The Idea Mill
Occasionally, I look back to old ideas and concepts that I never got around to working on and start to wish I had enough time to get to them all.
I have also sworn to myself I wouldn't beat a campaign into the dirt by producing too much content so I keep my own personal work at about fifteen supplements per campaign. I have reached that now for both Maztica and Anchôromé and I am quickly approaching it in Lopango.
So what I will do here is paste in some of my more developed ideas that I have abandoned with truly no intention of returning. If you want to use what is here for a personal campaign or even develop it further for commercial use, be my guest. If you can, just notify me and a shout out in the credits would be kind as well, but it isn't completely necessary. I just want to know they helped someone. I will also provide links to whatever you produce here.
Please note that each of these ideas is unedited and not always fully thought out. I will update it as I find others in my old files.
I have done something similar to this over on the Piazza Forums and much will be copy/pasted from the site, but will keep the Idea Mill a bit more organized here.
Each entry will have a brief introduction to make them easier to scan through. Some of these have some work done already which you are more than welcome to take and alter as you see fit, while most are just untouched brainstorms.
1. Frozen Aurune (Anchôromé)
For my first post and idea If like to consider the frozen lands north of Anchorome. I already put together one particular glacier called Blacktoe Glacier but there I’m taking into consideration heading even further north, beyond what is known as the Straight of Aurune.
In Blacktoe, I made brief mention of a large population of selkies in the Straight itself. These seal-folk often come into conflict with the urskans of northern Anchorome but they are not organized into large enough groups to commit to any kind of war.
Beyond the Straight is the landmass of Aurune itself. I have no idea what is there canonically but have imagined a few creatures and cultures.
First off, I believe that every creature on Aurune would fear the awakening of a forgotten child of Auril that has slept for centuries but is periodically awakened by white dragon servitors. This is a dreaded abomination known as a xixecal, originally described in 3.5s Epic Level Handbook.
I also have noted that in the 2nd edition Forgotten Realms Monstrous Compendiums (MC11 to be particular), we had four creatures of the northern climes that have never again made an appearance. These are the haun, haundar, frosts, and a personal favorite - the insectoid sha’az. You can find links to their descriptions on wiki following the MC11 link.
I would love to establish a civilization of these beings all across Aurune. If not that far north, it could also appear simply in northern Anchorome, perhaps a bit to the west of Blacktoe Glacier.
2. Forgotten Civilizations (Anchôromé, Maztica or Lopango)
From north to south the predominant human groups are the Azuposi of southern Anchorome, the Mazticans and Payit of Maztica and the Natican of Lopango. But as adventurers unlock more ancient mysteries, we have started to learn that all three civilizations are relative newcomers and that ancient (and in most cases very powerful) civilizations that preceded each culture came before and had fallen.
In Anchorome there are many monuments to the human civilization known only as the Ancient Ones. Esh Alakar and the Bridge of the Ancients are their most notable remaining structures.
Maztica does not have a singular name but rather many. In the northwest there were the Zateca who fled to another world through the Door of Stars. The ancient city of dead known as Mictlantepec have roaming undead that do not resemble the modern Maztican cultures in either features or garb. And finally the Green Folk of the south have dozens, if not hundreds of buried and ancient remnants of high civilization in their jungles. Why they have abandoned such advancement is unknown.
Lopango may be the most interesting of all. Every so often a grand golden ship is unearthed in mines nowhere near a significant body of water. To this day, none have functioned but pictograms indicate they might have one day long ago flown the skies and beyond. The civilization who built these magnificent ships are believed to have sunk beneath the waves even before the Great Flood of Lopango.
3. The Palophonti Scorpionfolk (Maztica or Lopango)
As empyreans are to humans, the palophonti are to the tlincalli scorpionfolk of Lopango and Maztica. Massive sea creatures with the torsos of titans, the rest of their bodies are that of the ancient sea scorpions whose tails had not even evolved yet into stingers.
Haughty and aloof, the palophonti barely notice the lesser races - even other scorpionfolk, but they are said to be among the greatest oracles of the sea. The palophonti hunt whales almost exclusively, but this does not preclude them from eating bothersome adventurers who harass them or even those who come to seek their wisdom.
