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for use with the First Edition Pathfinder Role-Playing Game
byClinton J. Boomer
withspecial thanks toAndy Collins,Scott Schomburg,Chloe Michelle,Dennis Detwiller, and George Loki Williams
SPECIAL RULES:
SpellJammer: Shadow of the Spider-Moon uses the Guns Everywhere rules: firearms are simple weapons; in addition, the gunslinger loses the gunsmith class feature and instead gains the gun training class feature at 1st level.
Dynamic Initiative: At the very beginning of the first round of combat, after all the prep and/or surprise-rounds are done, all players and all monsters roll initiative (as normal). At the beginning of the 2nd round of combat, and at the top of each subsequent round, all combatants re-roll.
Peg-Legs & Eye-Patches:
Once per day, whenever a character would normally drop to zero hit points or below, he may choose to instead be reduced to a single hit point and gain a permanent debilitating scar or handicap.
These effects are randomly determined by rolling 1d20 on the table below.
Effects are permanent and cumulative, though the GM should reroll results that don’t make sense (such as a human character losing a hand three times). A gnome-engineered repacement eye or limb may be purchased – and installed – at any large port, usually for about 350 gold.
Battle Scar or Amputation
1–5 Minor scar: interesting but otherwise cosmetic
6–8 Moderate scar: cut on face (+1 bonus on Charisma-based skill checks for first scar only, consider subsequent cuts major scars)
9–10 Major scar: severe cut on face (-1 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks** except Intimidation)
11–14 Loss of finger (for every 3 fingers lost, apply an effective -1 Dex on all rolls involving manual dexterity)
15–16 Impressive wound (-1 Con)
17 Loss of an eye (-4 penalty on all sight-based Perception checks)
18 Loss of leg (speed reduced to half, cannot charge)
19 Loss of hand (cannot use two-handed obects or equipment*)
20 Loss of arm (-1 Str, cannot use two-handed objects or equipment*)
* Losing a single hand or arm does not affect a spellcaster’s ability to cast spells with somatic components. ** At the GM’s discretion, characters with major scars may also be granted a +1 bonus on all Diplomacy checks against other adventurers, as the scars of battle are much admired by those who make their living out in the cold void between worlds.
ACTION POINTS: Every player receives one Action Point at the beginning of each game session. Action Points may always be banked: there is no upper limit to the number of Action Points that a character may have saved-up at any given time. Spending an Action Point never requires an action, as choosing to spend an Action Point is an out-of-character decision.
By spending an Action Point, you may activate one of the following abilities:
Act Out of Turn: You take your turn immediately; when you activate this ability, you may choose to interrupt an opponent’s action.
Add a Bonus: If used before a roll is made, an Action Point grants you a +8 bonus on any d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You may always choose to use an Action Point to grant this bonus to another character.
Extra Action: You gain one additional action – either a move action or a standard action – this turn.
Font of Majestic Power: You regain use of one expended spell, spell-slot, spell-like ability, supernatural ability, or other ability that may be activated one or more times per day.
Force a Reroll: You immediately reroll any one d20 roll you just made, or force your Storyteller to reroll any one d20 roll she just made. If your roll is 10 or lower, you add +10 to the roll; if your Storyteller’s roll is 11 or higher, she applies a -10 penalty to this roll. You must take the results of your second roll, even if it is worse.
SPECIAL:You may petition your Storyteller to allow an Action Point to be used to attempt nearly anything that would not normally be covered by the rules. Such uses are not guaranteed and should be considered carefully by the Storyteller. Possibilities include making an attack that temporarily blinds a foe, knocks an opponent prone, or bypasses its resistances or immunities entirely.
You may not spend more than one Action Point per turn.
—–
SPELLJAMMING HELMS
Ahelm (minor or major) may be installed, via a helm mount, in any functional vessel designed for spaceflight; a properly-intalled helm automatically provides gravity, moderate heat, moderate cooling, electricity, water pressure, breathable air, proper air pressure, and motive force – for the activation and maintenance of clockworks – to the vessel in which it is installed.
The communication systems, library, orrery, and any additonal features of a vessel – such as water heaters, water filtration systems, refrigeration units, ovens or heaters, and other luxuries – are frequently dependent on the power supplied by the spelljammer helm but must be independently installed.
Amajor helm can provide these benefits, and grant flight (see below) to a vessel of up to Colossal size, while a minor helm can provide these benefits and grant flight to a vessel of up to Huge size.
spelljammer helm, minor 20,000 gp
spelljammer helm, major 50,000 gp
lifejammer helm, minor 15,000 gp
lifejammer helm, major 40,000 gp
mindjammer helm minor 17,500 gp
mindjammer helm, major 45,000 gp
Ahelm, once installed, may be ingnited: used to provide flight, either within a gravity well (tactical speed) or through the void of space, making frequent “skips” into and out of the Astral (cruising speed) to the vessel in which it is installed.
The tactical speed and maneuverability of a vessel is based upon its specific size, design, customization, and the quality of its engineering.
Cruising Speeds:
Travel Point-to-Point on a Planetary Body (1d4 hours): Skipping over the surface of a gravity well, intersecting briefly with the Astral, the vessel moves with absurd speed to another area of the same planetary body (between cities or across continents, for example). The vessel must be in orbit to execute this action. This action can also be used to traveling between two vessels in different orbits around the same planet.
Achieve Orbit, Exit Gravity-Well, or Descend From Orbit (1d2 hours): This represents a controlled ascent or landing; uncontrolled events may take a much shorter amount of time.
Reach Satellite or Host Planet (1d8 hours for a Major Helm, 1d8+1 hours for a Minor Helm): From planetary orbit, it takes slightly longer for a vessel to reach one of that planet’s satellite bodies (or vice versa) than it takes to land or to exit a gravity-well.
Note that in the real world, it takes about three days to get from Earth to the moon. NASA’s New Horizons probe (which didn’t slow down, nor attempt to enter lunar orbit) holds the current record for fastest trip to the moon: 8 hours, 35 minutes.
Travel to Ajacent Planet (1d6+2 days for a Major Helm, 2d6+1 days for a Minor Helm): Adjacent planets – such as Quelya and Verdura, or Perianth and the Celestial Pearl – have wildly different orbits.
Further Jumps: +1d6 days and +2 to Profession: SpellJammer Pilot DCs per planet skipped for a Major Helm; +2d6 days and +3 to Profession: SpellJammer Pilot DCs per planet skipped for a Minor Helm.
Aspelljammer helm must be ignited by an attuned spellcaster (arcane or divine) or by an attuned creature with spell-like abilities seated upon it; attunement and subsequent ignition require a total of 1d4 rounds. Performing the task of ignition requires the expenditure of a single spell, spell-slot, or spell-like ability of 1st level or higher; while attuned with a spelljammer helm, the pilot may not use any spells or spell-like abilities. Once the pilot exits the helm, ignition instantly fails; the pilot, upon leaving the helm, retains attunement – providing no benefits, but locking-away all use of spells and spell-like abilities – for 1d4 rounds.
Alifejammer helm may be ignited by (and can attune to) any creature; igniting a lifejammer helm deals one point of Constitution damage to one creature, chosen by the pilot, currently touching the lifejammer helm. It then deals one additonal point of Constitution damage in the same way after each hour of continuous operation. Most lifejammer helms are designed with a secondary “throne” or set of chains and manacles attached.
Amindjammer helm functions identically to a spelljammer helm, except that it may only be piloted by a psychic creature or a creature with psi-like abilities.
While a pilot is attuned to an ignited helm, they may see through any part of the vessel; in general, all crewmembers on a vessel may communicate via internal shipboard communication systems.
Plotting a course through the Astral to a planetary body (planet, moon, asteroid, or other) you have visited frequently usually requires access to your ship’s library & orrery, a successful DC 10 Piloting check, and 10 minutes.
Plotting a course to a less familiar planetary body is more difficult and requires information about the destination; navigation is also more difficult if you are currently lost. See the listed DCs, below.
If you fail the check to chart a course between planetary bodies by 4 or less, you realize that you have plotted a faulty course and must attempt the check again before you can make the journey. If you fail the check by 5 or more, you aren’t aware that your calculations are erroneous, and it takes longer than normal for you to reach your destination (usually 1d6 additional days).
At the GM’s discretion, you might instead arrive in an unfamiliar planetary body (plotting a course from there to your actual destination usually requires a successful DC 25 Piloting check), or – when you arrive at your intended destination – discover that one of your vessel’s key systems is damaged:
To determine which system is affected, roll d% and consult the table below. If a system already has the wrecked condition, apply this damage to the next system down on the chart. If you reach the bottom of the chart, one member of the crew is reduced to -1 hit points and begins bleeding out, or – with a DC 20 Relfex save – is reduced to half hit points, rounded down.
If the system isn’t currently damaged, it gains the glitching condition. If it is damaged again, its condition changes by one step of severity (glitching becomes malfunctioning; malfunctioning becomes wrecked).
d% System Effect
1–10Food, water, supplies, cargo
11–30Library, Orrery, Communications
31–60Weapons
61–80Steering & Guidance
81–100 Helm Mount (Power Supply)
Glitching:Actions involving the system take a -2 penalty.
Malfunctioning: Actions involving the system take a -4 penalty. In addition, crew members cannot take “push” actions using that system. If the Helm Mount is malfunctioning, all actions aboard the vessel – those involving food, water, supplies, cargo, the Library, the Orrery, communications, weapons, steering, and/or guidance – suffer a -2 penalty; this penalty stacks with penalties from damage conditions affecting other systems.
Wrecked:Actions involving the system automatically fail. If the Helm Mount is wrecked, roll twice for all crew actions aboard the vessel (as above) and take the worse result.
Your familiarity with a region of space determines the DC of Profession: (SpellJammer Pilot) checks to plot a course.
DC 10: Pierce the Astral to a familiar or frequently-visited spaceport
DC 15: Pierce the Astral to an unfamiliar or infrequently-visited spaceport
DC 25: Pierce the Astral to an uncharted or unknown location
The GM can modify these DCs (usually by 5 to 10) based on the amount of information available about your starting location and destination, and whether the location is particularly difficult to navigate (such as near a gravitational whirlpool in the Chain of Tears).
—–
CLASSES
Alchemist: One of the most common classes in Pyrespace, alchemists are valued as medics, engineers, and even heavy artillery: every known race and culture produced alchemists of one variety or another, including those who use Wisdom in place of Charisma for all class abilities and class features.
Barbarian (and Fighter, Gunslinger, Ranger, Rogue, Swashbuckler): Wrath-fueled berzerkers, icy-eyed shootists, and quick-witted hired-blades are known – and feared, and well-paid – on every world and in every port.
Bard: A charming performer capable of igniting & piloting a SpellJammer Helm is a welcome addition to the crew of any vessel.
Cavalier (andSamurai): Best known among the elves, a heavily-armored warrior atop an elk is a truly terrifying sight.
Cleric (andOracle): True miracles – the actual work of a genuine god – are all-but-unknown across Pyrespace, and the average member of the priesthood possesses no real faith. The great power of the Church of Yondallalies in their unquestioned political power, which includes special protection under the law: any clergyman may ask for their trial to be conducted by Church court, in the city of Lagas or of Beshaba. Average people are left terrified at even a hint of actual deific power, and those rare few souls with the ability to channel holy – or unholy – power are not immediately associated with any religious organization.
Druid: Rare in the extreme, souls devoted to the survival of a single biome or planetary body are an uncommon sight among the stars.
Inquisitor (andPaladin, Antipaladin): When the strength of diplomacy fails, the Church of Yondalla is quick to employ other, more direct, methods. Although rare in the extreme, the Church produces standard Lawful Good paladins as well as Lawful Evil Tyrants in service to Asmodeus (or to one of his Princes); “paladins” of this type have the following adjustments:
You gain an Aura of Law equal in strength to your Aura of Evil. You also gain brandanddetect chaos at-will as spell-like abilities, exactly as per the Detect Good class ability; the saving throw against your brand is equal to 10 + ½ your class level + your Charisma bonus.
If you would lose the Detect Good class ability for any reason – such as because of the Holy Gun archetype – you retain both brandanddetect chaos. Your smite good class ability is replaced with smite chaos, as follows: You gain all normal bonuses against targets with chaotic alignments instead of good, and you deal additional damage against outsiders with the chaotic subtype and chaotic-aligned aberrations (instead of against good-aligned dragons, good-aligned outsiders and good-aligned creatures with levels of clericorpaladin).
