This isn't really relevant but I made it and I'm proud of it |
Skerples did this once over at Coins and Scrolls. I thought it was a fun way to flesh out a setting, so now I'm answering these 40 player-facing questions for Hellwalkers. Some of these answers may yet change.
JEFF RIENTS QUESTIONS
1. What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
The Clerics of the Immovable Saint venerate Saint Seymour, who defeated the Inexorable Beast and then ascended to the heavens. You can play one. You might also play a Paladin of the Voice, directly speaking the Authority’s will, or a cultist for a randomly generated minor god.
2. Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
The towns Stones (O03) and Bones (C05) both have standard adventuring gear.
3. Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
The blacksmith Edith in the town Stones (O03) handles custom orders without much fuss.
4. Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
The Wizard Gladice of the First Hellwalkers was the mightiest wizard in the land before the invasion. Now, they say she’s immortal, and hides out in her lab somewhere in the jungle.
5. Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
Paul of the First Hellwalkers was the greatest warrior in the land during the invasion. Now, they say he roams the southern badlands, cursed to hunt demons until all of them are slain.
6. Who is the richest person in the land?
Lord Bones of the town Bones (C05) has the most wealth as a consequence of his tight grip on the town. He pours most of it into military defenses and raids.
7. Where can we go to get some magical healing?
There is no magical healing. Food and a good night’s rest are pretty powerful healing tools, though.
8. Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
Poisons, diseases, level drain, and alignment change are unlikely to come up. Curses, lycanthropy, and polymorph have specific cures. Undeath is cool enough that you probably won’t want a cure. Rumor has it that the Revenant Kraken (Q01) can bring someone back to life for a final mission.
9. Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
There aren’t any magic guilds, but you can get elemental control tattoos from Lily in the town Stones (O03).
10. Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
There are experts in the towns Stones (O03) and Bones (C05). People in the wilderness have more practical knowledge and local news.
11. Where can I hire mercenaries?
There are many aspiring demon-slayers in Stones (O03) and Bones (C05).
12. Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
Lord Bones keeps a tight grip on the town Bones (C05). With a permit, you can carry your weapons, cybernetics, and magical abilities more openly, but Bones is not a trusting man.
13. Which way to the nearest tavern?
The taverns in Stones (O03) and Bones (C05) are hotspots of adventure and commiseration.
14. What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
Demons. So many demons. The Demon Shark that ate Three-Finger Thaddeus’ other seven fingers is still alive somewhere.
15. Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
There are constant skirmishes with the demons who invaded 100 years ago, and your whole deal as aspiring HELLWALKERS is that you’re trying to save the world.
16. How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
There are pit fights in Bones (C05). You can earn money and--more importantly--respect, but there isn’t much fabulous cash floating around in town.
17. Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
Your goal is to plumb the secrets of the demon invasion and save the world.
18. What is there to eat around here?
Regular fare. Meats, grains, vegetables, fruits. Most of it is farmed within 12 miles of the towns.
19. Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
The most legendary treasure of all is the Crow’s Chime, said to be in the Pit of Flame (B07), which can turn back time to before the demon invasion.
20. Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
The Pit of Flame (B07) and the Citadel (I08) probably contain at least one enormous, dangerous thing each, and plenty of treasure.
I made this too. It's a phone background |
SCRAP PRINCESS QUESTIONS
1. Is there weaponized Squid?
There are demon squids, naturally, and if you can think of a way to weaponize regular squid, go right ahead.
(follow up questions are below) Can I start with one? How much are they? Can I have one as a pet/horse/best friend? Can I play one? Can I dual wield them?
You can’t start with one. Regular squid are pretty cheap in Stones (O03). If you play a Wizard, you can call for a familiar, and if you do it in the right spot you can get a squid. There’s not a squid class I’m happy with, so you can’t play one. You can hold two regular squid at once but I’m not sure I would describe that as wielding.
2. Is there undead robots?
Uh, yeah, cause that’s cool as hell.
follow up questions involve the nature of consciousness and the existence of the soul in your campaign and can I play one? or have one as a pet or a gun that shoots them?
Sapient things have souls. Lots of them get caught up in the new pseudo-hell on Asphodel. You can play the Ghoul class and buy some cybernetics if you want. You can try to install cybernetics in an undead pet, too, if you end up with one.
3. Do Icebergs walk across the land ?
There aren’t any icebergs in the area of Asphodel you’re in.
can I be from one? Is godzilla frozen in one? Can I play a godzilla?
Since there aren’t any, you can’t be from one and Godzilla isn’t there. Playing Godzilla is a good idea for a different campaign.
4. What do birds know?
They know what the weather will be.
(no further questions)
5. Does medicine work like it does here but no-one knows CPR or does it work like a cartoon so I cure amnesia with more head injurys or does it work like medieval euro people thought it did with demons in your teeth?
Medicine works more or less like real life with a couple sci-fi advancements, most notably in cybernetics.
Do I start with demons in my teeth? Do I know CPR? Can I invent CPR? Can I give myself powers with additionally organs? What planet is in ascension in my spleen midmorning?
