quote from: LlumQuote from: SDragonThe main idea behind this philosophy is that the most important questions aren't who what when or where, but instead, why and how. Your response tells me that I've taken a radical view, and answered 'why' well enough to be convincing. Goal Achieved, apparently.
Thank you. I find it's a very effective strategy, too.
By the way, I still have more responses to your review in waiting, so don't think this is all there is ;)
Quote from: SDragonThat's not something I've considered, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for the idea.
Assuming you're the average American, you have very easy access to green paper. Do the intricate patterns dissuade you from attempting forgeries?[/quote]
Well the main thing is that American money isn't made from paper (its a woven fabric, which is why you can wash bills), and yes LOTS of people attempt forgeries. Counterfeiting is a major criminal industry, if somewhat dampened by advances in technology.
Quote from: LlumQuote from: SDragonThat's not something I've considered, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for the idea.
More then you know. Even if nothing else, reviews and such help keep my mind on the setting, which helps it develop further.
Quote from: SDragonI've intentionally left this issue unresolved. Not only is it practically impossible to figure out the answers to these questions, but the overwhelmingly vast majority of Xiluhans don't really care enough to know. They figure that if they were meant to know, they would know.
Extremely practical, yes, but it's a very large part of how Xiluhans see things. If you find it satisfying because it isn't an overflow of fancy information, then you probably understand why Xiluhans don't care to know more about the Invasions.
Quote from: SDragonAssuming you're the average American, you have very easy access to green paper. Do the intricate patterns dissuade you from attempting forgeries?
I don't really see counterfeiting being that big of a criminal industry. The payoff simply isn't worth the effort, and the newer technologies are making that even more of the case. When it comes to criminal industries, you're more likely to have people in simpler things, like theft, drug trade, or even murder-for-hire.
Personally, if I had to choose an illegal way to gain lots of money (say, a billion dollars), I'd rather just steal it, instead of spending time and effort learning how to fake it, followed by stealthily obtaining the required equipment, then spending even more time and effort actually making it.
Like others here, I like your "Mesoamerican" basis for Xiluh. It's a refreshing change from the "stock D&D Europe" environment. I'll admit that there's some degree of personal bias in this like, as my own setting also has a significant amount of influence from these cultures. The introduction text does well at setting the tone, though it could do with a few more little details showing the flavor of the region. However, it's fine, my biggest problem was that I found it a bit jarring and disappointing when the second paragraph immediately branched into some rather bland crunch about weapons. I realize that some people are more mechanics-oriented than others, but seeing stats pop up completely subverted any sense of being pulled into the setting that your well-written initial paragraph created.
Your "important note on culture" left me shaking my head. Granted, it's a fantasy setting-- maybe it's a sad commentary on human nature and society that I can accept magic and a bunch of other weirdness, but not that racism doesn't exist. Still, even if we assume the thought processes of the peoples of Xiluh are fundamentally different, and "us and them" mentalities won't inherently develop-- that is to say, judge Xiluh only by its own rules, it still doesn't work, because of the case of the yuma. Why are the yuma an exception? If the people are so enlightened and egalitarian, why won't they resent the treatment of this one race as inferior? And, if they don't, why doesn't it extend to other races?
You haven't really fleshed out the political entities in Xiluh in any detail, so I can't say for certain here, but it seems to me that the very existence of tribal city-states with clear-cut cultural borders also provides internal reason for the existence of racist feelings. You said that people do feel pride about their own group's accomplishments-- "people like me can do this." Why, exactly, does that not cross the line into "people who are not like me can't, and therefore I'm superior?" Even if they may not inherently feel that way, I don't understand why an opportunist city-state government wouldn't try to whip up some racist feelings in its dealings with a rival. If you're about to go to war with someone, it'll help morale a whole lot if you can get the people feeling superior.
But, anyway, let's talk about those races. According to your descriptions, elves are this way. Dwarves are this way. You didn't write anything about humans so that leads me to the question-- are you going to write a prevailing attitude about humans, too? I know we're humans, and there are so many different types of humans, so it's impossible to nail down just what your typical human is and does, but then... why is it so easy for other races? Why can their behaviors be so accurately pinned down? This is one of my pet peeves, I must admit. For that matter, if races really are so easily generalized-- well, it's another big point in favor of racism existing, as racial stereotypes often give birth to it.
On to classes: I'm glad you don't have a "fighting for good because good is good and that's good" class. That kind of thing doesn't mesh well with a realistic world view. But then again, your setting's world view is that all races can get along in harmony, so it makes me wonder why not have a "pure good" class? If nothing else, they can be the ones who enforce the "no racism" rule. Tell an off-color racial joke, get your head chopped off by the neighborhood paladin!
But, anyway. Your timeline is a little bit boring, because there isn't that much in the way of detail telling about what is actually happening on it. Were the Dwarves extinct, and what happened that caused them to come back? What is the story with this Empire? What's the story behind Thask? Or Yaxhuacon? And so on... I think part of the problem is that it's a rather long period of history. I'm also curious what sort of advancements in science and culture were made in this long span of time. If there weren't any, which seems to be another flaw that many fantasy settings suffer from, then why not? I do like your creation story, though. It has a certain Mesoamerican flavor to it that fits the setting. I'd take issue with the whole "eclipses don't happen ever" thing, but I guess that's one of those things you can just chalk up to being "part of the setting," however little sense it makes.