Any time you would gain a cruelty, you may instead gain any mercy that would normally be available to a paladin of your level. You may use your touch of corruption ability to heal – rather than to harm – any living worshiper of Yondalla; you may instead spend two daily uses of that ability to heal any creature with a lawful alignment. In either instance, any mercies you possess are applied to your target as normal. Any creature healed by your ability in this way incurs a debt equal to 10 gold pieces multiplied by your antipaladin caster level (minimum 1) multiplied by your character level; this debt is owed directly to the Church of Yondalla, rather than to you, and you can gain no monetary benefit from this act. However, the indebted creature may make formal and binding arrangements to fulfill the payment and all interest owed in goods, estate, or services to you or to another beneficiary named by you at the time when healing is rendered.
In addition, greater brand is added to your list of antipaladin spells as a 3rd level spell. At 5th level, you may freely expend two daily uses of your touch of corruption to use greater brand as a spell-like ability, subject to the rules above; at 10th level, this cost is reduced to one daily use of your touch of corruption ability.
A paladin of Yondalla – Lawful Good or Lawful Evil – may always may work with another worshiper of Yondalla, regardless of their alignment.
Antipaladins devoted to other extradimensional, godlike entities of supernatural evil and inhuman potency – including Dagon, Lolth, and even The Hive – follow the normal rules.
Kineticist (andPsychic): The agony experienced by a living creature exposed to the raw might of psychic energy cannot be overstated; the obscene alien vibrations are devastating to the mind, body, and soul.
Magus (and Witch, Wizard): Knowledge is, perhaps, the single most highly-prized resource in the Pyrespace system … but raw genius comes in a close second. Those with the education and expertise to warp reality around them – to say nothing of the ability to ignite and pilot a SpellJamming Helm – are able to name their own price … so long as they’re willing to risk the threat of a horrific death in the empty darkness between stars.
Monk (andNinja): The ten-thousand monastaries of Xhiaae-La have produced impeccable martial combatants, legendary both for their spiritual focus and their unarmed, unarmored fighting techniques, for centuries; since 1493 A.D., warriors (Hin and human alike) trained in these esoteric arts have served the Church of Yondalla – and the ever-shifting merchant-prince families of the Green Fields – as bodyguards, assassins, advisors, and messengers nearly as often as they have simply walked the world in search of understanding. Curiously, many of the mysterious fighting-traditions practiced among the elves of Perianth are guided by forms and meditations nearly identical to ancient methods of combat known only to the most remote mountain-top shrines on Quelya.
Sorcerer (andSummoner): If one cannot afford to hire a wizard schooled at the Brandobarin Archives Timmestre-Falco, or an elven witch with ten thousand years of occult lore locked behind his eerie gaze, one can often make due with some random, orphaned human street-trash with a measure of arcane power floating through his dirty veins. If one is desperate to move one’s cargo, that is.
Known to the gnomes of Markovia as the nilski konj vojnici, to the Hin plantation-owners of Covington Farms as los mercenarios gigantes del río, and to the human field-workers laboring near New Arvoreen most-often simply as “those big goddamn bastards,” the giff – as they are called in their own guttural, roaring language – represent a recently-contacted species of huge, violent, powerfully-built, terrifyingly-focused, and dangerously cagey combatants.
In the little-over-a-century since their discovery by the Hin, platoons of giff have already carved a bloody name for themselves across the wilds of Verdura – and far beyond – as unparalleled river-guides, rowdies, strike-breakers, mob debt-collectors, private enforcers, heavy-weapons units, siege engines, bodyguards, and elite soldiers of fortune.
Brought to you absolutely free to enjoy, to test & to share – as always – by the fine folks of my Patreon.
original image by the incredible Claudio Pozas, here
Giff gain a +2 size bonus to Strength and a -2 size penalty to Dexterity (already included above). Giff also suffer a -1 size penalty to their AC and a -1 size penalty on all attack rolls; they gain a +1 bonus on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, and suffer a -4 size penalty on Stealth checks.
A giff takes up a space that is 10 feet by 10 feet and has a reach of 5 feet.
Base Speed: Normal speed (0 RP)
Languages:Standard (0 RP); giff speak their own eponymous, curiously poetic language, and most are – in the modern day – also conversant in Low Kozah-Talosii (usually spoken with a thick, pompous Verduran accent).
This bastardized dialect, the so-called “Common tongue” favored across Pyrespace for use in international, intercultural, and interplanetary trade, is a degraded mongrel variant of High Kozah-Talosii: the ancient root-tongue of both Arvorean and Brandobarin, still employed by the Church of Yondalla for use in sermons, hymns, and in all official records.
Big Damn Guns: Giff are treated as gnomes for purposes of the Experimental Gunsmith Archetype. (0 RP)
Darkvision: Giff have 60 ft. darkvision (0 RP); giff have relatively poor eyesight while out of water, which is easily corrected with simple lenses – such as a monocle – for use while reading. This vision is not poor enough to impart a mechanical penalty on Perception checks or attack rolls made by the giff.
Natural Armor: Giff have +3 natural armor (4 RP)
Natural Attack (Headbutt): Giff receive one natural attack, which is treated as a gore attack that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage. (1 RP)
Natural Swimmers: Giff have a swim speed of 30 feet and gain the +8 racial bonusonSwim checks that a swim speed normally grants. (1 RP)
Powerful Charge (Headbutt): Whenever a giff charges, it deals twice the standard number of damage dice with its headbutt plus 1-½ times its Strength bonus. (2 RP)
River-Sense: Giff can sense vibrations in water, granting them blindsense 30 feet against creatures that are touching the same body of water. (1 RP)
Spell Resistance (Greater): Giff have spell resistance equal to 11 + their character level. (3 RP)
Sporting: The species-wide love of warfare exhibited by the giff draws a sharp line of distinction between “sporting” and “unsporting” combat (see below). (-1 RP)
Sporting combat includes arm-wrestling, fisticuffs, darts, cards, dice, checkers, chess, billiards, cricket, rugby, skeet shooting, tennis, and golf, alongside tests of boasting, carousing, headbutting, toast-giving, swimming, push-ups, and a complex, ritualized sort of thunderous, unarmed mixed martial-art performed solely while stripped down to breeches & undergarments, usually in ankle-deep to waist-deep water, ending in pin or submission, which – up to a point – also serves as a type of flirting.
The military mentality of the giff even makes special allowances for a variety of “sporting” duels to the death. Establishing a proper duel requires a huge number of complex ritual elements that – in the end – mostly boils down to both giff formally acknowledging that:
Both giff are armed with approximately the same quality of weapons & armor (warhammer, combat knife, pistol, full plate, etc.)
Both giff have equal access to military support, including healing
Both giff have a grievance, no matter how petty
Both giff are suffering approximately the same level of injuries
Both giff have made arrangements for their estate, and for the treatment of their body after death
Once a “sporting” challenge to the death has been agreed-to by both parties, anything up to and including outright murder of one’s opponent is considered fair game.
Several major holidays each year celebrated by the giff include a “violent dueling festival” as part of their celebration; to outsiders, these events have a very bizarre, genteel, 1800s-Victorian-Teddy-Roosevelt-meets-The-Purge sort of feel to them:
“Happy holidays, friend; best of health this year to you and to your kin. And I say, old chap, don’t suppose it’s high time for a kukri-duel, eh, wot wot? Seeing as you got drunk on my finest brandy, made a pass at the missus, wiped your prodigious buttocks with my table linens, and micturated in my hedge-row as of Christmas last, well … in lieu of an apology, what say I have Jenkins fetch the carving blades, eh? See which of has the moxie, shall we? Cheerio and have at thee then, old sport?”
If this formal challenge to a lethal sporting-duel is declined, the challenger must make all possible accommodations to guarantee the immediate physical safety of the giff she just challenged (at least until such time as the two giff part ways once more): providing the giff with weapons, armor, food, water, medicine, reading materials, a place to sleep, liquor, smoking tobacco, and anything else a gentleman or lady of high breeding could reasonably expect to have access to (even while imprisoned).
In short: if the challenged giff dies immediately after declining a duel, it is considered very embarrassing for the challenger.
For his own part, the declining giff must treat her challenger with the very utmost level of respect … or risk being guilty of unsporting conduct, a fate far worse than mere death.
Any giff who finds herself about to violate the terms of properly “sporting” conduct instantly becomes aware of the error, just as if she were wearing a phylactery of faithfulness and, at all times, actively contemplating the thought of doing bodily harm to another giff: this behavioral limitation is not built as a trap for players to accidentally stumble into, but – instead – as an interesting roadblock to navigate around.
If two or more giff find themselves forced into a position of armed conflict against one another on a battlefield, both groups traditionally retire for at least a day of drinking and sorting-out ranks; on rare occasion, one platoon will join the other; more likely, all giff involved in any part of the operation will quit their current hirings and look for work elsewhere.
Any giff who engages another member of her own species in any type of unsporting combat – attacking another giff with a weapon, for example, or with magic – immediately suffers a -2 penalty on all skill checks, ability checks, attack rolls and saves; she continues to suffer this penalty until such time as she is able to make amends: presenting her victim with a formal written apology, or seeking our her victim’s family to beg their public pardon.
Each month, this penalty increases by 2. Guilt is a poison that grows by degrees, after all: ever-gnawing.
While she is suffering penalties in this way, if the giff is presented with the chance to punish herself – or a non-giff opponent! – while presented with something that reminds the giff of her betrayal, she may find herself compelled to do so regardless of the consequences:
Any time her betrayal is directly brought to her attention, the giff must make a Will save (DC = 10 + her character level + the Charisma modifier of the wronged giff). Failure means that the giff falls into a rage of abject self-loathing, completely focused on her own guilt for a number of rounds equal to the DC, above. Until she has finished with this exercise in hate, the giff can take no action other than to harm the reminder of her failure or enable herself to harm it: grappling a human shipmate who mentioned her old friend so that she might headbutt the human while strangling them, for example, or calmly loading a shotgun so that she might shoot the human dead in cold blood.
Note that the giff, while wracked with guilt & grief, is not required to do anything or harm anyone: she may simply stare at an old photograph and feel sad, for example, ignoring everyone around her.
During the fury of this black tempest, the giff suffers a -2 penalty to her AC.
Once the giff successfully makes amends, either with the wronged party or with the victim’s next-of-kin, all of the above penalties are removed. Entire subsets of giff society – mediators, arbitrators, and negotiators – are explicitly adapted to making absolutely certain that any errors in sporting conduct among giff are resolved quickly, and to the satisfaction of all parties.
Should she fail to make amends before her death, any giff who has harmed another giff in an unsporting way invariably rises again as an undead horror of some kind (often a blood knightorgraveknight): reborn as a rotting, lurching mountainside of infinitely destructive hated.
Note that the Sporting Racial Trait is not purely social, but rather acts as a species-wide ingrained psychological virtue: two giff living on Fenris who never expect to see the wide rivers of Verdura again are still bound by the rules of “sporting” conflict; neither could shoot the other in the back any more than either of them could grow wings and fly to the moon.
Undead giff do not possess the Sporting Trait, which is seen – by living giff – as the most abhorrent and disturbing quality imaginable.
Note, also, that the desire to behave in a sporting manner extends only to fellow giff: Chaotic Evil giff will routinely massacre unarmed non-giff by the thousands, bellowing with laughter as they do so, and even a Lawful Good giff will rarely think twice before sucker-punching a crude human making drunken threats and impolite remarks at the bar.
——-
Giff Timeline:
1603 A.D. (118 years ago): The colony of New Arvoreen is established on Verdura; giff make contact with Hin (and their human servants) for the first time.
1620 A.D.: First generation of giff who have always known about the existence of Hin, humans, and – most importantly! – firearms fully comes of age.
1636 A.D.: New Arvoreen is significantly expanded.
1667 A.D.: Nation of Markovia – the technological-marvel nation named for its Founder, Monarch and Supreme Leader, Dr. Adlai Markovitch – founded on Verdua; diplomatic trade established with New Arvoreen.
