Datrik Discussion Thread

[Xathan]

The Aliens are aberrations, but although Alien = Aberration, Aberration does not = alien. There are some Aberrations that are native to Datrik. (The aliens are going to have an extraterrestrial subtype or something along those lines.) I like the idea of tying psionics to the aliens, and I am definitely going to make a PC/NPC alien race or two. The Kaorti are similar to what I want in feel, but not in appearance or ability to what I am going for. If I go this route, which I find very appealing, I think I might make psionics related to aberrations or aliens in the same way sorcery is related to dragons â,¬' including most PC psions having aberration blood.

I was thinking about taking HoH archivist and making it a binder or truespeaker class, as both would fit it flavor wise, and I really, really donâ,¬,,¢t want the PCs having access to any Cleric or Wizard spells, and I might restrict psionics for the same reason, especially if I tie psionics to Aberrations.

On the vein of warlocks, I have two options Iâ,¬,,¢m considering

1)   Warlocks are born, but not by accident. Powerful Incarnates and Shadowcasters, working together in the last days of the war, were able to permanently infuse the blood of certain people with the warlockâ,¬,,¢s powers. Certain families, because of this, are almost always warlocks, but illicit affairs and bastard children mean warlocks can pop up anywhere
2)   Warlockism is a natural occurring phenomena that began around the time of the sky falling. Some people think the gods infused certain people with this power to help defend humanoidanity, while others think it was nature giving her children this power as a defense against things whoâ,¬,,¢s existence was anathema to her. Some point to the visages as granting warlock powers. Regardless, warlocks happen randomly, without rhyme or reason.

No sure which one to use, but either one would fit the bill. I might even consider warlocks have it in their blood from celestials, fiends, and/or dragons, like sorcerers do in normal DnD.

As for MOI, it has two full casting classes and one half casting class, but if I include the ranger I will be making it a Meldshaper, replacing its half divine casting with half soulmeld casting, that would make it two full and two half. I like the scout, though, and it would be nice to have another roguish type class running around. I might put both in their â,¬' the scout more part of the military, the Incarnate ranger the defender of nature in its new form.

I am going to be keeping the classes somewhat limited in scope, but not too much so: I love options. Here are the classes I plan on including

[spoiler]
In = Incarnum Class, Iv = Invoking class, B = Binding Class, S = Shadow class, T = Truenamer class, P = Psionic Class

Almost Definitely In
Incarnate (In)
Soulborn (In)
Totemist (In)
Ranger (In)
Warlock (Iv)
Fighter
Rogue
Barbarian
Scout
Binder (B)
Shadowcaster (S)
Truenamer (T)
Hexblade (Iv or S)

Maybes
Archivist (B or T)
Witchborn Killer (Homebrew Iv)
Shapeshifter (For those who miss druid wild shape)
Shadowsmith (S) Take the PrC in ToM and make it into full class.
Soulknife (P) â,¬' probably the only socially acceptable psionic class, though I need to do some work on it to fix it if I include it, because as is it is too weak.

Aliens Only
Psion (P)
Psionic Warrior (P)
Wilder (P)
Dementist (Homebrew P)
 [/spoiler]

As is, without the maybe classes, I have 13 classes. With maybe, I have 17.  Not too bad, IMO, though this is for now. A PC could play a psionic class, but it would be even worse than trying to play an arcane class in Dark Sun, as far a stigma goes â,¬' and it would be damn near impossible to hide, once combat started.

As far as survival and setting, the setting has had enough time where there can be a few NPC classes, mostly commoner and experts. However, both have their HD increased by one step, their attack bonus made to be Ã,¾ (if the expert isnâ,¬,,¢t already), weapon proficiency changed to all simple weapons, short sword, and light crossbow, and armor proficiency changed to light armor and shields. Everyone gets some combat training, even farmer types, so they are slightly more dangerous in combat than in normal DnD, and wonâ,¬,,¢t die as easily. No lasting settlement fails to train their people in the basics of combat and defense, which is what these minor changes represent. Their arenâ,¬,,¢t any warriors â,¬' people who donâ,¬,,¢t get full combat training and become fighters or other military types go back to commoner life.
As for what caused the falling, Iâ,¬,,¢m not telling. :-P I plan on testing this world in a PbP game over here and on Giant ITP, and maybe on the Wiz boards, so I donâ,¬,,¢t want to give it away. Big mystery there, and part of the setting is about mystery.

