World of Madara, The terraformed world. [Reboot]

[Tzi]

Sydori
The Lost Children of the Cosmic Chaos

The Sydori were once mere Tyr, creatures bred to inherit the world of Madara eons ago. But like many things that happen, a twist of fate, an error in the design, whatever begat their journey the Tyr within the Sydon, A Demi-Plane city craft failed in its principle design. The purpose of the Demi-planes was to bend the flow of time and allow the Tyr to exist secure in stasis for many ages while time passed rapidly around them. However Sydon failed for unknown reason, perhaps the Elves within Sydon had a change of heart? Went mad? The Demi-Plane became damaged and plunged into the Cosmic Chaos and the Tyr aboard awoke not on Madara with the rest of their kin but countless eons earlier within the twisting numerous chaotic planes of the Cosmic Chaos.

Their presence however brought on legions of extra-planar beings, life was endless fighting for survival, and the at the outset many Tyr could not survive the warping magical chaos that existed around them. However the Tyr that survived became nomads, within their city of Sydon they were able to pilot it in a sense, warping across the many layers of the Cosmic Chaos and into and out of the Material Plane raiding worlds for food, fighting the twisted beings that dwelled in the other planes. Eventually the greatest spellweaver's in time found ways to infuse themselves with beings of the warp, even mixing their bloodlines into themselves and infusing them with the power of these beings. Twisting their form and increasing their power and connection to magic. Their appearance warping occasionally they develop metallic bronze like color, or reddish tents or various strange coloration beyond what would be reasonably called natural. They grew horns like those of goats or dragons, tails and various other varying mutations.

Eons passed and the Sydori were born and wandered the planes, having Madara as merely a vague memory passed down culturally from their culture that had absorbed magic and various forms of techno-sorcery from countless planar beings and alien sources. They became a race of planar nomads, a horde of raiders scouring the Cosmic Chaos and becoming battle hardened and powerful.

Physical Appearance: The Sydori bare remarkable appearances to those on Madara they look unearthly. They would appear to be like a Tyr or once were Tyr, and are humanoid however their bodies bare a variable appearance. One Sydori might appear as a Tyr with small horns, a barbed tail, and oddly colored eyes, while another might manifest a mouth of fangs, tiny wings, and claws. Commonly most have a very more metallic like skin color, and sometimes hair that is either black or some unnatural color or pure white. Many have an almost orangish-bronze complexion and bright green or red eyes. All posses horns of varying types. Some have hair that shines like metal or has a metalic look, or jewel-toned eyes.

Ability Score Racial Traits: Sydori are quick and physically adaptive in body and strong and mind, but are inherently strange and unnerving at times. They gain +2 to one Physical trait, +2 Intelligence, and –2 Charisma.
Type: Sydori are outsiders with the native subtype.
Size: Sydori are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Speed: Sydori have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: Sydori can see perfectly in the dark for up to 60 feet.
Languages: Sydori begin play speaking Syldesh. As well as as many languages as their intelligence modifier allows for.

Cosmic Resistance: Tieflings have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.
Immunities: Sydori are immune to magic sleep effects and gain a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against enchantment spells and effects.
Cosmic Sorcery: Sydori sorcerers with the Abyssal, Infernal, Protean, Rakshasa, Elemental, Shadow, Starsoul and Celestial bloodlines treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all sorcerer class abilities. Also for the Spellscar Oracle mystery Oracles.
Planar Diplomat: Sydori gain a +2 on diplomacy, bluff and checks made against Outsiders.

Alternative Racial Traits

Prehensile Tail: All Sydori have tails, but some have long, flexible tails that can be used to carry items. While they cannot wield weapons with their tails, they can use them to retrieve small, stowed objects carried on their persons as a swift action. This racial trait replaces Cosmic Sorcery.
Enhanced Skin: The skin of these Sydori provides some energy resistance, but is also as hard as armor. Choose one of the following energy types: cold, electricity, or fire. A Sydori with this trait gains resistance 5 in the chosen energy type and also gains a +1 natural armor bonus to AC. This racial trait replaces Cosmic Resistance.
Vestigial Wings: Some Sydori  possess a pair of undersized, withered, or stunted wings. Sometimes these wings are leathery, like those of a bat. Other times they are covered with a scattering of black, or mutlicolored feathers. Rare manifestations can take even more bizarre forms. These wings do not provide the lift required for actual flight, but do have enough power to aid flight attained by some other method, and grant a +4 racial bonus on Fly skill checks. This racial trait replaces Cosmic Resistance.

[LD]

>>Side Note: Should the history be presented as a narrative or am I creating too many walls of text?

Well, WhiteWolf-style narrative histories can be useless to people playing in the world who need quick access to data.  People playing in a world who need info easily accessible and referenceable might benefit best from timelines or histories that have very short paragraphs and sentences.

However, people who are more likely to read the world for pleasure would be more likely to read a series of short stories than a history. Steerpike uses stories to good effect in some of his settings as do many others on this forum.

You did a good job making a history rather than a timeline- timelines turn off many people because people can feel disoriented by the names without context. (Personally, if they are well done, I like them).

