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Post by kore on Nov 28, 2012 21:19:01 GMT -8
Mike ended up with the boots (Surefoot)? I checked my notes and had them listed, but didn't recall what actually happened to them. Then tonight I re-subscribed to DDI and opened up my character to find I equipped the boots. If that was their fate that's fine, I just want to be certain...they're nice boots.
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Post by frobones on Dec 23, 2012 23:54:32 GMT -8
Ok, I have a few things I need clarified to flesh out my backstory.
First off is the Day/Night cycle. I know there is a cycle, extending to 2 months at its longest. Meaning there is a month of day followed by a month of night. So given a piece of territory, Light races will experience Umbra. While this happens, I assume they go into hiding, stay indoors, etc while the land is bathed in Umbra. So my first question... at what point do the Light and Dark races decide to migrate and why? If there will be times throughout the "year" when the Light races will have to bear exposure to Umbra and Dark races to Lux, at what point does the hardship of migration seem to be the better solution than just "waiting it out" as they do in other parts of the year where the Day/Night cycle is quicker?
What is the shortest Day/Night cycle? is it just a normal 24 hour period?
How much of the world is Lux/Umbra/Vesper? Assuming the planet was a solid rock with no large bodies of water, is it 45/45/10 Lux/Umbra/Vesper? I just want an idea of how much territory the Twilight races have at any given time. With the Day/Night cycle, are the Twilight races primarily nomads? Having to following the Vesper region as the Day/Night shifts? Or do they hang out at the "twilight" poles of the planet where it is eternally in twilight (if such an area exists)? or do they have a migratory period like the Dark and Light races?
Lux is the sun, but what is Umbra? Is Umbra just the absence of Lux? Just like shadow is the absence of light, or cold is the absence of heat. Or is it a source that can encroach on Lux? Generally speaking, and from my understanding of the world, the ball is in Lux's court... where he is not, there is Umbra. In essence, he is controlling the regions, and Umbra is just taking what he can... which is where Lux currently is not physically residing.
How does a Sorcerer come to be? It's my understanding that the first sorcerers came from exposure to the Magus Stone or those resident to the Vulnus Chaos. Like, can the potential for sorcery be pass down to the offspring? or can it only be acquired from exposure to the Magus stone or killing an existing Sorcerer and stealing his power?
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Post by David on Dec 24, 2012 10:42:02 GMT -8
Ok, I have a few things I need clarified to flesh out my backstory. First off is the Day/Night cycle. I know there is a cycle, extending to 2 months at its longest. Meaning there is a month of day followed by a month of night. So given a piece of territory, Light races will experience Umbra. While this happens, I assume they go into hiding, stay indoors, etc while the land is bathed in Umbra. So my first question... at what point do the Light and Dark races decide to migrate and why? If there will be times throughout the "year" when the Light races will have to bear exposure to Umbra and Dark races to Lux, at what point does the hardship of migration seem to be the better solution than just "waiting it out" as they do in other parts of the year where the Day/Night cycle is quicker? What is the shortest Day/Night cycle? is it just a normal 24 hour period? How much of the world is Lux/Umbra/Vesper? Assuming the planet was a solid rock with no large bodies of water, is it 45/45/10 Lux/Umbra/Vesper? I just want an idea of how much territory the Twilight races have at any given time. With the Day/Night cycle, are the Twilight races primarily nomads? Having to following the Vesper region as the Day/Night shifts? Or do they hang out at the "twilight" poles of the planet where it is eternally in twilight (if such an area exists)? or do they have a migratory period like the Dark and Light races? During the shortest Day/Night cycles (which take about 8 hours), one of the poles is actually pointed toward the sun. This puts about half the world in sunlight for a period of months. The Day/Night cycles only occur in the region around the equator, but that region expands during the year. It is when that region grows to encompass a significant swath of their territory that the Light and Dark races begin to migrate. They do so because they want to be in the correct hemisphere when the regions stabilize again. The Vespers is the geographical region around the equator that is in twilight during the times of stability. Twilight races are settled there, and have begun to form kingdoms of their own (which they had never done before the Cataclysm, when the centers of civilization were in the Light and Dark regiions). The most well organized of these is the Kingdom of Chaparral, belonging to the Halflings. Twilight races do not migrate, but generally take shelter during the Long Day and Long Night. Lux is the sun, but what is Umbra? Is Umbra just the absence of Lux? Just like shadow is the absence of light, or cold is the absence of heat. Or is it a source that can encroach on Lux? Generally speaking, and from my understanding of the world, the ball is in Lux's court... where he is not, there is Umbra. In essence, he is controlling the regions, and Umbra is just taking what he can... which is where Lux currently is not physically residing. Umbra is not exactly the absence of Light, but is repelled by it. It is an energy field that can flow and pool. Generally, it is correct that the ball is in the sun's court, but there are plenty of underground regions or crevices where Umbra can 'hide'. Think of Lux and Umbra as two immiscible liquids, like oil and water, one of which is attracted to the sun. How does a Sorcerer come to be? It's my understanding that the first sorcerers came from exposure to the Magus Stone or those resident to the Vulnus Chaos. Like, can the potential for sorcery be pass down to the offspring? or can it only be acquired from exposure to the Magus stone or killing an existing Sorcerer and stealing his power? The potential for sorcery through heritage is so diluted at this point that it does not produce true sorcerers. Rather, the random accumulation of energy through heritage results in genasi being born of all races. Enough arcane energy to make one an outright sorcerer can only be acquired by being present at the death of another sorcerer. As you mention, though, it is believed that if anyone actually found the Magus stone, they would have access to a huge amount of arcane energy. Though some say that the stone was used during the Dawn War, It has since been lost to civilization.
