As far as we agreed, PCs in the setting are primarily human, although there are a number of different kinds of humans in the setting.

>Those Who Live Under the Shardstreams
Colloquial: Citizens
Derogative: Tanners, Baskers
These folk primarily live in the Cities beneath the Shardstreams. Their collectively varied lifestyles have produced a wide variety of body types and fitness levels. However, the vast majority of these folk come in a dark range of skin tones resulting from the prolonged exposure from the Light of the Shards above them.

For the most part, these folk perform a wide variety of professions and vocations, though there are significantly more people in the middle class and in administrative professions among these folk than there are in other groups of people in the world.

>>14065089
>Those Who Live in the Twilight
Colloquial: Twilighters
Derogative: Anything referring to their rural lifestyle.
These folk primarily live in the villages dotting the boundary between the Shardstreams' Light and the darkness beyond. The seemingly eternal twilight they live in have made for an interesting environment optimal for agriculture - bright enough to work longer hours and for plants to grow on a more regulated schedule, but not too bright as to scorch precious crops and livestock. As such, this primarily agricultural lifestyle has left these folk hardy and strong, be they thin and whip-like, or stocky and sturdy in shape. Given the relative lack of Light though, these folk tend to be a bit fairer in complexion compared to their tanner counterparts.

>>14065150
>>14065150
>Those Who Live in the Strobelands
Colloquial: Strobes, Strobers
Derogative: Chasers, Runners
These folk are nomadic in nature, living outside the relatively constant Light of the Shardstreams. Despite living outside of the Shardstreams, these folk seek the Light of fleeting Shards as they pass through the skies of the countryside. Depending on the tribe of Strobers one may ask, the reason why they continue the way they do is different among them. Some cherish the tradition of their forefathers of chasing the Shards. Others believe that their true salvation lies outside the comfort of the Shardstreams. Even others seek riches and glory in the uncharted world outside of the Shardstreams. As such, they are more uniformly built than others, most of them sporting a fit, athletic build from their constant travels. They are also further lighter in complexion than the tanners and twilighters alike.

>>14065212
>Those Who Live among the Soulshard
Colloquial: none
Derogative: Them
These folk are sickly-looking and gangling in appearance, looking more like ghosts than people due to their lack of exposure to the Light everyone else knows of. For all their fragile appearances though, they are surprisingly strong and agile in body, able to survive and thrive in the forbidding cold of the Darklands. For the most part though, they are considered monsters among the other folk, though there are a few who stray into the lands under the Shards to become more familiar with those who would be otherwise their enemies.

One of the things we have been bouncing off of each other is the fluff behind the magic in the world. Here's a possible take.

>Astromancy
The energy of a Shard’s Light can be manipulated once the User forms a strong bond with the Shard in question. This bond is usually made through extensive study of the Shard, but there have been cases when the sheer proximity of a Shard to the User is enough to forge the bond. While there are commonalities in the uses of such energy, there are some differences in the energies of different Shards, which can lead to different branches of Astromancy.

>Brandery
In a small number of those who have been initiated through the Rite of Phoenix’s Blood, the symbols put unto them manifest into physical effects through the Stardust in the tattoos. The personal connection between the User’s mind and her Brands allow these effects to happen, but at an increasing cost upon the User herself – namely, her skin. Despite the danger of Brand Magic and the presumed lack of variety in abilities, it is still a circumstantially versatile alternative to Astromancy.

>Innerlight
A less documented phenomenon also emerged from the Awakening. Some people whose senses have neither been flooded by the Light of the Shards nor muted by the profound darkness far from the Shards have developed an ability to see a Light coming from within others. These people generally use this gift in a predictive fashion, but some are able to manipulate the Innerlight, as they have come to call it, to make others and themselves far different than they would be otherwise. They aid their allies in making them stronger, and wreak havoc on their foes by weakening them, making the use of the Innerlight mostly augmentative.

>Crunch?
This is one of the issues which have been eluding the setting for a while. While it is understood that the setting was intended to be made for a DnD sort of campaign, there has been interest by some folks in making a system customized for the setting.

So, how would we start with it? Would we start with a rules-light basis for more narrative, cinematic gameplay, or would we make it more of a simulationist affair?

Whatever happened to the dwarves (or pygmies) from the first thread? The ones that brought shards into their extensive underground lairs, forming hotbeds of subterranean jungles that come to the surface on occassion to hunt for slaves and sacrifices.

I believe they were to be (loosely) based on the Aztecs/Maya/etc

Personally, I saw them as being amongst the primary antagonists of the setting.

