In honour of the release of DF 0.31, as well as Christ's entry into Jerusalem, I present to you:
Turn 3SpeciesAzthorWith the completion of The Judge's campaign of genocide, the Bangellian Devourer became the dominant lifeform on the plains; an observer in Devourer territory would most likely see nothing but whitish blobs from horizon to horizon, silently eating whatever lay beneath them. Quite literally, in fact: the Hivemind, in its singleminded desire to grow larger, had learned to eat rocks and dirt. Consequently, the Devourers no longer needed to seek out living things to eat, and famine was, at least for the present, averted.
While The Judge had certainly been very thorough in his intervention, even he could not destroy every last creature in the ecosystem that was hostile to the Devourers. In particular, the areas only recently settled still contained significant numbers of predators. The Hivemind, however, was no longer defenceless. It had been building up its psychic powers for a thousand years, and it was shortly after the Genocide that the full force of the Hivemind's will was exerted for the first time.
A few years after the plains grew quiet again, a feeling began to permeate the air. At first, the other wildlife noticed nothing beyond a faint pressure at the edge of their thoughts. As time went on, though, the air became heavier, and thinking clearly became harder.
A few animals lucky enough to work out what was happening in time ran as far and as fast as they possibly could, desperately searching for a place free of Devourers. A few even made it: some into the swamp, some far into the mountains, some launching themselves out to sea. Those in the latter category inevitably drowned before they reached land, but they were arguably better off than those who remained.
The pressure around the Devourers built and built until it seemed almost tangible, encapsulating weaker minds and overwhelming them. Some of the plains-dwellers carried on with their lives doggedly, only occasionally falling to their knees and moaning. Some keeled over and did not rise again, eyes and mouths wide open, breathing in slow, laboured gasps. Some stopped moving entirely, standing stock-still even as their bodies began to fail, and some went insane, attacking everything they could see until they died of exhaustion. Most, though, had their willpower pushed cleanly out of their minds, leaving them as puppets for the Hivemind to direct as it pleased.
It was an ignominious end for the once-proud creatures of the plains, and a landmark moment in Devourer history.
EventsAll creatures in the vicinity except the Devourers have their minds destroyed.
The Devourers start eating dirt.
New TraitChemolithotrophy 6 (12 EP): The Devourers have evolved, influenced by the Hivemind, to be able to obtain sustenance from inorganic substances, foremost among them being mineral substracts.
kaian-a-coelIn the city of Suriloy, heart of the Empire, the venerable Mazza’kaza addressed the High Council. Despite his age, his speech was impassioned, fiery; he spoke and argued with more intensity than any other in the Council, and as a war hero and patriarch of the Kazanag dynasty his skilled oration was backed by more than just words.
Almost to the exclusion of all else, his speeches focused on the Devourer presence to the south. He claimed that their encroachment would not stop at the edges of the Empire; if given the chance, they would overrun and destroy every last Crymit.
He asserted that the Empire had only one recourse: that they teach the blobs a lesson and scare them away, much as they had done with the Zjelldursin. He requested that the Council institute a draft, and grant him an army with which to drive off the Devourer menace.
The fate of millions hung on the Council’s decision.
EventsThe Crymitian Empire continues to expand.
Mazza'kaza, backed up by a hawkish faction of Senators, calls for war.
New TraitPolitical Organisation 3 (4 EP): Negotiation and debate are so pervasive in Imperial society that all Emperors are proficient in politics to some degree.
New TechnologyAnimal Husbandry, Advanced: Having domesticated the Adrugerohj, the Crymits have developed and refined the process of taming local wildlife.
Design (Communicator): A gift from Draiotch, these blue crystals allow quick long-distance communication.
Design (Encrypted Record): With Omoloth's help, the Crymits have gained the ability to create orange crystals which can theoretically contain vast amounts of information and can only be read by an Emperor.
Infrastructure (Transportation): Mastery of this science ensures that all roads lead to the Crymitian Empire, as well as all bridges and passages.