I also like the amount of thought you've put into the calendar, and the amount of symbolism that each period of time has. This is something that is very realistic, and yet something that I see is not often done in settings. Part of this is probably familiarity for the players-- if the setting uses an alien dating system, it makes it difficult for them to place events in time. However, it's still a nice creative effort that you did it. It probably also helps that a Xiluh year is almost the same length as an Earth year, so at least placing events in the long-term will not confuse players. As Moon as well as Sun is honored, is there any part of the calendar that is lunar instead of solar in basis?
On the topic of money, I guess I again must be skeptical. It seems like in something like a loose confederation of city-states, pretty much anything that doesn't have "inherent" value won't be accepted as money. That means obsidian is a good choice, but I'm not sure about wood or stone. These wouldn't have monetary value inherently but would instead have value because the state says they do. But what state? And if the confederation is so loose, why would other states listen? Typically fiat money only works because the authority issuing it is rather encompassing and powerful, which Xiluh political entities do not seem to be. What's wrong with gold? (I'm not going to mention cacao beans, honest)
There are some details about this setting that I like, in addition to its more general merit of getting away from the "Western Europe" orientation of D&D. However, in my opinion, there are a lot of strange contradictions and things that need to be fleshed out before it becomes truly interesting or noteworthy.
Quote from: sparkletwistLike others here, I like your "Mesoamerican" basis for Xiluh. It's a refreshing change from the "stock D&D Europe" environment. I'll admit that there's some degree of personal bias in this like, as my own setting also has a significant amount of influence from these cultures. The introduction text does well at setting the tone, though it could do with a few more little details showing the flavor of the region. However, it's fine, my biggest problem was that I found it a bit jarring and disappointing when the second paragraph immediately branched into some rather bland crunch about weapons. I realize that some people are more mechanics-oriented than others, but seeing stats pop up completely subverted any sense of being pulled into the setting that your well-written initial paragraph created.
That's the first thing I ever really wrote for Xiluh, so it's probably more telling of my style when I first started this whole world-building thing then it of my current ability. I've been meaning to take the crunch out completely, to be honest. This is just more incentive to do so. Thanks.
QuoteYour "important note on culture" left me shaking my head. Granted, it's a fantasy setting-- maybe it's a sad commentary on human nature and society that I can accept magic and a bunch of other weirdness, but not that racism doesn't exist.
is[/i] a sad commentary that we can notice our own achievements, and the shortcomings of others, but not our own shortcomings, and the achievements of others.
QuoteStill, even if we assume the thought processes of the peoples of Xiluh are fundamentally different, and "us and them" mentalities won't inherently develop-- that is to say, judge Xiluh only by its own rules, it still doesn't work, because of the case of the yuma. Why are the yuma an exception? If the people are so enlightened and egalitarian, why won't they resent the treatment of this one race as inferior? And, if they don't, why doesn't it extend to other races?
You haven't really fleshed out the political entities in Xiluh in any detail, so I can't say for certain here, but it seems to me that the very existence of tribal city-states with clear-cut cultural borders also provides internal reason for the existence of racist feelings. You said that people do feel pride about their own group's accomplishments-- "people like me can do this." Why, exactly, does that not cross the line into "people who are not like me can't, and therefore I'm superior?" Even if they may not inherently feel that way, I don't understand why an opportunist city-state government wouldn't try to whip up some racist feelings in its dealings with a rival. If you're about to go to war with someone, it'll help morale a whole lot if you can get the people feeling superior.[/quote]But, anyway, let's talk about those races. According to your descriptions, elves are this way. Dwarves are this way. You didn't write anything about humans so that leads me to the question-- are you going to write a prevailing attitude about humans, too?[/quote]I know we're humans, and there are so many different types of humans, so it's impossible to nail down just what your typical human is and does, but then... why is it so easy for other races? Why can their behaviors be so accurately pinned down? This is one of my pet peeves, I must admit.[/quote]For that matter, if races really are so easily generalized-- well, it's another big point in favor of racism existing, as racial stereotypes often give birth to it.[/quote]On to classes: I'm glad you don't have a "fighting for good because good is good and that's good" class. That kind of thing doesn't mesh well with a realistic world view. But then again, your setting's world view is that all races can get along in harmony, so it makes me wonder why
not have a "pure good" class? If nothing else, they can be the ones who enforce the "no racism" rule. Tell an off-color racial joke, get your head chopped off by the neighborhood paladin![/quote]But, anyway. Your timeline is a little bit boring, because there isn't that much in the way of detail telling about what is actually happening on it. Were the Dwarves extinct, and what happened that caused them to come back? What is the story with this Empire? What's the story behind Thask? Or Yaxhuacon? And so on... I think part of the problem is that it's a rather long period of history. I'm also curious what sort of advancements in science and culture were made in this long span of time. If there weren't any, which seems to be another flaw that many fantasy settings suffer from, then why not? I do like your creation story, though. It has a certain Mesoamerican flavor to it that fits the setting.[/quote]I'd take issue with the whole "eclipses don't happen ever" thing, but I guess that's one of those things you can just chalk up to being "part of the setting," however little sense it makes.[/quote]I also like the amount of thought you've put into the calendar, and the amount of symbolism that each period of time has. This is something that is very realistic, and yet something that I see is not often done in settings. Part of this is probably familiarity for the players-- if the setting uses an alien dating system, it makes it difficult for them to place events in time. However, it's still a nice creative effort that you did it. It probably also helps that a Xiluh year is almost the same length as an Earth year, so at least placing events in the long-term will not confuse players. As Moon as well as Sun is honored, is there any part of the calendar that is lunar instead of solar in basis?[/quote]could[/i] make one. Turns out, the exercise was such a success that I decided to add it to Xiluh.
