Questions for Scott about the Sunchaser setting.

[prototype00]

Thanks for your kind replies Scott, it really does flesh out the Sunchaser setting for me. I'm thinking of running The Darkest Hour in it (with the Master as one of the knights of the Crone, though he is a little tougher than the average 99 knight).

What is the Ironfang Master class and where can I find it?

prototype00

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

What is the Ironfang Master class and where can I find it?

http://www.crafty-games.com/content/master-classes  Bottom of the page.

[Psion]

Huh... sunpools sound like a slightly more random version of ultima's moon gates. Coincidence or inspiration?

(Moongates are something I stole for my classical fantasy setting, so 2 thumbs up from me.)

[Crafty_Pat]

Where are these previews?  I only see the Adventure Companion announcement.

It's available on the book's DTRPG product page (click "Full-Size Preview" underneath the small flash version where you can flip pages).

We're updating it each week when we release new material. It was just updated with the Epoch map and some other bits. Enjoy!

[prototype00]

All right, another question for Scott.

Errons, a.k.a. Rootwalkers live a long time (or maybe its different in Sunchasers?). So it stands to reason that most Green Erron today (except for the budlings) were like the Black Errons at some point (i.e. torturing, terrorizing, enslaving and sacrificing the Vessans of the pre Sharos era).

What changed with the Green Erron, did they all get religion and thats why they calmed down? (I can imagine stopping the violence, but changing into easy-going Sharos citizens seems like its going to take a while?)

Also, can I humbly request information on the dark forces that the Errons used to (and presumably the Black Errons still do) worship? Are they like the Soregg?

Ta muchly for the answers.

prototype00

[Morgenstern]

Huh... sunpools sound like a slightly more random version of ultima's moon gates. Coincidence or inspiration?

(Moongates are something I stole for my classical fantasy setting, so 2 thumbs up from me.)

Inspiration. I played a lot of Ultima during my misspent youth . While the precise mechncis are different, and the randomness does invite a bit of GM fiat on behalf of Sun-Lord Avva, the value of being able to move protagonists around an enormous setting quickly cannot be underestimated. Making players hike 800 miles - even with a cutscene, can be a bit of a damper on dramatic pacing.

[Morgenstern]

All right, another question for Scott.

Errons, a.k.a. Rootwalkers live a long time (or maybe its different in Sunchasers?). So it stands to reason that most Green Erron today (except for the budlings) were like the Black Errons at some point (i.e. torturing, terrorizing, enslaving and sacrificing the Vessans of the pre Sharos era).

Sunchaser's Erron don't have the enormous lifespans attributes to ents. I'd say its quite rare for one to live over a century, and most probably die of natural causes starting at around 75.

That still makes them longer lived than humans (rarely older than 65) and much longer tha Vessa (rarely older than 50). Longevity is a prized goal in the setting just like in our world, and some folks have managed to acquire it by magical or spiritual means... So a truely ancient Vessa who has sold their soul to the Lyss or a Black Erron who sinks its roots into a literal fountian of youth once a year might be out there with greater insight into the origins of the War of the Deep Green.

What changed with the Green Erron, did they all get religion and thats why they calmed down? (I can imagine stopping the violence, but changing into easy-going Sharos citizens seems like its going to take a while?)

It was a pretty radical and instantaneous conversionon their part. The Erron "god" is nasty, and the Black Eron know of no other power. The Green Erron, upon encountering such an overwhelming conduit of faith in the Sun as displayed by Brighteyes were completely changed in outlook. Prior to her intervention, they simply had no contact with the force that was the source of their lives. No power greater than themselves had ever offered mercy or comfort in their lives.

Naturlly, the Black Erron abhor them as weak beings who have abandoned their people's holy calling - the salvation of the world... or at least its preservation...

Also, can I humbly request information on the dark forces that the Errons used to (and presumably the Black Errons still do) worship? Are they like the Soregg?

It's pictured in the book and described in the Gods section - that enormous black tree rising above the mound of sinking, rotting bones. The Black Erron heap the bones of animals (Vessa included) upon its roots to slow, but never halt, the production of its singular fruit. Sometimes the wars go well and they can hold back the growth of the pulpy black mass for several years. Other times they falter and the fruit matures in little more than a single season. Each time a fruit falls from the tree it unleashes horrors, and each horror is different. Sometimes a plague, sometimes a kaiju, sometimes a swarm of lesser vermin. But always woe to the world.

Why yes... that is rather like the Soregg...

[Mister Andersen]

So why not simply remove the fruit before it can ripen?

[prototype00]

So why not simply remove the fruit before it can ripen?