I was thinking that they would have no Astronomy capabilities at all, but would have access to certain old magics of the before times (sun was whole, etc), due to their very close connection to the earth itself. Perhaps with a focus on elementalism. I picture them making use of summoned rock/earth/lava golems for heavy labor and war (pic is of Magmanites from Invincible, as a reference).

>>14065533

Oh, wait, people of the souldshard. I see it now.

I guess that works too.

>>14065533
>Whatever happened to the dwarves (or pygmies) from the first thread? The ones that brought shards into their extensive underground lairs, forming hotbeds of subterranean jungles that come to the surface on occassion to hunt for slaves and sacrifices.

>I believe they were to be (loosely) based on the Aztecs/Maya/etc

>Personally, I saw them as being amongst the primary antagonists of the setting.

I think they ended up turning into Them, or at least a monstrous version of Them. Though I still like a more civilized and organized version of the Aztec dwarf/pygmy idea above, like a sort of Lawful Evil bunch really. I just keep running into mental blocks when trying to actually write them up.

>I was thinking that they would have no Astronomy capabilities at all, but would have access to certain old magics of the before times (sun was whole, etc), due to their very close connection to the earth itself. Perhaps with a focus on elementalism. I picture them making use of summoned rock/earth/lava golems for heavy labor and war (pic is of Magmanites from Invincible, as a reference).

Whar's piktoor?

Anyhoo, that would be interesting to see the Shards' effect on things they touch and interact with. We already have Astromancy and Brandery with some folks, and the effects of the Soulshard with others, I don't see why it wouldn't grant sentience to things that otherwise wouldn't have it.

>>14065592

Sorry about that, pic is here (unless I forget to post it again or captcha desides it isn't pretty enough).

Only pic I could find, and it's a piece of crap. My apologies.

>>14065788
Captcha can be mighty fickle. You are forgiven.

So how would this race of people (my usually awesometastic naming ability eludes me right now) activate the world around them for their elemental shenanigans? Why do they even bother to do so anyhoo? What are their motivations for conquest and general dickery unto the other races in the world under the Shattered Sun?

Any ideas? Because I seem to be lacking them myself.

>Lemaire, aticepte

I officially name the character in the first pic Lemaire.

>>14065592

Hmm... What if we have this idea that the Shards are life (as well as heat and light) and when they crash into the earth, elementals spring forth?

This could also link back into an origin story for the human race; they are creatures of mud made to live by the mystical light of the Sun

>>14065899
Okay, I'm following you here. May be an interesting bent on the whole Phoenix story, rebirth and whatnot. I could also go with the human origin story being the grandest creation of the Phoenix - animated Earth gifted with sentience and some form of free will.

Perhaps the Shards themselves still hold the Phoenix's energy, even though the Phoenix herself has left the world. However, with the Phoenix gone, the elementals borne of the fallen Shards are merely animated creatures without the level of sentience associated with humans per the origin story, usually leaving them in a subservient role in envy of their highly sentient masters.

I like. :)

>>14065820

Well for starters, have their caverns be at least partially jungle-like. For shits and giggles. Certian pockets, those connected to underground water sources, are sometimes saunas and the people that live their have evolved (thanks to the ghostlight) thick, rubbery skin to compensate.

A apluasible way to turn them Aztecish, and to connect them with the old world, would be to have them worship the sun and its bits in an ancient fashion. Their belief system would be as followed (adapted from Magus OGrady's initial idea as to what caused the shattering in the first place):

God is the Sun and the Sun is God. He is the master of a pantheon of elemental deities, though all his kin are far weaker than he. He is agressive and warlike, requirering absolute obedience from his followers. Many, many thousands of years ago his was the only religion practiced in the world, but over the centuries the people drifted away from his puritanical regime of orthodox priests. All but dieing out, the few remains of the cult watched as the world turned to newer, kinder gods; and in some cases even to atheism.

Watching this, the god was at first angry. Very angry. But as the ranks of his worshipers declined more and more with each generation, he grew to despair. The others of his kind had long ago fallen into deep slumber in their hidden resting places; but such was not his fate. Instead he died, broken from the anguish of loss and loneliness. He died of a shattered heart.

>>14065971

This is, of course, merely the belief of the Old Cult, which still maintains that the newest phoenix based religion is utter bullshit and heresy.

Leading ragged bands of followers bellow the surface they started a new society, based entirely on the oldest of the old ways; following shaman/druid/tribal beliefs that had long ago been replaced by the more ordered doctrine of the church's later years. These old ways were long considered dark and forbidden; but with the great losses of the shattering of the sun, the priesthood believed the best thing to do would be to return to the very oldest, and therefor purest, worship of their lord that they could find. The new/old cult quickly gained a following of desprate peoples willing to do (almost) anything to save themselves. Except human sacrifice.

