New World Map
Equipment in the New WorldBayonet1d6 Piercing damage
Weight: 1 Pds
Cost: 1 Gold
Ext: Bayonets are sharp spear-points fixed to the front of a rifle. You can use the double-weapon action when fighting with a bayonet and a rifle butt.
Flintlock Pistol 1d10 Ballistic damage
Traits: Loading
Range: 30/90
Weight: 3 Pds
Cost: 250 Gold
Ext: A flintlock pistol foes 1d4 bludgeon is used as a melee weapon.
Flintlock Rifle1d12 Ballistic damage
Traits: Loading, Two Handed
Range: 40/120
Weight: 10 Pds
Cost: 500 Gold
Ext: A flintlock pistol foes 1d6 bludgeon is used as a melee weapon.
Roundballs (30)Weight: 2 Pds
Cost: 10 Gold
Gunpowder Horn (30)Weight: 2 Pds
Cost: 30 Gold
Cartridges (30)Weight: 2 Pds
Cost: 150 Gold
Note: Ballistic firearms are more powerful then any mundane weapon in history-and while the use of arcane magic is stronger in many ways, it only takes a month to train a boy to use a rifle and it takes many years of study for a Wizard to come into his prime. Ballistic weapons always have the advantage on damage rolls, so they tend to do very good damage. They also have an increased range of critical hit by +2. Of course, gunpowder and bullets aren't cheap, and some of the weapons you'll find on the frontier are certainly not up to imperial standards of craftsmanship. Weather and bad handling or just bad luck can also render a firearms completely useless-the art of swordplay is not entirely forgotten, at least for now.
There's two types of ammunition you can utilize a firearm-standard method is 'Roundballs' and a powder horn. This takes at least two full actions to completely load the weapon. Reloading during battle or adverse conditions increases the chance of a dangerous misfire.
Cartridges (high tech and pricy in this era) are new to warfare, combining both ball and powder. You can load and fire cartridges in a single move action, and open fire in the same round. Cartridges also tend to be much more reliable than the old ball and horn method.
GrenadeDc 12 DEX save, or 3d6 Fire Damage in 5ft radius explosion
Traits: Thrown
Range: 60ft
Weight: 1 Pds
Cost: 12.5 Gold
The World of NepathicaPantheonNepathia uses the early Greyhawk Pantheon, which is morally aligned, but neutral in regards to law and chaos.
Good GodsSt. Cuthbert
Pholtus
Heironeous
Ehlonna
Trithereon
Zagyg
Neutral GodsCelestian
Fharlanghn
Istus
Obad-hai
Boccob
Olidammara
Evil GodsHextor
Luz
Erythnul
Incabulos
Nerull
Ralishaz
Wastri
Other Deities
Garl Glittergold, the Goodly Deity of Gnomes.
The God King, the being Lizardfolk pray toward and obey-it's also something of a title that extends in a form to all those who unite the Lizardfolk people as a whole, a living deity if you will.
The Bird Eater-a member of the lesser known Pantheon called the 'Icons', who represent many different things. The Bird Eater is depicted as great, green-feathered winged woman-possibly mad, she hoards secrets and had an insatiable appetite for bird-meat of all kinds. Her chosen weapon is the longbow. Her symbol is three feathers. Totally stolen from Gigglemech, btw.
Night SkyNepathica has three moons that swirl in it's Heavens, but more than one is rarely seen at any time.
Ferringha, the Silver Brother, rides high in the sky of the Southern Hemisphere during the spring months-what we call December, January, February and March. It's particularly bright and beautiful, and is a hallmark of artistic beauty and a bearer of good luck-and useful for navigation, as he flies along the most predictable orbit. Ferringha is sometimes called the 'shy son'-he often appears early in the year and hides himself for the rest of it.
Jana, the Golden Daughter, zooms around the Northern Hemisphere during the late summer-June, July August and September. It's quick and seemingly swift movement are used by peoples the world over for fortune telling and sooth saying. Where Jana flies, doth men follow, so the saying goes...she also graces the Southern Hemisphere more often than not, but is almost never seen with her 'brother'.