Palophonti are cruel, but they don’t seek out creatures that would otherwise be meaningless to them. Their greatest enemies are believed to be the ocean striders who have recently found allies among the sahuagin ravaged darfellan (orca folk). The ocean striders resent the near incessant whaling of these colossal creatures, though their rarity means it has little affect long term on whale populations.
In the Sea of Corynactis, the palophonti are considered a menace and the shalarin do all they can to avoid the giants. Shalarin communities will typically evacuate when a palophonti is believed to be nearby.
If the palophonti have a homeland or an origin story, none but they know of it. Certainly they are capable are reaching into the deepest depths of the ocean and they can handle themselves among the leviathans and titanic beasts. They do not prefer the darkness however so it is unlikely to be their place of birth. Also, cave paintings from men that existed in prehistoric times depict the palophonti suggesting they have been around even longer than the tlincalli Zodiac of gods. The palophonti may not even be kin to the stingers.
4. Vutunuvit, The Hidden Tundra (Anchôromé)
Nestled between the coniferous forests of the bird folk to the northwest and the slightly warmer northern reaches of the Adusgi forest to the southeast, a desolate stretch of permafrost greets the lost and exiled.
Vutunuvit is cold year round, but it is not arctic. While at first glance it can appear uninhabited this couldn’t be further from the truth. A remote tribe of the minnenewah called the vitunik have thrived here for centuries and they mostly keep to themselves. Less common are the tirigan arctic fox folk and the ooktipick snowy owl folk who prey upon them.
An ancient magic is also believed to linger deep below the frozen ground. The local folks are thankful that the entrances to this mystical realm are few and far between as nothing good ever emerges from them.
Few folks have reason to come to Vutunuvit and most believe that there is nothing to be found here. They are wrong, but this is how the locals like it. The vitunik minnenewah smile when outsiders dismiss their homeland and they are more than happy to refer to it as the Hidden Tundra.
Overview
Vutunuvit hasn’t always been the frozen land it is today and it was once active with thermal vents and towering geysers. Over the ages the fires in the earth subsided and the land above transformed into frozen tundra. Taqqimic Lake is likely the last remaining vestige of this ancient age when the land was ruled by powerful and tentacled inhuman spellcasters. In its warm depths, there may be something left of that forgotten time.
The coming of the vitunik who named the land heralded the beginning of a new age, yet they have been content for centuries with simple survival. A fair and kind folk, the Vitunik do not hunger for lands or wealth and certainly not for conquest. While undeniably minnenewah, there may have been some interbreeding with small numbers of humans of the same stock as the Ice Hunters from the distant Sea of Moving Ice.
Since their first days, the vitunik have had to stay clear of the western forest. Its bird folk react with extreme violence towards trespassers. The vitunik learned early to keep their hunts outside the forest and the ooktipick make certain they never consider otherwise.
As an offshoot of the aarakocra, the ooktipick are more closely aligned in appearance with the great snowy owls than the eagle and parrot-bred aarakocra. They are predatory and known for cannibalism. While some see them as evil, they are the consummate survivalists and have existed in their current form for time immemorial. They may be the oldest living race currently known in Anchorome. While a tribe of minnenewah in the south also have taken features of owls, the two groups are not known to be related or even to have had any form of contact.
The clever and remarkably dexterous white furred fox folk are known as the tirigan. While certainly small in number, getting an accurate count of such a people is nearly impossible. They never form communities larger than immediate families and most who are of age to do so wander the tundra looking for food while avoiding the ever abundant predators.
The last real group of note are not a true separate race unto themselves, but do have a significant culture to speak of. This group is formed from the exiled and the lost who contracted the magical disease of lycanthropy. Known as the apuut, they are a unique breed of snow wereleopards. Generally, the wereleopards were snow elves who fled from from the distant Blacktoe Glacier for one reason or another. Among these lycanthropes there is the occasional human, but the minnenewah thankfully seem immune to this form of the disease.
While not sadistic in nature, the apuut are also not averse to eating the meat of sentient beings. Survival on the tundra is not easy, particularly for carnivores who require so much energy to stave off cold and hunger.
Events
The historical accountings of Vutunuvit are not extensive but there are some events that stick out in the racial histories and stories told to young vitunik by the light of a campfire. Dates given here are rough estimates because the vitunik keep no written records of their past.
