Deus Arctica [d20]

[ender_wiggin]

Game Title: Deus Arctica
System: d20 (DnD & Iron Heroes hybrid)
Players Wanted: 4-6
Expected Posting Rate: 1 per day


Kara, 11 years of age, squeezed the rag, her arms shaking a bit as they strained to squeeze the last few drops of muddy water into the wooden bucket. She swallowed her aches away. It wouldn’t come easy. This season the water level had dropped nine inches below the previous year’s, which was eight inches lower than two years ago, which was five inches lower than three years ago. Almost two full feet in three years. The potent river had become a trickle.

Every winter-hardened denizen of the city Oru depended on fresh water of the Nath River; it was their elixir of life in the harsh north. As the flow of fresh water grew feeble, the crops faltered; their fuel no longer possessing the force to reach them. The price of rye had grown to ten times its original cost, and once stable families were thrown on the streets as their savings rapidly emptied.

Many of the Nath’s tributaries had stopped flowing altogether. Farmers were forced to travel long distances, several miles sometimes, to bring water directly from the river main, so that they could carefully cultivate meager gardens and hopefully raise a few pigs to feed their families through the winter.

Handfuls of the brave traveled north to find new sources of fresh water, but most of them quickly returned, repelled by the merciless climate – high winds, deadly altitudes, unknown wilderness. The rest were never heard from again. There were a few who waited for salvation to come from the south, for giant seafarers to come and whisk them away to more hospitable place. But Oru has been a sacred home for centuries, and most are slow to just abandon it. Besides, seafarers these days rarely made their way this far north, and global commerce had taken a hard hit with the collapse of the Republic.

Now, on the fourth spring of this calamity, the girl by the dying riverbank had no choice to continue to help her family survive. A bead of sweat dribbled down her cheek. She let it drop into the bucket. After giving the rag one more squeeze, she stretched her legs and tilted her body almost thirty degrees to counterbalance the weight of the bucket. Not wanting to spill a drop, she walked slowly the long mile home.

*

As times grew desperate, there were those that understood that the solution to any problem lay first in understanding its cause. And so as the sun slowly began to stay longer and longer each day, they packed their bags and prepared to defy nature. They prepared to, if necessary, trace the Nath River to it’s very origin, the mythical Lake of the Heavens, thousands of feet in the icy mountains hundreds of miles to the north.


NOTE: There is space for a few more players.. Just thought I'd throw that out there as I'm looking to close recruitment soon.

Hi, I’m ender_wiggin and I’ll be running Deus Arctica in my homebrew world Arius. I’m looking for some interested players to play a group of travelers braving the harsh arctic environment in order to discover what’s slowing the down the precious Nath river.

First, a bit about myself. I currently live in St. Louis where I am at the tail end of my sophomore year at Washington University. I’ve been gaming for 6-8 years, GMing for most of that. I began to play-by-post sometime in high school (in 2003-04), where the majority of my gaming was done of the first incarnation of groovy gamers. I was one of the most active members of that site, but after a few years, differences between the administration and I eventually prompted me to leave. I’ve been hiding out / running a low-profile game at Cthughua’s site supercommon for the last 14 months or so. But here I am, still possessing a strong desire to tell a memorable story.

This game will be run using hybrid d20 rules, mostly a mix of DnD 3.5 and Malhavoc’s Iron Heroes. Not owning these books is not a problem – please do not let it influence your decision to play or not. The game will begin at 3rd level, and I will trickle in more information on the game system, etc. Right now I’m looking for interest in the game moreso than character concepts. Concepts I think will require more detailed information about Oru and its environs. These details will come will come as people express interest.

Characters will be chosen in a reasonably straightfoward fashion. I have somewhat of an obligation to take players I know personally and players that I believe will be consistent posters, but apart from that first-come is the fairest way I can think of. The posting rate is approximate, as I don’t know people’s schedules, but the important part is that once a steady post rate is established within the first few days of play that that rate never drops, excepting vacations, etc. In my experience it’s a positive feedback cycle – once you start slowing down you tend to keep slowing down.


