Kalara, Land of Shattered Dreams

[Wensleydale]

Please direct questions, reviews etc to the Discussion thread, here.

"Listen, my children. This is the story of how our world was made.

In the birthtime - the dreamtime - the Greatmind was born. And he formed the world and the six things in it - fire, water, earth, air, spirit and magic. The Greatmind then split, having no purpose left, and disappeared from the world. Fragments of his Ka drift in the void. However, from five of these shards, the Races were born. The elves, dwarves, gahakai, ghoblinoids and hulam. A little of each of these shards remains in each creature to this day.

The world was a burning fiery mass, but the dwarves mastered it and made it their empire. Those not of the blood were slaves, and beneath those haughty folk - no longer. As the world rose and the slaves worked to make it more pliable and friendly, they plotted - and then, they rose up.

The dwarven empire fell in a rush of fire and stone. The first true weapons - made for real battle, rather than just ritual duels between ghoblinoids or keeping slaves in line - were forged, and the world was born anew.

And now, my children, we stand a thousand years on from that date... an age of discovery lies before us..."

[Wensleydale]

Magic

Magic is controlled through the two fundamental forces in the world - Ka, and Tiet. Tiet is the magic around, that which runs through the world. A powerful force indeed, but hard to harness. Ka is the magic within, the 'soul' energy of a person - very few people can use their Ka even occasionally to manipulate the world around, and those that can are extremely powerful.

There are three types of magic:

Analytomancy is the most common form of magic. Through the correct gestures, words and knowledge, you can become a conduit for the power of the Tiet through the careful control of science. This requires intense mental discipline and a strong Ka to manipulate the Tiet, as well as an analytical mind to control the vast magical and mathematical equations involved. Of course, Analytomancers can change a few numbers or gestures, thoughts or words, and create whole new spells. Although this makes them versatile, they often require sheafs of notes and large tomes to ready their spells.

Theiomancy is the concentration of an extraplanar creature's will, be it an outsider of some kind or a so-called deity. You need no personal talent for Theiomancy, but you must be extremely devoted and chosen by the creature to use it. It involves turning yourself into a conduit for the Ka of such a creature, which channels through you. Of course, you can only hope that your patron has the same goals as you do in the matter, as more powerful creatures may not grant you exactly the effects you want...

Necromancy is the study of using your Ka as a weapon. Although Ka can do deadly things - it can smash open gates of rock, or kill in a moment, make a horde of goblinoids disappear or rip a man's neck apart with a thought, it is dangerous to the wielder too - you only have a certain amount of Ka to go round, after all. The elves are masters of a brand of this art.

 Classes  

There are a set of unique classes for Kalara. The streetwise, warrior, tribesman, Ka mage, analytomancer, theiomancer and dreamwalker are suggested for use in a Kalara campaign, although they are not stricly necessary.

[spoiler=Streetwise][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Warrior][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tribesman][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Ka Mage]
 [class=Ka Mage, HD: D8][levels=20][bab=wizard][fort=poor][ref=poor][will=good][special=Special][1][/1][2][/2][4][/4][/special][special=Ka Threshold][1][/1][2][/2][3][/3][4][/4][5][/5][6][/6][7][/7][8][/8][9][/9][10][/10][11][/11][12][/12][13][/13][14][/14][15][/15][16][/16][17][/17][18][/18][19][/19][20][/20][/special][/class]

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Analytomancer][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Theiomancer][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Dreamwalker][/spoiler]

 Prestige Classes

There are also six unique prestige classes in Kalara. These too are not necessary but instead suggested.

[spoiler=Wardancer][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Stalwart][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Incarnate Vessel][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Wyrmrider][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Planar Vessel][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Kabender][/spoiler]

[Wensleydale]

Races

[spoiler=Anikai]
The Anikai were born in the flaming forges of the dwarven slaves, caskets of steel to hold dwarven souls. Now they live on, ghostly reminders of the empire, immortals, not quite undead, not quite alive. They are still being made, if infrequently, and some have the souls of those other than dwarves in their bodies...

Physical Description: Anikai vary in height and weight depending on their maker's preference, and the only real constant is their basic shape. They are (roughly) humanoid, formed, in the majority, from bones coated in cold iron or steel and bulked out with wood or metal. They usually wear ornate deathmasks, and most can be found wearing scrolls and phylacteries holding spells said to enhance their power. The chest of an Anikai usually has a gem set in a glass case at the centre, within which smoke swells and spins. This is the soul of the creature, and if removed from the Anikai's body both become immobile and dormant. The face of an Anikai is usually either featureless or ornately carved with the face of the soul within.

Personality: Anikai have most of their memories from their past life, but the ability to cast spells, their physical strength and martial prowess, and their skills are all stripped from them at creation. Some Anikai forget this occasionally, however, remembering a time when they COULD cast spells, or COULD take the head off this impudent slave in one blow. Younger Anikai tend to suffer from this less.

Lands: Anikai tend to live in the lands of their creators or their original homeland, be they dwarves, elves, hulam or some other creature. Some go wandering, however, seeing this new body as a fresh start.

Stats:

* Construct (Living Construct) type.
* Stability: An Anikai gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).
* Vulnerability to turning: An Anikai can be affected by turn, destroy, control and rebuke undead. It has turn resistance equal to half its character level (rounding down).
* Invulnerability to spells: An Anikai is immune to cure and inflict effects due to its lack of a body. Some spells can heal or harm it, however (see the upcoming magic section for more details.)
* Immunity to Blindness and Deafness - an Anikai sees through magical means, not through normal sight.
* Immunity to disease and poison - there is no metabolism for an Anikai to be affected.
* Immortal: An Anikai does not age. He gains aging bonuses to mental scores as normal, but does not take aging penalties. Neither does an Anikai have a maximum age.
* Automatic Languages: Any regional language.
* Bonus Languages: Any regional languages.
* Favoured Class: Any.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dwarves]
Up until a thousand years ago, the dwarves had a colossal empire. Now, they live in the ruins of their once-great cities and rarely venture out into the open world of the slaves.

