Nosos write-up

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

Nosos is another domain I'd like to cover since I see a potential that Islands of Terror didn't give it. Hence, why I'm giving it and the darklord a bit of a make-over. I hope you like it. Time I'm starting with Malus. I wanted to give him something more than a Captain Planet villain with "daddy didn't love me" issues.

Who's Doomed

Malus Sceleris, Darklord of Nosos
Background: If you asked Malus (and he gave you an honest answer), his most prominent memory is the screams of his best friend as she was burned alive. Born Eramas Nightson in a druid community, he lived a lonely life from the start with his mother dying in childbirth and his father being too busy with his duties as leader to pay attention to him. Then again, no one really knew what to do with Eramas. Ever the brilliant and curious boy, Eramas' young mind desired to know what was all around him, especially the strangely dressed merchants who would come to his father in hopes of brokering trade deals that were always rejected.

To the druids, logic and civilization was a disease against nature and their faith and to want more than what both of those provided was considered unclean. So Eramas became an instant outcast who was only spared exile or death because of his father's position until Amber, a girl three years older than Eramas, took pity on him. Together they would explore outside the forests, talking to the rangers and lumbjacks who encouraged their love of learning. Especially after Eramas amazed them with how he had managed to teach himself to read at the age of seven with a book that a merchant secretly gave him.

All that knowledge couldn't prepare him for a plague that hit the animals of the forest when he was ten. The community was full of despair as they believed that the gods were angry with them, but Eramas knew better. Hearing that a virgin sacrifice would soon be made, caused him to be so desperate to find an answer that it had left him careless enough to leave a medical journal where his father would find it. Both enraged and fearful for his son, Eramas' father knew that he had to teach a lesson that Eramas would never forget by choosing Amber as the sacrifice. As Amber's screams filled his ears, Eramas came to hate these stubborn, superstitious fanatics and tried to ran away. When his father caught him, a fight broke out and in all his anger and hurt, Eramas stabbed his father in the heart and ran into the nearest and biggest city he could find.

This was where Eramas' life truly began. For years he was enamored with stories of the big cities, but what he wasn't prepared for was the harsher side; especially for a parent-less child with no money. Changing his name to Malus to avoid detection in case the druids were looking for him, he began to do anything to survive from begging to theft.

This hard life made Malus grow scheming and sly, desiring the fancier lives that he was told about. Especially the wealthy and powerful merchant and alchemist known as Michael Sceleris. Knowing that he looked a bit like he could fit into his family, Malus used his natural intelligence and charisma to blackmail Michael into accepting him as his estranged son.

Seeing a bit of himself in Malus, Michael trained the boy in both of his occupations, delighting and encouraging the more ruthless aspects in his personality. Granted, Malus' interest in diseases (ever since that plague hit his druidic community) was strange, but when he showed Michael how it could be used to weaken or even take out his new father's most-hated rivals, he accepted it.

Things were good, but nothing lasts forever and eventually the druids Malus fought so hard to escape from found him. They were thirsty for justice for his real father and cleaning the "infection" of civilization from him. Desperate and knowing that they wouldn't listen to him, Malus concocted the most powerful disease he could come up with and snuck it into the druids' blankets. Relieved in their quick deaths, he failed to notice that the new leader, Laia Darkmoon, got her revenge by finding and violently coughing on Michael, giving him the disease. Now without the man he came to know as father, the mists knew it was time to take him to Ravenloft.

Current Status: Even with all of his new-found power and wealth and love for civilization, Malus is a man that is plagued by his past. The druids know that they can't outright reveal his past so they vowed to send his precious civilization crashing down on his head. To make matters worse, Malus can hear the "voices" of nature from the trees that whisper his crimes to the buzzing of smaller plants. Not to mention that every time a virgin sacrifice of a civilian is made, he can temporarily hear their screams.

He is not blind to the pollution and the problems of the class system, but it is just spilled milk to the great potential that Nosos has. (The pollution part pisses off the druids which is an advantage to him.) Being rich enough practically own the civilized half of Nosos, being able to manipulate others, and having a supernatural enhancement to his disease-making brings him joy. Malus likes to keep up an image that he is a man of the people and to a point he might be good on his promises. (Got to keep that image going.)