Writing: The ability to transcribe a language onto a physical medium. While not especially impressive on the surface, the ability to record data and pass on ideas is vital to a society that wishes to move beyond scratching at the dirt.
Poltifar/kaian-a-coelThe Zjelldursin hiding in the mountains was outnumbered. It was dimly aware of this fact, but it did not and could not comprehend the sheer size of the Crymit nation. Untold millions of them resided in the mountains, and every one was fully aware of it and the threat it posed. With the odds stacked against it so, one would think that it would be found and killed in short order. It was not.
When it wanted to be, the Zjelldursin was completely undetectable. It could sense a Crymit colony through several hundred metres of solid rock, and even the most skilled and experienced crew of Crymit labourers could not hope to match its tunnelling speed. It was fully aware of these facts, and so it was free to indulge its curiosity about Crymit society.
As the centuries came and went, it listened to the Crymits moving through the caverns, on occasion popping up to look around when the opportunity presented itself. On multiple occasions, simple bad luck resulted in it being detected, but when that happened it would simply leave the area.
In time, its explorations revealed that in the city of Odreploy there were vaults containing vast numbers of red and blue crystals, gemstones and precious metals. The Zjelldursin coveted all these things, and could not resist attempting to devour them. Still wary of the Crymits, it took every precaution. For months it listened to the sounds of Odreploy, attempting to ascertain when the vaults would be unattended.
At last, it burst through the cavern floor and devoured the contents of a vault before disappearing completely. A few unlucky commoners happened to be present, and, although they were beneath its attention, they ended up crushed under the monster's weight. By some twist of fate, they managed to survive, and reported hearing a whisper from the Zjelldursin, a clue to its true nature:
"Nightshade is shadows in all honest blinks that sort through the bile of newborn plagues, instant warmth is a mother's milk in dreams before anything was ever evil."
Pleased with the new carapace it had plundered, the Zjelldursin settled down into the bedrock and began to dream.
Grek'The Living City is born of the deep! Spread, so that It may follow!'
For over a thousand years, the Calx had been a sedentary species, expanding their reef slightly over the course of decades but never expanding in the manner of the Devourers or the Crymits. This stagnation was eventually brought to a very abrupt halt by the influence of Niklas, and in particular the Calx's belief that he resided above the waves.
With the Calx having become able to breathe air and broadcast their thoughts over thousands of kilometres, they collectively decided that by reaching upwards above the waves and singing to the heavens, they could contact their god. Calx'yleth rose above the water, but a single group of spires was not enough; there was no response to their call but an order to build more. And thus, as one, the corals spread outward, building towers as they went.
They spread from coast to coast to sunless precipice, even creeping onto the swamps to sink their reefs into the mud. And if, in the swamps, they noticed heavily-built, brownish-grey creatures moving with more purpose than any beast, they paid them no mind. Their focus was on the skies.
EventsThe reef expands rapidly, leaving the Calx thinly-spread but in command of huge tracts of ocean.
Towers of coral reach above the waves, broadcasting prayers to Niklas.
The Calx become true amphibians, able to breathe air and water.
Refining their ability to sing, the Calx gain the ability to transmit information from one side of the kingdom to another in minutes.
New TraitAmphibiousness (16 EP): The Calx have become near-perfect amphibians, able to breathe both air and water. However, they are far less mobile on dry land.
Poltifar/Grek/DraiotchAs the Reef Titan wandered through the reefs and word spread among the Calx of its presence, a number of juveniles decided on a somewhat unorthodox place to settle down. They entered the sessile stage of their life-cycle on the Titan itself, which was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Calx coral was far more protective than simple rock due to the curse it held, and the Titan gave the Calx mobility and protection from divine interference – though the latter was irrelevant in the deeper ocean, where no gods held sway.
As they travelled the ocean floor, they sang to one another. Neither party had any inkling what the other was saying, of course, but they were each comforted by the other's presence. Moreover, while there could be no proper communication, the Titan's instincts made it vaguely aware of the desires of its riders; it sought clouds of muhwa and avoided moving too far beneath the surface, in consideration for their needs.
