Tears of Taija: Short List of Important Demons

[MDSnowman]

Look kiddies, we have a banner!

[Unknown Soldier]

We are just too awesome.

[Psistrike]

Ooo, very nice.

[Libra]

It's very handsome, Snowman.

[Daret Vox]

I was inspired by the thread to put together a character. That said, I feel like a bad player for submitting him to a campaign that is starting in a location a scenic as Ghenna Prison. If the Department of Character Services visits and tries to terminate my player rights to the character, I don't know that I will have a leg to stand on.

http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?p=520044#520044

DV

[MDSnowman]

I was inspired by the thread to put together a character. That said, I feel like a bad player for submitting him to a campaign that is starting in a location a scenic as Ghenna Prison. If the Department of Character Services visits and tries to terminate my player rights to the character, I don't know that I will have a leg to stand on.

http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?p=520044#520044

DV

Na Daret you weren't a bad player or anything, but we're full up sadly.

[Daret Vox]

No worries MDS. It was a fun exercise making the character and truth told, with my RL obligations I doubt I would have had time to do the campaign justice. That said, feel free to use Lucian as another soul who is wrongly (or not so wrongly) imprisoned in Ghenna.

I look forward to reading the transcripts when the campaign starts.

DV

[MDSnowman]

Well I was sitting around doing nothing while 7th graders played monopoly all day (read: Substitute teaching) and I got inspired, expect six new ToT Organizations ASAP.

[MDSnowman]

Organizations: Part 12

Name: The Merithian War Colleges

Nicknames: Military Academies, The War Masters

Symbol: Various

Structure: Several competing military academies

Description: During the height of the Merithian Empire warfare was an art form amongst the nobility. For those noble families living in the center of the empire there was a multitude of military academies willing to teach their children the ways of war for a fee. As the years passed the various schools developed more and more distinctive styles. When the empire finally crumbled the war colleges were so entrenched in the lives of the nobility that they continued on even after the empire. In the present ten colleges of different styles and prestige remain, all of them clustered around Limberry (with a couple of notable exceptions). Those nobles who want their children to have a career in the military still send them to these now nearly legendary academies.

Name: The Unwanted

Nicknames: Refugees, Squatters, Shadow Dwellers

Symbol: A tattered black banner

Structure: Rabble

Description: The authorities in Dennigrad have a reputation for being harsh on those who displease them. Military deserters, unregistered magic users, political activists, and more are among them. Naturally people want to avoid the wrath of the authorities, and go to great lengths to hide. For decades there has been a very loosely organized group of people hiding these so-called Unwanted from the law. Recently their numbers have grown beyond the ability of anyone to hide them so the unwanted did the unthinkable, they fled enmasse.

Over the course of several weeks, the Unwanted left the cities in small groups, eventually joining up on a march east. Eventually the Unwanted came to a stop at the one place in Dennigrad where the authorities wouldn’t follow them, the Obsidian Citadel.

That was eight months ago, it’s unknown if Helene Disato even knows they’re at her doorsteps in a hastily built shanty town, and no one from the citadel has attempted to communicate with them. The move has had the desired effect, however, no force in Dennigrad has dared get within spitting distance of the Citadel to apprehend the thousands of refugees.

Name: The Forest Stalkers

Nicknames: Wild Elves, The Beast Legions

Symbol: Silhouettes of one of the first beasts (Bear, Stag, Hawk, or Wolf)

Structure: Four groups of military units

Description: Every culture has its own warrior traditions and the Sidhe draw their own from nature. It’s widely believed by the Sidhe that the older a particular animal is the more pure it is. Therefore the first example of an animal would be the most powerful. Forest dwelling Sidhe normally give worship to the first Bear, Stag, Hawk, and Wolf. For eons the Sidhe have emulated these mighty animals by patterning their fighting styles after them. These various warriors now make up the lion’s share of Sidhe warriors in the wild. The followers of first bear traditionally wear their hair short and fight wearing spiked gauntlets, favoring grappling. The followers of first hawk wear their hair long, braided with feathers and prefer using short bows and hatchets. The followers of first stag prefer spears and are trained as exceptional long distance runners. Finally the followers of first wolf, expert trackers even for Sidhe, are the most sociable, favoring group tactics, and dual wielding knives, short swords, or clawed gauntlets.

