Is dat sum Frazetta? I'll miss you, bro. ;_;

Gigantic animals, destructive storms and occasional monsters force many communities to be nomadic, contributing to the low technology level.

>>22094818
The Dryads are an all-female race of green-skinned humanoids with many plant-like features.

Hmmm, if it's a stone-age level setting, maybe it should be inspired from cultural Golden Ages myths like the Greeks? Early days of civilisation and such.

Every element of nature has a corresponding spirit, the larger the element of nature the more powerful the spirit.

i.e There is a spirit of the hill, a more powerful spirit of the mountain it rests on and a spirit of the earth itself.

There spirits can take corporeal form.

File: 1355809045183.jpg-(1.1 MB, 1920x1146, 307529-1920x1146.jpg)

>>22095053
Man hunted by predatory beasts, tribes split by war, and children left orphans from these and disease alike.

>>22095053

The God of Storms hates mortals with a burning passion.

After every storm, where lightning hit, the hideous Thunderborn rise up from the mud. They enjoy nothing more than raping, stealing and killing.

>>22095175
>>22095566

So expy-Zeus is an evil god?

Amazing.

The planet is one super-huge Colosseum.

The edge of the world is surrounded by enormous walls. The sun is a giant orb that lights up in the day and dims as night approaches.

...The giant orb is a dragon.

>>22095608
Beyond the walls of the world is paradise. Shame that if you climb up onto of the walls that God of Lightning zaps you off them. And then does your wife and daughters.

Although the God of Lightning hates mortals and is constantly zapping them with storms and making monsters to kill them, he keeps having sex with mortal women and making Demigods. Of course, as soon as these Demigods reach adulthood he usually will either conscript them into worship of him, or if they refuse, kill them.

Most tribal human societies work on the basis of he who performs the greatest deed is the leader, leading to adventurers to seek out their heroism so as to become leader.

Usually this involves killing something big, but not always.

>>22094818

Standing against the Gods are the ranks of Demons hiding within the deep places of the world; they are not so different from the Gods, their separation more political than anything... but this hardly makes them any less dangerous to mortal folk.

The God of Storms hates mortals because he used to be the God of Elements, but a mortal man and woman climbed beyond the wall and stole Fire and Earth from him.

So it's Conan meets Truman Show?

>>22095723
Yes, with some grimdark Greek myths thrown in.

>>22095709
The Goddesses of Water and Air are still technically married to the God of Storms, giving him Wind and Rain, but they hate his guts and often cheat on him, and encourage their Demigod sons to fight his Demigod sons.

>>22095701
The key behind the political antagonism of these two separate entities is simple.

Gods believe that a corporeal existence of the world is best.

Demons believe an incorporeal existence is best.

The first God-Demon war ended with Gods winning, thus existence is led in a physical form with sight, sound and taste.

Demons rarely if ever take corporeal form, taking form as elements of nature (a flame, a breeze) or disembodies voices.

Their end-goal would be a universe where conciousness is swirled together as one with sensations that are hard to be comprehended by corporeal beings.

>>22095608
The moon is a dragon's egg. It is known.

>>22095759
Legend tells of a hellish future of when the egg hatches, creating the Ever-Day.

Some cultures try rituals and sacrifices to forestall this eventuality.

The wall extends far, far down into the Earth, making digging under it difficult. And if you dig down far enough, you'll end up in Hell.

The God of the Underworld is pretty nice, though. She's sexy as hell to boot, dohoho.

>>22095759
There is a legend in the tribes that when the moon egg hatches the Dragons will drive the gods and demons away from the world letting the people have peace and quiet from their meddling while the two dragons circle the world guarding it forever more.

>>22095756
At times, demons come to mortals they deem worthy of a gift. They gift these humans a portion their own power they call "majick." Such humans are called "sorcerers" and shunned from other tribes. They instead take refuge among ancient ruins within the forests, jungles, and mountains of the wild.

>>22095119
Visiting the Dryads can be nice. Their jungles are filled with monsters that could easily a humanoid whole, and enjoy doing so - but they're all vegetarian.

>>22095770 >>22095798
The two legends still work together, they each have a different religous base and the cultists and zealots tend to fight eachother and ruin their respective rituals fueling the war.

>>22095796

The God of the Underworld was the mother of the God of Elements/Storms, but he casted her down to the Underworld in a bid for power.

When girls hit puberty they have a 90% chance to turn into a snakegirl.

>>22095818

The Dryads say they are the daughters of the Goddess of Water and the Goddess of the Underworld, originally springing from the ground like trees.

>>22095810
These sorcerers can be powerful allies but the more majick they hold the more they are driven crazy by the pull between the corporeal and incorporeal natures inside them.

>>22095847
I cast Veto.

>>22095847

90% of boys also turn into monsters, Minotaurs in their case. This is a blessing from the Underworld Goddess, in a bid to help mortals from being wiped out by Thunderchildren.

>>22095847
>>22095872

Oi! Cut that out.

>>22095566
The Thunderborn hate any sort of device or trapping of civilization and will smash them at any chance.

>>22095847
>>22095872

False and blasphemous rumours by other tribes.

Snakegirls and Minotaurs are races just on their own and are quite happy with that.

>>22095847
>>22095872

>>22095863
>>22095890
Three vetoes. It doesn't live.

>>22095847

That's just silly, its a 0.001% chance which increases depending on how many ancestors in your family line had this happen to them and how closely related you are to them, people say it first happened because a mortal woman fell in love with the primal spirit which represented reptiles and they were her offspring with him.

>>22095861
The most powerful sorcerers sometimes just evaporate - poof, they're ghosts or spirits or some shit now.

>>22095890

Hey, I'm trying to change it into something cool. While monstergirl fetish crap is pretty terrible, conscribed child soldiers who are capable of saving their homelands from a psychotic weather god via nightmarish monster forms seems pretty suiting to the setting as written so far.

The ex-leader of the Demons was represented in the corporeal world by a loud roaring sound. The God of Lightning took him in battle and now uses him to intimidate demons by creating thunder.

The current leader of Demonic forces is represented by a loud scream. It is named the Banshee and she is said to be lover of the demonic Thunder, though the genders attributed to them are largely arbitrary as humanoid form is an ever-rare and unwanted occurence.

Her scream often leaves behind death to those who pledge alliegance to the Gods.

>>22095916

It''s the 90% chance thats the real problem with it I think, its a salvagable idea, just needs to be rarer.

Minotaurs are the race with the greatest level of civilization - comparatively, at least. They have stone houses. Other races refer to minotaur communities as "Labyrinths", due to bafflement with walking their streets. When they walk their streets, that is. Minotaurs are all devout worshippers of the God of Lightning and are the one mortal race he tends to cut some slack. They don't cut slack for other races, however. And they eat their fallen enemies to gain their power.

>>22095861
Their "incorporeal self" (the part of them which is embued with magic) must "feed", just as their corporeal bodies must be fed. They sap their strength to perform magic from the plants and earth, making them natural enemies of dryads and other nature spirits. Some also sap energy from men, ending in brain death.

>>22095933
If your mom or your grandmother or one of your female ancestors got raped by a Snakeman or a Minotaur, there is a chance you will be one. Simple enough.

>>22095916
No, all tribes need are their demigods.

But some demigods might look like snakegirls.

>>22095933
Yeah, I could be fine with it being something like 5 or 1%, due to all the inevitable monster rape that happens. Only... most people are just eaten after the fact, the reason this aberration of the species occurring being due to heroes saving the captives after the rape but before they can be devoured.

>>22095979
Well, and the God-Rape, if this is anything like Greek Myth.

Dogs exist in this setting, and aid in hunting.

Dogs are favoured by many spirits, and as such have become more intelligent than most dogs in our world.

Some are even sentient, although unable to communicate with humans unless aided by magic.

However despite their vast intelligence, they are huamnity's eternal bros.

>>22095942
Dryads don't let sorcerers into their forests and jungles for just this reason.

>>22095941
Minitaurian labyrinths form an underground mega network of stone, like a sewer or subway. The entrances to this network are heavily guarded. These underground networks would be the only corporeal access ways from hell to earth or vice versa, and the Minotaur are entrusted to prevent their breach.

Cats are actually spirits on this plane, and can turn into human-like forms (but distinguished usually by giveaway ears and tails). They have many subtle magical powers.

