Syoni'cus

[Illithid00]

Syoni'cus is my homebrew campaign that I'm currently running/building. I'm interested in what you guys think about it. I got a lot of my inspiration from what I know of Eberron.

Races[spoiler]Races
Humans
Elves
Dwarves
Halflings
Orcs
Half-orcs
Half-elves
Goblins
Blue goblins
Hobgoblins
Poison Dusk Dragonfolk
Ilvorn Dragonfolk (reflavored raptorans)
Raptorans
Gnolls
Catfolk
Warforged
Warforged Scouts
Shifters
Dromites
Thri-kreen
Kobolds
Dragonborn
Rilkans
Dusklings
Skarn
Azurin

All of these races have a fairly significant role in the world, but some are more prominent than others. The most common, dominant races are: human, elf, orc, hobgoblin, warforged, dromite and kobold. However, a player could choose from any one of those races to play.
[/spoiler]

Nations [spoiler]These are the nations as they exist so far on Syoni'cus.

Zylnar
Zylnar is best known for its psions. The psions of Zylnar were the original creators of the warforged. Zylnar is dominated almost entirely by humans and halflings. Zylnar is one of the few nations that still endorse legal slavery of warforged. The Great Dragon Atothteraux, a black ancient wyrm, was one of the Great Dragons that began the Last Dragon Wars. Zylnar has no official religion, and its citizens tend to be very racist and condescending to anyone who is not a human or halfling. Warforged in Zylnar are looked upon as little better than insects. Zylnar is the only nation on Syoni'cus that has no official religion and also encourages its citizens to not worship any deity.

Quinlan
Quinlan is a nation led by the elves. Quinlan's Great Dragon ruler, Liriallina, a great wyrm green, has graciously given the land of Arrauk to refugees from the conquered nations in the Last Dragon Wars, including the orcs, Poison Dusk lizardfolk, gnolls, and catfolk. Quinlan was the nation to originally propose both the War's-End Treaty and the postwar Alliance of Light. They proposed the Alliance of Light to discourage Zylnar and Morgak from aggressive actions. Quinlan was also the first nation to publicly free its warforged and gave them full citizenship. Liriallina's second-in-command is a male elf psion named Qinlarax.

Arrauk
The orcs are a people in exile, but the elves gave them the land of Arrauk for the orcs to regroup to eventually retake their land from the hobgoblins. Arrauk was originally designated an area for orc refugees, but it has become a place for members of all races to come for safety from the horrors of war and lands that were conquered by Zylnar and Morgak.

Morgak
During the course of the Last Dragon Wars, the hobgoblins of Syoni'cus rose up and fought to establish a nation of slavery and despair. They succeeded; Morgak is the result of their effort. Thus far, Morgak has been able to keep any Great Dragons from taking over, but there are rumors of Nimaunsassuk the Silver having ambitious thoughts toward Morgak. Nimaunsassuk the Silver is a horrifically cruel and deadly dragon who rose to power as the commanding general of the Armies of Zylnar. Morgak is currently preparing to defend itself from the silver wyrm, and also beginning to look to other lands to conquer.

Droxik
The dromite race lives in Droxik, along with the thri-kreen and catfolk. The dromites of Droxik have the oldest known civilization on Syoni'cus that still exists. It is believed that the dromites were the race that first embraced the strange mental powers of psionics. Droxik, located on the continent of Dal'okaa, is the ancestral home of the dromites and is believed to be the place where the race originated.[/spoiler]

That's what I have for now. Later on I'll try to post some more. Any ideas/suggestions/critiques/comments are all welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read all this stuff!

[Hibou]

Well, not much to say until there's more to read. While I don't tend to like settings with more than a handful of races, I get the vibe that the orcs in your setting aren't the bad guys, which is cool.

