World Building Dark Fantasy World-Building

[Shireling]

I'd love to enhance the religious orders. It would be kind of nice if specific bonuses were given for each religious orders. 

The idea is not for the characters to do much with their religious order unless they're a monk, of course. 

 

[Blitzer]

The idea is not for the characters to do much with their religious order unless they're a monk, of course. 

Couldn't we have a berserk type of character? Highly religiously motivated and a bonus for that for advanced rpers? 

 

[Shireling]

Couldn't we have a berserk type of character? Highly religiously motivated and a bonus for that for advanced rpers? 

The Church of the Three is a highly philosophical religion, as such their holy warriors emphasize technique over just swinging a sword and praying. 

 

[_Line 213]

I recently got a new computer, and once I get it up and running fully (I've run into a few small problems as of this very moment), I'll be able to transfer my art programs and materials onto the new rig, and continue working on the map.

 

[Shireling]

I recently got a new computer, and once I get it up and running fully (I've run into a few small problems as of this very moment), I'll be able to transfer my art programs and materials onto the new rig, and continue working on the map.

Awesome. I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone that "concept stories" are happily accepted by me and the co-creators and they will find their way into the story as a collection of traveller's tales. 

 

[Shireling]

What the hell did I get a warning over in this thread? 

 

[_Line 213]

Maybe someone posted something and then deleted it afterward?

 

[Shireling]

It must've been something I said because I got the warning. Some shit about not respecting someone or something. 


Anyways, @Vudukudu how do we stand on the Bestiary? 

 

[Vudukudu]

Development is slow, I have ideas but not yet on paper, and my schedule is so unpredictable day to day that I can't give much of an estimate. I'll post something incomplete this weekend. 

 

[Shireling]

Development is slow, I have ideas but not yet on paper, and my schedule is so unpredictable day to day that I can't give much of an estimate. I'll post something incomplete this weekend. 

You're good man. 

 

[Vudukudu]

Well, my laptop I was doing all this work on fried, and I didn't have the file backed up anytime recently. What was running on ten pages is now reduced to this. I'm gonna admit defeat, and overwhelming schedule. So... yeah. I lost everything that hasn't been on this page, basically. I'd love to keep contributing but frankly I don't have the time to have a life right now anyway, so I might have to sorta sideline myself, though I'll happily join if this ever becomes an RP unto itself. 


[SIZE=28pt]The Intrepid Philosopher’s Guide to the Wilderness[/SIZE]


[SIZE=16pt]A Treatise on the Various Animals, Beasts, and Phantasms of the World[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Written by Jaime Thalmont, Natural Philosopher and Astronomer[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Foreword: Almost two full decades ago, I came to the shocking realization that, among all the great lexicons and encyclopedias of mankind, not a single one was dedicated to the important purpose of compiling humanity’s knowledge of the various forms of life we share this world with. Rather, dozens of texts, often erroneous in their claims, focused on a singular entity. In an attempt to usher in a greater era of knowledge, I have spent the last twenty years in research, reading by candlelight, traveling the back roads, and accompanying the Slayers on their hunts so that all humanity might better know the world around them.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]And so, across these many pages, I present to you in standard format, the Various Animals, Beasts, and Phantasms of the world. May my efforts aid in the betterment of all.


[SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]The Undead: [/SIZE][SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Herein, I detail the numerous types of living dead which plague our world. Whether they are reanimated by way of necromancy or simple misfortune, I have collected all that is known about the most prevalent genres.


[SIZE=12pt]Ghouls: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Among the most numerous, and fortunately, least threatening of the living dead are ghouls. Ghouls are the reanimated corpses of the recently dead, most often brought into un-life by a dabbler in the magicks of Animation. Whether or not a ghoul is a threat appears to be determined by the nature of the spirit occupying it – in my travels and travails, I have overwhelmingly encountered hostile ghouls, but I have seen with mine own eyes a ghoul which acted benevolently. This suggests that, perhaps by binding the spirit of a holy man to a corpse (an idea most offensive) that ghouls of a somewhat docile and obedient nature can be created.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]In order to properly fend off a ghoul, I have noted the following tactics to be particularly effective. First and foremost, utilize weapons of length, such as spears, pikes, or even the lowly pitchfork. Ghouls are not put off by pain, so it is highly recommended that they be attacked outside of arm’s reach. Sufficient bodily trauma of any sort is often enough to slay the creature – while we cannot be certain, I suspect the bound spirit needs a body of sufficient integrity. Because of this, flame is also of great value if the ghoul can be set alight without endangering yourself.


[SIZE=12pt]Wights: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]If you have the misfortune to encounter a wight, pray that fortune is with you. These skeletal servants of Liches do not decay over time, like their ghoulish cousins. As many know, the most famous array of wights is the cursed Army of the Black Banner, formerly freemen who fell in combat against necromancers. Of particular interest is the nature of curses in creating wights. While necromancers can purposefully place a curse in order to intentionally animate a wight, numerous tales of superstition suggest such curses have been made by mere mortals throughout the ages.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]To slay a wight, if one dares attempt, should not be done by physical means. Whatever curse animates them is capable of provoking great regeneration, and more arcane means must be utilized. The most successful methods I have witnessed rely on the usage of magick directly, the summoning of Holy Flame, or the usage of enchanted weaponry. Such tools dispose of wights with remarkable efficiency, though one must take care not to have overconfidence.


