Darkstone

[Xathan]

I love it. Awesome stuff, really well written: Do you write fiction?

Ok, now for specifics. I love the Outsider, as I mentioned earlier, but this stuff is great. The idea of having it warp beings into horribly versions of what they were, drawing images from their nightmares, is great.

I like the elves. You make them good hearted bastards, a bit racist and condescending, which I always think elves should be, but still beatable enough. Making them Fey (not in type, but in name) fits what I've always pictured elves to be very well.

I love the idea of Talos, though I swear I've seen that name somewhere before. Awesome, and the idea of a nation being rules by a big evil mutant dragon thingy makes me happy in my little evil mutant soul.

I don't have many questions now: I need to chew on it some more before I can digest it properly. I'll give you a fuller review, complete with questions, later. For now, I have one word: "Awesome."

[Velox]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I don't often write fiction; I believe the majority of my fiction isn't up to snuff. But when I feel motivated to, I can do a fair bit of wordsmithing.

[quote Xathan]The idea of having it warp beings into horribly versions of what they were, drawing images from their nightmares, is great.[/quote]There is a problem with the Outsider however, that I hoped I could get help with.[/b] Do you guys think that this will detract from the light-hearted high adventure feeling I desire so much? I know that horrific monsters and inhuman mutations will not make people feel heroic... but can sacrafices be made? It worked on some level in Final Fantasy X... "Sin" was a horrible monster that created all kinds of freakish and horrific mutants, but when that thing wasn't around the game had the feeling of an adventure movie. Ideas? Opinions? Suggestions?

Good hearted, racist, condescending, but bearable (and I dare say lovable) is a great way to describe my vision of elves. I would be interested to hear Raelifins rants on them, because I always felt their role in RPG's was a bit unbalanced and somehow wrong... but their tragedy has become an essential part of the story of Darkstone; and as long as I don't have three bladesinging 500 year old underwear models in my group, elves can stick around. Also, I'd like to draw upon celtic mythology for the elves... but I don't know much about it. After I do some study, I'll throw some of my ideas up here. If you guys have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

In Greek mythology, Talos was a mean-ass god-forged bronze automaton. In Forgotten Realms, he's the evil god of storms and destruction. In Darkstone, he's a big evil mutant dragon thingy which makes all us little evil mutants smile :cyclops:.

I'm glad you liked the Elven Tragedy so much; it's a big hit with my players, too. They love to  make old veteran elven bladesingers still wanting to take the fight to Talos. It's certainly refreshing from Tolkien/FR elven nations of paradise.

Updated Regions section...

I just picked up some new books that might give me the mechanical game tools I need... then it's a bit more ancient history with "The Rise of Logan Darkblade", and then it's onto the modern world!

[Xathan]

Running wild today, so I'll just comment on this:

There is a problem with the Outsider however, that I hoped I could get help with. Do you guys think that this will detract from the light-hearted high adventure feeling I desire so much? I know that horrific monsters and inhuman mutations will not make people feel heroic... but can sacrafices be made? It worked on some level in Final Fantasy X... "Sin" was a horrible monster that created all kinds of freakish and horrific mutants, but when that thing wasn't around the game had the feeling of an adventure movie. Ideas? Opinions? Suggestions?

If done properly, yes it can work with the lighthearted setting you desire so much, and which i like as much as you do. It would have to be done very carefully, though. You'd need to use them frequently: If encountered often, the horrific becomes the mundane. When descirbing them, emphasise their deadlyness, not their alieness: Don't mention their eyes are empty pits which seem to lead directly to hell, but do mention they have big nasty claws for tearing things up. Don't have them often encountered with human entrails dripping from this maws: instead, mention they have suspicious brown stains on their weapons. Sure, both ways are frightening, but option A is terrifying and horrific, while option B is frightining because it is dangerous. Also, emphasise that these horrific mutations are the result of choice (if I remember correctly, it partially was, at least with the Twisted and Talos): It's alot more horrifying if the people were dragged down and twisted against their will.

Just my 2cp. More to come later, as well as my reply to your comments in Thaedia.