Inevitably, the Titan and its companions encountered Draiotch's door, which the Calx were eager to enter. While there was no question of entry being gained legitimately, the Titan's ability to block divine influence made it possible to slowly chew through the door and gain entry to the hallowed halls of the Praeclusium.
They did not remain long. The Calx did not normally fear the unknown, but on a primal level they understood what this place was, and an unknown god was not something to be trifled with; the Titan's thoughts ran along similar lines. While it was not precisely an uncomfortable place to be, the Praeclusium gave them both the feeling that they were being watched intently by something which could attack them at a moment's notice.
They left and resumed their wanderings, the door quickly restoring itself behind them. The two were silent for a time before they began singing again, but they eventually spread the word of the strange door throughout the kingdom.
RulerOfNothingAfter having invented agriculture, one might have expected the Retha to settle down and build up their burgeoning civilization for at least a little while. While this was true of some of them, a great many would not stay in the old swamps, instead travelling outward to seek new lands. This tendency would inevitably lead to them reaching the end of the swamps.
They found the sea to the southeast, where the murky waters turned salty, where rocks grew like plants and where the ground eventually terminated at the edge of a seemingly-endless body of water.
And they found the plains to the northwest and southwest, where unpleasant-looking blobs roamed and there was very little water. Luckily for them, they collectively decided not to settle near the blobs, thereby avoiding the monstrous outpouring of psychic power that was sweeping the plains.
EventsRetha reach the edges of the swamp, encountering the Calx.
New TraitDiplomacy 3 (4 EP): The need for intertribal negotiations has resulted in a general improvement in Retha diplomatic skills.
New TechnologyAgriculture, Basic: This technology grants the ability to grow food, resulting in a stable food supply and removing the need to gather plants in the wild. In addition to providing another source of food, the technology of Agriculture frees the Retha hunter-gatherers to focus on other pursuits.
Fishing: Proper use of tools allows exploitation of water-based food resources without the need for great physical prowess.
Fire-making: Mastery of fire is an important step on the path to enlightenment, and has countless applications in the struggle for survival.
Advanced Crafting (Plants): With their bare hands and simple stone tools, the Retha can craft nets, baskets, wooden implements and so on from materials harvested in the swamps. In a pinch, wooden weapons such as clubs and staves and spears can also be made. With effort, large constructions such as canoes are possible.
Herblore, Swamp: Knowledge of plants in the swamp, including which ones are edible, which ones can be used for remedies, and which ones can be used for poisons.
DescriptionName: N/A (Have not achieved the sentience required to name themselves yet, other races are free to call them whatever they want)
Outline:
Large and long-lived amoeba-like beings that normally bide their time hidden underground or in caves. They have not achieved full sentience and consciousness of self, but have a primal cunning and wisdom that should not be underestimated.
Breeding Factor: 1 (1 EP) [asexual reproduction]
Multiplier: 1/10,000
Physiological Traits
Amoeba Body 5 (9 EP)
The body is mostly homogeneous and hard to permanently maim without literally hacking it to pieces.
Mineral Consumption 4 (6 EP)
Consumes mineral and metal based matter to sustain itself. The purer and rarer, the better.
Mineral Hide 5 (9 EP)
The amoeba body is normally very soft, but the creature can attach pieces of rock, ore, and metal to its body to create a thick and sturdy hide. It's hide's composition can hint at it's age and preferred habitat.
Kinetic Shot 4 (6 EP)
Can eject pieces of its mineral hide at great speeds and moderate accuracy (the accuracy gets better if it can see its target with its eye).
Pseudopod 2 (2 EP)
Can create crude protrusions from it's body to push and pull stuff around, push or pull itself around, or smash nearby stuff. Not very dextrous, though.
Burrowing 4 (6 EP)
Can dig through natural ground, with a speed dependent on the soil/rock's hardness.