[SIZE=12pt]Demented: Black magicians who have used their powers to become immortal are the Demented. Although they retain most of the features of normal humans, as time draws nearer for their contract with the black spirits to be renewed their skin becomes an ashen gray, it begins to flake away, and reveal a bare skeleton, their true form. Eventually, the Demented lose their souls entirely and their still-animated corpses will carry out learned habits from the individual's lifetime until they finally crumble to dust. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Liches: Basically the same as they are in everything else, although I will probably change this at some point. It seems sloppy to use a typical fantasy archtype at this point.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Bubblers / Water-Wights[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Water-wights, more commonly known as "bubblers" due to the small stream of bubbles that float to the surface of the water they emit, are the animated corpses of the drowned dead. Resurrected most often by the machinations of the Warp, these creatures are the bane of a fisherman's existence. They hunt sometimes by wandering the shorelines of rivers and the seas, simply chasing down nearby prey and bludgeoning them to death with their bare hands. However, it is far more likely one will encounter a Bubbler while on a riverboat, where it will attempt to overturn the boat or simply pull you out of it while you aren't looking out for it. Once under the water, it simply holds you until you drown and drags you to the riverbed. Once it has insured you are dead, often by slashing the victim's throat with its salt-hardened nails, it buries the lower half of the corpse beneath the river bottom's mud. This keeps the body in place until it eventually reanimates, frees itself, and begins hunting alongside its killer. This way, Bubblers often form small hordes in rivers, often numbering between three and a dozen.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Fortunately for mankind, Water-wights are remarkably fragile as far as beasts go. Water exposure weakens their flesh, and sufficient trauma of any sort is often enough to slay one permanently.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt][/SIZE]


Category? 


[SIZE=12pt]Hangman (Plur. "Hangmen") [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Hangmen are humanoid creatures with mottled pink or light brown skin standing roughly ten feet tall. Their tall, lanky bodies are topped with long, slender heads consisting of a large, central eye and two secondary eyes offset from the central one and slightly below it. Below their eyes, the creatures have no nose, but have a wide mouth containing rows of dagger-like teeth. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Their arms are roughly three forths of the total height of their body and terminate in hooks formed of three, long and distorted fingers each sporting a short, sharp talon. Their torso is thin and elongated, and their legs are also thin, giving them the appearance of being off-balance and their signature tottering walk. Somewhat akin to an ape, much of their lower body, torso, and arms is covered in coarse hair, but their heads remain completely bald. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Hangmen are predators that inhabit densely wooded areas and hunt in packs. They are, however, not particularly afraid of humans and will occasionally attack their settlements to poach their livestock. When engaged in combat, these creatures will attempt to grab their assailant by the neck and suspend them with their long arms, thus hanging them in a similar fashion to a hangman's noose. These creatures fear fire, and are susceptible to most forms of human weaponry.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin are, in the most technical sense, two separate entities. As the Gralkin exist in phases, they will be described according to their stages of development, which follow a linear progression. In general terms, however, a Gralkin is a beast that shares a magical symbiotic relationship with a tree. Instead of relying on typical photosynthesis, the Gralkin consumes prey during the night, and binds to its host during the day to pass on nutrients. In return for being fed, the tree provides shelter to the Gralkin during the day, when their highly photosensitive eyes render them nearly blind. When stressed or fighting, they make a noise not unlike the shrieking of bats. As hunters, the Gralkin are known for their ambush-like behaviors, particularly attacking from thick brush or underground tunnels. As Gralkin are highly territorial, hunting almost exclusively within a five mile ring around their tree, it is rare to see them near settlements. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin typically come in dark shades of red, brown, and occasionally black. They are scaled and cold-blooded, with extremely honed senses of smell and night-vision. They are highly predatory and isolationist creatures, though clever farmers have learned to use them as rodent hunters. By allowing a Gralkin to hunt near a farm, rats and other rodents can be eliminated. However, this requires great caution - if a Gralkin progresses beyond the Sapling stage, it may begin targeting humans or livestock. To prevent this from happening, one can simply assault the tree - destroying tree limbs and gashing the bark is often enough to force the tree to demand additional nutrients from the Gralkin, which suffers stunted growth from being forced to pass on more of its take.  [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]1. Sapling: As a Sapling, the tree itself is young and only beginning to grow. During this stage, the Gralkin is roughly infant sized. Its body consists of four legs attached to a central thorax. Each leg terminates with a set of talons which allow the beast to climb or kill its prey. The Gralkin's body is also its head, with its sensory organs positioned on the front side at about mid-level, with four eyes and a pair of slits which act as a hyper-sensitive nose. The underside of the body is a nightmarish ring of teeth, which are used by lowering the body down onto the slain prey and "flexing" of the core muscles which perform a chewing-like activity. At this stage of growth, it is capable of killing rodents, birds, and the infants of some other species, but a swift kick from a boot is often enough to severely wound the beast. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]2. Adolescent: As the Gralkin reaches adolescence, its tree has likely grown to a respectable size, blending in with the rest of its surroundings. During this stage, the Gralkin typically grows another two legs to help support itself, as it has grown to be about 600 pounds, 3 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 6 feet long. Its legs extend another four feet in every direction, and its claws grow to near-dagger like lengths. Throughout this stage, the Gralkin preys primarily on whatever fauna it comes across, and any human unfortunate enough to enter its territory. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]3. Elder: By this stage, the tree has grown to truly absurd heights, dwarfing the forest around it. This makes the beasts home fairly easy to identify, whereas other stages require some greater ability to discern regular trees from the host. However, daring to approach the tree is a fool's errand. As an Elder, which usually takes nearly 100 years of unchecked growth, the Gralkin has essentially doubled in size from adolescence. No longer a stealthy beast, the Gralkin is a monster of brute force and rage, its thick hide nearly impervious to common weaponry and its talons capable of piercing plate armor, and entire villages have fallen to the rampaging of a hungry Elder. Fortunately, Gralkin rarely reach this stage. Periodic wildfires often kill them off before they mature fully, and it is not the blade, but the torch, which is most likely to slay an Elder. Even this is a dangerous quest - the Gralkin's sense of smell is often enough to warn them of danger, even in the midst of their sunlit hibernation. [/SIZE]