As for the lack of familiarity with alien calendars, if any given gaming group doesn't like this calendar, they don't have to use it. What people do with my setting within the context of their gaming group isn't really my issue. However, if they want, there is official material to be used.
No, there isn't any
specific part of the calendar that's more lunar-based, however, the calendar in general is just as lunar-based as it is solar-based.
QuoteOn the topic of money, I guess I again must be skeptical. It seems like in something like a loose confederation of city-states, pretty much anything that doesn't have "inherent" value won't be accepted as money. That means obsidian is a good choice, but I'm not sure about wood or stone. These wouldn't have monetary value inherently but would instead have value because the state says they do. But what state? And if the confederation is so loose, why would other states listen? Typically fiat money only works because the authority issuing it is rather encompassing and powerful, which Xiluh political entities do not seem to be. What's wrong with gold? (I'm not going to mention cacao beans, honest)
shouldn't[/i]) wrap around crunch. I may end up taking it out completely, although that might make it that much harder to integrate into actual games.
QuoteThere are some details about this setting that I like, in addition to its more general merit of getting away from the "Western Europe" orientation of D&D. However, in my opinion, there are a lot of strange contradictions and things that need to be fleshed out before it becomes truly interesting or noteworthy.
Thanks, I appreciate the honesty. If you can't already tell, I'm going to add more of a response to this, but I'm slightly burnt out from writing at the moment. I blame Daylight Savings :p
Okay, time to give out some review badges. Sparkletwist, you already know you've earned yours. LC, you earned yours a long time ago, but it seems you've never actually gotten one. Dunno how I managed to miss that one. Joker earned one, but since he left, he can't receive it. I'll let him know anyway, in case he ever returns. Llum, you've earned one, too.
To the rest of the reviewers, please don't be offended for not having received a badge. I try to respond to most of the reviews I get, but I feel that some reviews simply don't warrant more then that. This shouldn't discourage you from posting further reviews later on-- in fact, I hope for the opposite! The more quality reviews I get, the more badges I give. I feel that's a fair system for my badges.
Ok, finally getting down to a bit of reviewing on this.
I like your calendar. I find the five day celebration to be particularly interesting. I know you mentioned the conflict between Horus and Set from Egyptian myth as inspirtation. Well I was wondering if this too, had Egyptian influence? It reminds me of a story of how Thoth in a game of chance won 1/72 of the Moon's time in the sky, which he tacked on to the end of the 360 day year (no coincidence that it is the same number as there are degrees in a circle) to make 5 extra days in which Nuit--I think it was Nuit, but I could be mistaken--could give birth.
I want to hear more about:
Sacrifice--You've mentioned elves are sacrificed & their bones used for money. What role does the sacrifice itself play in Xiluh? Who performs the Sacrifices? Are there different kinds of sacrifices and different occasions for sacrifice? Who attends a sacrifice? Is it a massive public ceremony or a quiet solemn ritual? In any case there's bound to be some ritual behind a sacrifice, so elaborate: is the sacrifice performed with a special knife? Is there a special place for it, or is it done on a multi-purpose altar? I could go on for quite some time asking questions about the specifics of sacrifice, but I will leave you these as examples of the kind of details that would make this come alive, and leave the rest to you.
Astronomy--Youve suggested that they can locate the new stars of the reincarnated, so I want to know what else they do. What knowledge do they gain from studying the stars? Who engages in astronomy? Are there those whose job it is to study the stars, does that fall under the duties of shamans and druids?
Speaking of Shamans and Druids, lets talk about classes. I am concerned with the likening of clerics and druids. In a nature oriented culture the Druid seems to cover both roles to me. If you replace the Cleric class with a shaman class, it might work, and there have been previous suggestions that might hold potential. I'm not saying that you should drop clerics, but I think you need to make sure that if you have them both, they are distinct enough in purpose to avoid redundancy.
You say you're removing the paladin, and incorporating that role into the monk, but I have heard nothing else about the monk. What role do THEY serve? How do monks fit into this setting any better than paladins, especially if they are taking on aspects of the paladin?
