Random World Variations: Different systems, different styles

Ah, the Random World: originally a short experiment for fun which ended up as a pseudo-setting I'm quite fond of. The reason it is branded a 'pseudo setting' is that, really, there's never going to be a 'true' or 'canonical' version.

A two-headed troll eating, Art by Albert Urmanov.

The notes, right now, primarily rely on Basic Fantasy (or Labyrinth Lord) and the choice of races and classes are very much influenced by it. By default, the presentation of the Random World is just generic enough that I can decide to use it by running Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord right off the box with little to no homebrew. In its default form the setting may have some odd idiosyncrasies but its generally written to work with all the most basic and simple assumptions of a D&D game. However if I want to, this is a setting which can be modded or altered to work off different games and different D&D editions or OSR games. The setting can vary in presentation and style to be a bit more grim and gritty and morally gray or I could make it much more clear cut high fantasy with good and evil. I could also run it with D&D3e/Pathfinder and add more unusual magic forms such as Psionics or Akashic among others. For what its worth, I consider the modularity and re imagination potential to be a feature, not a bug. After all the entire point of the setting was a deliberate loose canon, core D&D elements and some gonzo whatever-the-hell-goes. It is a setting that is fleshed out enough to be gameable but its not a serious write up in the sense it harken back to those kind of mish mashed settings made from whatever I found cool when running D&D in high school.

Variations Upon A Theme

So what could possibly change depending on the game and/or mixture of supplements for said game or edition? Here is a non exhaustive list:

• Scarlet Heroes or Exemplars & Eidolon: Nothing is changed setting-wise, but the characters are more powerful and noteworthy individuals rather than starting as impoverished yet brave nobodies. Likely the most obvious pick after Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord.
• Dungeon Crawl Classics: The opposite happen and the characters are even more pathetic and vulnerable than by default. The world is presented as more grim, chaotic and brutal.
• +Hubris: One of my favorite DCC settings. The setting remain as the above but even more bleak and horrifying. Classes taken from Hubris add new layer and setting elements, such as Mutants (briefly mentioned as possibly existing here and here) and Half-Demons add a bit more of a dark and/or weird fantasy vibe.
• Pathfinder: There is a crapload more of options and rules, maybe too much! The general power level of classes is vastly increased especially for spellcasters. It might be wiser to use E6 for sanity's sake. Overall, the fantasy level is vastly increased.
• +Psionics: By default I have not written in Psionics into the setting but that doesn't mean they can't exist and fit in. Adding psionics greatly add to the weird fantasy elements. One way to make psionic distinct would be to very much tie it to 'mortals' as the power of their mind rather than the primordial powers of the cosmos that arcane and divine magic both channel. Another option, which could be interesting, is to make it a relatively new and poorly understand phenomena which has slowly crept up over the past centuries, with mages and clerics fearing it might eclipse magic.
• +Akashic: It was called Incarnum in 3e, while the 3rd party Pathfinder remake is called Akashic. Being based off Vedic mythological concepts is great and it would add quite a bit of exotic and mystical elements too. Unlike Psionics this would definitely be an ancient and well-established power (but not necessarily a common one).
• Dungeons & Dragons 5e: Much like Pathfinder, it too is essentially boiled down to 'alot of options' and greatly increase the overall amount of fantastical elements. Unless...
• +Low Fantasy Classes: I've got no clue who wrote this PDF I found (it likely isn't a paid product as it lack any indication of a person or company having published it) but its certainly right up my alley when it come to playing the 'Random World' with D&D 5e as, since it was written with baseline OSR in mind the classes aren't as filled with weirdo powers as they are in 3e, 4e or 5e. In particular, it has an order of Knights (their low fantasy not!Paladins) tied to fey and elves which fits in perfectly with what has been established with Waywood's knights and druids.
• Black Hack: Not much change except the system is different, I guess?

Yoon-Suin Pathfinder E6: More Thoughts

This is a sequel to this post. It mostly consist of thoughts and rambles on how to adapt Yoon-Suin to Pathfinder, which I've long stopped playing/running yet it remain one my players and their friends are familiar with. These are mostly rambles too short for a full post and some observations.

