The World of Solem - Page 9

deanjday · 02-28-2021, 11:37 AM

Torag God of the Earth, The Mountains, The Dwarves and Craft

When the Creator gave the Mother the huge task of creating the physical shape and space of Solem she soon felt overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the task and despite putting much of her power and energy into the earth itself she soon realized the Creator was impatient with her work, beautiful as it may of been.
She said to him that she demanded help not impatience and that he also needed to give his time to the physical world of Solem.

They argued it is said and the argument became both thunderous and passionate, a great earth like storm rent the world in great valleys and after the argument and passion subsided the God Torag was born into the world.

This new being looked around him and understood what he was and what he should do. He went straight to work, fulfilling his tempestuous wants and desires.
Mountains were raised from the plain flat lands, coastlines and islands raised from the water that had started to pool around the world, great ranges and hills were given shape and color and all around him the world of Solem took shape and character.

It was not long that the Mother said to her son Torag that he perhaps had gone to far, he had to give her room for the forests and the river valleys, the plains and the beautiful spaces of the coming world to be.

Torag was perplexed as he had never considered restraint, she asked him to stop and cut back on his mountains grandeur and he found himself unable to do so he was too connected magically to the high places of the world.

He instead told his Mother he would create a race of servants to help him manage these mountains and reduce their size and height, he foresaw them to be beings made from the mountain stone themselves and when he asked his mothers permission to give these stone beings life, she was delighted and helped him with her own power.

She saw these new earthen beings as a being a counter to the Creators Elves, more grounded literally in the world itself and free of his influence and thought.
She called them Dwarves and mixed her own power and Torag's to create them from the very earth and stone of the mountains and gave them the task of reducing and mining the many huge mountain ranges her son had created.

Torag was jubilant with the Dwarves creation and soon taught them his crafting arts and much of his power over stone and earth.
He sent the Dwarves out into the world to do his great work and during much of the age of legends, the Dwarves slowly and methodically did their work, bringing the mountains of their birth into balance with the mothers vision of creation for Solem.

To ensure Torag had a reason for being after his work in Solem was done, the Mother gave him his next great labor the creation of Mount Paradise, a mountain so huge, so tall that it could serve as a link from the world of Solem into Paradise the place where the Creator and the Mother lived that oversaw all that they had created together.

Torag went about this new task with vigor and determination and by the end of the age of legends the mountain was complete in all its huge splendor. So tall that it reached Paradise itself if a being was brave enough to go there.

deanjday · 03-01-2021, 11:08 AM

Yelm god of the sun, god of fire, god of volcanoes.

The Creator looked at his work and was displeased, all was in darkness he needed for Solem to be seen, he needed light into all four corners of the world and he needed it to be so now.

His son Yelm took his first breaths in the sky and light enveloped the world, in every corner and crevice the new god shone.

He took his place high in the sky, never moving, his smiling magnificence bring light and heat to his fathers creation.

The Mother was pleased, although she did not have a hand in the sun gods birth, she could feel the warmth and heat beat down on her many creations and she foresaw correctly his power would in turn give her own creations life and sustenance.

Yelm was transcendent, his power could be felt in all lands and his firery rays beat down across Solem helping life grow in all ways and forms.

Only one being was unhappy that was Torag god of earth and stone, who was jealous of Yelms power, his status and his place high in the sky.
He said to the Mother he was unneeded and that his warmth filled rays were sometimes to too strong causing the hills and plains to dry and become like dry sand. Torag hated that Yelm could change the very earth he called his own and challenged Yelm to a duel of the gods to see who was greater.

To this Yelm readily agreed and sent huge balls of fire from his body from the sky deep into the earth. Deeper and deeper the fire bolts dug until they reached the Mother herself, where she smiled and sent them back towards the surface.
Here they exploded once again finding their way out of the very mountains Torag held so dear. In one action Yelm had won their duel as he made Torag yield so that his prized creations were not destroyed in fiery smoke and flame.

Yelm laughed and said now he had felt the power of the under earth he would not readily give it up and Torag had to concede that Yelm had the right to journey deep in his earth with his fiery power.

The creator looked on impassively and told Yelm he must take this new power seriously and named these firery balls volcanoes.

Much later Yelm decided to send his greatest celestials to Solem to teach the Elves and Dwarves his gift of fire. Although resistant at first Torag soon saw the wisdom of such a scheme and he ensured his Dwarves made the most of this new gift from the sun god.

