The Heroic Dead

[Obsidian Soul]

I was just curious if anyone has ever played a game as one of the heroic dead and how that worked out for you.  I've never done that particular experiemnt before and I'm thinking about doing that for my next game, assuming that I can find anyone willing in this area.  I haven't had a game for a while now, and it is starting to effect me.


If anyone wishes to know, I was thinking of doing a game in the city of the dead know as Ruby Sands, in the Far South.  Ruby Sands is the only citadel of the dead which has stood up to the Lion and not been crushed.  This is partially due to the fact that it was founded by the ghosts of a race of nonhumans who were slaughtered by the armies of the Gods not long after the Primordial War.  They were supernatural artificers who had been created by one who became a Malfean and, perhaps due to their special relationship with one of the Malfeans, they kept their supernatural prowess in artifact creation when they entered.  The Ghamall, as they call themselves, are foxlike humaniods.  They are exceptionally gifted at creating artifacts and have a technology similar to that of the Dragon Kings, though they have adapted it to the unusual considerations of the Underworld.  The Lion, as he knows of their special connection to one of the Malfeans, has only sent raiding parties against their city-state, all of which have been utterly annihilated.  This failure has grated on him, and he has sent spies in the guise of traders to the city-state to determine the weaknesses of the Ghamall.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

What makes their ability with Artifice special, beyond that of any ghost? Do they have the ability to break the Artifact 3 cap that ghosts are generally listed as having in the Abyssal book?

 

[Jukashi]

In order to prevent confusion with Malfeas, I think we should all stop referring to the Neverborn as Malfeans. It's one of the good decisions 2nd. Ed. seems to have made.

 

[Obsidian Soul]

As they are nonhumans, we can give them anything we want.  I would say that they have Paths similar to the Dragon Kings, which would allow them to create Artifacts up to N/A, if they wanted to expend the effort.  A worthy conquest for a Deathlord, if he can do it.  Unlike Demons, there would be no treaties against them using artifacts against would be necromancers summoning them, so there could be some very nasty surprises for anyone trying to do it the easy way (Entropy bombs designed to be picked up by summoning spells anyone?).  Their numbers would be slowly diminishing, as they are technically extinct, but, perhaps, as they are ghosts, they could have Ghost-Blooded children who would become one of them at death.  The Ghost-Blooded in question would be the same as any other except they would, unless the ST wanted to do a superpowered ghost campaign, become NPCs at death, as they would be much too powerful for a normal ghost campaign.  That could also be another campaign idea.  A bunch of Ghost-Blooded are born in a mortal village in the South and journey throughout the Underworld to find their ghostly parents.  They are led to Ruby Sands, where the automated defense systems rcognize them and allow them to pass.  They are greeting as kin by the ghosts of the distant past and then they meet their ghostly parents.

 

[Jukashi]

The main thing I'd wonder is, how are they ghosts? As far as I know, only humans and DKs actually have souls, of of those two, only humans can become ghosts. I don't think there are any other primordial-created races who have souls (I'm told none of the Underbrood do), except in the sense that demons and spirits essentially are souls, in a way.


And if they did have souls, why would they become ghosts? If you're matching their powers closely with DKs, then it'd be likely they're designed the same way- and DKs don't become ghosts.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

The Autochthonian book mentions one such...however they were all forged into Soulsteel by Autochthon. But it does open up the theoretical possibillity of others. Of course with all the Darkbroods and so forth NOT having such...and being most of the other experiments...it would be unlikely. Still, one more dead race wouldn't be out of the question.


So this ancient race has paths. I assume you're giving their ghosts such as well(otherwise such would not matter,  being ghosts and all)? Do they also have access to standard Arcanoi? What of Necromancy? Can they practice Terrestrial Martial Arts like ghosts and Dragon Kings can? If so do they suffer the Dragon King limitation of only their own special (and unpublished) styles? Is there any specific theme to their artifacts?

