Xiluh

[SDragon]

Does the fact that the hooked end of the hammer has keen against zombies imply that zombies are not immune to crits in your setting?

To be honest, I didn't even think of that. I'll have to change that to something else, instead...

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Perhaps just bonus damage?  If it were the bludgeoning end, I'd say disruption vs. the zombies only.

[SDragon]

That's do-able... I'll have to change that later. Thanks :)

[SDragon]

*bump*


This is partly to bring Xiluh to the attention of those who never saw it before, and partly for an announcment:


The CBG Wiki now has a (currently incomplete) article on the Xiluh timeline.

[SDragon]

Update to the Classes section, which will soon get it's own special treat.

[Kindling]

There is one thing which I see as being missing from this otherwise great-looking world-in-progress: nations. You have races, and classes, and history, but there's not much about the different nations, the people who live in those nations, how their governments work, their ways of life, et cetera.

I, for one, would like to see some more of this, even if it's only as much as "[insert name here] is a mid-sized nation in the south-west of Xiluh, the predominant race is human. They are ruled by a fairly conservative theocracy, the majority of their foods are rice-based, and both the cultivation and export of rice is big business."

Just my opinion, leave it for a while if you have something else you'd rather be working on.

[SDragon]

You're right, that is a very big portion missing from the world. I have a vague idea of what I want in that department, but I'm not really sure how to handle it.

As of right now, all I can say has been placed in the first post. I hope to get more on this, but in the meantime, I hope this is satisfactory.

[Stargate525]

Time for another review! I sincerely hope everything I need to read is in the first post...


Eagles and Panthers (creatures in general perhaps?) are intelligent, ala Tolkein? Very nice. I like your opening, really sucks me in.

Obsidian? So is it that metal isn't as prevalent in your setting, or that they simply haven't progressed far enough?

I don't like how you axed the gnomes, but I understand how someone might not like them. I'm curious as to why people would use the bones of other people as currency... Or are the Elves considered enemies, and that's where the bone-currency is used?

I'm on the fence about how close you brought the cleric and the druid. As it stands right now, I see no reason to have both classes. Perhaps one as a prestige class, but that's really it. I'm curious as to how you're planning on changing the flavor of wizards, who seem to need an apprentice-master style of training, to something that can be taught underground.

The map seems odd when it's turned at an angle, as the mountains are now pointing to the east... You might be better off making a new map. Other than that, there really isn't a lot here, except now I'm really impatient to read about the seven invasions.

Under creatures, are you planning on making all of those playable? If so, hats off and kudos to you. It sounds like lots of fun.

I like your sun and moon creation myth. Very cool. I'm curious as to why you refer to the moon as unwhole. Is there a piece of it actually missing or what? Or does that simply refer to the wax and wane, and they ignore the full moon?

Your timeline is a little hard to follow, I suggest seeing what a visual one would look like, it isn't terribly difficult. The Seven invasions seems like an interesting event. Were the armies working in collusion, or would they fight each other when they met?

I like your calendar section, it's as complex as most ancient calendars actually were. Is it actually accurate (one year equals one rotation around the sun)?

I'm curious to see whether your barter system actually works in a real game, but I like that it is period-correct (assuming you're going for early development). Will you be expanding the table with the approximate value of other types of trade goods (livestock, land, etc.)?

[SDragon]

Time for another review! I sincerely hope everything I need to read is in the first post...

Just about everything you'll need to know is in the first post, but there are a few points of interest scattered throughout the thread.

Eagles and Panthers (creatures in general perhaps?) are intelligent, ala Tolkein? Very nice. I like your opening, really sucks me in.

Obsidian? So is it that metal isn't as prevalent in your setting, or that they simply haven't progressed far enough?[/quote]I don't like how you axed the gnomes, but I understand how someone might not like them. I'm curious as to why people would use the bones of other people as currency... Or are the Elves considered enemies, and that's where the bone-currency is used?[/quote]I'm on the fence about how close you brought the cleric and the druid. As it stands right now, I see no reason to have both classes. Perhaps one as a prestige class, but that's really it. I'm curious as to how you're planning on changing the flavor of wizards, who seem to need an apprentice-master style of training, to something that can be taught underground. [/quote]The map seems odd when it's turned at an angle, as the mountains are now pointing to the east... You might be better off making a new map. Other than that, there really isn't a lot here, except now I'm really impatient to read about the seven invasions.[/quote]Under creatures, are you planning on making all of those playable? If so, hats off and kudos to you. It sounds like lots of fun.[/quote]I like your sun and moon creation myth. Very cool. I'm curious as to why you refer to the moon as unwhole. Is there a piece of it actually missing or what? Or does that simply refer to the wax and wane, and they ignore the full moon?[/quote] the full moon", it isn't quite like that. They acknowledge the existance of the full moon, but it isn't considered enough to qualify the moon as "whole". It would kind of be like saying "I may be just a head and torso right now, but last week I had arms and legs for a day, and in three weeks, I'll have arms and legs for about another day, so my body still counts as an entire body."