Yelm to this day sits in the sky and shows his strength although he now shares time with the stars and the moons, he always returns, covering Solem in his great warming light, ever laughing, ever smiling at the Dark One's attempt to extinguish him and pull him from the sky.

deanjday · 05-07-2021, 12:53 PM

Torbad Lord of the Dead, Creator of the Undead.

Torbad who is now known as the creator of the scourge of the world called the Undead hordes is almost unique in history in that he was once a high Elf who Azor slowly corrupted with thoughts and ambitions of power beyond any known magics of his time, power enough to grant immortality to the mortal races. Such power that Torbad would eventually become known near and wide in the world as the greatest mage of them all.

Azor lied. He had plans for Torbad and his arrogance and ambition he would corrupt him utterly and merge him with a horror from beyond. Perverting and changing the magics that Torbad thought he knew.

This horror from beyond was called the Shadow and it lusted for Torbads immortal Elven flesh. Azor got the unwitting Torbad to agree to the merger of the two beings such was his pure greed for power and blind faith in his own magical power.

The spell was completed late in the Age of Shadows and in Torbads place emerged a shared new consciousness, no longer Torbad, no longer the Shadow, bu something much, much worse.

Torbad then tried to complete his research on immortality for the other races but found instead of granting them protection from death, instead these poor creatures rose again after death, not risen back to life but instead in a sad mockery of their former existence in life.

Over the time the Shadow became more and more dominant in his new Torbad form and the former Elves body changed, become grey and pale, smelling of smoke and burning, smelling of death and decay.

Torbad came to love his undead creations and soon saw his role as protecting and spreading their influence around Solem. In recent times the scourge of the Undead has become more dangerous in parts of the world and they are greatly feared for spreading there undead disease among the living as well as the newly deceased.

As for Torbad he is now considered quite mad , driven so by his strange dual identity over thousands of years, he is no longer an Elf, none can say what he truly is but many call him the very definition of a Horror that must be eradicated from the world along with his foul undead creations which now prowl Solem in all there myriad forms.

Behind the Curtain
I have been away for quite a while from this thread and am now ready to do some more work on the setting. This is my setting creation myth for the Undead and the first horror I have detailed. The name Torbad comes from my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign as a player where my best friend Paul introduced Torbad as an all powerful vampire Count Dracula style, I remember being terrified of him as a player and when he appeared I would almost shake in my boots lol. He now returns from his coffin as my horror who is responsible for creating the Undead in Solem.

Emerald Cat · 05-07-2021, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanjday

Torbad Lord of the Dead, Creator of the Undead.
[...]

I liked the writing on this one, it caught my attention. Torbad's fall is a good use of the "road to hell is paved with good intentions trope". However, the first sentence of the first paragraph and the final paragraph are both run-on sentences. I'd recommend breaking these up those into multiple sentences to make them easier to read.

There were some questions that I had while reading. Firstly, how much of the personality of the original person is retained in the undead creations? Secondly, is it possible to restore someone back to life once they are turned into undead?

deanjday · 05-08-2021, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emerald Cat

I liked the writing on this one, it caught my attention. Torbad's fall is a good use of the "road to hell is paved with good intentions trope". However, the first sentence of the first paragraph and the final paragraph are both run-on sentences. I'd recommend breaking these up those into multiple sentences to make them easier to read.

There were some questions that I had while reading. Firstly, how much of the personality of the original person is retained in the undead creations? Secondly, is it possible to restore someone back to life once they are turned into undead?

Hey Emerald Cat! I think I might make it changeable depending on the Undead your talking about. I just purchased 3rd edition Gurps Undead, so am going to give it a deep read as I think of fleshing out these questions. But I think the more intelligent Undead (Ghosts, Vampires etc.) would have a significant amount of there original personalities, which would make them fall even more into the tragic sphere.

Thanks for your always thoughtful contributions to this thread, you always push me to think about things in a deeper way.

Emerald Cat · 05-08-2021, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanjday

Hey Emerald Cat! I think I might make it changeable depending on the Undead your talking about. I just purchased 3rd edition Gurps Undead, so am going to give it a deep read as I think of fleshing out these questions. But I think the more intelligent Undead (Ghosts, Vampires etc.) would have a significant amount of there original personalities, which would make them fall even more into the tragic sphere.

When dealing with intelligent undead, I would imagine this would cause conflict between their loved ones and those seeking to eliminate the undead. Family members would generally seek to restore their loved ones while hunters would see making such attempts as an unnecessary risk even if they are possible. And members of the same family/adventuring party could come to different conclusions regarding this question!