Physical Description: Dwarves are short and slim, with pale skin coming from spending much too much time in stone-domed halls. Their eyes are slitted like cats', and the most common colours are violet and gold. They wear extravagant clothing and gold-plated armour, when they can afford it, and their bones are thick beneath the skin.

Personality: Dwarves are arrogant. Once upon a time they had an empire, the rebellious, foolish slaves destroyed it. Now they must pay, as simple as that. Dwarves are adept with Analytomancy and Theiomancy both, and many of them are mages. For some reason, dwarves tend to have an obsession with water, how it can drive things, how it works.

Lands: The Dwarves live in the remains of their shattered empire. The colossal Durgai Bowl, an enormous dead volcano, is their capitol city, and the remains of an unfinished dome looms over it. This dome was half-finished at the time of the empire, and was meant to show the dwarven scorn for the sun and their independence from even that outside force - but has still not been completed. Their other lands include the separatist dwarven colony of Katak'ka, a group of desperate younger dwarves trying to prove that not all of their kind are racist elitists.

Language: The majority of dwarves refuse to speak any language apart from their own - Chathka. This ancient tongue of the Empire has no fewer than twenty-three tenses, two-hundred-and-thirty-four conditional mutations, subjective and objective forms, negative forms and two alphabets, one of which is formal and the other informal. Chathka is ridiculously complex, and many younger dwarves have created the language of Katak'ke - an informal, slanglike dwarven with most of the mutations and tenses cut off, using the informal alphabet.

Names: Dwarven names nearly always have meanings in Chathka. First names include numbers (Ua, Dua, Katua, Metu, Demu, Atu, Alui, Tasdui, Matui, Amarak), usually used to indicate positions in the line of birth, as well as words such as 'Blade' (Dahrok), 'Goldsmith' (Amapita) and 'Leader' (Ohkro) given to an adolescent dwarf at his or her birthing ceremony. Dwarven names tend to be gender-neutral. Family names don't really exist, except for those of noble (royal) birth - a'Tadsek.

Stats:

* +2 Dex, -2 Str.
* Medium Size.
* Base land speed 30ft.
* Light Build: A dwarf gains a +2 racial bonus on Hide checks and a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against medium and larger targets, but his weapons must be sized for small characters or he suffers the normal penalties for using weapons too large for your character.
* +2 racial bonus on Intimidate and Speak Language (any) checks. A dwarf is naturally intimidating, and the complex Chathkan grammar rules give a dwarf an insight on other languages.
* Low-Light vision. Dwarves live most of their life indoors.
* Automatic Languages: Any regional language. Most dwarves know Chathkan or Katak'ke.
* Bonus Languages: Any.
* Favoured Class: Analytomancer.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Elves]
The more magical of the slaves, the elves served the dwarves in the magical Hall of Forges. As the orcs, their physical brethren, the elves are extremely focused and near emotionless.

Physical Description: An elf stands around 6ft tall, with pale skin, pointed ears, and pale white eyes as those who are blind. An elf's lifespan is short by dwarven standards - one-hundred years maximum - but an elf doesn't age. That is, an elf's body remains fully functioning until the day he or she dies. Ka magic is strong among them.

Personality: Elves are, nearly as a rule, nigh-on emotionless. They don't feel pain, love, hate, or friendship, sadness or happiness, jealousy or self satisfaction. This allows an elf to keep on using his Ka until he dies, ignore the worst slight, or keep fighting until murdered properly, among other things.

Lands: Elves wander. Elven kingdoms are nearly non-existent, and those that there are soon fall due to their inhabitants just leaving. Elven hordes occasionally rise up, but these too disband within a short while. Most elves wander the northern plains restlessly.

Language: Elves speak D'roj, the speech of the dwarven slaves. Some of them speak the newer elven tongue, Cridillic, or Sayaha, the speech of the north. Cridillic was more recently derived from the language of They-Who-Came-Before - the elves who lived before the dwarven empire.

Names: The elven names of Cridillic are gender-specific. Male and female variants of each exist, adding el or on depending on the gender. Some example names are: Orhel, Orhon, Arthel, Arthon, Mardelthel, Mardelthon, Dahel, Dahon. In D'roj, gender is indicated through intonations - O'el becomes O'ël, for instance. In Sahaya, names are simple, one-syllable affairs that aren't gender-specific - Aal, for instance, or Djed.

Stats:

* +2 Cha, -2 Wis.
* Medium size.
* Base land speed 30ft.
* +1 Ka Threshold. Elves have strong souls.
* Immunity to the effects of the Intimidate skill, and to Fear effects. Elves feel no fear - even that which is supernatural - they just lack the capacity.
* -4 racial penalty on Sense Motive checks against those not of the Orc or Elf races. Elves cannot connect with the feelings of others, and this makes it difficult for them to understand others' true motives.
* Timeless Body: An elf does not take aging penalties, but does gain aging bonuses. However, they still die when their time is up - their bodies just don't age.
* Resilient: An elf is not rendered unconscious instantly when dropped to less than 1hp. He still loses HP until he stabilises, as a normal dying character, but can fight on for 1d4 rounds before falling prone.
* Automatic Languages: D'roj, Cridillic or Sahaya.
* Bonus Languages: Those automatic languages not chosen, any regional language.
* Favoured Class: Ka Mage.

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Gahakai][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Goblinoids][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Hulam][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orcs][/spoiler]

[Wensleydale]

Updated with dwarves and anikai.

[Wensleydale]

And elves.