[Velox]

Timeline

(B.D. stands for Before Deliverance)
(A.D. stands for After Deliverance)

Roughly 9,000 BD: A great civilization rises in the fertile Nagrenis peninsula. They acheive a knowledge of science and the arcane unmatched even in the modern world.

Roughly 5,000 BD: A group of hunter/gatherers in the Great Gemedet Desert unite and discover blood magic; they form a great empire from their magical power.

Roughly 3,000 BD: The Nagrens mysteriouly dissapear.

Roughly 2,000 BD: The Gemedet Empire is destroyed by grievous magical error.

667 BD: the Outsider arrives. Cultists rise out of the underworld, people transform into horrible monsters, and the slaughter begins.

98 BD: The Dwarven clans unify into one nation, and create an alliance with Merede, the land of man. Dwarves discover the secrets of darkstone and blasting powder, but do not share the secrets with their new allies.

95 BD: The Feyfolk reveal themselves to men, and plans are made to destroy the outsider.

75 BD: Talos is felled in his home, Mount Talos.

0 AD: A great siege occurs on the remote island of D'ni, where the outsider first set foot upon the earth. Thousands of men and dwarves die, but they allow a small group of intrepid heros and a entourage of elven archmagi to penetrate the Citadel of the Damned, the Outsider's greatest fortress. A ritual is performed there, killing many of the archmagi in the process; the end result is the end of the struggle; the Outsider is banished to an unknown void, gone from earth forever.

1 AD: Bletsian is born in Merede. She traveles the land for ninety years before dissapearing.

[Xathan]

Histroy looks interesting. I'd love to know more about the Seige of D'ni, and about what happened from 2000 BD to 667 BD. Also, I'd really like to know about the life and travels of Bletsian, and what her teachings were etc: She's the most facinating character to me so far. :)

[Velox]

"The league ish shet, the game ish on."

YES! I have five players and five awesome characters for darkstone. The very characters themselves are shaping the world, and this initial seed storyline will shape the campaign setting as a whole. But the five characters that I've got... man... they're awesome. Darkstone players shouldn't read the following character backgrounds, as they make reveal secret info about a character.

[spoiler]Argas (Aaron): Minotaur warrior, airship boarding combat specialist, demolitions hobbyist, novice chemist. He is one of the few mechanically augmented Taurians; he has two additional prosthetic arms with human-sized hands (extemely useful for chemistry). Seperated from his tribe for unknown reasons (unspoken of, anyway), raised in Nargenis by a fugitive scientist, his adoptive father.

(Tim): Irish bard/pilot/boxer. Sky-ace, supreme pilot, military veteran, master pugilist, singing voice of an angel. Raised in a land oppressed by a foreign power, he seeks to free his people from the yoke of slavery; apparently through the gift of song and storytellying. That is, when he's not engaged in drunken bar brawls.

(Dave): Gunslinger/mercenary. Southern Battistan native, joined the Iron Hearts (a large mercenary company) at a young age. Traveled the world with the Iron Hearts as they gained fame and fortune as an army for hire that could accomplish any task. Idealistic and heroic, they often fought for the underdog at no charge. Eventually the Iron Hearts disbanded and (Dave) returned home to Battista. He fought in the War Between the Territories (the war for Southern Battistan Independance). Now he wanders the world, working for the various contacts he made during his mercenary career.[/spoiler]

Dragon's Rogue Scientist character is below... both his and Guy's character are on haitus, and Erik's character is in development.

[Xathan]

Well? Where is this promised later posting? I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of this. :D

[Velox]

One character in particular is very impressive... at least as far as plot impact and world change goes. They are all good characters :) Again, darkstone players shouldn't read the following, as it may contain information that the player wishes to remain secret.

