| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 09 Aug 2019 : 19:11:41
Ideas for Anchorome
Since Sleyvas’ post about the Abeil of Abeir in Anchorome, I figured a more generic thread might be appropriate where ideas can stray beyond the bee folk. The Anchorome I have envisioned and homebrewed expands on City of Gold (FMQ1) and canonical information about Balduran and Fort Flame. These are all ideas I truly hope to write up at some point in the near future.
Like Sleyvas with the Abeil, I would love to see what additional ideas and alterations group think can do. Remember, this continent is virtually untouched.
1. Monsters of Anchorome. I’ve posted about this in a number of places so I won’t go into it, but essentially I’ve tried to bring 30+ new creatures from Native (north) American myth into Anchorome. I tried to hit upon creatures never brought up before.
2. The 1e adventure UK7 Dark Clouds gather introduced a creature called the ba’atun - creatures that essentially look like the flying baboons from the Wizard of Oz but come from an alternate world/plane. Their leader can possess others and in the adventure they give some cloud giants and aarakocra a really hard time. Almost whole cloth, this adventure could be adjusted to fit the setting.
3. Speaking of aarakocra, if I could ever get in touch with Gray Richardson I’d love to hear more of his thoughts on the aeree and I want to one day take on the undertaking of make a Serpent Kingdoms-esque book for the aeree (Avian Kingdoms?). Obviously their last eyries are located in NW Anchorome
4. If you’ve ever read The Mound by HP Lovecraft, there is an underground civilization that worships Cthulhu and the other Great Old Ones that can dematerialize and have other powers. Juergen Hurbert on the Piazza forums thought these might be easily represented with the “elan” race from one of the 3e era psionic books. Funny thing is even further below them, there are more ancient civilizations which if adapted to Anchorome, might be perfectly replaced with the batrachi.
5. Mysteries of Anchorome: I’ve been working on a hodgepodge of cool locations, mostly where I’ve gained inspiration from Dragon Magazines of long past. So far there is a huge waterfall with a natural portal to the Plane of Radiance (an alternate one called the Limitless Light from Dragon Magazine), and a huge herd of magical horses known as the nic’Epona from old Planescape material. I’m working with another author on a darfellan enclave in the nearby seas who are locked in a struggle for survival against sahuagin. There’s also some less developed ideas like a mechanical forest where rogue modrons are in hiding, and a “whispering pines” region of trees that have all been awakened. Finally, other Dragon magazine goodies have added to the brainstorm and I’m thinking of a swamp that reduces any who enter to cellular sizes where all the monsters are amoebas and euglena and such. There might also be a region that never evolved out of an age of mammals.
6. Esh Alakar. I have to find myself a truly excellent cartographer who can specialize in dungeon mapping because Esh Alakar, a canonical ruin in Anchorome has become a ruined spellweaver pyramid with an extensive underground region remaining. I’d like the dungeon to have a lot of mathematical puzzles to it at least in the way it’s organized (using the Fibonacci sequence, a hyper cube, etc).
Anyway, if this sounds like a brainstorm, that’s because that is exactly what it was. Hopefully some decent books come from some of them that are enjoyed by someone. I’d also like to apologize that I didn’t provide proper references or links, I’m doing this from my phone while away in the mountains!
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 21 Jun 2024 : 16:29:22
quote:
Originally posted by Pacior
Awesome. I really think they deserve their own separate write up, but that's just me. You can consider of course their pantheon, but also things like specific backgrounds, subclasses unique to them, magic, etc. I think a whaler, for example, might make an excellent background - something that brings them into conflict with the darfellan.
Hmmm, not really sure what you're responding to (because we have a LOT in this thread) .... but I know Seethyr introduced Darfellan into Northern Anchorome. I definitely could maybe see a Metahel colony that hunts whales that falls into conflict with them.... and since I say a Metahel colony, since I have the metahel becoming involved with my United Tharchs, it definitely could extend into that. Wouldn't make for a bad story, but I'd have to look at physically where Seethyr was placing them. |
| Pacior |
Posted - 21 Jun 2024 : 09:59:04
Awesome. I really think they deserve their own separate write up, but that's just me. You can consider of course their pantheon, but also things like specific backgrounds, subclasses unique to them, magic, etc. I think a whaler, for example, might make an excellent background - something that brings them into conflict with the darfellan. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 21 Jun 2024 : 05:07:44
Seethyr,
You may have seen a thread here where we were gathering information for Abeir. In it, we get a very rough map of what's in Abeir based on the word of a halfling as provided by Ed Greenwood. Someone basically threw out a map, and Ed gave some minor feedback. I had been noodling it and thinking "how can we fit all the stuff we developed without breaking this". I think I came up with an interesting idea, so I took some time today to "non-mercator" project the former map a little bit (i.e. expand the things at the top and bottom a bit). I also took and genericized the prior map so that it's pretty much nothing but the general shapes of land masses. I noted that it looked like he was planning for just Maztica, Lopango, and the city of gold region coming over .... and he made Laerakond way too huge. But my goal was to plan out "what things were like while the spellplague happened".