EDIT: These links appear to go to restricted areas inside cthughua's site. You will need to register and get cthughua's attention to access them through these links. Damn. I will repost some stuff here.

For setting information, look HERE and HERE .

For an example of one of my games, look HERE.



Feel free to ask any questions.

[Archer]

Way to step up, Ender!

[ender_wiggin]

Basic Cosmology

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Life, on Arius, consists of three very important factors. In order for something to be alive, three things must exist - a body, a spirit, and a soul. It is only in the conjunction of these three things that true life exists. All life, from microscopic organisms to elder gods have these three attributes.

The Body
This is simply the physical vessel in which the other two are stored. It is the atoms and molecules that make up the living organism. A body is created, naturally at conception, or budding or binary fusion, etc. When a living thing dies, the body remains, but becomes inanimate. Bodies without spirits or souls can be animated, but cannot be self-aware, sentient, or alive at all. If a previously live body is animated, it is generally known as undead. Undead are not self-aware. A body is responsible for the instinct and base conciousness in a living being, a result of firing neurons. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are normally dictated by the body.

The Spirit
This is the sentience of a living organism. Some spirits are very small (or stupid, however you wish to put it). These organisms have little sentience, or ego. The spirit determines the self-awareness of an organism. It dictates the mental prowess and cognition of an organism. It is the identity of the organism. Spirits are created when a soul and a body are conjoined (usually at conception, budding, binary fission). When an organism dies, the spirit usually dissipates. In rare occasions, the spirit will linger to carry out some task (veangeance of pre-natural death is the most common). When a spirit lingers, it becomes incorporeal. Ghosts are spirits without a soul or body. Spirits can take control of bodies in rare instances. Intelligence and Wisdom are dictated by the spirit.

The Soul
The soul is immortal. It is the essence of any being, it makes that organism complete, from cell to god. Not all souls are equal; some are more powerful than others and tend to inhabit more complex beings. Souls without bodies linger in the abyss, a sort of purgatory. When conception/budding/binary fusion occurs, a soul is called from the abyss. When a organism dies, the soul returns to the abyss. Since souls themselves are not "sentient"* (they have no cognition), they have no direct control over what organisms they inhabit. Sentience is a construct of the spirit; however, sentient spirits always have souls. Thus, the soul is the necessary element that gives a spirit self-awareness. Souls are absolutely necessary for organisms to function, grow, and reproduce - it is the soul that calls for another soul to inhabit the body of his/her offspring. Charisma is controlled by the soul; charisma changes sometimes, but normally not often.

[ender_wiggin]

A Partial History of the World of Arius

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Current Pantheon Exerts Itself (~12,000 BGR - ~4000 BGR)
Modern history began with the coming of the current pantheon, led by the king god Korrelyx and his brethren. This is mainly due to the influence of Elric, the historian god, who keeps meticulous records. The Korrelyn pantheon found Arius in a state of disrepair. There was evidence that a massive epic war had just occurred. The curious thing was that even the gods were unsure of the combatants. A dying subterrenean race, the dark skinned elves, appears to have been involved. The style of their underground structures matched some of the above-ground ruins, but the gods could not ascertain what they had fought such a terrible war against. The surface was a scarred, maimed, land – their enemies could not have been the primitive races; human, dwarven, orc. Even the surface elves were a distinctively separate race. Their aptitude for magic, although impressive, could not be compared with that of the dark elves. So what could the drow have been fighting? It didn’t seem that they had won, for their numbers were so few that they had future; it was only time before they became extinct. Some of the gods had theories, but none any real proof. In time, the dark elves vanished, and the primitive grew and expanded, and filled the world. And the world’s wounds slowly healed, and a new era began.