- Arrival of Minnenewah. When the tribes first scattered, most minnenewah remained in the region of the Unole. Others scattered much further abroad and the vitunik wandered north beyond the prehistoric lands of the Kaaya’yeeda. The vitunik settled in unclaimed lands which they named Vutunuvit, an amalgam of their tribal name and the name of the chieftain who led them here. This leader, Utunioo, was a hunter and archer of unparalleled marksmanship and perhaps the most well known hero of the vitunik.
- Utunioo leads the tribe into the western wood where they are immediately set upon by the ooktipick and their giant owl allies. Many die that day, but Ununioo’s unmatched skills with a bow and arrow allow for a hasty retreat.
- Vitunik traditions settle and eventually the minnenewah focus their worship on three main Great Spirits, including Red Wolf Unole, Nanook the Great Bear and Besparr the Reindeer Lord.
- While following a tirigan thief, a vitunik hunter stumbles upon a fissure in the earth and wanders inside. The hunter disappears for nearly a full moon cycle before returning to his family with stories of antediluvian horrors that live below the the frozen earth. The hunter mutters and babbles incessantly before dying a few days later in his sleep. His eyes bled out before death, much to the horror of his family. From that moment forward, the underworld was became taboo to all vitunik.
- A vitunik camp is destroyed by a strange creature whose back burned like fire and who’s claws easily rent the most powerful hunters. Finally turned back by a group of elder shamans, this creature was forever after known as the Ilkumaqunik (fire worm).
5. Tales of the Haud'aunee (Anchôromé)
Among the Haud’aunee, it was easy for the young to grow bored.
Alchesay was not yet at the age when he could attempt the Yateré-Nawé. This would be the ritual that would mark him as a full fledged member of the tribe - allowing him to hunt, explore, defend, and even begin his search for a suitable life mate. He both dreaded and anticipated the test which he would attempt on the first sun of his thirteenth cycle.
The coming-of-age ritual would require him to endure the stings of agitated arrow ants for a short time while the tribe pleaded to Ulanawa and countless other, lesser spirits to welcome Alchesay into adulthood. The ritual included many older hunters and was overseen by a respected elder who could commune with such spirit beings. Though not life threatening, the pain of the arrow ants was known to be quite intense, and itching lingered for many suns beyond.
For now, Alchesay was condemned to picking berries, digging up tubers, harvesting the small patches of crops maintained by the tribe, and tending to the needs of the elders. He dreaded the former, mindless activities but the latter gave him access to the wisest among the Haud’aunee - a boon which he appreciated. Among the spirit folk known as the minnenewah, the Haud’Aunee tribe were remarkable in particular for their longevity; and elders sometimes counted their cycles in centuries rather than decades.
Jlin-Litzoque was Alchesay’s favorite elder to tend. Though he claimed to have forgotten his true age, some of the more forthcoming elders placed him at over 270 cycles.
Jlin-Litzoque still had the humor and energy of a young man despite his hunched posture and a face that had come to look like cracked stone. This unnatural appearance was another feature of the Haud’aunee, a gift from the Great Spirit Ulanawa, the Mighty Land Tortoise and Walking Mountain.
Today, Alchesay was to spend the entire afternoon with Jlin-Litzoque, who had requested his presence specifically. Alchesay approached as he always did, announcing his presence at the entrance to the elder’s wigwam. Though he was greeted with no response from within. Alchesay did not worry, as Jlin-Litzoque was notoriously hard of hearing.
So again Alchesay announced his presence, this time loud enough for another elder in a nearby wigwam to shush him. Apparently his introduction had disturbed an afternoon nap.
Growing mildly worried, Alchesay pushed aside the hide flap of the wigwam and peered within only to be sent sprawling to the ground as a beast with great antlers and pointed teeth shot at him from the dark. Then he heard the recognizable laughter of an old man behind the horrid face - a crudely forged mask.
“What, young tortoise? Do you fear the piasa bird as do the men from across the Great Blue? The piasa is a figment of their imaginations only given power and life through their own irrational fears. Minnenewah need not fear such phantoms.”
