Anybody up for an FSTGOD?

[SirNitram]

I'll go Grand, if I can. Hey, I got a flying mountain...

[Comrade Tortoise]

Indeed. And remember, as of my last talk with Rogue, basic fortifications (city walls, the occassional military fortress) wont cost you anything... Now, a border wall or something like that will, as will a massive three-4 ring concentric castle, or something along those lines.

[Stofsk]

Quick question: a 'regional power' is something analogous to today's notion of a 'middle power'?

[Rogue 9]

Well, I would think that the term regional power would correspond to the term regional power, but I really hadn't given a whole lot of thought to comparing to modern international relations terms.

More seriously, yes, middle power would probably be about accurate, since regional power as used in modern diplomacy is a relative term.

[Charon]

Gonna be offline until about Sunday. Heading home for college break, no internet. Later.

[Agent Fisher]

Uh, I see that the OOB thread is up, but who is what power level?

[Rogue 9]

Working on that. I was going to work it out with Charon, but as you can see, there's problems with that. So I'm just going to have to rule on it. Give me a bit to make a decision; I've kind of gone through a lot of unexpected hassle over the last couple hours.

[Charon]

Alrighty then. We have come to a decision on the levels everybody is getting. Everybody who wanted a minor or regional, it's yours. Fisher, you're staying at regional. Nitram, you're not getting a grand power.

The lucky winner of the Grand power is....


Frigidmagi! Congratulations. If you don't want the Grand power, then let us know and we'll move on to one of our other (albeit limited) options.

Major powers are also pretty much set at this moment (Rogue, Myself, and Tortoise), though we might allow for one more.

Like I said before, anybody who asks for a regional or minor power is guaranteed to get it.

[Rogue 9]

Ben, if I may point out, this isn't D&D. You might want to either leave your mages' capabilities much more abstract than that or explain what you're on about, since not all of us are d20 players.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ben, if I may point out, this isn't D&D. You might want to either leave your mages' capabilities much more abstract than that or explain what you're on about, since not all of us are d20 players.

I figure most of the names are self explanatory. But I can do that easily enough.

[Rogue 9]

Spell immunity reads as meaning just that, and nobody but nobody gets total immunity to magic.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Spell immunity reads as meaning just that, and nobody but nobody gets total immunity to magic.

Alright. I will specify the spells that might be a bit confusing

[Hotfoot]

My advice would be simply to state the desired effects of your magic, with fancy names as subtitles.

[Charon]

Latest Map.

Alright. I've placed all the little piddling NPC states. They're in gray. Most of those (With the exception of our two giant NPC states) are not gonna be over 40 points, with most of them running around 30. All those black dots you see are powerful city/states, most of these (with the exception of that one in the far East that has it's own island) aren't gonna be over 15 points.

Mod niceness points can be achieved if you give us something in terms of a quick story behind an NPC kingdom and their forces that we like. Here's a quick run down. The two small ones in the East are peopled by Kainans. The one in the Rockies and just above Nitram are Dwarven, the other small ones are up for grabs.

[Rogue 9]

I should add that at least one of the ones in Mexico is a necropolis, because I intend to run one over at some point.

[Thirdfain]

Oy!

I'd be interested. I'll flesh this out later:

High Korlech

Stretching from the west coast of the Great Lakes to the borders of that dark blue empire on the western ocean coast, High Korlech is the only surviving state of the long-dead Mouldering Empire. In Korlech, the aristocracy achieves eternal life through necromancy, with wealthy young men and women snuffed, embalmed, and raised upon their reaching majority. The lower class consists largely of mass-produced zombie servants, with a significant class of living humans who are divided between the young, living breeders of the noble houses and an underclass which completes those tasks too sensitive for the animated working class and too menial for the aristocracy.

A Korlechi duke or marquess is not some horrific, wrinkled thing- they are carefully cleaned and painted, maintained carefully, their alabaster flesh perfumed and elegant. Glass eyes, artfully made and more beautiful than the originals, stare from once-empty sockets ringed in kohl. Body-cavities are stuffed with the finest silk and linen. High Korlechi society is elegant, honorable, and extremely arrogant. The Korlechi Immortals, the elite lich-army, consist of partially-embalmed volunteers, officered by the young sons of the Lords Embalmed of Korlech, who stand to gain full status and the benefits of the everlasting sorceries of the aristocracy if they serve well. They feel no pain and are taught to fight with the discipline of the dead legions of the Mouldered Empire. Animated auxiliaries storm the positions of the enemies, rotted corpses held barely mobile by simplistic contumancy, their ranks constantly swelled by the newly-dead, their sewn mouths rendering their brutal attacks completely silent.

