Tuesday 8 December 2020

Planescrap : Blazing World

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And now the Chaotic Good plane 

(

Here's the links to the planescrap primer:

1,2,

Other Realms: 

Pinnacle of Virtue 

Serene Night 

BLAZINGWORLD


Bright, effervescent colours, like you have been blind all this time until now. Plants bloom and flower before your eyes, their forms free from the callous survival ratcheting of evolution. Everything seems to be luxuriating in movement, growth and existence: the waters in the many glorious streams and rivers coil and charge along vermilion and magenta banks, trees twist in gusts of jasmine wind, the stars at night nearly sing.

The heart of Blazing World is a massive forest, endless, yet circularly contained by the bright sweetwater seas. Countless rivers and falls empty from the centre in these seas, all of these bright colours, dyed by the strange pollens and soils of the forests. The seas eventually pour off a vast waterfall, becoming vast mists that drift down to Seether and seep even out into the base worlds.

The Souls that settle here can change their original form to take the form of beasts, or weird creatures of their own imagination. Some live raucous lives of adventure and wilderness, others find contemplative realms to chill the fuck out, but most swing wildly between the two. Their forms here can't really be killed, and they can freely regenerate their original body or dissolve it and create a new one. This makes many of them even more reckless than they may have been in their original lives, and sometimes unaware that visitors to this realm may not be so blasė about their own safety.


Main Locations

Deep Forest



An endless forest that rise from the waters of the painted sea like a halcyon vision. The trees in its apparent centre rise impossibly high, high enough to have clouds moving through their upper branches. Spreading out beneath them are more conventionally massive trees of wildly contrasting biomes, but all with colours and vibrance near overwhelming.

While the forest appears to have finite dimensions, travellers pushing into will find an endless labyrinth, and the massive world trees in the centre are impossible to reach—unless the Realm wants you to.

The Deep Forest is not suitable for a conventional sandbox, as there is no real way of navigating it an deliberate fashion, and explorers stumble from area to area with little ability to tell where they are going. However, following the current of any flowing water will result in finding the Painted Sea and exiting the forest in a Derive, regardless of how long is spend going in any direction inside it.


Using it: Roll an encounter per Derive spent exploring in any direction. Once inside the forest and not following water, 2-3 directions can be chosen.



So : once the forest is entered, roll an encounter. Then if the players seek to move on, roll an encounter and use the bolded text as a indicator of what they could follow to progress to somewhere else.

If they look or ask for another option, roll another encounter and use that bold text. Don’t do this more than 3 times.

Random Area Generator

Looks Like

  1. Trees spaced, dense undergrowth of ferns that whimsically rotate their fronds in spirals, 

    epiphytes like fairy floss drape down

  2. Woody vine climbers obscure the trunks, and erratically sweep from tree to tree. 

    Singing Ants march along them carrying nectar globes

  3. A single massive tree has fallen, equivalent, opening up the canopy. 

    The opening allows a brisker wind to be blowing from this area. Single magnolia flowers bloom 

    from its slow decay, each 3 metres across

  4. A cenote, its water a steady underground current, can be followed to make it to the Painted Sea. 

     The surrounding area is damper and cooler

  5. The trunks press close and are narrower and stretch so far above the tops that they

     are near-unseeable.Tiny Bell flowers, the translucency and colour of boiled sweets,

     grow directly from their trunks, and there is a steady rain of them falling from below. 

    Crunching through the deep piles of them results in the constant smell of sherbet

  6. Moisture heavy in the air, with progress interfering piles of fallen branches 

    festooned with moss and lichen. Large flowers that are revealed to be at least partially frogs, 

    and spit large, black pearl-like seeds to each other.

  7. The various trees give way to a consistency of type, that of trees with trunks that 

    begin over your head, perching on lattices of roots in arches and braces that are easily 

    walked under. Glow worms wink their lights at you as you do.

  8. Weird saps and gums ooze from every tree here, rarely the same colour twice.

     The viscosity and stickiness (and if one dares, flavour) also occur in a wide myriad 

  9. The trees here are adorned in flora/fauna that is far more suitable to the bottom of a tropical sea. 

    Bright waving anemones, flamboyant corals, glowing jellyfish, and shy fish. 

    All of these move like they are underwater, although the fish hop like sparrow and fly in short bursts.

  10. Short trees with wide spreading branches grow atop each other, making almost a jungle gym like

     environment. A variety of large goofy looking birds sleep on most of the branches, occasionally

     fussing and scolding. Disturbing them will result in an absolute cacophony as they all take off,

     shitting, wailing like klaxons, and crashing into each other, resulting in everything being covered

     in feathers, guano, and mildly deafened.

  11. The undergrowth becomes even more phantasmagorical. The plants blur and spin, hop and dance

    , swapping fan like leaves and mop top flowers in confusing dance.

  12. Dense, soft moss (but resilient) becomes dominant, giving the effect of trying to walk through 

    mattresses and pillows. While cool to the touch, said mosses don’t pull body heat away, 

    and sleeping here is possibly one of the most comfortable sleeps one can experience. 