So, in order to get blacktoe glacier still in a cold zone and NOT have all of Anchorome and Maztica immediately on the border with Shyr, I did a simple thing. I also wanted to have about half of Katashaka transfer too. So, I rotated the entire thing 180 degrees. So, all of a sudden, after the spellplague when they're on this new world.... the people suddenly come out and think they are on a new world that spins backwards. The sun is coming up on an entirely different side of the village than it did the day prior, plus the sky is steel colored.
It takes them a bit, but they realize that what was north before is now south. So, rather than try to rework all their documents, they start making their maps with the "top" pointing to the south so that they can keep what they know.
Anyway, check your email. I just forwarded you a link to the map in case you might like it. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 10 Jul 2023 : 19:45:06
Establishing a history of sorts for the city of Esh Alakar
So, I know that we've thrown out a LOT of ideas for the city of Esh Alakar, and I've done a little fleshing out of the city in my "United Tharchs of Toril - Secret Cities and Strange Skyships of Anchorome"... but just for a moment, I thought to myself "lets revisit this city at a high level and discuss what we see as possibly happening in the course of millenia". Trying to be as flexible as possible let's throw out some ideas. Also, the idea is that this city goes deep into the underdark and eventually connects across the continent all over and is essentially an opening for a megadungeon for the continent.
One of the main things is that "The Ancients" were here.
The Ancient Ones had discovered micha and learned how to use its power over the spirits. Their culture and their magics attained such astonishing heights that even the
secrets of spelljamming were tapped by a remarkable few.
But, as will happen when there is a great concentration of power, the power was abused. Men exploited the treasure of micha, enslaving many spirits and angering many more. Evil begets evil, and then turns to feed upon itself. The ancient sorcerers sought mastery over each other, and fought for control of the precious micha and the spirits. The conclusion of their raging battles was the obliteration of the Ancient's culture and waste was laid to the entire Pasocada Basin. The basin had once been lush territory, as fertile as any of the valleys to the south. The good spirits, such as those who bring rain and fertility, were now loath to visit the basin.
When the men were gone the spirits they had enslaved were once again free to roam the desolation. Many still harbor great hatred for humankind to this day, out of resentment for their ancient bondage. These are the desert spirits who assault travelers with thirst and hot winds.
When the ancestors of the Azuposi came to the Pasocada Basin they possessed a more humble and reverential attitude toward the spirit world. Consequently, they made friends among the spirits' Masauwu, chief among them. These powerful beings helped the Azuposi survive the environmental destruction left by the Ancients' folly, and helped them
to build a new culture.
From the above I realized something that I hadn't realized previously. We have at least a STORY for why the Sands of Itzcala seemingly exists. The Ancients used micha to enslave "spirits", they fought amongst themselves, and then the ancients lost power and the spirits left the region to wither away. To note, I take these statements to be highly allegorical and part of story, not 100% accurate... and so certain statements like "spirits" might be fey, might be primordials, might be gods, might be primal spririts, might be powerful elementals, etc.... and the "ancients" might actually be multiple different groups and the stories of them may be confused with one another.
Our first "civilization" to come here was the group that we believe to have founded it. For that, we were going with the spellweavers.
I can definitely see both sarrukh and batrachi visiting these ruins at some point and perhaps even setting up some temporary living arrangement in them. This allows for some linking imagery with snakes, lizards, and frogs.
I personally have the Aearee tied to the world of Coliar and having flown to this world on "earth islands".... aka "earthmotes"... under the guidance of their draconic leaders (who are unusual dragons... some of whom may have had feathers) during/following the Sundering. Exactly WHO the aearee were is open for development still, but they should have bird folk and reptile folk amongst their cultures. The "reptile folk" would be sauroids of some sorts and may include beings that resemble dragonborn ... or dragonkin since they have wings....
I would not be adverse to having dark elves coming to Esh Alakar at some point in the relatively distant past. There may be some confusion over stories of them as "The Ancients" given that there is a group of Zaltec worshipping dark elves in Maztica proper calling themselves "The Ancient Ones". There may be a whole undercity where some dark elves still live and which connects to Esh Alakar (in fact, they may have a city beneath the ruins of Olbi, and perhaps the reason so few know of Olbi's secrets is because of these dark elves killing anyone who enters). It may even be interesting if the faerunians came to Esh Alakar and found a dark elven community that they warred with to seize control of the city. Conversely, they could just as easily have come along AFTER the humans and taken the "Maztican" name for Ancient Ones because others feared it. If there were dark elves here, they may have fought with the Poscadari elves, and the Poscadari elves may be just as wary of the city as the Nahopaca for similar reasons. The city of "Elfmeet" may be actually established by the Poscadari elves for the purposes of watching the "city of evil" out of superstition.
I was throwing in some "Faerunians" travelling with Netherese because of the notes about the "ancients" having attained a little spelljamming. For this, I created "The Unseen Skyport of Pyruthar" as a cloaked Netherese enclave that crashed into the desert. To note, in my view this enclave had people from other faerunian cultures on it.