I'm also not sure why wizards and sorcerers are here, besides the fact that they are D&D classes, and there are players of these classes to appease. That sounds harsh, but I don't see a real distinct place for them. They are "unofficial shamans," but if you have Clerics that are the real shamans, then why do you need unofficial ones too? And why two classes of unofficial shamans?
Someone mentioned/suggested totemism with druids, I believe. If you are thinking to keep the barbarian class in Xiluh, then you may want to consider the Totemic Barbarian variants.
Something unrelated that may or may not interest you in the least:
The Incas had a special breed of hairless temple dog called the Xoloitzcuintle (Show-LOW-its-KEENT-lay), which actually still exists, although few are aware of them. Their toes have three knuckles, unlike the usual two for dogs, and their feet are webbed. If you were interested in just playing with flavor and perhaps having a fun alternative animal companion, it might be worth considering.
So all in all, nice flavor, but could do with expansion and elaboration. I'm concerned with some specifics, but these might simply require an explanation. Good luck.
~Seraph
Well, if I'm on a roll I may as well keep going, right? You're next, Fristo-man!
QuoteOnly 150 years after The Seven Invasions, the world of Xiluh begins to change- some say as if preparing itself for a catastrophic event. The wise eagles, which once proudly shared their wisdom of the land now take a reclusive nature, Meanwhile, many of the jaguars, once peaceful protectors and companions of powerful shamans now abandon such posts.
Travelers from lands even more exotic then the fabled Valley of Thenta lend to rumors of when and what could such an event be. Many claim that the couatl and sun worshiping guilds may be the only ones safe. Only time, and possibly a few strokes of luck, may tell.
Most weaponry is made out of obsidian ( -1ATK/+1DMG for piercing and slashing, non-ranged weapons require a shatter roll on natural ones, and allow shatter rolls for an extra x2 DMG on criticals). However, the rare metal and stone weapons, introduced by one of the seven invasions can be found, at a price.[/quote]the bones of ritually sacrificed elves are used as currency.[/quote]
wicked awesome[/b].
QuoteElven males typically resent open displays of emotion
Are they too shy? Proud? What is it?
Your dwarves are different...but make sense.
Ah, that's it for now.
Quote from: Ninja D!QuoteElven males typically resent open displays of emotion
I got the impression that it was pride (maybe that's just because of the old elven stereotypes). Although it felt to me as if these elves were kind of like the Vulcans from Star Trek. Although I suppose the specification against displays of emotion differentiates them from the Vulcans who don't feel emotion in the first place.
Two unsolicited quality reviews! I'll get to responding when I can, but in the meantime:
Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumQuote from: Ninja D!QuoteElven males typically resent open displays of emotion
I got the impression that it was pride (maybe that's just because of the old elven stereotypes). Although it felt to me as if these elves were kind of like the Vulcans from Star Trek. Although I suppose the specification against displays of emotion differentiates them from the Vulcans who don't feel emotion in the first place.
It's not so much pride, as it is a sort of reservation. To them, it's almost a form of self control. It's similar to the idea of a few scattered golf claps counting as "and the crowd goes wild".
Seraphine, your Vulcan analogy is halfway there. Halfway, is in, an analogy involving half Vulcans might be a bit more accurate ;)
[ooc]Alright this is just the reposting of a few questions of mine, trying to stir up some interest in Xiluh again. Ignore it if you wish :D[/ooc]
Now I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
About the seven invasions, each of the invading forces are completely separate entities with no prior knowledge of each other?
For Coualts, I gather they're still the same giant flying winged snake monster. The real question is, the feathers, if they're a dragon replacement I imagine they would be hard to kill. How hard are the feathers to get? Is it possible to kill a Coualt without coualt feather armor and other extremely strong items? Do they shed feathers? Making a suit of armor from shed feathers would be pretty hard if they rarely shed feathers, so would some people be Coualt trackers shadowing Coualts hoping to get some shed feathers. Maybe even finding the motherload, a dead Coualt corpse?
Quote from: LlumNow I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
I'll get to this one later. Eventually. I hope.
QuoteAbout the seven invasions, each of the invading forces are completely separate entities with no prior knowledge of each other?
For Coualts, I gather they're still the same giant flying winged snake monster. The real question is, the feathers, if they're a dragon replacement I imagine they would be hard to kill. How hard are the feathers to get? Is it possible to kill a Coualt without coualt feather armor and other extremely strong items? Do they shed feathers? Making a suit of armor from shed feathers would be pretty hard if they rarely shed feathers, so would some people be Coualt trackers shadowing Coualts hoping to get some shed feathers. Maybe even finding the motherload, a dead Coualt corpse?[/quote]
Killing a Couatl is both highly dangerous and highly taboo. Killing one for the feathers would be akin to killing a demigod for his left toenail; even if you survive the incident, you'll still be shunned and despised by many. It's not in your best interest to try this.
Really, the best chance you have to get the feathers is to find a corpse. This is only slightly easier then killing one yourself, as the bodies are taken by the gods pretty fast, but for some, the renown is well worth the effort.
I think I still have some reviews to get to, but I've been busy. This post is a bit about religion in Xiluh. Partly for the sake of understanding, and partly to help me with consistency.
