Friday, December 27, 2013

Omnis Mundi: Lord Gene and the Animal Men

No one goes into the north and returns. All those who make the attempt vanish. There are rumors. Beasts roam the northern waste. Beasts with a vicious intelligence and cunning. They hunt all who enter the northern hills. There are also rumors of a city. A shining city in the valley with great walls of white stone, holding the secrets of the ancients. This is why people go north. This is why they never return.

Lord Gene
In the last days of the Golden Lands a man of great intellect came into power. He delved into the secrets of the flesh, unlocking the power of genetics and crafting living beings to serve him. He did this to better mankind, to bring peace and prosperity. And then the End happened. This man survived. He altered himself as needed in order to survive in this new harsh land. Deciding that Man was at fault for the End, he crafted a new people from the beasts of the land. In creating new intelligence, he claimed himself god made flesh. He was Lord Gene, and the world be remade to his twisted desires.

Now he sits in his citadel, atop a great dam constructed before the End, devising new life forms and new societies to fill his utopia. Lord Gene is ancient, ancient and mad. He is nearing the completion of his armies, and soon the earth will tremble at his name.

High Concept: Immortal Genetic Despot
Trouble: Barking Mad
Aspect: Man's Day Is Over
Aspect: A new Breed Is Needed
Aspect: What Is Dead Should Remain Buried

The Armies of Lord Gene
For the last four hundred years Lord Gene has been building armies and perfecting his craft. He has created a society of animal men, each designed to fill a role within that society. The armies are filled with specialized chimera, each designed to maximize their effectiveness in combat. Here are the descriptions of the various animal men who make up the Gene Lord's forces. Over the last decade he has used these forces to conquer all the lands of the northern hills. Now he sets his sites to the south. It is only the combined might of Book and Echasse that holds him back. He waits, like a spider in its web, for the inevitable war. Lord Gene will sweep the land clean as soon as the war is over.

Rhino-Hawks
Hulking armored beasts, with giant eyes capable of spotting a mouse out to a mile away. Bred to be heavy weapons platforms of the Gene Lords armies, they are a mix of Rhinoceros and Falcon DNA. They can carry great weigh and are exceedingly tough, they can see great distances and have the training and talent for figuring out angles of attack.

To play a Rhino-Hawk You must have Rhino-Hawk in your high concept aspect and you must purchase the following stunts:
Tough Hide: You skin counts as Massive Armor always.
Beastly Strength: You gain a +2 to any physique overcome rolls for the purposes of lifting or carrying heavy weights.
Eagle Eyes: add +2 to any attack roll with a ranged weapon, provided the target is more than two zones away.

Pride-Runners
Lord Gene required long distance scout and saboteur units, able to act in the field for log durations without a great deal of support. The Pride-Runners were the end result of that design. A mix of Dog, Cheetah, and Lion DNA, the Pride-Runners are designed for long distance small unit tactics, with little to no support. They can run all day at top speed and have a natural pack instinct. Loyal, honest, and indirect hunters, they are the perfect commando unit.

To play a Pride-Runner you must have Pride-Runner in your high concept aspect and you must take the following stunts:
High Speed: You may travel two zones for free and still act in a turn. Normally you may only travel one zone and still act in a turn.
Cross Country: You gain a +2 to any physique overcome rolls when dealing with enduring long periods of activity, like running or swimming for long distances.

Owl-Bats
Masters of stealth and the darkness, Owl-Bats are a mix of Bat and Owl designed for night time incursions. They can see via echo location and infra red as well as having highly enhanced night vision. They fly nearly without a sound and are trained to fight at close range with maximum efficiency. They tend to be a bit more free spirited strong willed than most other animal men.

To play an Owl-Bat you must have Owl-Bat in your high concept aspect and you must take the following stunts:
Flight: You have wings and can fly. Use stealth or athletics for moving about in the air. Stealth when you are being silent, acrobatics when you are trying to maneuver quickly.
Night Sight: Through Echo location, Infra Red Vision, and other means you can ignore obstacles and challenges related to seeing in the dark, or obstructed vision.
Talons: You have claws on your hands and feet. Add two extra stress to any successful hand to hand attack. This does not count as massive damage.


Northern Hills
The hills are mostly empty save for the farmlands and ruins of old towns, conquered by the armies of Lord Gene. Mostly the Animal Men stay within the great fortress of lord Gene. It is powered by a massive dam and is nearly completely impregnable. The hills were once gentle and rolling, but something must have happened during The End. there are a great many hidden canyons and crevasses now within these hills. Many great wonders and treasures can be found there, from many worlds and timelines.

The Fortress of Lord Gene is one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world. Many Golden Age secrets have been held onto by Lord Gene, and through trade with beings from beyond the Tear he has acquired many techniques far beyond anything known to anyone else.


That is all I have for today in my little section of Omnis Mundi. the Next post will be about the animal man rebellion to Lord Gene as well as a few new kinds of Animal Men. Just a reminder, this setting is open to anyone who wishes to develop it. Just grab an unused section of the world and write it up. Post a link in the comments so that I can add it to the larger setting! Let me know what you think, any comments or critiques would be welcome.

Here are the existing posts for Omnis Mundi
1. Introduction to the Setting
2. Character Creation
3. Solutuhz, The Unbound City
4. Tasmania by +Tom Tyson
5. City of Book
6. City of Book, addendum


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