Now, I don't know if this is a good idea or not... but if there's a desert being created because of the actions of the enclave ..... this kind of mirrors what happened in Anauroch. Some might say that the simplest solution is to give the same source. What if the phaerimm came to Anchorome as well, and THEY are the reason for the Sands of Itzcala forming by use of their lifedrain spells? In fact, what if the phaerimm STARTED in Anchorome and actually came to Faerun specifically to attack the Netherese Empire? What if there is a LINK between the "spellweavers" and the phaerimm similar in some ways to how its believed some (if not all) Sharn came from elves. In this situation, Phaerimm may have needed micha as a food source (remember, micha is literally magical ground cornmeal and pollen), and the Faerunians were using it to bind spirit servants to themselves.
If we say the above is true... then possibly the extraplanar place known as "wenimats" is leaking magical "food" onto the prime via a magical spring... it's almost like its faerie food or "ambrosia" in greek myth. It may be leaking from a place with ties to the spirit world or the feywild, etc... The "flow" of micha may have been even greater prior to the actions of the phaerimm, and this might be the bad result of their failed foresight.
Finally, if we did link the spellweavers to the phaerimm in this way AND we also go with the idea that Masauwu / Skeleton Man has a link to Jergal as we've discussed in the past AND Jergal has ties in his past to spellweavers.... why did he go to the Netherese and offer to serve as their god of death? This could open up an interesting story in which Jergal as a spellweaver considers the phaerimm an abomination of his kind if they were former spellweavers who changed and now survive in another form, and he drove the Netherese to find the phaerimm and wanted them to come into conflict.
So, if this is all the case... maybe the majority of the phaerimm in Anchorome HAVE been killed off. Maybe as a result of Turquoise man.... who may be a faerunian who has been infused with immortality and power by the micha, and maybe he seeks to hunt down the phaerimm, and will use parties of adventurers towards that end.
All this being said.... if this is the case, why did Skeleton Man/ Masauwu / Jergal lead the Azuposi humans to what becomes the City of Gold where only a portion of the once great flow of Micha comes? Maybe because he needs them to sacrifice it to him in order to maintain his own immortality, because as a god he can no longer take it for himself?
By the way, on a rough scale... the sands of Itzcala versus Anauroch, they are of a similar size.
Any other historical ideas of groups to place in and around Esh Alakar? I know I just threw out a lot of vague concepts there, but can it be turned into a viable storyline that makes sense? |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 17 May 2022 : 00:14:50
Just saw that I can throw you $1 and get all sorts of information on Fort Flame via "ANA2" on DMG so will do that later today, even if you provide the details here. |
| Kentinal |
Posted - 17 May 2022 : 00:05:44
As the river flows into Bay of Balduran, my offer of name of river might be Balduran River.
I could not find anything that makes the river name official, just know that at least some rivers flow into a bay of the same name. Example: the Delaware river into Delaware Bay |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 16 May 2022 : 22:58:35
Fleshing out my planned Anchorome campaign. I'm curious if you have any name for the river that Fort Flame is situated upon. The River Sesnaa seems to be up the bay a bit. I'm hoping to have the PCs help establish a trade route from Elfmeet to Fort Flame and it seems to make sense to find the navigable upper reaches of this southern river and float down it to the Fort. Happy to make up a name, but would rather cleave to anything established. |
| Baltas |
Posted - 06 May 2022 : 12:11:49
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yep, agreed, Nagpa as Skeksis.
On the feathered dragon concept.... something just popped in my head regarding something I was talking about with the "Primal Font" idea and dragons in the Anadia Homebrew thread. What if feathered dragons came from dragons attempting to breed with an actual phoenix? A Fiery obsidian dragon and a phoenix somehow mating to produce a new type of gem dragon that has crystalline feathers with dancing fire in them..... then THAT dragon breeding with other metallics or gem dragons to produce OTHER breeds of feathered dragons. A whole new species of dragon is created... which may not set well with the others?
On that concept... what if the opening of the fire elemental portals on the "crystal" that becomes the sun was actually caused by the hatching of the first phoenix eggs?
Well, another idea is that phoenixes could have evolved from proto-dragons, or Aearee hbrid avian-dragon creatures. I got this idea from an book about dragons, that suggested phoenixes evolved from dragons, like birds evolved from dinosaurs- with the similarities being due to convergent evolution. Feathered Dragons could in this situation be third evolutionary line, that retained the draconic traits of the phoenix ancestor.
[edit]
Kinda related to the above, and he fact a number of sources claim Torilian dragons evolved from Dinosaurs - there is a reall possibility Tyrannosaurus Rex arms (and persumably of at least a lot of other tyrannosarids) were in fact atavistic wings:
https://www.ecr.co.za/shows/mike-v/watch-did-t-rex-actually-have-feathers-and-wings-ostrich/
Making them look a kinda like feathered dragons (if with very small wings), especially to someone who didn't encounters dinosaurs...