Stargate: SG1 certainly got a lot of dramatic mileage out of this question. Granted, their issue was people getting possessed by the goa'uld and other aliens. On the other hand, they were dealing with similar hard choices about saving people who may be beyond hope and will be threat to billions of people if they escape.

A common legal development in Solem societies could be the establishment of living wills. In our world, living wills are documents declaring how an individual wants their medical care to proceed in the event that they are unable to make those decisions themselves. The objective of writing a living will is to make those decisions in advance so that doctors and family members aren't burdened with difficult medical ethics questions. On Solem living wills would probably include clauses regarding the use of healing magic and attempting to bring them back from the undead.

Note that I am not a lawyer. You should hire a lawyer if you want to write a living will or equivalent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanjday

Thanks for your always thoughtful contributions to this thread, you always push me to think about things in a deeper way.

You're welcome!

deanjday · 06-01-2021, 12:55 AM

Rules - Template Racial

[B]Goliaths 82 points/B]

Attributes
ST 20 (100), DEX 9 (-20), IQ 11 (20) HT 15 (50)

Secondary Characteristics
Damage 2d-1 /3d+2
Bl 80 ibs
HP 15 (0)
WILL 11 (0)
PER 10 (-5)
FP 15 (0)
Base Speed 5 (-20)
Base Move 5 (0)

Advantages
Acute Hearing +3 (6)
Animal Empathy (5)
Common Sense (10)
Eidetic Memory (5)
Empathy (Sensitive) (5)
Extended Lifespan 1 (2)
Language Talent (10)
Mana Damper 1 Area Effect (15)
Parabolic Hearing 1 (4)

Disadvantages
Absent Mindedness (-15)
Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (-25)
Chummy (-5)
Gluttony (-5)
Noisy 1 (-2)
Pacifism (Self Defense Only) (-15)
Reputation (Huge Violent Monsters) -2 (-10)
Sense Of Duty (All Goliaths) (-15)
Shyness 1 (-5)
Ugly (-8)

Behind the Curtain
Very much based on the Wheel of Time's Ogier's, I love the combination of extreme physical strength and size, but then making them a shy race of scholars, the very definition of gentle giants. They have a very false reputation in Solem in the human nations as they very rarely venture out of their own mountain cities.
Have given them a Mana Dampener ability which reflects how their steddings work in the Wheel Of Time and I think it's interesting to have a race like this. I see them as quite connected to nature, hence the animal empathy advantage. There will serve as my campaigns "Giant" race, and much like Jordan's Ogier's I will ensure they are almost like a hidden race at the start of the campaign making them quite mysterious.

Willy · 06-01-2021, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanjday

Very much based on the Wheel of Time's Ogier's.

Maybe you add the love of Ogiers to stone and wood working, too. Also some Ogiers had there own form of magic, sung wood aka magically shaped and extra durable wood created by singing to the trees was a seldom but priced ability.

deanjday · 06-01-2021, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willy

Maybe you add the love of Ogiers to stone and wood working, too. Also some Ogiers had there own form of magic, sung wood aka magically shaped and extra durable wood created by singing to the trees was a seldom but priced ability.

I tried to not make them perfect homages, instead I wanted them to be the magical sink race in my setting to change them up a bit and make them unique in Solem.

In most of my races I have tried to give them a twist from what they are based on. For example making High Elves telepathic or Dwarves actually made out of stone. Just makes them more interesting to me. So making Goliaths magical sinks is very fun.

deanjday · 03-17-2023, 12:06 AM

I have been away from this thread a couple of years now as I had a change of career and a lot less time and also was running a long term campaign for Warhammer fantasy.

That is slowing down now so I find myself having potentially to continue you on my slow burn own fantasy setting using GURPS.

I have also started up a World Anvil for Solem which I am also going to update.

I have not looked at the GURPS rules seriously for a couple of years so need to do a deep read once again to get going.

One question for you guys has there been any releases which would impact my kind of setting (high fantasy, ancient feel)?