 

[Shireling]

Well, my laptop I was doing all this work on fried, and I didn't have the file backed up anytime recently. What was running on ten pages is now reduced to this. I'm gonna admit defeat, and overwhelming schedule. So... yeah. I lost everything that hasn't been on this page, basically. I'd love to keep contributing but frankly I don't have the time to have a life right now anyway, so I might have to sorta sideline myself, though I'll happily join if this ever becomes an RP unto itself. 


[SIZE=28pt]The Intrepid Philosopher’s Guide to the Wilderness[/SIZE]


[SIZE=16pt]A Treatise on the Various Animals, Beasts, and Phantasms of the World[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Written by Jaime Thalmont, Natural Philosopher and Astronomer[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Foreword: Almost two full decades ago, I came to the shocking realization that, among all the great lexicons and encyclopedias of mankind, not a single one was dedicated to the important purpose of compiling humanity’s knowledge of the various forms of life we share this world with. Rather, dozens of texts, often erroneous in their claims, focused on a singular entity. In an attempt to usher in a greater era of knowledge, I have spent the last twenty years in research, reading by candlelight, traveling the back roads, and accompanying the Slayers on their hunts so that all humanity might better know the world around them.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]And so, across these many pages, I present to you in standard format, the Various Animals, Beasts, and Phantasms of the world. May my efforts aid in the betterment of all.


[SIZE=12pt]The Undead: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Herein, I detail the numerous types of living dead which plague our world. Whether they are reanimated by way of necromancy or simple misfortune, I have collected all that is known about the most prevalent genres.


[SIZE=12pt]Ghouls: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]Among the most numerous, and fortunately, least threatening of the living dead are ghouls. Ghouls are the reanimated corpses of the recently dead, most often brought into un-life by a dabbler in the magicks of Animation. Whether or not a ghoul is a threat appears to be determined by the nature of the spirit occupying it – in my travels and travails, I have overwhelmingly encountered hostile ghouls, but I have seen with mine own eyes a ghoul which acted benevolently. This suggests that, perhaps by binding the spirit of a holy man to a corpse (an idea most offensive) that ghouls of a somewhat docile and obedient nature can be created.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]In order to properly fend off a ghoul, I have noted the following tactics to be particularly effective. First and foremost, utilize weapons of length, such as spears, pikes, or even the lowly pitchfork. Ghouls are not put off by pain, so it is highly recommended that they be attacked outside of arm’s reach. Sufficient bodily trauma of any sort is often enough to slay the creature – while we cannot be certain, I suspect the bound spirit needs a body of sufficient integrity. Because of this, flame is also of great value if the ghoul can be set alight without endangering yourself.


[SIZE=12pt]Wights: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]If you have the misfortune to encounter a wight, pray that fortune is with you. These skeletal servants of Liches do not decay over time, like their ghoulish cousins. As many know, the most famous array of wights is the cursed Army of the Black Banner, formerly freemen who fell in combat against necromancers. Of particular interest is the nature of curses in creating wights. While necromancers can purposefully place a curse in order to intentionally animate a wight, numerous tales of superstition suggest such curses have been made by mere mortals throughout the ages.


[SIZE=12pt]            [/SIZE]To slay a wight, if one dares attempt, should not be done by physical means. Whatever curse animates them is capable of provoking great regeneration, and more arcane means must be utilized. The most successful methods I have witnessed rely on the usage of magick directly, the summoning of Holy Flame, or the usage of enchanted weaponry. Such tools dispose of wights with remarkable efficiency, though one must take care not to have overconfidence.