[Illithid00]

The orcs aren't the bad guys in this setting. I was tired of the old cliche of orcs being the traditional ancient enemy of elves. So, I went exactly the opposite and made the orcs into allies of the elves. I kept the savage flavor of the orcs, but the elves in my world aren't the uptight, conservative beings that are afraid of change like they are in most campaigns I've played in. Instead, elves are open to the lifestyles and cultures of all other races and nations. So, they embraced the orcs when the hobgoblins of Morgak conquered the lands that formerly belonged to the orcs.

In Syoni'cus, the hobgoblins are the big "evil" race, although the humans of Zylnar come close.

Morgak, land of the hobgoblins, is a stolen land. The goblinoids stole the land from the orcs, gnolls, and catfolk. Morgak is a horrible land. There are hundreds of slave camps that hold humans, orcs, catfolk, and even other goblinoids. Goblins are a race enslaved to their hobgoblin cousins; the only goblins that gain any status at all are the blues. The blues, from the Expanded Psionics Handbook, along with the blue hobgoblins, use their psionic powers to rule the nation. They are the power behind the masterful military strategies that led to the hobgoblins carving out a prominent nation during the end of the Last Dragon Wars.

[Illithid00]

OK, I said I'd post some more, so here it is. This is mostly race-related info. Enjoy!

Dromites [spoiler]
Dromites
Dromites are a race of insectile humanoids who are psionic in nature. If you don't have the stats, you can find them in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. I don't want to put them on here because it might infringe on the copyright.

Dromites were the first race to discover psionics around 4000 years prior to the start of the campaign (year 5039. They have lived in their ancestral homeland of Droxik on the easternmost continent of Dal'okaa for as long as anyone can remember (5039 years, when history was first recorded). The discovery of psionics came from the ritual of egg-creation, which uses psionic energy to activate the creation of eggs to continue the species. There are four castes in dromite society, each with its own associated element that they manifest with their energy ray innate ability. The four castes are Flame, Frost, Dissolving, and Spark.

Flame Caste--Members of this caste tend to be very quick to show emotion, be it anger, laughter, or sadness. They are very passionate and they don't hold long term grudges very easily. The favored class of members of the Flame Caste is wilder. The element used in their energy ray is always fire.

Frost Caste--Frost Caste members are slow to make decisions. They take the time to fully think through everything before making any actions, but their actions usually tend to be the right one for the situation. Members of the Frost Caste tend to be very quiet and introspective. Frost Caste members always use cold in their energy ray innate power, and their favored class is psion.

Dissolving Caste--Members of the Dissolving Caste mostly tend to lawful alignments, and usually have cruel tendencies. They are more savage and far less civilized than the other three castes. Their favored class is soulknife, and for their energy ray they use acid.

Spark Caste--The Spark Caste is characterized by their constant motion. They seem unable to sit still and they rush through life as fast as they can. They believe that any time not spent in activity is wasted and lost forever. They embrace any decision that allows for swift action, though are usually conscious of the amount of danger involved in any decision. They embrace any and all forms of activity, believing that life must be experienced to the fullest. The favored class of the Spark Class dromites is either psion or wilder (each individual chooses for themselves) and their preferred element is electricity.


Dromites don't understand the concept of "gender" as they themselves don't have gender. At this point in time, dromites consider warforged to be closest to their way of life as it relates to gender. Warforged who were created in dromite lands typically don't pick a gender and instead have a similar outlook to that of dromites.

Dromites reproduce by undergoing a psionic ritual. Two or more dromites spend 12 hours actively meditation and focusing their energy together. At the end of 12 hours, a small crystal (1gp worth) becomes psionically charged and glows with an inner light. The crystal takes nine months to grow to the size of a softball, at which time it hatches out a small larva. This worm-like larva spends two years in this form, then forms a chrysalis for five months. At the end of the five months, a small dromite claws its way out of the chrysalis. A dromite takes 15 years to reach adulthood, hits middle age at 40, reaches old age at 60, becomes venerable at around 80 years of age, and maximum age is anywhere between 82-140.[/spoiler]

Goblinoids  [spoiler]
Goblinoids--Goblins, Blues, and Hobgoblins
At the end of the Last Dragon Wars, when the dust settles, the hobgoblin nation, Morgak, had carved out a sizable portion of the main continent, Vornuil. The hobgoblins are the undisputed rulers of Morgak, and have enslaved all other races within their borders. The only exception to this is the varags. The varags are a less evolutionarily advanced goblinoid who fight for the hobgoblins.