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| sleyvas |
Posted - 05 May 2022 : 00:31:44
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yep, agreed, Nagpa as Skeksis.
On the feathered dragon concept.... something just popped in my head regarding something I was talking about with the "Primal Font" idea and dragons in the Anadia Homebrew thread. What if feathered dragons came from dragons attempting to breed with an actual phoenix? A Fiery obsidian dragon and a phoenix somehow mating to produce a new type of gem dragon that has crystalline feathers with dancing fire in them..... then THAT dragon breeding with other metallics or gem dragons to produce OTHER breeds of feathered dragons. A whole new species of dragon is created... which may not set well with the others?
On that concept... what if the opening of the fire elemental portals on the "crystal" that becomes the sun was actually caused by the hatching of the first phoenix eggs?
Half dragons are one of the few actual templates to be found in 5e (boy I miss them from 3) so I think despite the ermmm...biological processes involved, I don’t see why that wouldn’t be a possible thing.
This of course, could lead to the draconic counterpart to phoelarchs down the road except they are in the form of drakes who become something different (?) after dying? Just a thought.
Yeah, and this "heresy" might be a good reason for the obsidian dragons to have been reprimanded and kicked out by Sardior. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 05 May 2022 : 00:26:18
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Yep, agreed, Nagpa as Skeksis.
On the feathered dragon concept.... something just popped in my head regarding something I was talking about with the "Primal Font" idea and dragons in the Anadia Homebrew thread. What if feathered dragons came from dragons attempting to breed with an actual phoenix? A Fiery obsidian dragon and a phoenix somehow mating to produce a new type of gem dragon that has crystalline feathers with dancing fire in them..... then THAT dragon breeding with other metallics or gem dragons to produce OTHER breeds of feathered dragons. A whole new species of dragon is created... which may not set well with the others?
On that concept... what if the opening of the fire elemental portals on the "crystal" that becomes the sun was actually caused by the hatching of the first phoenix eggs?
Half dragons are one of the few actual templates to be found in 5e (boy I miss them from 3) so I think despite the ermmm...biological processes involved, I don’t see why that wouldn’t be a possible thing.
This of course, could lead to the draconic counterpart to phoelarchs down the road except they are in the form of drakes who become something different (?) after dying? Just a thought.
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| sleyvas |
Posted - 04 May 2022 : 13:15:15
Yep, agreed, Nagpa as Skeksis.
On the feathered dragon concept.... something just popped in my head regarding something I was talking about with the "Primal Font" idea and dragons in the Anadia Homebrew thread. What if feathered dragons came from dragons attempting to breed with an actual phoenix? A Fiery obsidian dragon and a phoenix somehow mating to produce a new type of gem dragon that has crystalline feathers with dancing fire in them..... then THAT dragon breeding with other metallics or gem dragons to produce OTHER breeds of feathered dragons. A whole new species of dragon is created... which may not set well with the others?
On that concept... what if the opening of the fire elemental portals on the "crystal" that becomes the sun was actually caused by the hatching of the first phoenix eggs? |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 04 May 2022 : 00:57:20
quote:
Originally posted by HyperboreanTom
Leave it a loremaster to bring in Coliar. Hah! I do like it.
I think for me the Aearee were always like "skeksis" from the Dark Crystal in my head, but I'm not always that original. I always read the dragon-avian connections to be winks to our modern dinosaurs-into-birds theories.
I always saw nagpa as skeksis but yeah, Aearee possibly too. I had always thought of placing the ferrous dragons and their lord Gruaghlothor as the dragons of Coliar. They fit the descriptions of all having a bit of a neutral bent well. |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 04 May 2022 : 00:13:50
Leave it a loremaster to bring in Coliar. Hah! I do like it.
I think for me the Aearee were always like "skeksis" from the Dark Crystal in my head, but I'm not always that original. I always read the dragon-avian connections to be winks to our modern dinosaurs-into-birds theories. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 03 May 2022 : 01:42:41
quote:
Originally posted by Baltas
Hmm, are maybe Tanarvraki (and their connection to Aearee) in part inspired by the letter to Tethtoril (on page 7 of The Grand History of the Realms) describing the discovery by Captain Eartharran Neirdre of an Aearee city that, by the look of statues there, was inhabited by dragon-avian humanoids?