1669 A.D.: City of New Arvoreen significantly expanded.
1702 A.D.: New Arvoreen significantly expanded; land officially cleared for Covington Farms, soon to be the largest agricultural facility in the system; rates of forcible immigration of indentured humans to New Arvoreen tripled.
Giff Ranks: Lieutenant, General, Colonel, Major General, Lieutenant General, Lieutenant Colonel, Captain General, Brigadier General, Field Marshall, Major, Captain, Sergeant Major, Commandant General, Wing General, Lieutenant Colonel General, Staff Sergent, Master Sergent, Master General, Grenadier General; note that “Lord” may be added to any military rank, alongside the designations of “First” and “First Class” (for example, “First Lord Brigadier General First Class”)
Giff military ranks are, effectively, meaningless noise to everyone except the giff themselves: every member of the species is a decorated officer of some complex rank within some elite military company or another, but such ranks are largely ceremonial and may be inherited, purchased, or passed through elaborate, bombastic ritual.
Further, the only thing preventing a young giff from forming an entirely new military organization & immediately naming herself – of example – Supreme Acting Field Commander and Secretary General of the Armies and Navies at Wartime is – up to a point – her own willingness to do so.
Male Giff Names: Any invented male Hin name.
Female Giff Names: Any invented female Hin name.
Giff Family Names: Any invented male Hin first name
Society
The giff are military-minded, and organize themselves into squads, platoons, companies, corps, and larger groups. The number of giff in a platoon varies according to the season, situation, and level of danger involved.
A giff “platoon” hired to protect a gambling operation may number only a single soldier, while a platoon hired to invade an illithid stronghold may number well over a hundred.
The giff pride themselves on their weapon-skills, and any giff carries a number of swords, daggers, maces, and similar tools on hand to deal with troublemakers.
A giff’s true love, however, is the gun. A misfiring weapon matters little to the giff (occasional fatalities amongst soldiery are simply to expected); it is the flash, the noise, and the damage that most impress them.
Even unarmed, the giff are powerful opponents. Against non-giff, they’ll often wade into a brawl just for the pure fun of it, tossing various combatants on both sides around to prove themselves the victors.
Once a weapon is bared, however, and the challenge becomes “unsporting,” the giff consider all restrictions off: the challenge is now to the death.
The giff prize themselves as top-quality mercenaries, and to that end take great pride in owning – if not always wearing – elaborate suits of full-plate armor. These suits usually include massive helms featuring hyper-detailed, semi-realistic images of exotic monsters on the crests, inlaid with ivory and bone along the largest plates.
Armor repair is a major hobby among the giff, although great skill at the craft is surprisingly rare.
The giff are deeply suspicious of magic, magicians, and magical devices; their legendary foes, the Five Tiger Princes, are despised for their esoteric abilities as much for their wicked deviltry.
The giff are, for the most part, happiest among fellow members their own race, intermingling broadly with the Ghoran – whom the giff utilize as an edible, inexhaustible workforce – and the Tengu: another unofficial “servitor race” of the giff, most often used as messengers and household servants.
Ghoran living on giff lands are stoic: dutifully tending the fields of the giff in exchange for protection from ten-thousand other, vastly more predatory dangers. For all that giff treat the ghoran as disposable – a ghoran living on Verdura produces one seed each year, and can grow a new member of the species in a single month – the giff do not want the ghoran hunted to total extermination. That, for the ghoran, is saying something,
Tengu, on the other hand, are deeply prized by the giff as staff, usually in the roles of personal assistants, groomers, decorators, butlers, bartenders, man-servants, attaches, major domos, and maids. Since all giff are “wealthy land owners,” to one degree or another, the true power & prestige of a giff can be accurately measured by the number of tengu he employs.
Giff otherwise consider anything larger than them deeply threatening, yet also complain bitterly – in private – about the fragility of the smaller races. Outside their own platoons, the giff are happiest among military organizations with a strong chain of command.
For this reason, giff hold the Church of Yondalla in exceptionally high regard.
Giff especially despise the catfolk: although they don’t speak of it to outsiders, a century ago the giff were on the verge of extinction: hunted for sport and trophy by servants of the Five Tiger Princes, their people nearly cut to nothing and their lands held by only a few remaining families. Since their acquisition of firearms – and the arrival of the Hin – the catfolk have broadly retreated.
Every giff – male, female, and giffling – has a rank within their greater society, which can only be changed by a giff of higher rank. Within these ranks are sub-ranks, and within those sub-ranks are color-markings and badges. The highest-ranking giff gives the orders, the others obey. It does not matter if the orders are foolish or even suicidal: following them is the purpose of the giff in the universe. A quasi-mystical faith among the giff – who claim to worship, in a vague way, the Golden General Bahamut, who was killed and eaten by the cowardly Five Tiger Princes in order to steal his strength – confirms that all things have their place, and the place of the giff to follow orders.
This makes the giff very happy.
Giff platoons can be hired from their sprawling, palatial riverside plantations and mountain hunting-lodges by anyone looking for muscle. The social leaders among the giff are contractors: these specially-trained giff review prospective employers according to ability to pay, then make a recommendation to powerful warlords and famous adventurers among the giff. The leaders, in turn, consider the danger of the job, and whether taking it will enhance their giffdom.
Giff jobs are usually paid in firearms & gunpowder, though they often will accept other weapons and armor. Aboard ship, the giff require their own quarters, and will often request to bring on their own large weapons. They favor fire-projectors and bombards for ground work, and will happily blaze away at opponents regardless of the tactical situation.
The giff require the ships of others because they have – for the most part – no spellcasting abilities among them.
Giff of both sexes serve in their platoons, and both fight equally well. Giff young are raised tenderly until they are old enough to survive an exploding arquebus, then are inducted fully into the platoon.
The giff practice equality among the sexes in battle and in childrearing. They live about 70 years, but do not take aging gracefully. As a giff grows older and begins to slow down, he is possessed with the idea of proving himself still young and vital, usually in battle.
Prerequisites: Neutral Evil, caster level 1st; see Special, below
Benefit: You may – at any time, as a free action – choose to gain all the physical benefits and drawbacks of Corruption Stage 2[Hive corruption].
You retain this Corruption Stage for one minute per character level you possess; your Corruption cannot increase to Stage 3.
You do not acquire Manifestations for your Corruption normally. Instead, any time that you would normally gain a feat* (including a Bonus Feat, with your GM’s permission, such as from the Aberrant Bloodline), you may instead select any one Manifestation for which you otherwise meet the prerequisites. You receive the benefits of any Manifestation selected in this way only while you possess a Corruption Stage. Your Manifestation level – for purposes of this feat – is always equal to one half your character level, rounded up.
*with your GM’s permission, you may also choose to gain access to a new Manifestation in place of an Oracle Revelation; oracles with this ability often possess access to the Mystery of the Dark Tapestry.
At will as a move action, while you possess a Corruption Stage, you may expend a single spell or spell-slot of 1st level or higher to gain any one additional Manifestation for which you meet the prerequisites. Your access to this special Manifestation lasts for one minute. You always gain all effects of the Stain associated with any Manifestation that you acquire via use of this feat; Stains acquired by gaining a temporary Manifestation always last for 24 hours, even after the Manifestation has faded.
During this time, whenever you summon one or more creatures that would normally be available with the entropic,fiendish, or resolute template using a summon monster spell (or an effect that mimics such a spell), you may choose to instead apply the Hive Creature Simple Template to each such creature.
In addition, while this ability is active, you add hive larva swarm and hive warrior to your summon monster list as 4th level creatures; thus, you could summon a single hive warrior using summon monster IV or summon 1d3 hive larva swarms using summon monster V. You also add hive queen to your summon monster list as a 7th level creature; thus, you could summon a single hive queen using summon monster VII or summon 1d3 hive queens using summon monster VIII.
Any damaging spell or spell-like ability that you use while you possess a Corruption Stage deals half of its damage as acid damage.
At 9th level, you may expend a single spell or spell slot of 4th level or higher as a standard action to use either of the following abilities:
dimension door. This magical transportation must begin and end in a square that includes a hive larva swarm.
apply the swarmblooded template to any one living, corporeal creature within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) with 15 or more Hit Dice (such as a hive queen); this template persists for one minute per caster level you possess. Any creature enhanced in this way always bleeds hive larva swarms when injured.
Whenever you summon a Hive creature, you may choose to summon any such creatures as a move action (rather than as a full-round action); if you do so, the range of your summon monster ability drops to 0 ft.: all creatures summoned by use of this ability must appear in a square either directly adjacent-to your own or overlapping your own (in the case of a hive larva swarm), emerging directly from your own flesh.
At will as a move action, you may cause any one hive creature that you have summoned to explode and die, activating its Death Throes special ability as appropriate for creatures of the hive subtype.
Special: While this feat is active, you may never refuse any direct order from any anunnaki, up-to and including such suicidal orders as performing a coup de grace upon yourself and then voluntarily failing the Fortitude save. You may not harm or endanger any anunnaki; if ordered to do so by another anunnaki, you may instead take your own life. You may not deliberately speak any lie to an anunnaki, including bluffing, stating half-truths with the intent to deceive, exaggerating, telling white lies or practicing any other type of intentional misdirection; this applies to all forms of verbal, non-verbal, magical and written communication.
Fortunately, anunnaki in-phase with our reality are rare beyond imagining and this limitation is rarely enforced.
Alternatively, each additional time this feat is selected, you may choose any one living, corporeal creature of CR 6 or less, such as a babau,belker,cave giant,death worm,giantanaconda,girallonorkyton. At will as a full-round action (but see Sudden Evolution, below), you may cause any one hive warrior that you have summoned to explode and die, activating its Death Throes special ability as normal. You then automatically summon a new CR 6 creature of your selected type (above) and apply the Hive Creature Template as you do so; this creature must appear in a square that was immediately vacated by your now-deceased hive warrior.
Sudden Evolution: You may always choose to expend a single spell or spell slot of 1st level or higher to activate this ability as a standard action rather than as a full-round action.
You must have ready access to a fully-built version of the final stat-block for any creature you choose to summon by use of this feat, approved by your GM, before you may use this ability.
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RELIGION ACROSS PYRESPACE
Yondalla and Her Saints: The Hin – and, by extension, all those they conquer – practice a monotheistic faith, worshiping a single bountiful earth-mother-deity, Yondalla, alongside an astonishing number of her Saints; the Church also recognizes the power of Asmodeus, King of Hell and Master of Devils, who is commanded by Yondalla to punish the wicked.
Technically, Asmodeus and his Seven Devil Princes – Dispater, the Iron King; Mammon, the Spirit in Gold; Belial, the Pale Kiss; Geryon, the Serpent; Moloch, the Ashen Bull; Baalzebul, Lord of the Flies; and Mephistopheles, the Merchant of Souls – are all Saints of the Church.
The Ordo Repentia Infernalis serves as the “secret” inquisitorial arm of the Church: dedicated to the tracking & execution of heretics, especially (but not limited to) worshippers of Dagon.
Many of the other Saints recognized by the Church of Yondalla are, in point of fact, actually deities once worshiped by various (now conquered) human cultures, deemed inoffensive enough to be folded into Mother Church as “blessed of Yondalla, beautified in her holy light”.
Direct worship of these Saints is illegal (a form of idolatry), but observation of a Saint’s holy day — in accordance with Church Law — is encouraged. In some of the more culturally relaxed parts of Cyrrolaelee, for example, prayers to Saint Fharlanghn are as common as prayers to Yondalla.
Other Saints, such as St. Davian, are near-mythologized historical figures.
—
Corellon and Lolth: To be clear, “worship” is a strong word.
That said, the elves of Perianth venerate quite deeply the honored, immortal founders of their august race, seeking the guidance and blessing – in equal measure – of their Emperor and Empress in all things.
The Western Courts identify Corellon as a sun-deity (the Phoenix Emperor) and Lolth as a moon-goddess (the Beautiful Eclipse), while the Eastern Courts refer to Corellon as a lunar deity (the Moonlit Dragon) and Lolth as a sun-goddess (the Crimson Empress).
No matter the court, Corellon is regarded as master over the wild Seelie, while Lolth is understood to be mistress over the demonic Unseelie.
—
Dagon: The single unifying, founding principleof the Ordo Repentia Infernalis is to seek-out the extermination of Dagon, the Shadow in the Sea, false god who sleeps beneath the waves, and of all who bow in fealty to him.