  13. The trees here are shaggy bark confirs with dense needle beds. Mushrooms hop after you, making 

    odd burps and whoops like confused pugs.

  14. The smoothed barked trunks blurp streams of bubbles, affecting the atmosphere, making one light

     headed and giggling. 

  15. Acorns the size of sheep are pushed and hoarded by dog sized beetles. Each raid their neighbours

     pile, failing to defend its own at the same time. 

  16. Odd stone statues of animals, seemingly carved to be pleasing to children. Grown over—but not 

    hidden—with ferns and moss.

  17. The ground becomes muddy, then water logged, and finally a waist deep swamp with the trees 

    growing knee-like bustreses and bracing. The water smells earthy but pleasing, like good compost.

     Numerous snails will manage to attach themselves to travellers: harmless but musical.

  18. The trunks are hollowed out here, with what appears to be stained glass windows mounted in

     them. The glass is actually resin and the organic curves of the design indicate, not entirely 

    convincingly, to a natural origin.

  19. Flooded, but the uneven ground means the water can avoided if one sticks to the earthen rises from

     which the trees grow. Massive lily pads that can support weight swirl around in the erratic current 

  20.  Ground hidden beneath upturned flowers, growing out of the ground like mushrooms. Each

     poots out clouds of staining pollen. Has a calming scent which is difficult to remain angry

     or fearful around

Also Here:

(roll d24. If lacking d24, roll d12 and any other even numbered die. If even, add 12 to the first roll)

1 Lost traveller 

2 Vermin road mercenary (unemployed) 

3 portal strayed child 

4 hungover adventure 

5 researcher 

6 pilgrim 

7 Roll d6 again: is student, apprentice, henchman or servant of them and looking for them

8 Bandits

9 Pilgrims

10 Refugees or otherwise lost Mortals

11: Revellers (unaware they are lost)

12: Mortals that live here, woodsy types

13: Followers of Beast King

1: Cat 2: Wolf 3: Hawk 4: Bear 5: Toad 6: Fox

14: Beast King

1: Cat 2: Wolf 3: Hawk 4: Bear 5: Toad 6: Fox

15: Soul Form

16: Protimal

17: Fairy (pixie,brownie, leprechaun, sidhe,etc): more primordial looking, simpler forms

 or horizontal or radial symmetry. Sometime animal heads, or reminiscent of cave drawing.

18 Chimera: constantly changing, can be a predator one round and passive the next

19 Satyr: satyrs here have horns forming elaborate instruments and taking over most of their bodies.

 While their magics cannot fully control anyone, they can influence moods (as the monster description)

20 Giant Bees: Intelligent and singing. Their honey has effects equivalent to a weak (half effect) 

random potion (determine for entire hive rather than for each dose)

21 Giant Spiders. Intelligent, erudite and conversationally. Still carnivorous though, but have 

an “eat the rude” attitude to it

22 Hurly Burly

23 Finkster

24 Whoosh

Is:

Mortals 

  1. foraging/looting/harvesting (roll d10 for resource instead of d20_

  2. Lost

  3. hidden but observing party

  4. Making a camp/at home here

  5. In argument about to go to a tussle (roll for who on above)

  6. being pursued by something/one else, (roll Also here again, arriving in 5 minutes of real time play)

Laired Beast (Giant Bees & Spiders, SoulForms,Beast Lords and Followers)

  1. Chilling

  2. Furious about something stolen from there (Roll another Also Here)

  3. Making their new home

  4. Celebrating (due to very successfully hunt, theft, prank or harvest)

  5. Negotiating /arguing with (roll another Also Here)

  6. Having Tea with (roll)

Whimsical Shits: (Fairys, Satyrs, Finksters)

1: experimenting with an erratic portal

2: Preparing a Hilarious Trap

3: Has prepared a Hilarious Trap, party about to walk into it

4: Partying

5: Convincing (roll again) to do something Very Dumb

6:Fleeing angered (roll again)

Beasts (Chimera, Protimal

  1. Eating 

  2. Sleeping

  3. Hiding from party, (will ambush if party is food and looks weak)

  4. Territorial, will do threat display at party

  5. Playing

  6. Consuming,or otherwise ruining resource (roll d10)

Potential Resource:

(anyone else here will have 50% chance of knowing about resource if intelligent)

  1. Healing herb/plant/fungus, general

  2. Healing herb/plant/fungus, specific (disease, curse etc)

  3. Potent drug herb/bark/flower/fungus

  4. Wood of special properties (strength, durability, fire or acid resistance, lightness)

  5. Abandoned, half obscured vermain caravan cargo

  6. Salt (crystallizing on tree wound or flower petal) 2d6X50 worth, 

  7. De-aging Herb/fungus/flower/water

  8. Polymorphing (temporarily new form or countering an existing change_

  9. Something lost somewhere (anywhere) else 

  10. Preservation materials (resins etc)

  11. Portal

  12.  to 20 just the usual big trees, weird plants, cheeky bugs

Boisterous:

(Hurly Burly, Whoosh)

  1. Destructively playing with another of kind

  2. Trying to convince (Roll Again ) to play

  3. Sleeping

  4. Just crashing around at speed

  5. Tending Resource (roll d10)

  6. Looking for something to do

Beast Kings



Strange individuals that announce they are the rulers and heralds of an animal kind, but their nature is more to the analogories and folk wisdom on the around said animal than the actual animal.