The hobgoblins are ruled by psionic goblinoids with blue skin, known as the blues. Both hobgoblins and normal goblins can be of the "blue" variety. The birth of a blue is seen as a potent, powerful event that will somehow positively impact goblinoid society. While goblins are enslaved to their larger, more intelligent cousins, blue goblins are of an even higher class than normal hobgoblins. Blue hobgoblins hold the highest rank in all of goblinoid society.

The goblinoids of Morgak have begun to look at the fertile land of Aralak to their south with envious eyes. The elves and orcs have started preparations to retake the lands in Morgak back for the orcs, and the Great Dragon Nimaunsassuk the Silver is beginning to look hungrily at the hobgoblin lands.[/spoiler]

I think that's all I have at this point for tonight. I may post some more stuff tomorrow or later tonight if I'm hit with inspiration. Commonts/critique/ideas are always welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[Kindling]

I'm not gonna go into a full-blown review right now, but one things stands out...the names for your dromite castes.

So, you start out great, Flame Caste, Frost Caste... tells you immediately what they do, and have a certain poetic ring to them. You can easily imagine (or I can, at least) some mighty dromite hero being announced as "Such-and-Such Goblinhammer, of the Fire Caste" or "So-and-so the Wise,  of the Frost Caste"

But then, I with the last two... I can't help but feel... I dunno, can you really imagine someone proudly saying they're a member of the "Dissolving Caste"?

I'm sure there are beter names for these last two, which still convey the essence of their abilities and personality. Perhaps something as simple as the Acid Caste and the Lightning Caste?

Sorry if this seems overly critical, it just kind of jumped out at me as something that didn't quite ring true.

Otherwise I can't see anything wrong with your setting at all, and when I have some more time on my hands, I'll hopefully do a proper review of it as a whole.

[Illithid00]

Yeah, I have to agree about the caste names now that I really think about it. Thanks for the input, and I'm looking forward to hear a full review. Thanks.

[Kindling]

Races
Humans
Elves
Dwarves
Halflings
Orcs
Half-orcs
Half-elves
Goblins
Blue goblins
Hobgoblins
Poison Dusk Lizardfolk
Ilvorn Lizardfolk (reflavored raptorans)
Raptorans
Gnolls
Catfolk
Warforged
Warforged Scouts
Shifters
Dromites
Thri-kreen
Kobolds
Dragonborn
Rilkans
Dusklings
Skarn
Azurin

All of these races have a fairly significant role in the world, but some are more prominent than others. The most common, dominant races are: human, elf, orc, hobgoblin, warforged, dromite and kobold. However, a player could choose from any one of those races to play.

Quinlan
Quinlan is a nation led by the elves. Quinlan's Great Dragon ruler, Liriallina, a great wyrm green, has graciously given the land of Arrauk to refugees from the conquered nations in the Last Dragon Wars, including the orcs, Poison Dusk lizardfolk, gnolls, and catfolk. Quinlan was the nation to originally propose both the War's-End Treaty and the postwar Alliance of Light. They proposed the Alliance of Light to discourage Zylnar and Morgak from aggressive actions. Quinlan was also the first nation to publicly free its warforged and gave them full citizenship. Liriallina's second-in-command is a male elf psion named Qinlarax.[/quote]Morgak
During the course of the Last Dragon Wars, the hobgoblins of Syoni'cus rose up and fought to establish a nation of slavery and despair. They succeeded; Morgak is the result of their effort. Thus far, Morgak has been able to keep any Great Dragons from taking over, but there are rumors of Nimaunsassuk the Silver having ambitious thoughts toward Morgak. Nimaunsassuk the Silver is a horrifically cruel and deadly dragon who rose to power as the commanding general of the Armies of Zylnar. Morgak is currently preparing to defend itself from the silver wyrm, and also beginning to look to other lands to conquer.[/quote]
The orcs aren't the bad guys in this setting. I was tired of the old cliche of orcs being the traditional ancient enemy of elves. So, I went exactly the opposite and made the orcs into allies of the elves. I kept the savage flavor of the orcs, but the elves in my world aren't the uptight, conservative beings that are afraid of change like they are in most campaigns I've played in. Instead, elves are open to the lifestyles and cultures of all other races and nations. So, they embraced the orcs when the hobgoblins of Morgak conquered the lands that formerly belonged to the orcs. [/quote]