Maybe messing with the tree causes it to mature faster?

prototype00

[Mister Andersen]

Sounds like an adventure, um, seed to me.

[prototype00]

Just a quick question, are elves born from the elf blooded Janno, or can only full elves beget more elves? Also, do the elves talk about the catastrophe that ruined their civilization, or is that one part of their culture that they do not pass on?

I know that this is a bit off topic here but these are three of my 3rd level pregens for an upcoming game (the darkest hour) (still trying to stat the mage):

1.) Jack Serpentfang
Human Cunning Rogue Burglar, Janno

Went straight through the knife melee combat feat tree (basics, mastery, supremacy). The "Serpentfang" is a goblin sacrificial blade (Large superior goblin razor with lure and grip applied) that he stole from a Burning Maw encampment before the last sunpool jump. Someone probably wants that back.

Roleplaying hints: Suave and smirky, the eternal Janno rascal, as liable to steal your heart as to gut you, tempered with a healthy dose of looking over the shoulder for the inevitable comuppance.

2.) Jagged River
Rootwalker Barbarian Martial Artist, Sharos

Rage basics and rage mastery combined with mistbranch and native ferocity makes this guy the groups heavy hitter.

Roleplaying hints: Just because most Green Erron are "civilized" and calm doesn't mean there aren't some that break the mould. You fight hard and you booze hard, and when the chips are down, you summon some of that famous Erron wrath to even the odds.

3.) The living Statue of Elaena, Herald Angel Handmaiden of the Silver Crown (nominally Janno)
Unborn Cleric Priest

With floater and a longbow as a ritual weapon, this character can rain down death from the skies in between healing folk with her enlightened skill medicine (or resolve rather, but every point in resolve is a point in medicine) and her two steps in the life path. One step on heroism's path evens the odds during dramatic scenes.

Roleplaying hints: When they were attacked by a goblin raiding party, the citizens of Caer Bedwyn took refuge in the nearby elven ruins. They beseeched the spirits of the silver crown to render them succor and it is said that the very stones themselves came to life and stepped off their pillars to aid them, covered all over with flowing silver runes.

That was your origin, and the song of the Silver Crown is always with you, as you spread the light of ages past in this time of darkness.

prototype00

[Swordpriest]

I have a question, before I buy the book. What is the general feel of the culture in the Sunchaser setting? European? Norse-Viking? American Indian? Middle Eastern? Whatever?

Thanks for any input! 

[prototype00]

There are different regions in Sunchaser, so each has a slightly different feel (also the different cultures inhabiting each region probably contributes to that.)

In the south you have the black peaks, which are run by the Matha (a scholarly/magical rotating monarchy) and the drakes. Heading north you have the plains of Anmai, which is the home of the Janno who have interbred quite extensively with the native elves (seems to be mostly small villages with a fuedal european feel, kind of like every hero's home village). Further north is the Gron'ver, home of the Sharos civilization (theocratic villages dotted around a giant swamp/marshland) as well as the Rootwalkers and the Saurians. Finally we get to Morru's mirror, where the warlike Ahset found and allied with the Dwarves.Sheer cliffs and crags abut the sea which is filled with small islands near to land.

So, feels European, but each area is different.

prototype00

[Swordpriest]

Thank you kindly! 

[Morgenstern]

There are different regions in Sunchaser, so each has a slightly different feel (also the different cultures inhabiting each region probably contributes to that.)

In the south you have the black peaks, which are run by the Matha (a scholarly/magical rotating monarchy) and the drakes. Heading north you have the plains of Anmai, which is the home of the Janno who have interbred quite extensively with the native elves (seems to be mostly small villages with a fuedal european feel, kind of like every hero's home village). Further north is the Gron'ver, home of the Sharos civilization (theocratic villages dotted around a giant swamp/marshland) as well as the Rootwalkers and the Saurians. Finally we get to Morru's mirror, where the warlike Ahset found and allied with the Dwarves.Sheer cliffs and crags abut the sea which is filled with small islands near to land.

So, feels European, but each area is different.

I'd add to that that the Matha are somewhat Arthurian, with fairly well respected armored knights wandering around. That's how I envision their mode of dress also. The Janno do have a more continenetal European feel, with a much larger amount of space letting seperate cultures and styles emerge. The Sharos take some cues from Greece. The culture of citizens vs. residents is a nod to those traditions. Its hotter in the everglades and the light, flowing clothing reflects that. The Ahset have a touch of Arabic/Eastern Medditeranean to them, with a culture that sails around a sheltered sea and prizes both weapon skill and merchantile accumen.