Tremorsense 4 (6 EP)
Can detect vibrations in the ground around it, and to a lesser extent the air around it. Not precise enough for it to understand complex sounds such as speech, though.
Gem Eye 2 (2 EP)
Has a single eye made of a complex arrangement of crystals. The eye's radius is 1/20th the creature's radius. Can be retracted deep in the body for safety, or placed on the fringes to be able to see. It does not see very well, though, and constitutes a weakspot when on the surface of the body.
Supernatural Traits
Prismatic Embrace 5 (9 EP)
Any creature capable of vision that sees the amoeba's gem eye has a hard time doing anything but staring transfixed at the prismatic and constantly morphing hues of the gem.
Wisdom of Aeons 7 (16 EP)
The creature has a mystical wisdom and cunning that is quite enigmatic to any other sentient, mostly because it is not wisdom that comes from knowledge acquired by a sentient thought process, but more of a primal wisdom of nature befitting the not-quite-sentient force of nature that the blob is. Even then, the creature can show curiosity to knowledge it might or might not have, though like a cat batting at a ball and chasing after it, it might never actually understand what it toys with.
Will of the Mountains 7 (16 EP)
The Gem Eye radiates a powerful aura that negates supernatural powers. The aura is most powerful by far at the eye itself, practically negating any lesser power and reducing even godly abilities. The aura's strength declines until it reaches its minimum a few dozen centimeters outside the blob's outer covering.
Whispers from the Deep 2 (2 EP)
The blob has a very weak telepathic ability to communicate with creatures within a few meters of its outside shell. The telepathic whispers only come rarely, though, and even then are quite faint even if you are expecting them. And don't expect to make much sense of what you do hear from the whispers.
Special Traits
Age-Immortal (5 EP)
Does not die from old age
Constant Growth (2 EP)
Grows constantly as long as it is alive, at a rate of 25m^3 of volume per year. (Its diameter would be: ~4m at 1 year, ~8m at 10 years, ~17m at 100 years, ~36m at 1000 years...)
Uncivilized (0 EP bonus)
Can not learn civil and technological traits, or form a proper organized society. The EP bonus increases as time passes, considering how all the civilized races get farther ahead.
Weakspot (9 EP bonus)
The creature's gem eye is it's weakspot. Completely destroying the eye is fatal to the creature, and even minor damage to the eye can at the least be extremely painful. The best weapon type to use against it is probably a shattering weapon, due to its mineral/crystal nature, though that's up to the races to find out through trial and error
Status
The Bangellian Devourers currently have a total biomass of 748 kilotons, spread over 61 hexes and an ever-shifting, incomprehensibly numerous collection of blobs. Many of these blobs have been tainted by The Uncleansed's touch.
Deities with voices in the hive mind include Draiotch, The Judge, Niklas, and The Uncleansed.
Description
Outline: A small and extremely omnivorous psionic white blob.
Breeding Factor: 9 (45 EP): bipartition\regeneration.
Multiplying Factor: N/A
Physiological traits
Chemolithotrophy 6 (12 EP): The Devourers have evolved, influenced by the Hivemind, to be able to obtain sustenance from inorganic substances, foremost among them being mineral substracts.
Corrosive Fluids: 3 (4 EP): the creature has an internal sack filled with extremely corrosive liquid, which can spewed to outwardly digest any sort of matter, after which the creatue will try and absorb and nutrients left in the fluid. Should the creature be damaged beyond its regeneratve potential, all of the sack's contents are blown into the immediate area, allowing for its kin to incorporate its remains.
Regeneration: 3 (4 EP): An extreme form of fast healing based on the creature's ability to breed through bipartition.
Civil traits: None.
Supernatural traits
Psionic Hivemind: 3 (4 EP): the scattered individuals can form a psionic network through which to manipulate the world around them. How powerful an effect can be generated by this depends primarily on the number of individuals in the area.