Their priests and prophets told them that humanity had lost the right to live upon the surface world, and was banished to the dark caves below by their angry god. In those early days they brought with them the largest shards they could find, to guide their purpose and sustain their new existance.

Their society soon devolved into a tribal hunter-gatherer society centered around the priesthood that maintained the Soulshard (and all methods of learning). But it was not until the soulshard started to dim, and the tribes started to panic, did the priests gain total control over their new flock.

>>14065971
I like this explanation a great deal. I really want to keep the People of the Soulshard as they are, maybe make this a subset of Them... Maybe make them into the Dineh who have all but disappeared from the known world and thought to be the predecessors to Them.

Instead, let them be the survivors of the cult which are now tasked with a far more insurmountable task than their ancestors - reassemble their God's broken heart, reassemble the Sun back to its former glory. This could perhaps explain their almost fanatical obsession with the retrieval of fallen Shards. However, they may need the assistance of their God's kin, the slumbering lesser Gods, to actually accomplish their task.

Maybe make the slumbering Gods occupy the spirits (Innerlight) of certain individuals descended from the old orthodoxy. While they would rather peacefully convince these folks into sacrificing their bodies in order to awaken the lesser Gods, they know that almost no one is willing to kill themselves for an idea which the new status quo considers cultish, at best.

So they go to war with those under the Shattered Sun, trying to find the retainers of the lesser Gods in a last-ditch attempt at their Sun God's rebirth.

>>14066081
Dangit, I was JUST a smidgen too late :P

>>14066081

Now with real power to back up their beliefs, the priests commanded the tribes to split off and search out new caverns to expand the under-empire. Each of these new 'cities' was accompanied by a detachment of the priesthood, and a painstakingly gathered shard taken from the surface in raids. the size of these new villages is completely dependent on the size of the shard they gathered. Of course, this time they did not wait for the new shards to dwindle in power, but began the sacrifices almost at once (creating similar effects to the ghostlight, but with some differences). Notably, worship of the other old gods, the minor ones, has also begun to surface once more (also under the control of the priests); and the priests found that the now awakening old gods are quite keen on the new following, and are more than willing to grant the use of their power in exchange for more worship.

The priests prophetise of a time when the people will be strong enough to return to the surface, cast down the false idols and cities of the people living their, and reistablish their control of the world above.

Though once noted for their solidarity, the priests have begun to argue between themselves in recent years; particularly over the use of sacrifices. The dominant group believes that only their own followers should be sacrificed, as it is an honorable death and their people pure (compared to the sinners above). The other group, slowly gaining popular support, believes that it is not only wasteful to use their own, small supply of followers (especially as it seems more and more sacrifices are needed to reinvigorate the soulshards), but agains their god's will. He does not wish for the blood of his own people, but for the blood of the hethens that turned away from him and which soil the surface above with their blasphemies.

Thank the folks over yonder at >>14062653 for the idea.

>Communication
Bioluminescence for simple messages, but to communicate complex thoughts and emotions, they must touch hands. Doing so actually connects their nervous systems.
This allows them to communicate actual perceptions and muscle memories. One can learn a series of complex motions from another.
( >>14065980 )

>First Contact
First contact with another humanoid species was disastrous, as attempted communication with a handshake killed the other party with several thousand volts of electricity.
( >>14066032 )

>Trade with Landfarers
Trade relations between the aquatic species known by others as the Anchordread (they have no concept of a racial identity) and the land dwelling Jotun occur almost exclusively on a single island in the third ocean of their planet.

One a month, the Jotun place materials that can only be found on land on the island along with a single 'sacrifice'. The Anchordread come upon the land en masse to bring them below the waves. The 'sacrifice' inevitably attempts their normal ritual of hand shaking. In so doing, the Anchordread gains his entire memory, coming to know their people without ever having properly met them.

When the Jotun return the next day, twice as much bounty than what they left is there, all of it from the sea, and the sacrifice has been wrapped in kelp and burried.
( >>14066122 )

>>14066296
>Rite of Passage
A rite of passage exist among the Anchordread people, to tame one of the Ctelyax (think dire orca with different coloring). The Ctelyax are an important creature to the Anchordread, as they are one of the few creatures in the oceans immune to their electrical discharge. This immunity occurs though a peculiar mucus secreted through the skin of the Ctelyax.

The young Anchordread must capture the Ctelyax without the use of its harpoon (ceremoniously passed from parent to child) nor its electricity. Thus the Anchordread must learn to rely on its quick reflexes and swift mind. An important lesson indeed.
( >>14066203 )

>>14066105

Looks like I was too late, this time.

