My Take on the Mnoren; Use or Ignore As You See Fit

[Don Hawthorne]

So, here’s my take on the Mnoren; use or ignore as you see fit.

Everything in the game describes the Mnoren as the next best thing to gods, akin to the Celtic Sidhe or the Greek Pantheon. And like those gods, they made war on each other.
And these wars were terrible.
Perhaps trillions suffered at the whims of Mnoren lords fighting for knowledge, power, or just to relieve their boredom.
And eventually, the Mnoren realized they were doing more harm than good, especially to their own dwindling species. So they decided to make a major change... in themselves.
They adopted a genetic code which made them inoffensive. They reasoned that this would prevent major, overly-destructive conflicts, and let them get on with the business of being immortal.
Because the change was not to make them non-violent; only inoffensive. In game terms, this meant that every creature reacted to all Mnoren with an unmodifiable result of “4: Neutrality or Disinterest.”
This was true of _every_ creature, including other Mnoren. Forever.
The problem of Mnoren internecine strife was solved; there was really nothing to fight about. There was also no challenge to fighting creatures who had no interest in them, so Mnoren ambition stagnated. Their birth rates varied, and gradually they became so innocuous, even to themselves, that all danger evaporated, and with it, all risk. They could no longer be bothered to maintain their lofty status, their empires, their gleaming cities, their great towers, their luxurious estates, their machines, nor finally, even themselves.
Over time, the Mnoren forgot their own heritage. Their harmlessness became a sort of invulnerability. With no challenges and little desire to find any, the need for their massive intellects dwindled. They became paragons of the evolutionary process, evolving to the maximum state of survivability, ignored by predators of every stripe, tolerated by even the most savage creatures. Because they posed no threat.
The Mnoren didn’t leave Cidri; they can still be found everywhere.
They just aren’t called “Mnoren” anymore...
Now they are known as Prootwaddles.

Game Notes:
I give all Prootwaddles an automatic Reaction Roll Result of “4”. This result cannot be modified in any way, whatsoever.
If anybody ever bothers to raid a Prootwaddle den, or warren, or hovel, there is a 3D roll for a result of 3, 4 or 5 to discover an object “like nothing you’ve ever seen before”. One roll per party of adventurers. This object will be a Mnoren artifact, though players need not, or perhaps cannot know this. Its function and operability is up to the GM.

[malchidael]

I like it!

[Don Hawthorne]

Originally Posted by malchidael

I like it!

Thanks, mate! 🙂

[Skarg]

It could also be that the Mnoren decided that some Mnoren were intractably offensive, but not all, and they only applied the change to the offensive ones. Then the inoffensive ones became both disinterested in all the violent creatures on Cidri, and also unwilling to be anywhere near the insufferable prootwaddles, so they went to more pleasant places.

[Don Hawthorne]

Originally Posted by Skarg

It could also be that the Mnoren decided that some Mnoren were intractably offensive, but not all, and they only applied the change to the offensive ones. Then the inoffensive ones became both disinterested in all the violent creatures on Cidri, and also unwilling to be anywhere near the insufferable prootwaddles, so they went to more pleasant places.

True.
It could also be a LOT of other things.
That’s not quite so dramatic a revelation, though, is it? 🙂

[mark hill]

I always figured the Mnoren were based on the Lords in the 'World of Tiers' books by the late, great Phillip Jose Farmer (who, on occasion, was heard to complain 'why doesnt anyone make an RPG outta my stuff .. gee whiz', or words to that effect)

The posing as Gods over their ignorant slaves and subjects ("Lords" of their worlds), their mysterious disappearance from the universe(s) (indeed, because of an assassins war amongst themselves), the Gates (EXACTLY like tft gates) to a string of alternate earths (or sometimes the most fearful booby traps .. the Lords usually hated one another), the biolab made 'mythic' creatures and races, like wild 'plains indian' style centaurs (centaurs dont just 'evolve' do they lol) the behaviour and skillset of the Hero characters (especially the 'swift footed trickster and man killer, Kickaha') .. the feel of the combats, (DX is King) with weapons ranging from stone tipped spears to medieval plate, and all the way up to the Lord's 'beamers' (a cut-anything continuous beam laser pistol) .. The Horn of Shambarimen (obviously the original 'Gate Key') .. the fact that this series was very hot stuff in the 70s for pulpy action sci-fantasy fans

dammit that most villainous, bloody, violent and vile 'Red Orc' would make a prime template for an Evil Mnoren, (guy kept getting killed .. clones, dontcha know lol) and secretly ruling OUR EARTH, which he actually created (!) as a brutally heartless social experiment, from an unassuming private compound in the Hollywood Hills .. the lovely but deadly Inanna, a woman without fear, many thousands of years old, god-like in her stats, knowledge and skillset (yet willing to be reluctantly seduced by the 'disgusting and inferior' normal-earth-human Kickaha, cause hes just that cool .. fantasy, ye know no limts) .. perfect for a Heroic Mnoren

Mr Jackson, would you like to weigh in here? how much of an influence were the Lords on the Mnoren? dont say none .. Ill hafta take Detect Lies on my sheet next level up :)

[malchidael]

Originally Posted by mark hill

I always figured the Mnoren were based on the Lords in the 'World of Tiers' books by the late, great Phillip Jose Farmer (who, on occasion, was heard to complain 'why doesnt anyone make an RPG outta my stuff .. gee whiz', or words to that effect)

Thank you! I was unfamiliar with the "World of Tiers" books until now (which probably shows a serious defect in my character, to be honest). Time to spend some money!

[mark hill]

yah .. they are frakkin brilliant :)

[JLV]

Originally Posted by mark hill

...and secretly ruling OUR EARTH, which he actually created (!) as a brutally heartless social experiment, from an unassuming private compound in the Hollywood Hills ..

Sounds like that part was written up as "The Dosadi Experiment" by, I think, Frank Herbert...

Interesting though, on where the Mnoren idea might have germinated from. I guess I'm going to have to find the World of Tiers series and start reading! ;-)

[mark hill]

OMG the Dosadi Experiment .. that frikken rawks that book

the evil Red Orc made 2 identical earths, and dumped starting tribes on both (clones, perfectly the same) and sat back for a damn long time to see how much theyd diverge .. quite a bit as it turned out. Earth 2 Hollywood is inhabited by a Toltec-like empire with bronze age tech, (but I seem to remember they had bronze arquebuses) a brutal fascist slavers kingdom .. Red Orc's palace had multiple secret Gates to the buildings in both worlds

oh, and the visible universe? the spherical edge is only about twice as far out as Pluto, the stars are 'painted on' kinda lol