They often go back and forth from this realm to the base worlds on poorly articulated crusades. They are not a manifestation of the realm, they just live here.

Their name suggests they are the archetype of the animal, but this is not so. They are the archetype of people who like to use animals as archetypes of people qualities, specifically their weird projection onto it.

Each has a “mantle” or some other symbol of office which is only empowered by them using it. It will, however, grant its powers to a usurper for a while (weakening the Beast King) before the Beast King commences using something else as their mantle and denies any knowledge of the previous one.

Beast Kings can have followers (both mortal and immortal) who they will often empower as well. They will often know the locations of various portals to the vale of tears for conducting their important posturing.

If an Beast King is slain, it opens the niche for a different interpretation of that animals nature. To become an Beast King equires living as that animal for a year in a the base world before entering Blazing World and declaring oneself as that particular Beast King. The potential Beast King must then slay or gain the devotion of all the previous Beast King’s followers (if any).

Specific Beast Kings

Freedom's Cry, the Hawklord


A stern figure with a hawks head that is suggestive of being a mask (it’s not) and big feathery cloak always buffeting in the wind (this is their mantle). This mantle turns into hawk's wings at will and their spurred boots turn into talons. They may or may not be wearing anything else. Their call allows all hearers to re-attempt any saving throw to resist entrapment. Their mission is to promote freedom and the strength of spirit. This is normally done by liberating anything in a cage. They seem okay with other forms of punishment, and more abstract concepts of cages (such as a fixed term lease) might have to require some extremely patient explaining.

The Hawklords followers have flying cloaks. These only work if The Hawklord is empowering them, through the Hawklord has no special awareness of who is using them at any particular time.

Wild Wolf


Wild Wolf is a burly looking wolf person. Like the laziest interpretation a werewolf or a wolfish character. A primitivist, they lead raids on technology and push back the corruption of civilisation. Empowers followers with wolf skins that allow them to turn into wolves that can run up walls or along water. Their mantle is a wolf skin worn over their head.

Uberbear


A huge bear person. Confusing philosophy of indulgence and endurance. So a fan of big eating, big sleeping, but also not making things easier for yourself. Often goes on solitary wanders into other worlds, especially places of harsh wilderness. Sometimes recruits followers there. Followers, however, will be scattered and mostly solitary, only appearing in mass when called together by the Uberbear for a Feastquest. This is a series of raids to seize a massive amount of food, which is then consumed in a great feast, after which the Uberbear and followers go to their separate lairs to sleep for months on end. Empowers their shaggy followers with regeneration and orneriness. Their mantle is a necklace of bear teeth.

Cat-Lord


An androgynous figure, like a sexed-up anime David Bowie. Liberates interesting wealth, empowers followers (wearing domino masks) with leaping and slinking. Antagonistic towards followers, only occasionally bothering with company of followers when there is a particular elaborate scheme. Followers have to maintain their empowerment with gifts of (stolen) new and novel things.

Things that catch the Cat-Lord’s eye are: rare and exclusive one-off dishes, ostentatious jewelry, and things of novel eccentricity. All but the latest treasure is thrown half-forgotten in a pile somewhere. If stolen from, the Cat-Lord will send their followers to take it back, and if they fail, they will consider it enough of a challenge to go for it themselves. Their mantle is a slinky, black silk outfit.

Mr. Toad


A creepy-looking bastard with his face taking up half of his body. He is a natty dresser though. His mantle is his pocket watch. His followers are similarly well dressed (though toad like) with little hair, cold eyes, and wide mouths. He lives in a half-flooded mansion that he tries to keep as new-money luxurious as he can, despite it being also half flooded and extremely damp all the time. To keep himself in the means he is accustomed to he and his followers must steal. They are really embarrassed about this. They also will invite themselves to banquets and parties and will eat far too much, stay too long, be extremely boorish, and steal the cutlery. Mr. Toad can defend himself by swallowing people and spitting them out with great force. He can also do this with air or water, spending a round to balloon up and the next round to let out like a gust of wind spell. He is an accomplished jumper and quite rubbery. He can keep all of his followers in his mouth. His followers can only swallow people, but might have their mouths filled with wealth and cakes at the time.

Reynard the Fox


Mistress of disguise. Her possible true form has a mighty head of red hair and stylish moustache. She can change herself at will, and empowers her follower with the same ability. Though she is known to withdraw it on a whim and general has just the one follower as “partner,” ie a patsy. She is motivated by greed, impulsiveness, and a desire to cause trouble. She can be prideful and makes foolish bets. Her mantle is a red ribbon. She walks among various world, coming back to Blazing World to boast and gloat and recruit a new patsy.

Protimals

Protimals are like someone tried to turn a kids drawing of animal into a plausible animal.