Xiluh religion is a polytheistic panentheism, with three major gods-- Eagle, Jaguar, and Snake-- and two lesser gods-- Sun and Moon. Although all five gods are within everything in the natural world, it's at different rates for different things. Because of this, the Shamanic practices may appear to be animistic. Really, it's just a matter of finding the right proportions of the gods in a desired effect, and then forming the right diplomatic actions in those proportions; if one god is obviously dominant in an area, appealing to another won't work nearly as well. Divinatory rituals are a matter of finding those proportions in various phenomena, noting any changes, and predicting the effects.
Quote from: Halfling FritosI think I still have some reviews to get to, but I've been busy. This post is a bit about religion in Xiluh. Partly for the sake of understanding, and partly to help me with consistency.
Xiluh religion is a polytheistic panentheism, with three major gods-- Eagle, Jaguar, and Snake-- and two lesser gods-- Sun and Moon. Although all five gods are within everything in the natural world, it's at different rates for different things. Because of this, the Shamanic practices may appear to be animistic. Really, it's just a matter of finding the right proportions of the gods in a desired effect, and then forming the right diplomatic actions in those proportions; if one god is obviously dominant in an area, appealing to another won't work nearly as well. Divinatory rituals are a matter of finding those proportions in various phenomena, noting any changes, and predicting the effects.
You had a good time last night on IRC, didn't you?
How are lesser spirits related to the gods?
I really did. I was a little bummed to find that activity died down since the start of my absence, but I still enjoyed the conversations. Hopefully I'll be back soon.
I'm not sure I understand the second question. By "lesser spirits", are you referring to Sun and Moon, or are you referring to the mention of animism? If it's the former, then they're still gods, just not quite as abstracted as the major gods. If it's the latter, then I may have been misleading. There isn't actually any animism, the shamanic practices only make it seem so, from an outside perspective.
Although the gods are within everything, it's at different rates and ratios. Some things may have a strong presence of one (or more) of the gods, while other things may have a weaker presence. Fire, for example, might be stronger with Sun, but shadows might be stronger with Moon, or silence might be stronger with Jaguar. All gods are present in all of these things, but you might not get a proper pyromagical effect if you're appealing to the wrong god, or appealing to the right god in the wrong way. These subtle nuances make it appear like animism ("you're praying to the sky to make rain so that those forest fires can be put out!"), but that's only superficial. It's still a polytheistic panentheism ("I'm trying to balance subtle diplomatic approaches in an attempt to ask the gods to have rain put out those fires.").
Nechui[/b]
Nechui are small bug eating creatures, with a build that some compare to monkeys, and others compare to lizards. They are notable for a few reasons. Although they are known to exist in abundance, they are very rarely found; it has been said that for every one nechu that a man can see, there are twenty twenties of nechui that he cannot see. Also, while typically slow creatures, a nechu provoked to a chase can reach great speeds, outrunning all hunters but those trained to catch nechui. The difficulty in hunting nechui, along with the flavor of a chased nechu, have made nechu-meat something of a delicacy among some human tribes.
Also of note is the coat of nechui. Like other animals, nechui are adorned with a decorative coat. Unlike other animals, however, the coat of nechui is not that of feathers or scales or fur. Instead, it is a lush green herb, which allows them to blend in with the land they live in. Although nechu-meat is a valid source of food, nechu-grass is forbidden by the gods, to all but the shamans. Nechu-grass properly obtained by a shaman has uses in a variety of rituals and can be prepared into many salves and ointments.
[spoiler=OOC]That's right, Nomadic's Chia pets have come alive and entered Xiluh![/spoiler]
Quote from: Halfling FritosNechui[/b]
Nechui are small bug eating creatures, with a build that some compare to monkeys, and others compare to lizards. They are notable for a few reasons. Although they are known to exist in abundance, they are very rarely found; it has been said that for every one nechu that a man can see, there are twenty twenties of nechui that he cannot see. Also, while typically slow creatures, a nechu provoked to a chase can reach great speeds, outrunning all hunters but those trained to catch nechui. The difficulty in hunting nechui, along with the flavor of a chased nechu, have made nechu-meat something of a delicacy among some human tribes.
Also of note is the coat of nechui. Like other animals, nechui are adorned with a decorative coat. Unlike other animals, however, the coat of nechui is not that of feathers or scales or fur. Instead, it is a lush green herb, which allows them to blend in with the land they live in. Although nechu-meat is a valid source of food, nechu-grass is forbidden by the gods, to all but the shamans. Nechu-grass properly obtained by a shaman has uses in a variety of rituals and can be prepared into many salves and ointments.
[spoiler=OOC]That's right, Nomadic's Chia pets have come alive and entered Xiluh![/spoiler]
... I love it! Words cannot express how cool I find the Nechui! You have definitely earned this:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/RHO1/Awesomeaward223.png) (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.150#post_65292)
[spoiler=Code that links back to the post]
[link=http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.150#post_65292] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/RHO1/Awesomeaward223.png[/img] [/spoiler]
Thanks! That's now in my sig.
Should the nechui be added to the first post?