[SIZE=12pt]Demented: Black magicians who have used their powers to become immortal are the Demented. Although they retain most of the features of normal humans, as time draws nearer for their contract with the black spirits to be renewed their skin becomes an ashen gray, it begins to flake away, and reveal a bare skeleton, their true form. Eventually, the Demented lose their souls entirely and their still-animated corpses will carry out learned habits from the individual's lifetime until they finally crumble to dust. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Liches: Basically the same as they are in everything else, although I will probably change this at some point. It seems sloppy to use a typical fantasy archtype at this point.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Bubblers / Water-Wights[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Water-wights, more commonly known as "bubblers" due to the small stream of bubbles that float to the surface of the water they emit, are the animated corpses of the drowned dead. Resurrected most often by the machinations of the Warp, these creatures are the bane of a fisherman's existence. They hunt sometimes by wandering the shorelines of rivers and the seas, simply chasing down nearby prey and bludgeoning them to death with their bare hands. However, it is far more likely one will encounter a Bubbler while on a riverboat, where it will attempt to overturn the boat or simply pull you out of it while you aren't looking out for it. Once under the water, it simply holds you until you drown and drags you to the riverbed. Once it has insured you are dead, often by slashing the victim's throat with its salt-hardened nails, it buries the lower half of the corpse beneath the river bottom's mud. This keeps the body in place until it eventually reanimates, frees itself, and begins hunting alongside its killer. This way, Bubblers often form small hordes in rivers, often numbering between three and a dozen.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Fortunately for mankind, Water-wights are remarkably fragile as far as beasts go. Water exposure weakens their flesh, and sufficient trauma of any sort is often enough to slay one permanently.[/SIZE]


Category? 


[SIZE=12pt]Hangman (Plur. "Hangmen") [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Hangmen are humanoid creatures with mottled pink or light brown skin standing roughly ten feet tall. Their tall, lanky bodies are topped with long, slender heads consisting of a large, central eye and two secondary eyes offset from the central one and slightly below it. Below their eyes, the creatures have no nose, but have a wide mouth containing rows of dagger-like teeth. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Their arms are roughly three forths of the total height of their body and terminate in hooks formed of three, long and distorted fingers each sporting a short, sharp talon. Their torso is thin and elongated, and their legs are also thin, giving them the appearance of being off-balance and their signature tottering walk. Somewhat akin to an ape, much of their lower body, torso, and arms is covered in coarse hair, but their heads remain completely bald. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Hangmen are predators that inhabit densely wooded areas and hunt in packs. They are, however, not particularly afraid of humans and will occasionally attack their settlements to poach their livestock. When engaged in combat, these creatures will attempt to grab their assailant by the neck and suspend them with their long arms, thus hanging them in a similar fashion to a hangman's noose. These creatures fear fire, and are susceptible to most forms of human weaponry.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin: [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin are, in the most technical sense, two separate entities. As the Gralkin exist in phases, they will be described according to their stages of development, which follow a linear progression. In general terms, however, a Gralkin is a beast that shares a magical symbiotic relationship with a tree. Instead of relying on typical photosynthesis, the Gralkin consumes prey during the night, and binds to its host during the day to pass on nutrients. In return for being fed, the tree provides shelter to the Gralkin during the day, when their highly photosensitive eyes render them nearly blind. When stressed or fighting, they make a noise not unlike the shrieking of bats. As hunters, the Gralkin are known for their ambush-like behaviors, particularly attacking from thick brush or underground tunnels. As Gralkin are highly territorial, hunting almost exclusively within a five mile ring around their tree, it is rare to see them near settlements. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]Gralkin typically come in dark shades of red, brown, and occasionally black. They are scaled and cold-blooded, with extremely honed senses of smell and night-vision. They are highly predatory and isolationist creatures, though clever farmers have learned to use them as rodent hunters. By allowing a Gralkin to hunt near a farm, rats and other rodents can be eliminated. However, this requires great caution - if a Gralkin progresses beyond the Sapling stage, it may begin targeting humans or livestock. To prevent this from happening, one can simply assault the tree - destroying tree limbs and gashing the bark is often enough to force the tree to demand additional nutrients from the Gralkin, which suffers stunted growth from being forced to pass on more of its take.  [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]1. Sapling: As a Sapling, the tree itself is young and only beginning to grow. During this stage, the Gralkin is roughly infant sized. Its body consists of four legs attached to a central thorax. Each leg terminates with a set of talons which allow the beast to climb or kill its prey. The Gralkin's body is also its head, with its sensory organs positioned on the front side at about mid-level, with four eyes and a pair of slits which act as a hyper-sensitive nose. The underside of the body is a nightmarish ring of teeth, which are used by lowering the body down onto the slain prey and "flexing" of the core muscles which perform a chewing-like activity. At this stage of growth, it is capable of killing rodents, birds, and the infants of some other species, but a swift kick from a boot is often enough to severely wound the beast. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]2. Adolescent: As the Gralkin reaches adolescence, its tree has likely grown to a respectable size, blending in with the rest of its surroundings. During this stage, the Gralkin typically grows another two legs to help support itself, as it has grown to be about 600 pounds, 3 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 6 feet long. Its legs extend another four feet in every direction, and its claws grow to near-dagger like lengths. Throughout this stage, the Gralkin preys primarily on whatever fauna it comes across, and any human unfortunate enough to enter its territory. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt] [/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]3. Elder: By this stage, the tree has grown to truly absurd heights, dwarfing the forest around it. This makes the beasts home fairly easy to identify, whereas other stages require some greater ability to discern regular trees from the host. However, daring to approach the tree is a fool's errand. As an Elder, which usually takes nearly 100 years of unchecked growth, the Gralkin has essentially doubled in size from adolescence. No longer a stealthy beast, the Gralkin is a monster of brute force and rage, its thick hide nearly impervious to common weaponry and its talons capable of piercing plate armor, and entire villages have fallen to the rampaging of a hungry Elder. Fortunately, Gralkin rarely reach this stage. Periodic wildfires often kill them off before they mature fully, and it is not the blade, but the torch, which is most likely to slay an Elder. Even this is a dangerous quest - the Gralkin's sense of smell is often enough to warn them of danger, even in the midst of their sunlit hibernation. [/SIZE]