Special traits
Psionic Manipulation (20 EP): As the Devourers encroach on an area, the will of the Hivemind begins to saturate the local environment to such a degree as to affect reality itself. For every hundred kilotons of Devourer biomass present in the world, the Hivemind can muster an additional Power Point with which to exert its will in the vicinity of any significant concentration of Devourers. Thanks to Draiotch's intervention, these Power Points can also be used for limited elemental magic.
Technologies: None.
Status
The Calx currently form a great coral reef that stretches over 27 water hexes, and extends onto six land hexes. The reef includes a number of spires which act as temples to Niklas
The waters in the vicinity range from being just below sea level to around one thousand metres deep, and are home to a variety of marine life. The reef contains roughly 2.8 million individuals.
Niklas is the only god known to them.
Description
The calx coral is an aquatic, metamorphic*, hermatypic**, magical cnidarian*** notable for being both eerily beautiful and horrifically dangerous. It has a Breeding Factor of 3(6 EP) and a Multiplying Factor of 1 and the following notable traits:
Physiological Traits
Arboreal - 6 (12 EP): The adult calx coral is both sessile**** and photosynthetic, forming eerie forests of tree-like coral beneath the waves.
Metamorphic - 6 (12 EP): Like many primitive cnidarians, this species has a pelagic***** larval stage resembling a small, peach-sized jellyfish that settles down into a sessile adult stage later in life.
Hermatypic - 7 (16 EP): Calx coral are hermatypic: in death, their exoskeletons build up to form tall reefs that shelter and feed the next generation.
Singing 8 (20 EP): The Calx can emit radio waves in order to communicate with one another in silence. Were these emissions audible, they would form a melody both eerie and beautiful.
Having developed an extremely fine level of control over this ability, hundreds of Calx can transmit messages from one side of the kingdom to the other without drowning each other out.
Supernatual Traits
Cursed - 6 (12 EP): To intentionally break even so much as a branch from a calx coral is to suffer a terrible bone-withering curse.
Special Traits
Amphibiousness (16 EP): The Calx have become near-perfect amphibians, able to breathe both air and water. However, they are far less mobile on dry land.
* i.e. it changes form during its life cycle, much like a frog.
** Forms reefs by depositing minerals.
*** A group of animals that consists mainly of corals, jellyfish and sea anemones.
**** Doesn't move.
***** Swims in the open ocean.
Status
In total, there are roughly 5.5 billion Crymits and 550000 Emperors in the world at present, all of which are distributed in a vast system of underground tunnels beneath the northern mountains. Major hive-cities include Suriloy, Krakaloy and Odreploy, with Suriloy being the capital.
The Crymit pantheon is comprised of three deities: Omoloth, Niklas and Draiotch. Suriloy is host to the Monolith of Omoloth, while Odreploy contains a portal to Draiotch's Praeclusium.
Description
Name: Crymits
adjective: Crymitian
Description: This species is divided between two major forms.
-The first, very numerous, is a head-sized crab-like creature, with a soft, red-glowing body, and a red gem-looking conic carapace. It has eight legs. Its head have ten tentacles of various size, four equipped with various tools, from spikes to claws or simply prehensile sub-tentacles, and the six others being used for eating purposes. Note that all crymits don't have the same set of tentacles tools. Some may be soldiers, with claws and stings, when workers will have digging and prehensile tentacles.
-The second form, very rare, is strangely humanoid. These powerful individuals are the heads of the Crymitian civilisation, their "emperors" and "empress". They mostly look like skinny humans made of the same red, glowing "jelly" that compose the crymits' body, with some kind of strange carapace armor (red gem-looking, like the others). Although they can expose a beautiful face, they prefer hiding it under a perfectly smooth gem-like mask. Very intelligents, they all show powerful capacities. Most of them are solitaries.
-Both of these forms live deeply underground, inside eerie caverns they dug, and eat whatever they find: fungus, insects, mammals, etc...
-Note: "Crymits" can refer either to the whole civilisation or only the crab-like form. The others are called "Emperors".