Alignment In Yoon-Suin

Personally I really don't like Alignments but they are quite 'baked' into D&D 3e and Pathfinder, so a few thoughts: in Yoon-Suin the vast majority of people and entities are Neutral, Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Neutral. This doesn't mean there aren't good/evil person, in fact most people probably lean more toward Good or Evil. The reason they remain listed as 'Neutral' is that most people are inherently prone to selfish need, desires but also moments of compassion and cruelty in equal measure which often go against their usual behavior. Ultimately, most people are a dispassionate Neutral and Lawful/Chaotic generally indicate more of a code of behavior. So what about Good and Evil, then?

• Good is the alignment of selfless enlightenment. It is a rare Alignment, since even the nicest people are really Neutral. To be truly Good (and to register as such with magical effects) requires one to be a truly enlightened and selfless soul. Of course, hardly every enlightened being is Good. Think of it more as the Bodhisattva, saint and martyr Alignment.
• Evil is the alignment of malevolence and spiritual decay. Most douche bags aren't Evil, as they remain capable of moment of compassion and love, even if that love might be extremely selective and self-serving. To be truly Evil is to sink to the depths of immorality and/or to consort with malevolent spiritual forces.
• Deities usually lack the Alignment domains in their list of Domains. They also lack any sub-domain related to the various D&D-derived Outsiders as these do not exist in Yoon-Suin.

Goblinoid

The Goblinoid Subtype in Yoon-Suin refers to some loosely related creatures with vaguely simian traits and a somewhat blurry nature when it come to whether or not they are supernatural and malevolent beings or simply another race of sentient humanoids. Unlike other settings, Goblins are never portrayed as these invading armies of monsters. Rather they are elusive creatures which live usually far away from civilization.

• Bhuta: The Bhuta of the Mountains of the Moon are Humanoid with the Goblinoid subtype.
• Kardan: This Bugbear variant is likely called something else but the core principle of the monster remain the same, which is to say a monstrous woodland stalker with illusory powers. They are found across Lahag and other jungle areas where they prey upon children and eat them alive.
• Monkey Goblin: These creatures can represent a variety of forest-dwelling trickster beings.
• Vanara: The Vanara race has the Goblinoid subtype.

Akashic Races

The book which introduce the Akashic Magic has several race options, all of which are a combination of human and animal traits, which make these races a bit of a parallel to the likes of the Slug and Crab-Men. If used, these races don't require much thought in how they are used as they are all based off are found in the Indian subcontinent. It is likely, however, that none of them are found living full-time in the Yellow City outside of exotic slaves and a few odd sages working full-time alongside some Slug-Man noble. With their connection to the Akashic powers, it is possible that Slug-Men themselves could have such a power. If one decide to make Slug-Men unique among the other animal-men, then perhaps their disconnect from Akashic Magic hint at some form of spiritual decay of some kind.

Psionic Races

The previous post mentionned the use of Psionics, so I figured it would be best to try and see where the various Psionic Races fit in Yoon-Suin based on the methodology of Pathfinder to have as many options as possible. Four of the Psionic Races are loosely fitting into Yoon-Suin (if barely!) and their presence is purely optional. In particular, the Noral's description of being rather egalitarian among those who have undergone the rites which make them Psionic, combine with their diplomatic talents hint that they could come from a land distant from the Purple Land. Should the Purple Land truly open to the rest of the world, who knows what could happen?

• Dromite: As previously mentioned, the Dromite are a psionic race of intelligent insectoid humanoids. Found in the Oligarchies, they live in underground hives and trade with others, if only just barely. Their way of life is alien to that of humans and even that of the Slug-Men. It is not uncommon for nobles and scholars of the Yellow City to wish to know more about the many mysteries of Dromite culture.
• Duergar: One alternative is to use Duergar as the racial stat for all Dwarves and depicting the whole race as odd beings with unusual mental powers.
• Elan: The race of Elan is an unusual one, born of centuries upon centuries of secret manipulations of the human body and mind by odd psionic guru in hope of unlocking some great potential. As a whole they are a race of rare, elusive eccentrics who delve into mysteries of the mind best left unanswered.
• Noral: The Noral inhabit a city somewhere beyond the Gulf of Moray. Their society is alien to that of the Slug-Men and they have an odd way of life which is utterly at odd with the more arcane and convoluted caste system of the Yellow City. They are distrusted by nature due to their oddly egalitarian way of life but they have their use as traders to the outside world. Some speculate that they could have once been human while others say the resemblance is only coincidental.