Your timeline is a little hard to follow, I suggest seeing what a visual one would look like, it isn't terribly difficult.

The Seven invasions seems like an interesting event. Were the armies working in collusion, or would they fight each other when they met?[/quote]I like your calendar section, it's as complex as most ancient calendars actually were. Is it actually accurate (one year equals one rotation around the sun)?[/quote]I'm curious to see whether your barter system actually works in a real game, but I like that it is period-correct (assuming you're going for early development). Will you be expanding the table with the approximate value of other types of trade goods (livestock, land, etc.)?[/quote]

The beauty of the barter system is that all items are of value, and all value is personal. Aside from the flavor that you mentioned, one benefit of this is that it better allows the classic sidequest of trading for wanted goods. Remember the old games where you had to buy two dozen chickens, and had to trade them for a cow ("I need something to eat, don't I?"), so that you could get a goat ("How will I have my milk in the morning without my goat?") to trade for a horse ("something has to pull my plows, y'know!")?

GM's may feel free to have tables of approximate values for goods, but I'm not going to include any myself, as that would just run too much closer to using just a currency system.


Hopefully this response satisfies you, thanks for the review :)

[LordVreeg]

You know, I'm glad you started right in with the obsidian...might as well just scream, "Hi, we're a little low-tech here!", but in a subtle way.  Nice.
Culturally, what does an average person live like?  How about a wealthy person?

You have racial aclimation, dou you have racial integration?  I know you are working on the political side, but it would help me understand the setting, the races, and give me an idea of the politcal landscape if i knew that our non-arrogant folk dwell apart, together, or in each others in-law apartments.

[blockquote=SDmyfirstyearincollege]Not being any real good at crunch, I worry that if I turn Cleric into a PrC, I'll be cutting out a large portion of healing, and if I turn Druid into a PrC, I'll sacrifice flavor. I'm still not really sure how to justify the differences between the two.[/blockquote]
MM.  This comment says and reveals a lot.  yes, clercis are there as kind of healer/fighter/priests, and druids exist normally as naturewardens/priests.  Based on what i am reading here, I would recomend keeping both as base classes, but emphasize the healer/priest side of the cleric and add more fighter to the druid (and decrease some of the casting ability).  You have a near-totemic animist nature setting here, so I can see jaguar-druid-warriors as druids, while clerics would become more pure prist/healers, with slightly increased healing (maybe lay on hands) abilities to make up for a little lost fighting skill.  Just a suggestion, but it will help individualize the setting more as well as accentuate and take advantage of those differences.  

Peaceful, zen-like dwarves.  and the Yuma are not just the remnants of the first ones, they are the perverted remains.  Ok.  Are the Yuma like humans?

And you can have the non-divines learn their powers from any source you want, but it needs some source.  Perhaps the books and teachings could be debased, partially misunderstood, and fragmented knowledge of the strange, metal-sheet books of the First Ones?  Again, justan idea...but I can see it in this setting.

[Epic Meepo]

:ninja: Like stealthy ninja, Epic Meepo sneaks into your setting and takes a quick peek around.

I have a few quick comments and questions based on the information in the first post of this thread. First, I like the Central American theme. You don't see too many settings inspired by that region here at the CBG.

Regarding the Seven Invasions, what is the reason that the invasions occurred simultaneously? Was it purely coincidence? Or did the seven armies know of one another's existence and plans prior to their invasion?

Also, given the creation myth based on the Sun and the Moon, what do the people of Xiluh say about solar eclipses?

This has been an Epic Meepo stealthy ninja review. :ninja:

[SDragon]

Vreeg, your post brought up some very good questions, but I don't quite have the time to answer all of them right now. So, in the meantime....

