Rise of the clans

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Gtroc

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I am loooking into running a game in the near future, and I was looking fo some input on the ideas I have so far. The game will be huge, eventually. I will be setting it in the scavenger lands, probably in the hundred kingdoms region. it will start with your standard running from the DBs, saving townsfolk and all that jazz. then they will run into a small group of DBs who react quite differently to the players(if they are solars, they are reverent and respectful. if the players are DBs they treat them with disdain.) these are just the scouting force of a much larger Dragon blooded army.  they have massive amounts of first age gear, all apparently newly constructed. the back story is that slightly before the usurpation, an ancient Twilight got fed up with having distractions in his research. he built himself three reality engines and tore a chunk of creation off and set it adrift in the wyld, taking with him his mortal and Dragonblooded servants. over the centuries he has developed many new and terrifying artifacts, spells, and powers. now he has remembered creation, and is interested in returning. he sent scouts to see the nature of the world he is returning to. when he finds out the condition of the realm, and the dragon bloods betrayal, he will unleash a mighty war against the realm, seeking to conquer all in his path. I am thinking of having a Luunar consort as well. I think this would be a neat scenario as it would require dealing with a problem that no one in creation is prepared for. so, any thoughts?
 
Warstriders sound good...


also sounds like these NPC Dragon blooded likely will have breedings on average of 4 or higher.
 
Sweet.


So how has he dealt with the Great Curse? Is he a complete bastard-despot? Has he struck a fine balancing-act with his dark moods? Has he (gasp) managed to cure himself?
 
Pteorak tutor: yes...warstriders will be there in much glory. and the DBs will have high breeding.


memesis: yes...yes I have, that was a magic time in my life...ah the memories.


Solfi:  I have not decided yet, I like the idea of a complete mad genius, but that would make him a little easier to defeat, hoever if he defeated the great curse on his own, how would that effect his outlook? I just do not know yet.


the biggest problem I am having is how to think like a 3000+ year old essence 9 supergenius. I may be smart, but there is no real comparison when comparing my paltry twenty five years, to his three thousand. any thoughts on how his strategy.
 
Cool idea.  Here are some questions that you may have already an answer for, but its always good to think ahead.


1. Since this pocket of Creation has been drifting out in the Wyld, what is their relation with the Fae?  Enemies, allies, or something else?  If your Solar has made some pact with a band of nobles, that would lead to one hell of a scary army.  Dragon-Blooded armed with First Age gear marching along side a Raksha cohort and their Wyld-shaped creations.


2. Does this pocket have any connection to the underworld?  I would believe not, or else knowledge of their existance would be harder to keep secret.


3. Are there any other Solar shards floating around this pocket, or is the one guy the only one?  With the destruction of the Jade Prison, your Twylight may have a sudden influx of new Solars.
 
Gtroc said:
the biggest problem I am having is how to think like a 3000+ year old essence 9 supergenius. I may be smart, but there is no real comparison when comparing my paltry twenty five years, to his three thousand. any thoughts on how his strategy.
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That's a big problem for all people trying to portray DLs or any random GMPC :D
 
In looking to show off the intelligence of a 3000 year old super-genius: retcon. Retcon. Retcon.


Yes, it is cheating a little bit, but your players don't have to know that.  Keep your plans fluid, and a wee bit vague. You don't have to explain why they're going after secondary targets--they just are. Later it can be revealed that what seemed like a secondary was their real goal--a lost tomb or repository. Suddenly, your Solar is damned sneaky.  You don't have to give your players all the details, but let them be revealed as time goes on.  


That doesn't mean you foil all their plans--do that and you're Solar is going to go from being sneaky, to an asshole--but don't tip all that's going on.  Don't reveal that he's got spies--not DBs, but Spirits who are reporting in, wee First Age mice and birds with soul gems that allow his minions to use their eyes and ears, or worse: Mortals who often forgotten about.


Don't tip your hand.  Let the mystery play itself out.  The tendency for a neat-o plan like this is to reveal too much, too soon.  Resist it. Pace the story right, and don't give in to the temptation to show how smart you are--and your Solar is.  That'll come as his actions are proved justified, and he plays the DBs time and time again.