If you do go with a history like you are doing, however, it might be more engaging to start sentences with nouns rather than prepositional phrases and parts of speech. [ic]e.g. instead of "as warfare ramped up on Madara...."  ;
"Trumpets signalling the mustering of troops blared across Madara while within Sinthas a more insidious and dessicatory whine originated. Gibbous Clan Lord Jang sentenced Waxing Clan Lord Ssthol's son to death for appropriating food from one of his pox-ridden subjects, igniting a shadow war among clans. A veritable sea of violence erupted underneath the Mare Etruscan crater as the blood pox turned able people into savages--some, like Clan Lord Jang attempted to rehabilitate their turned subjects, but those were soon overcome by gnashing claws that showed their decision to be a mistake."[/ic]

...perhaps that particular example is too grim-dark, but the more strong nouns and verbs that you have, the more that a reader can imagine a history.
Many people don't like history class or histories in games because they're a case of Lord Mucketymuck of Gobbletygook went to Whatsit to kill Mordark the BlahBlah Lord of Wheras and they drown in terms rather than swim amongst ideas.

[Tzi]

>>Side Note: Should the history be presented as a narrative or am I creating too many walls of text?

Well, WhiteWolf-style narrative histories can be useless to people playing in the world who need quick access to data.  People playing in a world who need info easily accessible and referenceable might benefit best from timelines or histories that have very short paragraphs and sentences.

However, people who are more likely to read the world for pleasure would be more likely to read a series of short stories than a history. Steerpike uses stories to good effect in some of his settings as do many others on this forum.

You did a good job making a history rather than a timeline- timelines turn off many people because people can feel disoriented by the names without context. (Personally, if they are well done, I like them).


If you do go with a history like you are doing, however, it might be more engaging to start sentences with nouns rather than prepositional phrases and parts of speech. [ic]e.g. instead of "as warfare ramped up on Madara...."  ;
"Trumpets signalling the mustering of troops blared across Madara while within Sinthas a more insidious and dessicatory whine originated. Gibbous Clan Lord Jang sentenced Waxing Clan Lord Ssthol's son to death for appropriating food from one of his pox-ridden subjects, igniting a shadow war among clans. A veritable sea of violence erupted underneath the Mare Etruscan crater as the blood pox turned able people into savages--some, like Clan Lord Jang attempted to rehabilitate their turned subjects, but those were soon overcome by gnashing claws that showed their decision to be a mistake."[/ic]

...perhaps that particular example is too grim-dark, but the more strong nouns and verbs that you have, the more that a reader can imagine a history.
Many people don't like history class or histories in games because they're a case of Lord Mucketymuck of Gobbletygook went to Whatsit to kill Mordark the BlahBlah Lord of Wheras and they drown in terms rather than swim amongst ideas.

I'm trying to keep it a narrative I just am usually.... ummm wordy? But yeah what you wrote.... simply amazing.

I'll do some rewrites but hold to that.

Also worth asking, should I post a lot of crunch or just give you guys a lot of lore? I mean I plan to do both but Is everyone aching to read about countries and geography and that stuff? Or to read about Spellpoint systems? Classes? Feats? ect?

[LD]

No worries, no worries. My opinion is just that, my opinion. :). I'd like to think it's an educated one, but the biggest rule is do what makes worldbuilding fun for you while trying to adapt others advice into something that works for you and your vision!

Personally I prefer lore.

[Tzi]

No worries, no worries. My opinion is just that, my opinion. :). I'd like to think it's an educated one, but the biggest rule is do what makes worldbuilding fun for you while trying to adapt others advice into something that works for you and your vision!

Personally I prefer lore.

Yeah I might focus more on that and try and have a way to present regional information and nations and cities.

Most of the crunch is just a matter of quickly copying and pasting it from a file. A lot of the region and lore stuff is scattered all over unfortunately. x.x

[Tzi]

Classes

So Classes have been a hot topic for me. Well not so much hot topic as a confusing one while I try to decide how what I want. This is very Work in Progress, mainly some core classes are getting tweaked.

I include the core classes but also have some new ones I'm throwing in.

New Additional Classes:

• Priest: This is kind of one part homebrew class, one part borrowed from another Priest class, and kinda me adding Archivist features.
• Artificer: While Ebberon and I don't always get along sometimes, the Artificer is one area we do get along.

Changes to Core & Base Classes:
(Coming soon)

[Tzi]

So, I have not forgotten,

but I am wondering, how should I present vehicles and weapons? Do you guys want descriptions and stats for all of them or just sort of a standard "This is a standard rifle...." or "This is a standard 2 person automobile." Since it is a setting with such things I could invent make and model types, and come up with some specifics. But otherwise I might just give standards.

[LD]

Probably best to start with standard types and then invent the lore-specific ones as a neat idea comes to you.

[Tzi]

So I've hit a wall, well not such a wall but a sudden realization or plausible rewrite. Basically I'm considering making a Half-Orc equivalent to the Tyr. But also considering changing the world map to an extent and scaling down the advancement level of civilization to be something more.... errrr.... well less Magi-tech and less advanced and make the world more wilderness.

Either by having the Tyr colonies be relatively new, the Azaren also colonizing, and give the world a theme of "race to colonize" and project power while fledgling colonies try to survive on this verdant wilderness world but also find the ruins of the "World the Was," giving a more points of light feel.

This might also mean a redo of the map to some extent.

[Tzi]

I've reached a terrible impasse/conclusion, I may have to reboot my entire setting as after an long discussion and revision I've decided to create a world of Psionics instead of Traditional Magic.