Of his horrid church, little enough needs be known: wicked dreams born of his thrashing nightmares in the black Abyss at the bottom of the world corrupt men to heresy, blasphemy, cannibalism, witchcraft, transmutation into horrid monstrosities of the deep, and human sacrifice.
The Court of Dagon
Although the vast, dark Shadow in the Sea is commonly understood to act, moment to moment, as the simplest and most ravenous of oceanic beasts – an unthinking, thrashing monster of pure bloodthirsty instinct and hatred – the Church of Yondalla identifies seven wicked spirits that serve him: dancing about his throne, attending to his every whim.
Shax, Demon Lord of Envy & Murder
Xoveron, Demon Lord Gluttony & Ruin
Areshkagal, Demon Lord of Greed & Riddles
Nocticula, Demon Lord of Lust & Beauty
Socothbenoth, Demon Lord of Pride & Perversity
Jubliex, Demon Lord of Sloth & Filth
Orcus, Demon Lord of Wrath & the Dead
The Inquisition makes special effort to watch the gargoyles under their care and in their service, as the race was known – in ancient days – to serve the demon Xoveron; many clergy members require that gargoyles under their command remain upon a strict diet, so as not to temp the spirit of gluttony.
—
Vasalissa the Beautiful: So little of “original” gnomish culture survives to the modern era – in the wake of countless cataclysms – that no unifying “faith” can be said to unite the diaspora of what was once the Circle of Gold.
That said, gnomes and warforged light candles and whisper quiet prayers to Vasalissa the Beautiful: a clever, tenacious protagonist who appears again and again across the deep storytelling tradition of the gnomish people: a sprawling, multilayered weave of tales that stretch back to the time of their world’s pre-history, the memorization of which borders on the spiritual.
Common tales in the canon – upon which every TRUE storyteller is expected to add his or her own unique twists – often deal with the trials, misadventures, and misfortunes of Vasalissa and a few other stock characters:
Mother Kindness (also called ‘Grandmother Kindness’)
The Child Dreamer
Greedy Glitterpot & Lumpy Fathead
The Hungry Baby
Elder Tree
The Honest Youth (sometimes ‘The Two Honest Youths’)
The Farmer’s Wife
Mocho & Pocho (one of whom is always hungry, and the other of which is always sleepy)
Cleverest Jack (sometimes with his twin brother, Mister Hubris)
The River Serpent
The First-Forged, and his three children: Stone, Wood, and Tin
Mean-Old-Two-Heads, the Giant
The Silent Wolf
Curiously, the natives of Fenris tell fantastic tales, in their own languages, nearly identical to the ancient legends of Vasalissa and her many adventures.
—
Cult of the Dragon Moons: As far as the Chirch of Yondalla is concerned, this organization is merely a group of deluded Dagon-worshipers seduced into a bizarre heresy obsessed with returning-to-life the ancient “dragons” that are said to have once ruled Pyrespace.
This bizarre faith is known – and possibly native – to every world in the system, but is most prevalent in the jungles of Verdura and across the dunes of Ashen.
—
Moradin:The dwarves do not speak often of their religion, but keep it close to heart: burning, eternally, in a fortress of stone buried beneath their breast.
———
PYRESPACE TIMELINE
This timeline is based on the Yondallan calendar, which dates events to before and after the defeat of the giant Gol’Kaa by St. Davian (‘Ano Davia’ or the Year of Davian) and the subsequent rise of the Hin as the dominant form of life on Quelya.
Although years, months and even days are difficult to translate between planetary bodies, this single system is still the most frequently used: the current official time and date are tracked at the Great Clockhouse of Lagas, maintained by the Church of Yondalla, and backed-up in the nation-city of Beshaba.
The average occupant of the system does NOT know most of these dates nor the majority of the information presented here, with perhaps the exception of bolded items; these more-detailed notes are included simply for player reference, especially for the benefit of characters with an education in system-wide history.
—–
???? – the mysterious Precursors reign undisputed over the entirety of Pyrespace, preforming such impossible miracles as seeding humans across the system, uplifting the Crown of Sapphire to serve as a miniature star, crafting the Hole in the Infinite (a wormhole in orbit around the Crown of Sapphire), crafting the Celestial Pearl (for reasons unknown), establishing a number of now-fallen megastructures (cities, temples, and more esoteric objects) on every known world, and – according to several ancient records – the establishment of a now-vanished interplanetary “web-way”.
-1500 A.D. (approximate): The eastern and western courts of the elves unite beneath a single banner; the elven empire is established on Perianth under the immortal guidance of Corellon Larethian and his bride Lolth.
-1500 A.D. (approximate): The dwarven clans of Moradin’s Forge cease open hostilities with one another, establishing an uneasy truce in the face of heightened goblin aggression.
-1500 A.D. (approximate): On the Circle of Gold, conflicts between gnomes and ratfolk enclaves escalate into the First Rat-Slaughter; first generation warforged created; in the wake of their victory, gnomes begin experimentations in the craft of clockwork and establish significantly larger cities.
-1099 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of their culture’s history and technological progress.
-807 A.D.: The five elven noble houses serving beneath House Larethian are founded in full.
-787 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
-391 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
-218 A.D.: The nation of Kozah-Talos (a human nation controlling much of what would later become Brandobaris) finish their conquest over the human nations of Malar and Umberlee (which occupied what would later become Arvoreen), uniting the majority of Quelya’s sole continent under a single war-banner: leaving only the human nation of Auril and the wild deserts surrounding the City of Beshaba outside of their control.
-205 A.D.: A diplomatic accord is reached; the nations of Kozah-Talos and Auril unite to form the modern nation of Brandobaris; distant ports and holdings of Old Auril – including the “Cities of Sisterhood,” Shar and Selune – secede, declaring themselves independent (as the Isles of Tymora).
-197 A.D.: Arvoreen established as single nation under Brandobarin control; Arvorean land used as a “training ground” for Brandobarin officers and a proving-ground for both troops and tactics for use in wars against Cyrrollalee, Urogolan, and the Isles of Tymora.
-101 A.D.: House Larethian defeats a great enemy, further uniting the noble elven houses.
-17 A.D: The lands of Arvoreen are fully pacified under Brandobarin control.
0 A.D.: St. Davian defeats the giant Gol’Kaa, the last human king of Beshaba, in single combat; he and his armies establish the greater Church of Yondalla across the surrounding lands, extending into Arvoreen.
13 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
92 A.D.: Brandobarin aggression against Cyrrollalee abandoned.
138 A.D: Brandobarin aggression against Urogolan abandoned.
211 A.D.: The nation of Brandobaris unofficially cedes control of Arvorean land to the rule of local warlords (and to the expanding Church of Yondalla).
327 A.D.: The Church of Yondalla controls the entirety of the Rio Provendor from Beshaba all the way south to the World Ocean; the port-city of Lagas is founded at the mouth of the massive river (on Arvorean lands).
354 A.D.: The last human king of Arvoreen abdicates his throne in the face of famine, riots, and threats of civil war; the Church of Yondalla declares Lagas the new capital city of Arvoreen and rapidly puts an end to the uprising, ensuring lasting peace and Hin dominance of the nation.
371 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
459 A.D.: War breaks out along the Rio Provendor between the Hin-controlled nation of Arvoreen and human-controlled Brandobaris.
522 A.D.: Brandobaris invaded by raiders from Urogolan.
606 A.D.: The last human king of Brandobaris is executed, ceding total control of the Green Fields to Hin dominance and the oversight by the Church of Yondalla; raiders from Urogolan expelled.
616 A.D.: The Unseelie War begins; House Larethian splits, with a third of the House choosing the side of Lolth; Corellon vanishes; elves create the first SpellJamming vessels.
651 A.D.: First Crusade of Tymora begins, as the Church pushes to claim the island chain; the famed “Cities of Sisterhood” – Shar and Selune – are renamed ‘Dallah’.
727 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
729 A.D.: Second Crusade of Tymora begins, pushing from the occupied city of Dallah.
783 A.D.: King Ulliam of Cyrrollalee is gifted the legendary blade Caladcholg, symbol of his family and of the rightful rule over the Isle.
859 A.D.: The Unseelie War ends; House Larethian retreats to Perianth; House Lolth and loyalist “drow” imprisoned upon the Spider-Moon; the elven people abandon use of SpellJamming technology.
807 A.D.: Third Crusade of Tymora begins, fighting island-by-island to Perryroyal.
921 A.D.: Port of Perryroyal fully pacified under the Church of Yondalla.
928 A.D.: Gnomes independently develop SpellJamming technology, rapidly expanding beyond the Circle of Gold to explore the other moons orbiting the Crown of Sapphire.
971 A.D.: All elves and drow born before this date have since passed on.
972 A.D.: Gnomes establish the first of several small colonies on Fenris.
988 A.D.: Trade between Xhiaae-Lan and Perryroyal established.
1001 A.D.: All contact with the gnomish colonies on Fenris is lost.
1008 A.D.: Urogalandic attacks on Hin soil spur the Church of Yondalla to war; the Siege of Mordheim begins.
1051 A.D.: Gnomes make first contact with the dwarves of Moradin’s Forge, allowing the two races to begin trade; first dwarven SpellJamming vessels are prototyped.
1069 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying much of the culture’s history and technological progress.
1101 A.D.: First dwarven SpellJamming vessels are completed.
1118 A.D.: Perryroyal lost to attacks by cults of Dagon.
1123 A.D: Dwarves establish total control over all moons orbiting Moradin’s Forge and begin exploration of Fenris.
1221 A.D. All gnomes born before this date have since passed on.
1227 A.D.: Dallah and the island-chain of Tymora lost to attacks by cults of Dagon.
1271 A.D.: All dwarves born before this date have since passed on.
1283-1289 A.D.: City of Lagas assaulted by cults of Dagon.
1292 A.D.: Gnome explorers pass beyond the Celestial Pearl, establishing Zionil Station, and make first contact with the elves of Perianth.
1307 A.D.: Einar Jarlsenn, the last human king of Urogolan, is slain as the Siege of Mordheim finally breaks the “unconquerable” fortress.
1313 A.D.: Island-chain of Tymora retaken from cults of Dagon.
1321 A.D.: City of Dallah retaken from cults of Dagon.
1333-1370 A.D.: The Hole in the Infinite opens, releasing Hive entities onto the moons orbiting the Crown of Sapphire; elves establish a quarantine-zone at Zionil, barring all travel in-system from areas infected with the Hive contagion.
1342 A.D.: Second-generation warforged developed by gnome engineers.
1366 A.D.: Merchant-families and moneylenders in Lagas successfully lobby for greater greater involvement in the politics of Arvoreen and Brandobaris, displacing many hereditary noble families.
1391 A.D.: Perryroyal retaken from cults of Dagon.
1408 A.D.: Inaugural temple dedicated to the Church of Yondalla established on the soil of Xhiaae-Lan.
1416 A.D.: Hive menace to gnomish space successfully contained to five moons: Flandal (Hive Colony Nehemoth), Segojan (Hive Colony Euclid), Baervan (Hive Colony Keter), Baravar (Hive Colony Thaumiel), and Urdlen (Hive Colony Apollyon)
1419 A.D.: Unexpected disaster strikes the gnome home-world, destroying a dangerously large portion of the culture’s history and technological progress; off-world gnome colonies successfully mitigate the very worst of the disaster.
1459 A.D.: First Cyrrolaelan Crusade begins.
1463 A.D.: Hive Colony Nehemoth successfully eradicated from Flandal; third generation warforged developed.
1477 A.D.: Second Cyrrolaelan Crusade begins.
1491 A.D.: Third Cyrrolaelan Crusade begins.
1492 A.D.: The Circle of Gold – the gnomish home-world – is destroyed in a horrific cataclysm, forming the Chain of Tears. Gnomish history, technology, and culture suffer incalculable loss.
1493 A.D.: Shao Liang, the last human king of Xhiaae-Lan, surrenders his lands to the Church of Yondalla; peace treaty is signed at Perryroyal.
1502 A.D.: First contact is made between Elves and Hin; Hin become a SpellJamming culture.
1507 A.D.: Dún Ailinne, former capitol city of Cyrrollalee, is utterly destroyed; the human courts of Cyrrollalee abandon their cities for the countryside, forming a government-in-exile.