Be careful too, that these Clan forces don't just whomp the heck out the DBs all the time, with nifty toys.  Let them win by superior tactics melded with superior technology, but their numbers...not so much.  It might be that by this time, in their small pocket Realm, that most of the Mortals are God-Blooded or Dragon Blooded--which is a significant advantage, but I'd be careful with giving this war machine both superior tech and numbers.


Trained well, with plenty of goodies, but they can't have all the cards, or it's not a contest--an dmore like a D&D inspired Grudge Monster...
 
Sherwood:  1. I believe that the relationship between the first age solar and the Fair Folk would be strained at best. what with him wandering through there domain in a giant abomination to all that is the wyld.


2. I actually had not thought about the underworld much in relation, that does bring up some interesting quandaries, as people who die would end up reincarnating in creation maybe, I am talking mortals not exalts here. I will have to think on that.


3. I hold that the solar shards are linked to creation, and thus there would be few if any wandering the wyld. I very much doubt that there would be any new solars in the pocket of creation.


Jakk: I usually do fudge my rules when dealing with the main badguy. I was just wondering how much is too much, because basically speaking, this dude should win. he has the firepower, manpower, tactics, and technology. as well  as the fact that he has thousands of years experience on everyone in creation save a few very old slide rules.
 
Depending on how detailed you want to get, you can also include a level of conspiracy in Yu-Shan about this.  The little pocket should still have its share of gods and spirits to maintain daily life, and they should still have some records on file in the Celestial Bueaucracy.  Perhaps some god was bribed/blackmailed/recruited into helping keep the secret from the rest of heaven.  Perhaps it could be a part of an experiment of the Sidereals.  A controled experiment to see what would have happened if the Solars were left alone.  I can almost see two dudes in lab coats and clip boards in a laboratory, "Hmm, interesting results.  Lets see what the next 500 years brings to the equation."
 
Nice thoughts Sherwood. The Siddies performing that experiment is a stretch though. That experiment means the Siddies acknowledge the possibility that they might have made the wrong choice... big no no as far as their Curse is concerned.
 
Sherwood: I do like the idea of a celestial conspiricy of a sort. the real trick would be how does one hide the existence of a continent the size of australia wandering off? how many gods would have to be invollved. more than one definitly. anyone have a thought on that?


also, how would this ancient solar treat his newly reborn solar bretheren? I think he would be civil but distaant. though if they swore fealty, I would guess they would have access to more power and training than anyone else in creation. on another note, would he have the codes to the sword of creation? that is a scary thought.
 
Gtroc--That's sort of my point.


While he has a tech advantage, and he's got all this personal power, you might want to not give him the advantage of numbers.  Instead, he's got an advantage in tactics and strategy.


Force him instead to show off that--that he's sent advance teams to sabotage the DBs and their war machine.  Strategic strikes, assassinations, Manses getting taken out, and ambushes launched on the teams sent to check it out.


But I'd be careful in giving him all the goodies and numbers--because then it's not really all that dramatic, unless you want to tell a tale of fleeing DBs, a broken Realm, and a war torn Creation. If that is what you're looking for, then roll on like a big wheel.
 
*slipping in silently, moving around the edges unseen*


*yoink*


*leaving as silently as I entered*


13126141_400x400.jpg
 
I am thinking of combining this campaign with the locust crusade. I think it would be a very neat twist, the finally resolve the invading autochthonian issue, only to run into something just as old, if not older, with a much better knowledge of how creation works. even if it is a millenia or two out of date.


Jakk: how would the ancient solar not have superior numbers, though? it seems to me that without the great contagion, and the usurpation thinning them out, there would be baajillions of DB, not to mention god bloods, and tiger warriors.
 
That's just it... the Old Realm may have all that... BUT he has been cut off... in a restricted amount of space. There would be only so much you can squeeze in, in terms of population and the food and various resources you would need to support the population.


Now, I can buy that he may have an ALL DB population, with the DBs that he has the pure strain that haven't bred with humans... or a mixed population of humans and DBs with strict injunctions that prevent them from mixing their blood. But the population would have a strict cap.
 
Haku said:
There would be only so much you can squeeze in, in terms of population and the food and various resources you would need to support the population.
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But he would have access to the Solar Wyld-shaping Charms!