To generate one:


roll a d8 and read across or roll a d8 each time. If dice land closer than 3cm to each other roll on the additionally table as well.

roll

animal most like 

but

Moves with

and 

Feisty capabilities 

Nature and therefore likely Diet

1

Basically all legs


Magnificently adorned

Bipedal

Huge jumps

Strangles

 / crushes

Skamber 

(Scavenger)

2

Head and body same size


Absurdly 

proportioned

Quadrupedal 

Glides

Headbutt

Magoon

(Predator,medium to large prey)

3

Repeating Segments

Shelled 

Flies

Swims

Clubs / batters 

Gorget

 (omnivore, filter feeder or detritivore)

4

Sphere or ovoid

 with phalanges


Round

Hops / Bounds

Burrows

Impales

Umbal

(Grazer or 

symbiotic with photosynthesis) 

5

Barrel with legs

 and head


Long

Scuttles on nubs

Climbs

Stings/poisons

Pharmakon 

(Specialised diet of one thing, free living ectoparasite, ambush predator)

6

Horizontal disc 

or hemisphere


Countless legs

Slithers or peristaltic waves 

Latches on to bigger things

Kicks 

Vermine

(Detritivore, scavenger, Parasite or Parasitoid)

7

Vertical disc or

 hemisphere

Spikey 

Rolls

Floats

Bites

Skamber and 

Vermine

(nuts and fruit)

8

Long Tube

Tall

Bipedal, Stilt like

Incredible 

Sprinter

Claws

No Dominant Nature, Empheralvore (sound, light, emotion, memory etc) 


Additionally:

1 | Travels in big herds

2 | Talks, roll a d6: 1-2 | animal intelligence still, 3-4 | small child, 5 | adult, 6 | smart adult

3 | Telepath and empath, possibly still dumb as bricks though. Roll as 2 above

4 | Near-perfect camouflage

5 | Shoots fireworks in startling defense display

6 | Movement ability is supernaturally adept (if climbs, can climb vertical surfaces or upside down,

 if flies is blinding fast, etc)

7 | One of the most delicious things in existence 

8 | Body parts (like horns or skin or wool) have magic abilities after removal

9 | Can place curses

10 | Explosive, 1-2 in d6 chance of being able reform after

11 | Kissing it cures ailments, both mundane and magical

12 | Radiates bad luck (count 1 to 4 on d20 rolls as fumbles)

13 | Does not exist to 50% of mortals or anyone from outside this realm

14 | Hypnotizing stare

15 | If it dances all who see it dance must save or dance also. Will dance to most music

16 | Will fake death dramatically if threatened or startled

17 | Can eat ghosts

18 | Prolific breeder, if living off-realm populations will double every week in presence of sufficient food. Capable of asexually reproducing

19 | Thieving. Shiny objects or a particular colour

20 | Roll twice

Other Creatures

Galloons



The Entities of the realm, (i.e they are not formed from Souls). They look like large, friendly animals made up by hyperactive children. Also possess a low level empathy, allowing them to sense the intentions of any intelligent being whose presence they are aware of.

The Galloons that represent great big lovable brutes are called Hurly-Burlys. They appear as large giant hulking things, that are somehow fierce in adorable way. Each individual is different: some are giant purple rabbits, some are blue muscle men with grumpy catfish faces, and some are boar-ladies. They can change their size, and can do great feats of strength, and are frequently building forts, or dams, and generally doing what a giant 5 year would do. Maybe not the animal cruelty though.
Whoosh

Whoosh are the love of flying, swimming and movement. They are found rocketing through the skies and seas of Blazing World, and can be bribed with tasty fruits to give people rides from one side of Blazing World to the other. They can fly equally well in air or water, and know many secrets places of healing and interest.

Finksters



Finksters are definitively about mischief, hijinks, out-foxing people and the little guy triumphant. Anansi, Puss In Boots, Coyote etc. They have numerous illusion and shape changing magics, and might just ruin your day by stealing all your stuff. But all in good fun.

Gargarodon



Big, ludicrous-looking dinosaurs. Big enough to be mistaken for a landscape feature. Scoops up the muddy bottom and chews up entire islands and passes it out as protean not-quite-anything form of matter called Wondergoo. This Wondergoo is valuable (uses for it are described in the Impossible Materials section).

While those who live here can deter them from eating a particular landscape, but anyone else is going to have to move unless they want to be eaten.

They are hard to kill (as a hill-sized dinosaur). They are a Entity and will eventually regenerate, but do so very slowly. Sometimes their backs serve as refugee camps or archives for favoured bits of landscape. They are pretty much oblivious to anything that is not directly in front of them. Are prone to erratic sleeping patterns.

Matamuter



A creature like a huge smiley many-handed insect that will shape Wondergoo into anything and everything. They are not necessary responsible for all the landscapes here, but Wondergoo rarely seems to be left lying around long enough before one of these comes flying in. They fly by lazily flapping their arms, like a token mimicry of flight. They have six arms (they walk on four generally, with the other two left to sculpt) though no arm is specialized and they happily will swap between uses for each arm, sitting down to use all six or perch on a front one to use five at the back. If they have access to Wondergoo they can turn it into any base element in a single round, each hand being able to sculpt a cubic metre (so if they have to move at least a decent speed they will have only two arms available).