Some slight updates. A badge to the first person who can guess what changes I've made today!
I'd like to go off the record for a moment, and say that there is a slim possibility that I might stop posting major updates to Xiluh. There are reasons for this which I'd rather not get into, but development is still going on. In fact, it may going stronger now than it had been for many times previously.
Minor updates, however, will continue either way, and as always, comments, critiques, reviews, and even ideas are always welcome.
Here's my review as promised!
Edition Wars: Are you still looking at using 3E for this? Are you going to port over to Pathfinder or give 4E a try? Either way, I'm always available for crunch help (I've got to earn my title back for next year since I wasn't around this year).
Racial Arrogance: What happened in this world to make it so racial arrogance never developed, especially in humans (it is such a human quality). Was it simply the creation of the Yuma and the destruction of the first-ones? Or is it a more modern concept?
Elves: Aside from their stats, what makes your elves elves still? They're warriors and the men are stoic while the women are pretty. Do you use at least one of the elven tropes with them (being very magical or in tune with nature)? Just curious here: If it looks like a chicken but it quacks like a duck, I'm confused.
Dwarfs: I like the way they act and their place in history, and their unique status of having the largest settlements. While I know I just was confused about elves not seeming elfie enough, I see calm serene dwarfs as very fitting; those are earth qualities. Why was Marg so gungho about killing off the Saag clan of dwarfs?
Cultural Influences: Again, I love the mesoamerican influences; not enough settings draw upon it for inspiration. I'd like to see ritual battles taking place here along with the sacrifices. I do enjoy the warriors pride seen in human and elven males.
Classes: Are you going to re-theme the monk as a divine class? If you would like help modifying it to be a 1-4th level caster like the Paladin/Ranger, I already have a structure for it (Originally designed to be a Psionic Monk, it could be altered to divine easily enough). Why is it that they try to turn sorcerers into clerics but not wizards; clerics seem to have more in common with wizards because of the whole long apprenticeship thing. Or is sorcery something developed rather than inborn? Or is it that being a cleric is partially inborn?
Bestiary: I love the selection of animals and monsters; very well themed. The nechui are interesting too. Are all jaguars, eagles, and snakes intelligent, or only some?
Numbers: I notice the calendar has a necessary leap day every four years, but they are collected together every 52 years (13 periods) in one big celebration. Was there a significance to the number 13? I also notice that 20 seems to be a significant number (20 days in a month, and money increases by a factor of 20 for each denomination); This leads me to think Xiluh mathematics should be base 20 instead of base 10, which would be why people could count out wood and obsidian coins easily.
Nations: With the invasions over, is there much conflict between the individual tribes and city-states?
Names: How are women's names handled? Do they just have one name, or do they also take on their father's name? Is property patrilineal or matrilineal?
Adventure Hooks: Love them, especially the "One of the PCs is called to help defend his tribe in a food battle against another PCs tribe" one. I would like to play in a game that starts with the jaguars disappearing, as I suspect that would delve into fun aspects of Xiluh's spirituality.
Still awesome as ever.
Quote from: LlumNow I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
Bump :D
Quote from: SDragonKilling a Couatl is both highly dangerous and highly taboo. Killing one for the feathers would be akin to killing a demigod for his left toenail; even if you survive the incident, you'll still be shunned and despised by many. It's not in your best interest to try this.
Really, the best chance you have to get the feathers is to find a corpse. This is only slightly easier then killing one yourself, as the bodies are taken by the gods pretty fast, but for some, the renown is well worth the effort.
Is it possessing the feathers that will make you shunned? If so, wouldn't finding a corpse be considered bad? If it isn't just owning them, couldn't a Coual-Killer just say he found a corpse?
Quote from: Kapn XeviatHere's my review as promised!
Always appreciated!
QuoteEdition Wars: Are you still looking at using 3E for this? Are you going to port over to Pathfinder or give 4E a try? Either way, I'm always available for crunch help (I've got to earn my title back for next year since I wasn't around this year).
Racial Arrogance: What happened in this world to make it so racial arrogance never developed, especially in humans (it is such a human quality). Was it simply the creation of the Yuma and the destruction of the first-ones? Or is it a more modern concept?[/quote]First-One[/i] quality. It lead to an increasingly oppressive totalitarian state that ultimately angered the gods. It still remains in the yuma, but the other races have learned that this is a Very Bad Thing Indeed.
QuoteElves: Aside from their stats, what makes your elves elves still? They're warriors and the men are stoic while the women are pretty. Do you use at least one of the elven tropes with them (being very magical or in tune with nature)? Just curious here: If it looks like a chicken but it quacks like a duck, I'm confused.
