The Slow-Water Swamp

There is a legend, that a queen of Earth and Water lost her only child to the madness of his father, her husband.  Her tears flooded that land, and that even the mighty rocks were softened into mud.  They say she remains there, somewhere in the heart of the swamp, her tears feeding the morass around her.  It is also said that the one who can find her, and still her tears, will change the land of mud to a land of plenty, and they will rule, immortal, with the queen at their side.

Another legend claims that there was a city, a city where all manner of reptiles walked like men.  This forgotten city was crafted with strange magic- water flowed to the top of the buildings, the sun never set on the City of Scales.   Their hearts were as cold as their bodies, and when this cruelty went too far, the gods struck down the city.  The magic of the city went wild, and land for leagues became soggy and inhospitable to sane life.

Both of these, and more, are tales of the Slow-Water Swamp.

Located near the Sibling Seas, the Slow-Water Swamp is so called because several major rivers empty into it, slowing down to a trickle in the vast Swamp.  Everything here is wet.  It rains most evenings, and the air is humid enough to leave a slick film over everything. "Dry land" (muddy hillocks not fully submerged) is rare.  Often, the only way for travelers is to carefully move along the mossy roots of the huge trees, or risk the waters.

Some claim the Swamp is unnatural, owing to the ever-expanding roster of strange, often deadly life encountered here.  Some of the more notable inhabitants include-

Blue Lilly- a kind of giant lilly with razor-shop edges,  the petals are sometimes harvested and alchemically treated into "petal swords".

Tithan Serpents-  Legless, blind salamanders that can be dozens of feet long.  They eat the dead, and call out to passersby  in human voices.  Those that eat the corpses of wizards can gain unspeakable wisdom

Clotfish- Freshwater jellyfish that is harmless in small numbers, but can swarm, and join together into ranvenous blobs that can follow one unto land.

Fangwood tree- these tress grow huge thorns.  If the thorns break off in skin, they become a parasitic seed, with a new tree growing from the corpse of it's victim. They extrude an addictive sap that makes it hard for hosts to remove the seed-thorn.

Slow Men-  Semisentient slothes that live in trees,  They seem slow, until they drop down silently to butcher pecived invasions of their territory.  Some have been seen wearing bones as primative jewellery.

All in all, the Slow-Water Swamp is not a place for people.  And yet, people live, even thrive there..

The City of K'ran-K'ran

Built within and without the dormant volcano of the same name, K'ran-K'ran is a city of stark beauty and strange darkness.

It is the northernmost city of the world, standing at the toxic edge of the Great Purple Desert.  Some say that the city owes it's existence to gods or demons, but in reality it lives on the heated springs of the volcano.  The wet heat provides for crops, livestock, and keeps the people warm in a very cold clime.  In addition, the mountain itself blocks the worst of the poison wrathstorms.

K'ran-K'ran is crafted almost entirely of dark volcanic rock, craved into narrow streets, slate-roofed houses intesected with Steam Spires.  There isn;t much building space, so everything has been carved and painted and decorated to the extreme.  The dark stone is highlighted by clouds of steam, elaborate tapestries, and the strange crimson trees that grow there. 

The city is vertical, long, steep streets.  The lowest areas are the slums, ringed by the white tents of the K'ran=K'ran slave market.  Just above that are the homes of the poor- swamp farmers, petty criminals, and the like.   Above that are the infamous steamworks, the source of heat and power for the city, a terrible place that often kills it's workers.  Above that are the various levels of the nobility, and at the top of the volcano, the palace of the Hierarch.  Scattered throughout are the needle-like Skyship towers. 

It is a very advanced city.  Great elevators carry the citizens between levels.  These can be very large indeed- large enough to hold sever merchant wagons. They are powered by water, steam, and great shaggy oxen.  Many houses have running water, heated by the great springs of the volcano.  The steamworks rumble day and night, forging weapons and tools of great complexity.  And there are the Skyships- great derrigables powered by sail and oar-wing, unique to K'ran K'ran.  When the city goes to war, it can field nearly a dozen of these deadly vehicles.

The people are as harsh as the environment around them.    They are pale, with sharp features and dark hair and eyes.  Men prefer to braid their hair, and wear long greased moustaches.  The women usually wear their hair loose.  Both sexes use extensive body paint, tattoos, and piercings.  They have a love of wine, song, and violence.  Blood-sport is very common in K'ran-K'ran.  The people are xenophobic, believing themselves to be the greatest culture on the planet. 

It is a polythesitc society, and the Cleric Quarter is much like any other, if bloodier then most.  Demon worship is very, very common.  Magic is not banned, but it is accepted- though most give a known mage a wide berth.

Some say that K'ran-K'ran is run by vampires, but nobody has ever found out for sure.