Very much so at least for the original inspiration. That being said, I do know that the history has the Aearee being infiltrated by dragons in Faerun per GHotR. However, for me on the Aearee... I still very much want to connect the Aearee as coming to Toril from Coliar, and that involves a world in which "lizardmen" which I read as "saurial type folk" and "aarakocra" which I read as "bird folk" both lived and revered dragons. I also know this breaks canon, but I really would like for the dragons of Coliar to have traits for both folks... i.e. being feathered dragons. To note, they are a special breed of dragon that was noted to NOT breed true (i.e. they had things like brass and blue dragon crossbreeds), so making them different fits that world. |
| Baltas |
Posted - 02 May 2022 : 12:22:21
Hmm, are maybe Tanarvraki (and their connection to Aearee) in part inspired by the letter to Tethtoril (on page 7 of The Grand History of the Realms) describing the discovery by Captain Eartharran Neirdre of an Aearee city that, by the look of statues there, was inhabited by dragon-avian humanoids? |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 30 Apr 2022 : 19:27:49
quote:
Originally posted by HyperboreanTom
Great stuff, Sleyvas. I really like them. I actually like more links between Maztica and Anchorome - even a desert shouldn't separate linked cultures entirely. Also, Seethyr has another good point - I often forget that Fort Flame was founded with several Eagle Knights and other Mazticans (unless I'm mistaken). I still don't think I'll treat them as you or Sleyvas have, but that's just the game I want to play. I like the idea of contrasting the Metahel - who have made peace, and the Flaming Fist, who have resisted it. Certainly that's influenced by their neighbours, but the Flaming Fist did come for gold and wealth first and foremost.
Not that Fort Flame will be entirely evil in my campaign either. I do really love the whole Kuo-Toa Lovecraftian subplot by the way! I also wanted to incorporate the Shalarin on the east coast and the presence of Dagon seems to lead the way.
Yeah, the original idea for me on the "feathered dragonborn" was one in which they would have ties to the Aearee in some form. I want them to appear really exotic looking, but similar to mirage dragons. That being said, there may be OTHER feathered dragons. I was surprised as well when Seethyr linked them to Fort Flame, but it does work. That being said, as I've noted, my Fort Flame is a bit different. I view Fort Flame as having expanded and they have several villages in that area.
The big thing I have is that the Flaming Fist wanted people who could make alchemical "Calishite Fire" in canon to come help them. So, I took that and ran with the idea that Thay's Guild of Foreign Trade welcomed the opportunity to open an enclave that's SEPARATE from the city but NEARBY (the Balduran Bay Trade Enclave). They would ally with the mercenary company and in return both would claim land. What the mercenaries didn't count on was the Thayans somewhat betraying them and setting up a portal to a new enclave they were setting up down in the city of Lundeth on the Chultan peninsula. Also, their enclave being separate allowed the landing of Thayan spelljammers (known as Quads of Thay). Thus, this enclave ends up getting built up quite fast, and then the Thayan civil war happens. Thayan refugees, displaced from their homes, find new homes here. Several other things happen after the displacement to Abeir, primarily that the people in the Chultan peninsula also transfer, the portal stays up, and they come to the thayan enclave. This mix of people eventually outgrow the enclave, and they seek a land of their own and acquire an island off the coast.
These "red wizards" are NOT like the red wizards of Thay. They still favor magic, but they aren't "evil" to the core or conniving. They also aren't racist and they've adopted people from throughout the Chultan peninsula into their society. For instance, one of their leaders is "The Farseer" of Tashluta (a 28th lvl mage priest of Savras), who was negotiating within a red wizard enclave in their city when it transferred to Abeir, and he lead many of his folk to this place when their home was overrun by Abeirans. Another is the High Phantasmage, Meleghost Zoaster, of Samarach. Thus, each group of displaced refugees has a leader to give them represenation. The Rashemi blooded folk amongst these folk have actually found kinship with the Metahel folk, also finding some common myths, and the metahel society has expanded into other areas of the world through exploration (primarily southerly into the islands off the coast of Katashaka). |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 29 Apr 2022 : 19:40:48
Great stuff, Sleyvas. I really like them. I actually like more links between Maztica and Anchorome - even a desert shouldn't separate linked cultures entirely. Also, Seethyr has another good point - I often forget that Fort Flame was founded with several Eagle Knights and other Mazticans (unless I'm mistaken). I still don't think I'll treat them as you or Sleyvas have, but that's just the game I want to play. I like the idea of contrasting the Metahel - who have made peace, and the Flaming Fist, who have resisted it. Certainly that's influenced by their neighbours, but the Flaming Fist did come for gold and wealth first and foremost.
Not that Fort Flame will be entirely evil in my campaign either. I do really love the whole Kuo-Toa Lovecraftian subplot by the way! I also wanted to incorporate the Shalarin on the east coast and the presence of Dagon seems to lead the way. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 26 Apr 2022 : 05:09:43
The Tanarvraki was originally Sleyvas’ idea when we were discussing dragonborn in Anchorome even before the campaign guide was written. I’ve been beat up a little that they have a bit more of a Maztican appearance than one that identifies with the tropes addressed in Anchorome. I like that though because I wanted to have an area (Fort Flame area) where all three continents have representation. I’ve tried to visualize Fort Flame as the beginnings of a cosmopolitan city of the future where Anchorome, Maztica and Faerun all intermix.
For now though, like you said, they’ve got a lot of explaining to do. I really went into the Fort’s history and description in Fires of Fort Flame - an adventure I put up on DMsGuild. I also touched upon it in Once Across Anchorome, a supplement.