Dwarfs: I like the way they act and their place in history, and their unique status of having the largest settlements. While I know I just was confused about elves not seeming elfie enough, I see calm serene dwarfs as very fitting; those are earth qualities. Why was Marg so gungho about killing off the Saag clan of dwarfs?[/quote]
Cultural Influences: Again, I love the mesoamerican influences; not enough settings draw upon it for inspiration. I'd like to see ritual battles taking place here along with the sacrifices. I do enjoy the warriors pride seen in human and elven males.[/quote]
Classes: Are you going to re-theme the monk as a divine class? If you would like help modifying it to be a 1-4th level caster like the Paladin/Ranger, I already have a structure for it (Originally designed to be a Psionic Monk, it could be altered to divine easily enough).[/quote]Why is it that they try to turn sorcerers into clerics but not wizards; clerics seem to have more in common with wizards because of the whole long apprenticeship thing. Or is sorcery something developed rather than inborn? Or is it that being a cleric is partially inborn?[/quote]
Bestiary: I love the selection of animals and monsters; very well themed. The nechui are interesting too. Are all jaguars, eagles, and snakes intelligent, or only some?[/quote]
Numbers: I notice the calendar has a necessary leap day every four years, but they are collected together every 52 years (13 periods) in one big celebration. Was there a significance to the number 13?[/quote]I also notice that 20 seems to be a significant number (20 days in a month, and money increases by a factor of 20 for each denomination); This leads me to think Xiluh mathematics should be base 20 instead of base 10, which would be why people could count out wood and obsidian coins easily.[/quote]
Nations: With the invasions over, is there much conflict between the individual tribes and city-states?[/quote]
Names: How are women's names handled? Do they just have one name, or do they also take on their father's name? Is property patrilineal or matrilineal?[/quote]
Adventure Hooks: Love them, especially the "One of the PCs is called to help defend his tribe in a food battle against another PCs tribe" one. I would like to play in a game that starts with the jaguars disappearing, as I suspect that would delve into fun aspects of Xiluh's spirituality.[/quote]Still awesome as ever.[/quote]
Thanks! Such sentiments are, of course, always appreciated.
Well, damn. A lot of the most recent progress has been lost. If I ever find some way to recover it, I definitely will, but until then, I can't really do anything about it.
I'm slowly adding Xiluh information over at my own personal wiki. I'll include the link sometime soon.
I wrote a short in-world piece for Xiluh. http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?74297.last
Added the new language thread to the bibliography. This is a decent time for anyone who hasn't taken a look at Xiluh to do so.
Quote from: Luminous CrayonI'm led to infer that it's a representative currency; the value of wood coins isn't due to the inherent value of the wood itself, but because the coins represent wealth that resides in some national treasury to back up the currency.
It could be something like wampum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampum).
It's not that clear what social role adventurers play, or what sort of adventures are meant to happen.
The wampum idea actually might not be that bad. I've already started with hints of some sort of government that could back up the currency, but nothing as to how.
I'm... actually not sure how to respond to your comment about adventurers, though. I suppose they can play any role they like; tribal guardsmen, political shaman, even the occasional discoverer. I've always felt any world, regardless of presentation, had room for adventures. If nothing else, discovering new ways to have adventures would be an adventure in itself.
Quote from: Rorschach FritosI'm... actually not sure how to respond to your comment about adventurers, though. I suppose they can play any role they like; tribal guardsmen, political shaman, even the occasional discoverer. I've always felt any world, regardless of presentation, had room for adventures. If nothing else, discovering new ways to have adventures would be an adventure in itself.
Deciding who the characters are and what they do is a good way of defining the setting.
For example in Ghostbusters you're assumed to be a member of your city's franchise of the Ghostbusters business from the movie. In Vampire you're (obviously) someone who's been turned into a vampire, usually against their will. In Villains & Vigilantes you're meant to be yourself as a superhero. In all cases it sets the tone, and possible adventures.
D&D is quite vague about who you are and why you're adventuring, which fits with its origin as a setting-less game, but (IMHO) doesn't go well with its increasingly specific setting.
Interesting... This was originally started out as a D&D setting, so that was never really something I considered at the beginning. I suppose habit just set in, and I never established that.
PS To an extent D&D didn't need to say who adventurers were, because its audience had read Lord of the Rings or Conan. But if you're trying to get away from a 'vanilla' setting, then they might not carry across.
Yeah, that actually was a large reason why I included the adventure hooks section...
Finally added the in-world fiction to the bibliography, and added Xev's adventure hook idea. If you have any ideas, please let me know!
I also adjusted some of the words to fit the new aspects of the language.
The adventure hooks seem to assume that most characters will live in tribes. Does that mean that there aren't any cities (or that everyone in the city is from the same tribe)?
Xiluh is currently the second-most viewed thread in Recent Activity, and the sixth most-posted-in.
AoF, there are cities, but the "resedential sector", so-to-speak, is small enough that it might as well be considered a tribe; the majority of city dwellers are governmental-types, required to live at work.
So most city-dwellers are part of a caste of non-adventuring scribes, clerks etc?
Most of them, yeah. There's possibly a few major shaman officials that might still adventure from time to time, and just about everyone is pretty much expected to help their tribe, but for the most part, that's pretty much it.
So do the characters / tribal members aspire to become part of the government caste, or is this impossible? If so, is there rivalry / hostility between tribe and city?
The best hope a character/tribal member has of becoming part of the government is if they're a shaman adept and get chosen as an apprentice of an official shaman. There really isn't much rivalry between the government and the tribes.