They are friendly to humans, but are extremely snobbish and aloof. They will aid humans who they consider to be clever enough.

>>22095998
Yep.

Every dryad Tribe or "Nation" is based around a different forest, and the dryads of that tribe usually have subtle differences that show which forest they came from. The Dryads of the Frostleaf Expanse, for example, look quite different from the Dryads of the jungle basin of the Redtooth River.

Time moves much quicker for the gods. That's why we aren't swarming in demi-gods. To the Gods, it seems like they're raping a human maiden once every couple of days, when in reality they usually only have a progeny born
every decade or so.

>>22096061
Every summer, when the Redtooth river shrinks, tons of Fly-Fish are trapped in these pools. But it's at this time that they use their wings to fly back to the main river. While eating any meat on the way there, of course.

>>22096076
Also the reason why it appears the gods aren't everywhere saving everyone. They aren't. They can't.

>>22096076
Gods can slow down time for conversations occasionally though, but it takes a surprising amount of effort.

Though dryads are born to the forest, they are often found wandering the land.

Sometimes the princess of one forest will be married to the princess of another forest and there will be a royal procession. Sometimes dryads will look outside the forest for warriors to deal with plant-gobbling monsters. And often dryads are exiled for breaking some of the strange laws of their lands.

>>22096130
Which leads to them only having brief and rare conversations. Thus the gods make a lot of assumptions which leads to a lot of infighting and misinformation.

>>22096130
This is why conversations with gods are them usually yelling instructions at you.

>>22096130
Or they could just talk incredibly fast.

>>22096076
This is the result of time passage being directly linked to height. High above the walls time moves rapidly. Down at ground level it is "normally" and deep beneath the earth in the undergrounds, time crawls. A man can venture into the labyrinth at dawn, be lost in the labyrinths for months and emerge that very dusk. Some men live in caves high up the mountainous walls, and are known to live for hundreds of years due to this effect.

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>>22096001
>>22096028

The rivalry between Dogs and Cats exists due to conflict over how each perceives their supposed 'masters'.
Dogs aim to provide humanity with knowledge of the environment and the ways to survive, often blunt in their applications, focusing on making Mankind strong and able to drive back the gods (god of storms mainly) with strength of arms.
Cats aim to improve humanity by uplifting them and making them more intelligent and civilized, leading them to greater knowledge and the ability to outclass the Minotaurs. They especially hate Demonkind, as Demons abuse and attack cats for being a balanced split between the physical and spiritual creatures.

Both species do work with each other and humanity, because they realize that together they are stronger than any other species or spirits.
Humankind plays the part of rulers and controls, providing the means and protection for each, resulting in councils of elder Men, Dogs and Cats.

Predatory plants are extremely common

>>22095119
Dryads are all female, but they still reproduce roughly like humans. At certain times they start to produce pollen and, well, pollinate those they are married too. It's as messy as it sounds.

Sometimes, however, a dryad will give birth by pollinating herself. Normally this is impossible, but it does happen. The children born this way are shunned by the society and usually exiled - dryad myth holds that the mother must have been raped by a God and the child is thus likely evil.

This exiles often band together and make their own communities out in the world.

Elves are man-eating forest dwellers. Some say they even sneak into human dwellings at night to steal babies - a delicacy among their kind.

Women's foraging activities provide the tribe with the bulk of its food. This places them on quite solid footing in tribal politics.

Minotaurs know how to forge metal. They say the God of Storms taught them. They mostly use it to forge arms and armour to better fight the other mortal races.

>>22096202
Dryads often war with the Elves and kill them. This has led to a fairly stable unspoken alliance between Dryads and humans.

>>22096170
There are also woolly mammoths who are somewhat subject to the upper level of the chronometric atmosphere. They are gentle unless provoked.

>>22096202
>>22096251

Elves seek to rule the forests of the land. They invariably pervert the forests they control, leading them to become dark places blooming with foul fungus and rot.

>>22096232
In matriarchal tribes, however, (such as the tiger-riding women of the Xinorra Jungles) the roles are reversed.

>>22096267
Elves are the offspring of the Goddess of Woodlands and the God of Death. As such, they have minor mystical powers, mostly over plant life.

>>22096261
These mammoths are very wise and will recognize a hunter as the great great grandson of one who attempted to slay him a century before.

Jurn are massive animals that wander the landscape. They have four walking limbs and two frontal limbs that they use to rip up vegetation to eat - they have no teeth, but suction up the foliage that they hold to their mouths.

They are entirely placid vegetarians and won't eat anything that's meat. They do, however, sometimes suck up unfortunate dryads. They are also generally passive, but will be roused to anger if they or any of their herdmates are injured. However, they are still often hunted simply because of the sheer amount of meat they provide. Properly salted or smoked, one Jurn could feed a fair sized tribe for a whole winter.

>>22096202
>>22096267
>>22096251

Elves aren't the usual 'Taller humans with pointy ears', when they're ten by humans, they are actually covered in the ill-fitting form of a human, often grossly mismatched and appearing as eldritch abominations to Men.
In the forest however, they shed these foams and appear as even more horrific forms.

>>22096175
Kind of links back into this.
Dogs, Cats and Men can all sense them in a variety of ways.
Dogs smell their horrific stench, and sound the alarms.
Cats often stare down the Elves, occasionally resulting in Cats driving away the Elves with riddles and words.
Men have the simplest response. Fire. Elves are creatures of the forest, and as such, fear the cleansing power of flame.

>>22096267

Elves are naturally 'out of touch' with the divine. They cannot perceive acts of the gods, even if they happen right in front of them.

This has earned them te gods' hatred. They're a cursed race.

>>22096289
>>22096267

This is why Elves and Dryads war. Dryads seen to preserve the forest - they do not mind using pieces of it as need dictates and will even cut down trees to trade lumber for humans, as long as it is in manageable amounts. Dryads will also remove plants from the environment that they feel could overcome other wildlife.

Elves believe in total unrestrained growth, until all the world is forest. However, things affected to grow faster by Elven magic die much faster as well, leading to rot and bacteria everywhere.

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>>22094818
>You post a facet and it becomes a part of the setting
Hey guys, can I be in your setting?

>>22096347
>>22096323

Where Dryads represent all that is right with the natural world, and the creatures of the forest, Elves are the wrongness with the world, being horrific malformed creatures that cause rot in the world around them, due to them changing the world around them.

>>22096347

Elves do not die of sickness and are not affected by it, though they may perish otherways. The God of Sickness made the Elves to be his servants. But the Goddess of Life was enraged, for he did not ask her permission to make this life. So she cursed the Elves to never be able to interact with the divine, so they could not receive instructions from their creator.

>>22096324
Or rather, they are only out of tune with the benevolent High Gods, a greater curse than being out of touch with the entire pantheon. This is due to them being sired by Sartokis, God of Death, one of the Undergods who are in constant opposition with the High Gods. Other Undergods are Thanthun, God of War, Feresti, Goddess of Discord, and the various storm gods.

>>22096361
There is a single Faucet far up on the wall, from which the massive Yore River flows. The God of Rivers owns it, and kills anyone who approches.

>>22096379
>>22096382
I still like the idea that Cats are a great defense against Elven raiders of human settlements, because they're spiritual creatures and can converse or stare down Elves.

>>22096405
That's because even Gods are careful to not fuck with cats too much.

Else the Elder Cat will fuck with them.

The Gotun resemble humans, but their average height is ten feet.

This physically imposing race considers itself the pinnacle of creation. All other life, be it plant or beast, exists only to be dominated or eaten.

>>22096379
>>22096382

These are two common myths. In truth, The God of Sickness is the son of Sartokis, the God of Death. The Goddess of Life opposed the God of Sickness because his father was the God of Death, her natural opposite.

>>22096403
This river is also home to a peculiar species of gravity-defying fishfolk, who can suspend themselves in any quantity of water. They are a secretive race imbued with the River God's ferocious territorial instincts.

>>22096403
Maybe the God of Rivers controls all the flow of water in the world by manipulating the rate of water from his faucet.
Thats why he doesn't want anyone touching it, because mortals or gods or anyone else could easily ruin everything for everyone and he doesn't want them to ruin the worlds natural order?

Make him kind of an OCD character who doesn't want any of his water ruined or wasted, and everything has to be reused?