Right now, I see the Dragonborn as a major faction in the city that is steering the town to be more independent and keep away from their Flaming Fist origins. Remember, Anchorome was separated from Faerun for a century when it was on Abeir so those old ties had been severed and only some want to go back. This leads to a nice little faction disagreement within the city’s politics.
In summary, Fort Flame is a lot of things with a lot of different groups involved. They also have threats coming from the sea in the kuo-toa/sahuagin/deep scion threat. This was meant to be a conflict similar to Lovecraftian deep ones and the town of Innsmouth. |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 26 Apr 2022 : 03:44:06
Thanks guys! I think I'd like to draw a Tanarvraki next. I understand that their look is similar to Mirage Dragons, but I'm not sure I yet understand their deal. I know I'm biased against Fort Flame (as you saw in my art) to a certain extent - in my planned Anchorome campaign they are definitely more villainous than anything. So I guess I'm wondering why the Tanarvraki chose to ally with them. Was it lack of better options? Or do they respect the Flaming Fist's martial abilities? Or something else? In terms of their wardrobe, do you imagine them in a mix of local and Faerunian attire? Or something a bit more otherworldly from Abeir? As I recall, Sleyvas did a render of one. Would you mind reposting?
Thanks! |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 11 Apr 2022 : 21:25:33
quote:
Originally posted by HyperboreanTom
Just wanted to post a new collection of my Anchorome fan art, not to have it used (Although anyone is welcome to do so) but just because the new Anchorome stuff is so inspiring and fun it has had my pencil scribbling furiously for the last year or two.
https://hyperboreancomics.wordpress.com/2022/02/28/true-world-anchorome-maztica-compilations/
As stated earlier, it even inspired me to create D&D versions of various Indigenous Marvel heroes that are included in the above link. I made some of my own headcanon and included some new ideas (Puffinfolk, Arctic Halflings, etc) and I don't always make a lot of distinction between Azuposi/Nahapoca/Dog People, but I hope any deviations are only taken as respectful improvisation.
As usual, the art is awesome. It’s so cool to see these creations come to life! |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 11 Apr 2022 : 20:53:02
quote:
Originally posted by HyperboreanTom
I think I've read though most of the posts here, but I may have missed some, so forgive me if I'm rehashing an existing discussion and kindly point me there. But was there any thought of the Metahel having actually come through one of the Tidegates from the Sea of Corynactis? Are those gates specifically in deep water? I had a random thought that that would explain why what to me are Northmen from Moonshae have ended up the West coast of Anchorome. Am I missing part of that lore?
The tidegates for the Sea of Corynactis actually opened up on the Inner Sea (Sea of Fallen Stars) and not the outer oceans.
The big thing with those who came to Ruathym is this as the beginning entries for the northmen in The Grand History of the Realms
c. –3100 DR
Human seafarers from the west name and settle the island of Ruathym [–4600,–3000] in the Sea of Swords.
So, they originally come from "the West"... or the direction of Anchorome and the smaller continents surrounding it. I like the idea that they come from the smaller continents surrounding it. So, with that idea, having some of them coming from those places and landing on Anchorome's coast becomes very believable.
Another option that I throw out though is the idea from the 2nd edition Jakandor Isle of War/Land of Destiny/Isle of Legend products. Basically, the idea in that product us that the "Knorrman" are some humans who found themselves transferred "elsewhere" in a fantastical storm at sea. They then find themselves at the isle of Jakandor, where they find some beings known as the Charonti (other humans whose focus is on studying magic, specifically necromancy, and with a tattoo fetish). With some rework, that storyline could very much fit the realms. I recommend the product as a way to present the metahel as well, because they aren't exactly viking... they take concepts from a lot of earth cultures. In my mind they "look" like vikings mixed with native american culture.
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| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 11 Apr 2022 : 03:13:41
I think I've read though most of the posts here, but I may have missed some, so forgive me if I'm rehashing an existing discussion and kindly point me there. But was there any thought of the Metahel having actually come through one of the Tidegates from the Sea of Corynactis? Are those gates specifically in deep water? I had a random thought that that would explain why what to me are Northmen from Moonshae have ended up the West coast of Anchorome. Am I missing part of that lore? |
| HyperboreanTom |
Posted - 11 Apr 2022 : 01:09:59
Just wanted to post a new collection of my Anchorome fan art, not to have it used (Although anyone is welcome to do so) but just because the new Anchorome stuff is so inspiring and fun it has had my pencil scribbling furiously for the last year or two.