[spoiler]Also, I havenâ,¬,,¢t really decided yet. Thatâ,¬,,¢s the real reason. :P[/spoiler]

Thanks for the help, Xeviat. I'll look over some of your stuff later on today. :)

[Epic Meepo]

"Warlockism" is my new favorite word.

[Xathan]

"Warlockism" is my new favorite word.

Glad you like. Making up words is fun, and it was the only one that could describe what I had in mind. :)

[Xathan]

Races of Datrik

Finally, I have some of the races up. Questions, as always, are much appreciated. These are all bare bone information only.

[note=elves]Elves exist in Datrik, but they live on the first moon of the world, the emerald moon of Slyvathinos. Slyvathinos will be a setting in and of itself, and Elvin interaction with Datrik is minimal, as of now.[/note]

Rathians:
[spoiler]Our race is a failure. Our sacred duty was compromised, and now the darkness we guarded the world against is in the hands of the evil ones. We are a failure. And with that knowledge comes our liberty: for with our fate no longer bound to the ruins above, we can make our own destiny, and find a success in the ashes of ruin.
-Hitha Silvereye, Remaker spiritual leader and Rathian Totemspeaker

The rathians are an old tribal people who were native to the surface along with humanity and the shimmerfolk. On the surface, the rathians were masters of incarnum, who wielded that power as part of their own body. They worked with the elves to safeguard ancient ruins that no When the sky fell and the world was drained, the Rathians fled underground, leaving their charges unguarded. Now they live in the mushroom forests of the World Below, divided into two factions. One, the Reclaimers, seek to develop new ways to use incarnum that would allow them to reclaim the surface and protect the ruins from those who came with the Void. The others, the Remakers, believe that Rathians are now a free people who must find their own destiny. Remaker totemists, working with Athentui psions, were able to develop the first primitive methods of binding incarnum to inanimate objects, and many of the wonders enjoyed today that utilize incarnum are their work.[/spoiler]

Tirkiki
[spoiler]̢,"We are".
-Tirkiki Drone being spoken to once severed from its queen. Not much more information could be gathered, as the creature was only unable to mutter fragments of words that did not make sense in context. The phrase "We are" was a response to the question "Do you understand us?," and was spoken in the Tirkiki language.

The tirkiki are an insectile race that lives in great hive cities hanging from the ceiling of the lowerlands. Divided into breeds, Tirkiki are an odd species to comprehend. The Queens rule the Tirkiki. The Drones, Workers, and Soldiers all actually completely lack independent thought: they are extensions of the Queen that birthed them, much in the same way fingers are extensions of the human that grew them. The Free are Tirkiki especially bred for independent thought, and serve the Queens as advisors and ambassadors, since most races try to interact with Tirkiki that are extensions of the Queen as if they were independent beings. The Free also occasionally undertake missions for their Hive or even wander off on their own, which form the bulk of Tirkiki adventurers.[/spoiler]

Glimmerfolk
[spoiler]Sing for the sun, still in the sky.
Sing for the wind that will never die.
Sing for the people who live and grow.
Sing for the life we found below.
-One of the 347 verse of the glimmerfolk Joy, an epic song of hope.

The glimmerfolk are a people in constant celebration. Renowned for their great works of portable art and their epic songs, the glimmerfolk travel from city to city in the lowerlands, spreading their way and their message of hope. They are creatures of passion and beauty, and liaisons between glimmerfolk and members of other races are common. Most human cities welcome glimmerfolk for the breath of fresh air they bring, and have laws protecting glimmerfolk in their territories.[/spoiler]


Tuorth
[spoiler]My honor is my pack, my blood is my den, my heart is my kin, my soul is my blade.
- Recitation of Tuorth warriors before battle, a ritualized version of the 3rd principal of gruâ,¬,,¢dagâ,¬,,¢poth
The Tuorth are a lupine warrior race native to the Lowerlands. They spend the darktimes, the nights of the lowerlands, out hunting in the darkness. By day, they congregate in cities called dens, where they keep the young and the weak. Tuorth life is centered around the principals of gruâ,¬,,¢dagâ,¬,,¢poth, the Laws of the Pack. Highly ritualized and bound in honor, Tuorth often seem inscrutable to outsiders. However, non can deny their martial prowess, and a member of another race who is adopted by a Tuorth has the most stalwart ally that could be hoped for. Some noble houses perform great services to have a pack of Tuorth adopt that house as Pack, which gives them deadly and powerful bodyguards and soldiers to bolster their ranks.