Pathfinder E6: Yoon-Suin

There's going to be some serious 'Heresy' in this post!

It's is an attempt to offer Yoon-Suin to players and people more familiar with Pathfinder than any other edition of D&D. In the past, I've seen interest in this setting be reduced once it was mentioned the setting book worked off OD&D. This is, in no way, meant as a disrespect to this great book but rather as a bridge between the beautiful and unique works of the OSR and an edition/game some people still play. Even if I'm less and less sure why people play Monte Cook's eternal fellatio to spell casters.*

This take on Yoon-Suin use E6 Pathfinder and, frankly, abuse the usage of third party content which is something I'd normally frown upon but in this case it's fitting for the game conceptually. The third party books used are all from Dreamscarred Press.

Races

Two options in converting Yoon-Suin to Pathfinder exist. The first is to just use the races found in it and the other is to go 'full modern D&D' and allow a crapload of weird options. Assuming that would be the way to go, here are a few possible options which already exist in Pathfinder and could work fine in Yoon-Suin:

• Dromite: These little bug-men are possibly relatives of other insectoid beings found in the Purple Land. They are elusive but are said to have great and mysterious mental powers, at least their gurus do.
• Ophiduan: They are one of the odder reptilian races which exist at the edges of the Purple Land.
• Samsaran: Given their connection to Vedic myths they fit right in. They are essentially Bodhisattva, enlightened souls reborn to a mortal body. Arguably could really use a homebrew to make them better at using Akashic stuff.
• Tengu: While the name need a bit of a change, these odd and cunning bird-men aren't too out of place in the setting. However, if the name is kept intact then perhaps their connection to Japanese mythology can be a plot point, making them travelers from a faraway land beyond Yoon-Suin.
• Vanara: These ape-men could be related to Bhuta.
• Vishkanya: In Yoon-Suin they might not be that exotic at all.
• Wayang: In case one need a second kind of creepy goblin-like creatures.

Of course, Yoon-Suin has three races which are native to it and important to the setting. These are the Crab-Men (statted for Pathfinder here) and the Slug-Men. The third one are the Dwarves of Yoon-Suin which aren't quite as you'd know your typical Dwarves: they are not short Scottish men with beards, big armor and hammers.

Dwarves

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Dwarves gain +2 Con and +2 Wis.
• Type: Dwarves are humanoids with the dwarf subtype.
• Size: Dwarves are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Dwarves have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
• Languages: Dwarves begin play speaking Common and Dwarven. Dwarves with high intelligence scores can learn additional languages.

Defense Racial Traits

• Hardy: Dwarves have a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.
• Stability: Dwarves receive a +4 racial bonus to their CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Greed: Dwarves have a +2 bonus on Appraise checks to determine the price of non-magical goods that contain precious metals or gemstones.
• Stonecunning: Dwarves receive a +2 bonus on Perception checks to notice unusual stonework, such as traps and hidden doors located in stone walls or floors. They receive a check to notice such features whenever they pass within 10 feet of them, whether or not they are actively looking.
• Craftsman: Dwarves have a +2 racial bonus on all Craft or Profession checks to create objects from metal or stone.

Magical Racial Traits

Movement Racial Traits

Offense Racial Traits

Senses Racial Traits

• Darkvision: Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Slug-Men

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Slug men gain +2 Int and Cha.
• Type: Slug men are Monstrous Humanoids.
• Size: Slug men are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Slug men have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
• Languages: Slug men begin play speaking Common. Slug men with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).

Defense Racial Traits

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Skill Training: Bluff and Diplomacy are always considered class skills for slug men.
• Gift of Tongues: Slug men have a +1 racial bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill.
• Emissary: Once per day, a slug man can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll.

Magical Racial Traits

Movement Racial Traits

Offense Racial Traits

Senses Racial Traits

• Darkvision: Slug men can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Classes

It's fairly obvious that a Pathfinder conversion would have a ton of options for classes, especially with the addition of two type of magics which are in this case well suited to Yoon-Suin: these are Psionics and Akashic. While normally something people find a bit too tied to science fiction, Psionic classes are well-suited to Yoon-Suin given that it has options for psionic in the first place. As for Akashic? Well, I like it and it suit the setting fine. These are options picked more for flavor and style than 'game balance' or 'builds' but screw these concepts. To keep things simple most classes have only or two flavorful or interesting Archetype to use.