1521 A.D.: All Hin born before this date have since passed on.
1536 A.D.: All half-elves born before this date have since passed on.
1582 A.D.: The last human kingdom on Quelya falls when King Fergus mac Róich of Cyrrollalee is killed by an elven military force allied with the Church of Yondalla; the ancestral blade of King Ulliam’s line is subsequently lost, and Cyrrollalee becomes a protectorate of Arvoreen. The city of Moander is built on the ruins of Dún Ailinne.
1608 A.D: Armed peasant rebellion put down in Cyrrollalee.
1611 A.D.: All humans born before this date have since passed on.
1614 A.D.: The city of Salt Lake established on Ashen.
1619 A.D.: Contact lost with the city of Salt Lake; remnants never recovered.
1622 A.D.: New city of Salt Lake established on Ashen.
1627 A.D: Eldest playable gnome characters born.
1628 A.D.: Armed peasant rebellion put down in Cyrrollalee.
1630 A.D.: City of Salt Lake suffers 80% casualties after sandstorm.
1632 A.D.: City of Salt Lake rebuilt and reinforced with new colonists and heightened security.
1634 A.D.: On Ashen, work begins on the city of Core.
1636 A.D.: New Arvoreen on Verdura significantly expanded.
1639 A.D.: Eldest playable dwarf characters born.
1640 A.D.: City of Salt Lake successfully repels inclement weather, suffers 30% casualties.
1646 A.D.: City of Core declared fully operational.
1648 A.D.: Reserves from Salt Lake assist the city of Core during a mining incident.
1652 A.D.: Peasant rebellion in Cyrrollalee successfully expels Hin occupying forces, destroying several Arvorean military bases and Yondallan holy sites; using stolen ships, rebellion attacks and burns several coastal villages on Arvorean soil before retreating.
1656 A.D.: City of Salt Lake suffers 50% casualties during small seismic event.
1658 A.D.: Populations of Core, Salt Lake, local mining operations, and surrounding farms are bolstered by arriving waves of indentured settlers: human sentenced to penal transportation.
1661 A.D.: The mining-station of Chaldira in founded on Fenris.
1667 A.D.: Nation of Markovia founded on Verdua; diplomatic trade established with New Arvoreen.
1669 A.D.: City of New Arvoreen significantly expanded.
1674 A.D.: Salt Lake survives minor meteorological event; rates of the forcible immigration of incarcerated humans to Ashen doubled.
1701 A.D.: Brandobarin facility of Acheron founded on Ashen.
1702 A.D.: New Arvoreen significantly expanded; land officially cleared for Covington Farms, soon to be the largest agricultural facility in the system; rates of forcible immigration of indentured humans to New Arvoreen tripled.
1703 A.D.: City of Salt Lake establishes new oil fields under supervision of Acheron.
1705 A.D.: Youngest playable human characters born.
1708 A.D.: The Illithid first arrive at the edge of Pyrespace, immediately striking at the inhabitants of Moradin’s Forge and the Forge-moons, establishing a base of operations on the planet’s inhospitable surface.
1711 A.D.: The last holds of Clan Stonehall finally fail before the combined might of illithid forces, bolstered by a united army of goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres. No independent dwarven communities remain on the Forge (nor on the Forge-moons), and the home-world of the dwarves is effectively lost.
1715 A.D.: The Illithid release the Drow from their moon-prison, beginning the age of dark elven piracy across Pyrespace.
1719 A.D.: City of Salt Lake suffers 20% casualties in a series of minor industrial accidents.
The broad theme of the campaign is simple:“outsiders — criminals, rejects, freedom fighters, the lost, the abandoned, the desperate, and the mad — go balls-out, nothing to lose, against corrupt authority and nightmare monsters, surviving on the razor’s edge of the known & the unknown”.
It’s meant to have one foot in Serenity/Firefly, one foot in Pirates of the Caribbean, one foot in Guardians of the Galaxy, yet another foot in Princess Bride, plus little dashes of steampunk / dieselpunk pulp-action high-fantasy on top: Raiders of the Lost Ark,Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still,Aliens, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, The Mummy,The Fifth Element, The Rocketeer, and/or Big Trouble in Little China
RACES
Dwarf: a scattered people born of Moradin’s Forge*, 80% of whom now exist solely as slaves beneath the whip and bootheel of the illithid and their grotesque creations. Dwarves in captivity are stripped of their names, titles, and family lineage; for this reason, free dwarves often cover themselves in dense tattoos, transformed into living repositories of their clan history. Dwarves no longer have a homeland but make small communities on Fenris, the Crown-Moons of Garl, Gelth, and Callarduran, and across the Chain of Tears (especially the city of Discord).
For human occupants of Pyrespace, the illithid invasion – which the Church of Yondalla officially denies occurring, under pain of incarceration, transportation, and excommunication – happened ten years ago: half a generation past, when the very youngest of human spacehands were still in diapers.
For dwarves, it happened approximately last Tuesday.
Shepard Book, Zoe Washburne, and Drax the Destroyer are good examples of dwarves.
*NOTE: The Church of Yondalla, which does not recognize the divinity of Moradin, refers to the dwarven home-world instead simply as ‘the Adamant Forge’ in all official documentation.
—
Elf: an elegant race in slow decline, born of Perianth, still recovering from the Unseelie War that split and decimated the species a millennium ago. For the elves, long-lived as they are, the wound is still very fresh: fewer than seven generations have passed since the end of the war, after all (for a human, this is perhaps comparable to a tragedy that occurred less than a century and a half ago).
Elves consume food, water, and air as Small-size creatures. Drow are a playable race, although they suffer a great deal of distrust from everyone … including other drow.
Inara, Simon Tam, River Tam, the Operative, Nebula, and Gamora are good examples of elves.
—
Gnome: engineers and technologists born from the Circle of Gold, greatest moon of the Crown of Sapphire, now scraping-by on the Crown’s remaining moons and across the Chain of Tears: the devastated shards of their destroyed home-world, shattered two-and-a-quarter centuries ago.
Like the elves, of course, gnomes are fantastically long-lived: the very eldest gnomes can recall the true glory of their home world, seen with their own eyes; some of the most ancient were already well into their venerable years, over two and a half centuries old, at the time of the cataclysm. Even for the very youngest of gnomes, those who have never known a home-world other than the Chain of Tears, only about three generations have passed since the destruction of that moon (in terms that a human might understand, this is perhaps similar to an event that occurred 60-70 years ago).
Gnomes may choose to gain +2 Intelligence in place of their standard +2 Charisma; most have the Gear Gnome subtype. Nearly half of all gnomish pregnancies result in twins, and triplets are as common among gnomes as twins are among humans.
Kaylee Frye, Niska, Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne, Rocket Racoon, Miracle Max (from Princess Bride), and Twigg (from Pirates of the Caribbean) are good examples of gnomes.
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Hin: Undisputed rulers of Quelya above the waves, thanks much to their ingenuity in social organization & their bountiful harvests even in the most barren of lands. The vast monotheistic religion of the Hin offers prayers to Yondalla and to her Saints, including Davian and Asmodeus; all Hin estates contain a shrine to Yondalla. The priests and nuns of the Church may not marry, though their laity is expected to produce many, many children. Status within the Church is of paramount importance for all Hin; donations to the church can buy writs of indulgence, favorable legal judgment, and even sainthood.
Lord Beckett, Governor Swann, Elizabeth Swan, Captain Barbossa, and Commodore Norrington (from Pirates of the Caribbean), Badger (from Firefly), Buttercup, Prince Humperdink, Count Rugen, Vizzini (from Princess Bride), and the Collector and Grandmaster (from Guardians of the Galaxy) are all good examples of Hin.
A BRIEF NOTE ON HIN NAMING-CONVENTIONS
Hin identify, for the most part, as members of the Church of Yondalla first, as part of a culture second, and as citizens of a nation third.
Thus, a Hin living in Arvoreen, Beshaba, or Brandobaris can be expected to have an Arvorean, Beshabite, or Brandobarin name. However, a Hin living far away from the shores of Green Fields – in Cyrrollalee or in Urogolan, for example – with always retain a “proper” Arvorean, Beshabite, or Brandobarin name.
Hin with Urogalandic names, simply put, do not exist.
“Invented” Hin names, which are relatively common everywhere except on Quelya, are the major exception to this general rule: occasionally, a young Hin living off-world will choose to reinvent himself – and, thus, rename himself – often, but not always, as a means to get out from under the thumb of a particularly oppressive (or shameful) family.
Venturing forth into the unknown without the benefit of a longstanding lineage is, in fact, a tradition among Hin significantly older than modern Arvorean or Brandobarin society.
As such, a young Hin in Lagas going by the name of “Morgan Drake,” “John Smith,” “Alastair Chapman,” or “Sebastian West” – for example – might be looked down upon as a probable criminal or even as a pirate … but on Ashen, Verdura, or out on the Chain of Tears, such an individual is likely to earn a mark of respect from all but the most conservative and close-minded of Hin.
Invented Hin Last Names: (any invented Hin male first name)
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Human: Humans come in many different colors, in many different sizes, and worship many, many gods – usually in the guise of Yondallan saints. Most humans pay at least some lip service to St. Davian, the great champion of Yondalla (who intercedes to deliver the prayers of humans to Yondalla), but humans very often also worship older, more-private familial gods. Humans may not, of course, marry into Hin families nor join in any Hin merchant house as a full partner; the best that a human can hope for, in many cases, is to be a servant remembered fondly by the children of the family he serves.
This, of course, leaves humans permanently at the bottom of the Quelyan (and thereby system-wide) economic food chain.
It is accepted fact, by those who study the pre-history of Pyrespace, that humans were once scattered across the system for unknown purposes and by unknown means, presumably at the whim of the mysterious Precursors. For this reason, the Church of Yondalla is active in seeking-out lost civilizations of humans who have spent unknown centuries far from the light of Yondalla’s mercy.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Captain Jack Sparrow, Westley the Farm-Boy, and Peter Quill are good examples of humans.
HUMAN OFFSHOOTS:
al’Zihad: Despite their bizarre appearances and hostile overtures, it is passionately believed that the curious ifrit,oread,sylph,suli, and undine populations native to Ashen were once human: servants of the Precursors adapted over the course of centuries to their alien environment. It is because of this belief that the Church of Yondalla has extended such a warm and generous offer of camaraderie to the “native” al’Zihad population, hoping to reintroduce them to their divinely ordained role as servants … this time, to the Hin.
Aasimar:Human families who commit themselves to the performance of good works in the name of Yondalla occasionally produce an angel-blooded or archon-blooded heir: born to serve the Church as beatific instruments of peace.
Dhampir: Some human children born beneath the Spider-Moon, along the Chain of Tears, or in the wilds of Fenris are infused with strange energies of death-magic. These children are claimed by the Church, for their own protection.
Fetchling: A strange subspecies of human – thought to originally hail from the lost forest-moon of Baervan (circling the Crown of Sapphire), infused with energies from the forbidden Library of the Eremite – these creatures are kept secret by the Church of Yondalla.
Ganzi: The children of humans exposed over-long to the energies of the Crown of Sapphire have been known to exhibit bizarre mutations; such creatures are taken-in by the Church of Yondalla to be kept safe.
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Half-Elf: Increasingly common throughout the system, originally the products of union between a male elf and female human: while elven females will often take human lovers, both male and female, pregnancies resulting from such unions are unknown: elven women must maintain a strict, meditative state of concentration to actually achieve pregnancy. As such, accidental fertilization is impossible, and even the act of impregnation is discomforting enough that no elven female would perform the act without sound – usually political – reason.
Elven men, therefore, are often shocked to discover that a brief rendezvous with a human woman has produced a bastard child.
Half-elves now breed true and have formed small communities in larger cities like Discord, Zionil, Dallah, and Lagas. Half-elves have no place within Elven society and possess little group unity.
Will Turner (from Pirates of the Caribbean) and Inigo Montoya are good examples of Half-Elves.
Half-Orc: True orcs (and their off-shoot species, including ogres, goblins, and hobgoblins) are not born and possess no gender: they are fungal creatures that emerge fully-grown from vast, reeking pits. Humans exposed to this fungus occasionally produce half-orc offspring; half-orcs are most-commonly born from humans captured by the illithid and taken to Moradin’s Forge (where airborne spores of goblin-fungus are dangerously common).