Breeding factor: 4 (10EP)
Multiplying factor: 1000 - 1/10
Physiological traits:
Shell 3 (4EP): The crymits bear a red gem-looking carapace, making them look like hermit crabs. The look is deceiving: The carapace is no way as resistant as diamond. But it's still protective.
Digging 5 (9EP): Thanks to claw tentacles, crymits can dig huge tunnels in no time.
Prehensile tentacles/arms 2 (2EP): The crymits can grab objects, for handling debris from digging activities or transporting tools or objects for the Emperors. The Emperors themselves have human arms and hands.
Weaponized tentacles 4 (6EP): Various stings-, claws- and spikes-tentacles can cause sever wounds to intruders. Some even have blunt weapons, but it's uncommon.
Legs 6 (12EP): Of course it walk on something. And it can walk on walls and ceilings just like spiders. Assuming it's rough enough (it can't walk on glass walls). Emperors walk the same way as humans.
Crystal growing 1 (1EP): Through secretions, Crymits can grow red-glowing crystals inside the "hive".
Supernatural traits:
Magic Vision 3 (4EP): They have eyes, but they don't see in visible light, but in the magic spectrum, allowing them to see races and individuals with magic potential, magic spots and objects, etc.
Mind Hive 2 (2EP): The Crymits communicate through hissing and rattling, but also through limited telepathy. Emperors are of course far more powerful.
Magic Affinity 3 (4EP): The Emperors are powerful magicians, and instinctively master magics of earth and mind.
Civil traits:
Keen intelligence 3 (4EP) Crymitian Emperors are known for their superhuman intellect, which allow them to govern the whole crymitian race (hence the term "emperors").
Architectural Mastery 1 (1EP): The unfaltering dedication and superhuman coordination of Crymit workers makes them ideally suited to large-scale construction.
Political Organisation 3 (4 EP): Negotiation and debate are so pervasive in Imperial society that all Emperors are proficient in politics to some degree.
Technologies:
Ambush, Basic (Theoretical): The study of attacking an advancing enemy force at a vulnerable point. The Crymits have no practical experience with this technology, meaning that they will not be able to utilize it to full effect.
Animal Husbandry, Advanced: Having domesticated the Adrugerohj, the Crymits have developed and refined the process of taming local wildlife.
Design (Communicator): A gift from Draiotch, these blue crystals allow quick long-distance communication.
Design (Encrypted Record): With Omoloth's help, the Crymits have gained the ability to create orange crystals which can theoretically contain vast amounts of information and can only be read by an Emperor.
Infrastructure (Transportation): Mastery of this science ensures that all roads lead to the Crymitian Empire, as well as all bridges and passages.
Writing: The ability to transcribe a language onto a physical medium. While not especially impressive on the surface, the ability to record data and pass on ideas is vital to a society that wishes to move beyond scratching at the dirt.
Status
There are currently about four million Retha in the world. All reside within the vast swamp created by the river's delta.
They are primarily followers of Omoloth, although Niklas has a small, scattered following. There are also several fringe cults dedicated to The Uncleansed on the western edges of Retha territory.
Description
Name: Singular - Reth, Plural - Retha, Adjective - Retha
Description: Robustly built quadripedal aquatic rodent about 1.3m tall, with a thick coat of brown-grey fur.
Breeding Factor: 2 (for 3 EP)
Population Multiplier: 1.25
Physiological traits
Limbs 6: 12EP
A Reth has four legs which allow it to move quickly on land and in water. It also is capable of standing up on its rear legs, but cannot move quickly or effectively while it is doing so. The front paws also double as somewhat dextrous hands, so the Retha can interact with their environment in an advanced fashion.
Fur coat 4: 6EP
A Reth has a fur coat which mostly protects the Reth from losing too much heat to the surroundings (especially in aquatic environments). It also protects the Reth from blunt-force trauma, to a moderate extent.
Keen vision 6: 12EP
While somewhat lacking in colour vision, Retha vision is rather good, especially in low-light conditions.
Acute hearing 6: 12EP
The Retha have rather good hearing, and a good capacity to determine the direction of sound sources.