https://hyperboreancomics.wordpress.com/2022/02/28/true-world-anchorome-maztica-compilations/
As stated earlier, it even inspired me to create D&D versions of various Indigenous Marvel heroes that are included in the above link. I made some of my own headcanon and included some new ideas (Puffinfolk, Arctic Halflings, etc) and I don't always make a lot of distinction between Azuposi/Nahapoca/Dog People, but I hope any deviations are only taken as respectful improvisation. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 31 Mar 2022 : 16:37:35
It is no secret that Anchorome seems to have a strange number of rabbit like monsters of all sizes. Most are centered around the forests of northern Anchorome, the beyori riverlands, and the Kaaya'yeeda (Land of the giant beasts). These creatures include the jackalope, blink bunny, hawkhare/volpertinger, blinktinger, giant jackalope, dire jackalope, the somewhat rare eight legged, horse sized sabretooth behare, and the beloved wildwood jackrabbit whose "horns" are replaced by sprouting flowers. Giant and dire jackalopes are typically found in the Pagunkee Wood and the wooded hills of Goelmerra, where they are often used as mounts by the half-elves and forest gnomes, while regular jackalopes, blink bunnies, and hawkhares are more commonly found in wilder areas where kercpa and fey reside. Some say that this influence comes from the visitations of the squirrel-like hero-god, Rititisk the Clever, and his prodigiously virile mount Harifur. Others say that the metahel goddess Eldunna, the halfling goddess Sheela Peryroyl, the gnome god Baervan Wildwanderer, or various Great Spirits are behind this unusual spread of creatures. However, one thing should be noted. They are not confined to the northern lands, and many point to the existence of the Hare Maidens for their spread. This entry will discuss the Hare Maidens and the varieties of strange rabbits found in the creek lands of the Short Ones in the Poscadari Basin.
Haerihpus - This tiny sized creature is perhaps one of the most odd looking of all the rabbit monstrosities, second only to the sabretooth behare. In many ways it resembles a hippogriff, in that its a mix of a bird and a mammal. It possesses the hindquarters, back, and head of a long-tailed jackrabbit, though its mouth and nose have been replaced by a duck like bill. It has the legs, webbed feet, underbelly, and wings of a duck. Similar to a cockatrice, this creature has an unusual magical attack delivered by touch of its bill, which is made more dangerous due to the tendency of these creatures to attack a threat en masse. Each haerihpus is able to imbue 1d4-1 levels of exhaustion in those touched, but may only perform this magical attack once before it must recharge. As a secondary ability, a haerihpus is able invoke invisibility upon itself at least once per day (rumors are that this renews after they rest for an hour or more), and thus their assaults often result in a quick burst of assaults followed by fleeing. Unlike most rabbit like creatures of Anchorome, Haeihpus are omnivorous, particularly preferring to eat small fish much like the ducks that they resemble. Haerihpus feathers are particularly prized by the halflings of the Poscadari basin for their beauty and are often used as fletching on arrows said to perform little damage but which relay exhaustion on those hit. Priestesses of Sheela Peryroyl are said to use feather masks incorporating haerihpus feathers and preserved flower petals. However, the main prize of haerihpus lie in their eggs, which are unusually colorful and often colored with strange designs. Acquiring unhatched haerihpus eggs is a great boon to anyone willing to sell them to the short ones, who often drill a small hole in them to drain the yolk and keep the shell for decorative purposes, using repeatedly applied thin layers of a clear resin to harden this shell.
Haeram - Similar to the giant jackalope of the Adusgi forest, these medium sized beasts are often used as mounts for short ones. In most respects, they resemble just an unusually large rabbit, except that they have large goat like horns and have a large beard like that of a goat hanging from its chins. The halflings of the Poscadari basin prized these beasts for their ability to quickly dig out burrows, and many of these short ones share their domicile with a fluffle of haeram. Bridles made to ride these creatures are usually made to attach to their horns, rather than having a bit in the mouth of the beast.
Hare Maiden - Similar in many ways to the corn maidens, the hare maidens are believed to be spirit folk like the Minnenewah. Faerunian sages believe them to be related to the shapechanging hengeyokai of Kara-tur. They appear to be humanoid females, lacking normal human ears but having rabbit like ears atop their heads and a furry cotton tail, with the ability to change their size and appearance from tiny to medium sized, nearly as tall as a short human female. They also possess the ability to transform into a variety of rabbit like creatures common to Anchorome, though whether each is limited to one type, or whether they can all transform into multiple types is little known.
For more on the previously mentioned creatures (not these 3), consult my reference on the influence of the Amber Dragons on Anchorome
https://www.dmsguild.com/product/384365/The-Influence-of-the-Amber-Dragons-of-Anchorome-on-the-North |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 25 Jan 2022 : 11:55:34
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
I started reading the document Sleyvas. I love it. You’ve really taken on the forest and populated it quite a bit. Given its size it works really nicely.
Thanks man. I tried to bring in some of your monsters that you created, like the Mishipeshu, the Caddaja, making reference to a new minnenewah tribe... while trying to steer entirely away from the idea of native america. I also wanted to give the elderwyrm a feel like he's a great spirit to a degree while making him .... just another dragon. I may not have gotten that last bit, but I was also getting punchy at the end.