Alchesay knew the story well, but was glad to hear Jlin-Litzoque speak it once again. Apparently, hundreds of years ago when the men and women of the land across the water came to Anchorome for the first time they observed the drawings of the minnenewah on a rock outcropping - one in particular of the spirits known as the mishipishu. In the minds of these foreign born men, the images seemed to be of some colossal predatory bird bent on their destruction which they dubbed the piasa bird. The spirits of the land took note of these fears and later when the men became unwelcome, the spirits took upon the forms of this fear. It was a true tale and a lesson to minnenewah of many tribes to respect the spirits. A common theme that could not be taught often enough.
“Could you tell me more Great Elder? Stories of the spirits. Have they ever given such a punishment to our people? Is there a piasa bird of the Haud’aunee?”
“Ah we have been scolded many times, and must be kept strong. Thus we are always challenged. But the spirits do love us and care for us. They are our keepers, much like a birth parent. What kind of parent would take all challenge from their children? We would all die of rot and corruption.”
Jlin-Litzoque settled upon a rectangular stool, made from a singular block of wood and smiled. He loved telling stories and sharing ancient wisdom that had been passed to him in a similar manner. Some of his greatest stories went as far back as the arrival of the Haud’aunee to the mortal realm of Anchorome. This would be his starting point, for he had much to tell the youngling before him.
The Great Tortoise
We, the Haud’aunee are minnenewah, but of all the tribes of the Unole there are no others like us.
The minnenewah are a shattered people who have spread to the far corners of the Unole and beyond. While we all share a common patron in Tabladak who birthed us from the stone of the Spirit Realm, the hunger of the great Thunderbird forced us to scatter, never again to return as one People.
So why then do the tribes use the Thunderbird as the symbol of whatever scant unity that might still remain? We of the Haud’aunee reject this irony and have done so since the dawn of our people.
It was the majestic Ulanawa, the Great Tortoise who brought the Haud’aunee to the land of mortals upon his back and mighty shell. Though we do not reject the Thunderbird as all spirits have their place, we know she is anything but a great unifier. Ulanawa alone wishes us to reunite with our brethren once again. One Tribe of one People, all under the protective watch of the great Ulanawa. We alone accept the truth and it has made us outcasts. Even more so than the tribes who have gone to the dark spirits. The truth brings fear to those who have known no other way.
Unlike many of his young friends, Alchesay understood that the stories of the elders always had deeper meaning and the boy sought to decipher these meanings without being told. Alchesay knew wisdom was gained and earned in such a manner, something that an explanation might deny the listener.
In a moment of silence upon the conclusion of Jlin-Litzoque’s telling of the finished the Great Tortoise, a horse whinnied in the distance. A hunting party had returned and though they looked as exhausted as their riders, the horses always made quite a commotion upon returning to the tribe.
“Great elder, can you tell me stories of our horses? How did men come to work so closely with a beast? No other creature serves our people so...willingly.
“Ahhh you are wise for one so young! Horses truly are special to us, but not so much as they are to the Chic’Epona to our distant east. The minnenewah have depended on the beasts since our first days, and their love was earned long ago.
Red Cloud and Red Leaf
Horses have roamed the Unole long before the minnenewah. They were here in a time of beasts and lorded over by a spirit named Kolowo. Kolowo was befriended by a goddess from another land who eventually fell in love with the great stallion and merged with him over time. This goddess became the Great Spirit Epona who is now the Mother of all Horses.
The original children of Epona and Kolowo were beautiful and mystical mares called the nic’Epona and the nic’Epona could always enter the Spirit Realm to pay homage to their mother.
The nic’Epona were beautiful creatures with coats and manes comprised of colors never seen among normal equines. They were sought after, but respected by the minnenewah. The wise folk knew that the nic’Epona were the daughters of a Great Spirit and were not meant to be trifled with.
The men and women of the south knew of no such boundaries, however. In the hundreds and thousands, these folks raided and captured the nic’Epona, using their foul magics to prevent escape into the Spirit Realm. Over time only one of the original great herds of nic’Epona remained with the rest all enslaved or slaughtered.
Makhpia Luta, the great warrior known as Red Cloud who loved Epona was given visions of the Great Spirit in which she commanded him to travel east. Many others followed the great warrior, though they did not understand the visions. These folks had not seen the depredations of the men from the south, but they trusted Red Cloud and the spirit whose command he obeyed.