[Psistrike]

Ah, the Unwanted are perfect for our group to hook up with sometime. Although I wonder how they would feel about the demoness of our band?

[MDSnowman]

Ah, the Unwanted are perfect for our group to hook up with sometime. Although I wonder how they would feel about the demoness of our band?

I ask myself that for ANYONE your group meets. Generally the awnser is "not good" it's a good thing she can pass as human.

[MDSnowman]

Organizations: Part 13

Name: The Skin Walkers

Nicknames: The Lunar kin, Lycanthropes, Shifters

Symbol: None

Structure: None

Description: Skin Walkers is a blanket term applied to intelligent humanoids who have suffered some manner of spiritual damage and the holes in their spirit have been filled by other spirits. These spirits can be of any kind, and origin. The most well known are animal spirits which grant the possessed person enhanced physical traits. These present in several different ways, sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes the person becomes a humanoid-animal hybrid. The wide variety of these creatures makes classification hard. Animals are not the only spirits that can possess such a person; such people are also open to demons who attempt to use the person as a gateway. Another unfortunate case are those possessed by spirits of rage or anger, this so-called berserkers are the most dangerous mortals in existence since they require inordinate amount of punishment to actually kill. Several kinds of Skin Walkers seem more powerful at night, or under different phases of the moon, though this is not an absolute. Shifters are viewed differently by different groups. The church of Taija think they’re an abomination, while Sidhe, and Orcs see it as a unique gift, albeit one with risks. Kyrn don’t talk much about it, but they are especially prone to invasion by feline animal spirits.

Sample PC: Makhpia Sha

Name: Brotherhood of the Crimson Arrow

Nicknames: Snipers, Red Feathers, Death Bringers

Symbol: A Red arrow on a black field

Structure: Military units

Description: The Sidhe have been practicing magic since most races were wearing hide loin clothes, and it shows in their magical traditions. One of the most feared, and secretive, are the Red Feathers. These mages have learned to focus their spells almost exclusively through their bows and trademark red fetched arrows. These archers are famed throughout Darkon for firing arrows that can stun rampaging animals, never miss their target, hit accurately from miles away, veer towards internal organs, cause complex illusions, or even turn a foe into dust. This particular magical tradition is almost entirely unknown outside of the Sidhe, specifically the Lledrith Sidhe. After the exodus of the Daoine Sidhe the Lledrith Red Feathers hunted down any Daoine Red Feather they could find to keep them from teaching their art to humans. As one can see The Crimson Arrows take teaching their art to non-sidhe very seriously.

Name: The Darkened Penitents

Nicknames: The Sinners

Symbol: A Setting Sun

Structure: Cell based secret society

Description: Very little is known about the Darkened Penitents. They are nominally a sect of the church of Taija. Their beliefs say that it falls upon a few to live in darkness in order for the others to live in the light. The Sinners take it upon themselves to live in darkness. What this means is a matter of great dispute. Officially they conduct their rituals in dark places, and some ritually blind themselves, literally living away from Taija’s grace. Others believe this means that they do unspeakable things for the good of the church. The truth of the matter is unknown since the Sinners conduct their business in utmost secrecy.

[Daret Vox]

MDS-

Another great batch of organizations. I loved the Sidhe orgs in particular. The Forest Stalkers have a great tribal feel to them and the Brotherhood of the Crimson Arrow captures both the mystical nature of the Sidhe as well as the deep tension between the two rival branches. It's also nice to see an organization with a kindred viewpoint on how the Daoine Sidhe should be handled.

Finally, the idea of shifters as having spiritual damage that is healed by a foreign spirit which gives them their abilities is new to me. I really like it and I was wondering where it comes from (the deep dark recesses of a substitute teachers mind is a perfectly valid answer).

Keep up the good work.

DV

[MDSnowman]

MDS-

Another great batch of organizations. I loved the Sidhe orgs in particular. The Forest Stalkers have a great tribal feel to them and the Brotherhood of the Crimson Arrow captures both the mystical nature of the Sidhe as well as the deep tension between the two rival branches. It's also nice to see an organization with a kindred viewpoint on how the Daoine Sidhe should be handled.