Age of Mortals (~4000 BGR - 0 AGR)
During these centuries, the world began to take its modern shape. The primitive races, after their domination on Arius was assured, turned to each other for conflict. And for aid, they turned to the gods, who promised them powers in return for worship. The gods all chose sides that were of strategic value to them, and the “war� between good and evil was on. Cities grew and fell, empires were created and were destroyed.

The study of arcane might grew more prevalent. Before this age, the only arcane spellcasters were sorcerors, people born with talent that could tap the untouched wells of mana around them. Now, however, arcane magic slowly became a science; equations and formulas and algorithms – tomes of them. Magic no longer required raw talent; the intelligent could wield it as well. But of course, that intelligence constituted a minor fraction of the population; the majority of the world's working class would never have the opportunity to study such a subject.

The Gilthanic Revolution (0 AGR)
On a fine morning -29 BGR, a young man named Gilthanis was born. His father was an aspiring noble and his mother was the daughter of a great priest. His childhood, obvious, did not go peacefully. He saw much bloodshed and chaos during his early years, and became an exceptional swordsman. He saw no use for a large, unwieldy shield. In his other hand, he instead wielded a second blade identical to his other; and kept both in the same scabbard.

In time, he inherited his father's wealth, which had become enough to fund his greatest project. Not only was a he a warrior, but he was an exceptional scholar as well. His particular interest was the prehistory before the current pantheon. He had studied all of the available evidence, but found none satisfying. In time, his theory formed. Gilthanis believed something no one had thought before: he believed the perpetual conflict of his world was unnatural. Good? Evil? He believed these terms were illusions; there was no physical force that fueled their atrocities against one another. They fought because they always had, and they believe they always will. The answer, Gilthanis was sure, lay in the politics of the multiverse. But Arius had no say in those politics; even the pantheon of Arius were unsure, they had travelled to the far reaches of the cosmos, but had encountered naught but themselves.
   
We are being played, from the mind of the great swordsmen. This world is being played like a fool; we have sentenced to an eternity of murdering one another. And there is only one way to rid us of this curse: a common enemy.
   
And so Gilthanis dedicated his life to finding the common enemy that would free Arius from its chains. In the end, he had called for a meeting of good and evil forces. The strongest, bravest paladins would be there. The darkest, most vile and corrupted dark knights would as well. Together, in peace, they would sign a contract. His secret plan was that the opposite energies of these forces would be so powerful that they would tear a hole in the fabric of the plane, and send hordes of foreign monsters into Arius which were neither good nor evil but lived only kill. He wanted what would force Arius to unite under his banner. It turned out, that although the energies held more than enough of the requisite power, that potential was highly unstable, and Gilthanis fell, trapped between two massive electrodes. With no gate opening, conflict immediately broke out, and the Gilthanic Revolution was over.

Reconstruction (0 AGR - 1200 AGR)
   The ensuing chaos made it hard for history to recount Gilthanis's tale. Many don't even believe it. But even greater than the doubt were the rumors. Is it true that a secret societies of the followers of Gilthanis exists - dark warriors that use two blades? Is it true that one blade was empowered with the darkest of black energies, and the other with the most pure white light? Is it true that one day the soul of Gilthanis will return?
   
The most believable rumor was the secret society. During the next millenium, there were many blacksmiths who claim to know the secret of the moonblade. Or as it so called in common. It turns out every civilization, every modern language, has its own name for the weapon. Moon blade. Jinn (straight sword). Mai Kaduna (death bringer). Each name is unique, underived from any other language. Each civilization claims to be the original creators of the weapon. But even as the wrath of good and evil pulsed, stability once again reigned. And the rumors became myths, and the myths became drinking songs, played only by itinerant bards aching for a copper.
   
Towards the end of this period, the great Ambian Empire was created. It was the first time the entirety of the Ambian Crescent (the massive archipelego is shaped like a crescent) was united under a single government. The Empire prospered for several centuries, and made a many great achievements. Theorists say that if the War of the Nine Graves had not occurred, the Ambian Empire might have flourished for another millenia or two.