Half-orcs are prized by the illithid as a more perfect slave-stock than dwarves, orcs, or other monstrous humanoids, and have escaped their bondage to breed true: the product of any mating involving half-orcs (human/half-orc or half-elf/half-orc) is nearly always half-orc: their bizarre, altered fungus-genome is nearly viral in this regard.
Populations of “native” half-orcs intermingle with “native” humans across the wastes of Fenris, representing – to the Church – peoples long separated from the light of Yondalla.
Jayne Cobb and Niska’s leg-breaker Crow (from Firefly), Fezzick (from Princess Bride), Yondu (from Guardians of the Galaxy), and Bo’sun (from Pirates of the Caribbean) are good examples of Half-Orcs.
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Kuru: A bizarre subspecies of island-dwelling human driven all-but-extinct by the combined might of the Arvorean navy and the Church of Yondalla; kuru who bend the knee to the Church and denounce the worship of Dagon are given the same rights as other human offshoots (which is to say, not very much and certainly not as much as main-bloodline humans).
Skintwister: A vanishingly small percentage of humans – when directly exposed to alien fauna and extreme environment – rapidly adapt at a cellular level, taking on the most useful traits of a local native animal species within a generation. Human families on Quelya occasionally produce shark-blooded skintwister, while humans on Verdura can produce bat-blooded, bird-of-prey blooded, boar-blooded, crocodile-blooded, or tiger-blooded offspring, and humans on Fenris can produce bear-blooded, bird-of-prey blooded, boar-blooded, rat-blooded, tiger-blooded, and wolf-blooded young. These ‘near-humans’ are much prized by the Church as useful resources.
Tiefling: Human families who commit wicked deeds, marking themselves for eternal punishment in the bowels of Hell, occasionally produce a devil-blooded heir: born to serve the Church as weapons of war. In addition to the devil-spawn tieflings recognized by the Church of Yondalla, demon-spawn tieflings occasionally appear among the hinen (human servants) of Perianth; kyton-spawn appear among those humans on the Chain of Tears who venture too close to the forest-moon of Baervan, and rakshasa-spawn appear with alarming frequency among those humans assigned to toil the plantation-fields of Verdura.
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Warforged: Creations of the gnomes, the original warforged were long ago the original deciding factor in the wars against the ysoki. Redesigned in later centuries to act as adaptable, dependable assistants for gnomes, including the best possible defense against Hive (and later, illithid) incursions into gnome-space, the warforged were manufactured in the tens of millions.
All warforged, under the dictates of the Church of Yondalla, are property: they do not, and cannot, possess souls.
Each warforged is “born” from a generation creche; not a single such creche is known to have survived the destruction of the Circle of Gold (the gnomish home-world), and the technology to repair or re-fire a damaged creche – if one could even be found! – is utterly lost. For this reason, warforged are no longer treated as the expendable resource they were in the days of the Rat-Slaughter or the Hive Marches.
Data (Star Trek), C3-PO (Star Wars), the T-800 (Terminator), K2-SO (Rogue One), Baymax (Big Hero 6), David (Prometheus), Cameron (Terminator: the Sarah Conner Chronicles), Bishop (Aliens), GLaDOS (Portal), Wall-E, and the Iron Giant are all good examples of possible warforged archetypes, but many other interpretations are possible.
In addition to the major races and civilizations of the system, two dozen or more other sapient species make their homes across Pyrespace.
Inhabitants of Ashen:
Kasatha: Swift and dangerous hunters adapted for the open desert, a rare few kasatha have left the holdings of their clans to seek bounty beyond their world.
Gargoyle: A strange species of living stone that laired near – and among – the Urogalandic people for unknown millennia, gargoyles struck a deal with the Church of Yondalla during the Siege of Mordheim to assure their own survival; now, more than four centuries later, these hulking devils serve the Hin as bodyguards, elite scouts, heavy infantry, and unstoppable delivery-mechanisms.
Locathah: The curious and grotesque locathah – who are said to intermingle freely with the humans of many remote island communities – are treated with grave suspicion by the Church of Yondalla, as they often act as spies, seducers, and saboteurs for the cults of Dagon. The few locathah able to earn the trust of the Church are still watched closely for any sign of heresy.
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Inhabitants of Perianth:
Gathlain: In the deepest woodlands of Perianth, far from the oversight of Elven noble houses, the bizarre gathlain wander the twilight; these odd entities claim to originate from an “adjacent” reality, one to which the doors have been shuttered.
The gathlain whisper that older, hungrier, and infinitely more powerful spirits of “the Forest Behind the Word” also lurk in the long shadows, slowly rebuilding their strength after a humiliating defeat – and centuries of enslavement – at the hands of a nameless elven witch-queen.
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Inhabitants of the Chain of Tears:
Ratfolk: Nearly exterminated a dozen times over by the warforged armies of the gnomes, with whom they once shared a home world, the ysoki are a cunning species of survivors who have adapted to life across the Chain of Tears with endless tenacity.
Goblin-Spore (SQ): Some percentage of ysoki are carriers for a curious strain of the goblin fungus (which births goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres) to which they alone are immune.
These special ysoki gain low-light vision, are immune to disease and poison, and are treated as Plant creatures – in addition to being treated as humanoids with the ratfolk subtype – for the purposes of a ranger’s favored enemy, for bane weapons, for feats, and for purposes of spells such as antiplant shellandhorrid wilting, and for all similar effects, although these ysoki do not gain any other normal immunities, benefits, or traits of a true Plant creature.
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Inhabitants of Fenris:
A fair number of native species make the wilds of Verdura their home, many of them armed with Precursor technology and decidedly hostile to strangers. Among them are the Catfolk (tigers and snow leopards), Kitsune,Syrinx, and Tengu.
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Inhabitants of the Adamant Forge
Duergar: engineered slaves of the illithid, built via a foul twisting of the dwarven genetic code, duergar are not a common sight anywhere in Pyrespace except, perhaps, in the company of their horrid masters. That said, some duergar – such as those dwelling on the Forge-Moon of Duerra – have shattered the chains of their bondage and now walk free.
Goblin,Hobgoblin, and Orc: various subspecies born of the same strange fungal blooms (all of which possess the Goblin Spore Special Quality, above), sapient members of these races are rare in the extreme. That said, it is not completely unknown for an individual goblin, hobgoblin, or orc to “wake up”: becoming something significantly more complex than a mere weapon of genocide and extermination.
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UNIQUE RACES: Verdura, Fenris, the Chain of Tears, several moons, and even the wilds of Quelya are doubtlessly home to additional sapient species, still as yet undiscovered.
—–
SETTING
The setting is a single solar-system, Pyrespace, with several major & minor worlds.
WORLDS & NATIONS
The Pyre: an incalculably vast stellar engine of incandescent plasma; small dark shapes — rumored to be ancient artifacts of the long-vanished Precursors — orbit the star tightly, flickering low across the endless ocean of flame (burning at an average of 6,000 degree Kelvin), diving through 13,000-mile-tall solar flares that routinely reach 10-20 million Kelvin (up to 100 million); these eerie & barely-visible shapes, whatever they may be, are utterly inaccessible to any modern space-vessel.
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Ashen: A storm-wracked world of dust & salt drifting upon an ocean of vacuum, covered in an inhospitable white desert slashed-through with low, jagged, slate-grey mountain ranges; this world hides strange ruins & wondrous treasures of the Precursors beneath its oceans of dust; it is considered strategically valuable both for its rare natural resources; dotted with Hin refineries, forts, border towns, resupply depots, and mining operations; home to strange native populations of kasatha, alongside clans of ifrit, oread, sylph, suli and undine (collectively known as the al’Zihad), who claim to have come to Ashen while bound in the service of the Precursors: inscrutable masters who once dwelt in a mysterious city trapped deep within the Celestial Pearl.
Ashen has two moons:
Anachtyr the Shining: A blinding-bright tempest-world of endless, boiling amythest-hued ocean studded with towering fumarole-vents dozens of miles in height; mighty coils of eye-searing azure lightning leap eternally between titanic these waterspouts, and the steam of this roaring planetoid can be seen drifting into the void: a haze that glitters like diamonds.
Lessinor the Masked: A world of heavy fog, dripping rust, creaking black tourmaline, and unending gloom, mantled in long shadows which writhe with ancient echoes and whispers, it is said that visibility on this planetoid has a maximum of 100 feet. Vast keeps, palaces, and even lightless cities of cyclopean gold-draped skeleons have been reported dotting the curious surface, but not one has ever been found a second time.
Approximately 10% of Ashen is actively subject to mining, exploitation, extraction and terraforming operations.
Major Cities of Ashen:
Acheron: a dug-in black-site military base / fortress-city / arcane research facility controlled by the Hin nation of Brandobaris
Core: a city-sized, semi-mobile mining and oil-rig facility controlled by the Hin nation of Arvoreen; a joint project with gnome & warforged diaspora from the Chain
Salt Lake: a religious-outreach community controlled by the Church of Yondalla, which seeks to convert the native al’Zihad to the worship of the goddess; this is by far the largest city on Ashen, and the central hub for all rail-travel on the planet.
Verdura: a world of shallow oceans, towering mountain peaks, massive waterfalls, sprawling cave-systems, boiling mud-flats, impossible plateaus, icy ravines, echoing jungles, smoldering volcanos, bewildering river-systems, ancient lost ruins, and — above all — rainforest seemingly without end; home to an uncountable number of near-human species all-but-universally hostile to outsiders, many of whom are armed with ancient Precursor tech.
Hin rubber plantations, lumber mills, exotic “safari” hunting lodges, and industrial logging-facilities are therefore sprawling, heavily-militarized affairs
Although it boasts no truly massive cities, Verdura is host to the Hin colony of New Arvoreen, the center of Covington Farms – soon to be the breadbasket of the Pyrespace system – and a mountain-set Brandobarin research-station known as Thaumir. In addition, a small community of gnome diaspora have established the technological-marvel nation of Markovia, named for its Founder, Monarch and Supreme Leader, Dr. Adlai Markovitch (and his three nieces).
Tiamat:A darkly-glittering, iridescent jungle of venom and razor-sharp glass, a shimmering wilderness of fog-shrouded valleys, viridian mire, and steam-wreathed peaks laid beneath a sky of eternally wheeling stars. Home to many of the deadliest insects and reptiles in the system, this endless deep-emerald hell is yet rumored to contain that most fantastic of treasures: the legendary la fonte della giovinezza: a mystic source of endless youth and vitality, guarded by an ancient knight – Sir Azharul of the Thorns – devoted utterly to the service of Yondalla … and to the execution of all unworthy seekers.
Bahamut: A golden moon of shifting desert sand and sky-rending thunderstorms, of dark clouds howling over rain-spattered platinum dunes, this world is sacred to many of the reptilian monstrosities that lurk in the jungles of Verdura. Priests among these creatures claim that once, long ago, doorways opened from their sacrifice-sites to a huge city of bone, a fantastic place fed by the twin rivers Luar and Kath, ruled-over by a red-skinned, leviathan humanoid: a grotesque thing, serpent-like, with four eyes and four ears, that shot flames from its mouth when it spoke. No true evidence of this fabled city, said to lie “behind the east wind,” has yet been discovered.
Chronepsis:A small, silver-grey ice-moon, this airless and barren world is riddled with vast doorways, leading down into bone-white palaces of titanic, cyclopean design. What treasure might lie within these pleasure-halls is unknown, as few who have ventured beneath the surface have ever returned. It is sung, by the heretical faith of Dagon, that two great serpents lair here – named Null and Faluzure – and that these creatures know, between them, the fate of the dragons … and time of their return.
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Quelya: a world of archipelagos, reefs, marbled sand, dark cerulean waves, and tropical island chains boasting only a handful of sizable land masses, dominated by the Hin (halflings) and their servitor-race, humanity; the hungry, expansionist, colonial-minded nations of the Hin are united only by the rule of a massive corrupt Church and a single vast, hyper-complex monetary system; the planet boasts but a single continent — the Green Fields of Yondalla – which are ruled-over by an ever-shifting array of Hin merchant-houses; in the furthest reaches of the world, shark skintwisters and locathah are rumored to bend the knee in loyalty to the strange and beautiful malenti, and to make horrid sacrifices to the coiling serpent Dagon.