Korlech places great stock in personal and national honor, and the word of one of the Lords Embalmed is as solid as stone and as everlasting. Even their magery is a thing of ordered ritual, spells and charms cast by silent, ever-moving priest-lords in the marble halls of the great necropolis of High Korlech.

In the bustling streets of Low Korlech, the "Flesh-town," humans and liveried animated mix and work, working the manufactories and operating the docks which serve the Central Sea. Vampir prostitutes solicit sailors, begging or worse for a taste of the precious substance to which they are addicted. It is the only place in the world where the vampir can walk un-molested at night, but here they are seen as helpless addicts to be pitied or ignored.

Many mornings, one can hear the pitied screams of a vampir chained out in the sun by the Guard for the crime of taking what may only be freely offered.

It is a strange, cold society, a land of shocking dichotomies, where death is a state to be treasured and sought after, life a mere form of social standing.

Hmmm, thoughts?

[frigidmagi]

Wait... Where the fuck are you? Cause if I'm reading right you dropped in a nation that streches from the great lakes to Rogue power... ON TOP OF MY NATION!

Here's the map, draw yourself in so I'm not so confused as I could have sworn I was west of the Great Lakes.

[Charon]

With the exception of the bigger gray NPC states, the rest can be moved around, so place wherever and I'll adjust for it.

[Thirdfain]

Actually, for some reason, that map is sideways on this computer. Korlech is between the SOUTH of the Great Lakes and that nation down near New Orleans.

[LadyTevar]

Actually, for some reason, that map is sideways on this computer. Korlech is between the SOUTH of the Great Lakes and that nation down near New Orleans.

Umm... It's sideways for a REASON, Fain.
Why don't you go back to the start of this thread and READ WHAT'S GOING ON before you join in, ok?

[frigidmagi]

Thridfain if I'm reading you right you just stuck yourself in a very crowded area, may I suggest you move north? There are a number of players that could use nieghbors in the norther part of the continent.

[Masterharper]

There are a number of players that could use nieghbors in the norther part of the continent.

Hateful lies!

I hear Mexico is nice this time of year.

[Stofsk]

I would like some entry-level gunpowder tech. I am prepared to pay at least -5 points out of my 80, and their use would be as rudimentary explosives (IE no cannons or rifles). I could pay more if that is required.

[Cynical Cat]

I would like some entry-level gunpowder tech. I am prepared to pay at least -5 points out of my 80, and their use would be as rudimentary explosives (IE no cannons or rifles). I could pay more if that is required.

Go with "alchemical explosives" (blatant steel from Malazan Empire) and pay points cost based on how well it performs as if you were buying cool magic stuff with similar properties.

[Masterharper]

I finished the NPC state that I wanted! It's over in the Baha Mexico region.
I also made a map, because it's territorial, and I was confusing myself with who was where.

Much more reasonable than plotting it in one's head.

Pardon any errors, also. It's three in the morning, and I was working on this because I'll have trouble getting to sleep, besides being tired.
So, I give you:

The White Hand of N'ohd

Government: Council (The Deadlords), Territorial rule.
Symbol: A bony hand clutching a scorpion's tail.
Location: What was Baha, Mexico.
Leaders: Pharoah Khaen, Lystok the Tormented, Count von Barlovich, Man-Monster Skarsch, and The Lich King of Angmar.
Exports: Salt, Finished pottery, clay, lumber.
Imports: Ivory, gemstones, prisoners.
Religion: The rites and rituals of the populous of this land are gruesome, horrific, and disgusting. They worship old dark gods, embodiments of the worst that humankind is capable of, and it is best left at that.

General:
The White Hand of N’ohd dates back two hundred and sixty-three years, when the Council of N’ohd declared it’s borders in what was once the Babba desert valley, on the western coast of the continent. The founding members of the council are still in power to this day. After several years of locals and natives attempting to overrun what had not yet been a hostile ‘land of the dead.’ The borders of the N’ohd lands were retracted to what they are today and two great walls were built of stark, yet rock-hard bone. Some say that the wall itself is, in reality, bone, and others suggest that the finest craftsmanship creates such an illusion. Neighbors to the nation are, however, superstitious, and avoid the parched borders of the land.

