Five Blades of Bahamut: Monsters

The fires of the Gods War no longer burned and Erathis had chained her lovers to her will, and before she left to her Palace of the Stars, she left one last gift to the Naratha Empire- the Ritual of Cleansing. A simple rite to remove the spiritual pollution, negative energy and assure the soul freedom after death.

The Naratha Empire had conquered and brought law to the four corners of the world, so all that remained was a final Ritual of Cleansing, to be undertaken by everyone, at one time, to create the perfect world for once and for all.

Just after the ritual had been completed, strangers and strange people from unknown places poured in an unstoppable wave, destroying Neratha forever. The orcs, goblinoids, kobolds and countless other things that were not man nor beast burned the world under the bloodied eye of Gruumsh.

This is common knowledge.

History 15: These creatures do not build self sufficient societies- you do not come across a group that is farming, fishing, hunting and mind it’s own business, they all live as raiders of some sort.

History 20: No one has ever seen their young. It is unknown how they multiply. And, their remains disappear completely after a year and a day.

Religion 25: These things did not appear before the Ritual of Cleansing. Some rumors say some horrible sin must have been purged letting these creatures into the world and bringing down Neratha.

Arcana 30: These are the manifestations of spiritual pollution which has been cleansed away by the Ritual of Cleansing. Certainly, the souls are freed from the burden, but it remains for the living to deal with. Each type is a different form of pollution – Goblins are evil thoughts, Orcs are evil deeds, Hobgoblins are deeds under Evil Laws, Kobolds are good deeds undone, etc.

(Design note: There’s really only two ways to deal with all the sentients who exist to be slaughtered – you either don’t question it or you have a rather nasty moral quandry about what to do with orc babies. This question might not exist if it were not for the fact that D&D up until at least 2nd edition had “non-combatants” listed in modules… So, my only justification for wholesale slaughter? They don’t have kids, they don’t have families, they are, literally monsters. They are not different than robots or zombies, so much in this way.)

I love the people I play with

My good friend misterbanx emailed this right after reading the deity post:

I can just see how it all started (for the 3 Sisters)…

Raven Queen came into being amidst the chaos and turbulence of The Beginning,
with all manner of cosmic and stellar shapes twirling in and dashing out of existence.

She watched them form, dance, crash, swell and explode over and over again until The Shaping was complete.

It is then and only then, when the Universe was calm, that she became aware of her Sisters.

For it was then and only then, when the raging Primal Fires had subdued and left a most curious Flickering Flame in their wake.

And what a fierce and fragile thing this Flame was, too!

Too fragile to have ever endured the Countless Infernos that came before it, but every bit as bright.

It was this Willful Spark that now dared to light the darkness, to fill it with possibilities, with Life.
And so Malora was named.

But just as soon as Death and Life came to be in the same space did the necessity of The Cycle between the two did as well.
And so the third sister came to be.
And so Avandra was named.

Participatory setting creation is really the only way to go for me. I could write up hundreds of pages on the religions and mythology, but it’s more fun to build those details as a group, together, and in play.

Sure, different groups might produce different worlds with the same material, but that’s just how theater works- you can take the same play and a different troupe will twist it to all their own – it’s kind of the point. Input, Investment, Ownership- creatively.

5 Blades of Bahamut: Deities

The Three Sisters

Of all that is all we know, first is the Raven Queen, Melora and Avandra.

The Raven Queen? She’s the oldest of the three, and no one remembers her name. Some say she named all of the rest, and you and me, too- she knows our secret names and calls us back to Nothingness when our time is up. Since she named everything, nothing was around to learn her name when she came into being, and at the end of existence she will call her own name and all will be as one. The ones who cast away ghosts in her name? They call her the Silence that Speaks, and claim she never says a thing.

Melora came with her waves and winds and birds and beasts and trees. Everything that moves and draws breath, she painted, sang or danced into existence. And she just as equally paints over, sings over or steps on in her wild frenzy of creation. She is beautiful, terrible and life. Most respect her and keep their distance, for she is the flame and we are but moths.

Avandra is the youngest, but we call her the middle sister. She balances the flow, the change, the trade between her two sisters, between life and death. And we are her children, for we do not simply live at Melora’s whim- we are free to choose to be who we wish to be, to reshape the world as best we can, before the waves of change wash it away.

