Dread Elemental Domains

[ewancummins]

I'd go with Fever instead of scab or clot. Think of it- an infectious, living 'fire in the blood' that first invigorates,and then kills, the afflicted. It's an excess of positive energy(similiar in some ways to the flow of energy that endangers to the positive Plane, according to the old MotP). The candle burns too brightly and too quickly, and is soon snuffed out. I think this works thematically. It's more Gothic than scabs or clots, IMO.

YMMV

[Galeros]

I'd go with Fever instead of scab or clot. Think of it- an infectious, living 'fire in the blood' that first invigorates,and then kills, the afflicted. It's an excess of positive energy(similiar in some ways to the flow of energy that endangers to the positive Plane, according to the old MotP). The candle burns too brightly and too quickly, and is soon snuffed out. I think this works thematically. It's more Gothic than scabs or clots, IMO.

YMMV

Okay, so Fever would be Blood + Positive, and Toxin could be Blood + Negative?

[ewancummins]

Okay, so Fever would be Blood + Positive, and Toxin could be Blood + Negative?

Yes, that is it.

[Galeros]

Okay, so Fever would be Blood + Positive, and Toxin could be Blood + Negative?

Yes, that is it.

Sounds good to me.

I agree that Fever is much more Gothic than Scab. I think that whoever wrote Scab had more grossout horror in mind, same thing with Maggots really, but I think I can make Maggots work.

[ewancummins]

What if maggots becomes metamorphosis? Maggots are larval flies, you know. I think metamorphosis has a lot more Gothic potential, and it can still include your Worm that Walks villain.

[Galeros]

What if maggots becomes metamorphosis? Maggots are larval flies, you know. I think metamorphosis has a lot more Gothic potential, and it can still include your Worm that Walks villain.

Not a bad idea...

We could include caterpillars and butterflies too.

Updated list:
Metamorphosis
Thunder
Glare
Toxin
Bone
Noxious Fumes
Cinder
Fever

[ewancummins]

http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gall ... icture.jpg

Indeed!

[Galeros]

I think Metamorphosis Elementals could be ever changing creatures, constantly evolving into a new stage of existence, similar to Slaads in nature, but more evil (Chaotic Evil instead of Chaotic Neutral).

[ewancummins]

I think Metamorphosis Elementals could be ever changing creatures, constantly evolving into a new stage of existence, similar to Slaads in nature, but more evil (Chaotic Evil instead of Chaotic Neutral).

I like that.

Death Slaad are evil, or evil-leaning, IIRC.

[Galeros]

I think Metamorphosis Elementals could be ever changing creatures, constantly evolving into a new stage of existence, similar to Slaads in nature, but more evil (Chaotic Evil instead of Chaotic Neutral).

I like that.

Death Slaad are evil, or evil-leaning, IIRC.

Yeah, it has been a while since I really gave Slaads a look.

[ewancummins]

You could use some sort of moth-monsters, as well. There have been several in the game materials, over the years.

Are these things 'true elementals' or just monsters with a certain template?

[Galeros]

You could use some sort of moth-monsters, as well. There have been several in the game materials, over the years.

Are these things 'true elementals' or just monsters with a certain template?

I was thinking of making them true elementals, yes. They represent the very concept of Metamorphosis, but they are twisted by the nature of the demiplane. You could have Metamorphosis elementals elsewhere in the multiverse, but they would lean more towards Chaotic Neutral, or even just Neutral.

Moths work too.

With Metamorphosis having a strong insectoid theme now, I think it would be appropriate to perhaps have an gate to it from the positive energy domain, which is a jungle.

[ewancummins]

With Metamorphosis having a strong insectoid theme now, I think it would be appropriate to perhaps have an gate to it from the positive energy domain, which is a jungle.

That makes sense to me.

For such a potentially alien domain, we really need a darklord who is essentially human. I don't mean that he has to have 'human' pencilled in on the 'race' line of the statblock. I mean that he must have human feelings, thoughts, passions- like pretty much all the darklords worth mentioning. If he's too alien, he won't work well as a darklord, because no player/reader will have that 'there but for the grace of God go I' feeling about him.

The Elder Brain is an example of what to avoid.

YMMV

[Galeros]

With Metamorphosis having a strong insectoid theme now, I think it would be appropriate to perhaps have an gate to it from the positive energy domain, which is a jungle.

That makes sense to me.

For such a potentially alien domain, we really need a darklord who is essentially human. I don't mean that he has to have 'human' pencilled in on the 'race' line of the statblock. I mean that he must have human feelings, thoughts, passions- like pretty much all the darklords worth mentioning. If he's too alien, he won't work well as a darklord, because no player/reader will have that 'there but for the grace of God go I' feeling about him.

The Elder Brain is an example of what to avoid.

YMMV

Oh yeah, I intend to make him fully human. He will look like a completely normal guy with normal emotions. His curse is that he is an unwilling Worm that Walks because of his "Act of Ultimate Darkness". His maggots come crawling to the surface and break out of his skin as a result of his curse, this of course causes him excruciating pain. I am still thinking of what he did to earn his Darklord-dom. His maggots only come out when he does something to trigger them, something related to his curse.

Seeing as how Metamorphosis is still going to be Grave + Positive, I think having the Metamorphosis Elementals be creatures that feed off of decay to be appropriate.

I also plan to re-work how Firal got pulled into the demiplane a bit. I want to incorporate the Mists.

[ewancummins]

Seeing as how Metamorphosis is still going to be Grave + Positive, I think having the Metamorphosis Elementals be creatures that feed off of decay to be appropriate.

I agree. I'd avoid making the domain too similiar to Nosos, though. Filth, decaying carcasses, and shit everywhere isn't really the direction I'd go with this domain. Think about gothic imagery, and work inects and decay into that. A musty old closet is a 'grave' for old clothing. The moths feed on the decaying cloth. An eccentric aristocrat believes that he can learn the secrets of insect metamorphosis and apply these to humanity. Some of his killing jars are quite large, and contain more than just beetles and flies. Termites crawl through the rotted wood of a house set on a high hill above the jungle-canopy. Invaders of the house can hear the insects moving in the walls, but they never actually see the wood-eaters. The house never quite falls, but its warped timbers sag and shift in a most alarming fashion.