The lands themselves vary greatly: one detail threading them together: the maddening mist. The mist rises from the land, issues from the plants, rolls from the lake and sea, and pours from black holes in the ground. It never leaves the borders, seeming to be contained by either of the Bone Walls. The mist has a mind-affecting ability, bringing out the worst in individuals: violence, jealousy, etc. Those exposed to the mist for prolonged times invariably hear voices: begging them to ‘join us’ or ‘slay the betrayer’, even persuading some to take their own lives. Many men resist, in the immediate. But the madness claiming them is inevitable. Help is to be had, often magical in nature for some—but given enough time, there is no turning back. The mist itself has not been explained: some call it the dregs of souls, the invisible spirits of murderers and worse who were spewed forth from Hell itself; others claim the land has become cursed by the black rituals that populate the vale; still more suspect magic to be behind the supernatural force. Still, the ruins of the kingdoms that stood before, and the pull of glory draw the occasional brave thrill-seekers and treasure-hunters, many of whom disappear, or return…changed.

In the south, and especially southeast by the Saline Sea, the ground is dry as a bone. Even weeds and hardy desert plants are loath to grow in the grit and sand. Those that do are twisted and maligned looking. Windstorms cut across the land unpredictably, but never do they shift the mist, only the sand and dirt. The oldest ‘settlement’ is the Fortress of Ebon Bone, N’ohd’s in the central-southeast; its ruler is the Lich Angmar. In the far-southwest lies the worst of the desert, a wasteland ruled by Khaen the mummy. Count Barlovich, who also claims a small settlement and Castle Barlovich, controls the northeastern-most territory. In the center of N’ohd is a haunted coastal-forest controlled by a ghost known as Lystok. And the northeast central area is a swampy forest where Skarsch the man-monster dwells.

The Five:

Of Lichdom:
The first city built in the name of N’ohd was the Fortress city of Ebon Bone. It sits in the southeast of the country, within view of the distant Bony Wall. Seven Black spires rise above the necropolis, brooding above the Haunted Shoals of the dead and black Saline Sea—the inland body of water bordering the N’ohdian lands. The lich Angmar oversaw construction of this city and rules from his unholy libraries in the highest center spire. The lake is too shallow for any sort of boating at this point, and has become an almost blackish brackish mud several hundred feat beyond Ebon Bone. The self-styled ‘Lich King of Angmar’ tyrannically rules over his servitors with ruthless efficiency. Most of the products of Castle Angmar are clay: a resource in great abundance in the Lich King’s territory. Angmar’s troops consist mostly of skeletal archers, skeletal warriors, and skeletal mages capable of mass confusion and mind affecting magic: wielded wildly due to it not functioning on the grunts of the N’ohd army.

Ancient Evils:
In the southwest Pharaoh Khaen is king and ruler. His word issues forth from an ancient ruined pyramid, half buried in the desert sands, where undead slaves mine salt and build great stone monuments to Khaen. Khaen is powerful in his own right, able to bring about biblical curses upon his foes: swarms of locusts, lice, bodily sores, spoiling food, turning water to blood, drought, pestilence, leprosy, and even floods. His armies consist of the mummified remains of past followers: persistent undead that, given enough time, Khaen is able to reform once they wear down, or are destroyed, and time is one thing he has plenty of.

Misanthropy:
Lystok is different from the other Deadlords. The ghost haunts a verdant coastal forest: meaning either the desert, or the very forest is magical in nature, because where one begins, the other abruptly ends. She spends his time among the flowers, trees, and plants: all of which have a decidedly evil feel. Lystok was an evil druidic misanthrope in life, and refused to part with her beloved lands in death. It is a mystery at all that she works with the other members of the Council of N’ohd. Also: her actual location of operation is unknown, though many suspect her favorite haunt is the grove that she lived out her secluded life in, hidden somewhere in the forest. To defend her territory from outsiders, and perhaps even the other Deadlords, Lystok has twisted mobile plants, and a small contingent of spirits at her command.

Playing God:
Skarsch is most comparable to Frankenstein’s Monster. He dwells in various caves and similar structures throughout the swamps that make up The Flesh Swamp—named for Skarsch and his creations. Skarsch the Man-Monster is seven feet tall. The stitched together flesh of several men, a concoction of muscle, steel, and magic. His might is righteous and terrible, and his cunning is formidable. He spends his time in various laboratories, working with the corpse-waste that comes from Barlovich lands—his vampiric neighbor. There he labors to create lesser protégés of himself. Fleshstitched men and beasts. These make up his own personal and elite army: A horde of diseased, bloated, swamp-zombies, led by a monstrosity.

On Manipulation:
The Vampire Barlovich is a classic example. He wreaths himself in the mists as he travels the lands, and beyond the borders of the kingdom, searching for blood to feed upon. Barlovich imports prisoners, and keeps his own personal ‘cattle’ to feed on in the cellars of Castle Barlovich. Some of his favorites dwell within the small settlement of thatch-roofed cottages surrounding the village—all the worst criminals he could obtain, trapped and living their lives in madness and horror. Barlovich is fond of diplomacy, as well as mind games. He often ventures to Lystok’s forest, and spends hours in discourse with the ghostly druid; she holds no esteem for the vampire, he is tolerated, but never welcome. Castle Barlovich is built into the northern Bony Wall. He employs a similar army as the lich Angmar.