In a deliberate choice to further enforce the Fighter/Thief/Mage ideal, the only 'hybrid' class of sort is the Cleric and classes with similar Hit Dice/BAB. There are no Magus or Psychic Warriors here or other class which skirt the line between fighting-man and magic-user safe for these archetypes which allow to dabble into Psionic and Akashic powers.

Brawler (and Fighter)

The Fighter is not a very good class thanks to the crappy game design of Monte Cook so the option to play a Brawler is there to replace the Fighter if need be. However, nonetheless, the Brawler/Fighter classes would form a sizable portion of any active adventurers in Yoon-Suin in spite of it's apparent weakness simply because of how versatile it is and how many character concepts it cover.

• Akashic Warrior and Psionic Fighter: Both options allow the Fighter to tap into these two power sources. These hybrid archetypes could be commonplace in some areas and limited to secret and strange cults in others.
• Savage Warrior: A Fighter archetype well suited to the ferocious Crab-Men.
• Unbreakable: An alternative available to Crab-Men.

Cleric

The Purple Land has many gods. Most local, unlike the more typical fantasy gods which tend to embody entire concepts and/or are worshiped by whole races. The typical D&D-style cleric is somewhat at odd with the setting, being more based off a crusader than a proper priest.

• Psionic Domain: This and it's subdomain are open to those Cleric of gods who preside over disciplines related to the psionic arts, the mind, dreams and other mental matters. Alternatively these could be Clerics who have achieved some form of enlightenment.
• Sacred Attendant: These are well-suited to priestess of divine beauty, love and maybe some tantric sex on the side. Because why not?

Guru

The Guru's role within the setting is more than self-explanatory: they are the Akashic equivalent of the Cleric class and one well suited to mystics, fakir and sadhu of all stripes. Entire religions and philosophical schools could exist centered around the various Philosophies which are the class options of the Guru.

Monk

In many ways, the monk isn't a very good class mechanically. But on the flip side? It's really, really cool and quite a few people certainly love it's kung fu powers. This is a core class well worth adding to Yoon-Suin for flavor alone.

• Enlightened Monk and Mysterial: Much like the Fighter options, this add Psionic and Akashic options to the Monk.
• Sohei: While the name is tied to Japanese history, these mounted warrior monks would fit right in.

Psion

The Psion of Yoon-Suin are yogis who have learned to fully harness the enlightened powers of the mind, making them culturally on par with Clerics and thus part of the 'Holy Man' class on a technical level. All Clerics may be priests and brahmin, but not all priest and brahmin are Clerics. This is a class well-suited to the Slug Men.

Ranger

These are hunters and warriors of the wilderness, ranging from the magic-less Skirmisher variant for those who are merely skilled trackers to the regular Ranger for those who are more like wood-dwelling sadhu who renounced civilization for nature.

• Divine Tracker: For those Rangers with a stronger bond to their deity, perhaps presumably as tribal shaman of some obscure wild tribe or as the aforementioned society-rejecting holy-men.
• Urban Ranger: These are a unusual breed of Ranger, mostly found in the dark corners of the Yellow City and prowling the area where the Old Town encroach upon civilization. Quite a few odd cults exist there and Urban Rangers might be their holy warriors.

Rogue

Every society has those who live in the shadows by their wits and skills and Yoon-Suin is no different. Rogues are a very versatile class, especially with their Rogue Talents in Pathfinder and how many options the addition of psionics and akashic mysteries add.

• Cerebral Infiltrator: A pretty self-explanatory option. A Psionic rogue.
• Thug: Fitting for the class name, these Rogues are associated with violent murder cults.

Vizier

This Akashic class is particularly well-suited to the Slug Men, with their high intelligence and it's role, which fit the decadent rulers of the Yellow City quite well. This too is a class which could be used by members of the priestly castes as opposed to the Cleric class.

Wizard

Archetypal spell casters, the Wizards are obviously a 'thing' in Yoon-Suin because why wouldn't they be? Of all the spell casters in Yoon-Suin they may very well be the most mysterious and eldritch but that's just fine the way it is. Not everything need to make sense.

• Psychic Mage: Or, perhaps these different powers are not so different after all?

*Yes I know Cook isn't responsible for Pathfinder, but Pathfinder was designed from day one to be the direct successor to D&D 3E.