The War of Nine Graves (1230-1234 AGR)
   Like the waves of the sea have crests, war comes to Arius again. This time, it is under the most unusual circumstances. It appears that a massive undead army had been assembling for many years, under the noses of everyone, even as the Ambian Empire created new trade routes and solved old problems. The undead were lead by a mysterious figure; rumors say that he/she was a elf with skin the color of the darkest night. A mysterious thing indeed. The gods were particularly interested, although they told no one; they had assumed the drow had become extinct many years before.
   
Alas, little investigation could be done, the leader, if he or she was a drow, died early in the war and no body could be recovered. Still, the undead forces fought madly, destroying human armies and razing cities, creating a time of destruction no one had seen for over a thousand years.
   
The forces of light were quick to respond. There were scores of undead, and they challenged even the most brave and devout of men, but in the end, the Ambian Empire had just enough organization and power to send the undead on the retreat. An important factor in this victory was the re-emergence of the Moon Reavers, the secret society of Gilthanis that had previously been just a rumor. The band of swordsman were instrumental in keeping the undead hordes at bay. The undead fled back to their underground havens, but the "primitive" races� were exhausted as well. The Ambian Empire had faced its first real challenge, and although it had won the war, reconstruction was simply too much of a task.

Collapse of the Ambian Empire (1235-1250) (Modern Day)
   The Ambian Empire collapsed quickly after the end of the war, and an enormous power vacuum was created. The entire world, essentially, was up for grabs. Land was cheap and leaders were needed. Heroes turned into kings. The economy boomed, fueled by the need to rebuild and reorganize. After the war, the Moon Reavers fled back into obscurity, but now, no one doubted their existence, and from time to time, reports of them filtered throughout the world and reached all ears.
   
It is a perilous time; opportunity is everywhere, but danger follows opportunity wherever it goes. And no one, not even the gods, can be sure of Arius's fate...

[Raigon]

I am interested as well. I have played in several other Arius games and this world just keeps getting better.

[ender_wiggin]

A Bit on Geography

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"The reaches of the Ocean of Abysses truly seem to be boundless... for over four years our brave crew aboard the Hero have searched to find land east of the Ambian Crescent, and we have failed... a miracle that we even made it back.. "

---- Captain Scinetar, of the seafarer Hero

The land on Arius consists of a single, densely packed archipelego, spanning from the north to the south pole. The smallest islands are little more than jagged rocks propelled from the ocean floor by the perpetual volcanic action of Arius's core -- sometimes difficult to spot and havoc for ocean vessels. The largest island is significantly larger than the others, and is sometimes referred to as "mainland".

Islands typically have no names -- but are associated with their largest settlement, town, or city. For example, "Crucipolis" can refer to the city, or the island on which the city is located; context will reveal which. The most notable exception is "mainland", on which the largest city is clearly Indoril.

More to come later...

[ender_wiggin]

Timekeeping on Arius

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Arius runs on a 24 hour day, a seven day week, and a 364 day year. Every 9 years there is an extra week called Horner's Fell, a festival celebrating the wonder of life and the official creation of a new generation. Of course, this is largely for show as races have different life expectancies.

Most people have no use for exact time, but refer to the times of the day by abstract names

Deepnight: 12 - 3 am
Nightfade: 3 - 6 am
Newday: 6 - 9 am
Highmorn: 9 am - 12 pm
Sunhigh: 12 - 3 pm
Sunfade: 3 - 6 pm
Eventide: 6 - 9 pm
Moonrise: 9 pm - 12 am

Most people refer to days of the week simply by 1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day, etc. 7th day is Mirandel's holy day, where peasants usually the day off for quiet reflection. Commoners generally refer to 7th day as Heartday (orginally "Hearthday", having nothing to do necessarily with "heart", and thus the pronunciation is "hurt-day"), although in some parts of the world Mirandel is not worshipped on a wide scale by peasants, and other discourse is used.