Military Costs
Armies: 35 points assumed.
Special Units:
Barlovich: Barlovich is a vampire, albeit a bit stronger than the average vampire. He maintains his aversion to water, as well as exposure to sunlight (though his end would not be instant.) Garlic, Mirrors, and Holy symbols or artifacts don’t seem to faze him. He is capable of mental domination of his enemies, employing confusion spells, taking the form of a bat, mist, or a wolf. He is capable of bestowing the curse of lycanthropy, and is an expert at political maneuvering. Barlovich is also extremely cunning and stealthy, but not much for combat beyond striking from the shadows, or controlling others.
1 Point

Skarsch: Skarsch is a monstrosity, in and out of combat. He delights in experimentation and prefers living subjects (though he’ll take what he can get). As a creation of magic, he is resistant to magic as well as most weaponry, though not immune. He is quite easily harmed by things designed to end him, however, and will retreat once encountering any device. Skarsch is incredibly strong, and quite capable of ripping a man’s arm directly from his still-living body. Because of his preference for living experiments, Skarsch uses a great large club as his weapon, or simply pummels his foe into unconsciousness. He has no magical abilities, beyond his strength and resilience.
1.5 Points

Lystok: Lystok is a powerful druid. Her abilities are tied to the land, and she has the maddened creatures of her forest at her beck and call while she is there. Lystok prefers to avoid fire spells, as they might damage her beloved plants. She generally avoids combat, wearing armies down from a distance with acidic rain, vermin plagues, and using impenetrable thorny growths to herd militants into deadfall traps. As a ghost, she enjoys the distinct advantage of being often undetectable by standard sentries. Wandering through enemy camps, listening in on the strategic meetings of leaders, and possessing men, animals, and equipment. She is capable of creating more potent effects, such as storms of real acid, instant deadfalls, possessing her foes, horrifying her enemies, and conjuring ghostly beasts (what some believe to have been her companions in life, bound to her soul to come when she calls.)
2 Points

Khaen: Khaen is fairly fond of old-style combat. He meets his foes on the field, unleashing all of his abilities in rapid succession (curses are detailed earlier under his kingdom.). If things begin to look sour, he retreats, letting the diseases, plagues, and curses do their work. In single combat he wields a scepter, whose touch bestows horrible disease and agony upon those it strikes, and he emanates an aura of terror.
1.5 Points

Angmar: Angmar is arguably as powerful as Lystok. He, however, has fewer of the reservations she does concerning destruction. Angmar wields a wide variety of potent necromantic spells, and considers himself a master of the art. He is capable of animating fresh corpses into new troops, on the spot (something that has come in turning the tide of a battle or two.), creating magical confusion in enemy troops, forcing multiple enemies to quite forcibly empty the contents of their stomachs, tiring enemies, sewing terror among the ranks of soldiers, draining life and strength from individual foes, withering the limbs of his foes, as well as killing the weak to take power for himself. In short, Angmar employs area spells, nearly all of which his skeletal minions are impervious to.
2 Points

The Bone Wall: 1 point. Simple cost for a large, thick, bony fortification.

The Mist: 1 point. Magical effect on the entire land.

Total Special cost: 10 Points.
Troops:
5 Points for each Deadlord.

Angmar’s Army:
4000 Skeletal Skirmishers. Undead. Hand axes. Effective against archers (Skeletons. Seriously.) Armed with hand axes.
2 Points.
1000 skeletal archers. Shortbowmen. Bows, hand axes, plus leather armor.
2 Points
500 Skeletal Mages: Confusion spells, fear spells, nauseating spells, able to heal and direct the skeletons. Armed with daggers.
1 point.

Lystok’s Forces:
250 Ghostly Possessors. Spirits capable of possessing foes and controlling their actions. 4 points.
2000 Vile Vines. Light infantry. Bloodthirsty plants.
1 point.

Khaen's Finest:
8000 of the Pharaoh’s Finest. Light infantry. Mummified men with short swords.
4 points.
1000 of the Pharaoh’s Advance: Shortbowmen with leather armor and daggers.
1 point.

Skarsch's Horrors:
3000 Zombies: Slow, cleaver wielding, shield having, disease-ridden, flesh eating, undead. Medium Infantry
4 points.
150 Heavy “Disease bringers.â€