Pathfinder: Yoon-Suin Crab-Man

You're probably asking "What's the point?" Since this blog has (mostly) been OSR-compatible material, why bother doing things in reverse and take something from a slick, playable and all-around awesome setting book and translate it to the clunky, poorly-aging mess that is Pathfinder.

Because I can and because...why not?

Some, if not most of the posts on the 'Amateur Dungeoneers' are as the name implies, very amateurish to the point most posts have a varying level of serious, a variable tone and certainly very variable quality of content. There just isn't a proper voice or style to this blog, honestly. Maybe one day it will but for now it's just random stuff that 3-4 people read and none care enough to follow. Not that I'm blaming them because this blog certainly live up to it's amateur name. As for Pathfinder, well it may be a terrible system but it's hard for me to sometimes shake off the connection to D&D 3e: sure, it sucked in hindsight but I wouldn't be into RPG today without that hot mess of a game. Or perhaps this is in the vain hope some of the people still hanging-on to 3E can look into excellent works not tied to their edition of choice.

Crab-Men

Crab-men are at the extreme lowest rank in any hierarchy in Yoon-Suin. In all societies they are viewed with contempt – except, perhaps, in the extremities of Druk Yul or the Mountains of the Moon, where they are completely unknown. They are stoical, obdurate, endurable, slow-witted, and strong.

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Crab-men gain +4 Str, -2 Dex, and -2 Int.
• Type: Crab-men are Monstrous Humanoids.
• Size: Crab-men are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Crab-men have a base speed of 20 feet, but their speed is never modified by armor or encumbrance.
• Languages: Crab-men begin play understanding Common and Crab-Man. 
• Crab-men with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Aquan, Goblin, or Undercommon. They cannot speak any language other than their own clicking language, called Crab-Man.

Defense Racial Traits

• Natural Armor: Crab-men have a +1 natural armor bonus to their Armor Class.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Bonus Feat Crab-men receive Toughness as a bonus feat.

Magical Racial Traits

Movement Racial Traits

Offense Racial Traits

• Natural Weapons: Crab-men have a claw attacks that deal 2d6 damage. These are primary natural attacks.  For sanity and simplicity's sake, count the 'natural weapon' of a Crab-Man as any other weapon for the purpose of multiple attacks received at higher level.
• Greater Gatecrasher: Crab-men have a +4 racial bonus on Strength checks to break objects and a +4 racial bonus on combat maneuver checks to sunder.

Sense Racial Traits

• Darkvision: Crab-men can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Weakness Racial Traits

• Handless: Crab-men lack hands and cannot wield weapons, use items or cast spells with somatic components.

Is this balanced? Probably not for Pathfinder, a system where magic and broken builds rule. The fact Crab-men cannot use weapons, items or cast somatic spells make them frankly ridiculously underpowered, even if they can always hit for 2d6 damage. However I'm sure they would make ridiculously deadly fighters, barbarians or even monks in lower level, less overpowered games at the cost of versatility outside of battle.

Crab-Men Racial Feats

Crab-Men have access to the following (repurposed) feats as racial feats:

• Bullying Blow
• Cleave Through
• Grudge Fighter
• Resilient Brute
• Shatterspell
• Tenacious Survivor

Assume the pre-requisites are all the same, except for race, which is changed to Crab-Man. These are primarily dwarf and orc/half-orc feats, given that the Crab-men arguably fit a similar niche.

Other Racial Traits

Having Fun With The 'Limited Campaign' Idea

A thought experiment, I suppose. Right now I don't really have any plans to run anything beside what I'm already working on. However, this post inspired me to try my hand at a 'Limited Campaign' concept. Bit of a rambling thought experiment, one could argue. Just to change things from my usual OSR-related posting I'll use Pathfinder+Epic 6 as a basis.

Main Concept: Pathfinder+Mesoamerica+Dash of Gothic Horror
Basically? A fairly high fantasy setting which draws inspiration from meso-american myths and the era of conquest following the arrival of the Europeans. A dark era and theme? Maybe so, but add in a dash of Gothic Horror and it become clear this is not meant to be a pleasant world. Good and evil exist but they aren't quite as clear cut as one may expect. It's a messed up world designed to make players mildly uncomfortable.