Thanks for your valliant effort, Vudu. I will carry on without you, but you will definitely get an honorable mention when this becomes a thing. 

 

[Vudukudu]

I'll try to hop in if I see a small thing I can tackle, but I don't have the energy or time to jump at a bestiary or other large project. Can't wait to see how this all pans out! 

 

[Shireling]

I'll try to hop in if I see a small thing I can tackle, but I don't have the energy or time to jump at a bestiary or other large project. Can't wait to see how this all pans out! 

I will probably take the bestiary upon myself. What I really need to do is figure out a name for the island.

 

[Shireling]

@_Line 213


Do you have the map finished? Also, do you think you could do some minimalistic (uncolored, not particularly detailed) art for monsters and character classes?

 

[Shireling]

@Vudukudu


This is the intro to the bestiary. I used the same name but sort of gave him some character. This is what I have.


As a youth, I was greatly troubled that no ultimate compendium of creatures existed to fully explain, catelogue, and identify the various creatures---docile and violent, sentient and non-sentient---that prowl the dark and lonely wood. If I am to discuss this matter at length, however, I must make a series of cursory remarks. Firstly, that this volume is to employ the latest in scientifick techniks that shall greatly enhance the nature of its claims. Every facet of detail within this volume has been extensively researched by myself, and what could not be ascertained in such a way was provided from reliable elder sources. Secondly, this compendium contains no instructions on the magickal arts as they pertain to this subjekt, merely the matters of the corporeal flesh---or, when warranted, issues of the form and function of the incorporeal. In short, this volume is not a magick manuskript. Thirdly, that this book is not to be kept from any which can read it---and any who so possess the faculty should in fact read the work. It was penned as a matter of public safety, no less, and its foremost intent is to arm the peasantry across our lands with knowledges that might facilitate the saving of lives.


Befoer I proceed, I must also give a thorough account of myself and my activities up until the publishing of this volume. I am one Jaime Thalmont, and my trade is that of the natural philosopher. There is much to set apart the natural philosopher from the layman, and perhaps further still to disassociate him from other branches of lawyer, such as the geolawyer, the hydrolawyer, and the court lawyer---they being the studiers of the earth, water, and man-made law respectively. The natural philosopher can be reckoned to be a sort of jack of all trades, combining the aims of the naturalist in the observation of nature and the philosopher in the reckoning of truths. Thus, I reckon truth from nature.


I was born in Fernegla upon the Grove, a village that bordered the dreadful swamps of the Midlands and the general inhuman places of the interior. My parents being well-to-do, we lived within the city walls of Fernegla and survived a great many attack by man and beast while our compatriots often suffered slaughter. Insulated such as a lad, I grew a keen need for adventure and I left home when I was twelve with an expedition of sturdy Westerlings, I believe they were in service to one Penitent covenant or another, to deliver aid to the beleaguered township of Kakts in the northern hills. The town was thus afflicted by an Animating plague, and it was here that I first tasted the raunchy bile and liquid courage of the fray. Since these times, I have traipsed across our fair land in the company of slayers, magi, men of the cloth, merchants, rogues, and wayfarers on the road. Thus, I am inclined to believe that I have covered every inch of the island twice, and as such I am uniekely suited to the task of penning this rogue's gallery of assorted beasts.


I am old now, and able to retire in my leisure before I am taken There, and thus I have set down to compile this skript from my own exhaustive memory, and my field manuals---some dating back as many as fifty years. I must state rightly that surely not every creature that growls in the night has been detailed by my work, only those that I have been able to glimpse in my great many years of adventuring. If such creatures are discovered, report my cause aright to the unsatisfied and make a footnote to this compendium concerning any knowledges gained from scientifick means.

