THE BLACK DOGS OF UGAUL

[Dyson Logos]

Should probably move THE BLACK DOGS OF UGAUL! to the workshop.

BLACK DOG SORCERERS

While there are magic users, there are also the Sorcerers of Ugaul, or the Black Dog Sorcerers. The sorcerers steal their magical powers from the corpse of the world. In most ways they are treated as Magic Users, but their spellcasting progression is one level slower, giving them no spells at level one and their prime requisite is Charisma, although they must also have an Intelligence of 9 or higher. In addition to daggers and staves, the Black Dog Sorcerers also wield axes and can also use shields (but cannot cast spells while holding a shield). Black Dog Sorcerers can channel their magic into raw physical prowess - once per round they can sacrifice a prepared spell in order to give them a bonus "to hit" equal to the level of the spell, and a bonus to damage if the attack hits of 1d4 per level of the spell.

[Charlatan]

Welcome to THE BLACK DOGS OF UGAUL!
This is a community world building project which I have decided to form about…five minutes ago. What are the black dogs? Just what is the land of Ugaul like? Thats something we're going to have to find out!

THE (vague) RULES:
1. All playable races exist in this world. Don't commit genocide just because you've have problems with halflings in the past!
2. Only three concepts/facts can be introduced per post. Try to leave them open ended until we get a few pages in. There is no word limit however, write as much as you like.
3. Anyone can add to/expand on a fact. No one "owns" any part of the world.

I'll begin simply:

Three Primordial Gods formed the world from the corpse of their parent.
These Gods created nine godly children (3 Lawful, 3 Neutral, 3 Chaotic).
The first age of recorded history is known as the Age of Worms.

A final note, if you don't have anything to post, just type THE BLACK DOGS OF UGAUL! Bold, italicise, underline and increase font size at your discretion.

......

My second post was as follows:

The Age of Worms refers to the ancient "maggots of the earth", massive miles long magmaric proto-dragons that burst forth long before any mortal races were crafted by the Gods. This age ended when the Gods worked together to cover the world in sheets of ice, slaying the majority of the colossal beasts. Those that survived transformed into the ancestors of the modern chromatic dragons and lesser dragon-kind.

The second age was the Age of Stillness, an unnumbered time of wind and ice, in this time the first giants were carved from ice.

The people of Ugaul live in large extended clans, often covering the routes of nomadic bands, five or more towns and a capital city, and are led by a monarch (king or queen), a high priest of the preferred local god and a sorcerous Black Dog. In many cases the Black Dogs are the power behind the throne.

[austrodavicus]

I've split this topic from its original position in General Discussion to here as the appropriate place for it, but I have left a copy of the initial post and a link to direct people here. Sorry for any inconvenience and also that Dyson's post is now at the top, but I can't change the order of posts.

Dave (Moderator)

[Charlatan]

Not to worry amigo! Thanks for moving it.

Hmm, a bit of a mess indeed. I'm sure we'll cope! For those that don't know (everyone) this is a world building project. If there is any more confusion as to what THE BLACK DOGS OF UGAUL! is about, feel free to ask or PM me.

[Charlatan]

Elves have sharp needle-like teeth and inhumanly long tongues, but are otherwise beautiful.

Elves die three times before passing on. They are born as wild, free spirited wood elves, once they die, through old age (100 years or else) or other means, they become the intellectual high elves, then once they die again (100 to 200 years), they awaken as the sinister dark elves and seek seclusion underground before their inevitable final death (100 years). Each elven form changes the elves personality dramatically, and while they retain most memories as they change, their view of what they did alters (feeling foolish for having friends etc.).

Many high elves seek immortality to avoid becoming dark elves.



{In game I imagine a wood elf (standard elf) player would have to re-roll as a high elf, then as a dark elf after each consecutive death}

[Charlatan]

Now then, a quick one for today!

The largest country in Ugaul is Gothmyre!

[bathwizard]

The chaotic humanoids are there as well. There are roaming bands of orcs, ogres and gnolls.

The goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears in the far west have become the footsoldiers of a particularly vicious and amoral order of Black Dog sorcerers, exiled from their homeland of Ugaul for treason and subversion. Although reports of the realm are sketchy (and survivors few), there is apparently a hierarchy of perhaps 30 Black dog sorcerers and apprentices, supported by at least several hundred bugbears and five tribes of hobgoblins of a thousand each, and goodness knows how many goblin slaves. The realm is known from the sorcerers' stronghold - the Bastion of the Battleaxe. Black Dog sorcerers from the Bastion of the Battleaxe will lead goblinoid raiding parties against their former homeland and any other territory that they can reach.

The Black Dog Sorcerers of Ugaul are not afraid of the Bastion of the Battleaxe, as they command forces far more fearsome than mere goblinoids.

[Charlatan]

Nice work bathwizard.

Okay you lot, just off the top of my head:

While it is difficult to generalise humans, most human clans are patroned by a "spirit animal" (totem? someone else can provide the final name ) which provides chosen individuals power and protects a sacred location in return for annual sacrifice (of the spirit's choice) and respect.

The recognised "spirit animals" of Gothmyre are as follows, though there may be many more smaller spirits besides:
Cousin Fox
Brother Wolf
Mother Bear
Sister Boar
Father Tiger
Aunt Rat
Grandmother Spider
Grandfather Owl
Son Monkey

Lycanthropy is the power granted by these "spirit animals" though no doubt there are other sources of the blessing/curse.

Manticores and other similar creatures are said to be chosen people that have offended their patron spirit.

[bathwizard]

The black dog sorcerers of the Bastion of the Battleaxe hold Great-Uncle Scorpion as their patron.

Manscorpions have ben seen on the outskirts of the Bastion of the Battleaxe, and are presumed to be cursed outcasts. These manscorpions retain the spells and abilities of black dog sorcerers

This isn't so much a stated fact as a suggestion, but what if the black dog was the patron of the original black dog sorcerers? Since the sorcerers have established their powers, some of them have drifted away from the Black Dog patron and found new patrons (such as Great-Uncle Scorpion)

[Charlatan]

The black dog sorcerers of the Bastion of the Battleaxe hold Great-Uncle Scorpion as their patron.

Manscorpions have ben seen on the outskirts of the Bastion of the Battleaxe, and are presumed to be cursed outcasts. These manscorpions retain the spells and abilities of black dog sorcerers

This isn't so much a stated fact as a suggestion, but what if the black dog was the patron of the original black dog sorcerers? Since the sorcerers have established their powers, some of them have drifted away from the Black Dog patron and found new patrons (such as Great-Uncle Scorpion)

Ah, thats got me thinking! Right, lets link a few concepts together.
1. Dyson has stated that the Black Dog Sorcerers steal their magical powers from the corpse of the world (the world was made from a dead god).
2. I say that the black dog spirit taught the early sorcerers the means to steal this power, and once he did they turned on him and slew him.
3. Whatever species the spirit represented (perhaps a carrion eating jackal) is extinct.

Awesome idea bathwizard!

EDIT: I think we should keep it debatable whether the sorcerers slew him because they wanted the means of stealing power secret, because the spirit wanted them to be his slaves, because they thought they could steal even the spirit's power or for some other more mysterious reason.