The world is ruled by the Seven Gods, four of which are no longer worshiped/dead/missing. The world is cyclical, or so legends go. Today the land of is a broken one following it's conquest by travelers from oversea. Once, long ago, humans had a common root but at the end of the Last Sun the earth and sea were rent asunder, isolating the various human tribes. When they finally made contact again, they were culturally so different that things got...messy. The fact that the Gods are silent on the true why for this bloodshed make things worse. Some believe there was a war in heaven and that the Gods are just as divided as the humans.

Races

There's going to be seven races, as Hack & Slash outline. Now obviously, for simplicity I'll use humans as one of the basic available races.

1. Human*: The basic, the common and the mundane. People say they are boring but I personally like to ground my fantasy more into a human-centric worldview nowadays, as it make things more easily fantastical if the truly alien and magical things are more of an unknown and alien thing.
2. Changeling*: They carry the ancient and potent blood of the Shadow Lord in their veins. It runs thicker in them than in any human.
3. Gillmen: Considered to be predecessors of humans. They are alien and ill-understood and worship long-forgotten gods of the primordial depth.
4. Half-Orcs*: Long ago, a population of ogres were converted by a holy man.. These surface orcs ogre are smaller, less monstrous than their kin but are civilized and have mingled with humans. Pious, they have combined their new faith with their ancient tribal markings, inscribing colorful prayers on their very skin. Half Orcs have the Sacred Tattoo racial trait.
5. Strix: Some of the beings from the previous world are said to have 'become as birds'.
6. Vanara: Much like the Gillmen and Strix, it is said they come from a previous incarnation of the world.
7. Vishkanya: Called the Serpent-Folks, they are descendants of humans who worshiped The Renewal Lord under his 'Snake God' aspect. The worship of the Snake God is illegal and they are second-class citizen. Their poisonous bodies are rightfully feared.

*Are those races available at the start of the game.

Classes

Now, moving on to classes. Obviously, the Fighter and Rogue classes will be included as they cover a fairly wide (and dare I say, mundane) archetype.

1. Cavalier: Knightly orders are a common thing on the 'old continent'.
2. Fighters (or maybe Brawler?): Every setting need it's option to play a simple warrior.
3. Inquisitor: These divine servants gain their powers through worship and rite, not blood. They bring down judgement.
4. Oracle: The Eleven Gods aren't just served by Clerics, but also by Oracles. Many descent from ancient bloodlines who bear the blood of saints and monsters alike. Their connection to the divine is a double-edged sword.
5. Ranger: There are still vast swathe of wilderness and those who learn to live in it. Rangers use the Skirmisher archetype and thus lack spells.
6. Rogue: There are those who live with their wits, skill and some trickery in all societies.
7. Sorcerer: 'Arcane' magic in this setting is derived from bearing the blood of the god of trickery, magic and fate.

Gods (The Three and the Four)

While separated by millennia of cultural drift, the humans (and perhaps every race, really...) worship the same Gods. Very differently, mind you, but the same gods nonetheless. These are not kind gods. They demand sacrifice, be it in blood, flesh or in dreadful oaths of loyalty and vengeance. Lay priests and worshipers obviously worship all of them, but Inquisitors  and Oracles are obviously tied to a specific god for the purpose of receiving powers as they are initiated into the deeper mysteries surrounding the cult of these Gods.

The Morning Lord

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Domains: Glory, Nobility and Sun

Mystery: Heaven and Solar

The Morning Lord preside over the rebirth of the sun, it's glory and all the bounty associated with it's continual glow. He is considered to be one of the more important Gods.

The Bloody Lord

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Domains: Protection, Strength and War

Mystery: Battle and Metal

Eternally-wounded, eternally-bleeding he is the patron of all forms of conflict. People fear him but also worship him for his protection. Warriors of all stripes frequently ask priests of the Blood Lord to anoint them in blood.

The Renewal Lord

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Domains: Healing, Repose and Weather

Mystery: Life and Wind

Of the major Gods, only the Renewal Lord is Chaotic. He's associated with that alignment due to the 'necessity of renewal and constant change', such as life and death (and rebirth) and the cycle of the seasons.

The Dead Lord

Each time the world renew itself, sacrifice must be made. This God sacrificed himself and ignited the sun to pass on to the Morning Lord, dying in the process. He is not worshiped because he is considered to be dead but a few heretics are said to draw upon his power and discarded body parts to wield necromantic powers.