The Wyld is pure potential. A Twilight could harness that potential into an endless supply of ... well, whatever he wanted. He might even be able to modify a Reality Engine to churn whatever supplies he needed.
 
You are wise ninja' date=' but perhaps one day, you shall be thwarted for the this plot yoinking? *floats*[/quote']
Your kung fu is strong  :shock:
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Gtroc--Limited resources. Limited space.


Greater percentages of DBs maybe, and lots of God Bloods wandering around, percentage-wise, but still a sliced off piece of the Creation is a lot smaller.  Just not the resources to keep a huge population.


OK, so he's got his Mana Machines to create food from base material, but there's still only so far his little slice of the Creation extends, only so much food that can go around.  


Let's also say, much of his Wyld Shaping went into building his war machine.  If you do want HUGE numbers, maybe impose some artificial limiters: say, realizing he can't feed his HUGE army of elites at the same time, or deal with their waste piling up and poisoning the kit and kaboodle--because opening up his little pocket realm to the Wyld is still a dangerous prospect, as you've got things in the Wyld that the Creation has never imagined, and those are his neighbors.  So, maybe his army is in little suspension crystals, stored for later use.  


Which is perhaps where his troops excel--and a bulk of said war machine has been training and fighting against.  In keeping the integrity of their little home.  


There's also a question of where are the souls coming from?  Some Well of Souls?
 
the space issue is not such a controlling factor. he could make what he needs to make more reality engines form the wyld. he could keep adding to the land mass quite easily. though it does shame me a bit that I did not think of the constant fighting with wyld monstrosities and such. I will have to consider that as well. the next questions after that are, how long has he had his scouts observing the realm? what does he know? and is he waiting for a specific instance? or perhaps, were I to go non canon, he has the empress hostage. I wonder what he would be doing with her?
 
There's also the question of folks in Yu-Shan wondering where a ton of souls are going, if they're not destined for the Creation. And DB Exaltations.


Someone in Yu-Shan has to know something is going on.  


Reality Engines can take care of the physical needs, but what about the souls to populate the place, and the security concerns with the neighbors.


The Clans idea was neat, because you had a fuck ton of infighting to hone them.  That might be limiter right there--their society is constantly competing with itself, and each other.  Just in ways that are a bit different.


Your Solar uses this to focus his troops. So, you've to a little rivalry, and a martial society that believes in dueling, possibly even to the point of the Dune idea of kanley.  


You've got to build in some way that your PCs can have a hope of exploiting something--unless you're just using this Solar as a big ass plot device to change the face of the Creation.


There just isn't a lot of room for drama with this idea.  Overwhelming odds and eventual defeat, or overwhelming victory when they join.  You've got to have some way that the PCs can get involved and be the focus of the story.


It's easy to create overwhelming villains. The key is to make situations where the PCs can shine.  Difficult, yes, but facing overwhelming odds with NO hope of victory, that's not a lot of fun.
 
I think that the souls question brings up some interesting problems. what gods were payed off, or involved in the hiding of the clans, and their growth. also, perhaps the solar has already come up with a solution to the souls problem. what are the posssible fixes for that, though?
 
Rivals compete with each other, and sabotaging one another can easily be used.  And of course those allies' eventual betrayal.  It could add a few layers of competition.


In a dueling culture, you might have the PCs stave off an attack by defeating their champion, and gain their foes' respect.  If they have a dueling culture, then honor is probably going to be a key portion of their psyche, so a city could be spared, or terms given.


The souls question is the puzzler.  Autocthon had to take a crap load with him on his little sojourn.


As for which gods got paid off--the question might be all the way up the ladder, and secrets all throughout Yu Shan.  Or, what if the souls are being supplied from some underground source--a Yozi plan to manipulate a Solar to doing their bidding, and without any Yozi taint of Akumadom to tip off the Sidereals and other Solars.


Or perhaps not so ebbil, but perhaps a Lost God, who retained some small power after not being worshipped as much, looking to regain power again, using the lost Clans and the Solar, manipulating them to do his bidding.  A masterful schemer who's been hiding his conduit to divert souls, and his own agents deep in the Celestial Bureacracy, all Gods who want to get the US and the rest of the Incarna out of the way, so that they can ascend to glory themselves.
 
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