>>22096416
Maybe thats why the Elves attack Men, to destroy they're current protectors and allies?

The Titans are ancient and powerful beings that once ruled the world before the coming of the Gods. They took little notice of humans before the Fall, and generally ignored them, as they were little more than animals at the time.

However, since their defeat and imprisonment deep beneath the earth, below even the Demon realms, they have become interested in the everyday lives of the human Tribes as they fight the Storm Gods bastard offspring and their environment. Some have even started to aid the tribes in what little ways they can from within their ancient cells.

>>22096424

This belief of theirs is being put to the test more and more as other sapient races develop specific martial techniques to take down the giants.

The Thunderborn that arise after storms are always ugly, twisted creatures, the colour of mud. They are invariably crooked or broken in some way. What is worse is that though they have no females, they can mate with nearly any other race - and those they mate with always give birth to three to eight Thunderborn eggs - meaning that a Thunderborn horde that sacks a few tribal villages could possible grow in great numbers.

>>22096457
Maybe their are factions within the Titans that argue of the support of the different aspect of the Tribe.
Some support cats and Humanities spiritual side, while others support dogs and the physical side of Humanity.

>>22096446

Once, in an attempt to kill off those pesky mortals, The God of Storms tricked the God of Rivers, by ordering the Goddesses of Water and Air to seduce him for a night. Then he turned the faucet on full blast, hoping to flood the world. The God of Rivers, horrified, turned the Faucet off the next morning, but it looked like the damage was done.

But many mortals had clung to trees, or even built rafts. It looked like someone had forewarned them - in truth, it was the Goddess of Hell, who didn't want to deal with the mass of immigration that much death would cause.

The God of Storms was very pissed off.

>>22096463
Each Thunderborn egg gives out 2-4 Thunderborn. They move from birth, nasty little goblinish creatures, who eat and eat until they grow to their full size. If you suspend a Thunderborn egg in water, it won't hatch. But it will able to hatch the moment it is removed from the water

>>22096519

The cursed City of Ior died this way. The Mad King had his men put Thunderborn eggs in jars of water and catapulted them into the city en masse. He won, but was unable to claim his prize, so badly was it infested. Ior is still owned by the Thunderborn to this day, the largest of their hordes.

>>22096457
The ideology of the Titans on the nature of existence was the eventual merging of all being into a perfect singularity.

Demonkind and Gods rejected this as both value their individuality - Demons believe in an incorporeal existence with distinct individuals.

As such both teamed to stop the Titans from achieving their goal, accusing the result to not be a perfect being but a being who's identity suppressed the non-Titans' identities.

The Titans still argue that this existence will be a paradise.

>>22096497
I imagine the god of rivers was mad as fuck following that.

Maybe so mad that any of the thunder born are weaker or shocked in waters and streams? Maybe that the Thunderborn goblin mud things are amazingly weak to water, being washed away?

Whenever the God of Storms strikes the river ways of the world, he receives the pain and damage that he would be dealing out, as punishment for him trying to ruin his worldly order.

>Nearly all if not all sentient beings in the setting are at a stone-age level of technology.

And those that arent in stone-age tech are in future tech, but hide their technology and try to blend in

The God of Time is also the God of Trickery.

His greatest trick was metting out time in a way where every race, including the Gods and Demons, has a much different rate of time.

>>22096493
There are still, of course, Titans who refuse to give up the habit of viewing humans as useless insects. The craftiest of these corrupt Titans have managed to gain some leverage among the Aristocracy Infernal, the gateway to the Undergods.

>>22096405
>>22096416
How about the reason cats and dogs sleep so much is because, they are constantly vigilant and are protecting humanity in the spirit world.

And SLAPPING DEMONS SHIT, LEFT, RIGHT, BACKWARDS, FORWARDS, AND ANYOTHER DIRECTION I FAILED TO MENTION.

Also to protect the unborn from being corrupted by the gods and demons for their evil purposes.

>>22096545
>>22096519

This is why Thunderborn eggs won't hatch if suspended in fresh water. As well, the eggs don't hatch until the storm that formed them passes - the eggs themselves are made with lightning strikes a stone.

>>22096493
>>22096457

Titans are actually the most compassionate and kind greater beings.

But most fear them as being evil, due to the gospel of those who follow the Gods or Daemons.

>>22096570
I still like the sea we're dogs and cats represent the two different aspects of Humanity.

Dogs are the physical, worldly side, focusing on survival.
Cats focus on the spiritual, otherworldly side, focusing on civilization.

So dogs are greater at fighting horrific monstrosities in coordination with men, while cats lead men in learning the riddles of fighting against the soul eating spirits that haunt them.

It has been the perogative of heros since the birth of mortal races to try to breach the Wall and reach Paradise on the outside. None known have made it - any who embark on this quest find the God of Storms moving against them.

>>22096610
I am a hard core believer in only the material universe, but that faith tends to waver when I see my cat suddenly cry out in apparent terror and run away from nothing at all, and stare at the blank wall, and so forth. The fuck is he doing. Is there a ghost? Is he hallucinating? Is he playing? Is he trolling?

You know what? Why the hell not. REPTILE PEOPLE. They live in The Sands Vast and Burning, put just outside the Colosseum's walls to ensure that any escapees would soon die of thirst. They are chiefly devoted to Firna, the Fire Goddess and Muroch, the Rock God and are nocturnal hunters, preying mostly on the desert's gigantic devilflies and wimplizards. They associate with other races very rarely, and have the Sands pretty much all to themselves.

Minotaurs are the only race that has the technology to build actual towns, but they sometimes let other races live in these towns, in exchange for taxing of their work.

Such a life is safe, but generally oppressive. The tribes outside consider those who chose living in the Labyrinths and deal in Minotaur "coins" to be spineless cowards

>>22096667
He's protecting you from ghosts.

>>22096667
Get a dog that gets along with your cat.
Together, you three are forever safe from any creatures that could ever harm you three.

>>22096679
What's worse is that part of the agreement with living inside Minotaur walls is that they get to eat your corpse when you die. And you can't seek legal recompense if they rape your daughter or wife.

Yeah, your not getting blasted by storms or killed by monsters, but is it really worth it?

>>22096701
The worst part is that theMinotaurs kill of any cats or dogs you would bring with you because the god of storms despises them.

Its because your pets guide you away from his rule and guard man from his evil

>>22096701

And we know how much minotaurs like to rape human women. It's because.... they're so horny.

DOHOHOHOHOHO.

>>22096536

The Mad King was hardly mad. The City of Ior was a Minotaur city. His wife went to live with them, abandoning him to better protect her sickly child.

He never forgave teh Minotaurs, blaming them for "stealing" his wife, and attacked their cities and caravans unto his death.

>>22096679
In later ages, when all the races have become more civilized, the Minotaurs' technological head start will have them set up to be the dominant economic force. Even at this primitive stage, they show signs of enterprise beyond towns and smithies; they already have trading routes and caravans (made up of lower-race slaves) set up.

>>22096551
1 Veto

>>22096551
veto

>>22096323

Elves are what cause the most severe plagues.

There aren't any horses. Humans all ride around on Mammoths, or, if they need more speed, the giant Riding Spiders
.

>>22096818
But, due to their bizarre balance of life and death energies, the plagues they cause tend to clear up soon after they leave an area. It's the same with the forests they inhabit: they're dying and full of rot when there are Elves about, but if they leave the area, that patch of forest can be healthy again in as short as a week.

Obviously, this is a huge blow to the Elves' self-image.

>>22096852
Don't forget tigers and giant bears.

>>22096903
Or, if you really want an exotic mount, a Devilfly from beyond the Walls.

>>22096903

And giant cats and giant rabbits.

>>22096946
And giant sloths for babby's first mount.

>>22096946
Why giant rabbits?

The cats I can understand, what with their fey-connection to humans

>>22096977

Cuz rabbits are fast.

>>22096977
Giant rabbits would be extremely enjoyable, not to mention invaluable in pretty much all situations. Apparently, they're not giant enough to hop over the walls though, or some supernatural force keeps intervening.

>>22096977
>>22096988

Rabbits are fast, but make shitty warmounts cuz they always run away. Only good for couriers and cowards.

>>22097009
These rabbits are too big to be scared. The amount of megafauna in this setting is pretty small so far.