 

[_Line 213]

@_Line 213


Do you have the map finished? Also, do you think you could do some minimalistic (uncolored, not particularly detailed) art for monsters and character classes?

I had large amounts of GPU problems after replacing a broken card, and have only just fixed them as of about thirty minutes ago (that thirty minutes was spent doing tests).


Now that my computer is (hopefully) stable, I should be good to go as far as getting back to the map / drawing in general goes.

 

[Shireling]

I had large amounts of GPU problems after replacing a broken card, and have only just fixed them as of about thirty minutes ago (that thirty minutes was spent doing tests).


Now that my computer is (hopefully) stable, I should be good to go as far as getting back to the map / drawing in general goes.

Awesome. How are you with drawing animals? 

 

[_Line 213]

Awesome. How are you with drawing animals? 

It's not my usual fare, but I've done it before, and would appreciate further practice.

 

[Spacekitty]

This seems very interesting.  Im quite a fan of Fantasy,  Still looking for help Shire?

 

[Spacekitty]

I can't say I really have a good idea at the moment. 


Also, here is that proof of concept short story. 

Spoiler

The village below seemed to sprawl out between the banks of the two rivers, its covered bridges spanning the streams on either side to join with the thin gravel bands of the highway. The carriage, under the power of a prodigious wagon-beast, plunged up the steep mountain road to the plateau overlooking the town at a steady but uncomfortably slow speed. Along the left hand side of the road, the snarls of fantastic and unknown beasts could be heard in brief spurts in the occasional pauses between the howling of the wind. Ahead, the top of the mountain loomed on ominously, with clouds licking at the peak.

Eduard drew his watch from his waistcoat with his left hand while his right clutched the reigns. It was a quarter until four, but darkness came early in these parts and he would not make it to the traveler's rest until at least eleven. This meant several hours of plunging through the darkness, and no moonlight to aid if the current cloudiness was any indicator of the nightly weather pattern. Eduard had heard of travelers getting lost on the road, but the last time that had happened had been some fifty years ago. 

The real challenge of the road was the never-ending, aching, biting fear. The wagon-beast was a creature immune to suspense, but a human being is something else entirely. Drawn on in that perpetual darkness, the sounds of rustling in the brush and snarling of the creatures of the night would certainly induce fright, if not fuel nightmares and an early grave. But Eduard saw himself as a young man of fit constitution, and the sword strapped to his hip should have made him that much more secure. Why then, oh why, this gnawing feeling of dread? It surrounded him, even in the broadest daylight. The wagon plodded forward, but he remained still and incapsulated in his fear. It was implaccable. But it must be done. He had been chosen to serve as the Bearer of the Ring in his brother's wedding---a solemn duty for a lad of sixteen. If his foster parents had cared for Eduard's well-being, they might have advised he take the ferry and portage at Low, but who can ask a man to care about another's child when his own are dead? Besides, fifteen silver pieces for a ferry ride? Outrageous!

Nightfall came on like an unwanted, unloved urchin begging for its bread. As the last silvery slivers of dusk faded into the cosmic oblivion, Eduard lit the lead lamp and torches of his buggy and settled back down into his cloak and shawl. The temperature had plunged a great deal as the cold of the night compounded with the cold of the mountain and produced that raw, numbing, wind-driven cold that finds any avenue to the flesh and pierces it like daggers. 

The light of the lamps scared away even the most intrepid of the alpine woodland predators, but their bloodlustful howling and frothing had grown to a heart-stopping fever pitch. One would be forgiven for fainting at the cacophony of anguished lament for the kill shielded by the misunderstood weapon of fire. This veritable noise continued until the road finally dipped off to the left and into a wide ravine and then through to a cliffside that was devoid of any trees or other hiding places for the creatures that stalked the mount. Cold rain, the temperature being just above the freezing point, began to pound on the roof of the buggy. The lamps, shielded in their glass cases, prevailed against the storm but their light was diminished. Eduard's clothes began to feel the dampness of the misty mountain rain, and his eyes beheld less and less of the road. At the same time, drowsiness was overtaking him even as fear saddled his consciousness with a dread of the night. All at once, the storm had given way to a gale and even the wagon-beast bleated in fright as the gravel of the alpine route began to slip under its collassal cloven hooves. The road was giving way off the mountain, before Eduard's eyes, and he could only behold it as the cart and beast began to tumble, with a horendous  noise and crash. Sleep, or perhaps the hard impact of paving rocks against the buggy, saw his consciousness slip.

He was awoken by a voice.

"I wonder how many storms that road has endured before deciding to give way." Said the voice; it was a dignified sort of voice with the regal timbre of a nobleman. A spectacular voice, such that Eduard thought he might have died and gone There. 