Atop a distant hill after many days of travel, Makhpia Luta saw a great horse with a blood red coat and fiery orange and yellow mane. He approached the mare and she allowed him to mount as if he had raised her himself. The warrior knew the creature was no beast, but rather the first daughter of Epona, a mighty nic’Epona known as Wapasha the Red Leaf.
Red Cloud and Red Leaf fought the southern folk who sought the last herd of nic’Epona and slaughtered them in battle after battle. While together, the equine and minnenewah were unmatched on the field of battle. Not even the foul magic of the cruel southern men could harm the man and beast!
In time, the war was won and the last Herd of Epona, forty four mares in total, had survived. Red Cloud’s followers remained among the Herd for a time, but the nic’Epona became reclusive over time. These folks became the Chic’Epona tribe, greatest of the horselords and Red Cloud served as chieftain for nearly 60 cycles forever with Red Leaf as his companion.
Even as a venerable elder, Red Cloud remained a great warrior, but as the nic’Epona before him, the chieftain grew more distant from his people until one day he and Red Leaf simply rode north, never to return. The bond between man and equine has never wavered however, and even today one knows they cannot long survive without the other.
6. Ruins of Esh Alakar (Anchôromé)
The Ruins of Esh Alakar was once the pyramidal city of an empire that spanned thousands of worlds and even the planes themselves. In an act of incredible hubris, the entire civilization was decimated literally overnight and the pyramidal city exploded from within. Only the lucky few inhabitants of this ancient empire who were not present in the city at the time of its explosion remained living. Now they inhabit what was once the twisting catacombs beneath the city, while they search for a way to undo the calamity that befell their kind.
Secret History
For hundreds of miles around, folks who know of the Ruins of Esh Alakar consider entering the ruins a terrible taboo, lest the evil locked inside be unleashed upon the world.
While there might not be an imprisoned evil, these fears are not entirely unfounded and Esh Alakar is certainly a place to stay far away from if one desired to continue living.
Spellweavers
While it’s inhabitants number in the hundreds, the megadungeon that exists beneath the crumbling stone and rust of what remains above ground is primarily the home of four spellweavers who survived the collapse of their empire.
These spellweavers still mourn the losses they suffered over a thousand years ago and they seek to undo all that had occurred using a grand ritual known as the Code of Reversion.
Far Realm Incursion
The spellweavers of old were not a cruel lot, nor were they particularly charitable. Not only did they not consider such things, the type of morality which was so important to most mortal creatures was an utterly alien concept to the six armed humanoids.
However, the spellweavers understood survival, and through some unknown mishap, they drew the attention and unfortunately the enmity of creatures from that outside plane of pure madness known as the Far Realm. Having made some terrible miscalculation, the spellweavers made themselves targets for the maddening evils of the Far Realms. Using complex mathematical and divinatory expertise, the spellweavers realized that their world spanning empire would collapse to the onslaught of the Far Realm itself. While they felt no guilt beyond their own losses, the spellweavers also realized the Prime itself would be dragged into the Far Realm in a titanic bloody mess.
The Disjunction
In order to combat the incursion, the spellweavers developed magic well beyond any attempted before in their empire’s history and likely one of the grandest magics in the history of the multiverse. This event would come to be known as the Disjunction, but this was likely not the name given until the consequences had been experienced.
In one grand act, thousands, even tens of thousands of spellweaver arcanists joined their power across time and space. They performed this act by utilizing the Forges, powerful artifacts that connected each pyramidal city that made physical distances between each city irrelevant.
With this magic, in one grand act, they all sought to absorb the power of divinity.
Not just the power of a single divine being, but rather all the gods, and all at once. With that much power to pool among their kind, the spellweavers knew they could overcome the Far Realm incursion.
The estimated probabilities developed by the greatest minds among the spellweavers only gave the ritual a 25% chance of succeeding, but the pragmatic spellweavers realized that these were still better chances than they would otherwise have.
In case the ritual did not go as hoped, the spellweavers developed contingency magics, where the gems used for the ritual would double as recording devices. They would take stock of the multiverse as it stood in the moments before the Disjunction and of the ritual failed, they could use the gems to reset time and allow them to try again.
While the plan seemed flawless, a miscalculation or a low probability event occurred and every Forge across the multiverse exploded on the first attempt.
This event caused every major spellweaver settlement across the multiverse (those with Forges) to explode, sparing only those spellweavers who weren’t in a Forge’s vicinity. The empire, and millions upon millions of spellweavers, were dead.