Edit-- slight expansion on elven stoicism in the main post. The more this gets fleshes out in the discussion in the Racial Cultures thread, the more likely it'll be expanded even further.
Minor update: the mountain range in the South now has a name. Also, I changed some of the spelling to be more compliant with what's going on with the language.
Quote from: LlumQuote from: LlumNow I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
Okay, this answer is very well overdue, but it's finally here. Wizards try to shortcut their way around the fact that being a proper shaman requires natural aptitude, and even some divine favor.
Quote from: SDragonKilling a Couatl is both highly dangerous and highly taboo. Killing one for the feathers would be akin to killing a demigod for his left toenail; even if you survive the incident, you'll still be shunned and despised by many. It's not in your best interest to try this.
Really, the best chance you have to get the feathers is to find a corpse. This is only slightly easier then killing one yourself, as the bodies are taken by the gods pretty fast, but for some, the renown is well worth the effort.
Assuming they survived the encounter, sure. Let's be clear, though: these are not small creatures, nor are they weak. These are creatures of legend. One does not simply pick up a sword and decide to kill one.
Quote from: Rorschach FritosQuote from: LlumQuote from: LlumNow I don't understand how clerics see wizards as taking a short-cut to power, since wizards study easily as hard as a cleric, gaining there power through knowledge alone. The sorcerer being weird is nothing new, but your sorcerers don't seem to gather any suspicion from naturally being able to do what takes others years to do?
Okay, this answer is very well overdue, but it's finally here. Wizards try to shortcut their way around the fact that being a proper shaman requires natural aptitude, and even some divine favor.
Quote from: SDragonKilling a Couatl is both highly dangerous and highly taboo. Killing one for the feathers would be akin to killing a demigod for his left toenail; even if you survive the incident, you'll still be shunned and despised by many. It's not in your best interest to try this.
Really, the best chance you have to get the feathers is to find a corpse. This is only slightly easier then killing one yourself, as the bodies are taken by the gods pretty fast, but for some, the renown is well worth the effort.
Assuming they survived the encounter, sure. Let's be clear, though: these are not small creatures, nor are they weak. These are creatures of legend. One does not simply pick up a sword and decide to kill one.
In case you didn't thingk I was paying attention....
Wouldn't it take MORE natiural aptitude to shortcut the system? You don't skip college and go right to succesful graduate studies by having less ability. Or at least a different type of aptitude? What would the diffrence be?
I can wrap my head around the Divcine favor thing a little better. I actually kind of like that idea, about trying to earn power without the help of the religeous hierarchy...
The main reason it took me so long to answer Llum's question, really, is that "shortcut" wasn't the best choice of words, by any means. I simply meant that they try to avoid the proper path to shamanism.
Remember, trying to earn that power without religious help, and actually earning it, are two different things.
Bump. New logo. What do you guys think of it?
(//../../e107_files/public/1291591776_93_FT6413_xiuhllogo.jpg)
Awesome! You make it yourself??
Well I didn't make the fonts, but otherwise, yes. Thanks!
The title text blends into the background on the left too much, the 'X' is almost invisible. Like the style, though.
I'll have to keep that in mind when I make the next copy of it. Thanks. Now, to revive a fan favorite part of the setting...
BADGE TIME!
Okay, so I'm having a bit of trouble keeping track of who has earned a Xiluh badge so far, so if you have, feel free to disregard this list. Oversights may happen :p
There hasn't been much activity, really, but I found six people who have earned badges: Drama Llama (Seraphine), Llum, Ninja D, Steerpike, Vreeg, and Xeviat. Congratulations!
Aha! Many thanks! Could you direct us to the code for that badge?
Yep, hold on just a bit and I'll get to that.
Edit-- Just checked to see who's earned badges in the past, and it seems Llum is the only one on the above list that already had one. I didn't have Epic Meepo on that list because, well, I thought he already had one. Since he didn't... well, he does now. This makes the full list of Xiluh badge recipients:
Drama Llama (Seraphine)
Epic Meepo
Joker (Troll, HORSE, etc.)
Llum
Luminous Crayon
Ninja D
Phoenix
Steerpike
and Vreeg
The code for the badge is here:
[url=http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.first] [img]http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m161/sdragon184/b.png[/img] [/url]
(http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m161/sdragon184/b.png) (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.first)
Updated the first post with the new name for halflings. I think I might still need an adjective form of the word, but that can be discussed in the language thread (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?79242)
Added some notes on humans and habatei. Also, there's this:
Quote from: YirgamilYirgamil is a hive of a certain type of beetle. This beetle relies heavily on communication with others of its kind, and thus cannot survive without contact with the rest of the hive. Because of the structure of this hive, Yirgamil is considered to be a creature unto itself. As such, there is no name for the beetles that form Yirgamil.
As Yirgamil is not merely a single entity, it is almost incapable of death. This has allowed time enough for it to develop the ability to speak. Although it is capable of profound revelations, it seems fond of incoherent strings of words.
for those that are interested, I've got some ideas brewing. Soon, I'll be able to put those ideas where they belong, and then work on them until I can post them here.
tl;dr: more to come soon!