More to come...

[KingCorn]

I really like this version of Malus, giving him far more reasons to dislike the druids by making them akin to something from the Wicker Man. That the druids also still exist in the outscirts explains how Nosos hasn't completely collapsed environmentally. I also like how you kept in the father-son relationship with him and his adopted father.

One thing I would change, just to keep it closer to the source material and show that Malus is both a tragic and irredeemable person, maybe he wounded but didn't kill his birth father. When the druids arrived at Nosos, his father came to him in secret and begged forgiveness for his actions and even explained he had a plan to bring peace between the druids and the city-people. At first willing to hear his father out, his hatred for the druids and greed at what he has gained on his own in Nosos wins out, he betrays his father and kills the druids. Then the mists claim him.

[ewancummins]

These are clearly AD&D True Neutral jerk druids, and I really like that.

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

I really like this version of Malus, giving him far more reasons to dislike the druids by making them akin to something from the Wicker Man. That the druids also still exist in the outscirts explains how Nosos hasn't completely collapsed environmentally. I also like how you kept in the father-son relationship with him and his adopted father.

One thing I would change, just to keep it closer to the source material and show that Malus is both a tragic and irredeemable person, maybe he wounded but didn't kill his birth father. When the druids arrived at Nosos, his father came to him in secret and begged forgiveness for his actions and even explained he had a plan to bring peace between the druids and the city-people. At first willing to hear his father out, his hatred for the druids and greed at what he has gained on his own in Nosos wins out, he betrays his father and kills the druids. Then the mists claim him.

I'm glad you like it and I'll throw your idea in. The Wicker Man was an inspiration for them.

[KingCorn]

Famous Spots:
The Burnt Colossus: Before the coming of the Malus Sceleris and the deranged druids of the old lands, Nosos was a place of pride and glory. While still a dirty from industrialization, the bounty of its growing industry was used to beautify the city, with public parks, libraries, and momuments. One of the most famous was Perfected Man, a statue dedicated to the growing faith of the Divinity of Mankind, claimed from its trade with Paridon (true/false history, its up to you). Wrought from solid steel, it depicts an idealized human man, handsome and muscular, holding a clockwork planet, depicting how mans domination of nature through technology was the key to human divinity. With the growing pollution from the growing greed and carelessness of the upperclass, the statue is now a ruin. Coal smog has stained its skin black, with rusted patches looking like burn scars. Its once handsome face is now completely burnt away by years of acid rain, and the planet it holds is now a perfect model for the city of Nosos: a dirty little world. It is considered a sacred site by the rumored Circle of Rust, mad city druids which worship the growing corrosion.

Sceleris Hydroponics and Cannery: To support the dietary needs of the city in the growing environmental collapse, and to expand is wealth and power, Malus Sceleris has invested much into this artificial farming and canning factory. Sided by great greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables (which only the wealthy can afford), and a larger blackglass tinted "darkhouse" which grows molds and fungus (the real staple of the poor), all the while the factory floor functions as a combination cannery and slaughterhouse. The conditions are filthy and abusive, with worse hours than even in the worst Zhesterian poorhouse. The ground is covered in filth and grime, rats scurry freely and more often than not fill more cans than real meals do (not that the poor mind the surprise protein). And the bovines are a truely horrid sight, for Malus has used his disease to swell with tumors to ensure more cheap meat to sell. Around the cannery, the workers mill about in the company town, drinking away their company script, or selling their bodies for more.

The Crimson Oaks: A dark phenomena that occurs around the city, and sometimes deep in the center of it, these crimson trees are the result of foul druid rituals, which culminate in the brutal mutilation of a living person, from whom the bloody tree sprouts. Despite the horror of these trees, nature does seem to heal around them, albeit in a twisted form, and some in the city have begun to spread these rituals in a mad attempt to heal the dying city. One side effect from these rituals if they go wrong is the creation of blights and vampire treents, which Malus spends great resources slaying (one of the few acts of altruism he performs for the city)

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

@King Corn: I like these. I'll be writing some more notes during my lunch break tomorrow.

