A perfectly horrid and disgusting "thing"! Well described and imagined. Even the name alone is great, summons up mental images of fractured sanity and putrid, worm-eaten dreams. I Iike that he is worshiped/revered by various cults and madmen. Could use a a bit of a spell/grammar-check.
Go to CommentLots of interesting bits in this sub. Could use more of them. It feels 2/3rds done to me, though i like all the information shared! Would also have loved to see more on the "true" origins/meanings of necromancy. As with other "Mancies", necromancy originally entailed predicting the future, as in "divining the future by/through speaking/interacting with the dead." In closing, I think you will make a worthy leader for your gruesome guild! Thumb up!
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Go to CommentRiddle-Worms
There is a saying among dwarves, vampires and the Red-Leg gypsy clans. Never answer a question while you're dreaming. Or more apt, never aswer a question truthfully while dreaming
A peculiar lifeform needs mentioning, the only other interesting life-form found on Riddlerock, aside from the three lunatic sages.
Riddle-Worms are a myriad of tiny fragments of the psyches of the Riddlemasters, made manifest. These creatures are minuscule and nigh invisible to the naked eye. They congregate in small clusters which under bright lights appear as a greenish sheen in the air or sand. Their attack is insidious. Riddle-Worms simply wait for a sentient being to go to sleep, then enter directly into the victims eyes, effortlessly squeezing through the closed lids, without alarming the host, while oozing a morphine-like slime from their microscopic bodies. Once implanted, the host creature's eyes cloud over with a pale green hue, beneath the closed lids.
The Riddle-Worms begin their assault. They attach themselves to the nerve-endings of the eyes, and begin transmitting "messages" to the cortex. The sleeping victim begins to be bombarded by "voices" questioning him or her with archaic riddles, beginning with easy ones but becoming progressively more difficlt and complex. As the host-victim dreams, the questions proceed endlessly, and the riddle-worms do severe damage to the nervous system. Several hours under the effects of the Riddle-Worms, will cause an intelligent creature to lose control of their bodily functions upon waking, up to and including losing even the involuntary functions, such as the ability to breathe, quickly dying without the aid of companions. The more riddles a host answers correctly in this maddeing dream state, the more intense the riddling becomes and the more agitated and sweaty a victim will be. The key to surviving the Riddle-Worms is by answering the riddles incorrectly. After a few riddles wrongly answered, riddles the Riddle-Worms consider "easy", the Riddle-Worms quickly grow bored and agitated, and give up, harmlessly exiting the sleeping hosts eyes, and move on to another, "smarter" victim, or return to their dormant state, until the next nightfall.
Fortunately for the sane everywhere, Riddleworms are known only to dwell on Riddlerock and nowhere else. The Riddleworms ignore the Riddlemasters, as their mad minds are too cracked even for the worms.
Go to CommentThe Riddlemasters Three
The three former prophets, originators and purveyors of the age-old riddle contest are as follows:
Torn Rope, ‘The Frayed One’
Torn Rope got his moniker from the noose and torn rope-end, which he always wears about his neck. No one knows his original name, but it is said he was once, long ago, a common thief who was about to be hanged for his crimes, when the rope he was suspended from, suddenly frayed and shredded, allowing him to escape the gallows. It is further said that at that moment when he tumbled to his freedom, Torn Rope was siezed by a sudden, unexplained bolt of wisdom and enlightenment, which allowed him to become what he is today, an encyclopdeic fountain of knowledge. Yet his mind is as frayed as the rope on his neck.
Ischta Gorbinsaw
Originally a university scholar, hailing from the cloying and scholarly kingdom of Hedwyg, Ischta was old when the moutains were young. At least that is what they say about him, "they" being theose who don't know. In fact nothing is known about Ischta, except that he is wise and he is mad. When not engaged in riddle-asking, Ischta can be found slurping salt-water at the shoreline, on all fours, or engaging rocks in conversation.
Tortle the Multiplyer of Unwit
A man sporting the head of a rabbit, due to some long-forgotten curse, Tortle hails from the Drying Lands, a country of cracked earth, and some say, a cracked populace. Quite thoroughly, but subtly mad, like his peers, Tortle suffers from indescribable psychoses and quirks, his mental faculties "alien" at best. Originally hailed as a lone prophet, Tortle traveled far from his own lands in search of wisdom, and thus came upon the pair, who became his lifelong friends and companions. Tortle's greatest fear is witnessing sunsets and sunrises. He avoids both events at all costs.
Note: If anyone can think of appropriate riddles, riddles that omniscient madmen might ask during an ultimate riddle contest, please do post them as scrolls!
A humble homage to "The End is Nigh" Forum thread by Strolen
Go to CommentInterestingly, the plot hooks bring this all together for me. And I for one, prefer the mysteries of the Astormen, their trees and their bows, to remain just that, mysteries. Adds a certain je ne sai quoi to their tale.
Go to CommentVery flavorful item with a cool twist! A perfect gift for one of my campaign-recurring npcs. The Poppy-Seed King's incredible hubris and unmatched vanity has led to literally *thousands* of statues to be built in his likeness across the vast kingdom. It is said, one cannot walk a hundred paces in any direction, without bumping into one of the king's many statues. Now, i can add this cloak to his repertoire and Voila! Love it. Also, "Not Alone" is a good hook!
(change wear to wearer in the tagline)
Interesting. Every major body of water needs one or more such mysterious spots. I'm a little confused by this line though... "The Bloodmaw's purpose is the add decoration, strategic depth, etc. to a map, not to provide a quest, though" Aside from that, if one goes with the twin giant sharks option, maybe the "red sea" around the maelstrom is not from the dirt at the sea's bottom, but from the various sea-creatures the sharks herd and devour, while chasing each other in circles. A sort of frenzied feeding. "Aye, Jimbo, the seas be red around the maelstrom. The Sons-of-the-Seagod be feeding again!"
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Society/ Organizations (Knowledge/Lore) (Regional)