[spoiler]He comes from a long line of scientists, explorers, and the curious types. A family theory, passed down for generations, is cherished like a precious heirloom, a rare treasure. The theory that darkstone is the fossilized remains of dragons. The beleif is that it would be sacriligeous to burn the remains of such (usually) noble creatures. He has studied at the greatest universities of the modern day, and has a keen grasp of the highest sciences. He was laughed out of his University because of his preposterous ideas, and is now outcast. He beleives that darkstone could be harnessed in other, more respectful (and more efficient and powerful) ways other than burning it. One theory is that it can be distilled into an elixer which can impart immortality, eternal youth,  vigor, and other supernatural abilities. In a classic adventure age sense the scientist tries his elixer in himself, resulting in a fantastic  Invisible Man/Dr.Jekyl$Mr.Hyde situation. The other theory is that it can be purified into a crystal, more dense and powerful (much like coal can be compressed into diamonds). These dark crystals (ahem... don't kill me Henson) could be integral parts to amazing magickal engines, complex reality-bending machines that produce impossible effects like levitation, flight, perpetual energy/motion, creation of energy/matter, etc.

This is Dragon's idea... the credit goes to him.[/spoiler]

[Xathan]

...a classic adventure age sense the scientist tries his elixer in himself, resulting in a fantastic Invisible Man/Dr.Jekyl$Mr.Hyde situation...

Do[/i] other people know what it does? Great stuff as always, keep it coming.

[Velox]

The following post may contain information that Darkstone players shouldn't read.

[spoiler]

This line really caught my attention. What actually did happen to the PC, power-wise? Would other people try this elixer and use it for military purposes, knowing what it does? Do other people know what it does? Great stuff as always, keep it coming.

The PC is slowly going to gain inhuman qualities. Some of these may seem draconic. Some may be simply reptillian or avain. Some may seem rather demonic. Almost all of them will be benefitial in some way, but there will drawbacks. Overall, however, he would become more than human. First his eyes would change into reptillian eyes. Then he might gain scaly patches of skin, greater muscle density, regenerative capabilities, clawed hands, offensive secretions (i.e. semi-breath weapons like acid sweat or caustic breath), hardened bones stronger than steel, more efficient metabolism and thus amazing vigor, his senses would become incredibly sharp to an almost precognitive ability, and eventually he would gain functional wings. He would be much faster, stronger, tougher, and keener than any normal human. The most obvious drawback is his inhuman appearance. It's hard to get chicks when you look like a gecko, and people become suspicious and fearful of you. This could become complicated and dangerous, especially among the ignorant and superstitious.  Other drawbacks could be changes to his mind, his way of thinking and viewing the world. His mind could indeed become more reptillian, as his motivations become more base (food, survival, reproduction). Perhaps he begins to gain strange tendencies and abberant behavior, like eating strange foods, making strange noises, and other conscious actions that people would find odd.

He is trying to keep this secret. He is on the run from certain authorities who consider his experiments to be immoral and unjust, an affront to common decency, and a crime against mankind. If any powerful organization had any idea of how powerful one could become through the use of this elixer, they would certainly try very hard to aquire it from him. They might try to purchase it, but it is more likely they will simply steal it. They might even settle for capturing and experimenting upon him. Several companies and governments would be fighting over him, and they would want their knowledge of this technology to be exclusive. Difficult, complicated, dangerous, and a hell of a lot of fun.[/spoiler]

[Velox]

I was playing Starcraft and Diablo when I realized how much fun I have controlling minions. It's just such a power trip and a lot of fun to have a bunch of lackeys at your complete control. Control over their actions and even their development. I want to impart that kind of experience into a roleplaying game; namely my game, Darkstone.

I was thinking of making up a "class" or maybe a feat/skill combo that imparted the ability to create, command, and upgrade a cadre of minions. I really want the player to have control over the make and development of his goons. The nature of the game isn't really evil or maniacal or dominating, so the minions in question shouldn't be sentient things bound to the will of one person. I was thinking maybe some sort of symbiotic organism that one could train to use, somehow use it to spawn and evolve little monsters that were in some way a part of you. Basically you could take a part of yourself, seperate it, and let it grow and develop into an independant extension of yourself. As much as I got to like the idea, it just doesn't fit into the steamcraft industrial post-fantasy revolution that is Darkstone. I may use the idea for another game though...

What I decided was best was the Mad Scientist and his robotic creations. Mad scientists are a essential part of Darkstone, as they're the innovaters and adventurers who create all the strange-tech stuff that gives the game its name; experiments with darkstone and other supernatural resources. I liked the idea of a mad scientist hoarding and gathering and scavenging resources to build a bunch of robots of his own design (patents pending!), using them to aquire more resources, repair and build more mechancial servants, perform dangerous but lucrative experiments, discover the undiscovered, and to protect meek field researchers. Before I continue, a word on computers and robotics in Darkstone.