Semi-Amphibious 4: 6EP
A Reth can stay underwater for a considerable amount of time
Civil traits
Communication 4: 6EP
The Retha languages are relatively complex, but a bit lacking in their ability to describe abstract ideas.
Diplomacy 3 (4 EP): The need for intertribal negotiations has resulted in a general improvement in Retha diplomatic skills.
Tribalism 5: (9 EP) The Retha are not solitary creatures: they coordinate their efforts to a degree, sharing resources and pooling labour to make life easier for all.
Technologies
Agriculture, Simple: This technology grants the ability to grow food, resulting in a stable food supply and removing the need to gather plants in the wild. In addition to providing another source of food, the technology of Agriculture frees the Retha to focus on other pursuits.
Construction, Primitive: The knowledge required to build small structures from mud brick, wattle and daub, sticks, timber, animal hide and the like. This technology is sufficient to grant shelter from the elements in most situations, and allows the building of permanent or semipermanent encampments.
Advanced Crafting (Plants): With their bare hands and simple stone tools, the Retha can craft nets, baskets, wooden implements and so on from materials harvested in the swamps. In a pinch, wooden weapons such as clubs and staves and spears can also be made. With effort, large constructions such as canoes are possible.
Fire-making: Mastery of fire is an important step on the path to enlightenment, and has countless applications in the struggle for survival.
Fishing: Proper use of tools allows exploitation of water-based food resources without the need for great physical prowess.
Toolmaking, Primitive: Sticks, stones and sinew can be turned to a variety of uses, with the proper skills.
Herblore, Swamp: Knowledge of plants in the swamplands, including which ones are edible, which ones can be used for remedies and which ones can be used for poisons.
You grant the blessing of literacy to the Crymitian Emperors. Despite their vaunted intellect, they are not fully aware of the ramifications this will eventually have, but the seeds of an intellectual revolution have been sown.
Your minor blessing in the swamps strengthens the collective ties the Retha have toward you. Again, while there is little change for now, the new caste system will have far-reaching implications in future.
SinpwnTransferring the Praeclusium out of this reality, you create three more entrances across the world, turning it into an interspecies crossroads.
None have entered it legitimately yet but the most enlightened Emperors, but in the far southeast the Reef Titan demonstrates that entry can be forced if the wards on it can be overwhelmed.
freeformschoolerYou encourage the your followers to increase their size, gathering biomass into larger and larger blobs. This makes them more difficult to prey on, but also decreases the amount of ground they are able to cover. Expansion slows among your followers, but they can no longer be considered prey.
This doesn't have much of an effect, given that the Hivemind is now able to defend itself and there isn't much hostile life left anyway.
CriptfeindWith the Hivemind now able to hold a proper conversation with you, you negotiate a settlement with it and your schismatic followers rejoin the collective consciousness. Your influence spreads throughout the greater Hivemind, and a tradition of dualistic worship springs up. You and The Judge are now both regarded as icons of worship by the Hivemind.
Further east, you inspire the Retha cultists to spread, and their influence expands to cover much of the western part of the swamps.
mcclayYour directive to build more temples is followed with such enthusiasm as to be almost frightening. Towers of coral singing your praises now cover most of the southeastern sea, and construction shows no sign of stopping.
As usual, your forays onto dry land meet with somewhat less success. Nonetheless, they are encouraging, as the Crymits include you as a full member of their pantheon and your voice among the Retha and the Devourers grows stronger.
Domain: Fear, Eldritch Horrorterrors, Bravery
Niklas is the god of fear and the things beyond. Most people would think that Niklas is a malvolent god, spreading fear and sadness in his wake, this is not the case. True he is the god of fear and things like that but he charishes those brave enough to stand up to fear. These few souls he takes in as his champions, spreading the word about their dark and shadowy god.
Worshippers: Small numbers scattered in all inhabited areas, amounting to 10 casual Devourers, 20 casual Retha, and 20 casual Crymits. 128.6 casual Calx worshippers.