Scattering of the Gems
When the smoke cleared and the remaining spellweavers regained their senses, they hoped to salvage what remained of their people in order to begin the Code of Reversion where the greatest minds could rework their calculations and prevent catastrophe a second time.
Over a thousand years later, they are still no closer to reaching their goal.
When the explosion occurred the gems scattered throughout the multiverse and they have proven impossible to find using even the most powerful magics. For century upon century, the spellweavers has hunted for clues to find the gems that might bring about the Code of Reversion and set time back to where it was so long ago.
7. Itzcatli, the Sahuagin Kingdom (Maztica)
The following history serves as both a narrative and a timeline for major events concerning the sahuagin race in general, but specifically focused on the the kingdom of Itzcatli and has some additional notes on the waters near the continents of the True World.
c. -33,000 DR
This is believed to be the time of the appearance or birth of the powerful and immortal wereshark Iakhovas. Iakhovas would one day “swim with Sekolah”, find and violently lose love with the deity Umberlee and become a major influence among the sahuagin. Among the Itzcatli sahuagin, Iakhovas is more of a legend and the city was not involved in his more recent actions.
c. -31,000 DR
Ka’Narlist, dark elven archmage of ancient Attornash creates the sahuagin as a servitor race built specifically to eliminate the sea elves which he considers a threat to his absolute power.
Under the guidance of the sahuagin general Malenti, whose appearance is that of a normal sea elf but has the savage nature of the sahuagin (and a portion of Ka’Narlist’s soul within him), the sahuagin are largely successful. The sea elves scatter into a diaspora of tribes.
Eventually Ka’Narlist’s attentions are brought elsewhere and his creations roam free.
c. -30,000 DR
Sahuagin spread wide into the seas which will one day be known as the Sea of Swords.
One faction goes deeper rather than further and enters trenches and dark water abysses which had never been explored by mortals of any sort. These sahuagin somehow learn of the deity Anguileusis, the Abiding One. These sahuagin develop life and water controlling technologies which are lost in the modern day.
c. -25,000 DR
Some sahuagin migrate further west than ever before and come into conflict with primal shalarin. The wars between the two sea folk ends in a stalemate with the sahuagin advancement effectively stopped, but the shalarin flee further west into waters which they dub the Sea of Corynactis.
Rumors hold that many shalarin turn to the worship of an ancient evil of the depths known as Dagon. This demon is one of the first of the Abyssal Lords known as the obyrith and is ancient beyond compare.
One great legend from this era tells of how the sahuagin were somehow imprisoned in a great clam shell. The details are scant, but the sahuagin believe that Sekolah the Great Shark found them at this time and freed them from their imprisonment upon which time they began to worship him exclusively. Sekolah admired their ferocity in return.
c. -24,000 DR
The sahuagin set foot on land for the first time in many thousands of years and they immediately come into conflict with humanity. The sahuagin always return to the waters, but their raids decimate whole settlements. The sahuagin eat well for a time.
c. -20,000 DR
Unknown to the sahuagin, the human god Azul hears the prayers of his faithful and after a great number of sacrifices are given in his name, he summons a mated pair of ancient primordial crocodiles known as Sipakna and Itzcatli from his rainy heaven Tlalocan.
The primordial crocodiles decimate the sahuagin nations and their offspring stand guard in the lands of men, though though they too feast on the flesh of humanity.
Eventually, the sahuagin seek out reinforcements among the deep dwellers from which they had been estranged for many millennia.
The anguillians, as they now called themselves, had mutated in form, become more eel-like than shark. The anguillians had recently suffered the disappearance of their own deity (rumored to have occurred on another world) but had also somehow managed to steal or duplicate the magic which overcame him.
This magic, a powerful ritual that could turn even the most powerful entities into a white, marble-like stone was freely shared with the sahuagin in exchange for promises of future alliance.
In a grand battle where the lives of thousands of sea devils and anguillians were lost, Sipakna was defeated and Itzcatli turned to stone. Sipakna returned to Tlalocan, caring little for her former mate, but not wanting to share in his fate.
The sahuagin immediately settled within the petrified mouth of the great crocodile and the anguillians settled in the deepest of trenches very close in proximity.