The months are named after events in the Gilthanic Revolution; so much time has passed, however, that most people don't know what these events are. Such study is reserved for university students, who are rare in and of themselves.

Boreth: 31 days, winter
Tyreth: 35 days, spring (29th-35th Rosedawn celebration)
Soreth: 31 days, spring (16th spring equinox)
Khask: 27 days, spring
Ganover:31 days, summer
Iver: 31 days, summer (16th midsummer)
Phonedid:27 days, summer
Nepforan: 31 days, autumn
Tog: 31 days, autumn (16th fall equinox)
Caelf: 27 days, autumn
Oronth: 31 days, winter
Rynassan:   31 days, winter

Years are numbered before and after the Gilthanic Revolution. 0 AGR is the year that Gilthanis died.

[ender_wiggin]

The Korrelyn Pantheon

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

KORRELYX (leader of his pantheon)
The Lord of Gods, the Last Judge
God of Justice, Leadership, Liberty, and Penalty

ELRIC
Holy Keeper of All to Know
God of Knowledge and Secrets

ALYARA
Sacred Mother of Life, Healing, and Light
Goddess of Life and Purity

ZEHIR
Magnificent Lord of the Afterlife
God of the Dead

FIONA
Gentile Whisper of the Celestial Forest
Goddess of Nature

XERXES
Black Master of the Forgotten Arts
God of Black Magic and Necromancy

ORUM
Divine Wielder of Absolute Might
God of Strength

MYALIN
Most Graceful Voice of the Seas
God of Diplomacy, Trade, and Travel

SHYTARO
Celestial Dancer of Fingertips
Goddess of Finesse

GARLAND
The Celestial Blade of Glory
God of War, Conflict, Bloodshed

DAYRIA
Silver Poison of Revenge
Goddess of Vengeance and Poison

BALTUR
Lion of Truth
God of Righteousness, Justice, and Retribution

JHARKOR
Unholy Hand of Chaos
God of Chaos and Entropy

HUBRI
Eternal Chuckle of Mirth
God of Laughter

MIRANDEL
Savior of the People, Mother Mirandel
Goddess of Justice, Health, and Stability

BIZAN
Fiend of the Black Heavens
God of Corruption

IGNI
Damned Lady of the Dark
Goddess of Murder, Sin, Torment

AGATHA
The Burning Queen
Goddess of Fire and Passion

ELSINORE
The Lady of Your Dreams
Goddess of Sleep and Rejuvenation

[ender_wiggin]

Morality on Arius

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"What you are underneath doesn't matter. It's the things you do that define you."
-- Rachel Dawes

For Arius, the forces of good, evil, and what lies between the two extremes have existed since the beginning of time (or so it seems). Social philosophers commonly agree that people tend to do two things. Act according to their moral code, and attempt to force all others to act according to their moral code. Moral codes tend to fluctuate within people, and a changing moral code is the basis of guilt. Moral codes tend to differ greatly between groups of people, and this is basis of many negative emotions.

More learned people who have delved into "ultra-magic" affairs, or "ultra-physics", have realized that the soul possess the imprint of morality. Ethics, thus, stems from the soul. Objects with no soul cannot have a moral code. Though the imprint on a soul is permanent and unchanging, the body and spirit can cause a person to act against the moral code. Thus, the fluctuation of a moral code is actually an illusion based on the nature of the body and the attitude of the spirit.

One aspect of all champions is their ability to smite. The smite ability allows good champions to smite evil, and evil champions to smite good. It also allows the champions of Dayria smite those to whom vengeance is due, the champions of Garland smite their chosen mortal foes, the champions of Alyara smite the undead, and the champion of Mirandel smite the corrupt. The smite ability is unique to champions of any god, and in the case of champions of Korrelyx, the smite ability is actually fluid.