One temple among the Calx, plus spires scattered everywhere.
Divine Power: 947 (+204/Century)
Domain: Craftsmanship, artistry, labour, research.
Omoloth is a relatively old god who over his long existence has taken a liking to the works of mortal creatures. He's intrigued by all the work these simple creatures put into their craft, their minds, or their words. He is often depicted by his worshippers as either a giant labourer wreathed in bronze, or an aristocratic looking patron. Other depictions of him are somewhat common. His symbol differs in every culture and social class, but a crossed hammer and quill is universally known as his.
Worshippers: 95 casual Retha, 132 casual Crymits in the mountains.
Two Obelisks. One temple in Suriloy.
Divine Power: 945 (+227/Century)
Domain: Magic, Secrets, Greed/Generosity
Draiotch is the keeper of these secrets, especially ones which are better left unknown. It is worshiped by both those in a desperate search for arcane power and those who seek to resist the temptations of such things. Like magic itself, it is capable of dispensing both miracles and tragedy to careful researchers and greedy seekers respectively. Most often represented as a simple chained tome. In the rare times it directly presents itself, it simply appears as a indistinguishable mass of energy.
Worshippers: 152 casual Crymits, spread across each mountain hex. 44 casual Devourers.
The Praeclusium in Odreploy (11.06)
Divine Power: 865 (+235/Century)
Domains: War, Light, Balance
The Judge's sole job is to maintain balance and order in the world. However, often times balance can only be maintained by eradication, making The Judge a deity of war. He assists his most loyal followers with divine weaponry, and punishes the most chaotic races... or gets his followers to punish them for him. He is often represented by a statue of a beautiful humanoid holding a blade.
Worshippers: 282 casual Devourers, spread across 61 hexes.
Divine Power: 1102 (+282/Century)
Domains: Pestilence. Bile. Rage. Plague. Murder. Killing. Insanity.
The Uncleansed was made of the festering hate and pain in the world. It was born in the minds of mad men, killers and plague victims. It takes the aspect of a large pseudo canine with no skin and bursting pustules covering it. It travels the world inflecting pain and death wherever it goes. Driving people insane with rage and pain. serial killers, wars and plagues pop up in it's wake. Its main worshipers are the mad and those with deadly diseases asking it to spare them, although certain assassins also pray to The Uncleansed. Its clergy is made of the insane and the slowly dying, although rarely one may be given a "gift" from the Uncleansed of long life, immunity to diseases and great strengths in battle. Although at the cost of ones sanity and of their body becoming a hive of the worst plagues that have ever crossed the world.
Worshippers: 12.8 devout Devourers at 12.08. 13.3 fanatical Devourers at 10.10. 204 casual Devourers. Cultists among the western Retha, amounting to 21 casual worshippers.
Detractors: Majority of southern Crymits.
Ongoing power drain: Worshippers granted limited access to divine power (Negligible drain).
Divine Power: 702 (+271/Century)
We may have fasted for almost fifty days and fifty nights, and at the end been tempted by
a black pony the Devil, but we're good now. Everything's fine. We've entered the Jerusalem of this extended analogy, and nothing more can possibly go wrong.
Some more writing needs to be done. This post leaves out proper descriptions of a whole lot of important events, and will be extended soonish. Please hold on.
Now that players are starting to meet with one another, I'll spend the next little while doing some bookkeeping, refining and expanding the rules (particularly those on conflicts), and coming up with descriptions for stuff to flesh out this world a little. Stay tuned for that.
Also, if any of you want to reshape the land itself with your words, now's the time. Come up with some interesting terrain features or events that have happened, and watch as your writing becomes reality! The maps will be updated to reflect what is written during this time.
Achievement Unlocked: Prometheus
Achievement Unlocked: All Roads Lead To [Subject Hometown Here]
Achievement Unlocked: Forty Days and Forty Nights
Achievement Unlocked: Auspicious Occasion
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Topic: Evolution VIII: Ediacaran Power (Read 56187 times)