Avandra’s Consorts

Avandra holds two lovers- Pelor the Sun and Sehanine the Moon. Avandra loves them both, and they give rise to day and night, to time. Of our gods, Pelor has the most worship, for he brings the food and the harvest, and guides the soul by day. From the greatest city to the smallest farming village, everyone has some offering or praise. Sehanine has many lovers, but Avandra is her true love to whom she must return. They share the secret of the heart- as change, as trade, as confusing as young love.

Sehanine’s Love and Hate

While Avandra is Sehanine’s Queen, of the men gods, she loves three.

The brothers Ioun and Vecna, whose stories are told over and over in the 999 Heartbreaks- a popular set of stories of love, lies, betrayal and magic, most of which contradict each other. Some say the secrets of both magic and the human heart can be found in them, while others only claim madness lies within.

Just as dramatic, is Sehanine’s love affair with Corellon, whose heart she stole from her own daughter- Lolth. The song speakers of Corellon say Lolth was banished to the edge of stars for betraying her mother and sacrificing innocent souls out of spite. Those who dive deep into arcane scrolls? They say at the edge of the Farplane Lolth weaves a web of light, souls and tears to keep Madness at bay, waiting for her lover to return with the final sealing spell. And Sehanine’s masked ones? They just laugh.

Erathis, daughter of Pelor, Conqueror Queen

From her mother of trade and her father of agriculture, Erathis was born with a bloody crown upon her head, one hand mailed and one hand in silk. She chained four gods to her service- Moradin the worker, Bane the warlord, Asmodeus the merchant, and Torog the unspeakable. Though Bane’s lover Gruumsh sometimes lures him away, he always returns to Erathis and her gown of swords in which she dances.

The Bastards

Kord, Zehir and Gruumsh. They are collectively known as the Three Bastards- no one’s quite sure who their parents were, or how they came to being. in the stories, they often serve as wildcards, and see little worship, except by occassional cults.

The Dragon Gods

Bahamut, born of the Gods War. Bahamut protected many during the Gods War, though few remember him now. Rare orders can be found, and lost ruins. Bahamut used his 4 arms and his tail to wield 5 Swords, one for each head of Tiamat, representing the 5 Powers united under one Law.

Tiamat, the five paths to power. Tiamat laid the killing blow on the most powerful god of the Gods War, and then went on to slay many others, including many of the mad gods of Unexistence. Though her actions, Tiamat demonstrated to the peoples of the world that not only could Gods be slain, that fate and destiny can be toppled, but also that the bold and the daring, the willing can reshape the world. Many heroes were inspired and through great efforts, helped win the Gods War. To this day, she is worshipped in small cults of those unhappy with their destiny, whether by ambition or injustice, and who are willing to do anything it takes to shatter fate and draw their own path.

5 Blades of Bahamut: Airships

The Look

Airships are large, generally boxy with sleek edges added. I’m thinking along the lines of Panzer Dragoon, without getting stupid massive- instead, probably about the sizes of real world boats.

Airship Technology

It’s said that airships were given to humanity by the Goddess Avandra and that the first 12, the Zodiac ships, were crafted by her hands directly.

At the heart of each airship is a piece of a fallen star, which gives it the power of flight. The wind is channelled through a series of pipes to the fragment (the “core”) which produces tones and songs which remind it of the sky it once called home. Longing for home, it rises and sings in return.

Once awakened thus, a fallen star piece cannot ever rest again, and airships are incapable of dropping below 50 feet height, unless the core is breached – the star piece bursts forth, a bright light shooting to the sky… while the airship comes crashing to the ground. Never a good thing!

Air Trade

Airships are the heart of human civilization. They allow the various settlements to trade specialized exports, without taking the dangerous journeys of traveling by land. Around the world, one can find several sky temples to Avandra- tall temples with sky docks built in for the airships to land, and deliver or receive cargo.

Each temple becomes a lifeline for the area around it. Well placed junctures along air routes and towns with rare or valuable exports do well and are visited often, while some areas might have a ramshackle sky dock of rotting lumber that receives a ship once or twice a year.

Most trade is locked in by the various nobles and their clans. They often have long standing and complex treaties and agreements which span generations giving them sole rights to trade at certain places or with certain cargos. The clans typically have a clan house at each major trade port and also have built long standing reputations for their methods and styles of shipping- (“The Mandar use special cellar ships – some even swear the wine tastes better after shipping!”)

The secondary trade of smaller cargos, less valuable, or for new businesses is taken up by the Guilds. Lacking the old money or the advantage of monopolizing the best trade deals, the Guilds are unable to match the Clans in ships or speed. Just the same, they make good business on smaller deals and charge less. Smaller businesses and people who can afford to travel utilize the Guilds to do so.