HIN NATIONS / CITIES / HOLDINGS
Acheron: a Brandobarin military base / fortress-city / research base on Ashen
Arvoreen: an aggressive, militaristic nation noted for its perpetual war-footing, it maintains the finest navy in the system; the Arvorean Academy of War is famously egalitarian, admitting humans, half-elves, near-humans, and even warforged into its officer-training corps; national colors of red & gold.
Arvorean Male First Names: Alejandro, Fernando, Santiago, Antonio, Maceo, Francisco, Joaquin, Marco, Cristian, Javier, Rafael, Carlos
Arvorean Female First Names: Yamilet, Carmen, Valentina, Paloma, Lucia, Esmeralda, Alicia, Maria, Sofia, Luna, Catalina, Vida
Beshaba: The Hin holy city on the banks of the Rio Provendor (and its surrounding hills), most sacred site of Yondalla’s worship, currently self-ruled; the place where Gol-Kaa (the Last Human King of Beshaba) was slain by Saint Davian in single combat; national colors of white & sky blue.
Beshabite Male First Names: Dvir, Asaf, Asher, Elazar, Uriah, Reef, Aryah, Ofek, Yaheli, Arbel, Yinon, Idan
Brandobaris: an elegant, cultured nation noted for its arts and refinement, it maintains the finest academies of learning – in alchemy, wizardry, engineering, medicine, mathematics, law, history, and space-flight – in the system; national colors bright yellow & light grey; home to the three bitterly warring institutes of higher learning:
Archives Timmestre-Falco: home of both the finest telescope array and most complete orrery in the system.
Sincomakti School of Sciences: known for the deep pockets of its alumni – for use in funding elaborate expeditions – and a particularly notorious library.
Universidad de Lepidottero: specialists in medicine, mathematics, and forensic investigation, on the cutting edge of xenobiology.
Brandobarin Male First Names: Luca, Filippo, Marco, Pietro, Giovanni, Nicolo, Davide, Diego, Giuseppe, Edoardo, Tommaso, Andreas , Cosimo, Lorenzo, Ottaviano
Brandobarin Female First Names: Chiara, Nicole, Ludovica, Gaia, Matilde, Vittoria, Francesca, Alessia, Camilla, Bianca, Arianna, Elena
Chaldira: a massive mining-city on Fenris; although it is ostensibly self-ruled under the auspices of a gnomish coalition from the Chain of Tears, in practice the city bows to the “supervision” of a Brandobarin wizarding-circle.
Core: a city-sized, semi-mobile mining and oil-rig facility on Ashen, controlled by the Arvorean armada; a joint project with gnome & warforged diaspora from the Chain.
Cyrrollalee: former home of the last human king; an enormous, incredibly-fertile nation noted for its high population of humans (mostly farmers); rumors persist among the superstitious peasantry of “fairy circles” in the woods that lead to other realms; national colors of green & dark blue
Cyrrolaelan Female First Names: Aoife (ee-fa), Caoimhe (kwee-va or kee-va), Saoirse (seer-sha), Ciara (kay-ra), Niamh (neev), Roisin (ro-sheen), Cara (ca-ra), Clodagh (clo-da), Aine (on-yah), Aislinn (ash-lin), Alys, Avalon
Cyrrolaelan Last Names: Murchadha (Murphy), Ó Ceallaigh (Kelly), Ó Súilleabháin (O’Sullivan), Breathnach (Walsh), Ó Broin (Byrne), Ó Conchobhair (O’Conner), Ó Raghallaigh (O’Reilly), Ó Dubhghaill (O’Doyle), Mac Carthaigh (McCarthy), Ó Gallchobhair (Gallagher), Ó Cinnéide (Kennedy), Ó Muireadhaigh (Murray), Ó Cuinn (Quinn), Ó Mordha (Moore), Mac Lochlainn (McLoughlin)
Dallah: a sin-soaked island city of gambling & revelry, part of the Tymoran island-chain; currently under self-rule; “national colors” of black & white
Gixx: a floating city named for its watery host-moon, under Brandobarin control, orbiting the Crown of Sapphire
Lagas: capital city of both Arvoreen and Brandobaris, existing along the border of both nations at the mouth of the Rio Provendor; a sacred city of the faith of Yondalla second only to the City & Lands of Beshaba
Important Sites in Lagas: The Rusted Sun Theatre, Parrish Place Bed & Breakfast, Café Molise, The Shuttered Door Academy
Important Hin residing in Lagas: Lord Mayor Emilio Dioceres, Archbishop Quirino Stephanos, Minister of Finance Alessio Villanova, Trade Minister Lazzaro Calistoga, Assistant Trade-Minister Dario Adalberto.
Moander: capital city of Cyrrollalee, built on the ruins of Dún Ailinne.
Mordheim: capital city of Urogolan, former home of “Uric, Last Human King of Urogolan”; this cold and half-tumbled fortress city, towering high above the treacherous stone of the Baía da Loucura, is choked in near-constant ice
Perryroyal: massive island city at the far end of the Tymora island-chain that serves as the legendary “gateway to Xhiaae-La,” currently under the control of the Arvorean navy
Salt Lake: a religious-outreach community on Ashen controlled by the Church of Yondalla, which seeks to convert the native al’Zihad to the worship of the goddess; this is by far the largest city on Ashen, and the central hub for all rail-travel on the planet
Thaumir: a mountain-set Brandobarin research-station on Verdura
Tymora: a particularly fertile chain of islands inhabited mostly by humans, currently ruled by the city of Dallah; the islands stretch from Lagas to Perryroyal.
Many traditional Tymoran names – especailly those found in Dallah – sound vaguely Greek to 21st-century human ears, but the islands are home to over 7,000 unique human cultures and no single list could possibly home to capure the length and breadth of the names used by Tymorans.
In addition, put bluntly, many people of the island chain simply do not think of themselves as “Tymoran,” but, rather, as members of a distinct culture under foreign occupation.
Urogolan: grim, north-most Hin nation, noted for its vast mineral wealth, dense coniferous forests, fatalistic populace, and bleak weather; national colors of grey and black.
UrogalandicMale First Names: Ander, Hans, Johan, Ulf, Lars, Sven, Ivar, Leif (layf), Magnus, Ragnar, Sigurd (see-gurd), Herleif (her-leaf), Hjalmar (hyal-mahr), Njal (nj-al), Ødger (ed-ger), Roar (ruw-aar), Rune (ruw-n-eh), Sten (stehn), Trygve (trig-vah), Uhtred (oof-tred), gil (ee-yeh-gil), Einar (eye-nahr), Frey (fray), Geir (geyr), Gudbrand (good-brant), Gudmund (good-moond), Gunnar (guhn-nar), Hagen (hah-gen), Haldor (hahl-dawr), Halvar or Halvor (hahl-vahr), Jarl (yahr-al), Kåre (kehr), Aric (aar-ih-k), Arkyn (aar-khin), Brynjar (brin-yahr), Cuyler (kiel-ehr)
Urogalandic Last Names: Any of the above Urogalandic male first names, with one of the following added to the end: sen, son, sson, søn, datter, dotter, or dottir
Xhiaae-La: legendary islands of gold & jade just beyond Tymora, source of human unarmed martial fighting techniques highly valued by Hin employers; currently under Brandobarin control
Xhiaae-Lan Male Names: Liang, Haoran, Zhen, Shufen, Ling, Lan, Kaihong, Taio, Shui, Qui, Jin, Chun, Ai, Bao
Zuzadlara: an Arvorean military-base and floating “port city” on Perianth, established to assist Elven forces in maintaining peace across the system.
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Perianth: the elven home-world, a mist-wreathed, twilight-draped bioengineered “forest of prosperity” constructed by the Precursors via unknown means; the deep woodlands are said to hold terrifying gateways to other realms of existence; the courts of the elves are closed to outsiders, and non-elves are permitted access only to a vanishingly small number of sky-ports; the elves of both the Western Courts and Eastern Courts alike do a brisk trade in humans bought from the Hin, and some reports suggest that only 3% of the planetary population is actually elven.
Perianth is “ruled” by House Larethian, although the high throne of that House – that of the Phoenix Emperor (Western Court) or Moonlight Dragon (Eastern Court) – stands empty, as does the throne of his bride: Lolth, the Beautiful Eclipse (Western Court) or Lolth, the Crimson Empress (Eastern Court).
The favor of House Larethian is a currency traded by the other noble Houses; the Western Court name is given for each House first, followed by the Eastern Court name:
House Fleuris / House Kaika: painters, vintners, and rose-garden keepers.
House Sanglante / House Chimanire: the most-expert sword-smiths and sword-saints.
House Chanceux / House Kōun'na: Imperial record-keepers, known for their prodigious luck.
House Illustre / House Kagayakashī: the most beautiful and honorable house, known for their mastery of dance.
House Assombrir / House Kage-tsuki: the lowest of the noble houses, experts in medicine.
Perianth is not known to have any major cities, although each House maintains a number of holdings.
Western Court Male Names: Baillieu, Ménétries, Bachelot, Peletier, Bocuse, Marius, Théophile, Roland, Ancel, Thibaut, Sylvain, Médard, Chauve, Rémy, Maret
The sole satellite of Perianth, a massive labyrinthine ruin to-which one third of the elves — the drow — were exiled long ago; the drow are no longer trapped beneath the surface of the Spider-Moon due to the hideous gifts of the illithid. This oversized nightmare realm is ruled by House Lolth and her loyalists: exiled members of all five noble Houses and their servants. This inhospitable world boasts only a single major trade-hub: the Dark City of Xogotha.
Any type of direct approach on the Spider Moon must find a way to navigate the tens of thousands of floating dead (and undead) – casualties of the Unseelie War – still drifting in orbit around the planetoid. For their part, the drow use this corpse-field as a blockade, employing necromancy to bypass the horror-show whenever necessary.
Drow names are identical to elven names.
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The Celestial Pearl: a mysterious planet-sized anomaly bearing what appears to be a perfectly smooth, bone-white surface: this ghostly pale sphere has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, no geographical features, no marks consistent with any meteoric impact, no evidence of historical habitation, a surface temperature of 3 Kelvin, and a core temperature zero Kelvin. The curious surface itself – which appears to be an impossibly-thin crystalline latticework of monomolecular razor-ribbons covered in a few drifting inches of ice-powder, white sand, ash, and stardust – cannot be landed-upon or even approached: weird, invisible, immovable “arches” — made of something harder than adamantium — protrude in a strange, coiling web of whorls into space, reaching up to 500 miles away from the surface.
Zionil: Largest space-station in the system, nearly a moon onto itself, this massive gnomish facility serves as an informal way-station – a respected, nearly sacred neutral ground – between the “inner worlds” of Ashen, Verdura, Quelya, and Perianth; and the “outer worlds”: the Crown of Sapphire and the Chain of Tears, Fenris, and Moradin’s Forge.
It also serves as the ultimate melting-pot of cultures across Pyrespace: here, humans dressed in fashionable gnomish top-hats & tails rub shoulders with dwarves travling to jobs on Ashen & half-orcs en route to Verdura.
Dominated by the enormous Cathedral of St. Deneir the Scribe andHouse of St. Mili, the Voice of Heaven, sprawling centers of worship for the Church of Yondalla, Zionil is also home to a huge Xhaaie-Lan population; the Lantan Shipyards are without a doubt the finest facilities in the system for the design & construction of Hin-built spelljamming vessels.
The city is unofficially under the control of Baronet Giancarlo Lugocelli of Fenris, a devout human aristocrat admired across the system for his shrewd buisness accumen and unbridled civic spirit.
This artificial moon also serves as home to The Thirteenth: an emergency garrison of specially-designed warforged kept in reserve to make a surgical-strike wherever the threat of Hive activity is detected outside the heavily quarantined moons of Segojan (Hive Colony Euclid), Baervan (Hive Colony Keter), Baravar (Hive Colony Thaumiel), and Urdlen (Hive Colony Apollyon); this force is led by Inquisitor Francesca DiAccursio of La Universidad de Lepidottero as part of a massive anti-xenos taskforce.
An increasing number of dwarves from Moradin’s Forge also now make a holy pilgrimage here to the Muamman Duathal: a library of dwarven law, history, technological innovation, achivement, literary scholarship, and art nearly the equal to the catacombs of lost Dugmaren.
