Marit discussion thread

[Ravenspath]

If morality and shades of gray are such a big deal, why do you have an alignment system at all? Some people would disagree, but I think having an alignment boxes a character into a specific thinking, even if it's not restrictive. "He's cool, he's LG." etc.

"No gnomes, halflings, dwarves or half-orcs for Players (or even existing in the world)."

Woohoo![/quote]Sarani stats are broken for two reasons.
1) Elf stats were balanced in the PHB, as the Con penalty offset the various special abilities.
2) Always count a +1 to a stat as a +2, as the player will always make their con stat odd with an odd bonus.
I'm also not very impressed with the creativity here. Why can they sense secret doors? ;) Hey, I can't help it if I think outside the box[/quote]Bonesmiths are a very cool concept, and are my favorite part of the setting.[/quote]

Thank you. This is what sparked the whole idea for the rework. I need to develop their history more and come up with some guidelines for their Patterns. And I am sure I will need help with the crunch on that.

I know I didn't address everything you mentioned. But I think I got most of them.

Thank you again for your input. And please keep it coming if you have time.

[Jharviss]

Hey Ravenspath -- this looks really good.  I'm just starting to look over your setting and am only a couple paragraphs in, but you've hooked me.  I'll note here what I think about things.  Also, I'll also pick out little presentation oriented things (AKA grammar), so here's my warning.

* At the end of the second paragraph your quotes changed to symbols.  You should be able to fix that, I think.  It did it again in the sixth paragraph. Also, I'm rather excited to learn what bonesmiths are.  That just sounds cool.
* In the second paragraph, put "at the time" in parentheses.  It'll read smoother.  And in the fourth paragraph, change help to helped.  
* Could you give a sentence description of what Gen and Sarani are when you introduce them?  I don't need much, but just enough to let my mind wrap around the scope of what they are.
* Sixth paragraph -- "...the best being (and smallest) being that..."  Also, I'm starting to be sad that I don't know what a Gen is, so I can't imagine what a Genling is.
* Elves and sarani are the same?
* Ahh, that type of gen!  Okay, I understand now.  We're straight.

* It took me a bit to decipher your deity family tree, but after looking through it a bit it made sense.  It looks good. I just wish I knew where the brothers came from.  I guess I'll have to wait and see!  Also, how did the two brothers feel about Lady Fate being with both of them?

Okay, very little substance in this review, but I'll get more as you get more.  I've started reading it, so now I can keep up.

[Raelifin]

Consider this done. While thinking about some of your questions/points I had one of those brainstorm ideas. I have not updated this in the main thread yet, but will summarize it here. The dragons will be based on the elements. The Gen used to be their slaves on another plane. The Gen revolted there and threw the dragons out. The dragons came here and established a foot hold. The Gen finally found them and destroyed them in Marit too. That gives me back story for the Dragon/Gen. It gets me away from the typical D&D dragons and just make sense to me. This also means that arcane magic will be elemental based rather than the typical D&D based. And I love elemental things in a game. I know there are others out there who have developed elemental magic systems so any suggestions any one has are welcome.

Please go ahead and explain why the +1 is bad.[/quote]
Okay, let's say you're doing a traditional 4d6 keep 3 system. A player rolls a 13, 12, 8, 11, 16, 11.
Now, if we convert that into modifiers, we get +4 net mod.
If they were playing a core race, no matter what stats they assign, the net mod remains static. Now, if you get a +1 to one stat and a -1 to another, if you put odd stats to those that get mods, you can bump the net mod up to +5. If, however, you assign it to an even stat, the net mod doesn't change. This means that it's statistically identical in most respects, but can confuse players and GMs who see it as inferior. (Note that it's still a bit weaker, but very mildly so)

[Ravenspath]

Awesome! This paragraph inspired me (in conjunction with Dr. Who) to write an entry for Phaeoras (which I haven't posted yet).

Okay, let's say you're doing a traditional 4d6 keep 3 system. A player rolls a 13, 12, 8, 11, 16, 11.
Now, if we convert that into modifiers, we get +4 net mod.
If they were playing a core race, no matter what stats they assign, the net mod remains static. Now, if you get a +1 to one stat and a -1 to another, if you put odd stats to those that get mods, you can bump the net mod up to +5. If, however, you assign it to an even stat, the net mod doesn't change. This means that it's statistically identical in most respects, but can confuse players and GMs who see it as inferior. (Note that it's still a bit weaker, but very mildly so)

That makes sense. That is why I leave crunch to people that actually understand it. Thank you! I hope to have more addeded soon between the Aspects as posted in the Campaign Elements boards and more backstory.

Thank you again for your help.

[Raelifin]

Woo! Two thumbs up for Marit Revisited!

Kwestion: Why did you reserve posts if nobody is supposed to post in the thread?

