This is the discussion thread. All discussions about Am'yazar should take place here.
Core Ethos:Most people do not look at deserts as an adventure site, much less for inclusion in a campaign setting as a whole. Few put the desert as anything different than a home for Egyptian or Pre-Islamic mythology, a little add on to include pyramids, mummies, and sphinxes.
I on the other hand, plan to use the desert as a setting in its own right, completely divorced from its usual conceptions.
This will be an Iron Heroes campaign setting, and furthermore, I plan on it being NPC driven, rather than Monster driven, with a heavy focus on the story.
Inspirations:Pitch Black*
The Ninth Gate*
The Prince of Persia series
*Godsmack[/list]
Genre:Action-fantasy, major emphasis on drama, minor emphasis on horror.
Magic and Psioincs:Very low magic, no psionics. Uses Iron Heroes' magic system.
Much more to come.
Ooh, shwiggy. Just the fact that it's in a desert and you're using Iron Heores is enough to titillate this ocellot. I will definitely be staying tuned, my citric friend.
Is the whole planet a desert-planet, or is the campaign just taking place in one section?
And in the fabled nutshell, what is Iron Heroes' magic system?
Salacious Angel:
Thanks.
Ishmayl:
One section of the planet. Loosely based off of Inûnærubôz from my old setting.
Cymro:
Well, in a nutshell... not much. Iron Heroes is designed as a very low magic system. I described it in my review, but I'll do a little more here.
The first step is to gather mana. An arcanist can only gather a certian amount of mana at a time. If you go over this limit, you can experience strain, which causes temporary ability score damage.
The second step is creating spell effects. Each arcanist specializes in several different schools of magic (the same schools as in D&D). An arcanist can cast more powerful spells in their specialized areas.
The third step channeling the spell. This, in essence, is casting the spell. However, magic in Iron Heroes is unpredictable than magic in other systems. To channel the spell you must make a channeling check. If you meet or exceed the DC of channeling the spell, you successfully cast it. If you fail, and depending on how badly you fail, the spell backfires in some way.
Sounds very, very kinky. Especially the tundra-ish setting, that makes me happy. I'm not a huge fan of Iron Heros, mainly because I love high magic, but I don't dislike Iron Heros, so I'll definatly be staying tuned to see what else comes up.
Questions:
What races, and what DnD classes (I'm assuming you are using all Iron Hero classes, but are you going to port over any of the DnD classes, and which ones if you do?)
You say horror - what type? Victorian horror, with vampires and monsters? Undead horror, with ghosts and zombies and such? Demonic horror, with fiends of pure evil eating your intestines? Or Lovecraftian horror, with Elder Things that Should Not Be?
Iron Heroes does not support races other than humans, so that's all I'm going with. Porting over classes from D&D is not only unessecary, but also seriously affects balance, so none.
A mix of Victorian and Demonic/Diabloic horror.
I changed the name. It is a slight bastardization of the Farsi word for wasteland.
Some stuff I've decided so far...
*It will be a hot desert, mixed between sandy and rocky.
*There will only be one city, but it will be major in scale. I plan to detail it as comprehensively as possible. (Comprehensive detail is something that I really never did in Sûl.)
*Ruins will be scattered about the desert landscape. The one I have so far is an ancient complex known as the Ziggurat. Its ancient irrigation system still functions, and it has become overgrown with plants. No dark secrets about it as of yet.
*At least the Armiger class will be disallowed. I am considering the Berserker as well. They just culturally do not fit in with the desert. The Armiger's armor is a liabilty in the heat, as well. Feel free to try to convince me to use the Berserker. (Note: Convince does not equal "beg" or "cliché ideas").
I actually agree that you should keep the berserker out. Wild, reckless, marauding barbarians simply do not make sense in a place where one cannot afford to be irrational or wasteful.
I don't know... savage barely civilized raiders (albeit with a deep culture... once you get to know it) are a staple to wasteland fantasy. Also, I'm not too familiar with Iron Heroes... where is technology?
I really didn't want to go with the cliché of savage raiders. It just seems so overused to me. Deserts aren't exaclty the richest places to begin with, why would a theif (aside to hide) want to locate himself there?
Iron Heroes technology is the same as standard D&D. However, I am making it similar to the height of ancient Persian technology, so almost anything you'd find in the new Prince of Persia games, you might find here.
The Ziggurat, for example, will have a complex irrigation system that still functions after thousands of years. Its not powered by magic, because doing something with magic on that scale in Iron Heroes would invariably result in some kind of catastrophe. Simple engineering know-how, and a well-placed spring.
Hope that answers the tech question.
Mmmm... kind of like that garden tower in PoP: Warrior Within?
Yup.
Hehe. I love that game.