Darktide
From AdamWiki
Darktide is a world "seed" that didn't go far. The world asks, "What would happen if the Evil gods won?" It's a very dark world and a number of other world designers have done similar things, where the evil gods lost.
Contents |
Concepts to Include
- Geography -- mire, spire, tor, marsh, crag, crown
- Monsters -- bone spiders, giant vultures, headless zombie
- Concepts -- plagues, players are divine, Hero's Blood, use of magic can be 'felt'
- Titles and Ranks -- magus, elder
- Deities -- Great Elk, Children of the Stars, Prince of the Till, The Three Ladies (Dame, Doll, and Dear)
- Artifacts -- disc chariot, ring gate
Quotes to Set the Mood
"We live in the ruins of a costly war between powers far greater than most of us can imagine. I think history will say that we lost this battle. For certain, it feels that way now. All we can do is live each day and struggle on: bury your dead, tend to the sick, feed your children, and till your fields." -- Patru Mandas, Priest of Galmas (Prince of the Till)
"I blame it on complacency. I told them that this was coming. No one listened. I warned them of the Blacktide. I spoke of the increased frequency of reports of the Hollowed and the weakening of Veraldic Bonds. Deaf, all of them. Too busy with commerce and politics and babies and other nonsense. Now they talk of nothing but the Blacktide. Now they scream at me for an explanation of forces their miniscule minds will never comprehend. I tell them, 'complacency'." -- Seskrine Binibush, Archmage-No-More
"Dohn-Gur blew his coronet
Indra beat her drum
Bala-Sterin swung his chain
And all came tumbling down
The band played on as all came tumbling down
Moseh strummed her ivory lute
Galmas blew his horn
Chandra drew and swung her sword
And all came tumbling down
The band played on as all came tumbling down
Amadita played her lyre
Ezzit hummed along
Herzol drove his chariot
And all came tumbling down
The band played on as all came tumbling down"
-- "The Band Played On" by Havery Loor
List of the Gods
- Dohn-Gur, Crown of the Sky (Lawful Good God of the Sun)
- Indra, Mother of the Earth (Neutral Goddess of the Earth)
- Bala-Sterin, (Chaotic Evil God of Pain)
- Moseh, Lady of Wisdom (Lawful Neutral Goddess of Knowledge)
- Galmas, Prince of the Till (Chaotic Good God of the Harvest)
- Chandra the Avenger (Neutral Evil Goddess of Revenge)
- Amadita, Rose-Bringer (Neutral Good Goddess of Love)
- Ezzit, The Winking Man (Chaotic Neutral God of the Seas, Rogues, Trickery)
- Herzol, The Conqueror (Lawful Evil God of War)
| LG | Dohn-Gur | NG | Amadita | CG | Galmas |
| LN | Moseh | N | Indra | CN | Ezzit |
| LE | Herzol | NE | Chandra | CE | Bala-sterin |
Other gods for moon, stars, hatred
Player Backgrounds
The Hunted
Priests and paladins of any of the Good or Neutral gods are hunted by the forces of Evil. When captured, priests and paladins are taken back to dark temples and tortured, interrogated, sacrificed, or (rarely) just killed.
They still have a divine connection with their deities, but it is limited. All clerics and paladins gain spells as if they are effectively two levels lower. A 1st level cleric gets 1 Orison and no other spells. A 2nd level cleric gets 2 Orisons and 0 first level spells (modified by Wisdom bonus). Paladins gain their first spell abilities at 6th level (0 first level spells). Evil clerics (NPCs only) are not effected.
The Hunted cannot communicate with their deities via spells like Commune.
Peasant Hero
Most of the populace are normal folks with no special abilities. Some of these turn out to be great heroes. They defend the peasantry to the best of their abilities and fight the cause of Good.
Peasant heroes may be barbarians, bards, fighters, monks, rangers, or rogues, monks. As background, they also get to be (for free) a Warrior 2 or Expert 2. These free levels never count towards the character's "character level", but the character does get the hit points, saves, base attack, skills, and what-not.
Children of the Stars
When the Blacktide came, a lot of power was released into the world. This magical energy can be harnessed by those people, called the Children of the Stars, who have divine ancestry. These extraordinary folks used to end up in positions of power or they would become adventuring heroes. In these dark days, the Children of the Stars exhibit special abilities never before seen. Their divine blood is attuned with the energy of the gods that flows around the world, and they can harness it in unusual ways.
If a player chooses the Children of the Stars background for his character, he should choose a Blood Feat in addition to all other feats the character would normally have. Blood Feats cannot be chosen after character creation is complete.
Blood Feats
Divine Attunement (Blood Feat)
Requirements: Wisdom 13+
You are especially attuned to the power of one of the gods.
Choose a deity and gain domain spells, as if you were a cleric of a level equal to your character level. For example, a Rogue 3/Fighter 2 has access to one 1st, one 2nd, and one 3rd level domain spell. These spells are in addition to any divine spells you can already cast. Normal rules apply (you must have a Wisdom high enough to cast those spells).
Amadita's Blessing (Blood Feat)
Requirements: Charisma 13+
You have an powerful affect on people.
Once a day, you may use this feat to charm another person, as the spell Charm Monster. This is an Extraordinary ability, and the caster level should equal your character level. You may only have one creature charmed by you at any single time, and you can break the charm at will. Elves are immune as expected.
Divine Grace (Blood Feat)
Requirements: Dexterity 13+
You are extra lucky when your life is on the line.
Once per day, you may reduce the damage caused by any single attack to 1 point. This is after the effect of all saves have been applied.
Divine Rage (Blood Feat)
Requirements: Constitution 13+
When the going gets tough, you get tougher.
When reduced to less than 4 hit points, you immediately gain 2d6 additional temporary hit points, which can prevent you from going below 0 hit points. The temporary hit points disappear after an hour.
Moon's Curse (Blood Feat)
Requirements: Intelligence 13+
You know 4 arcane cantrips and 2 first level arcane spells, chosen from the sorcerer spell list. You can cast 4 cantrips per day and 2 first level spells per day. These spells are cast with no casting time penalty (most as a standard action). You have a spell failure chance that changes with the phase of the moon:
| Full | 0% |
| Waning | 10% |
| Half | 25% |
| Waxing | 50% |
| Crescent    | 75% |
| New | 100% |
This penalty stacks with armor penalties and other penalties.
Darksense (Blood Feat)
You get a bad feeling about bad people.
You immediately detect evil intent and the presence of evil outsiders or evil priests and blackguards within 20 feet. You can guess if someone or something has an evil alignment by concentrating on them for one round, if you succeed at a Sense Motive check at DC 20 - their level. The DM should make this roll in secret.
Dohn-Gur's Gaze (Blood Feat)
People stay out of your way.
Once per day, you can glare at someone and use your powerful presence as a Cause Fear spell, with the caster level equal to your character level. Priests, paladins, and blackguards are immune to this effect.