High-Tech VRS. Modern Tech
[spoiler]One of the core concepts of Darkstone is science fiction, but without modern technology. What this means is I like to put a whole lot of advanced technology capable of great and impressive feats, but without any of the convenience or trappings of modern-day technology. A lack of information technology is essential, and no personal or "user-friendly" technology. The high technology is either mass-produced and simple (with a warranty!) or high-specialized and complicated (mostly the latter). The reason for all this is to increase the feeling of being in a different world from our own, a world with different possibilites and different laws, and also to increase gameplay fun. It's alot more fun to describe a journey when "getting in your car" or "buying and airplane ticket" aren't options (riding the train is, but I digress... besides, trains are nostalgic and fun). This means that mechanical systems, prosthetics, robotics, and indeed computers themselves have to operate without modern microchips, televisions, disks, or CDs. The people of Darkstone will never know what a computer is.[/spoiler]

Logic Engines
[spoiler]Instead, they have Logic Engines. Not a computer as we know it, the Logic engine isn't really a user-friendly device. In fact, it really indirectly serves the user and the user doesn't have a lot of control over a Logic Engine. Logic engines are huge machines the size of a large house, maybe 100'x100'x100'. They are expensive beyond the means of any individual. Once properly crafted and calibrated, a Logic Engine is nearly independant. It serves as a consultant, strategist, accountant, engineer, analyst, scientist, and countless other academic and mental positions. In Darkstone they function as demi-gods on earth, super-intellegences capable of impossible feats of the mind. They program robotic legions with long-term orders and parameters for particular missions; a task that would take human technicians months, but a Logic Engine could have hundreds programmed in hours. They offer predictions and forecasts about possible outcomes. If posed with problems, they offer different solutions, options, and perspectives that are often difficult for a human mind to fathom. True Artificial Intellengce, the very pinnacle of information technology, is the only real trace of information technology in Darkstone. Smaller logic engines are incapable of independant thought or complicated desicions; they mainly serve to store and process pre-recorded programs that dictate a machine's actions. One can program a robot to travel to a location, identify someone, and kill them; one cannot give a general order such as "find out what they're up to", but you can program it to go somewhere specific, take pictures, and return. Logic Engines and the smaller, plentiful, much-less-capable versions are both made exclusively by one company (dunno what to call the company, maybe a blade runner referance). I'm thinking of making this company from Martel (the quasi-french area of Darkstone), and thus making the Martel military/security force composed mainly of automatons on orders from Logic Engines.[/spoiler]

Company Policy
[spoiler]Capitalism dominates civilized Darkstone. No where has this taken hold like it has in Martel. It is a country where the poor are destitute and the rich are decadent. The individual is worth nothing, the company is worth more, and money is worth everything. The company dictates every policy and action under the motivation of aquiring more money. With the patents to Logic Engines and basic automation secured, Marten mechanical companies devote little money to research, do not buy many new patents, and simply produce what creates profit. More so, they actively seek to crush any opposition, any attempt to cut into their profits or to undermine their business. This is the standard policy of most scientific-industrial manufacturing companies in Darkstone; aquire the patents to produce the goods, destory any opposing patents or goods, secure the source of income and maintain the monopoly. Scientists are hired or they cannot practice their craft. Independant science has taken much more romantic and adventurous (and dangerous) tones than is normally expected of men in white coats and thick glasses. The independant scientist lives outside the unfair laws of greedy and destructive companies and industrialists, he lives hungry, and he lives on the edge of great success or miserable failure. (Note that the rise of the corporation has not yet occured in Darkstone, and most companies are the sole properties and responsiblities of a small handful of incredibly wealthy men; this is the age of the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Fords)[/spoiler]