Good good, I like the mixing up of stereotypes here. I'd like to know more ind etail though, about just exactly how your Orcs and Elves differ from the standard tropes.

I was gonna have this as a full review, but I'm starting to run out of steam, and if I wrote any more toight it'd probably just be drivel. I'll finish this off another time, hope what I've put so far has helped.

[Illithid00]

As for the name, that's a work in progress. I am thinking of removing the apostrophe altogether, as it doesn't really add any element of unity to the name.

I'm building this world as an alternative to Eberron for a couple of reasons. One, I don't have the money to buy Eberron and all its associated books, and two, I like it. I like designing new flavorful bits that make my world unique. Plus, where Eberron is well known and discussed in various fora around the web, my world will not only have plenty of dark, hidden secrets, but it's easier to limit what the players know in regards to what their characters know. In addition, I can also introduce other races, like dromites, into a major feature of the world. I do like the ideas I've heard so far in regards to Eberron, so I may be taking some from that setting as I go, especially once I can afford to shell out the cash for the campaign setting.

I like using so many races because it allows me to incorporate a lot of systems and books, which gives my players, and me, as DM, a lot of variety to choose from. In addition, I can make many of them fairly secret and unknown races, so I can constantly surprise my players. It won't be just "OK, it's yet another hobgoblin to fight." Instead, it will be more like, "An insectile humanoid with 4 arms and wielding 4 longswords stares at you with its alien eyes." (Thri-kreen) As for using already-extant races, I use them because I like their concepts for the most part. I'm working on changing catfolk and gnolls down to a LA+0 race so players can choose them at first level.

Evil Halflings. I loved the concept when I first heard it (can't remember where from). In Zylnar, they're mostly equal to humans. The halfling psions were the first to discover the secrets of the creation process that led to warforged. And yes, there are some despicably dark and evil halfings in the world.

Zylnar's citizens are encouraged to be atheistic because the leaders of the country, the Royal Sect and the Obsidian Knights, hate for the populace to acknowledge a power greater than the ruling caste of Zylnar.

I liked the idea of orcs as refugees because it gives a completely new take on them. In most settings orcs are the typical bad guys. Orc-bashing is just another sport for adventurers. So, I had orcs be on the side of light and fight in an alliance in which they are equal, but still different, from the elves. The orcs, while still savage and powerful, aren't bloodthirsty past the point of no return. They see their fighting heritage as a mark of honor, and use ceremonial fights in almost all disputes over anything. An arguement over a woman--ceremonial fight. A slight of one's honor by another--ceremonial fight. While the elves see the orcs as strange and sometimes savage brutes, they respect the differences of the two cultures and see orcs as just another kind of being, worthy of respect and honor.

When it comes to elves, I'm tired of the constant "Well, we're better than everyone else, so we can be chaotic good even though we're openly racist to all other races" attitude that elves seem to be filled with. My elves are open supporters of any culture that isn't inherently evil. They despise the culture of Morgak, because slavery and torture are, by their very nature, evil. But, any culture that isn't evil, is generally accepted by the elves of Quinlan. However, the elves mostly have no desire to alter their culture to reflect those of the world around them.

I'll see about getting some more general info out there soon. Thanks for all the replies so far!