You don’t start with demons in your teeth; there’s enough of them outside already. You know CPR (so you can’t invent it). You can absolutely get powers with additionally organs. The planet Charybdis looms large above the moon of Asphodel, and the baleful red moonlight of Hell itself shines from its spot in the sky some nights.
6. I want to play a hobbit but really I'm the fleas controlling the hobbit. Where is that in the book?
You can’t play the fleas controlling the hobbit, but you can play a Klyntar, which is basically the same thing.
Could I take over a new guy with my fleas? Or another players guy?
The Klyntar class can take over new guys temporarily. You can’t take over other players, though.
7. How much could I rent my body out to spirits before I lost control of my character?
What are the names of the spirits? Are they cool?
A lot! That’s basically what playing a Wizard is. The spells do have names, but they won’t tell until you know them really well. They’re super cool.
8. What level do I have to get my character to before I am the g.m?
You probably don’t want to be the GM. It’s a lot of work. Character level alone won’t get you there.
Can I half be the g.m at an early level? What about when you leave the room?
GMing is an all-or nothing affair. If you stage a GM-coup when I leave the room, you’ll have to beat me in single combat when I return.
9. What is the dumbest thing I can spend my money on?
Uninteresting cosmetic tattoos. Get interesting cosmetic tattoos instead.
no dumber than that but cool. Like a pet with a pet with a weapon? Can pets dual wield?
Cool, interesting tattoos. Pets without hands (most of them) can’t dual wield.
3D Modeling is fun because neither God nor Man can stop me |
10. How ugly can my guy be? Like Can I basically be a walking fish?
Your character can be as ugly as you want.
No wait I wanna be a walking fish. What is the reverse scuba technology like in this world?
You could be a sharkling. They breath fine in the air, though.
11.The lamp oil? Is that like cooking oil, kerosene, white spirits or napalm?
How much can I buy of it?
It’s like cooking oil. You can buy the stuff in barrels.
12. How does physics work in this world?
More or less like in real life.
What makes the planets stay up? Are there planets? Is it elves? Can I play an elf from another planet? Does everything work like how we though it did in the past? Can I discover stuff and pass it off as a magic? Is possible to use the scientific process to organise the concepts of magic?
Gravity keeps the planets and moons up. There’s one main planet, the gas giant Charybdis, which Asphodel and many other moons orbit. The world is advanced enough technologically that you can’t pass off most real-life knowledge as magic. You can absolutely apply the scientific process to magic.
13. Can I start with weapon hands?
There’s a couple classes that start with unarmed attacks, and you can get cybernetic weapons after you start playing, but otherwise no.
What about crab claws? Can I play a crab with human hands? Can I have one as a pet? Do they live on a different planet? Can we go there?
If you get a mutation, you might end up with crab claws. You can’t play a crab with human hands, it wouldn’t work well with other human-sized characters. If you play a Wizard, you might get one as a familiar. They may or may not live on another planet or moon, but without a rocket you can’t go there.
14. What cultures approve of cannibalism?
None of them.
What about if we are super rich? Aren't rich cannibals be default , I mean if you think about it? How is the class struggle here anyway? Is there a Karl Marx? How receptive are people to the ideas of anarcho-syndicalism here?
Rich people can be cannibals, and they are kind of the default, aren’t they? Struggle here is mostly framed around demons at the moment. There is not a Karl Marx. People would be very receptive to the ideas of anarcho-syndicalism if you could stop or reverse the ongoing demon apocalypse.
15. Can my character not be real , but a hallucination of another character?
But I still wanna be able to do stuff. What are the stats for that?
You know, I’ve seen a couple classes with this premise and I’m not quite happy with any of them. I’ll let you know if I get something I like.
16. Which is the rome but with lava fire country in this world?
There’s plenty of lava fire to go around. Some of it resembles Rome.
What about the ice circus country? Can I have a pet from there?
There are arctic wastes in the northwest. You can get a pet from there.
17. Can I invent an insect?
Sure.
as a player like right now I tell you an insect and you put it in the game? Or as a character? Can my spells be insects that then exist in this world after I cast them? Can I play an insect who is actually a spell cast in this world? What about as a pet?
Yeah. You can’t play your insect. Spells are already sapient and spend some time frolicking after casting. Again, I’ve seen some classes for playing spells, and I’m not quite happy with any of them. Wizard familiars are a lot like spell-pets.
18. Is there reverse fire?
Not really. There’s lots of regular fire, though.
What about reverse water or earth? What do they wear there?
Neither of those things either.
19. How much money can I make inventing siege engines?
There’s nobody with the resources to really pay for brand new siege engines. You can try to use them to aid you on your quest, though.
Can I play a siege engine? In what ways are animals used in siege engines?
You can’t play a siege engine, but you can try to get one. Animals are used to haul siege engines, and also any other way you can think to use an animal in a siege engine.
20.What is the most significant tree to the economy of the starting place?
Oak trees. They're used to build structures on top of concrete ruins.
Is it really a tree or maidens stitched together? If I play a maiden do I get spells or do people that worship me get spells but only if I'm mad at them?
It’s really a tree. Spell-sharing is a good idea for a class, but I don’t have anything concrete for that yet.