Applied Robotics in the Field
[spoiler]What all this means is that the patents and designs of most robots and Logic Engines are the sole property of this one company and its home country. Anyone who wants to develop their own automation needs to do so independantly, and oftentimes illegally. One could "start from the drawing board" and design their own Logic Engines and robots, but science works best by standing on the shoulders of others. Most automaton technicians buy stolen copies of the original patented designs and plans for Logic Engines and robots, and modify these designs enough to avoid prosecution and to (more importantly) implement their own theories and ideas on robotics and automation. So what we have is an entire school of science, mechanical automation, that is composed of criminals (the non-Marten ones, anyway). Risk, reward, danger, innovation, power, prosecution, and occasional-violence are common traits among the leaders in the field of mechanical automation (which is the design of mechanical creatures) and automated logic (which is the design of mechanical intellegence).[/spoiler]

Robots, Automatons, and Machine People
[spoiler]The variety of designs for automatons is as great as the variety of life on Earth. Hundreds of great minds working 24/7 on innovating and creating new automatons just for the sake of creating something new. This is the adventure, the challenge, the frontier; to be the first, to make the first, to create greatness. The smallest are the size of large insects, maybe the size of a golfball (these are, of coure, of greatly limited capacity in mobility, capability, and intellegence), to the largest automatons, which are gigantic war-machines, stories tall and capable of leveling a city... and everything in between. The most popular and useful models tend to be the ones based on animals, especially the versatility and obvious benefits offered in an anthropod design.[/spoiler]

Controlling the Beast
[spoiler]After constructing an army of mechanical minions, one needs to be able to control them, to talk to them, to direct them to do his bidding. This is accomplished either through direct control or through programming. Direct control invloves some sort of console with many buttons, levers, gauges, switches, dials, etc., all connected to the automaton through cables or a short-range guass-transmiter (a line-of-sight electrical signal trasmitting device, similar to wireless telegraph or morse code). Gauss transmitters are expensive, difficult to maintain, but the only form of wireless signal trasmission.[/spoiler]

Mechanical Logic
[spoiler]Automated mechanical beings require a miniaturized logic engine to operate independantly of direct control. This very small (the smallest being the size of a grape) calculating machine can record parameters, triggers, restrictions, and directions to its actions. The larger and more complex engines hold more programs and carry them out with greater precision. The typical miniaturized logic engine (about the size of a large grapefruit or softball) can hold dozens of programs and carries them out with a level of intellegence similar to that of a dog. The types of programs that can be entered into a logic engine are at the technicians discretion. Typical orders are simple commands like "attack anyone who enters this room" or "capture anyone over three feet tall" or "when the word 'rum' is said, pour liquid from the white bottle into a glass for 1.4 seconds, then add two ice cubes.". These programs are actually based off of other programs; for example the "attack" program listed above would have to have an "attacking" program already in the engine (the robot has to know how to attack to attack anyone). This involves creating a program instructing the robot how to swing its arms/claws/legs and where to aim, or how to operate any integral weaponry, or perhaps how to aquire and use procured weaponry. The overall effect is that the intellegence of the machine is determined by the size and power of the logic engine, modified by the skill of the programmer. With a reasonably sized logic engine and an excellent programmer, you can compare the intelligence of the automaton to that of a small child or a chimp.[/spoiler]

[Velox]

As always, some minor updates to regions.

[Velox]

More updates to regions and the current cast of players.

[Velox]

hmmmm... how can Venetia be loosely governed by the Republic AND have 100 different little governments AND be an equivalent anarchist state? Does that make any sense? I'm excited about the Carakan sea... welcome to El Carrib.

[CYMRO]

hmmmm... how can Venetia be loosely governed by the Republic AND have 100 different little governments AND be an equivalent anarchist state? Does that make any sense?

Anarchist state?  A bit of an oxymoron...

Are you familiar with Pratchett's Discworld?
The Wizards of Unseen University are autonomous from the city of Ankh-Morpork and will pay no taxes.  The Patrician "respects" their autonomy, but must have his cash, therefore there is an agreement that the Wizards pay no tax, and the Patrician will ask for none so long as the Wizards  make a generous cash donation to the city every year.  

Thus you have an example of an autonomous bureaucracy inside a greater government system that gets even more fun when you consider all of the other guilds and their separate "deals" with the various guilds.