>>22096988
>>22097008
Fair 'nuff. I can get behind giant rabbits, all I needed was a little reason.

>>22097042
Rabbit mounts are scared of most things. Even a tiger can easy kill a giant rabbit. They're only horse-sized.

Rolled 29

Giant rabbits are food as well as mounts, and many tribes breed them for these purposes. They are also used as feed for giant riding spiders.

The godess of hell is actually the human woman who stole fire from the storm god. He killed her for her transgression, but her newfound power allowed her to become queen of the dead, Osiris-style.

>>22097067
scared=/=noncombatant. Giant rabbit mounts will fuck your shit up with them razor-sharp teeth and hindleg-claws

>>22096672
Said Reptile people train daily in a native fighting style and sport based entirely around lifting an opponent over one's head and throwing them. This is how all military positions are awarded, based on how well they perform in this form of combat.

Rolled 64

>>22097146

The reptilians are mistrustful and standoffish to outsiders, but lifting one over your head and throwing it will often make them willing to talk.

Beyond the Wall and the Desert, is Paradise - the Corporeal Realm of the Gods, an Elysium where they live, and where they permit Demigods who please them to live.

The reason for the Arena is to separate mortals, to keep them from ever reaching this earthly Paradise.

>>22097169
It is the way many friendships with Reptilians and outsiders are forged

>>22097099

Scares does equal noncombatant. Yeah, a spooked giant rabbit mount is dangerous, but its also uncontrollable, which isn't good in combat. It might just flee, start attacking your own troops, try to buck you, or something else you don't want it to do.

File: 1355818107629.png-(288 KB, 500x369, I HAVE SEEN MY HAT.png)

>>22097146
>>22097169
>>22097187

I see what you're doing there.

>>22097203
You're confusing noncombatant with skittish (which they are). Any animal that gets spooked is likely to freak out and do any of the above without the rider reining it in.

A noncombatant wouldn't even charge into battle, which the giant rabbits do.

>>22097203
>>22097236

So what your saying is that we should strap giant spikes to a horde of giant bunnies, then terrify them and herd them towards our enemies?

>>22097177
Paradise is a land of eternal springtime, home to the orchards of the Fruits of Life, which allow the gods to maintain their immense powers. This is the main reason they guard Paradise so fiercely: because of the Sacred Grove.

Note: if a human were to eat from the Sacred Grove, they wouldn't attain godlike power -- rather, they would instantly reach the highest possible peak of mental, physical and creative ability. The gods are still a higher order of being than humans.

>>22097257
Yes. And if they die in combat? We just need to grab them and drag them back to our camp to barbeque.

>>22097276
sorry, "highest humanly possible peak"

>>22097146
This fighting style was adopted due to the incredibly long incubation the reptilian eggs undergo, taking approximately three times as long as human gestation, and the fact that the predators of the Sands often snatch up young hatchlings and devour them. This and the fact that a female reptilian will only produce, on average, three eggs during her lifetime means that a fatal mode of combat would catastrophically deplete the population of any warring tribes.

A race of bird-like people live atop the Wall. It is said that they are the children of the Goddess of Air.

Because the Goddess of Air is still wed to the God of Storms, they are ever faithful, protecting the wall from those who are foolish enough to climb it.

They are carnivorous, and will hunt nearly anything they can carry with them: Humans, Elves, Dogs, Cats, large fish, etc. They care little about the world below them, and have a society that rivals that of the Minotaur.

>>22097340
A society that rivals the Minotaurs would likely require a slave labour force, but these birdfolk wouldn't risk letting lower beings atop the Wall (they'd probably be offended by their presence), and they seem to be too self-respecting to enslave each other. What's their secret? Magic? Divine favours?

Rolled 11

>>22097340

They don't hate humans though. They're actually kind of sorry about being instructed to kill any who attempt to scale the wall.

When a God mates with a mortal (willingly or unwillingly), the offspring is a Demigod. Demigods carry most of the racial traits of their mother. However, they are invariably much stronger, faster and more robust than the mortal race they were born from.

They also last much longer, demi-gods living up to 750-1250 years, depending on their mother's race. And they don't start even showing signs of aging until about 80% of their life is up. And even an aging demigod can easily trounce most humans. '

Demigods, however, often died from misadventure due to the meddling of the gods. Either their parent god disapproves of actions they took, or a rival god of their parent decides to strike against them.

The god with the most prolific amount of offspring is the High God - the God of Storms. He is not a subtle lover either, he will usually make one blunt offer and if it is not accepted immediately, resorts to force or trickery.

Upon their 24th Birthday, all offspring of the God of Storms are approached by one of his emissaries. They are forced into a choice - work under his instructions, or become his enemy and face a likely death.

>>22097405

They do have slaves. The flying-insect people.

>>22097405
Metal. Feathers. Technically just a very similar material to metal, but can be melted down and reforged into weapons, etc.

The Wall is built around the Northern Hemisphere of the World. Thus, the "center" of the world is the coldest, with the temperature being warmest nearest the wall - and warmest at the Desert, which is beyond the wall. After the Desert, however, the temperature becomes more amenable, giving way to the Corporeal Paradise in the South.

File: 1355819294911.gif-(1.93 MB, 235x240, Jeremiah Liver-Eating Johnson.gif)

>this entire setting

I'm planning on using it.

>>22097486
In the "centre" of the world lies Mount Bearstooth. The tribesmen who live on its frozen sides ride mighty bears as we might ride rabbits.

>>22097494
Tell us how it goes.

Rolled 17

>>22097276

The gods themselves once dwelt within the valley, and were eventually invited by their creators the Titans to join them in paradise. However, after eating the Fruits of Life, the gods became as powerful as the titans, and overthrew them.

They seek to prevent humans from doing the same to them.

>>22097471
The rachis of their feathers is made of a very lightweight metalic material. They melt down their molted feathers, and the feathers of their dead to forge into weapons, etc.

They have a heavy respect for their dead, though. There is no dirt atop the wall, nor do they wish to descend to bury them. Instead, they cremate their dead. When the body is nothing but ashes, all that remains is ash, and the metal from their feathers.

>>22097437

The Demi-Gods who swear loyalty to their rapacious father band together to become the Host of Judgement. They ride around the world, smiting down any human tribes that look to be getting too uppity and making towns and cities.

The gods made the world like an arena, for they enjoy watching the various tribes and races fight, considering all wars to be for their amusement.

The most massive and worst monsters live within the Wall itself, in caves and caverns located within it. Mostly they slumber, eat mammoths and squash anyone who tries to climb the wall. Occaisonally though, one will deign to descend into the World and cause havoc.

>>22097437

Due to the actions of the God of Storms in taking advantage of the God of Rivers controlling nature and using his control over the worlds water to flood the world, many a hero that opposes the many Gods capricious nature has found themselves a patron in the form of the God of Rivers, who's blessings often come in the forms of guiding streams towards what the seek, the discovery of a water source moments before their death from dehydration, and many other blessings.

However, those Demigods and Heroes whose goals merely revolve around the death and destruction of all order within the world, often supported by the God of Storms in order to prevent uprisings, find a great enemy in him, for he is the one that controls the follow of waters within the world, and one of the few forces truly opposing the God of Storms.

Basically, God of Rivers is the god of Order, control and peace. The 'rival' of the God of Storms, he supports any who would maintain the natural balance and keep order in the world.

>>22096170

Groups of men have long ago attempted to find a way underground passed the Wall. Alas, they have long since abandoned this quest.

But they could not find their way back to the surface. They did what they could to survive underground, constructing tunnels, harvesting roots and fungus, and hunting worms and other subterranean critters.