02-28-2021, 11:37 AM	#81
deanjday Join Date: Jan 2021	Re: The World of Solem Torag God of the Earth, The Mountains, The Dwarves and Craft When the Creator gave the Mother the huge task of creating the physical shape and space of Solem she soon felt overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the task and despite putting much of her power and energy into the earth itself she soon realized the Creator was impatient with her work, beautiful as it may of been. She said to him that she demanded help not impatience and that he also needed to give his time to the physical world of Solem. They argued it is said and the argument became both thunderous and passionate, a great earth like storm rent the world in great valleys and after the argument and passion subsided the God Torag was born into the world. This new being looked around him and understood what he was and what he should do. He went straight to work, fulfilling his tempestuous wants and desires. Mountains were raised from the plain flat lands, coastlines and islands raised from the water that had started to pool around the world, great ranges and hills were given shape and color and all around him the world of Solem took shape and character. It was not long that the Mother said to her son Torag that he perhaps had gone to far, he had to give her room for the forests and the river valleys, the plains and the beautiful spaces of the coming world to be. Torag was perplexed as he had never considered restraint, she asked him to stop and cut back on his mountains grandeur and he found himself unable to do so he was too connected magically to the high places of the world. He instead told his Mother he would create a race of servants to help him manage these mountains and reduce their size and height, he foresaw them to be beings made from the mountain stone themselves and when he asked his mothers permission to give these stone beings life, she was delighted and helped him with her own power. She saw these new earthen beings as a being a counter to the Creators Elves, more grounded literally in the world itself and free of his influence and thought. She called them Dwarves and mixed her own power and Torag's to create them from the very earth and stone of the mountains and gave them the task of reducing and mining the many huge mountain ranges her son had created. Torag was jubilant with the Dwarves creation and soon taught them his crafting arts and much of his power over stone and earth. He sent the Dwarves out into the world to do his great work and during much of the age of legends, the Dwarves slowly and methodically did their work, bringing the mountains of their birth into balance with the mothers vision of creation for Solem. To ensure Torag had a reason for being after his work in Solem was done, the Mother gave him his next great labor the creation of Mount Paradise, a mountain so huge, so tall that it could serve as a link from the world of Solem into Paradise the place where the Creator and the Mother lived that oversaw all that they had created together. Torag went about this new task with vigor and determination and by the end of the age of legends the mountain was complete in all its huge splendor. So tall that it reached Paradise itself if a being was brave enough to go there.

03-01-2021, 11:08 AM	#82
deanjday Join Date: Jan 2021	Re: The World of Solem Yelm god of the sun, god of fire, god of volcanoes. The Creator looked at his work and was displeased, all was in darkness he needed for Solem to be seen, he needed light into all four corners of the world and he needed it to be so now. His son Yelm took his first breaths in the sky and light enveloped the world, in every corner and crevice the new god shone. He took his place high in the sky, never moving, his smiling magnificence bring light and heat to his fathers creation. The Mother was pleased, although she did not have a hand in the sun gods birth, she could feel the warmth and heat beat down on her many creations and she foresaw correctly his power would in turn give her own creations life and sustenance. Yelm was transcendent, his power could be felt in all lands and his firery rays beat down across Solem helping life grow in all ways and forms. Only one being was unhappy that was Torag god of earth and stone, who was jealous of Yelms power, his status and his place high in the sky. He said to the Mother he was unneeded and that his warmth filled rays were sometimes to too strong causing the hills and plains to dry and become like dry sand. Torag hated that Yelm could change the very earth he called his own and challenged Yelm to a duel of the gods to see who was greater. To this Yelm readily agreed and sent huge balls of fire from his body from the sky deep into the earth. Deeper and deeper the fire bolts dug until they reached the Mother herself, where she smiled and sent them back towards the surface. Here they exploded once again finding their way out of the very mountains Torag held so dear. In one action Yelm had won their duel as he made Torag yield so that his prized creations were not destroyed in fiery smoke and flame. Yelm laughed and said now he had felt the power of the under earth he would not readily give it up and Torag had to concede that Yelm had the right to journey deep in his earth with his fiery power. The creator looked on impassively and told Yelm he must take this new power seriously and named these firery balls volcanoes. Much later Yelm decided to send his greatest celestials to Solem to teach the Elves and Dwarves his gift of fire. Although resistant at first Torag soon saw the wisdom of such a scheme and he ensured his Dwarves made the most of this new gift from the sun god. Yelm to this day sits in the sky and shows his strength although he now shares time with the stars and the moons, he always returns, covering Solem in his great warming light, ever laughing, ever smiling at the Dark One's attempt to extinguish him and pull him from the sky.