I like everything you just said here
>>14066086

Especially the idea that the ultimate goal of the priests is to resurrect their god (ironic as they believe the Phoenix god is blashemy, though it essentially did just that) and to cast down the surface dwellers; my next entry was along the same lines.

I also agree that as much of the current lore pertaining to the People should be maintained (it is freakin' sweet), and I tried to work my ideas (stollen from Magus O'Grady's idea from the first thread) around them.

>>14066261
Hmmm, this would definitely make for an interesting dynamic within the otherwise unified group of these guys. Also, have we agreed that these would replace the People of the Soulshard, the Dineh, or make them an entirely new group?

>>14066321
Why thank you! Perhaps have them see the Phoenix as their Sun God, something more humanoid, something they can better relate to than a freakin' bird. However, their vision of the Sun God and the Phoenix of the surface-dwellers are somewhat similar - the bearers of the life-giving Light, though the Sun God has a far more warlike but benevolent bent to them than the more perplexing Phoenix.

Also, thread now archived at sup/tg/ for posterity!
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14064910/

>>14066353

I say this: the Dineh came first (the initial gathering of new follwers around the old priests), but when the city failed, the priests "realized" that the surface was tainted and had been forbidden to them by their god.

So they found took their shard (or found a new one) and brought it underground, establishing Them.

After that, I think They and the psuedo-aztecs have a similar enough story line that they can be mixed with little difficulty. In fact, the aztec stuff could just be added to Them as it doesn't really contradict Them's fluff in any overt way; rather it fleshes it out a little more.

On another note, the newer belief (that sacrifices should come from the Enemy Above) would probably be accepted far more readily in the outlying settelments as they simply don't have the numbers (yet) to maintain the number of sacrifices needed to power the shards. It would be a fringe cult: literaly, theologically, and geographically. They would likely be far more warlike than the centralized groupings as they would often make surface raids to collect victims. However, this further expands the rift between the two groups as the orthodox priests would consider any expedition to the surface (other than the sanctioned, pries-sponsored hunts for food) before They are ready are not only heresy, but far too risky as it exposes Them to their enemy far too soon.

>>14066561

Also, let's have Them learn that enough sacrifices can not only recharge the shards, but actually grow and empower them. This would be taken as a sign by the priests that they are on the right path and that after they reconquer the surface, they actually CAN bring back their god, at least partially. If they have enough sacrifices.

Thus the orthodox sect believes that they should bide their time; gathering strength and allowing the surface dwellers to repopulate enough to make a sizeable, worth while sacrifice.

The fringe sect's belief is outlined above.

I think the best part of this this idea is that BOTH viewpoints are correct. They can niether maintain their current levels of sacrifices nor play their hand so soon; either belief could ultimately spell their destruction.

Which means they'll be getting desperate soon

>>14066398

Even better, the Phoenix IS their god, they just don't know it.

>>14066590

Maybe he decided (somewhat out of spite) that he would remake himself (at the expense of the planet) in order to rekindle (lol, phoenix/fire pun) belief in... himself.

>>14066561
>>14066577
I think we can agree on that. Makes them a bit more fleshed out than we had them before! And also with those going Vampire from the consumption of the Enemy and more open-minded People seeking contact with the Enemy, there could be another wrench thrown into their situation to make matters even more difficult for Them.

>>14066646
Haw. Awful pun. But talk about your celestial temper tantrums, huh?

>>14066650

It turns out THEY are the protagonists, not the surface dwellers.

WUT A TWEEST!!!1!11!!!

>>14066698
Well, technically they are..

Alrighty then. So, gamewise, this would mean adventurers are constatly in danger of running into Their warbands.

What about weaponry? Though we've said we want them to be Aztecs, I think they would actually have BETTER metallurgy than most other races. They WERE originally based on dwarves, after all; and they do live under ground.

The weaponry of the raiders would probably involve a lot of ropes, nets, and hook-like weapons. And I know it's far from Aztec, but they would totally make use of sasumata if they happened to know about them.

The little spikes/hooks on the metal head catch cloth. The user then spins it in their hand and it catches onto any clothing like you wouldn't believe (and if the nomads dress anything like arabs to compensate for the varrying levels of light). The thing on the front can also be used to pin parts of peoples' bodies to the ground.

Oh, and bolas. Can't forget the good 'ole bolas.

This new interpretation of Them offers some fun plot-hooks for games; particularly for starting campaigns.

DM: "Okay, as your group slept the (npc) guard was killed and you were roped, knocked unconcious, and taken bellow the surface by People of the Soulshard.