The Goddess of the Earth looked favorably upon them, and enhanced their senses so that they could feel the vibrations in the earth, and smell as well as a cat or dog. She also made them shorter, so as to fit better in their caverns. But the Goddess of the Earth believes in perfect balance, so she took their sight in exchange.

bump

Occasionally, a hot-headed young birdman will fly off into the Sands in search of this Paradise he's heard so much about all his life. Invariably, fatigue, hunger and heat will force him to land, and, if he's lucky, a band of reptiloids will take him in. These brief contacts with the outside world have left deep impressions on reptile culture, particularly their religion, ethics and culture. Some of these changes are:
The reptiles' chief deities, the Fire Goddess and the Rock God, are members of the Walldweller pantheon

Means of conflict resolution other than lift-and-throw matches are in widespread use across all the tribes (lift-and-throw is reserved only for the most heinous crimes; losing such a match instantly warrants execution)

Bow hunting supplanting spear hunting

Many reptile chieftains dress in styles imitating the garb of high-class birdmen, as described to them

Of the many gods that rule and tend to this land, there is one who has been all but forgotten. He is an entity that was once known as Urvastir, a kindly god of marriage and fertility who was revered by the plaindwelling tribe of Larthoah. His blessing was said to be of such that any couples joined under his sign were to last forever and bear many children. He was a happy god, not caring much for the rest of the world so long as he could tend to his flock.

That is, until he met the minotaurs. They were upon his people faster than anything he'd ever seen, snatching as many women as they could before being driven off. With his people in shambles, Urvastir could do nothing but grieve and order his flock to rebuild, promising them that he'd remain ever vigilant from then on. To aid this pursuit he created Frigi and Fragad, two spirits in the shape of lions who would patrol the lands in his stead. He was certain that nothing would get passed them.

But the stormborn need no stealth. They need no tactics. They sprung up from the very mud beneath the people's feet and started their rampage, killing and abducting all that they could before the two great lions could get to them.

cont'd

>>22097700
High-class birdmen wear sleeveless robes, as the sleeves would impede with their flight. They also adorn themselves with jewelry made of their feather-metals.

The reptiloids mimic all of this, except they create their own jewelry out of the gold in the desert

>>22097447
The bug people are hardly sentient.at all. They are essentially smarter versions of the giant insects in the Sands, but they ain't much smarter. They can speak Bugman and broken Birdman, dress themselves and do menial chores competently, but have no capacity for understanding anything outside of their immediate experience; as such, they do not attempt to find Paradise because they can't fathom the possibility of it existing.

>>22097786
>backless robes
The robes are supported around their neck; the open back allows their wings full mobility

>>22097743
How does it tie in with the previous stuff about the unity between Cats, Dogs and Men though?

In his boundless grief Urvastir swore vengeance, bemoaning his foolishness and shortsightedness. His guilt was so great that he grabbed a knife and widened his own eyes and scarred his own skin, swearing never to be caught unaware again.
He ordered his remaining people to armor themselves, and so they did by rubbing the dreaded Firath fruit upon their skin, causing it to turn green and grow as tough as leather.
He then ordered them to arm themselves, which they did by taking a stone to their teeth and sharpening them to a fine point. They killed and butchered as many creatures as they find, binding the fangs to their fists.
And finally, he ordered them to prepare themselves. And so, with the twin lions of the south leading their charge, they declared war upon all who would threaten the word of love. They swore to carve the names of the vanquished into their skin and ride with the heads of the unworthy upon pikes. And finally, they swore to kill their beloved if they ever fell to temptation.

They were the unholy riders of the south, and they would not stop until all knew the master's word of love.

>>22097859
It doesn't. Figured a setting needed variety.

Excuse me if I interrupted.

>>22097883
Far enough.
Looks like a great addition so far.

>>22097883
Variety is welcome, but keep in mind: any additions should tie into the setting's established fluff or help to expand upon established media, without contradicting.

>>22097786
Reptiloid chieftains still maintain part of their traditional dress, such as the ceremonial golden spear-mace (blunt on one end, pointed on the other) carried as a symbol of authority. The spear-mace is still the chief weapon of reptiloid warriors, whose arsenal also includes bows, javelins, tomahawks and daggers.

>>22097922
I've got a way to make it work.
Have the two spirits that are make up the Great Lion figures be the gods actions in merging both the physical power of the Dogs and the spiritual abilities of the Cats, into a supreme being.

I did a prehistoric setting a la Clan of the Cave Bear- Spirit animals, totems, spirit tokens, Elemental Powers, etc. Only shamans and reclusive proto-druids knew the secrets to magic, cro-mags were proto-dwarves, living in caves.

Life in the Arena of Storms is often brutal and short. The Thunderborn are a large problem - after every storm, tribes usually send out their warriors to try and slay them before they grow into a large horde, but if the storm occours away from populated areas, there is little that can be done.

But of more immediate danger are the horrible beasts of the land, from the frozen Mt. Beartooth right up unto the wall, and all throughout the Great Sea. Thurgals hunt in packs, all claws and fangs. Skaru flit in the skies and in numbers can drain a man of blood. Ytor are apex predators, with a pair of scythe claws that can take the head from a man with contemptuous ease.

But it is the way of true warriors to lead their tribes, herding mammoths and giant rabbits. For what else can be done? Live in the cities? I suppose if you don't mind forswearing your balls, and letting the minotaurs have their way with your daughters.

>>22097951
Alternatively, one could be the progenitor of the High Gods, and one the progenitor of the Undergods (I'm still not clear on whether we've accepted this high-low division in the pantheon.).

Sometimes there is a sort of Storm that lasts for days upon days. This is known as a Behemoth Storm. For it occours when the God of Storms, in his fury, determines to sound the summons. The Thunder of a Behemoth storm makes such a rhythm as to draw one of the Wall Beasts into the Arena of Storms, where havoc will be wrought.

>>22097993
I thought we accepted that there were multiple gods that exist in multiple areas?
Demons and the Titans and the goddess of Death are locked in the underworld, while various fey spirits and the rest of the gods inhabit the sky and the earth?

>>22097979
>>22098004

So is the setting name Arena of Storms now?

I can dig.

>>22097806
Insectoids have three sexes: DNA Donor (Y), Egg Donor (X), and Incubator (Z). There is only one incubator per insectoid colony, which is often seen as the queen. The Y forage and build, while the X hunts and protects the Z.

The insectoids are very collectivist, and focused on the needs of their hive, and the needs of their birdmen overlords. But when do have wants, their wants are usually simplistic, such as extra food, more sex, and rest.

>>22098012
Yes, but someone postulated that among the Gods there were rankings.

>>22098014
I thought it was just "The Arena"

>>22098016

The insectoids care so little for things that they let the birdmen eat their corpses when they die.

>>22098023

Arena sounds cool. But, to be fair, "Arena" literally just means "area of sand", and this isn't a wholly desert setting. Arena of Storms is more indicative. Unless the end goal of the God of Storms is to turn everything inside the Arena into an empty, sandy wasteland.

>>22098021
hmmmm

I though it was

Gods
Titans/Demons
Fey
Spirits and magic users
Normal

>>22098021
I motion to change Urvastir into a creation god. The god who forged the sun and wrought the arena with his own hands, his original name for it "The Garden" until his creation was warped by the new gods for their own purposes.

The most ancient of legends passed down from dryad-chieftaiss-to-dryad-chieftaiss tell of a second-coming of Urvastir.

>>22098041
It could go with the idea that the God of Storms, the biggest dick in charge of everything, is the one that established the arena and controls everything that goes on within and without?

>>22098043
No, it's more

Gods vs. Demons vs. Titans.
Undergods maybe?
Spirits and Magic Users
Demigods
Mortal

>>22098078
I'd go one step further and say

Gods vs. Demons vs. Titans.
Undergods maybe?
Spirits and Magic Users vs. Demigods
Mortals

>>22098056
>>22098059

It makes more sense for the God of Storms to have made the arena, to be a dick and seal of mortals from the Corporeal Paradise.

Remember, Gods are into the Corporal whereas Demons are into the Incorporeal. So the Gods need to have their Paradise on the World to have it.

>>22098028
Moments before the Queen's death, she births a single offspring, a Princess. When the Princess reaches the adult stage of its life, it will become the new Queen. When such an event occurs, the insectoids focus all efforts on raising the Princess, for she is their only hope. Because of the constant care for her needs, and that her only real duty is to incubate and birth the young, the Princess/Queen is much more intelligent than the other insectoids.

The Birdmen have come to realize that there is no use attempting to force an insectoid to ignore the Princess. As a result, larger birdmen colony will often have multiple hives of insectoids.

Also, the chitin of a dead Queen is very luminescent, but relatively soft and malleable. It is used for all sorts of decorative purposes. Also, the innards of a Queen are considered among the highest of delicacies to the birdmen

>>22098059
The High God/Undergod division excludes the mighty Storm God, who is his own faction. The general idea is that the High Gods upheld life and order, while the Undergods worked for chaos and destruction; the division isn't based on power.