 

[Vanman]

Why were they slaughtered after the Primordial War? If they worked for the Primordials, why weren't they included in the restrictions that affect both the Yozis and the Neverborn? I think it's kind of a cool idea, but (and I'm sure you probably already know this) you need to work out the basic structure of the whys and wherefores of their existence.


And what are the Underbrood? And what book can I find them in?


Last editted on 1/12

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

Darkbroods and so forth are mentioned both in the write up on Gethamane in Scavenger Sons, I believe, though I'd need to check that to be sure, and defiantelly in the Mountain Folk section of the Fair Folk book. I'd give page numbers, but I'm on my way to bed...if such hasn't been listed later when I'm more awake then I'll add such.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

A basic description of the Darkbroods and various other freakish annomalies deep under Creation can be found in the Fair Folk book (p. 283+ Darkbroods start on p 284). Scavenger Sons gives something of a description of such in a sidebar (p. 11, The Underways) Bastions of the North may detail more, since it is supposed to detail Gethamane, but I lack a copy to quote. I'm sure there's more on Gethemane somewhere, including at least a little more on the creatures below, but I can't seem to find it atm. When I do, I'll add such.

 

[Obsidian Soul]

While the Darkbrood do not form ghosts and the creations of the Solars during the First Age rarely had souls strong enough, there is evidence that other races created by the Primordials did form ghosts.  Otherwise, Autochthon would not have been able to make soulsteel out of his chosen race when they tried to capture him.


The Ghamall would be one such race.  Unlike the Dragon Kings, their souls were associated with one Primordial.  When that Primordial died and became a Malfean, their souls were pulled into the Underworld, as they did not have any anchor to prevent it. One could consider them to be an entire race of hekatonkhire, though all but the eldest of them would be considered minor hekatonkhire barely worthy of the title.  They are still considered hekatonkhire for the purposes of Necromancy Spells and Arcanoi.  Some of their living kin may have survived in the tunnels beneath the Southern sands but, if so, they have no more than a few thousand living kin.  


They were hunted down by the Solars for the same reason as the Solars forced Autochthon to put the Great Geas on the Jadeborn, xenophobia and the Great Curse.  As the Ghamall did not have a living patron to do the same for them and could not blend in with humanity like the Lintha, they were wiped out.  They managed to survive in the Underworld because Solars really could not effectively attack them there and, as they were effectively extinct, it did not matter if their ghosts had survived the purge.    Anyway, even in their weakened state, the Ghamall proved to be particularly difficult to annihilate.  It took an entire century for the Exalted to destroy them, even with DK and Heavenly help.  Hundreds of thousands of DKs and millions of mortal humans died in the conflict.  Tens of thousands of Gods were annihilated and thousands of Exalts died in the conflict against the Ghamall.  It was considered to have been the last truly great conflict of the High First Age.  


As they are not human ghosts, they are much more powerful, they would follow different rules.  They can create, learn and use Arcanoi but prefer to use their own Dark Paths that they have perfected over the millennia, as their Dark Paths are more powerful.  They have a higher maximum Essence than human ghosts, much higher, around a ten as opposed to a five, so they are as above human ghosts as they were once above living humans.  They have achieved heights within their Dark Paths that they could not have dreamt of achieving with their normal Paths, as with an Essence of ten their Dark Paths can reach up to the tenth level.  They can use Shadowlands Necromancy, but they prefer not to, as their Dark Paths are sufficient for their purposes.  Some of the higher levels in their Dark Paths match or exceed the capabilities of Shadowland and even Labyrinth Necromancy, though they are less versatile than such Spells.  They can create, learn and use TMA Styles, they are much more capable than human ghosts, and they are physiologically similar enough to humans that they can learn human TMA Styles and visa verse.  


