Finity - the Planar Realms

[The_Stu]

The focus of this setting is the limitless planes to be travelled to, and how they each interact with the Finity plane, which is central to everything else.

The Finity Plane (aka the Physical Plane) is the central hub to each and every other plane, in thier limitless numbers.

The Finity Plane is inhabited by a few specific races.

Humans
Pretty basic. I'll get more into these guys a little later.

Pangolins

Physical Description-
Pangolins are small creatures, standing only about three feet in height. They have long, semi-prehensile tails and clawed hands and feet. Thier claws were originally intended for digging, but nowadays they are used far more deftly. Thier bodies are covered in hard, platelike, overlapping scales. They are well suited for harsh desert environments, as they can burrow underground and can deal with the lack of water that is prevalent in the desert.

Pangolin Society-
Ages ago, Pangolins had a clan/tribal based society. They practiced many varieties of magic and sorcery, but they moved on to build great stone cities and palaces in the desert and mountain regions of the Finity plane. However it was when they came into contact with human society that they found thier greatest potential. Nowadays they are fully integrated into human society and are known to be amazing engineers and craftsman, building cities and airships and the like. Some still practice the ancient magics of thier culture and become powerful mages. Only a few still choose the path of the righteous warrior.


Na'aven

Physical Description-
Females stand at least six feet tall, generally, while males normally top out at six feet. Both sexes have horns, but males have only small nub-like horns, while females have antlers like horns that curve back over the top of the skull. They have smooth skin varying from a deep tan to brown (basically the colors that coffee and the like come in, minus black), and thier hair is either white or a shade of reddish brown. Eye color is generally brown to gold or green, and rarely a slightly pinkish red (never blue, though!). Na'aven are fast, limber, and very agile. They are quite at home among the treetops. They have super-acute senses of sight, hearing, and smell. Na'aven also have the ability to tap into a hidden reserve of pent up enrgy while fighting, though by tapping into this they go into an uncontrollable berserker rampage and kill until there is nothing left that can be killed.

Na'aven Society
Na'aven have a very ascetic and isolationist society. They dislike and look down upon other races, and do not welcome visitors to thier treetop villages ever. However, as a group, they are extremely peaceful and have a very Zen attitude. They try thier best to become one with the nature around them. However, there is a very small, though highly elite, warrior caste. Males have the lowest caste, as they have no rights, but they also lead the most comfotable lives. Males only make up a very small percent of the already small population (this is due to the fact that females only come "in heat" very rarely). Due to the small number of males and the fact that they are the more fragile of the sexes, they are kept well protected and very happy.
Children are raised by the group, until they come of age, whereupon, females begin training for a specific part in the community, and males join the rest of the other males, though they go through a transitive process. Males are kept seperate from the rest of society, for the most part, unless they are being "used" at the moment (I think you all can guess what that means).
The Na'aven use a fairly tribal system of leadership. The leaders are more like guides than rulers. Because of the fact that the Na'aven are so in tune with everything around them, they don't need a strict form of government. These High Priestesses are simply the oldest and most experienced, and often lead in a council format, much like Native Americans.

Na'aven History-
Ages ago the Na'aven were a fierce race of bloodthirsty barbarians, they were mighty and powerful, but they were equally violent and had an insatiable craving for power. They fought and feuded amongst themselves. War raged for the Na'aven until one all-important day for the Na'aven as a race. One of thier elders was visited by a vision. She suddenly had reached a new sense of self, a level of cooperation with the natural world around her. She discovered that what the Na'aven needed was peace. She began to teach this new way of being, and it spread through the now few Na'aven like wildfire. The most fierce race of berserker warriors had been tamed by a thought. A few Na'aven did not adhere to this new way of thougt and sought to continue the ancient blood feuds, these few were banished from the rest of the tribes and driven out of the forest. They moved to a dark fen, hidden deep within black mists to continue the ancient ways. Whereas the rest of the Na'avens continued with thier peaceful ways and became one with the forest. Some still became warriors, warriors like no one else had ever seen, but they were merely guardians now, not the bloodthirsty ragers of that thier ancestors were.


As of yet unnamed reptile race
This race is physically dominant to the human society into which they are integrated. They are tall (being seven foot when standing erect) and very powerful, able to lift far heavier weight than normal humans. They are distant relatives of the snake, and dominant females of certain clans and bloodlines even bear the cobra's hood. Thier culture revolves around the sun, which, it is said, was once guarded by one of thier ancestors as it travelled through one of the planes of darkness. They generally come in two varieties, based on thier attitude and personality. Some are tricksters, thieves, and pirates. They are untrustworthy and disloyal. Others have a very zealot-like sense of justice, and are known to hold grudges. In human society they are either hired for physical labor, which they excel at and gladly take the job, or as bodyguards and mercenaries. Though known to be strong and powerful, they also have etremely sharp, near lightning quick reflexes. Some also have the heat sensing viper pits above thier nostrils, and most have poor eyesight.

Thats all I'm going to do for now, i'll organize this and explain more later. Its late and I need some sleep. Any questions, comment, and critiques are welcome.

Also, i've added a concept sketch of a Na'aven warrior.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Nice sketch!  So tell us a bit about your world.  Obviously you're using a mixed ruleset, not using the standard races and all; is it the same with classes, feats, magic, etc?

What kind of society and government do the Na'aven use for lifestyle?  Pretty matriarchal, but what kind of ruler(s) do they have?  By your description, I'm thinking a drow-type hierarchical structure (matriarch at the top of each family, daughters in high priestly positions below her, sons below that in farmer/trader/mercantile positions, and husbands nothing more than breeding stock?), but definitely not on the chaotic evil side.

You say pangolins are fully incorporated into human society; are they a fully evolved race (in terms of civilization, intelligence, language, etc), or sub-human intelligence?

[The_Stu]

Added some info. This thread will become longer and more organized as I go. Its a working process. I have a ton of info up here *taps head* its getting down in a cohesive manner thats hard.

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Excellent, you answered my questions.  You may want to consider dividing up posts though, or the first post in the thread may become unreadable to newcomers - we hear very often around here that a post that's too long doesn't get read as often as shorter, more episodic posts.  Maybe you could have a nice long intro in that first post, make another posts about races, then another about geography, and so forth.  Then, in the first post, you could link to later posts (we can show you how to do that).

Looking good so far!
-Ish