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Post by frobones on Dec 24, 2012 12:00:26 GMT -8
Alright, I think I'm starting to get a picture of how the world works.
So... the planet spins on its poles of course, and when one of the poles is pointed at the sun, a majority of the Land does not have a Day/Night cycle. But the poles are actually "flipping" so to speak? The poles are rotating on an axis that is perpendicular to the poles... this is why the Day/Night region enlarges as the planet rotates on its poles and how eventually the stable hemispheres flip?
Does that sound about right?
Also, in the description of the world, you say the "sun began to roam". Was that just story telling flair or did Lux actually do something to cause these Day/Night cycles? and if so, why doesn't he just stop moving?
Do the Twilight races revere the Moon with a certain name or does it depend on the race/tribe?
Concerning the shapeshifting races Halfling/Hengeyokai and Half-Orc/Shifter. Let's say I choose a Halfling... do I have the ability to shift to a Hengeyokai? And if I do shift, do my racial abilities and powers change?
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Post by David on Dec 24, 2012 17:58:18 GMT -8
From the planet's perspective, that is a correct description of what it is doing. (Looked at from the point of view of fixed stars, the pole always points in the same direction, and the switching occurs as the planet orbits its sun. )
The sun "roaming" is one way of describing what happened. Exactly what caused the cataclysm is a subject of debate among scholars. Particularly, it is a subject of contention as to whether the fall of the Magus stone was the cause of the Cataclysm, or merely a symptom. Some zealots of Dark races would blame Lux as in individual, and the Light races by extension. For most, though, the personification of the sun is more vague.
Names for the Moon will depend on the culture.
Hengeyokai are distinct from halflings for mechanical purposes. Culturally, they are the same. You would choose one race or the other at character creation to determine whether your 'Halfling' has the Hengeyokai's ability. Also, for purposes of this game, Hengeyokai are Small.
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Post by frobones on Dec 24, 2012 20:22:21 GMT -8
(Looked at from the point of view of fixed stars, the pole always points in the same direction, and the switching occurs as the planet orbits its sun. ) Thanks David, this right here makes everything clear for me. Concerning Half-Orcs, are they really Half Orc or are they just a feral Race that came about after the cataclysm. If they are Half Orc, did their shape shifting powers come from mating with Humans? If they aren't Half Orc, do they go by a different name in your world?
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Post by David on Dec 24, 2012 21:51:34 GMT -8
Half-orcs have been around long before the cataclysm. They are called half-orcs by other races because they bear some resemblance to orcs. They refer to themselves as "the people of the steppes"
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Post by kore on Jan 7, 2013 20:31:30 GMT -8
I think the lighting rules are a cool twist. Given the ability to change the LL (torches, Lux "rods", Umbra phials) and the way it affects monsters native to the LL, it presents an interesting challange. Essentially, darkvision is no longer the ultimate player-race-available type of vision as it used to be. Given the high correlation to lighting and other mechanics, namely concealment and obscured rules, it would be good to discuss how LL affect such things. We breached the topic at the end of last night's session, but having the this hashed out now instead of during the next game session would be a better use of our game time. To start... - when a generic form of concealment is granted (e.g. Stone Camouflage), does the benefit apply regardless of the LL and the creatures in it?
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Post by David on Jan 9, 2013 10:16:09 GMT -8
I think my general rule of thumb will be to apply the higher penalty in this case. Generic concealment will do something for you if they could see you clearly. It will do nothing if they were already having trouble seeing you. I think this is consistent with the normal rule that concealment from two different sources doesn't stack.
Conversely, a character will be considered to have concealment for mechanical purposes (such as the hidden sniper feat) if the enemy would take a lighting penalty of -2 or more trying to hit them.
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