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

I came up with this magical item during my lunchbreak...

The Wicker Man
Description: Resembling a human figure made out of wicker, this effigy is large enough for one medium sized adult, two medium children, or two small demihumans to fit in. When the virgin sacrifice(s) are tied inside, it is set on fire as the druids sings hymns. Once the item and sacrifice(s) are reduced to ash, the remains can be used to show how useless civilization's weapons can be.
System: The ashes are mixed in with warpaint and applied on the faces and bodies of up to five people. For one battle, the wearer(s) are immune to gunpowder weapons. The magical item itself will return to its original form a month later. Using this item requires a Dark Powers check.
Note: If a non-virgin is used, they are immune to the fire and smoke.

[Mistmaster]

How old were Malus and his friend at the time of the sacrifice?

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

How old were Malus and his friend at the time of the sacrifice?

Malus was ten when his 13-year-old friend was sacrificed.

[Mistmaster]

Sad; with three years more they could have saved her very easily.

[KingCorn]

More ideas:
The Lowerburg: The fuel for Nosos "great" industry is its heavy coal mining, with the city itself lying on a ever more precarious foundation as more and more mine shafts are dug to fuel the city's furnaces. Down in the mines, men toil and risk life and limb for a pittance. Some mines become shantty towns to avoid the acid rain and garbage smell from above, all who choose such a life risk getting buried alive. Considering the amount of ruined subtowns from rediscovered shafts, and the hungry ghouls within, such a fate is not uncommon. Some think the shafts also lead to natural tunnels that were used by the druids long before the city was ever founded, while immigrants from both Paridon and Richeliumont both recognize signs of their own mysterious sewers in the growing tunnels.

Coughers: This form of undead are known from their coal-dusted skin and clothing, and characteristic black-lung cough (all the more disturbing for their lack of need for air), they are born from the many cave ins and asphyxiation deaths in the mines. Luckily, all that coal dust is flammable, though can result in a fiery explosion.

The many plagues of Malus Scelaris:
---Dum Dum Fever (did not make this one, I think this was from the Books of S): A foul decease which attacks both the mind and body, Malus spreads the rumor that it is sexually transmitted in order to ruin the reputations of potential rivals
---Druid's Curse: A disease which affects both rich and poor alike, it is similar to the plague which killed the first druids those years ago. Malus created it so he could relive the killing of the druids again and again (he's running out of druids to do so on, so city folk will have to do)
---Shakies: A growing illness, it begins with the sure signs of violent shaking in the arms and legs, as if under muscle fatigue. From their, it developes with symptomes similar to collerha, though luckily is rarely transmitted to other victims. In truth, it is a result of tainted food from the cannery and specifically a special plague made by Malus to help produce cheap meat. He sees no need to undo the effect, since it will not grow to an epidemic, and he is interested in seeing his custom plagues naturally evolve.

The Temple of Industry: A bastardization of the Divinity of Mankind found in Zhesteria, this path espouses the idea that humans achieve perfection through dominance of his environment, forging create machines based on his own vision rather than that of nature, building a new world in his own image, and so has many artificers and craftsmen in its ranks, as well as alchemists as found in the Apex of Intelligence. This philosophy also believes in Might Makes Right, that those who are in a position to shape the world are those who deserve to do so, and thus it is quite popular among the upperclass. (To the doppleganger Adramelech, this is nothing short of philosophical plagerism, but who cares what he thinks)

[Mischief]

More ideas:
The Lowerburg: The fuel for Nosos "great" industry is its heavy coal mining, with the city itself lying on a ever more precarious foundation as more and more mine shafts are dug to fuel the city's furnaces. Down in the mines, men toil and risk life and limb for a pittance. Some mines become shantty towns to avoid the acid rain and garbage smell from above, all who choose such a life risk getting buried alive. Considering the amount of ruined subtowns from rediscovered shafts, and the hungry ghouls within, such a fate is not uncommon. Some think the shafts also lead to natural tunnels that were used by the druids long before the city was ever founded, while immigrants from both Paridon and Richeliumont both recognize signs of their own mysterious sewers in the growing tunnels.