The sahuagin claimed the petrified crocodile as the seat of their power in the region, naming the whole of their kingdom Itzcatli, in order to forever remember the day of their greatest victory.
8. Tayatanancatl; The God Fungus (Maztica)"I have heard many rumors of the fabled “god fungus” among the villages of Pezelac but my search for it in the wilds was all in vain and I thought it to be nothing more than a myth."
"It wasn’t until many tendays later where a young boy in the town of Ozalt, Patil by name, offered to direct me to his elder great, great grandfather (for a price) who he claimed had a dried collection of the stuff."
"Both the boy and the elder drove a hard bargain, and I found myself out many gold quills before I was able to acquire what I sought."
"And all this for nothing, as I found my gut unable to handle its poisonous quality. For six hours, I found myself emptying the contents of my stomach, long after there was nothing left to purge."
"I do not recommend the god fungus to any, and I most certainly cannot attest to its rumored key to the doors of the gods."
Game Information. The tayatanancatl mushroom is a type of fungus found in the wilds of Pezelac and the southern portions of Kultaka, though it is extremely rare.
It’s name means “god fungus” in the Maztican common tongue and eating it is known to have a variety of effects on the consumer.
The mushroom is poisonous, and requires a DC 17 Constitution save where failure results in a poisoned condition that lasts 1d8 hours and no additional effect.
If the save is successful, roll 1d8. On a roll of 1-7, the consumer experiences wild hallucinations for 1d8 hours. While suffering from these visions, the character does not suffer any penalties, but will both see things that aren’t there and experience warping of what does exist.
Suggestion works very easily on such an afflicted character forcing them to make Charisma saves at disadvantage.
On a roll of 8, the hallucinations transcend the mortal plane and a character can use the *commune* spell to speak directly to a Maztican deity. The limit of yes or no questions increases to ten over a period of 1d8 hours. If they are not asked in that time, the effect ends and is wasted.
Attempting to take two doses in the same 24 hour period automatically leads to a failed Constitution save.
9. Baalham (Maztica)"While I have heard many rumors of the dreaded baalham, known to foreign folks as a “jaguar lord” I was only made privy to the Baalham after visiting a tribe of the Little Folk in the depths of the Far Payit jungles.
The Little Folk spoke of the Baalham as a ruler of its kind - a creature so large and fearsome that even the lesser gods of the jungle avoid it. The Baalham may have once been a god itself, but now its mortal form prowls the wood, sometimes feasting on a single lost soul, and at other times wiping out entire villages.
I am glad to have never come across the beast but after being told of its existence, I cannot help but feel a cold chill every time I hear a roar from the jungle.
Game Information. The Baalham is a powerful creature that once lived among the dead of Mictlan but long ago escaped to the mortal realms.
While it holds some similarities to the creatures known as jaguar lords, it is not in fact their ruler nor truly related in any meaningful way. The Payit name for the jaguar lords however, is also baalham because of these unfounded legends.
10. The Green Star Q’umirchasca (Lopango)
What Faerunians call the comet Alhazarde, the Natican call Q’umirchasca (the “Green Star”) and the Giant Kings refer to as Kumahira the Heart of the Dragon.
Of all who observe the green colored comet, only the Giant Kings know its true origin and for a brief time it allows them to feel a sense of pride. In the ancient wars between the dragons and the Colossal Kingdom of Ostoria, the stone giant clan that became the Giant Kings won many battles before their shameful cowardice in the overwhelming presence of the red greatwyrm Garyx. Their greatest foe was a green greatwyrm called Ondrex (sometimes Ondrexillor the Deadbreaker) who decimated half a dozen clans of stone giants and a titan whose name the comet now holds.
The stone giants used powerful rune magic to bring the greatwyrm to ground where their greatclubs finally brought the dragon low. The runes they used were tied to a specific comet that returned to Toril’s skies once every 87 years and when the greatwyrm lay slain under its nighttime light, its hue changed into the glowing green coloration for which it is known today.
When the comet returns to the skies of Toril it shines brightest in Lopango and the giants seek out the green tinged star metal that falls from the skies in the tenday with a reckless abandon. It may be the one substance they value more than gold and also might be the one event that lets them forget their great shame in the face of Garyx.