The Missing Lord

It is said He will return when the time come, with some saying he'll return as the world end or at the start of the new one to bring new wisdom and impart law upon the mortal races. Folklore is replete with appearances of him in the form of a white-bearded travelling old man but priests consider it mildly blasphemous to say he stopped by for a drink.

The Lady of Endings

She only appear at the 'end of the cycle' and unleash her slavering hordes of monsters to cleanse the world. She has no priests and little to not shrines safe for those mad men who dare dwell in forces-man-was-not-meant-to-know. When the time come she'll return and exist again. And the world will drown in darkness.

The Shadow Lord

Lord of the night, trickery, magic and fate. While he is part of the pantheon, those from the 'old lands' have stopped worshiping 'him', citing his chaotic nature as blasphemous or at the very least dangerous. The patron of heroes just as much as monsters, 'he' is a force of unbridled chaos and change for both good and ill. Sometimes called the Night Lord or the Black Mother, his malleable form has given him the most varied incarnations and the Shadow Lord appear equally male and female.

Sorcerer Bloodlines

In ancient times (When the Shadow Lord ruled, some say), human stock was mingled with that of other beings. Other say the Shadow Lord saw the need to infuse some human bloodlines with sorcerous powers while others believe he did it simply to make the world a strange place on a whim. Changeling, in particular, are direct descendants of these beings. However Sorcerer potential appears in seemingly-human individuals while other races display their own variation.

1. Destined: One of the more common and 'universal' bloodline which are said to carry the blood/gift of the Shadow Lord in his aspect of the Fate Master and/or The Trickster.
2. Arcane: Another common and 'universal' bloodline, The 'blood of magicians'. Many of it's bearers are feared but well-regarded scholars.
3. Shadow: The third most common and 'universal' bloodline, the 'blood of shadow' gives it's bearer the powers of the Shadow Lord in his most common aspect.
4. Ghoul: Did the Shadow Lord create the first ghouls long ago and if so how and why? Some say he used parts of the flesh of his deceased brother, the now-Dead Lord. Others say he didn't create this Bloodline but rather that it was a byproduct of later experimentation by some of his most ambitious servants. Others simply believe it arise naturally in ghouls and half ghouls.
5. Imperious: In ancient times, the Shadow Lord blessed human nobles with a bloodline which grant them the power of dominion.
6. Orc: The blood of half-orcs half-ogres which allow them to tap in their power as brutal creatures of the night.
7. Serpentine: The bloodline of the Vishkanya and a few humans with a Vishkanya parent.

Monsters

Only seven monsters, huh? Well, given that and the use of E6 (and thus focusing on lower levels) I'd say most enemies are humanoids. Plenty of cultists, bandits and pillagers from enemy nations and empires. A period of political and religious unrest gives plenty of reasons to fight people more than monsters. If one feels like cheating, this excludes giant and dire versions of animals.

1. Aboleth: Re-imagined as the spawns of some watery entity akin to Cipactli. They are ancient, pre-human terrors of the sea and the hidden masters of the Gillmen.
2. Ahuitzotl: Terrifying critters who haunt the waterways and swamps.
3. Chupacabras: These annoying buggers are just mundane enough to be almost animals, but supernatural enough to be terrifying to just about everyone.
4. Ghouls: In a world full of blood and flesh sacrifices, of course one would expect Ghouls (and, cheating a bit, Ghasts). Part-scavenger, part-corruption of rites, the Ghouls of this world have an unusual role. Ancient tales hold them to be connected to the gods but today they are feared and reviled as a plague. Powerful ghouls have class levels as Oracles. Ghouls fill the niche one would expect Vampires to fill.
5. Ogre: All that remain of the once-glorious giant race (except half-orcs half-ogres), these creatures are misshapen, ashen-skinned brutes with feral faces. They have eyes, ears and fangs of jaguars and other large cats and spots or stripes on their hairy bodies. At least, that's the most common breed around these parts.
6. +Mongrel Giant: That should help spice up Ogres! These Ogres have more potent abilities and a stronger blood connection to their ancestors. The smartest and most charismatic of their kind have Sorcerer levels and/or possibly the Advanced template.
7. Shadows: They aren't just regular shadows, they are (un)living shadows from times when the sun didn't shine. They are alien creatures, who were never alive. They hunger.