05-07-2021, 12:53 PM	#83
deanjday Join Date: Jan 2021	Re: The World of Solem Torbad Lord of the Dead, Creator of the Undead. Torbad who is now known as the creator of the scourge of the world called the Undead hordes is almost unique in history in that he was once a high Elf who Azor slowly corrupted with thoughts and ambitions of power beyond any known magics of his time, power enough to grant immortality to the mortal races. Such power that Torbad would eventually become known near and wide in the world as the greatest mage of them all. Azor lied. He had plans for Torbad and his arrogance and ambition he would corrupt him utterly and merge him with a horror from beyond. Perverting and changing the magics that Torbad thought he knew. This horror from beyond was called the Shadow and it lusted for Torbads immortal Elven flesh. Azor got the unwitting Torbad to agree to the merger of the two beings such was his pure greed for power and blind faith in his own magical power. The spell was completed late in the Age of Shadows and in Torbads place emerged a shared new consciousness, no longer Torbad, no longer the Shadow, bu something much, much worse. Torbad then tried to complete his research on immortality for the other races but found instead of granting them protection from death, instead these poor creatures rose again after death, not risen back to life but instead in a sad mockery of their former existence in life. Over the time the Shadow became more and more dominant in his new Torbad form and the former Elves body changed, become grey and pale, smelling of smoke and burning, smelling of death and decay. Torbad came to love his undead creations and soon saw his role as protecting and spreading their influence around Solem. In recent times the scourge of the Undead has become more dangerous in parts of the world and they are greatly feared for spreading there undead disease among the living as well as the newly deceased. As for Torbad he is now considered quite mad , driven so by his strange dual identity over thousands of years, he is no longer an Elf, none can say what he truly is but many call him the very definition of a Horror that must be eradicated from the world along with his foul undead creations which now prowl Solem in all there myriad forms. Behind the Curtain I have been away for quite a while from this thread and am now ready to do some more work on the setting. This is my setting creation myth for the Undead and the first horror I have detailed. The name Torbad comes from my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign as a player where my best friend Paul introduced Torbad as an all powerful vampire Count Dracula style, I remember being terrified of him as a player and when he appeared I would almost shake in my boots lol. He now returns from his coffin as my horror who is responsible for creating the Undead in Solem. Last edited by deanjday; 05-07-2021 at 12:56 PM.

06-01-2021, 12:55 AM	#87
deanjday Join Date: Jan 2021	Re: The World of Solem Rules - Template Racial [B]Goliaths 82 points/B] Attributes ST 20 (100), DEX 9 (-20), IQ 11 (20) HT 15 (50) Secondary Characteristics Damage 2d-1 /3d+2 Bl 80 ibs HP 15 (0) WILL 11 (0) PER 10 (-5) FP 15 (0) Base Speed 5 (-20) Base Move 5 (0) Advantages Acute Hearing +3 (6) Animal Empathy (5) Common Sense (10) Eidetic Memory (5) Empathy (Sensitive) (5) Extended Lifespan 1 (2) Language Talent (10) Mana Damper 1 Area Effect (15) Parabolic Hearing 1 (4) Disadvantages Absent Mindedness (-15) Bad Sight (Nearsighted) (-25) Chummy (-5) Gluttony (-5) Noisy 1 (-2) Pacifism (Self Defense Only) (-15) Reputation (Huge Violent Monsters) -2 (-10) Sense Of Duty (All Goliaths) (-15) Shyness 1 (-5) Ugly (-8) Behind the Curtain Very much based on the Wheel of Time's Ogier's, I love the combination of extreme physical strength and size, but then making them a shy race of scholars, the very definition of gentle giants. They have a very false reputation in Solem in the human nations as they very rarely venture out of their own mountain cities. Have given them a Mana Dampener ability which reflects how their steddings work in the Wheel Of Time and I think it's interesting to have a race like this. I see them as quite connected to nature, hence the animal empathy advantage. There will serve as my campaigns "Giant" race, and much like Jordan's Ogier's I will ensure they are almost like a hidden race at the start of the campaign making them quite mysterious. Last edited by deanjday; 06-01-2021 at 01:04 AM.

03-17-2023, 12:06 AM	#90
deanjday Join Date: Jan 2021	Re: The World of Solem I have been away from this thread a couple of years now as I had a change of career and a lot less time and also was running a long term campaign for Warhammer fantasy. That is slowing down now so I find myself having potentially to continue you on my slow burn own fantasy setting using GURPS. I have also started up a World Anvil for Solem which I am also going to update. I have not looked at the GURPS rules seriously for a couple of years so need to do a deep read once again to get going. One question for you guys has there been any releases which would impact my kind of setting (high fantasy, ancient feel)?