His eyes fluttered open, and he beheld nothing but the cold starlight. Then he fancied himself rising up and down, and laying upon something soft. The rain had stopped, and he was marginally dry and swaddled in some sort of blanket. He gained the strength to raise his head, and when he did he beheld the barely-perceptible form of a human face. The hands belonging to the face were holding onto two long poles that ran parallel to his body, leaving him to conclude he was being carried on a stretcher. 

"He's awake, Master." Said the man who Eduard had seen, in a rude, provincial voice. 

"Quite right." Replied the original voice, from in front of him. "My dear boy, it is quite good luck we were on a hunt when you had your accident."

Eduard stammered, "Thank you, ah. For saving me. If you had not found me, the beasties would have surely made a meal of me."

"I highly doubt that, my boy." Said the man, an odd humor in his voice. "Forgive me for not formally introducing myself, I am Master Adelaide."

"Charmed. I am Eduard." Eduard replied. "Excuse me for prying, but do you live out here?"

"Oh yes, Adelaide Manor is just over the rise. A very old house indeed, built at the height of the Fifth Age, so they say. That would make it a good--"

"Eight hundred years old," Eduard interjected. He had always had a keen interest in history, although not much history had actually been written down ever it seemed, relying mostly on folklore and superstition. 

"Yes, that's correct." Said Master Adelaide. "You know your history."

Eduard nodded, feeling quite boyish.

Much of the rest of the walk was passed in silence, although Eduard noticed that the sky had given way to tree canopy, and then finally the plaster and ceiling plank of a nicer house. He was set upon the ground in the foyer as the Master and his servant went, presumably to prepare a bed. Eduard, with some difficulty, tested his strength before finally standing. He was still in his underclothes, trousers, waistcoat, and boots. Curiously, his sword had not been taken from him, but the religious insignia on the hilt twinkled weakly in the dim lighting of the manor. Strange.

When the men had not returned for a few minutes, he began to explore Adelaide Manor. The foyer gave way into a wide and tall staircase room, but he ultimately chose to stay on the ground floor and hook a right. The hallway that he emerged into was fantastically long and the doors on either side led to bedrooms, surely defunct washrooms, small offices and studies, a library.

"Young man!" A voice called from the other room. 

Eduard rushed to return in the foyer, where he found a third person, a severe-looking maiden.

"That wing is closed to visitors, young master." The young woman replied, her face twinging in bad humor and her mottled grey skin... Yes! It really was grey! 

Eduard instinctively recoiled, but then remembered that some odd inflictions can be caught in the woods from wild animals or the like. 

"Yes, miss. My solemn apologies for abusing your hospitality."

"Well, just count yourself grateful you hadn't seen it."

"Seen what?"

"The Master is quite secretive about his family house, respect his wishes and do not pry."

Eduard swallowed, then nodded. The maiden conducted him to a room on the second floor, partially furnished but lacking much other than a bed and a small bookshelf. Strangely, he thought he heard the sound of a deadbolt behind him. But surely he was just hallucinating. In the dim light of the room, provided by a hanging wall candle, he surveyed the book case. Some of the books he recognized: the Scripture, the Commandments, the Atonements and other religious texts, a collection of poems and short stories, so on and so forth. The second half of the tomes, however, were written in a language that Eduard had never seen before, and opening the books brought a shiver to his spine and made the insignia on his sword glow a bit stronger. It was fairly common for nobles to keep books of witchcraft, as conversation pieces, and so Eduard chocked this latest unusual occurance up to bane normality and climbed into bed. Despite the moldy odor of the planks after the storm, sleep took him with good haste. 

He awoke to find that it certainly wasn't morning, as the panes on the window had not glimpsed a ray of sunshine. What awoke him, he quickly ascertained, was the slow rhythmic tapping below his feet, as if a water pipe were on the verge of bursting.

He put his boots and waistcoat back on and fastened his sword securely to his hip before trying the door. Curiously, it was locked. Eduard tried the usual tricks he knew for old doors, but to no avail. It was locked from the outside.

As he sat thinking of how to escape his newfound prison cell, the tapping only grew louder and more pronounced, dredging up from the floor in an ever-increasing demoniac tempo. Between his physical prison and the mental confines of the infernal drumbeat, Eduard felt sorely trapped in his own body. As he sat, the beat grew stronger, and stronger. Madness inducing psychotic music of the Underworld! He drew his sword, now emblazoned with white light, and sliced at the centuries-old wood, which crumbled beneath the might of the new-formed blade, and the deadbolt gave way. The door swung slowly open, but the devil's song grew only louder in that space far below the floorboards.

Not meeting any of the staff, Eduard made his way back to the forbidden wing and began his search for the indescribable thing which must surely be the source of the noise. If he were to leave the house, he might immediately be rent assunder by the beasts of the night. But in this house, his sword afforded him at least marginal control over life and death. 

The only door he had not opened, the farthest on the left. The old oak door gave way with a nerve-shattering creak and revealed a long flight of rickety wooden stairs. The beat was even louder now, and he could hear voices chanting in some infernal tongue, quite a few voices. He took a candle off the wall next to him and descended.