[LordVreeg]

Hah.  Found the discussion thread.  For some reason, the link in your new post threw me back into the forums page...

[blockquote=Ravenspath]

Marit created by the gods
Gods step into world to be apart of it
World grows, gods start to guide rather than lead
Lost Ones (former gods) create Kin (new gods) to help humanity forget them
Lost Ones withdraw even further, only nudging humanity
Dragons enter world to rule it
Lost Ones attempt a defense, but unable to do so
Lost Ones destroyed by Dragons
Dragons rule for centuries
Dragons develop psi powers in humans
Genies enter world secretly
Teach humanity magic
Dragon Wars begin
Dragons destroyed, Genies leave
Marit attempts to stabilize and rediscover itself[/blockquote]

[blockquote=RP]Marit created by the gods[/blockquote]
The Lost Ones, right?  Where did they come from?  and where they completely destroyed, or were some sent back to where they came from...(plot hook)?

[blockquote=RP]Dragons enter world to rule it
Lost Ones attempt a defense, but unable to do so[/blockquote]
Where did the dragon's come from, since they came from outside (genies too, for that matter)
And since the Kin are still around, though their religion has been underground, where did they hide after the dragon conquest?

and if the genies taught the humans magic, and you are thinking of doing a dragon based religion, why not a genie based pantheon as well...especially as the givers of magic  (in my world a lot of deities claim the position of 'patron or provider of magic'.  Such a bunch of worship hungry liars...))

[Ravenspath]

Woo! Two thumbs up for Marit Revisited!

Kwestion: Why did you reserve posts if nobody is supposed to post in the thread?

Thanks, glad you like the new version. This one feels 'right' to me. And the reason that I reserved threads is so that I actually post to them. If I know I have empty posts I will be more likely to put the materials I have done in them.

Hah.  Found the discussion thread.  For some reason, the link in your new post threw me back into the forums page.

Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed now.

The Lost Ones, right?  Where did they come from?  and where they completely destroyed, or were some sent back to where they came from...(plot hook)[

Partially answered now in the Creation Myth post. As for if they are still around? That is something that is unknown as of yet. (Even to me.)

Where did the dragon's come from, since they came from outside (genies too, for that matter)
And since the Kin are still around, though their religion has been underground, where did they hide after the dragon conquest?

and if the genies taught the humans magic, and you are thinking of doing a dragon based religion, why not a genie based pantheon as well...especially as the givers of magic  (in my world a lot of deities claim the position of 'patron or provider of magic'.  Such a bunch of worship hungry liars...))

The dragons came from the same place as the genies, I just haven't worked it out yet. They have been at war for thousands of years.

The Kin are not actual beings, but more concepts that the Lost Ones helped develop and perpetuate until they became mythical figures and gods. The religions were underground during the dragons reign, but probably not too far underground in some areas.

The dragons wanted worship and thus created the religions based on themselves. The genies on the other hand did not want to be worshiped. This is one of the major areas of contention between the two races. Not to say that there may not be a cult or two of genie worshipers, they just aren't prevalent.

Thanks for your thoughts. As always questions from the group has sparked ideas for the world. Keep them coming!

[Tybalt]

Are the Kin gods universally worshipped as presented? One thing Lord Vreeg reminds us of in his campaign world is that people don't always see things as they really are. Your world is one of conflict, so I wonder if religion as you present it might be interpreted to suit particular sides?

[Ravenspath]

The Kin are not worshipped in exactly the same way around the whole land. What I have presented so far is the general idea behind each god. As I begin to develop regions and culture more you will see more indepth looks at how each church or sect views that particular god. Since they are abstract ideas rather than actual beings I feel this is easier to do.

Someone may view Belanika as a subversive deity that keeps secrets that need to be shared while someone else views her as a safe haven to tell/confess their secrets to and thus frees them of that burden. One of the churches I am working on is exactly that, a group dedicated to being confessors. Some people cannot imagine not having that church around, others want it destroyed, or at least under their control.

Great question! Thanks.

[LordVreeg]

read through the 'lost creation myth'
Who had this myth and lost it?
ANd where did the Lost ones come from originally?

[blockquote=rAVEN'SPATH]So the Six became as those who sought,
becoming less and more than what they once were
bound within the cycle they had created.
The Six taught those who would listen,
Learned from those who would teach.[/blockquote]
This is when this myth takes on some personality.
I like this part the best.

[Ravenspath]

Thanks for your comments.

The myth is lost for two reasons. The Lost Ones (the Six) supressed it a bit so that they could become the Lost Ones. And the dragons tried to destroy any references to the Lost Ones they could.

The Six just are, or were. They were from the Void.

Glad you liked the piece and the one part in particular. I wrote this a decade ago or longer and have redone it a couple of times.

I hope to get some more Marit pieces up this weekend so if you (or anyone has time) please take a look.