EDIT: Info about psionics. Yes, I'm using psionics as the primary "casting" energy in my campaign. I like the flavor of psionics, and it adds something new to the game. My players don't know much about psionics, so it gives them sort of a kick from something that's not just the same old guy in robes chanting weird words and throwing some spell components around.

[LordVreeg]

[blockquote=Illithid00]The orcs aren't the bad guys in this setting. I was tired of the old cliche of orcs being the traditional ancient enemy of elves. So, I went exactly the opposite and made the orcs into allies of the elves. I kept the savage flavor of the orcs, but the elves in my world aren't the uptight, conservative beings that are afraid of change like they are in most campaigns I've played in. Instead, elves are open to the lifestyles and cultures of all other races and nations. So, they embraced the orcs when the hobgoblins of Morgak conquered the lands that formerly belonged to the orcs. [/blockquote]
Yes!!!  Love the Orcs!  Are they acculturated into other societies, or are they still truly tribal?  I like the Aurrauk idea, but I am trying to get a handle on how it feels to be there.

Not going to slag the races until I know if they all belong or not.

Getting away from race, what are the different cultural situations?  I, too, am looking for some history and 'feel' to the countries and their inter-relation.

[Epic Meepo]

I'm sure there are better names for these last two [dromite castes], which still convey the essence of their abilities and personality. Perhaps something as simple as the Acid Caste and the Lightning Caste?

Lightning Caste certainly works.

I'd have taken a different direction altogether for the acid-based caste. I'd have changed them from cruel savages to cerebral scholars, and then named them the Alchemist Caste.

[Illithid00]

The orcs are still fairly tribal, but they're working on integrating into other societies, especially as their ancestral homeland has now been overrun by hobgoblins. As an exception to this general rule, though, there is one tribe of orcs in Arrauk that has taken to the trees. This tribe lives in the northernmost region of Arrauk and lives amongst a tree-dwelling clan of wild elves. This integrated group of elves and orcs is known as the Tiger Claws. While still fairly primitive, only fools go into the domain of the Tiger Claws with the idea that they will win a fight with the brutal elf/orc clan.

I like the idea of the Alchemist Caste, but I still want a caste of savage and brutal dromites to contrast to the intelligent, powerful psions and wilders of Droxik. However, I might make the Alchemist Caste a splinter group of the Acid Caste that chose to stay within the mountain and go the exact opposite way of the rest of the Acid Caste.

Right now, I'm planning for a psionically-advanced civilization of various forms of lizardfolk. I've got the Ilvorn lizardfolk, which have wings and are basically just reflavored versions of the raptorans from Races of the Wild, as the highest "class" of lizardfolk, the Blackscales and Poison Dusks from MM3, and the normal, common lizardfolk. I'm not sure exactly what kind of government or culture I want them to have, but so far I've decided that they be neutral and they live on a jungle continent that's mostly unexplored by any race except them and their mortal enemies, the dracotaurs and yuan-ti. I'd really appreciate any ideas about this secretive lizardfolk empire, since I have no idea how I want it to be.

I'll try to have a world map up as soon as I can with all the locations of the nations in Syonicus. I've got one drawn up, it's just a matter of getting it scanned into a computer.

Warforged[spoiler]
The warforged are a race of created constructs that were used extensively in the Last Dragon Wars.
In Quallin, nation of elves, warforged were freed even before the writing of the Wars' End Treaty which brought Syonicus to a shaky peace. However, in Morgak and Zylnar, the lands opposing the Alliance of Light between elves, orcs, and others, the warforged are still enslaved, with no rights and are treated as nothing more than valuable property.

Physically, many warforged are covered with mundane crystal instead of metal. This stems from most warforged being created psionically, not magically. In fact, the mighty psions of the Royal Sect of Zylnar were the first to discover the secrets of creating intelligent constructs.

Warforged Scouts were designed by dromites after they got hold of several normal warforged. The scouts were designed to better match their dromite creators. However, the dromites quickly freed their warforged after they witnessed the horrific deeds that were committed against warforged in nations such as Zylnar and Morgak.[/spoiler]

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. Any ideas are still welcome and definitely appreciated.