I too have been kicking around the idea that the major urban domains are connected by a sewer network that works like a surefire mistway, but involves going through ripe awful tunnels. Maybe that sewer swashbuckler grimetrekker class would get some love.

Coughers: This form of undead are known from their coal-dusted skin and clothing, and characteristic black-lung cough (all the more disturbing for their lack of need for air), they are born from the many cave ins and asphyxiation deaths in the mines. Luckily, all that coal dust is flammable, though can result in a fiery explosion.

The many plagues of Malus Scelaris:
---Dum Dum Fever (did not make this one, I think this was from the Books of S): A foul decease which attacks both the mind and body, Malus spreads the rumor that it is sexually transmitted in order to ruin the reputations of potential rivals
---Druid's Curse: A disease which affects both rich and poor alike, it is similar to the plague which killed the first druids those years ago. Malus created it so he could relive the killing of the druids again and again (he's running out of druids to do so on, so city folk will have to do)
---Shakies: A growing illness, it begins with the sure signs of violent shaking in the arms and legs, as if under muscle fatigue. From their, it developes with symptomes similar to collerha, though luckily is rarely transmitted to other victims. In truth, it is a result of tainted food from the cannery and specifically a special plague made by Malus to help produce cheap meat. He sees no need to undo the effect, since it will not grow to an epidemic, and he is interested in seeing his custom plagues naturally evolve.

The Temple of Industry: A bastardization of the Divinity of Mankind found in Zhesteria, this path espouses the idea that humans achieve perfection through dominance of his environment, forging create machines based on his own vision rather than that of nature, building a new world in his own image, and so has many artificers and craftsmen in its ranks, as well as alchemists as found in the Apex of Intelligence. This philosophy also believes in Might Makes Right, that those who are in a position to shape the world are those who deserve to do so, and thus it is quite popular among the upperclass. (To the doppleganger Adramelech, this is nothing short of philosophical plagerism, but who cares what he thinks)

I always love these great contributions you seem to snap off. You could probably crib from Thief 's Hammerites/Mechanists for the The Temple of Industry.

I came up with this magical item during my lunchbreak...

The Wicker Man
Description: Resembling a human figure made out of wicker, this effigy is large enough for one medium sized adult, two medium children, or two small demihumans to fit in. When the virgin sacrifice(s) are tied inside, it is set on fire as the druids sings hymns. Once the item and sacrifice(s) are reduced to ash, the remains can be used to show how useless civilization's weapons can be.
System: The ashes are mixed in with warpaint and applied on the faces and bodies of up to five people. For one battle, the wearer(s) are immune to gunpowder weapons. The magical item itself will return to its original form a month later. Using this item requires a Dark Powers check.
Note: If a non-virgin is used, they are immune to the fire and smoke.

Good effect, but if I could make a suggestion, virginity-powered anything has a reasonably likely chance of causing awkward rules lawyering about what specific acts might constitute a loss of eligibility, and in a worse case might create questionable incentives to remove someone's eligibility. It might simplify matters if the magic device accepts intelligent humanoids between the ages of 8 and 18, and arcane inspection would clarify the virgin issue was superstition/tradition. If you want a more wholesome take on the original flavor, maybe the act of feeling and professing true love to another with the whole of one's heart disqualifies the creature - which typically happens when someone marries or gets into a relationship.

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

Siemon Sceleris
Background: It was going to be perfect. All the bullying and abuse that Michael inflicted upon him was going to bite his big brother in his ass. Sure Siemon didn't have the family talent for alchemy, nor was he as strong, charismatic, and handsome as Michael, but Siemon wasn't the one with the fertility problem. Even with alchemy, his brother had only a 5% of producing an heir which meant that once Michael croaked, everything would go to him. Given that Michael was sixity, time was running out.