Makos
[spoiler]Coming soon![/spoiler]

[Soup Nazi]

1. Which were the races with which you were unhappy?

2. What about them in your opinion seems unsatisfactory?

3. Am I correct to assume these races are in addition to the PHB races (with the exception of the elves of course)?

4. What kind of interaction do these races have with one another? What about with the PHB races?

5. Should I continue asking questions, or wait for a response?

-Nate-

[Xathan]

I was unhappy with the Tuorth, but when writing up their description I got the idea for The Laws of the Pack, which really improved them for me. The Tuorth prior to that were pretty much Orcs with lupine features - they didn't have anything distinguishing them, and I wasn't too happy with them.

The others are the Tirkiki. I love the concept, but what I have down doesn't feel quite...right. I don't know, I just can't get down the Tirkiki in a satisfactory way. What I now have is the best idea for them so far, but it still feels somewhat off for some reason.

3) I was originally going to exclude all PHB races, but I'm thinking now that would be a bad idea. With such an exotic setting, making the races too exotic would make the players too off balance, and lessen their interest in the game. If I do keep PHB races in, I might still cut out dwarves and gnomes regardless, or at least alter them significantly. (I'm not a huge fan of either race). So that one remains up in the air for now. As an alternative, I might put the PHB races on the moons with the elves, which would keep familiarity and yet have them distant and rare enough to keep the setting unique. (Interlunar and lunar to terrestrial travel does happen, just very, very rarely.)

4) Interracial relations work something like this:
The Rathians have good relations with Athentui humans, who are a group of humans who built up a psionic culture in the Lowerlands, and with the Tuorth, who they share territory with. They rarely interact with Tirkiki hives, and when they do, they (like most races) have trouble understanding which Tirkiki are free and not, which leads to confusion. The Rathians have poor relations with the Glimmerfolk, who will have a description up shortly, but are basically wandering nomads with magical powers and a flighty disposition. The Rathians find them irritating and irresponsible.

The Tirkiki actually have trouble distinguishing between other humanoids, except for the obviously lupine Tuorth, so treat most races equally. They have a lot of trouble understanding the value of individual life, since 90% of the entities in Tirkiki society are not separate entities of a queen, leading Tirkiki (especially the queens) to regard killing a humanoid as even less of an offence then we would regard giving someone a small cut. This lead to a lot of altercations when humanoids entered the territories of hives at first, and relations are strained. Most Tirkiki hives wonâ,¬,,¢t kill individual humans, though they have trouble understanding why. Free Tirkiki have an easier time understanding why not, though some do struggle.

Glimmerfolk have good relations with humanity, who sees them as nice breaths of fresh air and welcome additions to any community, though they never stay long. Tuorths and Rathians dislike glimmerfolk, finding their flighty ways irritating and their lack of commitment a sign of weakness more than anything else. Glimmerfolk are terrified of the average Tirkiki, for the Glimmerfolk value individuality above all else, and the Tirkiki are the ultimate in communal society.

5) The more questions, the better. Just understand the more you ask, the longer it will take me to reply, but other than that, ask as many questions as you can think of.  

[Xathan]

Glimmerfolk info added.

[Soup Nazi]

I think your insectoid race is very poor as a PC race. Their lack of individuality, inability to communicate effectively, and mechanical detachment from death make them terrible adventuring companions.

What if however, they adopted their adventuring party as their new hive? It might work well if they applied those same quirky behaviors to the defense and protection of their adventuring companions.

Keep at least humans on your world. The players will want something they are familier with, that isn't completely alien to them. It would be nicer if you kept an evem mix of new races and old races four new races, along with maybe dwarves, humans, halflings, and gnomes? Just throwing it out there...feel free to ignore this; it just gives things a nice balance.