Dia, the Copper Mother, is more rarely seen. She appears erratically, often on uncertain dates-in April, May, October and December. The largest of all celestial objects.
December is traditionally the only time all three objects are seen at once in a glorious dance, but this does not happen every year.
November, likewise, is the 'dark' month where none of them can be seen. November is usually associated with bad luck.
May is a truly unpredictable solar calender-Ferringha is most often alone in this month, but he can appear with Dia and Jana together-or just Dia, or most rarely, Jana alone-The Two Siblings meeting is said to be an event that heralds an age of peace and harmony. It's actually ended wars-entire armies have tossed down their swords and marched home at the sign. Dia and Jana can also appear on their own, or with the others. Or the worst omen of all, for none of them to appear...
In most legends, the sun itself is the 'Father' of the Heavens.
ZatoichinDTBD, but it's pretty much going to be Japan.
Spring EmpireFormerly, the Winter Empire-the lands that encompass this Northern realm are irrevocably tied into the lives of it's ruler-the reigning Elven Queen. When she should perish, the seasons change-from Autumn, to Winter, to Spring, to Summer. Given the many centuries Elves live, these seasons are usually quite lengthy...the land tends to go through similar phases in thousand years cycles. During the Spring, there is usually great prosperity and growth, and peace with their neighbors. Summer brings heat, and violence against those neighbors begins-usually these eras are marked with wars of expansion. The Autumn Era is outwardly peaceful, but plagued with interior problems-as the people grow complacent and rebellious toward their rulers. The Winter Era is the hardest, usually resulting in the Empire facing not only threats from invaders, but strife from within-combined with much other hardships.
The era of Spring has been the norm for some time in this land, with the people of Empire enjoying not only a time of peace and prosperity, but the overthrow of their former Elvish rulers. The Elven Queen now only holds a ceremonial title.
=Places=~Omlett: A large farming town of no particular significance, located on the Eastern border. Recently experienced an industrial boom due to great quantities of fertilizer being found in the ruins of the nearby Mountain Kalibrak.
+ + Kenku sign-language
`, ,`Thieves Cant
= =Orcish
% %Halfling
* * Mental
< > Draconic
~ ~ Elven
& & Infernal/Abyssal
^ ^Celestial
# #Giant
Y~ ~YDeep Speech
!! !!Ignan
(( ))Aquan
@ @Terran
{ }Auran
$ $ Dwarven
=Mordukar=
A metal that strongly resonates with divination magic, Mordukar acts a natural conduit for Wizards to better manipulate the ether flows of the arcane. Mordukar is typically made into amulets or pendants that improve the wielders divination abilities-or alternately, protecting them from hostile divination.
=Bonded Metal=
The art of bonding metal to living bone and pinion is nearly lost in this age, but in times before, it was the ultimate craftsmans tool. Steelfeather armor, one the creations, could be shaped into many ways that could mimic natural forms-in ancient times, Men could replace lost arms and legs, Kenku warriors used Steelfeather armor to construct living wings they rode into battle, and Lizardfolk augmented their tails and claws with living metal weapons they could manipulate as easy as their own limbs. The secret to bonding is not well known any longer-a great deal of conflict was fought over the concept of sacrificing the body of flesh for the strength of steel. What few Warforged are left in the world are largely composed of this material, and their existence was largely a product of those wars.
=Heartwire=
The true secret to Dwarf mail is not only their finely worked metal, but the Heartwire padding underneath-Heartwire is spun like thread from the essence of crusehd gemstones, resulting in a durable, yet still soft and comfortable sort of cloth. It is typically woven into mail, or worn as underarmor. Heartwire vests are typically not sold to outsiders.