>>22098097
Yeah, but by that definition, the God of Storms is part of the Undergods, since his goal is to keep everything in chaos and disorder to prevent anything from rising up against him.

Basically

-Gods are in the Corporeal Paradise.
-They fuck with mortals in the Arena. Mortals are in the Arena because the God of Storms, who is the High God (i.e. Zeus, etc.), doesn't want them getting their filthy mortal-ness all over his Corporeal Paradise
-Titans and Demons are essentially Gods, but with differing philosophies and structures.
-The Titans and Demons are in the Underworld because the Gods beat them.
-The Goddess of Hell is also in the Underworld.
-The Sun is a Dragon and the Moon is a Dragon Egg.
-Gods, being Gods, can affect things in the Arena, though time operates differently in the Corporeal Paradise (probably so that its easier for the Gods to manage, you know, an whole half a planet).
-Not many Gods actually live IN the Arena though. The only example I can see is the God of Rivers, who lives on it's edge.

File: 1355822360618.png-(285 KB, 747x545, not sure.png)

>>22098092
If birdmen colonies contain insectoid hives within them, does that mean that the hives are carved into the Wall or something?

>>22098056
As the writer of that, I approve. I wasn't sure if we had a creation god or not, so I tried to make something self contained.

Though you'll want to add that he burned his skin in grief, then. And I'd prefer the carebear orcs remain in some capacity.

>>22098127
While the Storm God could be considered an Undergod, he isn't part of their alliance, so he isn't one. The Undergods are capable of some degree of cooperation among themselves.

>>22098097
>>22098127

The High God of Storms promotes order - in his half of the world. He doesn't care about order for the mortals - in fact, he opposes it, because it means that they could get together and fuck up HIS order, in the Corporeal Paradise.

I mean, yeah, some gods probably disagree with this hypocrisy, but he's teh fucking High God. Whatcha gonna do about it?


For him, order doesn't apply to mortals.

>>22098132
It makes sense that the hives would be carved into the wall.

We've already previously established that there are tunnels filled with monsters and shit in the wall, so the wall is probably not made of some uber-strong material that would prevent carving it.

>>22098138

I think it makes more sense for the creator god to have made the WHOLE world his garden. The Arena came later, to keep mortals and gods seperate.

>>22098149
So far the God of Rivers is all up in his shit currently, but so far he's been established to actually live inside the Arena, so yeah.

>>22098159
Wasn't the wall supposed to be super-hard though? I thought it was established you couldn't tunnel through it.

>>22098159
>>22098164

Is the wall a wall or just the mountains? I thought it was just the name for the mountains - the reason no one tunnels through them is because Stone Age tech, remember?

>>22098164
Ah, well I should learn to read more thouroughly, then. Maybe the insectoids have hives more akin to beehives, rather than anthills. Constructed hives that are hanging off the side of the wall by some super-adhesive stuff.

>>22098179
I think most of us have assumed a stone wall.

>>22098160
Now, I actually really like that idea. A careless god makes things because he likes beauty, and so his beauty is corrupted and torn apart by the Storm God and other kinds of dickery. Maybe have his self mutilation go on further, with him eventually being a bleeding husk of a man made up of blooshot eyes, tentacles and teeth.

Honestly, though, /tg/. I'm surprised how grimderp this is turning out.

>>22098189
The birdmen would be sticking ladders or some shit into those nests to climb down and wake up the worker drones (and extract the occasional princess gut).

>>22098209
I kind of envisioned it as a giant stone wall yes, but not a traditional wall, but more like something of a thousand snake lengths wrapping and overlaying each other.

>>22098189
This wall is likely pretty damn big. There could be fertile lands all along its top.

>>22098220

I think it was always intended to be, at the very least, a "savage" setting.

>>22095818
I just easily a humanoid
Is it dangerous?

>>22098220
>>22098237

Yeah, the setting was pretty grimddark from the point where it was "Like Greek Gods, but even more dickish, which is really quite an accomplishment."

But there's also the idea that Gods here are Corporal, or at least tied to the Corporal Plane. This could mean they're even AFRAID of mortals spreading across the world and building god-killing machines.

>>22098244
I think that was supposed to be "And could eat a humanoid whole. Thankfully they are all vegetarian."

>>22098237
>>22098252

Yes, but I thought we were setting out to create a setting we'd be willing to play? I don't know about you guys, but this is even more rape heavy and grimdark than Cthulhutech, and that doesn't really register as a good thing.

The name "Arena" refers not to just the observances of the Gods of the Wars of mortals. The Gods do have an active fascination with what goes on inside, even if they only scry from a distance. Which God has more worshipers, which God's offspring Demi-Gods have become the mightiest - these thing influence the strange politics of the Gods.

>>22098278
I'm willing to play it

>>22098278

It's no more rape heavy than actual Greek myth. I think you can have a "savage" setting, with lots of monsters, without going full grimdark.

Like, the Gods do keep mortals in the Arena for both isolation and entertainment, but they are fairly distant. Like, not likely in the middle of a session to pop out of nowhere and start raping the party or messing with them.

>>22098290
>>22098278

Yeah, I think the Corporeal Nature of Gods, and their time-funkiness, does make them less than omniscient. So yeah, the world in general is brutal because of them, but they're not going all Elder God fuckery on a daily basis.

>>22098278
Yes, but the goal of this isn't 'cause more pain and suffering' its, from what I can currently see, 'Find that prick whose doing all of this and pull his front teeth out through his asshole' and there are a lot of things that are relatively good within the setting, like the Gods of both Rivers, Fire, and Death, the relationship between Men, Dogs and Cats along with the development of Heroes that are beginning to take the fight to the Gods.

>>22098312
How much does the average human actually understand about cosmology, though? To them its not about grimdark, or fault. It's just the tribe getting food and killing monsters.

>>22098312
Maybe I've just played way too many uber grimdark sessions due to having had fucked up DMs, but even with that in mind I don't really see much "good" shit here. The way I judge these savage settings is if I could ever see someone like Conan sprouting from it, and currently this looks far too "FUCK HUMANITY! FUCK IT HAAAARD" to pass that test.

Just my two cents, though.

In the lands of the Gods there is such marvels as you would not believe. Each god has a house that rivals the land of an entire tribe. They have the means to travel at remarkable speeds, and obliterate that which displeases them. They can also see at at distance through arcane means. - there are located, on the wall, 8 Eyes of Scrying, which can look at any area of the Arena at any size.

>>22098368

They probably only care for the mundane stuff, territory, food, etc.

Though a bit out of the norm are the conflicts between bands of demigods, heroes, sorcerers and the like.

Kinda like in your typical greek myth.

>>22098384
Fair enough.

I am liking this setting already because it gives the option of playing "regular" level and making a very brutal, tough campaign, or playing "Demigod" level, making the characters a band of Demigods, which are of course much tougher - but the gods don't ignore Demigods like they do regular mortals.

>>22098381
I like the idea that the gods CAN'T just randomly smite you, but they can still make your life a hell. Sort of like a super-powerful Government. They can't just say "fuck this kingdom", but the God of Storms can start sending lots of Storms over to that area. They can't randomly blow up a human, but they can send their Emissaries to their Demigod Children and instruct them to hunt down and waste someone.

>>22098409
I like the idea that the gods kind of view you differently.

The God of Storms may hate the fuck out of you and wanna blast you to bits if you begin killing off his Demigod hordes, but if you act orderly and do this stuff, the God of Rivers is basically going to ruin all of the Storms attempts to try and fuck you up.

Than and the fact that if you are Human and have both a cat and a dog working with you, you can take on heaps of demigods and fey spirits.

The Snakemen are all wandering merchants, generally seen as untrustworthy and cheating liars.

Archiving for late setting use.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html
Go vote.

>>22098505

Aaaaaaaand 1d4chan page for better organization down the line.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Arena_of_Storms

Rolled 83

Remember also that an ultimate heroic goal for this setting would be to steal the apples of life and give one or more of the mortal races the strength to stand up to the gods.

Honestly, I might use this setting as ancient history for a different one. In the dark and ancient past, the world was ruled by petty and wrathful gods who kept Men and their allies in constant weakness and fear, until some great hero stole the fruit and released the benevolent titans.