The candle and the music steeled his resolve and guided him towards the source of the black magick that pierced the very air and enveloped about his heart, encrusting on it like soot, corrupting his soul. This, then, must be why travelers are truly afraid of the road. Not the monsters, for monsters heel to the commands of their betters. Betters such as Master Adelaide.

The tunnel opened into a balustrade carved of rock, overlooking a massive subturanean ampitheater. A crowd of some thirty persons was gathered below, with another high upon the stage. Judging from the richness of his coat, it could only be one: Master Adelaide. In his hand, a drum such as those used by savages in novels when they prepare their captives for sacrifice. 

His skin, such as that of the maiden and the whole crowd, was unnaturally grey, even in the dimness of the underground cavern. Standing only thirty feet or so above the procession, he could see plainly the whites of his skeletal fingers as they gripped the drum mallet, propelled on by some demoniac fury without blood or tendon. The skin, a mere shell, was beginning to go black and flake away from his face and hands, exposing not but skeletal refuse. In the crowd, such decomposition was already at an advanced state as they cheered on their loathsome master in their demon tongue. In an instant, the drumbeat stopped and the room grew painfully, unbearably silent. Then, without throat chords mind you, Master Adelaide spoke:

"Half a century since our last congress
Half a century of stolen youth 
Give us back what ye have granted us
Let us partake of the Universe's precious loot

Fifty years in rotting shells
Watching our beauty fade day by day
With this offering, stay the fires of hell
Until some far off never-day

Two skeletal bouncers had by then gained the stage, dragging with them a man of untold age with a gigantic beard and an immaciated face. 

"Give us power over death
Take this man, our offering
So you may terrorize the rest
And usher in our newfound spring

Take what is yours
Give what is mine
Honor our pact
Whilst the stars are alined

Tolle quod tuum est
Quid dabis mihi
Hoc est pactum,
Stellae signa instructis es

Mira ver dommos 
Ekselvos dommos mir
TOVAKIN! TOVAKIN!"

As the last line of the infernal poem was uttered a wind picked up... a wind. Underground? The queer pandemonious wind shrieked through the Cyclopean underground as if a hot gale from the Underworld itself. The forms of spirits, malevolent, wrapped in black spectral shawls with eyes of glowing orange that pull at the souls of mortal Man, they came sprinting from the walls, flying from the aether. They wrapped themselves in congress with the damned master and his servants, possessing them, waiting for the time. They would imbue the servants with the life energy of the sacrifice, and in turn steal pieces of their soul, inch by inch, century by century. It was an old tale known widely in the village, the Lifestealers and the Soultakers.

It had to be stopped, the ritual had to be stayed. Eduard drew his sword, uttered a prayer, and hurled it. It woefully missed its intended target, the demon-speaker Master Adelaide, and instead laid heavy into the form of the man on the altar, silencing the life of the sacrifice. 

The roar of anger and anguished cries pierced his ears with enough force to make them bleed. Eduard found himself stumbling back. The screech of malevolent spirits, honing in on him, seeking him, finding him. No rest could he take from them, and his only defense---the enchanted sword, he had thrown away. The boy ran, but to where? It wasn't long before, groping in the darkness, he felt the cold chill of a spirit entering his body. He fought. He fought tooth and nail to banish the demon, but it was much stronger---fat off the centuries of feasting on the hollow souls of the misers of Adelaide Manor. He was compelled, against every fiber of his being, to march back down those demon-cursed stairs. The door at the top of the cellar, closed shut with a thunderous crash. 
 

I absolutely love this Shire.  Its a great piece of story telling.  I wish I could write something as good as that!

 

[_Line 213]

Quick map-related question: Do we want to have separated areas of roughly-allied towns and territories, in a manner similar to England / Whales / Scotland, or do we want everything to be "unified," or take more of an "all-or-nothing" approach, where each town only considers themselves primarily responsible for whatever farmland they deem important, and whatever is inside their walls?

 

[Shireling]

This seems very interesting.  Im quite a fan of Fantasy,  Still looking for help Shire?

The more the merrier. 

Quick map-related question: Do we want to have separated areas of roughly-allied towns and territories, in a manner similar to England / Whales / Scotland, or do we want everything to be "unified," or take more of an "all-or-nothing" approach, where each town only considers themselves primarily responsible for whatever farmland they deem important, and whatever is inside their walls?

The towns are their own separate principalities or governorships. So the last one. Be sure to include Fernega on the Grove as a town somewhere near the center of the map by a marsh. I also think Kakts was mentioned in the intro to the Bestiary. This is just to make sure that the towns I have already mentioned are present. I think a town called Low that was mentioned in the first concept story and it was mentioned as being a ferry crossing so it should be on a river. 

 

[Shireling]

It's not my usual fare, but I've done it before, and would appreciate further practice.

I'm about to post the description for Featherhounds and you can cut your teeth on that. 

 

[Spacekitty]

Im on page 3 and have gone from skeptical to extremely interested.  It sounds like a dark, interesting world that is yet bland for many of the inhabitants.