=Reflectum=
Fondly known as 'reflect em' ', Reflectum is a springy, tough metal that is used in a wide variety of defensive armaments and tools. Reflectum is widely believed to the best material for arrow-catching shields, as thrown or fired objects (even magical bolts), have a tendency to veer away wildly, usually back at whoever fired them-or nearby unfortunately placed allies. Reflectum is rarely used in any weapons (a reflectum sword would likely behead the wielder on the return stroke) but has a special use in thrown weapons. Skilled users can learn to control Reflectums chaotic properties to bank weapons off walls and enemies, using it's light weight to catch them on the return. Reflectum is not a natural mineral, and the only ones mad enough to produce and use it are Gnomes.
=Silver=
A shiny, semi-precious metal, said to be seeded by the Gods with holy purpose. Some monsters that have immunity or resistance to nonmagical weapons are susceptible to these silver weapons, so cautious adventurers invest extra coin to plate their weapons with silver.
=Shadowstone=
Rock mined from the plains of elemental darkness, these small, ordinary looking pebbles harbor a unique ability to literally absorb light and sound. When fashioned into cloaks, or the lining of armor, they greatly enhance a wielders stealth abilities, and are prized even by ordinary soldiers and adventurer for their qualities.
=Jovian=
Said to be the material of the Gods, Jovian most typically falls from the sky in the form of Godly wraith-most Jovian is typically useless rock, but when treated with the proper rites it can be used to produce powerful divine artifacts. Jovian has many different guises, depending on which deity was called upon to bless it.
=Living Gold=
Normal gold is merely decorative, too soft to make proper armor-Living Gold is a rare material gathered from the pelts of certain creatures, such as the Aurumvorax. It has all the strength of proper iron, but is still beautiful to behold-additionally, it retains heavenly properties, acting as divine conduit-living gold weapons and armor are bane against the undead.
=Malebolge=
Said to be mined from the Hells themselves, Malebolge is a disturbing, quasi-living armor, one whose strength outstrips most mortal metals. It's unique function is it's nature, which allows it to establish a parasitic link with it's owner-Malebolgic weapons and armor constantly demand the blood of sentients to fuel their horrible power, and do not hesitate to feed on their users if not sated.
=Silverite=
Favored by the High Elves for it's aesthetic properties, Silverite is a special alloy of silver, copper, tin, and mithril. While this adds slightly more weight, the result in a beautiful material, that makes superb armor. It is famous for being resistant to wear and tear, and cleaning easily, never losing it's inner sheen-making it something of a status symbol for generals and rulers all over the world.
=Adamantine=
This rare metal is mined deep under Nepathica's surface-it's used for making superior armor and weapons, generally the heavier the better. Adamantine is renowned as being nearly unbreakable, and capable of piercing the most resilient hides. Adamant armor provides the user resistance against nearly all mundane weaponry.
=Darkwood=
Grown by the Wild Elven peoples the world over, Darkwood's exact composition is kept secret-the shaped wood is tougher than iron, unable to burn, and is much lighter, making it useful for the armor and weapons the Elves prefer.
=Mithril=
A pure, glistening metal often used for construction in artifacts-Mithril is strong as steel, yet light as silk. Mithril weapons are almost always edged or piercing. Mithril is semi-rare, and veins can even be found in some surface lands.
=Chaostone=
Universally reviled, Chaostone-also known as 'Viridum'-is a heavily toxic metal that can inflict terrible wounds, mutation, lingering agony, and death. It is generally used in edged or piercing weapons by those of a cruel demeanor. It's manufacture is generally only known to the Deep Races.
=Omenstone=
Omenstone-also known as 'Orderstone'-is a stone only found, seemingly, around Progenitor ruins. It seems that it was grown by the Progenitors in ways long lost to us, rather than occurred naturally. Omenstone is seemingly useless to all but the most clever, who have found it's ability to strike telling blows against the otherworldly Abominations that plague Napathica most useful.
=Progenitor Crystal=
Most of the Progenitor Races artifacts were made of this strange, blue crystalline material-also called 'Cryst'. It is comparable to the hardness of common stone, but it interacts with the arcane in different ways-crystal artifacts are nearly immune to magical effects, and have an additional benefit of confounding divination effects. Many warriors of high merit swear by Cryst shields and armor to defend themselves against hostile arcane effects. Crys, despite it's immunity, is paradoxically a very powerful energy source (it stores ambient arcane energy like a sponge), and useful for constructing powerful magical artifacts. The secret of it's construction was lost millennia ago with the vanishing of its creators.
