The Campaign Builder's Guild

Like it says in the wiki page, Crystalstar is a human-PC-only setting. It's not that I've got anything against other character races, but I didn't want elves and dwarves and gnomes and whatnot making my weird setting seem too traditional fantasy, or any other bizarre races making it seem too Star Wars cantina.

That said, humans aren't the only significant characters. Gods are real, anthromorphized (like the ancient Greek gods), and tend to meddle. They're mysterious enough that there can still be differences of opinions regarding religion, but it'd be awfully hard to be an atheist in Crystalstarland.

So... I've been thinking some more about my cosmological structure, and I'd really like to have some "other guys." Not quite gods, but outer space and outer dimensions and whatnot are important in Crystalstar, too, and I think there would be some other types showing up. There was a great war a long time ago, where the current gods came to power, but I think some of their erstwhile allies and defeated foes would still be hanging around, somewhere. Demons, pixies, and the like-- or at least aliens and other such beings that the common folk would perceive as demons, pixies, and the like.

What I'm torn on, though, is how to introduce these elements whilst retaining the "human-centric" approach that I really do want to retain. I don't want to create a bunch of PC races, especially since some of these supernatural beings might be too weird and powerful for player characters anyway. However, if they're only NPCs, the problem is that if they're not present enough, they just vanish into the backstory (and there's no point in even having them) and if they're too present, they risk turning the whole thing into a gigantic GM-wank.

What do you all think? How to handle these outsiders?

The easiest way is to make them enemies, or at least alien enough that they're not going to be suitable at all as player characters. Maybe a lot of them really are one- or two-dimensional in spirit, or have specific weaknesses akin to a troll's vulnerability to sunlight that keep them from being suitable. Supernatural enemies like pixies and demons might actively try to cause trouble for mortals without any concern for their well-being, or they might take a step further and actively try to kill them.

It seems to me Crystalstar is ideal for less traditional takes on 'em, even Lovecraftian style aliens.

Pixies just sounds off for what I've read of CS, personally.

Something like these buggers, maybe?  They were the basis for pixies in my setting.

http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Small_energy_being

M.

Quote from: PhoenixPixies just sounds off for what I've read of CS, personally.

I suppose in some ways that's true, but, I've kind of been searching for some way to introduce some sort of "computing devices." Right now I have violet crystal, which can accept a psychic imprint, and that might be all right for very simple things, but it seems like there should almost be some kind of intelligence that can also be harnessed. I'm seeing Crystalstar's take on pixies kind of like a cross between daemons from His Dark Materials, mentats from Dune, and the stereotypical wise-ass robot sidekick.

Demons aren't evil; just antisocial.

 :fluffy:
 :demon:
 :muffy:

Yeah, it was hard to find the right smiley for that one.