The smite ability, however, is not aimed at the soul. Neophysicists have long determined that neither divine nor arcane magic can manipulate the three aspects of life, and this is what orginally coined the term "ultra-magic". This is why Raise Dead is very inconsistent amongst recipients of the spell; if the soul, spirit, and body have already untwined themselves, the spell either fails, or in a worse case, creates undead. Instead, the smite ability granted by the pantheon of Arius can only target based on the actions of the recipient. For example, an soul with imprinted "evil" cannot be smited if the person who is the target of smite has never committed an overtly evil act.

[JDai]

I am interested as well. I have played in several other Arius games and this world just keeps getting better.

I know that I owe you a game, having had to decline the last fabulous invitation that you extended to me.  Work is becoming hella-busy - and I'm a bit brain-dead on my best day - but if you or another player can help me with the crunchy bits I will certainly try my best.

Of course, resisting the chance to play with Raigon is like waving a piece of chocolate in front of me.  Behold the Power of Raigon!

[ender_wiggin]

Absolutely. Welcome aboard Jdai.

I'm not against building characters for players, provided I have a concept.

[ender_wiggin]

I spoilered all of the setting info to make this thread look cleaner. More stuff coming tonight after I go take a test. 

[Xanthir]

I am 100% in on this.  Iron Heroes is my baby.  ^_^

Okay, so, questions. 
First, exactly how are you blending v3.5 and IH? 

Second, any character concepts, personality traits, or other similar things desired in a character? 

Third, should I design my backstory myself, or should I work with the other players to create a shared history?

Edit:  More questions!
Fourth, any optional rules?  Is the material on IronLeague.com acceptable, possible with vetting by you beforehand?  What about other sources, such as Ironcarnum - I'm really interested in playtesting that.

Fifth, when the IH Player's Companion comes out in a few months, will we have the option to refactor our character builds?

[ender_wiggin]

Welcome, Xanthir.

First, exactly how are you blending v3.5 and IH?
 
Well, I felt that style in which IH is played, where a much higher emphasis is placed on characters rather than gear really caters to Arius. However, the presence of magic (particularly divine magic) on Arius is fairly strong and IH did not really provide this. So you’ll see some familiar magical classes, though most of them are heavily altered (I tried to emulate the IH feel here). There are a few aspects of IH that I have not absorbed due to the heavier presence of magic (reserve pool, for example), but all of the major stuff (traits, skill groups, feats, all of the classes except one or two) I have taken.

Everything’s been playtested.

Second, any character concepts, personality traits, or other similar things desired in a character?

I will suggest that you draw your characters from either the Orunese natives or Prothuran’s men (see below). This tends to limit the background traits (i.e. jungleborn is unlikely). Other than that I have no preferences.

Third, should I design my backstory myself, or should I work with the other players to create a shared history?

I encourage you to work with the others – entwined backgrounds are always very interesting; in fact, you’re welcome to flesh out undetailed parts of Oru. I’ll give bonus experience for good contributions.

Fourth, any optional rules?  Is the material on IronLeague.com acceptable, possible with vetting by you beforehand?  What about other sources, such as Incarnum - I'm really interested in playtesting that.

I’m open to additional rules, provided I have the prerogative of changing them in the middle of the game. However, Incarnum at first glance seems to be based on magic, so this may not be possible.

Fifth, when the IH Player's Companion comes out in a few months, will we have the option to refactor our character builds?

Sure. But on the flip side, since my system really is a work in progress, I also retain the right to tweak things mid-game.

[Xanthir]

1)  All right, so it's just IH with some magic blended in.  As long as magic items are kept low/nonexistent/actively harmful, that should be just fine.  If it's been playtested before, then I'm confident in it.

2 and 3) Noted.

4)  Ironcarnum is a magic system, but using it wouldn't be any more difficult than adding in any other magic system, such as Incarnum, Psionics, or Vestige Binding.  If you have a very set idea of what magic is like, that's fine, but if not, I wouldn't mind trying at least a few parts of Ironcarnum.

5)  No problems there.


So when do you want characters?  How much detail is wanted up-front?