[Jharviss]

Just a quick two cents...

Unfortunately, I can see how all of the races are different enough to be viable.  I would still try and combine things around though.  In my view, when you creature a nation of lizardfolk, then decide to not use lizardfolk and instead put the gnolls there, it makes things really interesting.  Imagine that?  A gnoll nation designed for lizardfolk.  It could be cool!

My first comment is that the Dissolving Caste and the Spark Caste are the two I actually like.  The Flame and Frost Castes sound like a real bore to me.  I would love to play somebody from the Dissolving Caste.  It sounds really dark.  How cool would it be to use the caste name not at the end of their name, but at the beginning.  Thus, "I am the great soulknife, the Dissolving Crugaraus."  It doesn't work as well with the other three, but I really like it with Dissolving.  The Alchemist Caste sounds dull.

Oh, and I love your idea for the Spark Caste.  That'd be a hellishly fun character to play, somebody from the Spark Caste, and it would also be really cool in a society.  A race of psionically empowered ADHD people!  That's a cool image.

[Illithid00]

Since the beginning of the Last Dragon Wars 36 years prior to the start of the campaign I'm running, many technological advances have come into being. The warforged are perhaps the most obvious and influencing on the lives of most people. However, the destructive power of a properly-equipped, military-operated psijammer is second to none.

Today psijammers ply the skies, from the smallest two-seat scout ships to the largest ships, capable of carrying hundreds of warriors from continent to continent. Psijammers originated in Zylnar, but elves from Quinlan managed to steal the plans shortly after psijammers began appearing as troop transports in the combined armies of Zylnar and Morgak.

Today, after the Last Dragon wars have ended, psijammers are owned not only by the military arms of the various nations, but commercial tradesmen have managed to acquire psijamming technology. Only the most wealthy of these merchants can afford to operate psijammers, as the psions necessary to maintain them do not come cheaply, especially as they must first have military training in how to operate the flying ships.

Psijammers can't get out to any other planets yet, though many have tried. The psions of Zylnar and Droxik have been working to understand why this is, but so far no progress has been made on their goals of reaching other planets.

[Xeviat]

I would recommend using Psionics solely for your setting. With some tweeking, you can balance Ardents and Divine Minds, both from Complete Psionics, to replace Clerics and Paladins (but it will take balancing, as the two classes are currently weak).

As for your quandary about where to put Lizardfolk; since you have winged lizardfolk, I'm assuming you might be open to the idea of making them more "dragon" than "lizard". With Dragons ruling several nations in your setting, Lizardfolk could be the remnants of an ancient dragon worshiping race that fell into the dragon's disfavor and were abandoned for the newer races.

I like the idea of an all psionics setting. If you don't intend to publish in any form, aside from free online forms, I recommend using existing races rather than making your own. But, if you are going to use an existing race, be sure to not fundamentally change them: if you call them orcs, but they love sunshine, flowers, and abhor combat, then don't call them orcs.

Having orcs be among the good guys, though, is perfectly fine. You said they're still a wild warrior race, and that's all that's needed to make them orcs.

I look forward to hearing more. Feel free to use us all as sounding boards for any ideas you have. Oh, and happy holidays.

[Illithid00]

I don't really want to use psionics as the only source of "magic" or "energy" in my world. For one, I already have a sorcerer and a cleric in my party, but I like the flavor of a lot of magical stuff. Besides, my players aren't that enthusiastic about psionics just yet. So, I want to keep arcane magic, but it is definitely going to be very rare. The sorcerer in the party is an exotic Poison Dusk lizardfolk, so I can explain his magic by saying that he's from a culture where arcana is more commonly accepted than psionics, or that in his culture psionics was only allowed to be used by the elite, upper society. Clerical magic is fairly common though, for the most part.

I like the idea of lizardfolk being a dragon worshipping race. Maybe they fell from grace long ago and have been trying to recover their lost status by retreating into the jungles and trying to build a huge empire.

Happy Holidays!