Unlike human ghosts, the Ghamall can create Combos.  They cannot Combo TMA with Arcanoi, Arcanoi with their Dark Paths nor their Dark Paths with TMA.  The Ghamall are powerful, perhaps the most powerful entities in the Underworld outside of the Abyssals, the Deathlords and the Malfeans.  More than a few Ghamall have reached maximum Essence and the tenth level a number of Dark Paths and would be a match for any Deathlord.  


No Deathlord has, of yet, tried to transform Ghamall into Oblivion's Panoply, it would take one Ghamall per square foot by the way.  If one did, it would be one of the few threats that would cause the Ghamall to march to war en masse and no force in the Underworld would be capable of stopping them, even if they faced the Lion himself.  The army of the Lion would be drowned under of tsunami of jade and soulsteel atuomata and the Lion himself would be soulforged by the eldest of the Ghamall, even if it took them a millennia to hunt him down and crack his armor.  Only the Malfeans would be capable of saving the Lion and, in that case, they might consider him too stupid to save.  If the Malfeans themselves decided to save him, the Ghamall would give the Lion to them, out of respect for the ghosts of their creators.  They would, however, soulforge his entire army and probably experiment on his Abyssal Exalted, to see if they could use the Deathlord technology to enslave to Exalted who


The Ghamall are isolated to a single city-state not because they are incapable or weak but because they dislike humans and they would rather not bother with them.  It took them three millennia a gradually eroding population and the eventual possibility of permanent extinction before they finally decided to produce a Dark Path that would allow them to breed with living humans, even though the idea repulsed them greatly. They now send out one thousand young Ghamall ghosts a year to find one thousand mortal human women as suitable breeders.  It is considered to be a necessary but disgusting duty for a Ghamall to breed with a mortal human woman.  The Ghamall are not cruel, they only require the mortal human women breeders to have two children, and the mortal human women live out the rest of their lives in exquisite garden harems were they have their own small communities.  Some of the Ghamall have taken to breeding with mortal human women other than official breeders while in Creation.  This has resulted in a few dozen bastard Ghost-Blooded who eventually find their way to Ruby Sands, sometimes even before they die.


Ruby Sands is huge, and it is well protected.  It penetrates into the depths of the Labyrinth and, through the use of Ghamall magical technology, it is stable and safe from specter invasion.  It would appear to be a raised plateau, one kilometer high, one kilometer deep and ten kilometers in radius, surronded by the ruby sands that give it its name.  This plateau is, in fact, a vast arcology that holds five million Ghamall and their special gardens.  The gardens of Ruby Sands are rarely seen by human ghosts but, for those few who have seen them, it is like they were alive and walking through paradise.  The gardens are exquisite artifacts that are capable of supporting real life in the Underworld.  The majority of the Ghamall population, around three million of them, were born to human women and turned into Ghamall when they died.


The Ghamall regularly send forces into the Labyrinth to bring back specters to turn into soulsteel.  They will not do this to sane ghosts, they are strangely ethical in this way, unless the ghosts were part of on an invading force, in which they will consider them to be insane.  Few human ghosts are allowed into their great city, only one thousand a year on average, and they are mostly trusted envoys who have been known by the Ghamall for centuries.  The Ghamall maintain a small research colony at the tomb of their creator, around fifty thousand individuals, where the Malfean sleeps, and have attempted for five millennia to return their former master to sanity.  They have, over the last century, made significant progress and they hope to have a reliable method to return the Malfeans to sanity within the next five millennia.


Note:  To be one of the Ghamall Ghost-Blooded is a 5 BP Merit.  It grants the Ghost-Blooded the right to enter and reside in the Ruby City, allows them to take a Ghamall parent as a Patron, gives them access to Ghamall artifacts (think jade and soulsteel versions of Dragon King Artifacts) and marks them as one who will be Ghamall to all Ghamall and no one else. They do not have access to Ghamall Paths, Dark or otherwise, and are otherwise indistinguishable from other Ghost-Blooded except tp the Ghamall.