Do you still need some Tuorth ideas? I have an intimate familarity with Werewolf:the Apocolypse, so I've got all sorts of tribal lupin-like lore stored away in my brain that I never use.

-Nasty-

[Xathan]

That's an interesting thought, adopting the adventuring party as their new hive. I should have defined the personallity of the "Free" caste of the Tirkiki better: they can communicate with other races, they have individual personality and free will, and they understand that their death is like a queens death, only less important in their society. However, they will be more likely to be followers, not leaders, have difficulty resisting mind influencing effects, and are more likely than most be self-sacrificing, even with their lives.

Oh, I will at least keep humans there. Humans almost always need to be on a world, IMO, to provide a baseline and a sense of familiarty, and to give a point of comparision: everything else is always judges in how it is different from humanity, since we ARE humans.

As for the other races...I might. That's still up in the air. Eliminating elves, half-elves, and half-orcs and having the setting contain only dwarves, halfings, gnomes, humans, and my four homebrew races might be nice. I'd have to seriously rewrite dwarf and gnome culture to like them, though: which I could do. I'm definatly going to think about it.

Thanks for the offer for the Tuorth ideas, but I think they are coming along nicely in my mind. I don't want to make them too much like Werewolves (never played the game, and know very little about it, but I hate making the Tuorth too like something already made if I can help it.)

Again, thanks for your help, Nasty - You've really helped me solidify some things in my mind, and I have new areas to think about.

[Soup Nazi]

Your welcome. Let me know if you need anything else.

-Nasty-

[Xathan]

Posting this incomplete fragment here so I don't lose it, since I'm on my girlfriends laptop.

[spoiler][note=Using the Coven]The Coven is designed to be usable in any campaign setting, though it is geared towards Datrik, since an international organization of vampires becomes much more sinister when the sun no longer sheds its harmful rays. Still, any world in which vampires should/do play a large role can utilize the Coven. Although shadow magic plays a large role in the Coven, it is easy to substitute that for simple shadow and darkness spells, or even just Illusion in general, and still keep the flavor.[/note]

In the shadows of the cities of Datrik their name is whispered by those who know the deepest truths of the darkness. On the surface they struggled against a foe that they could not overcome. Now beneath the surface, the Coven can move freely, for the suns hateful rays no longer stand in their way. Although by no means open, the Coven has become bolder and bolder.

The Coven is an organization of vampires, founded by the Dread Vampire Culardin over three thousand years before the Voidfall. Since then, it has expanded, and when the Voidfall occurred, the vampires were the first to move to the lowerlands. Now, the Coven sits in every major cavern, and has a figure in almost every city.[/spoiler]

[Soup Nazi]

Vampires eh? I've been thinking about them recently too. I feel like the Sylec are particularly underexplored in Sulos. I've been wondering about how I could add more to them in a nice little sidebar. Now you've got my gears churning again.

-Nasty-

[Xathan]

Ishy, could you lock this thread? I'm going to make two new ones, one for feedback, one for info: spreading it out makes things much easier. :)

[Xathan]

Scratch that, actually. I'm just going to use this as the discussion thread instead. New information is up, check out the Aberrations and Incarnum for brand new material. I've cut out the insect people for now, though they are not gone forever, and I'm still working on what to do with the core races.

[Soup Nazi]

The aberrations (there's no way I'm gonna try to spell their names Ytholasomethingorother) seem really cool and really nasty. The only thing I think is kind of cheesy are the tentacles that end in mouths. I think they should end in scalpal-like hooks, cuz it's creepier.

I like how there are lots of rumors, but no hard facts about when, why, and how they came to Datrik. That's perfect for anyone who actually wants to DM something in the setting. Leaving some of the details in the hands of the indivudual who runs the game is great, and enables you as the writer to keep your options open too.

I haven't checked out the Incarnum stuff yet, but that's just because the whole system turns my stomach. For the sanctity of Datrik however, I will do it anyway. Everything else is so great, that I'll have to give them a fair shot I suppose; you haven't let me down yet Xathan.

-Nasty-