"Each round they can make wondergoo into more complicated and/or exact things. Assume each round makes the wonder-goo have another word to describe it. For example, stone can on subsequent rounds become "floating stone" then "floating man-shaped stone" then "floating man-shaped (Napoleon) stone." They can change matter back and forth this way too, though they can never turn anything back to Wondergoo. If they are ever off the realm, the time it takes to change matter is doubled. They cannot transmute living things, though what they make might come to life if in a Realm. Blazing World, for example, will infuse their creations with life, generally (but not always) if it is meant be alive. They have a reasonable intellect and seem able to understand the intention and emotion in any spoken language, even though they don’t speak any themselves.

If attacked they will form barriers, obstacles, or obstructions and flee. If cornered they will attempt to burn, suffocate, or entomb their attackers. When not sculpting new landscapes into life they will be found placidly observing. They respond favourably to art works or other forms of inspiration.

They are entities, native to this realm but not formed from a soul.

Table: Impossible Materials (d6)



The impossible materials are things that are found here that can convert one energy to another or put more energy out than is put in. They are unstable most of the time, and particularly so outside of Blazing World. So while you should let your players get away with some ludicrous stuff with this, if they try doing it all the time it breaks.

1 | Wondergoo

2 | Thunderclay

3 | Light water

4 | Bouncestone

5 | Solid Air

6 | Cracklesmoke

Wondergoo



The protean material voided out by Gargadons. It is mirror-like and glistening and shimmers slightly and on close inspection appears to be densely-packed pale glitter. It can be picked up like a solid, is effortlessly deformable like a liquid, and slightly twists and rises like it is in mid-evaporation. It has negligible weight and to touch it feels like cupping your hand out of a moving car window. Away from the realm it will last as long as a cheese in a cold room. Though the more a particular sample is known about by sentient beings the quicker it will deteriorate into random elements. If anything with a childlike sense of wonder interacts or plays with it will last longer. It can keep indefinitely if it is used as an additive with something else (see below). 

Common uses include making protective materials (items covered by it will be protected from light, sound or anything more esoteric they might be reactive to) and as a bulking agent for magic components. By mixing it with the component (be it dragon's blood, xorn stomach acid, etc) it will change into it. Enough can be added to a component to effectively double the original. Any more than this will exponentially dilute and reduce the properties of the component. It can be also used a raw component itself in magics or weird sciences, and has been know to be used to make fluid joints for golems or chameleon cloaks or adaptive survival masks.

Thunder Clay



Thunder Clay has the appearance of packed blue chalk. It converts impact to sound of twice the volume (big enough impacts will change it dust, limiting the volume of noise it can generate). In addition, the sound is changed in strange ways: becoming deeper, longer, echoing, warbling, or an echo of a noise happening earlier. 

Whatever the noise is, it is never quite one thing, and will never be completely mistaken for something else, though a hearer might decide to assume it is something. Objects can be made from it but will require careful use and maintenance by the original crafter or will break down (repeating a single noise at increasing volume), shaking itself into dust as it does so.

Light Water



This is water that emits light when moved around. A still pool of it gives light like a dying candle, a waterfall of it hurts to look at. The common use for it is to place it in a jar and have it a hanging off a walking staff. If shaken around like this it makes light a bit worse than a torch.

 To make light brighter than a lantern you would need a small barrel of it (equivalent to a water cooler). It can also be hung from herd animals to get track of them in the dark. If cooled to freezing point, instead of freezing, it catches fire, which makes it dangerous in certain environments and a useful missile weapon against cold creatures.

Bouncestone



Though it’s more a tarry substance. Sulphurous yellow, and smells like burning lavender. If made into a ball it will bounce 150% the distance it has fallen. It will keep bouncing an exploding d6 amount of times before collapsing into a goo that sets quickly to rock. The larger the amount of it and the less it is shaped the more it can rebound things before setting.

Solid Air



This looks like hazy air, but has significant resistance when a hand is pushed through it. It can be shoved down like candy floss until it looks like grey candyfloss that as is a solid as brick but has no weight. This is the main reason people will buy it off you, making bricks that have no weight, or adding to armour without adding weight.

Cracklesmoke



More of a fog than a smoke, though it rises and falls erratically, unlike a land-hugging fog. It stays together (unlike a fog) and can be caught in a bag if you are careful enough to move slowly so as not to blow it away. When heat is applied to it, it generates the same amount of damage, in the form of a lightning arc, on the nearest and most conductive thing within 3 metres.

Singing Stone



A stone that makes a specific noise when stepped on. The intonation, volume and length of the noise is reactive to the manner of stepping and the stone itself. Some will whistle or howl if stepped on nervously or skulkingly, but booming out confident familiar steps.

Rainbow Fall

A goliath waterfall, the rainbows caused by the light passing through it made even more spectacular for the dyed water itself.
Falling down it will lead to Seether, your falling velocity (hopefully) dispersing in the weird gravity before you hit something. Regular travellers don’t take this risk, and use parachutes or balloons to control their descent. The risk for this is about 5%, and failure will result in maximum falling damage.

A uncontrolled fall will take about 30 minutes to reach Seether, a controlled one a Derive. 