A region of Bonea

This is the area of Bonea where Redfingers the Thief adventures.  K'ran-K'ran is to the far North, Panswal in the middle tropics, and Camburra to the far South.

Stomagda- Queen of Horrors

Unlike a lot of the Lords Beyond, Stomagda is aware and concerened with mortal life.  This is due to the tragic merger of Pricess Magda and the Horror or Stomor.  Princess Magda was one of the greatest Gi Masters (read- psychic powerhouse) that had ever lived.  When she was betrayed by her adventuring companions, and sacrificed to the Horror, her mind not only survived, but subsumed the alien consciousness of the Horror.  She is now worshipped as the Knower of the Way, and the Mistress of the Gi.

Her followers practice mutilation of the mind and body, and are often rewarded in the form of mutation- a common "gift" is the Stomagda Cyst-

 -a firm, transucent sack of amber fluid grows from the upper body.  Within is a Half-Horror Cyst Child featus.  Eventually, the cyst bursts, effectively giving birth to a new Cyst Child.

(I'll stat up the Cyst Children later)

 

 

Tattoos, Real and Imagined

Just last night, I got myself a tattoo.  Here, take a look-

That's my full upper left arm, right there!

It's based on a character I made in Skyrim.  I'll be posting about converting games like Skyrim to a pen-and-paper style later on.

For now, here's a pair of magical tattoos.

The Kulmese Resurrection Tattoo-

In far Kulm, the line between life and death is often blurred.  Resurrection of influential peoples (nobility, members of wealthy households, and the like) is a common practice.  The most common method (at least for the first time) is via the Resurrection Tattoo.

The tattoo is a blue-white line, a half-inch wide, that runs parallel along the chi lines of the body.  Two lines flow from just below the eyes, terminating at the toes.  A similar set curves over the skull and down the back, ending at the heels. Branches lead down the arms to the knuckles.
A close examination reveals the line are actually prayers, written in tiny rows on the skin.

The tattoo is applied as the Resurrection magic is cast.  This is an agonizing process, and so the recipient awakes to white-hot pain.

The purpose of the tattoo is to keep the soul within the body.  Kulmese necromancy can raise the flesh easily, but the soul must be tethered to the body.  The tattoo creates a "fence" that prevents the soul from leaving the body.

The monetary cost of such a Resurrection is only half that of the standard spell, though the effects on the recipient is more dire.

In addition to the standard penalties, the recipient of a Kulmese Tattoo loses a pint of Wisdom as their sanity erodes.  They must also make a mental save, or suffer some form of insanity (obsession and phobias are the most common).

Additional Tattoos may be applied, each adding a new line, and incuring the same penalties.

In addition, there are several holy orders that consider the recipient of a Kulmese Tattoo to be undead, and will take actions to kill anybody bearing such marks.


Marks of Blasphemy- 

Made with inks rendered from dryad blood, and applied with a unicorn-horn needle, the deep red Marks of Blasphemy are used by dark Sorcerers to forge deep connections with their familiars.

The Marks can take any form, and always come in two sets- one on the familiar, and an identical Mark on the Sorcerer.  

On a standard familiar (a small animal, an imp, ect), the Marks allow the Sorcerer to cast spells though the ffamiliar meaning that the spell effect originates from the familiar, with a rage of roughly one mile.

If applied to any other being, it allows the Sorcerer to see though the recipient's eyes as though the recipiant was a normal familiar.

The Tattoo costs at least 10,000gp, and inflicts a permanent -1hp to both the Sorcerer and the "familiar".

The Inaugural Post -or- "Aren't you an artist, not a writer"?

Well, as some of my friends have said "why can't I be both"?

So, this is where it begins.  In this space, I, Genn the Madgirl, will be posting such Whims as I see fit to post.  Mostly, they'll be about gaming, about art, and about movies.  Since I tend to write a little stream-of-consciousness-y, expect a smattering of other posts as well.

"But Madgirl, (you ask) aren't there hundreds of blogs just like this?  Why should I read your Whims"?

(Gives you a boot to the head) "This blog isn't for you, it's for me!  This is where I practice writing and stating out my RPG concepts- speaking of which-".

FIRST TABLE TIME-

Effects of a Boot to the Head-

1d6 damage PLUS(roll 1d8):

1-3:  Nothing.  You got lucky.

4-5:  KO!  Unconsciousness for 1d4 rounds, plus dizziness for 1d4 rounds after that.

6:  A particularly nasty hit has left you with a scar (likely a boot-tread across the middle of your face).  Loose a point of Charisma.

7:  Your skull gave in a little, and you think it may have brained your damage.  -1 Intelligence.

8:  Decapitation.  This is an OSR effect, and so it's instant death, no save.


More to come as I see fit.