Nepathica is a world essentially in what we consider our early industrial age, and as such, this game has a few difference from the standard fantasy edge. Gunpowder weapons are available at stock prices-they are powerful ranged weapons that do not yet totally outclass bows. Elemental powered steam engines are also common.
HumansThe undisputed race to benefit most from the advances of the Era are the Humans. From sunlight sea to winedark sea, they lead the way in nearly every category-so much that many humanoid races are slowly being absorbed by them.
DwarvesDwarves also heavily benefited from the advances, at least initially-their raw materials were needed in great numbers to feed the forges and engines of progress. Eventually, however, many of them found their new cosmopolitan natures to be slowly eroding their own cultural values, and some have difficulty even telling the difference between Dwarf and Human any longer. This slow death is not always a bitter one, but it is tragic...
Dwarves who come to the New World are few, but many are hardened explorers and pioneers who accept that perhaps they are the last true paragons of their species.
ElvesElves have suffered as a race, mostly due to the fact their domination of the realm of arcane is no longer a sure guard of their holdings. The power of the gunpowder has evened the battlefield-reduced them and made them more vulnerable-and many of their ancient kingdoms and realms have rapidly been overthrown by angry mobs of their subjects.
Many Elves find themselves fleeing to the New World just to escape, with no thought to destination or purpose.
HalflingsThe once agrarian Halflings have in many places found themselves forced into rural and city life, but they have adapted very quickly. Clever and quick, they've quickly managed to insinuate themselves into this era without losing their identities, like many others-in some cases, they've even managed to retain control of their lands over humans.
WarforgedIn this era, there are very more Warforged then ever-the secrets to their construction has been partially unraveled, and for good or bad, they walk the world once again in many varied new forms. There is some anger between 'old' Warforged-those who have lived centuries and were likely constructed in a far different manner-and the 'new' Warforged, composed of shining pressed steel and powerful steam engines, who come to replace them.
Given they are considered sentient, just as many have taken the opportunity to explore the far reaches of the maps, or been dispatched on missions across the length of the New Word.
The New World is just another step for a Halfling.
Areas of Note in the New WorldThe Island nation of Egrond is an Wild Elven league, composed of malcontents cast off from Higher Elven society-they came to the 'new world' looking for freedom...which they found, along with a great deal of danger. The islands they call home are constantly plagued by bloodthirsty monsters. They have little government to speak of, making them a valuable target for both these opportunist monsters, and wandering sellswords who deal with them. Fiercely independent, they can be mistrustful of outsiders, but are generally fair in their dealings.
Many clans, fiefs and districts are loosely joined into the Kingdom of Erias-an expanse of predominately Human settlers who have done nothing but grow in size and strength over the intervening years. Wholly independent, at least in spirit, Eriasians have claimed much more land then they can could actually occupy...and eventually, they did find something to stop them-vicious monsters of types none had encountered before, and eventually an upstart Orcish Kingdom at their doorstep...they are fond of hiring 'Fixers' to assist with their problems, and are known as being generous beyond their means-they frequently offer land and resource wealth, rather than hard coin, as they have plenty of the former and not so much of the latter.
They maintain a number of fortresses spread throughout their domain-Wakefast and Page Keep are notable, and two smaller fortresses named Fellspire and Priory. Enon and Losthall are both wrecked, destroyed in the early settler wars with the Orcs-yet still have numbers of soldiers who maintain the crumbling fortifications.
Carved out of a bloody furrow from formerly human lands thirty years ago, the 'Greenskins' (Men and Half-Orcs) of Norgar have a strong, but fluxing government that tends to change hands with the strongest. They have had occasional wars with their neighbors, and the borders are often an ugly place-with many attacks being launched from either side under cover of 'banditry'. Despite their reputation, they still do business with mercenaries, to deal with their own problems. Working for Norgarans can be very profitable, as long as you don't get mixed up in their 'politics'...