At the bottom of the air trade is the sole proprietorships of individuals or families who have but a single ship to their name. Their ships are small, often run down, and they usually specialize in flying along a single route or small area. They take catch-as-can jobs and hope to scrape up enough money to get a second airship.

Crew

Airships require a bare minimum of 4 crew members.

The Navigator charts the route and also keeps her eyes out for immediate concerns- including other airships. The Navigator often will call out small adjustments or corrections to the Propulsionist or the Wing Engineer to assure a safe flight. The Navigator is second only to the Captain.

The Propulsionist controls the windpipes which controls the core. This often appears as a classic organ style instrument, though older airships sport sets of levers and similarly crude instrumentation. The Propulsionist causes the airship to rise, sink, speed up or slow down. The core can “get tired”, and expert players are able to get more out of it through a combination of good music and careful husbandry.

The Wing Engineer controls the actual turning of the ship by controlling the various wings and rudders that direct the ship. The Wing Engineer may also assist the ascent or descent of the ship, as well as braking through these means. The Wing Engineer’s controls are a series of levers and chains which must be pulled and locked into position constantly, leading to some rather burly crewmembers.

And finally, the Captain. The Captain’s role is the same as that of a naval vessel- to make decisions for the ship as a whole and supervise the crew. The Captain often is also the person making strategic decisions about which routes to take, how much cargo to buy/sell, when and where rest is needed, and whether to brave a storm or lay low amongst the trees and wait it out.

Though, obviously, even the smallest ship usually has a dozen crew at least. The biggest need is for extra hands to load/unload cargo, do small maintainence or as relief to the primary bridge crew.

Getting a ship of your own

Buying an airship is tough. New ships are rare as few folks are able to find fallen stars and brave the wild to get there and back. Such finds are worth a lot of money, and mostly get sold to Clans who can afford to pay the highest for new fallen stars. Old ships are rarely sold- even beatup ones represent income which could span generations. Typically an old ship is only sold when some family decides to settle down for some extremely profitable business or someone is in deep, deep debts.

More commonly, old ships are sold when they’re stolen.

Piracy and air warfare

Piracy isn’t as common as one might think. It’s a high risk affair, and often you can make more money just grinding out trade.

But there’s always folks who either are that desperate or that daring. Guilds which have been driven out of business, or a couple of smaller dispossessed clans might choose instead to turn to piracy. The problem is you really need an airship to attack others to begin with.

The towns that see the most trade are often the best protected. Some pirates raid only the outlying areas, which almost always is a threadbare existence to begin with. More pirates, instead, aim to take the cargo and ships of other airships, which pays much better. Such pirates often thrive near borders between nations, as they do best pirating in one and selling in the other. When they capture a ship, they sell it quickly and often cheaply, usually to some family that desperately wants to get into the airtrade. Ironically, it is these same small, unexperienced families in rinky-dink ships that make the best targets for pirates.

Such piracy continues to exist if only because the smallest Guilds and sole proprietors are targeted- those with enough power to wipe it out aren’t effected enough to care, and actually, it works in their favor as it keeps the bottom competition from climbing up.

Airships are not equipped with proper weapons for air to air combat. Generally speaking, any ranged fighting is a matter of crossbows, though it is ultimately a matter of boarding. Pirates will use grapples and ropes, though better equipped ones will use bamboo hang gliders to move from one ship to another. The only “weapon” most ships are equipped with is a battering ram, though that is usually a foolhardy choice- it’s dangerous, and only the most desperate want to take the chance of destroying something as valuable as an airship.

Instead, what most people do is attempt to sideswipe another ship or force it into trees, tall obstacles or other wise damage the wings and rudders- which limit manueverability as well as slow the ship down. So crippled, you can either fly away to safety or after subduing the crew, tow it back as spoils of war.

Rules stuff

Skills

There are 4 new skills: Navigation (INT), Propulsionist (CHA), Wing Engineer (CON), and Captain (WIS). Each PC starts with 2 of these as trained, on top of whatever their normal skill selection is. (This is assuming that the party will generally be flying around in an airship).

Speed

Airships fly no faster than dragons, for the simple reason that airships vs. dragon fights are awesome.

Falling… to your DOOM!

As per normal rules, folks get save to avoid going over.