Dead Flags



A floating city assembled out of logs, flotsam, old ships, reed rafts, and practically anything else that floats, perched on the edge of the Rainbow Fall. Above it fly ten thousand kites, each made from the flags of defeated empires. A vast updraft pushes the kites away from the falls and keeps the city in place.

A sprawling anarchist trading hub, specialising in wood and boat craft. Transport to Seether is down via balloon or parachute down the falls and back again by teams of massive bone headed eels that swim up the falls through pure orneriness.

The only consistency Dead Flags has is that it has no consistency, and that its regular population are uncowlable before any attempt to isolate or dominate them.

Treat it as a maximum size Shanty Town as per the Vermin Road tables

Painted Seas



The painted seas have endless islands, of strange nature and form. Their very structure responds to the natures of visitor, matching excitement with movement, malignity with danger. The colours from the pollens and tannins form long runs of colour, occasionally spirals and swirls, seldom blobs or pools, carried by the currents. Flowing from the Deep Forest like complacent serpents.

Amongst the colours are the 6 wyld ones, which either contain, result from, or are the 6 elementary Natures of animals.

Regardless of the relationship between the wyld colours and their natures, this is where they diffuse from, effervescenting on the air as the waters pour over the edge, and making their way into the base worlds.

As an animal strives against obstacle it will pull a Nature towards, shaping its future forms via its descendants: a dog that cowers and scurrows might unwittingly invite the Skamber Nature into it, and any potential children it sires will be shaped in that fashion.

Each animal has been shaped by these Natures, often with one being the most apparent. 

The Wyld Colours and Their Related Natures

 Skamber

A yellow like a stray spark, more of an after-trail than a colour.

Attendant Animal Nature

All that is darting, fearful, and quick.

The animals most of this are the Scamps.

Magoon

a darkness that is still perceived as red, like shining a slight light into your closed eye.

Attendant Animal Nature

The raptors and brutes. Murderous, sullen, and hungry. 

The animals guided by it are Destroyers.

Pharmakon

A speckling of white green, the first touches of mould or verdigris.

Attendant Animal Nature

Deceivers, those with rare tricks. The venomous and chemical.

Those most of it are the Serpentiles.

Umbal

The palest of clays, sun bleached wood.

Attendant Animal Nature

The placid, patient, and enduring. The always-old tortoise, the ruminating cattle.

Its animals are the Kine.

Gorget

A swollen red, almost blue. Like veins under skin.

Attendant Animal Nature

This nature is to eat, a steady inexorable eating, consuming mountains. The grazers and the gorgers.

The Gluttons are of it.

Squirmine

Worm-bright purple. Seems to twist and dance.

Attendant Animal Nature

the teeming, endless, writhing. The feasters in the lowest places, the hidden gnawers in the highest.

The children of Squirmine are the Vermin.



These colours are hard to see amongst the more conventional ones, but any prolonged exposure (submerging or even being exposed to the spray on an open boat) to the waters of the Painted Sea will mean a contamination with one colour:

1d8

  1. Skamber

  2. Magoon

  3. Pharmakon

  4. Umbal

  5. Gorget

  6. Squirmine

  7. Roll again twice with d6, Two Natures are acting on them

  8. Roll again with d6, Concentrated exposure

Once exposed to a wyld colour and failing something that requires a d20 roll the player has the following choice:

-Roll twice, taking the best result but gain a Tint

-Roll twice, taking the worst result, but do not gain a Tint


If the character has had Concentrated exposure they gain 2 Tints each time.


A “Tint” is both a numerical point counted towards causing mutations and a physical colouration of the relevant wyld colour. 


After a derive passes, so is this effect However, at the end of the session,

 the character make a number of Saving Throws equal to the Tint they have. Each time they fail they move down the following:


-Colour Tint is permanent until magically cured


-Swap the following stats if the first stat is lower. Otherwise increase the first stat by 1 and reduce the second stat by 1.

For Skambet: DEX, WIS

Magoon: STR, CHA

Pharmakon: WIS, CHA

Umbal: CON, INT

Gorget: CON, DEX

Squirmine: DEX, STR


Additional minor cosmetic changes also happen at this time (generally animal traits or body adaptations).


-Tool use trouble: The physical changes happen to an extent where the 

character can no longer use manual tools or items without great difficulty


-Naked : The changes are now to the extent that clothing or armour cannot be functionally worn


-Is animal: The character is identical to an animal retaining their own mind and memories 


-Complete: The character loses their mind, memories and identity


Any changes can be countered with appropriate magics.


Islands in the Painted Sea



To run this, get yourself a blank map and drop half a dozen or so dice onto it. Where the dice land is where the islands are. The top of the map is the Deep Forest, and the bottom will lead to the Rainbow Falls and the chaos of Seether. The raft city of DeadFlags will be somewhere on the bottom as well.

Travelling the whole length of the map in one journey will take a Fugue, and leave the travellers Tinted in at least one Wild Colour for all this and next session. Travelling to the nearest island will take a Derive and won’t give a Tint unless someone falls into the water . Spending a Derive on the island will allow to the Tint to fade, otherwise further travelling will cause it stay for the rest of the session.