Then Malus came and ruined everything. Not having the heart to kill a child, he opted to try and prove the boy to be a fraud only to be thwarted by both him and his brother. So all Siemon could do was stew in his bitterness and handle the third of the family merchant empire that was willed to him. In hopes of proving to everyone that he was the better merchant as the mist began to appear.

Attending Michael's funeral and cremation helped alleviate his pain for a bit, but Malus was just too much of a reminder him, right down to that same infuriating smirk. Once again, Siemon toiled away, trying to prove himself as the better man and merchant with only his oldest daughter, Hilary, as his sole support. (His wife and other children just humor him.) Eventually, two groups did hear his silent cries of desperation: the Circle of Rust and the Red Fangs (a wererat crime ring). Seeing potential in his power and bitterness, both of them have decided to make their move (neither knowing the other is interested in Siemon).

Current Status: While the Circle and the Red Fangs wouldn't be his first choices in possible allies, Siemon is at the point where he will do almost anything to put everyone else in their place. For too long, his talents and efforts have been ignored from his parents to his gold-digging wife (who he's sure most of his kids aren't even his) to society as a whole. His current problem is trying to decide whether to pick one, both or neither (especially if Hilary finds out).
----
I picture Siemon looking like comic creator, Brooke McEldowney: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_McEldowney

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

Laia Darkmoon
Background: Everything the Nightson family told Laia made sense, even when she was a scared little Elf they found in the ruins of her home city. It was logic that made her family leave their forest home for the sinful city and away from The Old Ones. Civilization was greedy and cruel, leading to the war that decimated her home and family. Only nature and the Nightson family cared enough to not let it bother them that she was the only Elf in their commune.

Malus' great-grandfather (the man who found Laia) was a strict, but caring man who took her under his wing. The lessons were harsh as she needed to be cleansed of "the taint", but once it was done, she had never been happier. For Laia was willing to fight in the front lines and sing the loudest when sacrifices were made. If it wasn't for the commune's insistence that only a blood relative of the Nightson family could be leader, it would've eventually been given to her. So that's why when Malus began getting "tainted" as a child, it wounded her just as hard as it was for his father.

As time went on and Malus' father couldn't sire any more children, the commune swallowed its pride and gave the role of leadership to hear. Eventually, Malus was found and she heard that his father wanted peace which scared her. The big city was polluting nature and Malus was the most tainted of all. Believing that he was behind the plague that was killing the druids, she had to hurt him by taking out the man he now called father.

Current Status: Laia is now fighting a desperate war against Malus and his precious city. (She refuses to refer him by his new name.) She's already failed a few Dark Powers checks, but she doesn't care because nature should be protected at any cost.

Her worst act being when she kidnapped a noble family and forced the parents to witness their 8-year-old twin sons be sacrificed. The parents were released so they could wallow in their pain. This act was "rewarded" with her being immune to gunpowder weapons at the cost of only getting nutrients from animals (raw preferred). (Laia was a strict vegetarian before this.)

Dread Possibility: If Malus dies, the title of darklord will be given to her. The other way is for her to commit one more act of total darkness. Doing this will force her and Malus to share darklord ship.

[Yaoi Huntress Earth]

"Back to the primitive
Screw all your bullshit
We're back to set it free
Confronting the negative

Back to the primitive
Screw all you wannabes
You don't mean shit to me
Let it bleed... "
-"Back to the Primitive", Soulfly

At first glance, the natural half of Nosos seems like a paradise away from the industrial ugliness of the city. Once you get further in, the truth gradually reveals itself: animals are fiercer than they'd normally be, things are wildly overgrown, and there's an eerie silence as the smell of death lingers in the air. The woods are not a friendly place for outsiders, even those that wish to defect to their side.

Knowing that it is in danger, nature itself fights back even without the help of the druids, but when they're there, things take an more violent turn. Animals forget their roles to attack, plants come to life, weather becomes more severe, all of them willing to tear any outsider to shreds.

more to come...