Player characters who fail? They fall off and either catch on to some protrusion half way down the ship or fall into something which does not kill them (choose depending on what works for your scene and situation). Unrealistic? Sure, but I want players to have fun on airships at the Heroic Tier. Fearing -insta-death is not fun.

NPCs who fail can get one more save to catch on something on the side or bottom of the airship. Give this save only to NPCs who you think would make fun recurring characters. Otherwise, they fall to their doom.

Hang Gliders

Players can opt to use Acrobatics or Athletics (their choice) to operate Hang Gliders. Acrobatics is mostly used for fancy manuevers, dodging things, or skirting between obstacles. Athletics is mostly used for fighting strong winds or bad weather, flying in straight lines, or endurance flights. Using the “wrong skill” is a -2 penalty.

Attempting to bull rush someone while landing receives a +5 bonus. Attempting to drop kick as part of a landing, or let go of the glider and let it crash into someone should be treated as a stunt combat action, probably with light limited damage.

Five Blades of Bahamut: Quest Seeds

Major Quest Seeds

Quest Seeds are basically example ideas for cool and nifty quests for players to take. It’s some good examples for my friends who get stuck for ideas and/or haven’t played a lot of games with flag mechanics. Plus it gives me a chance to give a little more detail and ideas for my setting. (You may want to tailor them to your setting as appropriate).

Wayward Skies

Someone close to you, perhaps a sibling, perhaps a lover, has become an air pirate. Why did they give up their place in society? Were they driven out? Your quest is to get them out of this dangerous occupation, one way or another.

No Child of Mine!

Your family has expectations of who you were supposed to be. Maybe you were supposed to marry someone, maybe you were to a wizard like your brother, but you couldn’t cut it. You chose a different path, for whatever reason. Your quest is to either earn their respect despite their expectations, or to prove to yourself and the world that your path is just as legitimate and what they think doesn’t matter.

Soulbound

Someone close to you committed to a soul contract with one of the clerics of Asmodeus. And now they can’t fulfill the contract- but you can. By taking up the contract, both of your souls are at stake, but what else can you do? You love them. Your quest is to fulfill the obligations of the contract and save both of your souls.

Star-crossed Lovers

The one you love is kept from you due to social expectations. Maybe you’re both supposed to marry others, or maybe there’s disapproval by one or both families. Your quest is to create a situation where you can live together without conflict from without. (What’s considered unacceptable in the setting? Mostly class differences, folks from different cultures/ethnicities/species, hetero relations with married folks that you’re not married to, and large age differences. Homosexual relations are a-ok as long as they don’t get in the way of hetero marriages and heirs being produced.)

Disgraced!

You’ve been disowned by your family for a crime or misdeed you committed (or at least everyone thinks you did). They think you are dead or exiled. Or maybe they just found out that you’re working for the Queen now, and they’re hoping to find some quiet way of having you removed. Your quest is either to clear your name, redeem yourself, or at least take power over your clan.

Dispossessed

They took your family’s lands. Maybe it was during the corrupt reign of the last Queen. Maybe it was through trickery and guile or at least political manuevering with Queen Rajani. Maybe they destroyed your family’s name, or had most of them killed or imprisoned. You see the lands now, and cannot forget their crime. Your quest is that you will make them pay, and get back everything that belongs to you and yours.

Diasporado

No one really knows who you are or where you came from. Maybe you have some clues- a unique eye color from some foreign land, strange tattoos, or a bracelet of exquisite detail. Who are your people? What is your history? And why are you here? Where is your family now? Your quest is to answer all of these questions, and reveal your past.

Outsider

They don’t trust you. They don’t think much of you. It has little to do with who you actually are, and everything to do with the fact that your people are not their people. Maybe there’s a history, such as if you’re descended from the Warlords of the West who devastated the land 100 years ago, maybe there’s no history at all, and it just happens to be that you’re a halfling. Your quest is to make a place for your people amongst the general populace as equal citizens- respected, not feared, not distrusted.

Giving Back

You were born and raised in some backwater dink of a town, with a ramshackle wooden wall and muddy wells. The airships would fly by and you dreamt of how things would be different if your home had a real temple, a school, or even someday a skydock of it’s own. Your quest is to fix up your hometown with something they desperately need.

Strange Ambitions

You have always heard it said, that there is nothing more wonderous and terrible and life changing than hearing a dragon sing it’s history.

Nothing, at least, other than a duet of two dragons.

You quest is to hear this wonderous thing in your lifetime.