Finally, the idea of shifters as having spiritual damage that is healed by a foreign spirit which gives them their abilities is new to me. I really like it and I was wondering where it comes from (the deep dark recesses of a substitute teachers mind is a perfectly valid answer).

Keep up the good work.

DV

Well our 6th player is actually an Orc Shaman with Animal Mimicry and the explanition for his power is severe damage to his spirit making him open to several different animal spirits. I took his idea and carried it to the next level applying it to all sorts of situations.

[MDSnowman]

Special Materials

Ironwood: Ironwood trees grow in the largest, and oldest forests in Darkon and when properly worked proves to be as strong and durable as iron while being lighter. As a result of these properties, and the location most Ironwood trees are found the material is especially popular among Lledrith Sidhe who use it in lieu of iron and steel, materials that have an adverse physical effect on them. However, the sidhe use Ironwood sparing. They seldom make long blades from it instead using it for smaller items like arrow heads, spear heads, axe blades, and the like, seldom swords, preferring hafts made of more traditional materials.

Azurite: This bluish metal is found most commonly in deep underground veins; as such it spent generations being used primarily by Dwarves. When the Dwarves became a part of human society in Dennigrad it spread becoming available to people all over Darkon, at a price. Recently it has become popular amongst Daoine Sidhe as it is not an iron-based ore. The metal also appears to react strongly to magic, making it easier to create magical items that contain azurite components. The demand for azurite is high, and production is always slow, so owning azurite items is seen as a status symbol in most circles.

Adamantine: Shortly before the start of the Deep Wars Dwarven miners discovered a strange metal ore. It was heavy, and hard to work. Dwarven smiths were about to abandon working with the material all together when the Deep War broke out. Everyone took up arms, anything they could find. The Dwarves quickly discovered that adamantine items were nearly indestructible, and in some rare cases absorbed magical energy directed towards them. If the Deep Wars had ended differently it’s very likely that Adamantine would have become the backbone of a new Dwarven society. However, with the dwarves forced to flee their home the few known veins of Adamantine are inaccessible. Therefore the only adamantine in circulation in this day and age dates from before the Deep Wars and has been worked and reworked several times.

Hurricane Slate: This porous stone, found exclusively on the hurricane islands, appears entirely useless at first glance. However, the ancients Elemental Scions of air knew of a way to work the stone using their powers into a material harder, sharper, and lighter than iron ore. The process was so successful, and prevalent, that Hurricane Slate was used entirely instead of metal on the Islands. The process of shaping Hurricane Slate with air magic was one of the great secrets of the Elemental Scions and they took it to their death when they were killed by imperial witch hunters; today the Kryn struggle to learn these techniques, but with little to show for their efforts. Some believe that the Kryn do not have the proper understanding of air magic yet, and others think that the stone itself refuses to be worked by anyone other than the elemental scions.

Golem Scrap: The Ancients knew how to make war golems. Their creations were so powerful that they fought entire wars for their masters. Now, eons later, their creations can still be found all over Darkon if you’re willing to look hard enough. In all regards the metal used to create these golems are of only the most excellent types; unusually strong, sharp, and seeming to defy rust and age with ease. People began shaping this metal as soon as they discovered it, calling it golem scrap. Golem scrap is an excellent metal to work with but the supply wavers drastically, depending almost entirely on adventurers to discover more. Today the steadiest source of Golem Scarp is the City of the Sleeping Giant in the Eastern Reaches. They do not take scrap from the golem that gives their city its name, instead relying on a small army of destroyed smaller golems discovered buried around the aforementioned giant golem.

Dragon: Dragons are creatures of primal elements given flesh, and as such that flesh carries with it special properties. Dragon bones, already thick and hard, pick up qualities of the area where the dragon laired, fire abilities for volcanoes, water for deep oceans, and the line. Their scaled hide has resistances to these same forces. As one can imagine weapons and armor made of dragon remains are extremely coveted, but the elusive natures of the mighty beasts, not to mention the fights they’re likely to put up parting with their body parts, make it dragon made items some of the rarest anywhere.