:ninja: Like stealthy ninja, Epic Meepo sneaks into your setting and takes a quick peek around.

Well, I guess nobody else is around to give any quick comments or questions based on the information in the first post of this thread....

I have a few quick comments and questions based on the information in the first post of this thread.

he[/i] come from?!

 

First, I like the Central American theme. You don't see too many settings inspired by that region here at the CBG.

Regarding the Seven Invasions, what is the reason that the invasions occurred simultaneously? Was it purely coincidence? Or did the seven armies know of one another's existence and plans prior to their invasion?[/quote]your[/i] doorstep, would you think it was purely coincidental?

In short, this issue was never satisfactorally resolved, but has since become a moot point; coincidence or not, all seven nations did come at once, and they did start a major war.

Also, given the creation myth based on the Sun and the Moon, what do the people of Xiluh say about solar eclipses?

This has been an Epic Meepo stealthy ninja review. :ninja:[/quote]was[/i] that masked man?!

[Eclipse]

Warning: I'm not reading discussion threads, just the main post, so if you have sub posts you want me to read, direct me towards them please. :)

save for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.

simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races.

I'm going to look at this first. How did this come to be? Are the races just inherently not racist? Was there a period of time where their was racism, but they worked it out?

The creation myth is very fun. I might have missed additional religious notes, but what gods are there besides Eagle and Jaguar? Who worships each God?

When it comes to races, the Yuma are the coolest thing here. :D I really love the idea of the slave race being the former rulers of the world. How did the Yuma become perverted? What led to their fall? How did they create halflings and dwarves? Who created the First Ones, Humans, and Elves? What were the First Ones like before becoming Yuma?

A general design question: Why did you decide to put Dwarves, halflings, elves, etc into your setting? Do they add to it, in your opinion? Why not gnomes? (BTW, I see how halflings and elves work here - but dwarves seem misplaced, IMO.)

Finally, can we find out more about Kunah? It sounds like it's to Xiluh what Europe is to South America - is that analogy accurate, or did I miss the point? Why did they invade? What kind of culture do they have? Are they coming back?

[SDragon]

Warning: I'm not reading discussion threads, just the main post, so if you have sub posts you want me to read, direct me towards them please. :)

the vast majority of information on the setting is in the first post, with more information from later posts slowly being moved there. A good portion of the thread itself has some clarifications of issues, and there may be a few points of interest, if you so wish-- one of which will be mentioned later.

save for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.

simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races.

The races-- with the exception of yuma-- are inherently non-racist, to the point of lacking any sense of superiority. Until the empire of the First-Ones, none of the races could have even possibly imagined the very concept of superiority. That last sentence, by the way, should have an appropriate hint at the answer to whether or not there was a period of racism that got "worked out".


Hope this answers your questions satisfactorily :)

The creation myth is very fun. I might have missed additional religious notes, but what gods are there besides Eagle and Jaguar? Who worships each God?

When it comes to races, the Yuma are the coolest thing here. :D I really love the idea of the slave race being the former rulers of the world. How did the Yuma become perverted? What led to their fall? How did they create halflings and dwarves? Who created the First Ones, Humans, and Elves? What were the First Ones like before becoming Yuma?

A general design question: Why did you decide to put Dwarves, halflings, elves, etc into your setting? Do they add to it, in your opinion? Why not gnomes? (BTW, I see how halflings and elves work here - but dwarves seem misplaced, IMO.)[/quote]Finally, can we find out more about Kunah? It sounds like it's to Xiluh what Europe is to South America - is that analogy accurate, or did I miss the point? Why did they invade? What kind of culture do they have? Are they coming back?[/quote]

The analogy is, indeed, accurate, and something I had expected to crop up sooner or later. That said, just because the analogy is accurate, don't assume that Kunah was intended as an allegory.

The main problem with the "how"s and "why"s of the invasions is, the only time they were really considered important knowledge was actually during the invasions. Unfortunately, the fighting prevented anybody from being able to figure out the answers to those questions. That's not to say that Xiluhans would dismiss any new information that just happened to pop up (read: adventure hook?), but there's not much reason to actually hunt out the information.

[SDragon]

*bump* for new members, and others who haven't seen this yet. Also, a few minor additions to the timeline (try to figure out what they are!)