>>22098556
Then tomorrow, let's start another thread, detailing what has become of the races of the Arena of Storms since the Rise of the Mortals.

>>22098556
you could have the ruins of the wall just left lying across half the world

>>22098556
Hmmm... but what if a hero did manage to get it? A prometheus like tale, but unlike promotes he was unable to get the apple to the mortals before the gods managed to find and kill him. The apple just got left somewhere to decay... what would a decaying one of those do?

>>22098574
Let's focus on one thing at a time, shall we?

>>22098594
A decay apple of life would get eaten by worms. Who would turn into God Worms.

Rolled 89

>>22097616

The blind, cave-dwelling people are called Volgyn. Living so close to the underworld has opened their ears to the whispers of the demons and titans, and many volgyn tribes barter with them for magical power in addition to worshiping the earth goddess.

Volgyn sometimes trade and cooperate with surface dwellers, but in lean times have been known to eat them as well.

Rolled 32

>>22098595

Agreed. I was just raising an interesting possibility.

By the way, are cats and dogs playable in this setting? It kinda seems like they should be.

>>22098496
The Snakemen are also storytellers, painters, musicians and dancers, and are constantly on the run from Minotaurs they've swindled.

The nature spirits are the same kind of beings as the gods and the demons. When the war between the gods and the demons started, the spirits chose neither side, as they did not prefer corporeality over incorporeality, or vice versa.
When the gods won the war, they were angry at the spirits for not aiding the, and as punishment they forced them to create the material world by permanently taking corporeal forms such as the mountains, the earth etc. But due to their rejection of the gods' and demons' dogma, they were still able to manifest in incorporeal forms while retaining their corporeal forms.

>>22098621
Women who claim that the Snakemen raped them, and that's why they gave birth to a snakegirl, are usually lying. Snakemen don't often use force. They are just exceptionally adroit with their tongues.

>>22098616
Yeah, you should definately be able to play as dogs and cats.

It was mentioned that (some) cats had the ability to take humanoid forms? Can (some) dogs do this too?

Rolled 44

>>22098633

>>They are just exceptionally adroit with their tongues.

Dohohoho.

>>22098633
However there is some credence to the idea of snake men excreting large amount of pheromones, and this possibly contributing with their ability to convince other race, not only of the same sex but of opposite. Merely being around one for an extended period of time causes feelings akin to drunkeness... and only repeated exposure can build up an immunity.

Rolled 15

>>22098639

Nah, I think that's a special cat thing, and they can't do it just anytime. Its rare and special.

Dogs = strength, tracking, keen senses.
Humans = tool use, especially ranged weapons and fire.
Cats = magic, very limited shapeshifting.

Minotaurs are the most populous race, due to the fact that they have cities with designated farmland, though humans are not far behind.

Minotaur society is exceedingly hierarchical, being designated into clans or "herds". Each herd has a hereditary ruling caste. A Minotaur community could represent a single-herd village, or a city with many herds.

If another races lives inside a Minotaur community, they are "attached" to an existent herd and become part of it. The herd become responsible for taking care of their new lesser members, and for forcibly exiling them if they are troublesome.

>>22098600
Alternatively, the decaying Apple of Life would infuse the soil with divine power, essentially making it possible for sentient beings to perform druidic magic without the gods' explicit permission.

>>22098639
I thought it was that Dogs eventually became sentient as they grow older or exposed to magic forces.
Maybe there are specific breeds of each that are larger or different and have special abilities.

I still like the idea of a single small cat, like a housecoat or something, staring down a giant eldritch abomination and driving it off throughout sheer force of will.

>>22098624
Furthermore, a god's power over nature depends upon which spirits are subservient to him. So for example, the storm god has power over lighting because the lightning spirits are subservient to him and the river god has power over river because he is the master of the river spirits.

>>22098639

If dogs did take humanoid form, I think they'd care less than cats about making it "look nice". It would basically be a werewolf-type thing.

>>22098659
There is an ancient Minotaur tradition called the Nujin or "the breaking of horns" in common tongue. It is when the Minotaur race faces dire circumstances, and they must band together in a group larger than the singular herds so as to survive. The leaders of each of the largest herds (being that large super herds have vassal herds that follow the sway of their power) return to the supposed place where the minotaurs were created, a small island in the center of a lake housed within an ancient volcano's bowl. There they fight in single combat until only one remains alive. This Minotaur is the leader of the race until the time when the threat is eradicated. Where upon the herds are given back their own rulers, normal the sons of the chieftains the High Chieftain slue in single combat.

>>22098659
The ruling class of a Minotaur herd consists of a bull with at least two adult calves, his cows, and his unwed siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins.

>>22098657
Snakeman pheromones have given rise to a host of superstitions about them, the main thrust of which is that they possess hypnotic powers, most probably a sign of allegiance with the Undergods.

Okay, so this doesn't get confusing... what are the established Gods? Here's what I got

-High God, God of Storms
-His Consorts
-Goddess of Water
-God of Air
-His Ex-Cosorts
-Goddess of Fire (Firna)
-God of Earth (Muroch)
-Goddess of the Underworld
-God of Rivers
-God of Sickness
-God of Death (Sartokis)
-Goddess of Life
-Goddess of Woodlands
-God of Creation and Fertility (Urvastir)

>>22098742
I like the idea of keeping them unnamed.
adds to there power and mystique.

About a third of the Arena is taken up by the Great Sea, which stretches from the edge of the Wall, where it smashes against it, to the Frozen Sea, which lies close to Mt. Beartooth. The Goddess of the Sea rules over it from her undersea domain. She was once the wife of the God of Rivers, but she disagreed with his warring with the God of Storms and left him.

>>22098761
It could tie into him stopping the world being flooded.
She could have wanted it to remain permanently flooded to make her the most powerful god, but his control over all water, and the source of all water, along with turning it off, caused the split.

>>22098768
Makes sense.

Also, maybe the should be siblings instead of wife and husband? Then again, they ARE gods, so its not like that would stop them.

I figured they were the offspring of the God of Storms and the Goddess of Water, or the God of Creation and the Goddess of Water. Or maybe one each and they are half-siblings.

>>22098742
About the River God -- if gods need the Apples of Life to remain alive and retain their divine power and the River God apparently lives on the edge of the Wall, how is he supplied with sacred Apples?

This seems like a good time as any to name some more gods:

God of Storms: Randris
Goddess of Water: Silderi
God of Air: Foem
Goddess of the Underworld: Muctor
God of Rivers: Vilian
God of Sickness: Borgodol
Goddess of Life: Renetor
Goddess of Woodlands: Saruhef

>>22098753
They could have names given to them by mortals. As in different mortals worship river gods by different names, it all actually is the same god under different guises. No one knows a god's true name, not even other gods, because to know a beings true name would give you unimaginable power over it.

Namers, one of the most ancient forms of magic, concern themselves primarily with the acquisition and recording of the "true names" of various things. (something like saying the true name of stone would allow you to take control of the earth around you and break it to your will, or just remove it from existence.) More power is added to a naming depending on how deep into a name you go, a true name has a theoretical infinite number of syllables, going in on itself, and the more of these a being knows the more power over said thing they gain.

One of the best things about this magic is that it does not require the gods to perform it, instead it is a way to basically stick up a middle finger to the gods. That is why whenever namers come into the open and form orders they are most often destroyed by the gods for fear of them possibly finding out their names. That is why namers mostly have a system of apprentices, a master passing down his knowledge and acquired names to apprentices so that they can acquire and add their own. Some of the more accent lineages of master-apprentices have names for things such as stone, leaf, water, and sky up to the twentieth to thirtieth syllable.

Also it is said that the apple of knowledge will give the one who eats it true power over naming, and naming to possibly be the power the gods gained to defeat the titans. There is a possibility that gods use naming to control the world around them, each knowing their respective aspects (storm and the like) to the thousandth syllable or something of such incredibility.

(ok, just an idea... I kind of let it run away with itself... how does it sound?)

>>22098790
>>22098753

Mortals are going to name their gods. But each nation will likely name its gods something different.

>>22098742
Hrm, so Goddess of Sea, as well as I'd say God of Ice (who maybe is said to live at the top of Mt. Beartooth?). Possibly, depending on terrain, also deity of Mountain.