Your gear has been confiscated and you have been placed in cells cut into the cave wall.Though there are no bars, here is a seemingly bottomless pit between your cell and ledge beyond, trapping you."

Pc1: How did they place us here? How far to the ledge?

DM: there is a wide wooden plank sitting on the ledge, which is roughly two and a half meters from the cell."

PC2: So they extend the plank and simply walk over. Ingeneous.

PC3: We better find a way to escape, and soon. I here these monsters sacrifice their captives to some depraved god.

DM: The ecco of drumbeats reach your ears, but they are too far off to place.

PC1: Well that doesn't sound good.

Still here, just modifying the new ideas for Them into writefaggotry.

>>14067793

Cool. I may do the same (eventually).

>>14067793

If you have anything about the raiders in there, make sure to say something about them wearing many layers of clothing while on the surface. It is likely much warmer in the caves where the sunlight is constant and its source is close.

And they would likely be very agoraphobic, and would find the sensation of feeling wind and rain quite alarming (weather is all but unknown down in the caverns). People always fear the unfamiliar; They would be just as startled by the way the surface works as surface dwellers would be of the caves; only religious ferver and desperation drive them from their homes.

>>14067793
>>14067830
>>14067916
Allright, on the wiki here: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Shattered_Sun#The_People

>>14068142
Now, we need to come up with some more unified writefaggotry for the Anchordread race, if we're going to agree for it to be in the wiki.

Holy. Freakin'. Hell.

Tried to doodle a raider. It did not come out as I had expected. Looks nothing like the Aztecs.

Needs a skirty thing and maybe a couple ponchos; with a hood. I was going for a Warhammer (vampire counts) ghould/Gollum thing for the head. Yikes.

Jesus H. "Tap Dancin'" Christ!

Maybe I should just leave the drawfaggotry to, y'know, drawfags.

And without the ponchos... and an even worse head than before!

>>14068293
>>14068495
>>14068596
Not bad. Here's my offering.

>>14068495

also, too Skaven?

btw, reading the stuff you just put on 1d4chan

Excellent, mi amigo. Very well done.

>>14068665
Thanks!

>>14068660

Well hello there. I like your design, I like it very much.

I'm not sold on the feathers, though. Probably not too many avains down in the caves; not to mention that the god of blashemy, the Phoenix, also happens to be a bird.

Then again, maybe They wear feathers to mock the Phoenix, to show their power over the false god and anything that reminds Them of him. Probably wouldn't hurt to add some bones, now that I think about it. They may keep them as totems; keepsakes of friends lost to the Sun God or fallen in battle, their remains adding their strength to the warrior that now carries them. Bones of the foe, to boast of their martial skill.

In fact, we should have a bunch of their technology/weapons be constructed of bone. Intricately carved daggers strengthened through arcane magiks that bind iron and steel to the bone using stardust as a catalyst. Mayhaps they use them only for ceremony and combat, after all, a sharp knife is for killing, not taking prisoners. Might serve to frighten their foes, too.

Ooooh, I just got chills picturing a raider throwing a bone-dagger as a stake into the calf of a fleeing surface worlder: the bladed tip embedded deep in the victims meat whith the gnarly stump of bone sticking out. They look down, trying to pull it out and notice what it is.

The victim screams as its assailant strides closer with a club raised high above his head.

>>14068933
Oh, I'm liking this! Working on a pic right nao!

>>14069003

I await in eager anticipation.

I haven't had so much fun working on a homebrew's fluff since Wild Cards!

>>14069003
Okay, something a little different, but it does involve one of Them killing a surface dweller.

>>14069595

Once again, very nice.

>>14069636
Thanks. Kinda wish other drawfriends would come up with stuff for this. It's feeling too much like my own project, though I didn't come up with it.

>>14069688

Maybe if we started asking for tits Greenmarine might show up.

>>14069950
Heh heh, Shattered Sun isn't established enough for porn yet.

>>14069983

I know what you mean, though. It seems like its just the two of us hear.

Where is everybody? People usually respond well to awesome homebrew threads.

>>14069983
WHO GIVES A FUCK
Have a nekkid chick in half-light or some shit.
Porn = attention
Attention = success

>>14070025
Usually they do. Perhaps they're actually sleeping. Who knows. I was gonna do some writefaggotry for the Anchordread, but my brain is finally drawing a blank.

Have some older drawstuffs in lieu of anything new.

>>14070059
Someone else will have to do it. I don't draw porn.

Oh! I found a WIP of mine!

>>14070728
And done!

>>14070728
Looks Magic School Bus as FUCK.