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The Crown of Sapphire & the Chain of Tears: an enormous, shining, many-ringed cerulean gas-giant, host to a dozen moons (listed below) and the long trail of an asteroid belt which follows behind it; the Crown roars with low heat and mild radiation, serving as a “second sun” to the system. As to the means by which the Precursors performed this “stellar uplifting” and manipulated the interior of the Crown, it is impossible to say.
About 70% of the “chain” following behind the Crown was originally the home-world of the gnomes – once known as Kruug od Szlatta, or the ‘Circle of Gold’ – and their many miraculous inventions, which was shattered utterly as the result of a run-away hyper-energy reaction; big money can be made out here, sifting the clockwork wreckage and mining interplanetary debris for rarities; the finest technology in the known universe can be found here: powering the cities, foundries, refineries, sky-docks, casinos, space stations, laboratories, and bio-manufactora which float together in complex nets through the wild void.
Moons of the Sapphire Crown:
Garl: now the largest of the moons, a gem-studded planetoid home to a huge number of scattered mineral-mining operations, including Blistavo Zlatta: now the default capital-city of the gnome people, formerly known best as a decadent, lawless, off-world trade-hub town full of casinos, amusements, cunning illusions, and other cheap entertainments.
Gelth: second largest of the moons, a dark spheroid of endless seething lava-flats, smoldering radioactive pools, toxic black smoke, and jagged obsidian blades miles in height. Home to a small number of mining-colonies (which are outnumbered 10-1 by the destroyed remnants of exactly such facilities).
Callarduran: third largest of the moons, a place of icy-cold wind whistling through thousands of miles of smooth stone tunnels, home to the finest stone-crafting workshops in the system.
Flandal: a hot, near-barren planetoid rich in iron and a number of other valuable metals … but, very specifically, boasting neither water nor arable land. Successfully cleared of all Hive infection after the eradication of Hive Colony Nehemoth in 1463; classified as safe.
Gixx: a fog-shrouded shallow-sea water-world currently occupied by a floating Brandobarin city.
Segojan: a smog-shrouded death-world of fungus and alien monsters, home to Hive Colony Euclid.
Baervan: a lost moon, once a twilight forest-world, now home to Hive Colony Keter; also home to the mysterious, floating Library of the Eremite.
Baravar: a shadowy crystalline moon now home to Hive Colony Thaumiel.
Urdlen: home to nothing but an icy, red-tinged ocean that flows silently between towering black spires, this bleak world now plays host to Hive Colony Apollyon.
Gaerdal: a heavily fortified workshop-moon, now 99% destroyed; original “birthplace” of the warforged.
Nebelun: the still-smoldering remains of a desert laboratory-world, dotted with blackened pits connected by a vast webwork of now-shattered elevated railways.
Rupa u Beskonačnom (the Hole in the Infinite): although not a true moon, this small artificial wormhole drifts in orbit around the Crown of Sapphire, occasionally spiting-out weird horrible alien monsters: the nearby moons of Segojan (Hive Colony Euclid), Baervan (Hive Colony Keter), Baravar (Hive Colony Thaumiel), and Urdlen (Hive Colony Apollyon) are infected with a terrifying strain of bizarre alien life; the wormhole is currently orbited by a small armada of mysterious githyanki ships native to another solar system.
Discord: The largest city adrift in the Chain is also the largest city system-wide; in terms of sheer population, only the holy city of Lagas on Quelya even comes close. Discord is a sprawling affair, composed of innumerable asteroids and earth-bergs lashed-together with sparking remnants from hundreds – if not thousands – of derelict and damaged SpellJamming vessels. Although the gnomish population of Discord is lightly smaller than that of Blistavo Zlatta, on Garl, gnomes and their warforged security units run much of the city: High Master Artificer Krenlin maintains strict order among the scoundrels, spacehands, and fortune-seekers … at least, in the neighborhoods capable of paying for his protection. The black markets of Discord’s underbelly are run by gangs of ysoki (ratfolk), dwarves, half-orcs, half-elves, more bizarre human-offshoots, locathah, kasatha, unique creatures from the wilds of Verdura and Fenris, and even drow. Significantly more uncommon are goblins, orcs, and ogres – ancient enemies of the dwarves – and Perianth-born elves; although Hin are occasionally spotted here, it’s incredibly rare to see one without an escort … such as a lumbering Church-sanctioned gargoyle or a heavily-armed mercenary crew.
Serenity: Known better by its inhabitants as ‘Scarcity,’ this ugly warren of trash and filth is – to those with the keen eyes to see it – a goldmine of opportunity. If the ysoki can lay claim to a home-world, this is it: the majority of the population here is ratfolk, and their laws guide the city … for good or for ill. Part of a dense asteroid-field known for dangerous gravitational eddies, the port of Serenity is a haven for pirates and criminals wanted in every other metropolis.
Linger: The last glorious remnants of the Circle of Gold are kept here, a city-sized museum dedicated to the memory of that devastated world, and to honoring the uncounted millions who perished in the flare of its destruction. It is a place of quiet luxury and high technology, where the very wealthiest of those who do business in Discord can pretend – if only for a few hours – that the Circle of Gold was never broken.
Warforged Names: any; names of warforged are self-selected, are not derived from family, and may be drawn from any culture.
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Fenris: A frozen, rocky world of icebergs & fathomless oceans, mighty fjords, roaring hot springs, steaming river-valleys, shrieking tundra, rolling steppes, drifting ice-floes, frigid marshland, deep emerald forest, and seething volcanoes; it is “ruled-over” by a minority population of warring giants, who tear themselves fully-formed from the simmering ley-lines of the living planet; in their long shadow, bold survivors face the fierce wrath of endless winter; some clans scratch out a meager, subsistence-level hunter-gatherer existence, while others build great longhouses, fortresses, and onion-domed cathedrals of wood & stone, defying the giants; beneath the surface of the world, enchanted mechanical castles — home to slumbering vampire lords — wait in silence to be called-forth for the night-hunt.
Humans and half-orcs “native” to Fenris tend toward Cyrrolaelan and Urogalandic names, suggesting some truth to the legends of doorways in the deep woods leading between Quelya and Fenris.
The massive, smoldering, heavily-entrenched mining-city of Chaldira employs tens of thousands of workers, including innumerable indentured humans and near-humans imported from Quelya by the hundreds through the Church-sanctioned penal transportation program; most such workers are branded, upon arrival, to prevent their disappearance into the local human communities. Specialized squads of “workforce retention agents” operating under Brandobarin authority maintain an uneasy peace with nearby human enclaves … though both groups wisely fear the fury of giants, who on occasion choose to assault the veritable fortress of Chaldira seemingly out of pure malice.
Beyond humans, dwarves comprise the bulk of Chaldira’s employees; outright violence in the barracks between dwarves and their orc-blooded coworkers is frowned upon, punishable by both monetary fine and loss of privileges, but is still not uncommon. Gnomes, warforged, and even ratfolk form the Chain of Tears are also common sights, as are Hin mages and their gargoyle bodyguards, although the only thing rarer than a native of Verdura here is an elf.
For their own part, the native catfolk, kitsune, syrinx, and tengu give Chaldira a wide berth: the huge, heavily militarized mining-city has, for the most part, nothing to offer them.
Moons of Fenris
Bahgtru: A hot, dark, ash-swept landscape of dense black forests, broiling deserts, flinty badlands, murky rivers, and foreboding seas, all bearing the ravages of constant war waged beneath a coal-streaked and starless sky. A dozen or more major orc-blood nations vie for control of this resource-rich, twilight-lit world; the largest single military force – the Broken Skull Clan, led by a hulking creature called Moragrek – dominates less than 10% of the planetoid. In the deepest woodlands, orcs fly crude marrow-stained, gut-stitched banners above fallen towers still sparking with ancient Precursor-tech.
Ilneval:Floating mountains, coiling moebius-spiral waterfalls, serpentine valleys filled with boiling fog, forests o
I’ve never really been into Spelljammer, always been more of a Ravenloft guy, but the fact that the new monsters book is gonna have the Killer Klowns From Outer Space in it is very cool.
Episode 1 | Spelljammer Confirmed | Legends of the Multiverse | D&D[source]
SET SAIL FOR THE STARS!
A thrilling space-based adventure setting for the world’s greatest roleplaying game.
Spelljammer: Adventures in Space presents the Astral Plane as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting unlike any other. Home of the stars and gateway to the heavens, the Astral Plane teems with excitement and possibility. With the help of magic, spelljammers can cross the oceans of Wildspace, ply the silvery void known as the Astral Sea, and hop between worlds of the D&D multiverse.
Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players Deborah Ann Woll Aabria Iyengar B. Dave Walters Meagan Kenreck Gina Darling Todd Kenreck
In the 1990s, DC Comics, trailing behind Marvel in most respects, got the license to make short lived AD&D comics based on 2nd Edition settings like Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and so on (like many licensed books, this was a work job for over the hill authors like Elliot S Maggin). The one licensed comic series that really lived up to the potential was the Spelljammer series, based on AD&D’s most bonkers and original setting, a series set in space that works according to Aristotlean physics, with breathable air and even wind in space (which is flammable due to the phlogiston and luminferous ether), solar systems that are crystal spheres, living creatures in space like pods of gigantic whales, star dragons, and even planets that are on the back of gigantic turtles.
Written by Barbara Kesel, the 1990-1991 Spelljammer is interesting in that it’s one of the few series built around a morally conflicted, ethically gray antihero you don’t fully trust and who lies about their past, in the prestige TV mold. There are many characters like this, but I am hard pressed to think of a female one a series is built around, and certainly before 1990.
[I mentioned when I discussed the beholder that I love the idea that beholderkin are dreamed into existence, so I knew I had to stat at least one variation. The death kiss has existed since 2e’s Forgotten Realms Monstrous Compendium, and has cropped up in every edition since then. The 4e version was a literal undead vampire, but this reverted back to an aberration in 5e.. I like how apologetic and shy this one looks, like it’s sorry that it has to drink all of your blood.]
Beholder, Death Kiss CR 10 NE Aberration This spherical horror is pale and leathery, with a single red eye set in its center. It has ten long tentacles, each of which ends in a bloodstained, lamprey-like maw.
A death kiss is a beholder-like horror, created when a beholder has a nightmare about losing blood. A newly created death kiss flees from the dreaming beholder as soon as possible, as these creatures have no ranged capacity and can be slain easily by a beholder on a rampage. Death kisses are blood feeding predators that leave the drained husks of their prey behind to feed scavengers. They usually hunt alone, but occasionally team up if two come across each other and neither thinks they have the upper hand.
When a death kiss attacks, it does so from ambush, lashing out with its tentacles extended to their full length. Each tentacle is tipped with a rasping, muscular mouth, and a death kiss may drink from multiple enemies simultaneously. They do this only if they are confident that prey cannot escape—otherwise they wrap a single foe in multiple tentacles and drain them dry. A death kiss is often cocky in melee—their electrically charged blood delivers painful shocks to any creature that would spill it—but flees when badly injured by spells or ranged weapons.
A death kiss can speak through any of its mouths, either one at a time or in unison, and they do so in reedy, high pitched voices. They do not intentionally collect treasure, but when slain, their brain shrinks and crystallizes into a faintly luminous red gem called a “blood-eye”. A blood-eye gem is worth the equivalent of ½ of the normal treasure value of a creature of the death kiss’ CR.
The idea of beholderkin each being spawned by a different kind of dream really fascinates me, especially in regards to trying to piece together how other types could come into being. Like, okay, a beholder reproduces by dreaming of being in many places at once, death kisses come from nightmares about blood and eyedrakes from dreams about draconic enemies, but what else? Do eyes of the deep spawn from nightmares about thalassophobia or sea monsters? What kinds of bizarre entities might be born by dreams haunted by fire or thunder or darkness? What might result if a beholder starts to obsess over the horrible thought that maybe, just maybe, it isn’t perfect?
I don’t much like the hive mother and the social beholders of Spelljammer, but if I ever had to write them up, that last idea is the hook I was planning on using. A beholder having a nightmare about being inferior to another creature creates a hive mother. Hive mothers have lucid dreaming abilities, which spawn the directors and overseers and whatnot intentionally to give her a hive to control. She cannot spawn true beholders, so collects them with her mind-influencing abilities, and true beholders hate and fear hive mothers even more than they do each other.