11. Pall-Moille the Dreamer in the Deeps (Maztica or Lopango)In the seas west of Lopango, south of the shalarin homeland known as the Sea of Corynactis and north of the frigid southern ocean, there is a deep trench where one might expect to find aboleth, kraken or worse.
Instead, this virtually unknown and unvisited region is home to a being that has lived since the Blue Age of Toril, when the gods and primordials warred over a young world. Pall-Moille is no primordial, and certainly no deity, but her immortality is undeniable and she is one of the oldest non-divine living creatures on the planet today.
Pall-Moille appears much like a titanic seahorse, though her expressive face betrays any attempt she might make at hiding her intelligence. Often referred to as the Dreamer in the Deeps, there are few that have even heard her legend, much less seen her. Even the great sea scorpionfolk titans known as the palophonti speak of her in respectful tones and shalarin legends only hint at her existence.
Oracle of the Ocean
There is no other being that remembers more of the ocean world than Pall-Moille. Though she has not been terribly active in recent millennia, her knowledge of Toril’s primordial seas is near omniscient. Though she is not an aggressive or cruel being, it is virtually impossible to coerce her into sharing her great knowledge and certainly she can defend herself against beings who persist with violent intention. In order to gain information from this truly ancient being, one would likely have to complete some task or entire quest to gain her trust. That is of course, if she could be found in the first place.
Using Pall-Moille
Pall-Moille is not a monster to be found and slain, and frankly with her immunities, speed and abilities she could either destroy or (more likely) evade aggressors.
Pall-Moille should be sought out if the PCs require ancient knowledge regarding the undersea regions of Toril. She does however, have a bit of a blind spot regarding the past thousand years since she has spent most of that time dreaming away the years bonded to the Great Tree of the Deep. Consulting Pall-Moille will be more useful for information, for example, about the batrachi or origins of the sahuagin than it would be for the recent Threat from the Sea led by the weremegalodon Iakhovas.
The Great Seahorse also knows of much hidden magic, both in the form of spells and items that have never before reached the surface.
The Dreamer in the Depths
Pall-Moille is an incredibly difficult creature to kill, but she herself rarely chooses to do harm to others. Her primary attack form is a wave of psychic energy that can stun attackers long enough for her to make her escape. This attack has protected her from many a kraken throughout the eons in addition to other horrors of the deep, many of which have no name. Physically, her tail slap can easily crush a smaller creature, but she is loathe to use such a primitive defense.
Pall-Moille is also extraordinarily fast and can increase her speed over time in the deep waters. There is no known creature that can keep up with her in water once she has begun her flight.
Lair and Habitat
Pall-Moille lives in a deep trench where no sunlight reaches but still a massive coral branch grows. This branch reaches over a thousand feet towards the surface but still remains many more thousands below the surface.
Her very presence keeps most predators away but she is served by herds of intelligent hippocampi whom lore seekers must first befriend if they wish to approach the Great Tree.
The batrachi amphibiod creator race are best known for their ages long war with the the Colossal Kingdoms of giants tens of thousands of years ago. But the bateachi also held empires for thousands of years and in that time, the giants were not their only foe.
The batrachi were once nearly overrun by a rare coalition of fiends that included actual demons, demodands and yugoloths. While the threat was short in duration, entire cities were decimated until the future batrachi lord Zhoukodien - a young being at the time - unleashed a magic so powerful it imprisoned, banished and destroyed entire armies of the fiends.
The imprisoned fiends from those ancient days remain a problem to this very day and are the source of the demon seeds. Though rare, there is always a danger that a geode may contain one who has been locked away for nearly 30000 years.
because of their ancient age, many of the entrapped entities are in forms that are virtually unknown today. One well known instance was some form of proto-vrock; far larger in size than its modern kin. This creature was destroyed by Lord Amaru himself in the Lopangan Mountains near Pichu Umu.
In Anchorome, it is now known that one such demon egg was how the bent priestess Ikitipsa gained command over a farastu that led to so much hardship among the Azuposi people. Even the legendary bear-fiend of the Growling Falls in the Pasocada Basin was believed to have been released from such a stone.
Luckily the accidental release of fiends is a rare occurrence but as of late in the city of Apu Roca, a charming merchant has been spending exorbitant amounts of gold purchasing unbroken geodes. Some suspect that the merchant is not exactly what he appears to be.
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