>>22098830
So the God of Ice would live inside the arena? Maybe he also pissed off the God of Storms and hides out in the very middle of the arena, where the God of Storms would never go.

>>22098792
That's a pretty sweet idea, but I imagine the gods as knowing each other's true names, because the true name of anything is its name in the divine language. However, gods aren't able to use this power because they speak the divine language as their common speech; only those who have painstakingly learned can unleash its true power.

If we stick with the High God/Undergod distinction, names could be one of the main weapons in the conflict: each side can threaten to reveal a god's true name to the mortals if they don't get what they want.

>>22098792
Hmmmm

This sounds fucking awesome.

Instead of the magic system simply being 'I cast magic missile', make based around the use of words and riddles. So duels between wizards and fey spirits basically turns into a massive game of riddles, in which each character answers the opponents riddle and counters by weaving even more complex riddles based around the names that they know.

So when stuff like fey spirits and cats and stuff speak in riddles, its a lot more important to try and figure out what there meanings are and what they could possibly be weaving.

>>22098834
I imagine the God of Ice (I call him Nific) as being some kind of beefy yeti-type dude with a confident yet relaxed disposition, but also kind of absent-minded. If he angered the Storm God, it was probably by accident.

>>22098848
>wizards fighting through rap battles

>>22098870
I was thinking more like the riddle scene out of the Hobbit, but that is equally hilarious

'>>22098792
When we talk about recording something's name, we basically just mean 'memorize', right? I'm pretty sure that none of our races have developed writing yet.

In an age long passed, people tell of a young woman who escaped the Arena. They say she built a contraption that gave her the power of flight. Bearing Child, she took off over the wall with a tinderbox. Nobody knows if this is true or false, none of the gods will make mention of it when asked.

>>22098870
When you call his mother fat, she literally explodes into a ball of lard. Dangerous stuff.

>>22098869
I imagine the God of Ice, with that disposition, probably did something like take a human wife, or started doing favours for the humans of Mt.Beartooth, just being a nice guy and the God of Storms forbid him from ever returning over the Wall. Thing is, he don't want to.

>>22098907
You can't call her fat for that to happen. You need to cleverly suggest that she's fat, using puns to increase your chances of success.

>>22098921
And you've got to make it into a riddle, that they have to provide an answer to, or it comes to be.

So during a magic duel, the magical forces build up as each wizard answers the others riddles till one of them fails and is hit with the built up power?

>>22098930
I figure you could also take minor hits by answering a riddle in the "Incorrect way", or stumbling.

>>22098848
A human shaman, who is from a lineage of Namers reaching back nearly three hundred years. In his tome he carries the name of each ember, ash, smoke to the thirtieth syllable.

On the other an Jorrnti magi who has access to a secret library of naming hidden within their mountain homes (the same homes that allow them to hide even from the storm god's wrath) with the names of ice, hail, and slush to the thirtieth.

Each also has various other things with only a few stables, between one and ten.

Their battle turns into the two strategically saying different words of power, charring syllables to counteract the strange affects the other exerts over the world around them. Like the shaman says the fourth name of smoke, causing the smoke to congeal from thin air and blind his opponent, while the Jorrnti instead says the twelfth name of snow, causing a small localized snow storm to put down the smoke. this is just an example, most of the time lookers on will never see anything happen, as namers are fast enough to counteract the other before their word weaves actually appear in the physical world. It is only near the end of battles that actually physical things can be seen coming into existence.

>>22098900
It basically sears itself into someone's mind. A true name is not like a word, it has a life and strange consciousness of it's own. When one memorizes one it normally takes the form of communing with said element on a kinda psychic-ish level and having it gift them the name. the name it then be said for the first time, adhering itself in said person's brain where it can not be taken out.

>>22098947

I dig naming based magic because it exemplifies the importance of bards, skalds and storytellers in such societies - especially societies without writing.

I figure the Minotaurs don't have Namers, however, having some form of writing themselves, and instead have Runecasters - which is easier, more permanent and powerful, but lacks much of the fluidity, spontanaety and potential for improvisation of naming.

>>22098916
Legend tells of the first demigod, Twa, son of the Ice God and his human wife Teli, who amassed an army of Beartooth's strongest warriors in an assault on the Storm God and the other gods to avenge the wrong committed upon his father. Using his father's divine boon, Twa constructed a bridge of ice that reached to the Sacred Orchard, and there he waged war on the gods.The gods were nearly defeated, but the Storm God preserved the Orchard by blowing Twa and his army back to Mount Beartooth. At the Storm God's behest, the Earth God and the Fire Goddess then created the Sands Vast and Burning and the Wall to ensure that the Orchard would be safe from invaders.

>>22098963
I don't think that even the Minotaurs have writing. At best, they have a simple system of hieroglyphs used mostly for trade.

>>22098963
Minotaur Runecasters do battle by tossing out Runestones from their Bags of Words. Runestones do not need to be stones, per-se - indeed, the most potent of them are said to be made from the hoof-bones of the honoured dead. Runecasting is easier mentally on the caster, with less chance of "burn-out". However, Namers often have subtle intonations on pronouncing a name. A Runecaster has no such option - each of his prepared spells will activate precisely as he prepared them.

Runecasters also need more preparation, carving enough runestones before battle - runestones can be reused, but take time to charge - the more powerful the spell, the longer the recharge. The most powerful spells destroy their very runestone.

>>22098980
Runes can equal simple writing.

>>22098963
No, I think rune casting should be the less powerful. Naming it the magic of the god's themselves, and so should be the more powerful art. Rune casting should be easier to learn, cheaper, and faster. Though it should be less powerful. It should be basically a lesser form of naming, instead of accepting the names into your being you attempt to write them down, force them onto paper in a permanent form... which takes away a portion of their power.

>>22098982
You know, this makes the entire idea of 'Tribal chanting' a lot more interesting.

Say a great tidal wave is coming, or a great fire, or an invading horde is coming, the entire tribe gathers around the fire and begins a great dance, calling on the spirits and any gods that favor them, while cursing those that do not, and the tribes Namers and Speakers channel that chanting into powerful spells and such.

>>22098993
Then it seems like Minotaur magic is different from other races' magic on a deeper level -- they depend on depicting the true form of a thing, rather than on knowing its true name to have power over it. So then their "Bag of Words" would actually be a "Bag of Shapes".

>>22099013
However that wouldn't quite work. Namers are rebels and misfits against the gods. The gods don't like them because they are trying to replicate their power without the need of the god's strength. They are tapping into the same powers the god's have without the need of asking them for permission.

A tribe without a Namer asks the gods to help them with their tidal wave, and has their druids beseech them and make sacrifices and chanting and the like...

While a tribe with a namer would simply head towards the trouble and if they knew it, speak a name that would counter act it. Basically subvert the gods and do it on their own.

>>22098980
That could be used to flesh out their civilization. Since most of the Gods are Greek bastards, maybe the Minotaur culture could reflect parts of very early Greek culture, such as the use of early Hieroglyphs purely for trade and recording stores.

>>22099037

So is Druidic Magic basically just asking gods for a hand?

>>22099043
>>22099003

Yeah, I figure Minotaur Runes represent words, not letters. I figure that its an easier form of magic to teach and learn, but less powerful and very limited in a lot of ways.

>>22099045
Yeah, that's how I see it. The only time a druid can do something without a god's help is if they find a decayed apple of life and siphon off some primal god power.

Druidism = asking the gods to name things
Naming = using names you already know to do it yourself
Runecrafting = using names written down in time past for desired affects

Each race, of course, approaches druidism in its own unique way. The reptiloids, for instance, invoke the favour of the gods by holding wrestling festivals/combat tournaments called rys-u-mattah in their honour, with the victor being bestowed the privilege of acting as his clan's emissary to the gods and becoming the druid for as long as it pleases the gods to favour him.

>>22099084

Well, also each nation. I don't like the idea of "one race, one culture". I figure there are many different Minotaur nations, human tribes, dryad forests, etc. etc.

>>22099115
Yeah, basically. Humans on are planet are varied a ton, affected by out environments and what not. So should other race, there should be central themes running through them, but they should varied to a fair degree.

>>22099126
I think we can guarantee that the god of Rivers is not going to get along with the Minotaurs, seeing as he hates the God of Storms so far.