The players will be able to see the vague outline of the nearest 3 islands to them (the bold text).

Additional Rule:



If any of the dice roll off the table or rolling surface, use another die drop to add a Gargaradon to the map. Over the next Derive it will move to the nearest island, and if that island doesn’t have a intelligent being native to the area, it will eat the island (taking another Derive). Then it will poop out a large mass of Wondergoo and go to sleep.

Islands

1 Cloud tower: a single, piled-up cloud, far higher than wide. Its base is flared, and so boats can be docked. 

Numerous entrances are also findable

2 A big mass of logs and debris, like a bird nest or the result of a flood. Nearing it reveals the 

arrangement is deliberate, and that first guess, bird nest, is right.

3 A single massive fruit, holed out, and attended by giant grubs, beetles and wasps

4 A giant face facing the sky. It has so many holes, like swiss cheese. It periodically flips over revealing an angry face. 

The holes go all the way through, allowing anyone now underneath the island to climb to the top

5 A ramshackle town on a flat island. Crabs have made a crude facsimile of a town and are acting all the roles of it, 

selling, buying, robbing, etc. All in a clumsy crab way. 

5 Wool Moss/ vegetable sheep island A simple bare island with sheep grazing. Exploring it reveals all the grass is 

fluff and the sheep are actually made of wool

6 Dense Ball of Plant life .Butterflies and dragonflies are noticeable flying  to and from it, even from a distance.  

Waters around fizzes and sparkles. Bright mangroves of ridiculous flop-topped trees allow easy traversal, as their roots 

and mats are thick and wide. Absurd fish peek at you from the trees. 

7 | Floating pink stones entangled with vines

Large crags of pink stone drift slowly around with bridges of vines festooned with fizzing fruits. When agitated, 

the fruit shrivel and then burst sending seeds out like bullets. The gravity anomalies whip around like tornado's

 and the floating crags bounce off each other like pinballs

8 This island is a vertical face arising into a mist bank. Barely a single gap remains on it that is not host to a

 variety of epiphytes: most of them good-sized trees, the whole of it forming a horizontal forest. If agitated, 

neither epiphytes nor rock will hold, sending you plummeting into the sea.

The flat top is eerily quiet, and home only to a cornucopia of moss and low ferns.

9 A Chunk of glacier, hollowed out by the wanderings of heat generating fig tree branches and roots. Like 

those ruined temples in Cambodia, but ice. Obscure dainty crabs bubble out freezing water to try and repair things.

10 Perpetually-building building. Its components (bricks, beams, keystones, window panes and frames etc) only 

staying fixed for so long, before animating and wandering off to become part of a different construction 

11. Slumped, grey white island with little vegetation visible. Arriving at its shores reveals it is made from soggy

 pages from a vast book, piled on top of each. Each is the first page of novel never attempted.

12. Thin castle towers. From a castle submerged, with upper battlements emerging from the water. The castle looks 

utterly unsuited for defense, suitable only for fairy tales with its delicate architecture and overdone embellishments. 

Vines and colonising trees have taken hold.

13 Some kind of Sailing Ship. Actually a collection of ships, all run aground on a crystal formation, the crystals are 

forming out of the ships themselves and anyone spending too much time here will find crystals coming out of their skin.

14. A big irregular stack of white discs. Big plateaus of white marble, like coins or wheels. Crystaline waters cascade along. 

15. A irregular blob of stone. A massive coral chunk, riddled with tunnels and holes.

16.A giant seashell. One of those fancy ones that tourists like. Actually a build structure, some kind of abandoned or

 lost temple

17.Undulating, colourful, and waving. Like the underside of jellyfish but upward. The “tentacles” are 

apparently trees or plants? It’s all growing together and kinda rubbery and see-through though. It’s hard to

 walk in a straight line

18. A classic “desert island” with palm trees, coconuts, and white sands. All the trees are mobile however 

and keeping up rooting and walking around on weird legs.

19. A massive bottle. Sideways, with the sea washing into it. Inside is a more conventional, but the glasshouse effect of the

 bottle makes it far more tropical and overgrown. 

20. This one appears to have turtle head? It has a turtle head because it a turtle with an island on 

its back. : )

If more islands needed, here is a quick idea table for more:


Combine

With:

1

Snow

Candy

2

Roofs

Fruit

3

Sand

Toys

4

Volcano

Mud

5

Moss

Bubbles

6

Stilts

Clouds

7

Trees

Fluff

8

Glass

Glowing

9

Crystals

Size Shifting

10

Statues/monoliths

Legs

11

Shipwrecks

Sticks

12

Boulders

Stars


On The Island Is:

1

Muse, Classical

But

Guarded

by

Crabs

2

Muse, Outsider Art

But

Dwelled Near/On

by

A Roc

3

Muse, Retort

But

Menaced

by

Protimal, Large, Aggressive

4

Muse, Bad Idea

But

Hidden

by

Protimal, Too Many

5

Muse, Autodidact 

But

Disrupted

by

Vermin Road Expedition 

6

Wondergoo

But

Removed

by

Matamuter

7

Thunderclay

But

Horded

by

Hurly Burly 

8

Crackle Smoke

But

Utilized

by

Finkster

9

Singing Stone

But

Disguised 

by

Soulform

10

Light Water

But

Endangered

by

Fairies

11

Solid Air

But

Experimented on

by

Chaos Toad

12

Youth Fountain

But

Slandered

by

Lost Boys


Muses
Muses appear as attractive women or men of young age and unusual fashion. They will appear as the species and culture of the viewer. They create simple, open aired temples to themselves and the arts they represent. Despite being simple, each is painstakingly arranged, and it will cause the Muse considerable distress if anything is tampered with.