You know what's funny. I said I had all these other ideas I wanted to pursue, and yet after mentioning Goelmearra last night.... for some reason its stuck there and I feel like I want to give it a five shires type treatment (nowhere near that scale though). I've always felt that region would make a good place for a starter campaign, since I put several races there, plus the pagunki half elves are nearby, poscadari elves are nearby, and there are faerunians and minnenewah to either side. Plus, you have the forest with the rogue modrons nearby and they built the solar powered recharging stations that LOOKS/ACTS like trees kinda... something rock gnomes would definitely be interested in. Not really sure where to take it though... I just have imagery of cartoons when I was a kid bouncing around, and I had fun writing that baerie dragon article in that region. I think I'll visit Luneira and ponder before starting to write. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 25 Jan 2022 : 03:46:29
I started reading the document Sleyvas. I love it. You’ve really taken on the forest and populated it quite a bit. Given its size it works really nicely. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 25 Jan 2022 : 03:13:23
quote:
Originally posted by Seethyr
Sleyvas’ description also matches their 2e description. Recent books like Fizban’s have depicted all gem dragons to be completely crystalline in appearance. I honestly don’t know which I’d prefer but I usually go with older lore.
Yep, I did change them a little, but the original was this
Amber dragons possess a thick, bark-like skin that ranges from
dull gray to dark brown. Their eyes are the color of rich amber, and
they have a long (1-foot) homed prow. In addition, an amber
dragon's feet end in sharp, scythe-like claws.
<snip>
The amber dragon is relatively small, so opponents have a
+4 bonus to saving throws against its fear aura. Their cartilaginous
teeth are not well-formed for biting; instead amber dragons thrust
with their beak-like prow. Amber dragons avoid combat whenever
possible, hut can employ two scythe-like claw attacks and a prow
attack if forced into melee. Though smaller and weaker than their
more common relatives, they enjoy good spellcasting ability, being
able to cast all spells normally cast by druids.
I added an option for some green hue since they're in the forest (picturing more yellow-brown and light green stripes occasionally instead of yellow-brown and darker-brown. I specified the type of bark for their skin to show that its like a birch tree, so that its "smooth" and not rough like a pine. I also noted that the only picture has them with a "parrot like nose", so I made them have a beak that can be considered like a very strong metal (brass), but carvable like wood. The original also gave them "cartilaginous" teeth, and I opted for teeth that were like wood and constantly regrowing. They won't like to bite folks just like the original, but if they do... it'll be kind of like a shark... they'll leave behind splinters instead of teeth, but their teeth will reform. But their normal attacks are horn and claws with option of tail (I picture they might butt with their beak-like nose as well, but that would be considered part of the horn attack).
I noted that it called them "relatively small", and so I decided to take that to an extreme and dropped them a whole size category compared to other dragons. It makes it kind of interesting, because a fully grown one is only the size of a horse, and an ancient one is only as big as an adult of any other kind of true dragon. But, I do give them an option to get as big as a regular ancient, after twice as many years (1500), and I'm thinking there's only one such in all of Anchorome (that being Old Pineeater... or Pennetteryn the amber elderwyrm).
If you're interested to see the original artwork by a professional the FR wiki actually shows them
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Amber_dragon#:~:text=Amber%20dragons%20were%20exceptionally%20intelligent,attuned%20to%20their%20natural%20surroundings.
They were actually made realms links by Demihuman deities (which I didn't know till I started writing this and saw this about them on the wiki, though I don't think they've ever been placed anywhere).
Ambers dragons were a favored monster of the deities Rillifane Rallathil, Baervan Wildwanderer, and Sheela Peryroyl
In all, I think its definitely a different take on dragons for Toril, and something I hope that makes Anchorome "different but fun".
BTW, I didn't go down into the region I called Goelmearra with them in the Adusgi, which is where I put forest gnomes, rock gnomes, transformed gnomes into badger folk (bagheari), and transformed gnomes into racoon folk (raucumi)..... but now that I think on the idea that Baervan Wildwanderer favors them, there should be a handful there too. It's a sizable community, and I could see two or three of these CR 10 horse sized dragons living there and even a few CR 5 medium ones and CR 1 small wyrmlings. Now I got a picture of a young amber dragon, a faerie dragon, and a baerie dragon getting into some kind of fun trouble. |
| Seethyr |
Posted - 25 Jan 2022 : 02:30:22
Sleyvas’ description also matches their 2e description. Recent books like Fizban’s have depicted all gem dragons to be completely crystalline in appearance. I honestly don’t know which I’d prefer but I usually go with older lore. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 25 Jan 2022 : 00:47:08
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I like the concept, though I have to wonder why a dragon that doesn't look like amber was dubbed that.
Their spit surrounds people in sticky resin that rapidly solidifies just like amber. In 2e it was just a save or be entrapped/die type scenario. I changed it to hot sap with damage, with less of a chance of permanent entrapment, so that's its not just a "save or die" scenario. Their eyes are also amber colored, though I don't think that would be why they'd be called that. So, rather than call them a "camouflaged" or "striped" dragon, why not call them after what their breath does (just like people say "it's a fire breathing dragon" and don't mention its color or what it looks like). That being said, their "primary" color that I usually showed was a light brown/yellow kind of resembling amber. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 24 Jan 2022 : 19:03:17
I like the concept, though I have to wonder why a dragon that doesn't look like amber was dubbed that. |
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