This game is essentially a sandbox, with players competing to achieve the most wealth and adventure experience before their death, or retirement. A score (your level, times total wealth held and in equipment with additional numerical bonuses based on how well you achieve your story goal) will be put onto a high score list, rating you with other players. Retiring without achieving your 'story goal', or tragically dying, will halve your score.
Unlike other campaigns, you do not technically have to work with any other players to achieve your goals (thought they are not strangers to you at the beginning of the game, and you may even set up a shared backstory), though no secret actions are allowed, and your location cannot be actively hidden from others-so open hostility will likely be met with failure, unless it's very well planned.
Likewise, expect the game to play a bit differently than usual-some encounters may be clearly impossible for you to win, though this will never be completely unexpected. There's no plot armor here...
All players have an additional goal that only they can achieve to 'win' the game, or at least score more points-this is based on your backstory. This optional goal will at minimum be achievable by level 10, and while you can attempt a mission before then, the difficulty of your 'story' encounters will always scale upwards with your current level, or the average level of your party.
This game is further unique in that your food/water consumption, inventory, ammunition, and encumberance are all tracked-you have to plan well before heading out into the wild. You'll find many monsters and threats in the new world are much different than you expect, as well...knowledge checks will provide less reliable information, and will have to be supplemented by observation and gathering information from the locals.
=Quick info on Survival in the New World=The average person needs a gallon of water and a pound of food a day to live to normal climates.
Most of the time, you won't have to actively hunt for water or forage for food-you'll automatically refill your stocks if the opportunity arises, without having to directly state so-I'll give you the occasional WIS check to indicate safely foraging for food and searching for water during your rests. Being proficient on the nature or survival skills also lets you have a chance of identifying and collecting useful herbs.
If you don't have any luck, you'll take food and water from your inventory. I'll warn you if your character is starting to run out. You may wish to take a more direct role, of course, hunting for larger game (which can be dangerous) and finding sources of clean water that do not rely on the whims of rolls.
This rule is also in effect.
Variant: EncumbranceIf you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet. If you carry weight in excess of 10 times your Strength score, up to your maximum carrying capacity, you are instead heavily encumbered, which means your speed drops by 20 feet and you have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws that use Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution.
I should note that it is not easy to drop all your gear in the middle of battle. It will take at least a full, uninterrupted turn to shed yourself of all heavy bags. If you're targeted directly by a threat, you can't unburden yourself.
New World Knowledge ChecksThese work differently in my game than normal-essentially, none of your characters can actually have much in the way of pre-knowledge of many of the things you face in the new world, though of course there are still monsters that you are familiar with.
Thus, knowledge checks against 'new world' creatures work in the following way.
-You have to spend some time studying your target. There is no instant recollection of all the facts when facing something that has never been formally studied. This is done in your downtime-going through books of lore, chatting up the locals for rumors, studying the monsters corpse, or even a live version of it you captured. This can take many different rolls, but every point you gain gains you more understanding, but every way can only offer so many points-essentially, you'll only get one roll from a single source at a time, and will require new sources of information to gain more knowledge.
The following numbers, added to the creatures DC, are what you need to unlock knowledge about it. Every roll adds to the amount over time.
DC 20 tells you the "name" on the creature and its type (Abberation, Outsider, etc.) If this is a version of an monster that was familiar in the old world (like a common Troll) you'll identify it and gain full knowledge. Otherwise...
DC 25 gives you its ability scores, strongest attack, and its weakest save. You learn of it's special abilities, but not their exact effect or how to neutralize them.
DC 30 gives you any resistances or vulnerabilities, and a ballpark for HP (under 50, under 100, under 200). You'll learn some useful tricks to defeat it and counter it's abilities.
DC 40+ gives the whole stat block. You'll finally learn many details of how it lives, breeds, hunts and perceives the world.
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Topic: D&D 5e: Braving The New World OOC (Chucked into firepit) (Read 28836 times)