If angered or threatened, they can hop inside the mind of any intelligent being within conversation range. They will then only exist as an idea. An idea which will prevent any ability to concentrate or sleep, unless a significant attempt to make an art or otherwise follow the inspiration is made. A significant attempt is one that uses up an inconvenient amount of time and/or resources.

This work will be terrible, however, and only cause shame and mockery to the creator.

If the Muse has been impressed by a visitor enough, they will do the same but this time the resulting work will be remarkable (if not otherwise talented) or exceptional (if having some talent)

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that an artist will be able to repeat their success, and Muses become increasingly difficult to impress.

Classical

i.e

  1. Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry

  2. Clio, the Muse of history

  3. Erato, the Muse of lyric poetry

  4. Euterpe, the Muse of music

  5. Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy

  6. Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred poetry

  7. Terpsichore, the Muse of dance and chorus

  8. Thalia, the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry

  9. Urania, the Muse of astronomy



If you don’t have any real understanding of Classics and the their concepts of art, just use the obvious ones. All Classical Muses tend to (over) act like a teenager who is very into drama and the classics or a bad sitcom stereotype of a artist.

Rogue Muses

Not found mentioned in any serious works, rogue muses tend to unusual appearances and erratic personalities. Tend to be kinda lonely and easy to impress.

Outsider Arts

This Muse will inspire one to create a work of art with materials, techniques or subject matter completely outside their normal cultural understanding. 10% of people will love it and 90% of people will hate it intensely. Depending on the ease in which later academicians can build a narrative around the artist, it could be regarded far more favourable after the artists death.

Retort



Can inspire the absolute perfect comeback which will utterly devastate the target, inflicting such damage to their reputation and esteem that they might never recover from.

Bad Idea



Not only inspires really good Bad Ideas but also inspires the ability to articulate and orate their merits in such a way that any listener will find it hard to not be convinced of the excellence of the idea.

Autodictact 



A Muse of learning, specifically learning really niche, dubiously applicable, skills. Once inspired any skills that meet this criteria can be learned in a tenth of the time. Additionally, unlike other Muses, this one will stick around for 1d6 skill learns.

Soul Form

Often can shape the island to mimic a beloved memory, and sometimes can be lost in it.

Soulforms

Roll | Used to be | Is now | And doing | And relevant to players because

1 | Sassy cook | Glowing snake | Lolling in sun | Excellent guide

2 | Daring rogue | As they were when alive but better looking | Planning to steal from Animal Lords | Having a plan that is profitable

3 | Iconoclast philosopher | A smiling lady who is half cloud | Asking for your story | Know someone who is looking for you

4 | Seasoned traveler | A small elephant | Trying to get to the highest point the second-hardest way | Can remember a lot from their life

5 | Charming anarchist | Fancy-dressed lady | Studying a memento of their old life | Knows a riddle path

6 | Weary veteran | Drunk alligator | Building a treehouse | Can take you to a rare material

7 | Fierce experimenter | Whirl of light | Transplanting a weird plant | Wants to see you wrestle a bear

8 | Doomed child | Small child | Getting high | Is someone you know but didn't realize is dead

9 | Careless thief | Naked plant person | Visiting for this landscapes destruction | Wants to borrow your body

10 | Fearless explorer | Beaver | Drawing up plans for landscape | Is worried about a lost tourist

11 | Outspoken worker | Winged person | Spying on a misc inhabitant / lost tourist | Wants news of former home

12 | Cunning former family head | Manta ray | Engaged in bizarre combative game | Needs a mediator / second opinion

Fairies



While the Fairies in the Deep Forest tend to primal forms, any found on the islands will be the as if painted by a particular artist or art school.

Chaos Toad



Covered in more detail in Seether, but a big, brutish, unpredictable frog-like being, given to gluttony and eccentricity in equal measure.

Lost Boys



Originally children or adults wanting to be children, drinking and eating age-reducing fruits and drinking of certain waters has given them permanent youth.

They are actually somewhat strong and faster than a typical adult, but tend to act less like children than a bad writers attempt at children.

If tricked into doing anything boring or responsible they will age rapidly.

Roc



A gaudy mix of all those most flamboyant tropical birds. Given to bowerbird behaviour on a massive scale, so each Roc will have a huge collection of items that all share a single colour. Mostly trash, but artfully arranged.

Crabs

Crabs here are large as a big dog, and wear hats and partially act like people.

Can be a problem depending on how they are being a person and how they are being a crab.




2 comments:

  1. Scrap this shit is a fucking ride, very glad you're posting it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. glad you're enjoying it , there's far more to come

      Delete